Yale - Reach for everyone. You can get in but you have decent ECs
Duke - ED in : RD high match
Williams - low reach/ high match
Good luck!
Chance me back! http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1769031-what-are-my-chances-at-these-schools-p2.html
You will need to read through the comments cause I got a 31 on ACT and I added some colleges (BostonU, UTAustin, Northeastern)
Yale: reach
Duke: reach
Wiliams: low reach
ED should increase your chances at Duke and Williams. Make sure you focus on your writing in your application, I think there’s a good possibility you will get into at least one of your top choices.
besides exam scores and awards, nothing else stands out. I didn’t read the other comments but are you an URM or have any hooks? Extracurriculars seem to be pretty generic in terms of those college application pools.
@iluvfood well, I’m a sophomore, so I’ll add ECs. A lot of my volunteering is really time consuming, and next year I’m teaching an English class. One of my main interests is Latin (competitions, quiz bowls, etc). Idk, I’m an upper middle class female Asian on the North Coast, so basically as hookless as possible.
UPDATE: my poems are forthcoming in two established literary magazines.
@supercilious, congratulations on your achievements to date and on your clear focus.
It’s too early to say with much certainty, but you seem to be making a splendid start. I’ll address Duke since it is one of the 3 schools that you listed, since its probably intermediate between Yale and Williams in terms of admissions difficulty (though all 3 are tough), and since the Admissions Office has been fairly open about what they look for.
Duke screens all applicants on 6 factors, which they explicitly emphasize on their website: GPA, test scores, curricular rigor, ECs, essays, and recommendations. According to results made public under federal FERPA law, they do a quick screen of these 6 factors for each applicant ranking each from 1 (worst) to 5 (best), and reject about 50% of all applicants based on this screen.
Your essays and recommendations obviously can’t be evaluated at this juncture. Given your scholastic and latin awards, I would expect you to have both the subject matter and the writing skills to put together an outstanding essay.
Your SAT I score of 2380 and Sat II Biology score of 780 are fine. The 25-75% SAT range for Duke for the class of 2017 was 2090-2360, so you are in great shape. I wouldn’t bother to retake those exams, or add ACTs. APs are optional - they don’t hurt, but they will count more for placement than anything else. If you are in the top 2% of your class rank then your GPA should be fine as well.
That leaves curricular rigor and ECs. You want to make sure that your curriculum gets checked off as “most rigorous” by your GC, and is within the high end of what your school allows. As for your ECs, you are doing a great job focusing in the humanities and writing, with publication and awards showing strong achievement and commitment. Great job. I wouldn’t worry in the least about “starting something” to show “leadership”. You’re doing just fine.
All of the schools you’ve listed are tough, but there’s nothing you’ve done so far that limits your chances. As an Asian male with an outstanding humanities background and focus, you are probably going to stand out. Just keep up the good work for now.
Your Scores are good (Both Standardized and GPA), but try to make more awards/ECs during your Junior year. The list could be slightly larger. You’re on the right track. Yale is part of HYPSM, so your answer is still a solid maybe. I think you could be a match for Duke and Williams if you pile on more ECs/awards though.