Chance me for top schools

808drum
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:09:51 +0000

Hi GoldOwl I am very, very envious of your test scores and rank (but make sure you don’t come across as a study-robot). I think you DO show you’re rounded and balanced with your EC’s and your job and a restaurant (for some reason I thought this added something unique and unexpected to your application). On this point, however, you do seem almost TOO round, if that’s possible. Just from looking at your list, I don’t see a central passion or concentration, and your involvement seems to be spread out among many, many different things. I could be wrong though, given the need for brevity on these types of posts and the limited information provided. I’d say that if you have significant accomplishments in, say 2 or 3 of these EC’s, or maybe write an essay related to one of them, you’d appear a more focused candidate.

I think you’re in (unless another part of your app is horrendously deficient) at WashU and Duke. I would have said very good chances at Columbia, but given the bloodbath on the EA thread today, I’m more reluctant now. MIT, depending on the depth of your Math team involvement, math grades on your transcript, and chosen major, could be a reachable possibility. Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford are SO unpredictable though, so I’d say IF your recs demonstrate personality, your interviews go well, and your essays show that you’re unique, you have an excellent chance at getting into at least 1 of the 3. Take my chancing with a grain of salt though, as I am also applying this year and base most of my evaluations on old decisions threads.