Chance me please! Haverford, Bowdoin, Princeton, and STAMPS at U Mich and U Wisc

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hello! I know the title is a lot to ask, so I greatly appreciate any responses.
I don’t have a current class rank (GPA broken in system) but it will probably be something around 12/580, give or take 5 spots. Weighted GPA 4.457, unweighted 3.978. One B in one semester of English 9. I attended a junior high in Seattle for ninth grade before moving to a highly-ranked public high school in middle Tennessee. My Seattle school operated 6 classes all year; my Tennessee school does four classes per semester.
Alg 1 8th grade, Geometry 9th, Alg2H and Precal 10th, Calc AB 11th, Calc BC 12th
Honors English throughout high school, preAP (9th)/AP(10, 11) History
Japanese 1 and 2 Honors (J2 was awarded through proficiency-based credit bc my school didn’t have Japanese)
PreAP Physical Science 9th, H Bio and H Chem 10th, PreAP/AP Chem 11th, Hon Organic Chem 12th

ACT 34.0, (E 36, M 34/35ss, R 35, S 31) superscore 34.25 (taking 1-2 more times to bump ss to 35, hopefully 36)
SAT II Math 2 800
AP Scholar w/ Distinction 5 on Env Sci (gr 10), Chem (gr 11), Cal AB (11); 4 on USH (11), Lang (11), 3 on World (10)
Sat 1470, Psat 1480, NMSI 220

Jr/Sr President of Interact Club and Science National Honor Society
Bass section leader in top audition-only choir
professional tutor for 2 years
Tenn. Governor’s School for Prospective Teachers
local monthly Youth Leadership program Jr year
Tenn. Youth In Government, won final case in law component first year attending
Natl. Japanese Exam 1st in Tennessee
National Merit semifinalist likely
Student Council 3 years, Stuco treasurer Jr/Sr yr
Founder of Future Teachers Club at school (waiting for official ties to Tenn. chapter of Future Teachers of America)
University of Kentucky Book Award from guidance department

Recommendations (one for sure from gov school professor, hopefully one from school principal in addition to standard letters) will reflect a strong passion for the field of education and a willingness to serve and work outside of official capacities. I basically ran the tutoring facility I worked at for most of the year and a half I worked there and I also designed the curriculum for the summer program and led it with only two other people. I do a lot of stuff in education and my essays will talk about my plan for teaching and then administration and finally ed policy and/or legislation. I’m a gay white male.

For the STAMPS scholarship, I think I have an above-average chance of getting into U Wisc and U Mich but I know a lot of ivy-level students go there so I’m also wondering how I would compare to them in competition for that scholarship.

Prospective Education/Education studies major or minor at these places with a major in Math as well. Not a secondary or elementary ed major. At Princeton I’d do the Teacher Prep Certificate, take classes on Ed Policy through Woodrow Wilson and do Teach for America.

Thank you so much!!

2

Princeton might be tough. The others are looking pretty good to great–but it really depends on what you do to differentiate yourself. That is, college admissions officers are looking for clues as to how you see the world and your place in it. Long story short, you need a good essay.

3

Nevermind on Stamps for U Wisc, it looks like they don’t partner with the foundation anymore. I’m still interested in Stamps at U Mich, though. I also forgot to list this one, but I’m hoping for the Coronat Scholarship at Syracuse, what would my chances be for that?

4

Chances are not bad

5

Thank you!! I know Princeton is definitely a long shot, especially since I haven’t participated in research or won especially prestigious awards. At this point it would be nice if I got in but I wouldn’t be upset, especially since they don’t have a whole education program.

6

… Can anyone else help me out since he got banned?

7

Well that didn’t take long.

Congratulations on your achievements so far. I can’t chance you but will give you some feedback…the schools on your list are very different, how/why did you choose them?

Wisc is probably a highly likely admit, the rest of the schools are reaches. Make sure to add some match/target schools, maybe a true safety which must also be affordable…which leads me to ask what can/will your family pay per year for college? Have you run the NPCs on these schools to see if they look to be affordable?

Regarding your classes, will you have just 2 years of Japanese and 3 years of SS? If so, that will be a relative weakness in your app for the elite schools. And why so much chem for a prospective education and/or math major? A full year of physics would be better, obviously IMO.

8

Thank you for your help!
I rushed the original post slightly, and I didn’t include all of what I have scheduled for senior year. I do only have two years of Japanese, but I’m hoping the NJE score will show my commitment beyond those two classes. I do have an SAT II Japanese score, but it’s terrible. My Tennessee school doesn’t offer Japanese and I can’t continue to J3 so I was stuck after I moved here. I will have four years of social studies–preAP World History ninth grade, AP World 10th, APUSH 11th, and AP US Gov and AP Micro 12th grade. All of those classes are one semester except for the ninth grade class.

My school list is also incomplete. My full list is Princeton, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Haverford, Mich, Syracuse, Wisc, Centre College, and UT Chattanooga. The latter two will be the most affordable and sure safeties. The schools in the post title are just the ones I’m the most excited about.

My parents are likely to divorce within a few months which makes my financial situation very uncertain. If the divorce is finalized before I submit the FAFSA, it’s likely I will only have to claim my parent who makes very much less than the other. However, most of these places require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA, which will have require me to take into account both parents and will get me essentially nothing. On the CSS, I can explain the divorce situation which will hopefully cut me some slack and put more context into where my parents have to spend their money right now. After my freshman year, my younger brother will be enrolled in college too which will help me a lot with financial aid. However, that is all precarious so I am hoping for the Coronat scholarship from Syracuse or the STAMPS scholarship from Mich. If I don’t get those scholarships, I’ll likely just take out a bunch of good old fashioned loans. My experience in tutoring will likely land me a better-paying job than most undergrad students so hopefully it won’t be too terrible.

Part of the abundance of chem is because I love the teacher and because my school is only one of four that offers Organic in the state. I am interested in seeking dual-certification in Math and Chemistry so that is another reason, but mainly I just really like the subject and the teacher. My AP Chem class was a full year, different from other classes at my school. So by graduation I will have had four semesters of chemistry, three of which will have been college-level. In college, I will probably take Japanese as electives (or a minor) and probably add a minor in Chemistry to whatever combination of programs I end up being able to do. Especially if I get those full rides.

Also about the schools, I admit they are definitely all over the place. A small factor is that Centre and Syracuse are both on RaiseMe and I’ve maxed out my earnings from those two places. I have about a year’s worth of tuition from both of them.
The real key is that they have a very specific interdisciplinary education program. The Education Studies program at each place (except for UTC and Princeton) has a strong focus on social justice and teaches lots about education policy and the sociopolitical context of education in addition to the standard classes about curriculum, child development, pedagogy, etc.
I added Mich because of the STAMPS opportunity and because of its ranking and reputation.
I added Wisc because of how highly rated its teacher college is.
Syracuse I have a gut feeling about, even though Ed studies is only a minor there. I have acquaintances there who speak highly of the school and the connections one can make there.
Princeton is just Princeton. They don’t have an actual ed program beyond a few classes but I’d make it work because it’s Princeton.
The atmospheres at Swarthmore and Haverford both appeal to different parts of my work habits and personality and they both have Ed studies. The consortia with Bryn Mawr and Penn is a plus.
Bowdoin I have a gut feeling about. I think they have one of the most comprehensive Ed Studies majors on the list, and the opportunities are superior to the other schools in that Math is not combined with Statistics (@ Swarthmore) and Education Studies is a major (@ Haverford, Syracuse).
Drug use on campus, weather, political climate, reputation, and the ability to make solid connections for a career in ed policy down the line or even a legislative seat were other factors.

Thanks again for your help!

9

The OOS acceptance rate to UMich is 19% for the Class of 2022. Your unweighted GPA, test scores and course rigor are competitive, since the Class of 2023 had an average unweighted GPA of 3.9 and the ACT 25/75% of 32-35. Of course, the OOS stats will skew on the higher side of those figures. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge about STAMPS.

10

That’s very helpful! I haven’t been able to find OOS acceptance rates until you told me so that helps. I also read that Mich doesn’t read an UW GPA, which is probably good for me. Considering that those stats will skew higher for OOS like you said, STAMPS is probably unlikely. Thanks for your help!

11

All but UT-Chat, Centre and Wisconsin use Profile, and none of them meet full need, so you will pay more than the FAFSA EFC. Centre also uses its own form, the CAF in addition to FAFSA.

Run the NPCs of the schools on your list as things stand now (parents married) to see what you will be required to pay and if that is affordable.

Colleges will give you no slack on the Profile, whether your parents are still married, or divorced by then.

Probably won’t help a lot, run the NPCs as if a sibling would be in college as of your freshman year, to get an idea of the impact.

You have good stats, but these scholarships are highly competitive.

Because finances are likely to be a significant factor in your decision, I recommend you start looking at schools where you will get merit scholarships. There are many threads on that. Also speak with your parents about what they are willing/able to pay for college each year under each scenario (married and divorced). It may be challenging to get them to focus on this right now, but over the next few months they have to.

Continue to do research on schools and try to get past choosing a school because of a ‘gut’ feel. Good luck.

Edited to add: You can only take out $27K ($5.5K/$6.5/$7.5/$7.5) in loans during undergraduate years. Any other loans will be on your parents.