Chance me - unsure about the caliber of school I should be applying to

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hello! I’m new as a member to CC, but I’ve been reading posts on here for a long time (I just finally decided to get an account lol). Anyways, I’m really unsure of the caliber of school I’m even qualified for… so it would be greatly appreciated if someone could help steer me in the right direction :slight_smile:

My intended major is something in relation to environmental science - I’m most interested in meteorology but will probably pursue something less math-heavy :slight_smile: I plan to apply ED to Cornell (probably CALS), and RD to the following schools and probably others (in relative order of where I’d like to attend):
Stanford (yes I know I’m not getting in here haha)
Vanderbilt
Dartmouth
Cal Poly SLO
UC Berkeley (grandpa attended, not sure if that helps or not)
UC Santa Cruz, Davis, Santa Cruz, Irvine
University of Michigan
University of Washington
University of Oklahoma
Ohio State

Stats:
*GPA: 4.23 (W), 3.89 (UW)
*Rank: 13 of 550
*SAT: 2000 (650 CR, 690 M, 660 W) - retaking in June
*SAT II: took US History earlier this month and expecting to do relatively well. Planning to take bio in Oct/Nov.
*APs: Euro (5), Enviro, Psych [self-studied], APUSH, and Lang (expecting 4-5 on all)
*Senior year courseload: AP Gov, Econ, AP Bio, Advanced Systems Physiology (req to take AP bio), AP Stats, AP Lit, Peer Helping, and AP Comp Sci [off-campus, only 3 other students from my school are taking it]

ECs:
*President of Make a Wish club - we do a few events per year pertaining to both the Make a Wish foundation and other community events, but not a ton.
*President of CSF [California Scholarship Federation - statewide scholastic/community service club] - for this year and next; I’m extremely involved in this, planned almost all of our events singlehandedly. Will be starting a CJSF program for a local middle school in the fall.
*co-coach for a middle school Odyssey of the Mind team - first year, made it to CA state finals. Coach for the spontaneous problem solving component.
*Other - member of NHS, treasurer of SPCA club. Will probably be attending a two-week summer program in DC for weather research.

Other things:
I’m white, female, a junior, and I’m from CA. My dad died when I was a freshman, so I come from a single-parent household. (not sure if this can be indicated on my app, but this was also a big reason why I got Bs in AP Calc AB [which is keeping me from a 4.0 UW] and opted not to take the test, as he was my primary resource in terms of math help). Both parents had some college but no 4 year degrees, so I think I’m a 1st gen? (not sure what constitutes 1st generation)

Anyways, thanks for reading!

2

You are not first generation since parents had some college education. The UC’s do not consider legacy. You are competitive for the UC’s and SLO. Your EC’s are good but not outstanding especially for some of your reach schools. Spend time on your essays which would boost your chances. Not familar with other schools on your list to comment. Good Luck.

3

First gen is typically neither parent has completed a bachelor’s-at least that is what I wash was told by my guidance counselor and a few admissions officers

4

Some schools consider no 4 year degree as first generation and some consider nothing beyond a HS diploma.

5

Thank you guys for the insight in regard to first generation. And gumbymom, if you think that I would be competitive at UCs/SLO, then are the upper schools (Cornell, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, maybe Berkeley since it’s not like the other UCs) completely out of reach (as in it probably wouldn’t even be worth applying)?

6

UCB would be a better match with an SAT around 2100+. For any of the Ivies or top 25 schools, your EC’s are very generic so you need to focus on making this area more competitive. There is no harm applying to these reach schools, just realize that your chances are slim. Also, are your parents able to afford many of these OOS schools? You may be able to get an acceptance but will you be able to afford to attend. Cornell is not known for being generous in FA. Again, as I stated above, my familarity with Vanderbilt, Cornell, Dartmouth is limited so I would prefer to defer to some other CC posters which have more insight.

7

Thank you so much for your help!