Chances at selective universities? Please!

beesknees310
Sat, 29 May 2010 10:44:37 +0000

I am at the end of my junior year and starting the college process. I am a unique candidate for a few reasons and I think I need some perspective on my chances at the top universities. Some of the schools I am looking at include:
The Ivys: Yale, UPenn, Harvard, Cornell, Brown
Others: Georgetown, UMich, Tufts, Johns Hopkins, etc…
Safties: Emory (?)

I need to know if I need to be more realistic with my selections and if I need to reevaluate where I’ll be applying. Please help!

Here’s a description of my credentials:

Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White
High School: A large public school (1500 people) in a middle class suburb in Connecticut

Course load/Grades:
Even though my class doesn’t technically do the “ranking” system, I was just made aware that I have the highest GPA in my class of about 375 students. I have never gotten below an A-.

Ninth Grade:
Honors Geometry
Modern World History (Required class)
Spanish V Honors (I was accelerated two years in Spanish, most kids were at the III level)
Chinese I (No honors available)
Jazz Ensemble
Gym
Honors Earth Science
English 9 Honors (First semester) then I was skipped ahead a grade to English 10 Honors for the second semester

Tenth Grade:
AP English Language (Usually an 11th grade class)
AP Spanish Language (Usually a 12th grade class)
AP Modern European History
AP Biology
Algebra II Honors
Chinese II Honors
Gym
Concert Jazz Band (Honors level)

Eleventh Grade:
AP English Literature (Usually a 12th grade class)
AP US History
AP Environmental Science
Precalculus Honors
Film Studies (Semester 1), American Govt (Semester 2)–Required
Gym
Chinese III Honors
Concert Jazz Band

Twelfth Grade:
AP American Govt
AP Spanish Literature
AP Economics
AP Calculus BC
Chinese IV Honors
Concert Jazz Band
PE Strategies (A gym class working with special needs children)
English Independent Study: 19th and 20th Century Feminist Literature (I ran out of English classes at my school)

It’s a little complicated because I was accelerated in English and Spanish. In addition to this, I have done four other Independent Studies, three in Social Studies (The Aenied, The Canterbury Tales, and The Divine Comedy), and one in Chinese.

Extras:
I basically have a really esoteric interest in Chinese. I have travelled there four times during high school so far, and I am graduating a semester early next year to spend four months in China. I take Chinese classes with native speakers on the weekends. It’s weird, I know, but passions generally are!
I also am really involved with Unified programs at our school in which you are partnered with special needs students.
Sports: Varsity field hockey since sophmore year, All-Conference team, Varsity tennis freshmen year
Study flute, clarinet, and saxophone

Testing:
SATs: 2060 (I’m going to take it again), 700 CR, 680 math, 670 writing
AP exams: Mostly 3’s and 4’s so far
Bottom line with testing: I am a really creative and out of the box thinker, I have always had trouble with standardized tests and I am really concerned that this is going to hurt my application.

Please be brutally honest! My guidence counselor at school tends to be way to positive and I need a realistic third party perspective on my chances at the very top schools. And I also am a double-legacy at UPenn (both of my parents, my uncle, and my brother).

Basically, I am a creative and unique individual. I love to learn and I hope that comes across in my application!

Thank you!