Chances for High Reach Schools

Chance Me / Match Me
1

So I’ve already gotten admitted to the Northeastern Honors Program through early action; I was pretty happy with that so I decided to just apply to a bunch of other schools that I love, but are completely out of reach for me LOL. What are the chances that I even get into one of them?
Here they are: Yale, Brown, Princeton, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Northwestern (HPME)

Objective:

ACT: 35 composite (35 math, 36 reading, 36 writing, 31 science, 23 essay-yikes!)

SAT: didn’t send

SATII: 800 Math II, 780 Chemistry, 780 Biology M

GPA: 95 or 96 unweighted, 106 weighted (no 4.0 scale)

AP: Biology (10, 4), World History (10, 4), Statistics (11,5), English Lang (11, 4), US History (11, 5), Physics 1 (11, 3), Psychology (11, 4)

12TH GRADE COURSELOAD: AP Calculus BC, AP English Lit, AP Government and Politics, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 2, Italian 4H, College Accounting

Major Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended, National Honor Society, Tri-M Honor Society, School’s Highest AMC12 Scorer, County Athletes All Star, All County (violin and flute), All State and All Eastern Orchestras (violin)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mathletes (Captain/Highest Scorer), Columbia Science Honors Program, County Youth Orchestra (Concertmaster/Soloist), Student Civic, Student Government (secretary), Italian Club
Job/Work Experience: babysitting, music lessons, tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: volunteering at local hospital
Summer Activities: school of orchestral studies (run by NYSED, very selective) summers before freshman, sophomore and junior years, Spain tour with youth orchestra as a soloist and concertmaster
Essays (rating 1-10, details): not sure how to feel about my essay- it was basically about how I don’t really sleep because I always love the feeling of being up at 5 am practicing, studying etc. I made sure to avoid making it seem like I procrastinate (more like I just choose to stay up). I really do average an hour or two of sleep a night though and it’s actually really nice how quiet it is in the middle of the night. I’ll give it a 5/10.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 10th grade AP Bio teacher- It’s the lowest grade on my transcript, but it was a really really difficult class because it was my first AP class and the workload was RIDICULOUS. I think my teacher liked me- I spent soooo much time doing the work. He’s also a really really amazing teacher and I think he would write a really amazing rec.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 11th grade AP US teacher- I consistently had the highest grades in that class and the teacher always made fun of me for being a try hard (not really hahaha I just listened in class didn’t study much). She was one of my favorite teachers. very sarcastic, so a little hard to tell but she probably liked me?
Counselor Rec: 5/10 I don’t know him too well, but my mom and I both filled out “brag sheets” giving more personal info. I read it and I guess it was pretty good.
Additional Rec: 10/10 Flute teacher- She’s been my teacher since 3rd grade and we are really really close. She’s basically like a sister/mom to me and we talk a lot.
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Bio or Chem (Premed)
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: Public- School Size 1000ish
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 70k-80k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): probably none

Strengths: ACT composite score, ECs? (violin is a pretty big thing for me), my recs should most be decent
Weaknesses: ACT Science and Essay Scores-idk why these were so bad! Maybe essays? GPA could be higher, but I didn’t do that well freshman/soph year. Also my senior year grades will probably be absolute crap hahaha, weak on volunteer work and job experience too, I’m like a stereotypical asian but slightly weaker in every category hehehe

General Comments : I know all of these schools are kind of a stretch but hey what’s the harm in giving it a shot?

2

Your profile is competitive. Has your high school sent graduates to these top colleges recently? Good luck.

3

These threads annoy me. You know you’re competitive, yet you keep saying “yeah these schools are high reaches for me”. Yeah these schools are reaches for anyone but you know that few will be a more competitive applicant than you so why say “Oh I’m just applying cause why not.” These threads create the reputation that this website has. Just look up College Confidential on urban dictionary

4

How do you already know you want to do medicine?

5

@EKolin Well, I completely disagree with you. I think I can understand why the OP posted.

For starters, her UW (3.8 if on 4.0) and W (4.24 if on 4.0) GPA don’t look that “good” for elite universities. Also, taking 12 AP courses is pretty much considered “average” among competitive applicants. Next, her ECs don’t really look special. There are some other stuff to point out, but these already brings chances down significantly. Also, don’t forget that tons of applicants with the perfect GPA and SAT/ACT scores have gotten rejected for years.

Certainly, she is a competitive applicant with a solid ACT score, SAT II scores, NMSQT, etc.; however, I won’t say there will be only a “few” more applicants more competitive than she is.

By the way, OP, I think it’d be great for you to apply to HYPSM, Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Northwestern; however, do not anticipate getting accepted.

Check these out for more reference, OP:

Yale: https://admissions.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/class_profile_2020_8-29.pdf
Harvard: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/admissions-statistics
Princeton: https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply/admission-statistics
Stanford: http://admission.stanford.edu/basics/selection/profile.html
MIT: http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats

6

@HardOREasy I know that he/she is probably still a reach like most people are, which I said. But he/she is also as competitive as most of the fellow applicants to these schools. The only way “chance” threads are useful is if the person has a GOA/ACT that is far better or far worse than the targeted schools. Only then can people really answer if they have a shot. Anyone who has a 35 ACT knows that they have a shot, so nobody is going to answer that they have absolutely no chance to get in. Yes, I know that a lot of applicants to top schools have that high of an ACT and most get rejected. But what is the point in asking people here?

The only way we will know if you have a shot or not is if your stats are far from the average either good or bad, not if they are around the same as most applicants.

7

*GPA

8

You’re a pretty competitive at these schools. They’re a reach for everyone and there are probably a good number of more more-qualified applicants, but I’d be a little surprised if you didn’t get into at least one.

9

@Oregon2016 Not really, which really has me scared. We usually have only one or two people get into an Ivy/top university each year-guess I can only hope for the best!

10

@EKolin Honestly, I come on college confidential just for a nice dose of honesty to prepare me for my decisions. I know it’s no use, since I already sent in my applications. But, considering how all my classmates/family have no clue how competitive some colleges are, I’m always told about how I’ll definitely get in, which we all know isn’t true. I wanted other people (with more informed, unbiased opinions) to point out where my weaknesses lie- which is exactly what @HardOREasy did, so thank you for that- so when I do get my rejections, I won’t be completely devastated. Does that make any sense?

11

@pacepea I’ve actually always wanted to be a doctor and the hospital volunteering really confirmed my decision. I guess no one is really 100% sure, but I think there’s a very slim chance I would change my decision.

12

@KingBibi Thank you so much!

13

Your high school is smallish (unless you meant that the graduating class is 1k) so that could explain the lack of more successful applications to those top schools. If you’re in Westchester that also doesn’t help. If you would choose Tufts or JHU (my personal favorite on your list) over Northeastern try to visit or interview with an alum. Those are the two where you are more competitive IMHO.

14

These schools are all tough admits, but hopefully you will get into a couple (Tufts and/or Cornell). The problem is that if you end up at Northeastern, you may not find it academic and intellectual enough for you. If you can. try to apply for a couple more schools that still are accepting applications, such as Georgetown or Wash U (St. Louis).

15

@Oregon2016 I did visit both of them, and I would definitely choose either of those over NEU in a heartbeat, as long as the financial aid is somewhat reasonable. Today’s the last day to request a Tufts interview, and I’m a little hesitant about it. Interviewing absolutely TERRIFIES me and I’m honestly really awkward and I can’t think of things to say on the spot. Do you think not interviewing will really hurt my chances?

16

@londondad hm okay thank you! I’ll definitely look into those colleges.

17

Interviewing is better. Shows interest.

18

@vlnml1616 yeah sorry I didn’t mean to sound rude or mean, but next time just word your question differently. Say “what are the weak parts of my application” instead of “what are my chances”.

19

OP, go for it. You have a good shot as any qualified applicant! Just remember, it’s a bit of a crapshoot nowadays…

20

@jaecha Thank you so much! Don’t worry though, I wouldn’t have posted this if I wasn’t open to some criticism; I know how brutally honest people on CC can be.