Chances for the smallest state kid....

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>What schools should I be looking at with the following</p>

<p>GPA: 3.70 on 4.00 Unweighted Scale (for an A you need 95-100)
Class Rank: 16th out of 250
School: Rhode Island Private Catholic High School
President’s List each year
SAT Reading: 630 (probably will be closer to 700 [i hope], just took it again)
SAT Math: 680
SAT Writing: 680
Composite - 1320
Total - 1990
SAT II Biology: 670
AP Bio: 4, AP US: 4, AP Lang: 3, taking 3 more AP’s this year
I have taken all Honors or AP courses since Sophomore year. I could not take AP courses until my Junior Year. I will have completed 6 AP courses by the end of senior year. I intended 7 but could not due to a scheduling conflict.</p>

<p>Plenty of diverse extracurriculars, though not a stand out in any.
Involved with the following basically all my high school career:
-Spanish Club
-Class of 2009 Student Body Representative and Leader
-Rugby letter for 3 years (My “side” placed 2nd in New England Regionals for Division 2)
-Health Club (CPR and First Aid)
-Organization of Blood Drives for the school
-Organization of school wide events and dances
-Peer Ministry: Providing social and spiritual mentorship for underclassmen
-Student Leadership Training Program annual conference attendee
-Service trip to Glenmary Farm in Kentucky
-Coordination and helping with St. Rita’s Parish 9/11 Memorial Mass and service
-Consistent volunteering at local Public Library
-Worked school phone-a-thons
-One of a few founding members of the school’s Philosophy Club
-Teacher’s Aide for Freshmen CP Algebra
-National Honor Society (Edmund Rice Chapter and Foreign Language Chapter)
-Recipient of Cpl. Eric Valdepenas Memorial Book Award (School Alum just recently killed in action in Iraq)
-Volunteered at St. Kevins Parish most of sophomore and junior years
-Writer for the Theology and Arts portions of the School Newspaper</p>

<p>To give you an idea, here are the schools I am looking at:</p>

<p>Reaches
-Dartmouth College (Going for ED)
-Washington University in St. Louis
-Johns Hopkins University</p>

<p>Middle Schools
-Brandeis University
-Boston College
-University of Connecticut (might replace with William and Mary or GWU)
-Muhlenberg University</p>

<p>Safetyish
-Quinnipiac University
-Stonehill College</p>

<p>Is this a reasonable list? Any suggestions? I would say my biggest weakness is my test scores. Test scores at my school are ridiculously competitive too, the number 23 or 24 kid in the class got a 2280 on his SAT’s. Will this hurt me or what? Do you think they can look past the SAT’s? Should I take another SAT II (i took History but got a terrible 610). Im thinking of taking Math Level 2 since I’m doing fairly well in AP Calc this year. What should I shoot for on SAT’s considering my schools? What do you think of my record? Also, my intended major is Neuroscience. By the way, if you couldn’t tell, I absolutely hate standardized testing.</p>

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<p>Dartmouth would be a VERY high reach, and for neuroscience so would JHU, but Washington in St. Louis is a good reach. </p>

<p>If you can, retake the SATs. They’re hurting your chances of getting into a reach school.
How about Tufts? Boston University? Bard? What kind of schools are you looking for?</p>

3

<p>Thanks Rabbit. The SAT’s are also my main concern. My goal on the last was 2100 total - hopefully I’ll get the good news when the scores are released on October 23rd. </p>

<p>Tufts I have certainly considered.
Boston University I wrote off due to my dislike of being directly within the buzz of a big city.
Bard I have also considered, but isn’t that one of the smaller liberal arts schools? I probably would tend away from those types, though I admit my personality may thrive at a school like that.</p>

4

<p>Bump it up</p>

5

<p>Updated SAT scores</p>

<p>SAT Reading: 660
SAT Math: 680
SAT Writing: 710
Composite - 1340
Total - 2050</p>

<p>I’m also looking at Bowdoin, Bates, Skidmore, GWU, W+M, Middlebury</p>

<p>I’m not going to take SAT I’s again but going to take two SAT II’s (Math II and Lit)</p>

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<p>I’d say you have a good chance at Washington, but Darmouth is a bit of a stretch.
Chance me:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/587107-kind-posters-please-chance-me-i-beg.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/587107-kind-posters-please-chance-me-i-beg.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks a lot man. Anyone else?</p>

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<p>No problem, and I friended you btw.</p>

9

<p>Thanks, I friended you too.</p>

<p>I’m also looking at Colgate and Vassar. </p>

<p>What do you guys think of the following list of schools and my chances? Would this be overkill or too many reaches?</p>

<p>Dartmouth
WUSTL
Colgate
Vassar
Boston College
Brandeis
Skidmore
Stonehill
Quinnipiac</p>

10

<p>Bumpage. I realize I have little to no shot at Dartmouth.</p>

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<p>well who knows? if you wrote a beast essay and displayed qualities which dartmouth is looking for, you might get in. it isnt just numbers that determine who you are. although the numbers help colleges tell you how well you do academically, they cant just reject you because you have a decent GPA/SAT. Other than Dartmouth, WUSTL, i think you have a good chance in all the other schools. gl</p>

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<p>don’t be too discouraged over stats because that won’t help you at all. if you really want to go to dartmouth, just give them the best application you can possibly put together and let everything else take care of itself.</p>

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<p>SAT I score of 1340/1600 is competitive for all of your schools, except WashUStL. The difficulty in evaluating your chances is that you have no discernable passion based on your posted info. You are a good Catholic school kid. What separates you from the thousands of other applicants to Dartmouth College?
Be careful how you use your ED/SCEA/EA option as it can help if you are a good match for a particular school, but might be wasted chasing after a longshot like Dartmouth.</p>

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<p>in at all except dartmouth, that’s a reach. </p>

<p>here’s me <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/580544-new-gpa-scores-georgia-tech-i-ll-chance-you-back-i-swear.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/580544-new-gpa-scores-georgia-tech-i-ll-chance-you-back-i-swear.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Ah, herein lies the most important question of all: Where does my passion lie truly, where does the core of my being lead to and ultimately what makes me stand out as a unique individual? Though not exactly unique, I would like to think I have a profound passion for philosophy and writing, a passion infused primarily through two teachers in my tenure at my high school. This, while not exactly a unique passion (of course there are plenty of thinkers on a higher pedestal than me out there), I truly believe that its something I might pursue as a “side” in college. This seems rare for someone looking into the sciences, and specifically neuroscience - usually something where the student is looking for a PhD and $$. This mostly stuck out to me when discussing the minor of Religious Studies at Brandeis University with a professor during Open House. While she will not be admitting or denying me, she found it extremely interesting that I had both a profound basis in both the eternal and the temporal, the spiritual and the physical. </p>

<p>Particularly, I let this side of my inner being, true beliefs and passion for life as a whole shine through my essay. So, hopefully, that could help a little in swaying the admissions officer. I’m not an automaton, I’m not a cookie cutter, I’m not the typical successful kid (I would like to think, anyway - hah). My parents tried for years to have a child, myself finally resulting when they were 34 and 33 respectively. Many miscarriages they fought through, many times of difficulty yet they fought through it all - my mom almost passed away and still bears the potentially cancerous scars from all the fertility drugs which she ingested just to attempt to conceive me. Following my birth, each of my parents worked extremely hard to get me the education I deserved. They made about 35,000 combined per year through a family business (albeit a not so successful one). My dad didn’t graduate college, my Mom almost quit during her senior year but received her bachelors I believe in Business from a small locally known business college. My parents ended up saving up enough money (albeit money for my undergraduate education) to send me to private school in order to get me the best education that I could receive (private, one of the better schools in my state, $9,000 a year). Pathos, I know, pathos indeed my friends (this wasn’t my essay by the way haha or anything close to it). </p>

<p>What I’m trying to say is that college is my way of trying to show my parents that all their hard work wasn’t for nothing, that all the trying times can finally be rewarded, culminating with myself being able to fully support them in their old age. I would like to think that I have a passion for everything, a passion for all life and a passion for every individual that I know. I am passion, I am love - in a sense. Call me crazy, call me cliche, I am he who lives, thinks and loves. </p>

<p>Oh, yeah - If you want to check out any of my writings, PM Me for my blog (since I can’t post it here I don’t think). </p>

<p>Thank you, Coldwind, for such a thought-provoking question.
Thank you, steve, for being supportive of my dreams.
And thank you GSW Fan for taking the time to Chance me. Even WUSTL? I’ll chance you, too.</p>

16

<p>Oh yeah and for some reason I forgot to mention it, not that it matters too much:
Once I have graduated I will have Lettered in Rugby three times (will get 3rd letter this spring).</p>

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<p>well from what i remember, they only look at the CR + math, and you have a 1320, not too shabby. so i’m pretty sure you’re in</p>

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<p>Bumpage. Time for bed. Bumpage before bed of course…</p>

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<p>Suggest applying to Holy Cross, ranked much higher than Stonehill and Quinnipiac.</p>

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<p>Thanks, 1980grad. The only thing is that Holy Cross doesn’t have a Neuroscience program, only a small concentration in bio-psychology.</p>