Chances for these competitive schools!

I am a current junior (Asian female).
My goal schools: Duke, Brown, UC Berkeley, UCLA, WashU, UW, Cornell, etc.

Unweighted GPA: 4.0 - rank 1

AP scores: 5, 4 (taking 5 exams this year)

SAT: 2220 (planning to improve)

Extracurriculars:
-NHS
-volunteered A LOT(regularly volunteer more than 10 hours a month)
-translator
-a couple awards from piano
-after school tutor
-1 varsity sport
-working as a tutor

Income bracket (I don’t know if it matters): extremely low. $20,000-$25,000

What do I need to improve on? Also, does having a low family income give me an advantage?
What are my chances for any of these colleges?

You are doing fine!

What is your home state? If you are out of state for California or Washington, you should take those schools off your list. Most state schools do not give much or any need based aid to OOS students.

Low income is not an advantage. You need to run the net price calculator on each college website to see an estimate of what your costs would be for that college.

Get your test scores as high as you can. You have a shot at maybe getting into one of these schools, but all have low acceptance rates. Your qualifications are solid, but not standout. You need a list of match & safety schools that you can afford and you are happy to attend. Look for those first, then focus on reach schools.

I am a resident of one of those two states. Thanks for the advice. :slight_smile:

Your chances depend a lot on what school you see yourself applying to. If what you want to major in is STEM, I would say that you should 1) improve SAT and 2) do something STEM related as part of EC’s. Also, low income is not really an advantage, since most colleges on your list, correct me if I am wrong, will meet your demonstrated need for financial aid. But best of luck!!!

Chance me back?