Could I get into any Ivies?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi, I’m a junior at a prestigious midwestern Jesuit prep school. I was raised Catholic, which I know can help at certain Catholic colleges.

GPA: will likely be 3.68-3.72 by next semester (my low point, and I had a semester of pass/fail due to medical leave, which made my GPA decrease the next semester, however, my essays will help and explain the issues, but I know that won’t fix it all)
-weaknesses in grades are in non-major specific areas (I want to go IR/Philosophy, and weaknesses are in STEM)
-may have 2 “Cs” on my grade report

SAT: March 2018 with Essay – AWFUL
-March 2018: 1360
-Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 700
-Math: 660
-Essay
-Reading: 7/8
-Analysis: 5/8
-Writing: 6/8

ACT: February 2018, April 2018 with Essay – will definitely be my prominent test)
-February 2018: 32
-English: 35
-Mathematics: 28
-Reading: 33
-Science: 32

  • April 2018: waiting until Tuesday for scores – wish me luck, I will update my post as I know but I hope to jump to a 33 or 34 composite

Personal Info:
-Race: White
-Income: Upper-middle class (>200k)
-Parents not divorced, 2 siblings
-Both parents have masters
-Mom went to Georgetown undergrad, Columbia postgrad
-Dad went to Boston College undergrad, U Chicago postgrad
-Mom is a nurse, dad is a business executive
-Upbringing: suburban

APs:
-Freshman Year: AP World History: 3 (Did not take the class, it’s not offered)
-Sophomore Year: AP US History: 4
-Junior year: AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP Physics, AP English Language (class not offered at my school but I am taking the test)
-Senior year: I’m taking AP Stats, AP lit, AP Euro, as well as an Honors Service Learning course, honors Social Justice (These classes are a double period that allows you to get 4-6 hours of service a week as well as reflection), Anatomy H, Chinese 4

-Subject Tests: June I am taking Physics, Literature, and US history

PSAT: October 2016 and October 2017
-October 2016: 1270
-Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 670
-Math: 600
-October 2017: 1390
-Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 700
-Math: 690
-NMSC Selection Index: 209
-tbh I’m just hoping for commended scholar

Extracurriculars:
-Model UN (1, 2, 3, 4 Executive Board 3, 4, Secretary General 4) --In charge of organizing a conference with over 1000 people, have won awards, including Best delegate on a regional, national, and international level. Conferences include places like NYC, St. Louis, Washington DC, Boston, Germany, and China
-Feminism Club (1, 2, 3, 4 Executive Board 3, 4)
-Newspaper (2, 3, 4 Satire Section Head Editor 3, 4) – Utilized online format
-Prospective student Ambassador (1, 2, 3, 4) Student Panelist for parents, assisted in Shadow day program
-Campus Ministry (2, 3, Maybe exec board 4)
-National Honors Society (3, 4)
-Service Immersion Trip: Kino Border Initiative – Working with recently deported immigrants in search of a humane approach to immigration, one week in Nogales, AZ/MX at a Catholic Mission for immigrants
-Applied for Ever to Excel at Boston College, I feel confident about it
-One week in Boston studying Jesuit spirituality and doing service in the Boston area
-Girl’s State This Summer – will run for some office, but I don’t know yet
-Might be mentor for freshman students if selected
-Worked on phones at Italian Restaurant summer of my sophomore, going into junior year – no time to work this summer
-Student Council (9) – Secretary
-JV Water Polo (9)
-Freshman Choir Musical: Wizard of Oz – Played the Wizard
-Multiple publications in critically renowned school magazine, may be poetry editor next year

Awards for Common App:
-25+ Model UN awards (Can’t put on Common App, but I will put it on a resume for colleges that accept them)
-National Honors Society Recipient (11, 12)
-Regional Chinese Speech Silver Medalist (9)
-Walter D’Souza Poetry Award 2nd Place Recipient (9)
-American Legion Americanism Essay Contest Class II 2nd place, Class III 1st place (Post Level), 2nd place (District Level) (10, 11)
-Nominee for Freshman and Sophomore of the Year (9,10)

Recommendations:

  1. Model UN Moderator and AP Comparative teacher, highly respected teacher, loves me, one of her favorite students ever, should be an amazing rec
  2. English Teacher: knows me well, going on my service trip with me, thinks I’m a great writer and I do very well in his class. He also thinks I’m funny and that I have a great personality.

Essays should be great, I write very well and have had many experiences to write about. One of my English teachers once said to me that I am “One of the only students she’s ever met with such an innate gift for both academic and creative writing” so I hope to channel that into my essays.

Could Ivies happen if I went EA, ED, RD, or even at all? I would be applying as an International Studies Major, with 2nd interests being philosophy, theology, and polisci, and maybe creative writing. I know it’s a stretch, but even at all?

2

A 3.7 GPA and 32 ACT would be on the low end for the Ivies, making those reach schools even reachier for you.

3

Also, if Ivies are not within reach, what are some schools that could maybe work?

4

American U and George Washington for international studies could be better fits, although still competitive.

5

Dickinson might be another good school to look into.

6

Auto reject for all the Ivies. Your GPA and standardized test scores are way too low, and none of your ECs make you a “standout” applicant for the Ivies.

7

The ivies admissions are super unpredictable. I have a friend accepted to Harvard with a 31 ACT and 3.8 uw gpa and another to Columbia with a 3.7 uw gpa and 32 ACT.

8

“One of my English teachers once said to me that I am “One of the only students she’s ever met with such an innate gift for both academic and creative writing” so I hope to channel that into my essays.”

Wouldn’t hurt to get a LOR from this teacher. Those types of comments - that you’re one of the most gifted student they’ve encountered in some subject area - are well received at selective schools. And selective schools place a lot of reliance on LORs.

Think hard about what you want to portray as your story of who you are and how that fits what the college is looking for. Your pitch needs to be easily understood, strong, a fit with that college and brief. Emphasis on brief. Strong quality summary is your friend, not quantity that they have to wade through and pick out the important parts. I’m guessing that if 100 people read your OP, 90 stopped after the first couple of paragraphs, 7-8 skimmed the whole thing and maybe 1-2 made it through reading to the end. This is a different forum, but don’t make that mistake on your app. Readers just don’t have enough time or patience; self-editing to get to your brief, strong story will be key.

9

You and your GC might look at your gpa without that one semester. It won’t work miracles but could be a talking point.
Only because you say you’ve done well in humanities, just not stem. But the AP scores in APUSH and World won’t help for humanities.

The essay is not where you explain issues. Have a look at the Common App and see what advice the GC gives. My biggest advice is to lean on the GC.

From your post, I don’t think you know what elites look for, what matters. And then, what’s missing. Do that digging (what the colleges say, not blogs or forums.)

If you want IR, what activities do you think support that? I don’t mean MUN or a one time/one week service trip.
Think about it.

10

My 2 cents. No AP Calc may hurt. As a general statement, I believe schools like to see most rigorous in Math and English. You’ve covered English, I suspect your school offers Calc AB and most likely BC. Couple that with your SAT of 28 in math you will be behind the power curve.

However, you might be an amazing writer and do what @milee30 says and that may make up the difference. But, you will be disadvantaged.

With that being said, the only way you will know is to apply? Just do so knowing that you will have to make up a ton in your essay and with your recommendations and it might not be enough. However, don’t let that discourage you if you really want to go to an Ivy. Might want to sit down and pray about it and ask yourself why it is so important to you? With single digit acceptance rates, it isn’t a failure if you don’t get into one. The last thing you want to do is start college feeling like you failed. Too many posters on here fall into that trap.

11

no you will not unless your test scores get much higher, the fact you are a white also will keep you out