Dartmouth ED chances please...

decrescendo
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:07:55 +0000

The first chance will be for my current stats, my second chance for the stats I plan on working my butt off to have by the time I apply (the > indicates what I hope to have). Thanks in advance.



With your current stats (not what you ‘hope to have’) you have a low chance, and all Ivies are a high reach, including Dartmouth, although I still believe it’s worth applying to a few since you never truly know in this process. Outstanding essays and teacher recommendations are key to making you stand out in the Dartmouth applicant pool. In addition, major awards help too.

If you achieve all you aspire to, you have a better chance, though certainly not a great one. At that point, all Ivies would be mid-reaches, and you would have to work your tail off to make your app truly outstanding if you really wanted in. You’re unhooked, so acceptance is virtually unguaranteed, even if you had a 2400 on the SAT, were your school’s valedictorian, and had five 800’s on the SAT II’s.

With that said, I do believe you have a good shot at top schools. In the top 40 alone, there’s plenty of incredible schools that would love to have you. So although you should definitely apply to Dartmouth if it’s your dream school, stay grounded in reality and realize that, while certainly possible, it’s not probably that you’ll be admitted. But please keep in mind that there are lots of academically oustanding colleges in the US, and that even if Dartmouth doesn’t happen, plenty of other opportunities will open up for you.

Phew. I’m done. Good luck. :)