Do I have a decent shot?

Benhhhamin · December 25, 2011, 6:28pm

I am applying to Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and the University of Chicago.
SAT: 2250
-CR 750
-Math 750
-Writing 750

SAT II(Subject tests):
800
760

I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA and I'm number 4/747 in my class. I was number 35 in my class after freshman year so my grades have been near perfect these last two and half years to bring myself closer to the top of my class (i dont know if that makes a difference to schools).
Senior schedule:
-AP Bio
-AP Government
-AP MacroEco
-AP Calc BC
-AP English Lit
-AP European History
-AP Physics C

Awards:
-National Merit Distinguished as well as Hispanic Scholar
-AP Scholar w/distinction
-Tennis MVP at my school my junior year(does that count?)

EC:
-National Honor Society
-4 years varsity tennis (team captain)
-Student government junior and senior year(secretary senior year)
-Various Church activities including a class taken every day at 6 am since i started high school.
-part of the german club for 2 years

My letters of rec are pretty good and I am a reasonably talented writer so assume, at the least, competent essays. Are these schools a reach for me or do I have a decent shot? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

sharonm · December 25, 2011, 6:30pm

I will keep it curt and sweet: apply to more reasonable schools. There's no harm in reaching for Ivies, but be realistic. You do not want to be stuck without any acceptance letters in April because you put all of your faith into a few of the country's most highly selective schools.

xquiksilverx · December 25, 2011, 6:39pm

You're a strong applicant, but all the schools you listed are very high reaches.

thecollege1 · December 25, 2011, 6:52pm

Like the people said above, all those schools are very hard to get into, but I think you have a decent shot. Being a URM will definitely help. The only thing lacking might be your ECs.

Vot123 · December 25, 2011, 7:09pm

Of course you have a shot at all of them, if you define a "shot" as not having your application thrown immediately into the trash when they receive it. These places accept around 10%, some more, some considerably less, of all the applicants, including those with stats like yours or better. I agree with poster sharonm, apply elsewhere as well to protect yourself. Pick at least two to three schools that will look at your stats and appreciate them, like your flagship state school and the one just below that, for instance, and don't stop there because even the flagships are getting very picky these days with so many excellent people applying.

Benhhhamin · December 25, 2011, 7:20pm

Thank you guys and I totally understand that these schools have very low admissions percentages. I guess I forgot to mention that I've already been accepted to the University of Texas which is my back up school.:p Btw thecollege1 what is a URM?

xquiksilverx · December 25, 2011, 7:51pm

A URM is an under-represented minority (Hispanic, African American, or Native American). Most colleges seek a certain level of diversity, so being a URM can help you.

Benhhhamin · December 25, 2011, 8:01pm

Oh right. I knew that. :p I was just confused because I couldn't figure out what it stood for. Thank you for clearing that up. One last thing. What level school would be a "match" for me or maybe less of a reach? Maybe some examples if it's not too much trouble.

chaosakita · December 25, 2011, 8:04pm

I assume you're applying to more schools, so I'm going to say that you have good chances at all of them. I think you'll probably get into Johns Hopkins; everything else is a toss up.

Cheers!

running132 · December 25, 2011, 8:12pm

As others have said, your ECs are lacking considerably, but you can't do anything about that now, but your grades/course rigor seems superlative.

Schools (I'm assuming midsize universities, no LACs since you don't list any and they aren't consistent with the other schools you're applying to) that are more on par with Johns Hopkins (as in, low reach/high match) would be Emory, Tufts, NYU, WashU, Carnegie Mellon, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Notre Dame, UVA, UMich, etc. Although none of those schools are even close to a shoe-in, they're all great schools that fall closer to a match than the schools you listed.

Look at BU, BC, URochester, Northeastern, Case Western, Lehigh as safeties.

Benhhhamin · December 25, 2011, 8:29pm

Thank you guys very much. I had been considering Northwestern, NYU, and Notre Dame but I'm not exactly swimming in cash so I can probably only apply to one of those 3.
I'm taking my SAT one more time and this one will be after some considerable studying and we will get our final class rank after christmas break (I may be number 1) so this will hopefully help my chances, if only a little.

deserto · December 26, 2011, 1:45am

If money is an issue, you should consider applying for application fee waivers. This might allow you to apply to more schools and leave you with more options when it comes time to decide where to go.

system · April 14, 2021, 7:57am

Do I have a decent shot?

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