Good ECs but not quite T20-level ACT Scores; accepted to great schools already but wants to shoot for the stars [TX resident, 4.0 GPA, top 2% rank, 32 (33 superscore) ACT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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My DS is interested in attending Cornell (Brooks), Yale, or Duke but has great backups already if it doesn’t work out. His high school is not one where most kids even go to college and like 70% live below the poverty line. We do not have many resources or near the options most Texas high schools our size have except for Future Problem Solving competition. Typically only top 10% of class goes to either 2 or 4 year college with perhaps only 1 every 3-5 years goes to a T20.

Demographics:

Texas - US citizen

  • Type of high school: uncompetitive Title One public rural high school
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): white male
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): geographic?

Intended Major(s) Public Policy with business minor (depends on school)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0

  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 5.2 (limited to only 4 APs and 3-4 Dual credit classes

  • Class Rank: 4 of 200 (the difference in ranking is like 100th of a point between top 1st and 4th). He only had one 97 all years with primarily 98-100s in all classes.

  • ACT/SAT Scores: 32 (single test date) with 33 super score

  • This is the worrisome part but he doesn’t want to spend time retaking it. Coming from his school background he was proud of it so he submitted to all schools vs going TO and they assume he was closer to the school average. The school average is 20…with only like 25% even taking it. His lowest scores were in math (29??) with 34-35s in ERW.

Coursework
AP Chem (4), 2 English AP classes (4s on both) and AP Calculus (senior year).
Has taken highest rigor available. Kids aren’t really expected to go off to colleges besides the commuter ones nearby or perhaps Texas A&M. There is not much help from his high school counselor either for anything beyond those type of schools.

Awards

Since 5th grade he has qualified for Future Problem Solving State competition with several state and international awards. FPS is afterschool and requires 2 evenings a week plus extra homework time all school year. It is a significant EC that he has done since 4th grade. He did not list the pre-high school awards in application but mentioned in essays to show the length of time he has been in it. His “excellent” LOR was from his FPS coach since 7th grade that mentioned all the below awards to showcase his commitment over the years. Same teacher is also his AP English teacher this year.

  • 5th - top 5 in state
  • 7th - top 10 in state
  • 8th - International grand champion - community service award
  • 9th - 3rd in state; qualified for international competition - like 19th out of 50-60 (not great)
  • 11th - 2nd in state; 10th at international competition

Boys State - House of Rep; co-chair of the economics committee
Small Town/Rural Scholar
AP Scholar

Vice President of NHS and Class/Student Council
Reporter for FFA - also FFA awards for local/district competitions
Key Club - all 4 years
National Spanish Honor Society
Phi Theta Kappa - for dual credit classes

Varsity Swim - regional qualifier each year; very high probability he will make it to state in both individual and relay events this year but that isn’t until mid-February

Varsity Golf - co-captain

He is a certified welder -which makes him a little different from most even at his high school. There are not any other honors track kids that do welding as their required CTE classes each year - most do robotics/STEM. He loves this class and the diverse kids he has had in his class each year - much different than who is in all his other classes. He discussed this in the diversity essays - how his rural background could bring a different perspective to class discussions…

Essays were strong we thought but who knows? Discussed his 2 major surgeries during high school and the impact it caused and how it pushed him. In other essays he discussed Boys State and/or the impact his community service project he started in 5th grade had on him. Sadly it officially ended due to covid but he was able to keep up with the other kids it helped throughout high school He discussed how that project impacted their lives and how it influenced his choice of major.

One LOR was excellent (FPS coach of several years and current AP English teacher) but no idea for the others but assuming very good.

Cost Constraints / Budget Can afford all he applied to but would be nice to have some merit aid but won’t influence decision if he doesn’t

Acceptances so far:

  • UT (McCombs & Plan II)
  • Ole Miss -Honors (waiting on Lott Leadership Institute acceptance)
  • TCU
  • SMU - Hilltop Honors Scholar
  • Oklahoma State University - Business Scholar award; McKnight Scholar award

What do you think the probability of the high reaches below: we know they are reaches but encouraged him to go for it:

*Cornell - Brooks School of Public Policy

  • Yale
    *Duke
    *Harvard - applied just because and actually enjoyed their short answer questions
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He got Plan ll. That is the stars.

I think you assessed right given the test - doubtful. Even a 35/36 act is no sure thing. So the current will be tough.

But no pain no gain. Best of luck. He’s already done great tho !!

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I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that he’s going to get lots of great acceptances. Smart kid, Title 1 school, the welding thing is so cool. He’s different and I think colleges will appreciate that. Probably not everywhere, but I’d guess one of his reaches. If not, he already has some great options.

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The probability of acceptance to the major reaches is low – as it would be for any unhooked candidate. Acceptance rates are well under 10% and there are more well qualified applicants than spots available. But it was worth the application. – he may strike an admission officer as a great addition to the campus.

Most importantly it sounds like he already has some great acceptances so a huge congrats is in order.

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I agree with both @happy1 and @Izzy74 but not @tsbna44 (sorry @tsbna44 !). Just jump over to the SAT thread and you will see that a score way over a high school’s average is exactly what elite schools are looking for.

I also think your son is different and interesting compared to the more typical “average excellent” applicant. So I think his chances are better than average. But, given a sub 10% acceptance rate what does that mean? So instead of a 10% liklihood of acceptance, maybe his chances are 25% or something.

Bottom line: it’s definitely worth applying, but it’s also important to manage expectations.

Will you come back and let us know the outcome in March? I am really curious! Congratulations on all the wonderful choices so far!

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Absolutely! Thank you for the feedback!

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I agree it was the exact right call submitting a test score like that, meaning so far above the school norm. I am not going to make any predictions, because it is just too uncertain, but I definitely think it was worth a shot.

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Has the GC provided some sort of school profile ? Commonapp requires % who go to 2y/4y college, %on free/reduced lunch, and % ethnic group make up. Often they would expect highest GPA and average SAT/ACT score (+mention it’s a Title I school if it’s not otherwise apparent but the above typically peivides enough).

Rural Title I is a major hook.
A 32-33 from a school where average is 20 is equivalent to 35-36 for top schools (even a 30 would be enough). They understand how incredible it is - probably the highest score in 5 or even 10 years. (Hopefully the GC said so but they may not have).
Is there a way for you to know whether the GC included a school profile and/or stated that your child is the strongest student theyve had in 5/10/20 years? If they haven’t btw they should be sending sth called Midyear report in January and they can absolutely add :sparkles::+1: specific truly non generic info that allows top colleges/Harvard to have the proper context.

Even with all that… odds are that he won’t get in (no one’s odds are good). But he’s definitely in the race.

Btw his acceptances are :star_struck:. PlanII is in the top 5 nationally wrt Honors Colleges, UT is topnotch, and he got into his chosen, highly competitive college. So if the super reaches don’t pan out, he has everyone else’s super reach in his backpocket.
Rooting for him :crossed_fingers::raised_hands:

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@MomTXMain McCombs AND Plan II… there are kids accepted to Ivies that won’t even get that offer. Hopefully you paid housing deposit for UT when he applied?
Other acceptances are great also, but just know that the UT offer is FANTASTIC!

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We did! He has a formal tour/meeting with Plan II in a few weeks too. We are not so sure about the HUGE campus but it is his decision. We know Plan II makes it a smaller “campus” but still massive!

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I know there was a report sent but they won’t say exactly what all is included. His excellent LOR mentions that DS is a top student of his and a shining example of what a truly remarkable student should be. Also said that any university should consider him an asset now and in the future. He didn’t say DS was best he has ever had but it was glowing…all 2 pages of it! He went in depth on the level of commitment FPS requires of DS for research and critical thinking on top of the rigorous academic and other EC time he spends like most other top students. There are less than 15 kids in the whole high school that do FPS…out of 950. It is about 4-6 hours extra time outside of school each week. He said he was wonderful in and out of the classroom etc.

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Not sure why it tagged as first generation – DS would not be.

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Removed.

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Not sure I said anything different.

A 32/33 is higher than likely any district. The avg act in Tx is 19.3.

I said Plan ll is awesome. It is. And while I don’t see the others happening you don’t know if you don’t try. You all said similar. Saying better than avg but not great is the same.

I agree op is unique and if they want it I hope it happens.

But I also think the program they have is super special too.

Best of luck.

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For Cornell, Yale, Duke, and Harvard the biggest problem is that the large majority of applicants are fully academically qualified to attend, and the acceptance rate is very low. I think that you just can’t know whether or not your son will be accepted to one of these schools.

Students frequently under-appreciate their in-state public options. UT-Austin (if that is the one that you are thinking of) is a very good university.

I think that your son’s profile is interesting and somewhat unique. This is likely to be helpful. I think that he is likely to do very well wherever he ends up.

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So there are a variety of very good LACs with deadlines of January 15th. My S24 is applying to Carleton and Haverford, and there are Grinnell, Macalester, Oberlin, Kenyon, and many more I am forgetting.

Maybe too small, and maybe your kid would just prefer Plan II (which is totally fine). But I thought I would mention it in case it hasn’t been ruled out yet, if only to give a little more choice.

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With respect to college selection — or additional applications — these may represent some of the country’s stronger choices for the study of public policy:

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Thank you! Yes he has poured over that list and extensively researched each. He chose his list based off which schools he felt best fit him and what he is looking for in his college experience. Thank you for posting!

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Incredibly excited for your son. He sounds like an outstanding young man and has a wonderful path ahead regardless of the outcome of the remaining decisions.

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He’s interesting and he’s a standout in the context of his school, but…I have a few questions. You refer to an “honors track.” How many kids are in that track. In the context of that group, how outstanding is he? He has 4s on AP tests. I assume very few kids take those exams, but how do those who do take them score? What dual credit courses did he take? How did he do in them? Why isn’t he using a college prof for a LOR if his grades were good?

I think in this sort of situation his parents’ background matters. You say he isn’t first generation, so you and/or his dad went to college. It also sounds as if he’s not eligible for fin aid at these schools, which means your family income is fairly high.

Colleges will judge your S in context and context is not just his high school. I may be way off base but I think an admissions committee will be less forgiving of a kid’s test scores if you and your H are professors at the local university–there must be some sort of college nearby for there to be dual credit courses-- or a doctor and lawyer, etc.

What did he do with his summers?

I think it’s definitely worth applying. He’s got great options already so there’s nothing to lose.

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