Harvard, Stanford, Penn - Impossible?

What Are My Chances and Matches?
#1

<p>Small Midwest Charter School, ranked top public school in the state.
ACT: 34 (9 essay)
SAT II: 770 Math 2, 750 Biology<br>
GPA: 3.97, 4.7 (UW, W)
AP Tests: 8 taken(4+ average score), 12 Planned</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:
- Captain of Science Team All Four Years *Several top 3 accomplishments at the state level in Science Bowl, Ocean Bowl, and Science Olympiad.
- DECA Officer *Highest composite score in district-wide DECA competition, 1st in Finance.
- VP of Top Instrumental Band *All-State Band Qualifier
- Varsity Track + State Qualifier All Four Years
- NHS
- JV Soccer Captain Four Years
- Frequent tutor at school tutoring facility
- Mock Trial Attorney
- Speech and Debate
- Strong community service record</p>

<p>Recommendation Essays: Strong
Personal Essays: Strong *A teacher remarked that common app essay was the strongest she ever read.</p>

<p>Summers:
Spent time learning Mandarin in Taiwan
Business course at local college
Tutoring </p>

<p>Downsides:
Asian Male
Suspended as a junior for foul language against another student in EC activity (counselor is highly sympathetic)
Took the ACT several times (superscore is 35 though)
One of the recommendations is from a sophomore teacher.
Not much work experience
I got a B in Spanish 30 as a freshman </p>

<p>The list here is not complete, but should be enough for any of you to make a decent judgment. Flame away, and if you would like me to chance your threads, link them here as well.</p>

#2

<p>great stats the ACT score is great along with your gpa... the suspention might hurt you unless it was a means of standing up for something you are passionate about. for the ACT may I suggest canceling/deleting any tests that arent your best... thats what i did. also good ec i think summer abroad will help. you have a great chance at all 3 schools but there is no way to tell for sure especially with those schools. i think you have a beter chance at penn than the other two though. good luck
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/825111-chance-me.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/825111-chance-me.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

#3

<p>Can't delete the scores that have been tested and have sent all scores to Stanford to maintain academic integrity. Penn is also somewhat iffy because I applied Wharton...</p>

<p>Thanks though.</p>

#4

<p>harvard and stanford are crapshoots for anyone
i think you have a decent shot at penn (low reach maybe)</p>

#5

<p>^He applied to Wharton--just as hard as H and S.</p>

<p>There are small things here that will make adcom wonder. Why a rec from a soph teacher? Many schools specify that you not do this. Combined with the suspension, when I worked at one of these schools as an adcom I would have wondered how much respect you command at your school.</p>

<p>I'm also guessing that if you go to the top school in your state, there will be multiple applicants from your school. They are your first line of competition. Good ECs, but Not HSW great.</p>

<p>So all in all, we have no way of knowing how your applications will play out.</p>

#6

<p>You really have some impressive points.
I'll agree with lolpear. </p>

<p>(do suspensions even show up on your transcript? If they aren't automatic and your counselor is sympathetic, will they put it in their report? I have no idea how this works actually.)</p>

<p>I don't think it's impossible. Ivys are always unlikely, but in your case not necessarily impossible. </p>

<p>If a top school actually sifts its candidates to the top of the crop before it actually starts choosing, then it probably does so on Test scores and GPA 1st 9keeping in the 1st generations etc for a 2nd pass) , but they probably wouldn't look close enough to see your suspension unless it was written in bold red ink or something. And your tests and GPA are high, even if you are an asian kid.</p>

<p>Once you've gotten into the elite stack, its pretty chancy for anyone.</p>

#7

<p>hmom5,</p>

<p>I suppose answering your questions would do nothing in alleviating any possible confusion that an admission officer might have, but I feel I must do so anyway. Against my high school's policy, I requested a third rec to Stanford from a teacher I had this year. Our school required that we choose our recommendations by the April of this year, leaving only 5 potential teachers to choose from. While I had great standings with several of them, I only developed a true bond with one of them. So rather than risk a somewhat mediocre recommendation, I picked a teacher who was both an excellent writer and great asset as a sophomore. </p>

<p>I also realize that 99% of applicants to schools of this caliber either lie about their record or have perfectly clean records. I checked the "Yes" button with full awareness that our school has a non-disclosure on these incidents (they do not appear on transcript). Given the nature of the incident, I can only hope for some sympathy and understanding (there was no profanity, no academic misconduct...it was a poorly worded joke that got crucified by the new "Zero-Tolerance" policies) </p>

<p>The reality is that I have a good standing at the school.... I acknowledge there are blemishes on my record. I really wish I had the opportunity to explain in person to the admission officers the reasons behind the inconsistencies you have noted. I truly do appreciate the insightful feedback you have provided.</p>

#8

<p>Those schools are definitely not impossible though since they are the best of the best schools, they are definite reaches</p>

#9

<p>The suspension is definitely going to hurt you but yours stats are solid overall. Penn is a moderate reach and the rest are high reaches. Good luck!</p>

#10

<p>I agree that the suspension may hurt you a bit, but if u explain it im sure it wont affect anything. Harvard and Stanford are reaches for anyone, but i have a feeling u have a legitimate shot with ur test scores. You should have a good shot at Penn.</p>

#11

<p>Make sure you have a good explanation for the suspension...</p>

<p>I'm kinda surprised you were captain of Scioly for 4 years. Your team let a freshman be a captain? But hey, props to you.</p>

<p>Btw, you have amazing stats. I can't tell where you'll get into, but it'll be somewhere amazing.</p>

#12

<p>A kid with TWO suspensions at my school got into Stanford three years ago. Don't worry too much about it.</p>

#13

<p>You have a very strong resume
You may want to use your "Suspended as a junior for foul language against another student in EC activity" as your strength in your essay, this is the opportunity to give a "Spike" to differentiate yourself from the pool.</p>

<p>Please chance me
What are my chances to transfer to Cornell, CMU, JHK, Rice and NW.
I want to transfer to ECE.
Male Asian, born in Canada
Competitive tennis player for 4 years, Provincial Rank above 50
Gold price in Regional Science Fair.
Head of Dance Show</p>

<p>I am in the first Year at a tier 1 Engineering school (Top 20 Engineering school in USA, Got in with 40K scholarship)
I got Credit for my HL Math and Physic so I did not have to take freshment Physic and Math courses</p>

<p>My First Semester marks
Economic: A
Advance Physic (Physic II): A
Advance Calculus (Calculus II): A
Computer: A</p>

<p>First Semester GPA: 4.0</p>

<p>Letter of recommedation
Just better than average</p>

<p>HS
I attend a private school with IB score at 35
I took HL Math, HL Physic, HL Chemistry
My high school is really selective and top in the county (meaning hard classes)
course)
- All other classes are honors</p>

<ol>
<li>Test Scores:
Math SAT IIC - 800
Chemistry SAT II - 760
French SAT II - 760
SAT I:
CR - 690
Math - 800
Writing - 630
total - 2120/2400 ; 1490/1600</li>
</ol>

#14

<p>i dont think id worry about the suspension. everyone does dumb things and seeing that yours wasnt that bad, i dont think itll hurt you. i think you have a good shot at penn (75,80%) and a shot at H and S... no ones guaranteed there but you have a shot</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/843759-brown-penn-nw-duke-ill-do-my-best-chance-back.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/843759-brown-penn-nw-duke-ill-do-my-best-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

#15

<p>Thanks for the ratings guys. Looking for a few more.</p>

#16

<p>Your academic credentials and science stuff stands out</p>

<p>If I had to predict the future, I'd guess a Penn acceptance and 2 rejections from Harvard and Stanford. </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/854911-my-uchicago-acceptance-going-my-head.html#post1063989450%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/854911-my-uchicago-acceptance-going-my-head.html#post1063989450&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

#17

<p>Chances are significantly lower than usual due to suspension.</p>

<p>If someone could do the math for people with comparable stats without suspension and those with suspensions, one would find that those without suspensions fare much much better. Regression makes it possible to hold GPA and SAT constant and get a direct measurement of the effect of the suspension on your chances.</p>

<p>High reach for HSP</p>

#18

<p>
[quote]
If I had to predict the future, I'd guess a Penn acceptance and 2 rejections from Harvard and Stanford.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, you're definitely underestimating Wharton's selectiveness. If you don't think he can get into H/S, then he probably can't get into Wharton either. </p>

<p>Although I personally think you have a pretty good shot...The biggest problem is your ECs just don't stand out</p>

#19

<p>I think that if you think about it, you will realize that your downsides are very small compared to most. The biggest one honestly has to be being Asian, but I feel like all of your other activities make up for that. Honestly, I think that you are a very qualified candidate, and have a strong shot at getting in anywhere. </p>

<p>Hey, It would be great if you could chance me! Thanks
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/974270-chance-me-i-will-name-my-first-born-child-after-you-chance-you-back.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/974270-chance-me-i-will-name-my-first-born-child-after-you-chance-you-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

#20

<p>I think at this point it really comes own to your essay and how you tell your "story"</p>

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