How far can test scores carry me? (ivies?)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Hi.
I posted a bit back.
Really hoping for Dartmouth.
Anywho, mostly an average applicant except for testing scores:
SATs (one sitting): 800M/800CR/760W
SAT IIs: bioM800/chem800/ havent taken math II yet (october)</p>

<p>APs: chem(5), bio(5), english lang (5)</p>

<p>other than that nothing exceptional except will be presenting research at the American Geophysics Union Conference in SF and will be publishing results later in the spring.</p>

<p>ACADEMICS:
AP classes: 8 by graduation; bio, chem, english lang, english lit, calc AB, gov, econ, spanish</p>

<p>GPA: unweighted 3.95ish
Weighted is messed up and pretty low because as a competitive CA high school, all our honors classes are UC approved, which means we have really few available honors classes. Took all available honors/aps except APUSH and physics honors.</p>

<p>ECs-weak part</p>

<p>-intern at NASA Ames Research Center for 2 years now, 20 hours a week, where I’ve been doing my research. Second author on another paper that might be published by application time. work about 30+ hours/week during the summer. More than 600 hours, but not sure how much as I’m bad at math and don’t want to dig out a calendar and figure it out.
-vice president of friends for animals club, decent sized club, lots of fundraising etc for humane society
-10 years of playing the piano, will be taking level 9 of CM
-MUN (2 years)
-California scholarship federation (4 years, 100% life member)
-Link Crew Leader
-Octagon Community service club (3 years, about 100+ hours of volunteering)</p>

<p>also did 2 years of competitive gymnastics at the JV level, but don’t think I’m going to mention this as I quit at the end of soph year due to injury.</p>

<p>-National Merit Commended Scholar
-AP Scholar
-Certificate of Merit Merit Scholar (for piano)
-National Honor Society
-Spanish National Honor Society
-Science National Honor Society</p>

<p>SCHOOLS:
Dartmouth (ED)
UCSD (safety)
UCLA
UC Berkeley
Colgate (research mentor is a colgate alumnus and will write killer rec… )
Williams
Stanford (legacy)
Harvard
Yale (I know harvard and yale are crapshoots, but if I have a shot might as well, really need the financial aid…)
Brown
Columbia
Georgetown</p>

<p>Very heavy on reaches, I know. Any suggestions for any other midlevel schools?</p>

<p>For the financial aid situation, pretty much the story is that dad is in tech and has been unemployed for a bit, so money is pretty tight.
Mom teaches at UCSC but doesnt make that much.
If I really need $, have a relative that is willing to pay for my whole college education if necessary, but trying to avoid that.</p>

2

<p>PS: Research in an Atmospheric Chem lab, regarding aerosol reactions with sulfuric acid in the atmosphere and implications for climate, and will be applying as a chem major.</p>

<p>oh, and white girlie from northern CA.</p>

3

<p>You not only have the test scores, but also have the grades and EC’s… what’s there to worry?</p>

4

<p>You have great chances everywhere…I don’t know why you’re being so pessimistic…</p>

5

<p>I’nm just worried cause I have a LOT of reach schools (Ivies), and a lot of the other people on here are really intimidating.</p>

<p>And I keep hearing horror stories, and so it’s starting to look like you need to have won the nobel prize by age 10 to be accepted to most of these places. </p>

<p>Would anyone possibly chance me for some of them?</p>

6

<p>I think you have a great chance just about anywhere, especially if you’re planning on going into the sciences since you not only took advanced classes in that area, but also your ECs are in line with that as well. As far as Ivies go, I’d guess that you have as good a chance as any, especially if you can get stellar reccomendation letters (but with all those ECs, it seems like you should know more than a couple of people who could write 'em.)</p>

7

<p>you probably have like a 50% chance at dartmouth
90% at berkeley
20% at williams, stanford, harvard, yale</p>

8

<p>Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate. :]
What kind of chances would you say I would have at Georgetown (arts&sciences)?</p>

<p>As for recs, I’m getting mine from my AP Bio teacher, who said that I was pretty much one of the best students she’d ever had and something about me being able to take the subject very seriously while also having fun with the class and so on and that she’d be happy to write a letter of rec for me, and then my AP Lit teacher who I had soph yr as well and who really likes me, so those should be good.</p>

<p>Would it be a good idea for me to have my research mentor send in a letter of rec for me, or would that just be overkill?</p>

9

<p>Your ECs aren’t that bad… don’t worry. You have a good chance.</p>

10

<p>In at Gtown AandS.</p>

11

<p>I’d be very, very, very surprised if you didnt get into 1 of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford.</p>

12

<p>More then a 20% chance @ Stanford since you have legacy…</p>

13

<p>Do you think I should add some more lower level safeties?
I’m worried that I’m going to end up getting rejected just about everywhere, because a huge majority of my schools are very high reaches.</p>

<p>I’m pretty stressed because I feel my grades aren’t phenomenal and my ECs are really mediocre compared to a lot of other people; would anyone happen to know how research and such compares to say, being president of various clubs or winning awards for FLBA or something or varsity sports?
I really appreciate.</p>

14

<p>Darthmouth: 70% (Dartmouth is keen on high test scores)
Williams: 70% Similar to Darmouth
HYPSM: N/A you’re either in or not.(You really never know with these 5 colleges.)</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

15

<p>Thanks to all the people who chanced!</p>

<p>Anyone know anything about brown/columbia/cornell/UCLA?</p>

<p>And are UCSD/Colgate enough safeties? (Is UCSD even a safety?)</p>

16

<p>I think you have a strong application but you are right to be concerned about your school choices being too top heavy. Perhaps replacing some of your schools with schools that accept more of their of applicants (like UC Davis, Occidental, Willamette and University of Puget Sound) would ensure you have some options (perhaps with good merit aid!) from which to choose in the spring. Also, check out this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/161043-best-lacs-chemistry.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/161043-best-lacs-chemistry.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

17

<p>Problem is, lots more of the other LACs I’d like to go to (Bowdoin, Middlebury, Wesleyan) aren’t exactly safeties either.
Should I just chance it and count on getting into UCSD as a safety?
I’m kind of counting on getting into a UC, also cause my school sends about 50-70 kids to Berkeley, and another 60 or so to UCLA and another 60 to UCSD, so most people tend to get into them, plus I think I’m high enough ranked that the UC system guarantees me a spot at a UC. (don’t they guarantee you a spot somewhere if you’re in the top 10-15% and meet all the qualifications? So I hear.)</p>

18

<p>Another note on Stanford; I think my high school is going to work against me here, I go to a competitive high school in the silicon valley about 20 minutes from Stanford, and while half the school applies they usually accept about 3 kids, usually the ASB officers and/or the superathletes.
Competition for stanford from this area is hardcore.</p>