<p>I am in the top 3% (15/600) of my graduating class. However, my test scores are slightly better: 2360 SAT, 800 Math II, 800 US History.</p>
<p>Now I realize that calling 15/600 “low” may sound ridiculous at first, but please consider that I am:</p>
<ol>
<li>Asian</li>
<li>unhooked</li>
<li>from an uncompetitive public high school</li>
<li>in a very overrepresented suburb of the Bay Area</li>
</ol>
<p>In essence, I am the epitome of the “anti-hook.”</p>
<p>Further, the schools I am considering include Penn (Wharton), UChicago, Columbia, and Harvard. In context of these colleges’ other unhooked Asian applicants, my stats are certainly not excellent. </p>
<p>Can you evaluate how my class rank + test scores would pan out at these ultra selective schools? What other factors could mitigate my low class rank (AP/IB scores, take more SAT II, retake the SAT, etc?) </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Class rank, SAT, SAT IIs are all lovely. Now what you need to do is be interesting: recommendations, extracurriculars, essays, etc.</p>
<p>You are indeed correct that you are in a seriously competitive pool at those schools. Are you low income, first generation, from a poor school district? Just how uncompetitive is your school? Where do the top 15 typically go?</p>
<p>Do you plan to apply to other schools? Particularly, do you know what your safeties are?</p>
<p>Be aware that early reports indicate that California public universities are significantly more competitive than last year, so some students are finding that what appeared to be a safety based on last year’s numbers is not really a safety this year<em>. So find what you think is a safety, then find another one that is somewhat less selective than that for a safer safety</em>*.</p>
<p>Another safety option is to find a school with a guaranteed-for-stats scholarship, like Alabama’s Presidential Scholarship and UAB’s Blazer Elite Scholarship. Community college is another safety option – note that Berkeley’s 2011 University Medal winner was a transfer student from a community college, and other community college transfer students have gone on to top PhD programs in their majors, so community college is not just for academically marginal students.</p>
<p>*For example, a 3.5 GPA (CSU calculated, similar to UC calculation) with 1200 CR+M SAT score was not sufficient to be admitted to San Jose State in six majors, and barely enough in two other majors. One major would have denied an applicant with a 4.0 GPA and 1390 SAT CR+M score.</p>
<p>**But do not assume that a school that considers “level of interest” is a safety.</p>
<p>Thank you for the highly evaluative feedback, everyone!</p>
<p>Waverly - Nope, I have no hooks at all. My school is ranked in the 800s by US News. Last year from a class of 650 students, we had 10 National Merit finalists and 8 semi-finalists. </p>
<p>More accurately, the top cluster at my school (around top 5%) is extremely competitive. But everyone else doesn’t care, so being top 10% is fairly easy, while breaking into the top 5% takes a significant amount of work.</p>
<p>Last year’s top acceptances included: Northwestern, UCLA/UC Berkeley, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, Stanford (recruited athlete), and Harvard (valedictorian).</p>
<p>ucbalumnus - Thanks for the heads up. I am definitely planning on applying to several safeties. Would you consider Bentley and Babson “safeties”?</p>
<p>No doubt about it, these schools will be tough for you. But you have the kind of situation where exceptional essays could push you in, so put heart and soul into them and get some good readers.</p>
<p>Bentley considers “level of interest”, so it cannot be considered a safety. (See its common data set, section C7.)</p>
<p>Babson does not post its common data set, so it is not obvious whether “level of interest” is considered. Curriculum appears to heavily emphasize business, with relatively limited offerings in other areas (which appear mainly to support business, or to provide breadth for business majors). So be certain that you want to study business if you go there.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to check each school’s net price calculator to see if it will be realistically affordable for you. Lower cost schools include in-state publics (UCs, CSUs, community colleges, assuming you are a California resident), the big-merit-for-stats schools, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, SUNY schools, and some other [lower</a> list price schools](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html]lower”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html). Some very selective schools like Stanford and Harvard are very generous with need-based aid but obviously cannot be considered safeties.</p>
<p>Just wanted to update this thread in hopes of some additional insight:</p>
<p>This year’s acceptances was incredible for my school: Princeton, MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Oxford, Brown, UChicago, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Northwestern, and Duke - among many other excellent institutions. </p>
<p>Granted, some of these acceptances were garnered by the same person, but a healthy chunk is split among other Asian, unhooked applicants like myself. </p>
<p>Assuming my class (Class of 2013) at my school is academically on par with that of this year’s, do I stand a solid shot at Wharton? (especially if there are other students from my school who are also ED-ing to Penn?)</p>
<p>Thank you in advance for all your insight! I am immensely grateful for your help.</p>
<p>I would say that you’re competitive for any of your schools. You could get into any of them, all of them … or, none of them. The supercompetitive schools are also superunpredictible. All we can really say is that your stats appear to put you in the group of students from which the admissions for these schools are chosen.</p>
<p>There is not a school in the US that I would not recommend you to apply to.</p>
<p>However – the schools you list all have <20% accept rates. Many have rates <10%. So, it is essential to find both schools in the next tier down as far as selectivity (let’s call them ‘match’ schools’ as well as safety schools. Make sure to take your safety school applications seriouisly, visit them if possible – show them some love!!! (No school likes to be taken for granted).</p>