<p>She also had a TON of community service hours, was active in student government and NHS (held positions in both), did a TON of dance, and obviously had amazing grades and challenging courses since she was the valedictorian! I also know her ACT was a 35. She applied to several Ivies, including Yale and Dartmouth. Unfortunately, she didn’t get accepted into either. She had glowing teacher recommendations and even interviewed with Yale (her dream school). She didn’t get accepted into any of them. </p>
<p>My grades aren’t as good as hers were (i’m in the top 15% roughly) and my ACT is only a 30 (have only taken it once though). I’m not as active in the community as she is, though i still do plenty of volunteer work, am a member of NHS (just a member though), etc. </p>
<p>I plan on raising my ACT several points and am enrolled in several extremely challenging classes next year, my senior year. But basically, based on this story and others like it, I don’t stand a chance at any of my dream schools.</p>
<p>How did she not get accepted?</p>
<p>Do I still have a shot at schools like Stanford or Vanderbilt? Rice, Pomona or Duke? Even Emory or William & Mary?
I really want to get in to a college like these, but i don’t think its possible. </p>
<p>With an ACT of 30, you have a shot at Emory and W&M (OOS) if you have a rigorous course schedule (6-8 APs, core ones), and a 3.8+ UwGPA. The others are a no, unless you can raise your ACT to at least 32, and more likely 33.</p>
<p>FWIW, planning to raise your test score and actually doing it are two different things. Give it a shot, but anything more than 2 points is tough, and that’s only if your 30 came with little test prep. If you’ve already been prepping, there may not be much upside left.</p>
<p>As for your valedictorian, that title is generally overrated. It carries little weight with admissions, they need to stand on their own.</p>
<p>@mrmom thanks for replying! i honestly did not prep much at all for the 30. I have a tutor now and she says I can definitely achieve a 32 on the july ACT. Hopefully i can manage the two extra points, or more if i’m lucky. i’m going to work really hard for it. </p>
<p>my uwGPA is sitting right at a 3.8 right now I believe (should increase after grades for this semester are finalized). i took one AP last year (was going to take 2, then unfortunately had to drop one) and i’m signed up for three next year. they’re all core classes. I’ve taken four years of spanish as well.</p>
<p>I just really hope I get accepted to a good school that is a good fit for me and equips me for med school</p>
<p>Stressed2015, the Ivy’s admit only a small number of applicants <10% and many of them are accomplished like your school valedictorian. Sometimes the only reason a person is not accepted is simply numbers. </p>
<p>As stressful as this application situation is, the only thing you can do is your best, and then apply to colleges where students with your academic profile are likely to be accepted. ( sure, having reaches is OK- there’s a chance, but don’t rely only on that). The more colleges you can find that are likely to accept you, and you will be happy to attend, and that you can afford, the less stressful this is. </p>
<p>If you have read some of the pre-med threads here, you will see that many colleges are appropriate for pre-meds, and that some students choose to save money by attending their most affordable options. The more important factor in gaining admission and being prepared for medical school is your performance there. </p>
<p>You won’t know why your school valedictorian was not accepted to Ivy’s, but you did learn that the process is not predictable when applying to highly selective schools. Finding less selective schools that you like and adding them to your list of schools to apply to will insure that you will be happy with the college you attend. </p>
<p>Pitch the dream school idea completely. There are hundreds of schools that could be a good fit for you, stop focusing on name brand. If you do want to go to med school, there are only a few things that matter:
GPA. Why would you think you GPA would be up to med school standards if you go to a school that is packed with students like your val (or better in the case of the Ivies)?
MCAT. You need a good MCAT score. You don’t have to go to the Ivies or a top college for that.
Some kind of interest in the medical field shown through volunteering or summer work.</p>
<p>And as @pennylane2011 said, if you can get out of undergrad more cheaply and have some money for med school (or less debt), that is also a good idea.</p>
<p>So if you are serious about med school, stop dreaming about “a college like these” and look harder at schools that make it more likely for you to reach your long term goals.</p>
<p>Neither did the valdictorian at my son’s school nor any of the 4 who had a 36 on their ACTs. No Stanford or MIT either, and this is at a school ranked in the top 100 among public schools in the U.S. They did all get into other great schools though, and I’m sure they will be both happy and successful at them. It probably would have made their senior year much less stressful if they had taken the ivy longshot out of the mix </p>
<p>There’s just not enough room at all the ivies for students who are near-perfect test takers. For example, in 2013, 6,949 students scored a 35 or 36 on the ACT. I imagine the numbers are similar for students taking the SAT and scoring a 2300+.</p>
<p>When a valedictorian with perfect or near perfect test scores is not accepted to a college, it’s usually because of one of the following reasons:
Even though the applicant was academically at the top of their high school, their list of accomplishments and EC’s made them look too similar on-paper to hundreds of other students from other schools. There was nothing about the applicant that screamed “I’m unique.”</p>
<p>If you study throughout the summer, you may be able to raise your score. DD took the ACT last spring, didn’t like her score and sat for the ACT again last fall and she raised it by 3-4 points. She took a few tests on her own and she used a CD that a fellow CC member recommended. </p>
<p>Only one person at my school was accepted into an Ivy RD. He’s in the top 20 but not the top 5 of class rank. It was kind of funny, because the people who have long bragged about their academic prowess didn’t get accepted. </p>
<p>There are lots of great schools out there for good students like you. But, for most, those schools are not going be included in the top-20 list or be considered “super elite.” I’ve seen similar situations to the on you described among my daughter’s friends who are seniors this year. She learned from their lesson, and so can you. </p>
<p>Keep your application list broad and be sure to concentrate on matches and safeties. The reaches that you’ve listed should not be the bulk of any student’s prospect list. (And “even” Emory and W&M should be considered reaches for many very good students.) Consider LACs and universities on the “regional” ranking lists. Don’t get blinded by the prestige. You will be able to find a school that you can thrive at, but it may not be one on your current list. </p>
<p>@stressed2015. Schools like Stanford and Harvard pride themselves on being able to reject many “perfect” students that have 4.0/2400 or 36 on their transcript without any accompanying extraordinary extracurricular accomplishments to go along with it…one dimensional students are NOT highly sought after…</p>
<p>…it is in effect, more advantageous to have slightly blemished academic transcript with an extraordinary national/international level EC (athletics, music, art, science, math, acting) along with glowing recommendations/essays that will trigger a positive response…</p>
<p>I agree with gravitas2. In the past 3 years at my son’s school I mentioned above, about 15 kids per year apply to assorted ivies, all with appropriate test scores and grades and ECs. The only ones who have gotten in have some extraordinary accomplishment at the national level, plus two legacies with good records plus one through Questbridge. The college advisors there are rethinking how to proceed with upcoming students, because the “ordinary” great kids don’t have much success any more.</p>
<p>But there is some overlap in these pools of students (my D2 had a 2380 SAT and a 35 ACT). And some of them choose to not apply to any Ivies (again, my D2). </p>
<p>^^ True, but nonetheless it doesn’t invalidate the point that there’s just not enough room at all the ivies to take every student who scores a 35 to 36 ACT and/or a 2300 to 2400 SAT who also applies.</p>
<p>OP, along with doing all you can academically, now is the time to have a real talk with parents about what they can afford. You’ve listed private schools that are very expensive, especially for someone who is looking at med school. If you make a 32 your stats may give some merit aid at some colleges out there, but maybe not for any of those. </p>
<p>All these threads make me wonder, is my school really out of the norm? I got to a public school of 400~ kids in a class and this year we had 10 MIT admits, 12 Cal Techs, 6 Yales, 3 Harvard, 5 Stanford, and 2 Princeton, albiet with overlaps. Everyone on CC emphasizes how difficult admission to Berkeley is yet we had ~40 admits this year. Before I came on CC I had the impression these schools everyone freaks out over are challenging but not that impossible to get into…</p>
<p>^ Yes, your HS is far out of the norm. It seems around 25% of the students at your HS is highly qualified students that have the credentials in the Ivy range. Most schools would have far less than 10%. </p>