Should I even bother applying to Brown, Johns Hopkins, and University of Chicago?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Basically, I’m not sure if I should be applying to any of these, or to focus more effort on schools I have a better chance in getting into. If these are too much of a reach, I probably won’t be applying to them.

I go to a rigorous private school. It’s ranked as the #2 private school in my state. It has a funky schedule, so I’ll try to explain it as best I could.

Because the school is so small, we only have a select choice of AP classes. The school only has 5 classes per semester, including the free period that 90% of students take. The first AP class you can possible take is sophomore year, so the weighted GPA is dropped. There is also a policy that there is a maximum of 3 AP classes per year, unless you study one of the AP classes independently. Anyways, here are my stats:

Weighted GPA: 4.04
Unweighted GPA: 3.9 (I calculated this myself because the school doesn’t report the unweighted GPA)
SAT out of 1600: 1500 (770 Math, 730 Reading & Writing)
ACT: Taking in September
SAT II Subject Tests: Biology, and Math Level II (Taking in August)
School does not rank

Academic Honors:
Honor Society
National Society of High School Scholars (the school isn’t a member of the National Honor Society)
National Spanish Exam award recipient (Gold last year, Silver this year)

Extracurriculars:
Science Olympiad Co-president (Rocks and Minerals, Microbe Mission)
Math Club (AMC)
Varsity Tennis Co-captain
Table Tennis member
Youth Group member of local mosque
Muslim-American Society Member
Volunteer at local hospital
Shadowing at local hospital

AP Scores: Biology - 4
Psychology - 5

Junior Year Classes:
Honors Precalculus
AP Biology
AP Psychology

Senior Year Classes:
AP United States History
AP Chemistry
AP Calculus AB (school does not offer BC)

Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern)
Income: High Income family
Gender: Male

And I’m not sure if this helps, but both of the teachers that I have asked for recommendations have their PhDs

I know its a lot, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

2

Nothing wrong with applying to a few reach schools as long as you also apply to match, and safety schools.

And FWIW it makes no different if your teachers have PhD’s – admissions officers care about YOUR credentials, not any particular credentials of the person writing the LOR.

3

You SHOULD apply to some reach schools as well as, of course, match and safety schools. It’s better to get rejected than always looking back your entire life wondering “what if.” There’s been lots of testimonials from those students totally surprised by being accepted to schools that they felt had a very low chance of getting in.

4

Focus on your top choice, apply ED, then make sure you apply to your matches and safety’s as early as possible.

5

You seem like you are fairly competitive. I would classify UChicago as a reach.

6

It is a reach, but not too much of one in my opinion. Given the constraints your school has placed on APs, it seems like you are doing well in the context of your school.

7

UChicago is a reach for basically everyone, but you are a competitive candidate. If you really love the school, apply ED there. It gives you a major boost over others who apply EA or RD