Broken off from another thread, give ChatGPT (4 is better than 3) or Gemini a try to determine a fun starting point for your applicant. Seems to be pretty accurate for those who already have results. My prompt for Gemini was:
Tell me whether a male student, from a Pacific Northwest private Catholic high school with an unweighted GPA of 4.0 would be likely to get into the following colleges. The student is taking a high rigor schedule with 10 APs. No Tests, Business Major. The student is captain of his sports team, has 400 hours of volunteering at a hospital and is on the school Trivia Bowl team. Please make a guess about which schools the student likely would get accepted to and which are reaches.
Answer:
This student has a strong profile for many colleges, with a perfect GPA, a rigorous course load with 10 APs, and well-rounded extracurricular activities. Here’s a breakdown of the colleges you mentioned:
Likely:
Elon University: Elon prioritizes a well-rounded student and values leadership and community service (400 hours).
Miami University (Farmer School of Business): Miami’s Farmer School of Business is well-regarded, and the student’s GPA and rigor suggest success there.
Gonzaga University: As a Catholic university in the Pacific Northwest, Gonzaga might find particular appeal for the student. Their strong academics and commitment to service align well.
Match:
Furman University: A selective liberal arts college in the South, Furman appreciates strong academics and extracurricular involvement.
SMU - Cox School of Business: While competitive, the student’s profile is a good fit for SMU’s Cox School of Business.
Trinity University (Texas): Another strong liberal arts college, Trinity might be a good match for the student’s academic and leadership qualities.
Reach:
Denison University: A highly selective liberal arts college, Denison seeks well-rounded students with exceptional standardized test scores (though not a factor here). It might be a reach without them.
Lehigh University: A competitive university with a strong engineering program, Lehigh often seeks students with high standardized test scores.
Washington and Lee University (W&L): A highly selective liberal arts college, W&L is known for its challenging academics and focus on leadership. It’s a reach without test scores.
University of Richmond: Similar to W&L, Richmond is a highly selective liberal arts college with a focus on strong academics and leadership. Test scores might influence their decision.
Wake Forest University: A highly selective university, Wake Forest seeks top performers with well-rounded profiles.
Davidson College: Another very selective liberal arts college, Davidson prioritizes strong academics and well-rounded students. Test scores might play a role here.
University of Notre Dame: Highly selective and prestigious, Notre Dame seeks top students with strong academics, well-rounded profiles, and a Catholic background. It’s a reach, especially without test scores.
So S24 played with GPT-3.5, and it really was not very impressive in terms of prior results. And then the best version is now 0-1 (it had him rejected at Vassar, he was just accepted).
Which is a bummer, because he liked one of its Ivy Day predictions, but oh well.
With a 4.0 GPA, a perfect 36 ACT score, and a rigorous academic course load with 10 APs, this student is a strong applicant for any college in the country. Her well-rounded extracurricular activities in volunteering, journalism, and theater further strengthen her application.
Here’s a general breakdown of how this student might fare at the colleges you listed:
Likely: Lewis and Clark, Macalester, St. Olaf, Willamette, University of Oregon, University of Vermont
Reach: Williams (due to its extremely low acceptance rate)
This is just a general prediction, and the actual admissions decisions will depend on a variety of factors, including the student’s essays, letters of recommendation, and the specific colleges’ priorities in a given year.
Based on the student’s exceptional academic record, rigorous course load, extracurricular involvement, and alignment with an environmental studies major, here’s a guess at likely acceptances and reaches:
Likely Acceptances:
• Lewis and Clark
• Macalester
• University of Oregon
• University of Vermont
• Willamette
These classifications are based on general admissions trends and the competitiveness of the listed colleges. However, admissions decisions can be influenced by numerous factors beyond academic and extracurricular achievements.
ChatGPT 3.5 results were laughable. It and I had a discussion about Georgia Tech and its competitiveness, but it was determined to give D24 an 80-90% chance of getting in even when it seemed to know it was a reach. When I asked about the effect of major, it just cut 10% off the acceptance rate of every school across the board (even the rolling admission school that does not admit by major).
Gemini did a lot better, classing D24’s 9 schools into 3 in each of likely, match, and reach.
D24’s actual acceptances were 3/3 of the ones it considered likely, 2/3 for the matches, and 1/3 for the reaches.
It also did a passable job at guessing why the schools would be matches or reaches (overall low acceptance, very competitive in the specific major, etc.)