What are my chances at the top schools/ What is realistic?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Profile:
White Male (I’m screwed)
Intended Major: Engineering

Also: I plan on playing basketball in college which could help me get in as a possible preferred walk on at D1 school or a big impact at a D3 school.

STATS:

ACT: 33C (34 E, 36 M, 31 R, 31 S) 9 Writing

GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.7 weighted
Class Rank: #1
SAT II: Taking a science one and math in fall

AP Scores: 3 on APUSH (won’t send) and 4 on AP English (I know these aren’t good scores but I had surgery on my kneecap a few days before the tests and also had to deal with the stress of finals and the end of the semester)

Classes Senior Year:
AP Physics
AP Chem
Ap Calc
AP Comp
AP World History
AP Economics
Peer Mentoring (During this class I teach drivers Ed)
I completed Spanish 4 my junior year but decided to do my Drive to Drive Project instead of taking Spanish 5

Awards: Won some math contest my freshmen year, probably not a big deal. All Conference Hon Men and First Team Freshmen and Sophomore Year (Got injured 7 games into Junior Year)

Extracurriculars: Will be 4 year starter on basketball team, Lead Mentor for Options Program(Program for inclusive education for kids with special needs in my high school), VP of National Honor Society, Leader of Spirit Group for Student Council, Leader of Kairos Retreat, Secretary for Green Team

Volunteering: 300+ hours of service for my last three years of high school ( I intend to get over 100 this year), Coach for Special Olympics, worked at a food pantry, among other little things

Essays: I believe teacher recommendations are going to be very good. I also plan on writing a bomb paper on breaking my kneecap from working too hard and basically pulling the kneecap apart with the muscles in my leg

Kicker: My brother and I have started the Drive to Drive Program, which is a drivers education class for our school’s students with special needs (my brother and I are currently raising over 10k for a golf cart for the course and are designing the course with the help of a Drivers Ed teacher)

I know my scores aren’t great but I feel as though I’ve played a big part in the community of my school, spending countless hours setting up things that will help others, not myself. I also feel as though my 36 in math should overshadow some of my other bad scores because I’m interested in math related fields.

Schools I am considering applying to:
Wash U
Rice
MIT
Notre Dame
Stanford
Berkeley
UT Austin
Some of the Ivies

Please let me know my chances as well as any other schools I should think about applying to! Hopefully I am not being foolish about thinking I have a chance of getting in to some of these schools :confused:

Thanks!

2

If you want to major in engineering you may want to do the recruiting questionnaires for Lehigh, Lafayette and Bucknell, D1 Patriot League. If you are more flexible on major then NESCAC schools are an option. Both NESCAC and Patriot are academic conferences. My son picked D3 NESCAC because he wanted to be an A Team runner as a freshman. didn’t want to travel that my much and put academics first.

You should definitely do the recruiting questionnaires for the other schools, especially Wash U, Rice, MIT and the Ivies.

It all starts with doing the questionnaires.

3

Thanks for the feed back! I will check those schools out and fill out the questionnaires. The major setback that I’ve had with the recruiting process is that I missed last school season and this AAU season. I’ve also missed all of the elite camps at the schools I’d like to attend. I’m almost recovered though so I’m about to start trying to make contact with some coaches :slight_smile:

4

You also need an NCAA Clearinghouse number for D1.

NESCAC is a great D3 conference.

5

Wash U: Match
Rice: High match
MIT: Reach
Notre Dame: High match
Stanford: reach
Berkeley: High match
UT Austin: Safety
Some of the Ivies: reach

6

Yo have great stats and good ECs, so most colleges are a match, but MIT, Stanford and Ivies are reaches for everyone so i would not be so hopeful on those schools, but for the most part you are set for college admissions

7

Wash U: Match
Rice: Match
MIT: Reach
Notre Dame: Match
Stanford: Reach
Berkeley: Match
UT Austin: Safety
Some of the Ivies: Depends but high match or reach

8

Wash U: High match, low reach
Rice: High match, low reach
MIT: Reach
Notre Dame: High match, low reach
Stanford: Reach
Berkeley: Match
UT Austin: Safety
Some of the Ivies: Depends but high match or reach
Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Penn: Reach
Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth: High match, low reach

9

You really think I have a chance at Notre Dame? Everyone that I talk to in person says it’s like impossible to get in

10

Honestly, you have no safety on your list, unless I missed it and you are in-state for Texas and thus guaranteed admission. I think even the schools others say are matches above are high matches. Also, are you able to be full pay at Cal (and UT if you are not from Texas)?

11

My actual safety is Missouri S&T. And I don’t disagree with that, those are all good schools that I’d be stoked if I got into but not surprised if I didn’t. I’m from Missouri so I wouldn’t get any in state tuition from Cal or UT

12

you have a really solid application!! Impressed by the project you started with your brother. We are really in the same boat. It’s hard to decide whether to give up a recruiting position at a great D3 school for a chance at a dream school or just stay safe. Best of luck to you and no matter what I am sure you will end up at a great school!

13

I think you have good test scores and grades, but you should use your ECs more to show that you are interested in pursuing a major in math. All of these universities are matches-high matches except Stanford and MIT which are reaches. Chance me back please?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1791315-chance-me-johns-hopkins-ed-cornell-ucla-ucsd-ucd-ucsb-uci-emory-st-louis-washington-duke.html#latest

14

You’re right, I just don’t know what EC’s I should do to show I like math. I could enter some math contests or something? My school has a robotics team but I wouldn’t be able to do robotics and basketball

15

Your test scores are great tbh, and your ECs show an entrepreneur-type drive. Especially since you’re an athelete, I think it’s safe to say you have a better chance than most, but keep in mind that schools like MIT, Stanford, and the Ivies (especially HYP) are looking for something unique and driving. Focus on your passion in your essays (whether it be sports, your project, or a hobby not mentioned anywhere else), and let it shine through.

I don’t know too much about requirement as I am not familiar with the process, but I guess there are questionnaires you need to fill out. Go do those, see the responses, and gauge your chances.

Best of luck!!!

16

If you’re from Texas, you’re obviously auto-admitted to the University, but if you’re out of state, it can be much trickier, because Cockrell is just so much harder to get into then the overall school. They can be super picky… Last year my high ranked Texas school’s valedictorian with a 2300+ SAT got rejected from Cockrell, probably because of extracurriculars, along with my saludictorian, probably because she didn’t do IB, and therefore didn’t earn that most rigorous checkmark. UT itself can be considered a safety, but Cockrell never can because they can be so picky

17

I know what you mean. I feel very nervous about the application process, as being a white male from the middle class, really sucks as we can not donate millions of dollars to a school, nor do they have Legacies at any of the Ivy’s or top schools.

18

Eyeroll… 99% of applicants are neither legacies nor large donors. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Create a list of schools that aren’t all reaches, or you likely will end up at your safety. Have you run net price calculators at all the schools on your list, and are your parents willing to help pay the numbers that show up?

19

What do you think about Missouri S&T? That is my ultimate safety school, as it is in state and my test scores automatically get a good amount of scholarship money. What do you think are some other good schools that aren’t reaches?

20

Top Tip:

Maybe try not to whine about how rough it is being a middle class white male on your applications.