What are my reaches, matches, and safeties?

College Admissions
#1

<p>UC Berkeley
UCLA
Harvard
Stanford
Cornell
Yale
Princeton
Swarthmore
University of Pennsylvania
Amherst
Williams
Brown
Dartmouth</p>

<p>I am Japanese born but a US permanent resident and attend a large public high school (3,500+) in a suburb in Southern California. I am interested in majoring in business, economics or political science.</p>

<p>-Unweighted GPA (4-point scale)
4.0</p>

<p>-Weighted GPA (5-point scale) -- don't use your school's weighting system
4.67 (total 9-12)
4.74 (Academic 9-11)
5.0 (Academic 10-11)</p>

<p>-class rank/size
2/848</p>

<p>-SAT/ACT scores -- put the highest single-sitting score, the superscored SAT, and the composite of each
SAT: single sitting: 2230 super scored: 2240
Math: 710
Critical Reading: 740
Writing: 790 (Essay 10)</p>

<p>ACT: not taken</p>

<p>-SAT II scores
plan to take: Math II, Chemistry, US History</p>

<p>-AP scores, past and planned exams (only if they're going on the application)
Human Geo (5), Japanese (5), English Language (4), European History (5), Statistics (5), Biology (5), English Literature (5), BC Calculus (5), Chemistry (5), Physics B (4), World History (5), US History (5), AP Spanish Literature, AP Spanish Language</p>

<p>Classes:</p>

<p>Freshman Year
English 9 A/A
AP Human Geography A/A
Accel Precal B/AP Calc A A+/A
PE 1 A/A
Chemistry A/A
Spanish 2 A/A</p>

<p>Sophomore Year
AP English Language A/A
AP European History A/A
AP Statistics A/A
Tennis PE A/A
AP Biology A/A+
IB SL Spanish Yr 1 A/A</p>

<p>Junior Year
AP US History A/A
AP Calculus BC A/A-
AP Chemistry A/A-
AP Physics B A/A
AP Spanish Language/IB HL Spanish Yr 2 A+/A+
IB HL English Yr 1 A/A
ToK A</p>

<p>Senior Year
IB HL History of the Americas
IB HL Mathematics
AP Spanish Literature
IB HL English Yr II
IB SL Psychology
Calc D/Linear Algebra</p>

<p>-ECs --
CSF (4 years, no leadership)
Model UN (3 years, founder, president)
Science Olympiad (2 years, 4 regional medals (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th) this year, Secretary)
Cycling Club (1 year, founder, president)
Ping Pong Club (3 years, founder, president)
JV Tennis (9, 10)
Varsity Tennis (11, 12)
Peer Leader (12)</p>

<p>-employment --
none</p>

<p>-honors/awards --
National Merit Commendation
National AP Scholar
Scholarship Award JV Tennis (9, 10)
Scholarship Award Varsity Tennis (11)
Scholar Athlete (11)
4 regional Science Olympiad Medals (11)</p>

<p>Greatly Appreciated</p>

#2

<p>Everything on that list is a reach.</p>

#3

<p>I agree with RedSeven that everything on your list is a reach.</p>

<p>Of course, some of them will be easier to get into (UCLA vs. Harvard), but they are mostly crapshoots.</p>

<p>EDIT: You will probably get into UCLA and UCB if you are in-state.</p>

#4

<p>Your saying schools with an acceptance rate <20% are matches? Those are reaches. And you can't tell with UCLA or B without the UCGPA.</p>

#5

<p>UC Berkeley - match
UCLA - match
Harvard - high reach
Stanford - high reach
Cornell - mid reach
Yale - high reach
Princeton - high reach
Swarthmore - match
University of Pennsylvania - mid reach
Amherst - match
Williams - match
Brown - low/mid reach
Dartmouth - mid reach</p>

#6

<p>With acceptance rates from 7%-20%, every top school is a reach.</p>

<p>I would say you are OK for Cornell.</p>

<p>For the others, apply to all of them, and you will get into one or two.</p>

<p>Perhaps you should apply to Santa Barbara and San Diego, as safeties.</p>

#7

<p>A safety needs to be safe for cost as well as admissions.</p>

<p>Once you have determined your safeties (possibly the midlevel UCs), remove from your list any schools you like less than your safeties, and any schools that will not be affordable after typical (for the school) financial aid.</p>

<p>GPA for UC admission purposes counts grades in UC required a-g subjects only in 10th and 11th grade, with up to 8 semesters of honors points. Looks like you have 22 A grades; with the maximum of 8 honors points, your GPA for UC admission purposes would be 4.36.</p>

#8

<p>All UC's should be a safety with your grades, SAT, and ec's. You've founded like three clubs, and have leadership positions in multiple. You've also played a varsity sport. IDK about the rest, but UC's should be a match for you.</p>

#9

<p>Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore are reaches for everyone. In fact, everything on your list is a reach with the possible exceptions of the UC's, and MAYBE Cornell.</p>

#10

<p>OP, I don't see a year-long performing arts class on your transcript that fulfills the UC (g) requirement. Because of your high rank you'll be designated ELC, which will make any of the campuses that accept ELC students safeties. In past years that's meant campuses like Santa Barbara and Davis, among others. </p>

<p>What I don't know (and what you need to check,or maybe someone reading knows the answer) is if ELC means that you are excused from the UC (g) requirement for campuses that don't automatically accept ELCs. Since Cal and UCLA don't auto-accept, they're the ones where you need to confirm that ELC status and/or your test scores mean you don't need a Visual and Performing Arts course.</p>