What will BOOST my chances? (not the average what are my chances)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

So I’m going into my junior year next year (class of 2017) and want to know what I can do to help myself stand out.

The colleges I’m aiming for are: University of Chicago, Northwestern, Case Western, Notre Dame, University of Washington at St. Louis, plus some local ones

School Type: public
Location: Nebraska (one of the best public schools in Nebraska)
I’m taking the hardest classes I can

9th- GPA 3.9 UW & W
–Classes
Honors Geometry
Honors English 9
Spanish 2
HALE freshmen seminar (goes by many names in other places but it stands for High Ability Learners Education, for gifted students in grades 3-9 before we can really challenge ourselves in high school)
Other basic classes

10th- GPA 4.0 UW 4.17
–Classes
Honors Algebra 2
Honors English 10
AP World History (Haven’t got results back but I think it’s going to be a 5, 4 at the least)
Spanish 3
Other basic classes

11th- going into (Schedule set)
–Classes
Honors Pre Clac
AP English
AP US history
AP Bio
Chem
Spanish 4

12th- Predicted Schedule
–Classes
AP Clac BC
AP English
AP Spanish (not sure if I want to take it)
AP Psychology
Physics

Do you think this is a good course load? Any suggestions?

ACT (took middle of sophomore year, no studying, and stayed out until 1 the night before)
Composite: 26
English: 27
Math: 27
Reading: 26
Science: 24
I think I can get this up to a low to mid 30’s. Any study tips?

SAT
took this week so no results but I felt much better with the SAT than I did the ACT, I think I did really well in math.
Any study tips? How did you or should I go about the SAT II tests?

Extra:
Freshmen basketball and baseball
Track sophomore and presumably all following years
One Act Play sophomore and presumably all following years
Debate (participant freshmen year then captain sophomore and presumably all following years)
SADD (participant freshmen year then Student board sophomore and presumably all following years)
Student Council junior year presumably also senior year (officer on one of the boards)
Gay- Straight Alliance founder/ president junior and senior year (set everything up already won’t officially start til then)
HOBY freshmen seminar
Presumably NHS because the board of teachers like me

Work experience:
Babysitting
Internship with mutual of omaha animal caretakers (pretty much working at a small zoo without all the constraints)
Farm Work

Other:
Lots of volunteer experience with random things
Going to Bolivia on a mission trip summer going into senior year (assuming this could be a good essay topic for me)

Because I still have time I just want to know if you have any suggestions of what I can do to improve my chances and what you think those chances might be.

2

Sorry, you should get your ACT up to a 33+ to stand a chance at the top schools on your list. Also, your ECs aren’t as dazzling as you may believe them to be. However, your coming from Nebraska might help (geographical diversity). Are you a URM?

3

Your ACT should definitely improve, and I think it will, after you take it again sometime next year. Learning trig will help with the math section of the ACT and drilling from an AP English class will help with the reading and english section. The science section you may have to study for but my advice is learn the pattern for the three types of sections and learn to beat the clock and jump to the passages so you don’t run out of time on science because they give you so little. An improved ACT (at least low 30s) will help a lot Northwestern, UChicago and WashU if you want decent chances. Your ECs are really good keep them up. The only other thing I can say is don’t get caught off guard this year and let your extra AP classes crash your GPA. If you can keep up the UW GPA you have with tougher course rigor and right good essays you should have good odds at all the competitive schools you listed. You might want to start looking into ED/EA for your top choice too as that generally can boost your odds a lot if you have a clear top choice.

4

Get that ACT up- you can do it! Take a bunch of practice tests and work on timing. For SAT subject tests, take the subjects you think you’re strongest in. Also, take as many honors and then AP classes as you can. While you are doing many good extracurriculars, if you want to stand out more, try following a passion and doing many activities around that. Good luck! :slight_smile:

5

I am white like all people coming out of my area of Nebraska, but thanks for the feedback!

6

I got the equivalent of a 28 on the full length practice test for the SAT and felt the real SAT went much better than the practice. If I were to feel my SAT was so much better do you think these schools would be okay with that or would they want both?

7

Of the ones you listed, I can only speak to ND specifically, but my advice would probably hold true for all the schools you listed. Get the College Board blue book to prepare for the SAT, but know that the test is undergoing changes beginning in the spring of next year. The organization that administers the ACT also published a study guide (red cover?) so make sure to get that one. As it stands now, your test scores are far, far below the averages for the schools you listed. For the ACT, the middle 50% for the schools you listed are mostly in the 31-34 range. My advice would be to spend time first semester prepping and take both again some time early spring. If you then decide that you aren’t happy with your scores, concentrate on the test you are more comfortable with and study hardcore for that one, with a retake in June or September. If you are taking subject tests, you might want to take those in June when the information is fresh. (This approach worked for both of my daughters. Turns out one preferred the ACT, the other the SAT. Both took for the final time in September of senior year.) As far as ECs go, schools that value them tend to value depth more than breadth, and leadership is a buzzword that you will hear often, so any way you can show that is a positive. While the mission trip will most certainly be a wonderful experience, I have heard that that is one of a few topics that tend to be over represented in essays, so you might start broadening the list of things you could write about. Finally, check out the Common Data Set for the schools you are interested in. There is a section that ranks the level of importance the school places on a number of things, and that could help you with individual schools. For instance, some schools consider demonstrated interest, some don’t. As I said, I can only speak to ND specifically (one daughter is a junior, one will be a freshman), so if you have any ND specific questions, let me know.

8

The two most important things for you to do is improve your testing score and make sure to write stellar essays. The schools on your list do look within reach if you can do these things.