Will being a loner affect my chances?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>I’m a loner.
on the What Are My Chances forum of College Confidential.</p>

<p>I’ve posted 4 threads in this forum but none of them have been successful (mostly due to the insane number of posts each day)</p>

<p>Here, evaluate my chances please:</p>

<p>School Choices:
Cornell
Columbia
Northwestern
University of Michigan
University of Wisconsin
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
University of Texas - Austin
Purdue University - West Lafayette
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology</p>

<p>Major: Engineering (specifically mechanical for most)</p>

<p>Race: International (Asian), including US, lived in 5 countries</p>

<p>school reputation: good (about 10 ivy leaguers per year)
weighted GPA: 4.92 (out of 5.9 possible)
rank: N/A
SAT1: 1470 (800M / 670V)
SAT2:

  • 800 math 2c
  • 800 math 1c
  • 750 writing
  • 710 biology</p>

<p>TOEFL: 300 (perfect on Computer-based)</p>

<p>Freshmen:
A - Social Science
A - Band
B - Math
B - Science
B - English
C - Spanish</p>

<p>Sophomore:
A - Math (H)
A - Chem (H)
A - English
A - Band
B - History
B - Spanish</p>

<p>Junior:
A - Math (H)
A - Bio (H)
A - English
A - Band
A - Spanish (H)
A - History</p>

<p>Senior:
A - Math (Calc BC)
A - Physics (AP)
A - English
A - Comp Sci (AP)
A - Economy (AP)
B - Spanish (AP)</p>

<p>Activity:
Winter Track (captain 2 years)
Spring Track (captain 2 years)
Cross Country
Tennis (varsity as freshmen, then quit due to injury)
Publishing
Spanish Club</p>

<p>Awards:
Highest AMC score
Achievement Award in Math during soph/jun year
Achievement Award in Spanish during soph (for very big improvement)
Division 1 Finalist in Short Distance</p>

<p>Community Service:
Not Recorded or Sent by school. No way for colleges to know how many hours I did, but 100+ hours for your curiosity.</p>

<p>Everybody here seems to write: Great Essays and Great Recommendations, but I don’t believe in that crap since it’s self-evaluated. It’s just to make themselves feel better about their chances. I’d rather leave my chances to be as objective as possible.</p>

<p>Thanks a Ton guys.</p>

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<p>Cornell- chance 50-65%
Columbia 50- 65%
Northwestern 60-70%
University of Michigan - match
University of Wisconsin- no idea</p>

<p>University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign- safety
University of Texas - Austin- match
Purdue University - West Lafayette- no idea
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology- no idea</p>

<p>Your course load is a bit weak but you have great SATs</p>

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<p>Thanks kiran88us.</p>

<p>Would you say that Texas is considerably harder since most of its applicants/acceptees are in-state residents?</p>

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<p>Yes it can be hard but I think you have a chance.</p>

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<p>I know a young man with very similar scores to yours. For both of you, consider Purdue and Rose-Hulman safety schools and Wisconsin just a notch higher; their rolling admissions may be a factor. Essays and recommendations are not big factors at any of the three.</p>

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<p>What I find weird about Rose-Hulman is that the mean/median SAT scores there seem to be very high yet the acceptance rate is pretty high as well.</p>

<p>btw, I have applied to rolling decision schools in november for the most part.</p>

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<p>Good list, you should have multiple options to choose from. RH is not it the center of the tech universe, like MIT or CALTech, so if a kid is accepted at MIT, he/she may choose to go there. That said, I think that for many, a smaller institution may provide a better education. And, a more supportive environment. </p>

<p>My husband was also a loner in HS, but that vanished when he set foot on campus. I wish you the best where ever you end up.</p>

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<p>Hrmm… that said, could anyone comment on the social scene of those schools?</p>

<p>I am not much of a partyer. I don’t like drinking. I just like hanging out without having to drink or music etc. I love movies. I play computer games. I can play a variety of sports.</p>

<p>I understand that most of the schools I have listed are big, but how big does it actually feel on the campus?</p>

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<p>Your thread title’s really catchy. Nice =P.</p>

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<p>Thanks! :smiley: Now I shall punt it to the top!~</p>

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<p>The advantage of a large school is that there will be a variety of people - some will drink, some won’t. People sort themselves out with various groups and activities. Your schools are big - but between clubs, housing, your department, teams … a reasonably sized community will emerge. It like will be a bit overwhelming - but only at first. You <em>will</em> find your niche. </p>

<p>Once your acceptances start rolling in, I would encourage you to do as many overnight visits as possible. There’s no substitute for being there. When my husband was an undergrad, he never drank. No stigma - but he did wind up cleaning up after inebriated friends more than once. Nothing perfect. I think the thing to remember is that in college, unlike HS, people most likely want to be there.</p>

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<p>Thank you ohio_mom.</p>

<p>I was also wondering if the college life one would envision in high school turns out to be accurate? I want to be able to pursue physical activities at least 3 times a week. (none at a varsity level of course)</p>

<p>Are facilities, such as tennis courts, often reserved for school teams?</p>

<p>And drinking, how do people manage to avoid getting caught if the faculty is smart enough to know that there is a lot of underage drinking going on?</p>

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<p>Most of the schools we visited made the point that athletics could be persued at variety of levels - club, team, and so on. Many had separate weight rooms for the varsity teams, so that regular folks would feel more comfortable. </p>

<p>People do get caught for drinking, especially if they are loud, obvious, and blatant. And they do get into trouble. If its not too much trouble, they get off probation at some point. Its the deans, btw, that are concerned with this sort of things. Your profs are concerned with what you learn. </p>

<p>Some schools offer ‘substance free’ rooms or floors, if you are really concerned about this.</p>

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<p>once again thanks ohio_mom, I would like to take this opportunity to bump my post also haha</p>

<p>I’m not disgusted by drinking, maybe severe effect affects of it, but otherwise I’m fine. How about the college towns for each school?</p>

<p>When Cornell says that it has Best Buy, Barnes and Nobles etc, does it mean that those shops are within walking range?</p>

<p>I just don’t want to be too stressed in college. As long as the professors don’t WANT their students to get an average of C, I’m ok since GPAs do mean a lot when you look for jobs.</p>

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<p>be you em’ pee</p>

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<p>Admitted to Rose-Hulman today. So check that off the list :)</p>

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<p>Every year about 98% of atoms in your body are replaced.</p>

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<p>The sun’s diameter is increasing by 5ft each day.</p>

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<p>tooth enamel is the hardest part of the human body</p>

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<p>:'(</p>

<p>Approximately 99% of CC reads vitamin’s threads and ignores them.</p>