Yale, Northwestern, Vandy... I'm think I'm in over my head!

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Okay, so I’ll cut to the chase…</p>

<p>Female from Illinois
Ethnicity: Hispanic (First generation to go to college)
GPA: 4.1 (W) /3.9 (UW)
ACT: 31 (10 on writing)
Rank: 6/265 </p>

<p>I took the hardest possible coursload, all the APs and honors possible. </p>

<p>Freshman:
English I Honors
Geometry
German I
Biology I
Health/P.E. (Required)
World History</p>

<p>Sophomore:
English II Honors
Advanced Algebra Honors
German II
Chemistry
Consumer Ed/Civics (Required)
Health II/P.E. (Required)</p>

<p>Junior
English III Honors
Pre-Calc
Advanced Chemistry Honors
Physics I
AP US History
German III</p>

<p>Senior
Psychology/Sociology (Community College Classes)
AP Calculus AB
Advanced Physics Honors
Western Civilization Honors
English IV Honors
German IV Honors
Advanced Biology Honors</p>

<p>ECs:
Drama Club 9-12 (Secretary)
Key Club 9-12 (Secretary)
National Honor Society 11-12
German Club 9-12
Student Gov. (Treasurer)
Varsity Tennis 9-12</p>

<p>Work:
Part time job since September 2007 (10 hrs/wk for school weeks, 40hrs/wk during summer)</p>

<p>Very good teacher recommendations
Hopefully good essays</p>

<p>As a side note, my dad murdered my mother in 2006 at the beginning of my sophomore year, so I plan to expand on that in my essays and the obstacles that came with it that I overcame.</p>

<p>So, with that said, what are my chances (Chemistry Major) at…</p>

<p>Yale
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
UIUC
U-Mich (Ann Harbor)</p>

<p>Any other recommendations or suggestion would be greatly appreciated :)</p>

2

<p>You stuff looks good. Being first -gen and hispanic should help a lot. Idk how your parental problem affects it. Yale is always hard to judge… You look good for Ann Harbor and Notre Dame. I dont know too much about UIUC or NWU. Chance me at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/572810-my-grades-suck.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/572810-my-grades-suck.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Yale: High Reach
Northwestern: Reach
Notre Dame: Low Reach
Vanderbilt: Low Reach
UIUC: Match
U-Mich: Low Reach</p>

<p>You’ll definitely need some safety schools. A strong essay should give you a boost. Also, any awards?</p>

<p>And if you have time, chance me at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/580933-low-gpa-no-chance-all.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/580933-low-gpa-no-chance-all.html&lt;/a&gt;. I’m worse off than you ;)</p>

4

<p>we’re like the same person!!
i’m hispanic, first gen., i have 31 and a 3.9 and we’ve taken pretty much the same classes. that’s crazy.
i’m applying to vandy as well. good luck =)</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the replies so far :)</p>

<p>Any suggestions for matches or safety schools?</p>

6

<p>As a first gen Hispanic with a 3.9 and the hardest possible course load, you should be in pretty good shape. Have you applied early to UMichigan (Ann Arbor, not Ann Harbor btw)? If so, there may be less need for more matches or safeties. What is your financial situation…do you qualify for or need FA, are you interested in schools with good merit scholarships?</p>

7

<p>I’m definitely going to need financial aid, but I have not yet applied to U-Mich. Depending on the school, merit aid could be a plus, but I really want a school well-known for its academics.
P.S. I’ve applied to Yale and Notre Dame through Questbridge if that makes a difference.</p>

8

<p>You definitely have a great shot at all of them. Ivies are so unpredictable - Yale is a reach for everyone.</p>

<p>I’m also from Illinois, you’re guaranteed to be in at UIUC as long as you apply before the priority filing deadline (Nov 1) Hispanics are the most underrepresented minority in universities today, so your urm status should help you quite a bit. I would think they would be more than happy to accept a hispanic student, especially one who is already academically qualified like you are. I’m sorry to hear about what has happened with your parents, but in essay form, writing about that should provide a good insight into the difficulties you’ve dealt with in your life and your ability to overcome them given your apparent success in school. Overall, I think you’re probably in at all of them except for Yale for which I have no idea because it’s a crapshoot anyway.</p>

<p>Yale - reach
Northwestern - mid/high match
Notre Dame - mid/high match
Vanderbilt - match
UIUC - safety
U-Mich (Ann Harbor) - mid match</p>