Yet another "Do I have a shot?" question.

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>I’m applying to MIT, Brown, Cal-tech, and Cornell.
These are my basic credentials:</p>

<p>G.P.A.
Roughly 3.8 by the time I graduate</p>

<p>SAT
I Reading 680 Writing 730 Math 720
II Math lvl2 740 Physics 680 (I’m taking these again, and it’s not unlikely I’ll improve them)</p>

<p>Music:
I’ve played the violin since the 3rd grade, trumpet since 5th grade, and F-Horn since 7th grade. I play in the school Concert-Band, Jazz-Band, Marching-Band, and Pep-Band. I played in a selective youth orchestral program for 6 years; stopped after my freshman year of high-school. I have also taken private lessons on violin.</p>

<p>Math:
I have taken every math class available at my high school which includes:
1 yr Geometry
1 yr Algebra 2
1 term Pre-Calculus
1 term Trigonometry
1 term Statistics
1 term Discrete Math
Now I’m taking a year-long Honors Calculus class at the University of Oregon. So far I’ve completed the first term with an A. And my professor wrote me a letter of recommendation :)</p>

<p>Science:
1 year physical sciences (just a generic freshman science class)
1 yr Chemistry
1 yr Biology (taken at my high school for college credit)
1 yr Physics (currently enrolled)</p>

<p>1 term University Astronomy (full class. earned an A-)
1 term University Physics (B+. Forced to drop this after 1 term when it’s time was moved)</p>

<p>Also, I went to a summer nanotechnology camp/class two years ago, and this summer I built my own telescope from scratch (literally grinding the mirrors etc.) in a small private class taught by John Dobson (a well-known astronomer).</p>

<p>Summary of course rigor:
4 yrs English, two were AP (see below)
2 yrs Foreign language (including the college class below)
3 yrs social studies, one AP (see below)
4 yrs science including the three standard lab sciences (see above) one of which was for college credit.
4 years of math, not including my University honors calc. class</p>

<p>AP
U.S. Hisory (2 on the test. This is my worst subject)
Language and Comp. (4 on the test)
Literature and Comp. (expecting at least a 3 on the test)</p>

<p>Other College classes:
The summer after my freshman year I took an accelerated German class at the U of Oregon.
This year I took a term-long ballroom dancing class at a community college, and now I’m taking swing-dancing.</p>

<p>I go to a small sports-obssessed school with no science fairs, math teams, chess clubs, etc. and very few advanced and AP classes. I’m hoping the schools will take this into account.</p>

<p>I’m a friendly person. I love people, rubik’s cubes, math, science, music, dancing, video games, and just about everything else that exists. I feel sort of insufficient as an applicant, but I’m applying anyway because these are my dream schools and I have to try. If anyone would care to share their opinion on whether or not I have a shot at any of them it is welcome and much appreciated :slight_smile: If not…I like jokes :P</p>

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<p>I advise you to move this over to the [“What</a> are my Chances?”](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/]"What”>Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums) thread. </p>

<p>But after skimming what you’ve posted, I’d say all of those schools are big reaches for you.</p>

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<p>sorry. I’m not familiar with the various threads on this website. I’m new here. Thanks for the help.</p>

4

<p>Oh I forgot NHS. I was VP last year.</p>

5

<p>all the schools are reaches, but i wouldn’t be surprised if you got into one of them.</p>

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<p>bump… :P</p>

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<p>I just realized you took a class with John Dobson. I envy you so much right now–I’m building my own Dobsonian telescope and would love to meet him even once. :)</p>

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<p>And I suppose I’ll chance you while I’m here.</p>

<p>I’m assuming you’re a high school junior, since you plan on retaking the SAT II exams–if not, then I hope you re-took them at the last available January date. Your GPA is solid, and colleges will appreciate the fact that you sought out tougher courses as opposed to limiting yourself to your school’s offerings.</p>

<p>On the same note, though, for schools like MIT and Caltech, your grades don’t exactly place you at the top of the applicant pool. They’re good, but they’re not ohmygoshwehavetohavehim/her! good. </p>

<p>For Cornell, I’d say you have a fairly decent shot. If all your apps are in, I’d advise you to sit tight and relax. If you’re a junior, then just keep doing what you’ve been doing so far: pursue what truly interests you and challenge yourself. You’ve done an excellent job at that already. </p>

<p>Brown just got flooded with a lot more apps this year, so I don’t know how much that will change the types of students they accept this year. But I’d say you have a fairly decent chance as well. As a pretty good student, a lot of it will boil down to your essays and your luck.</p>

<p>So, with that being said, buena suerte!</p>

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<p>Brown-reach
MIT-reach
Caltech-reach
Cornell-low reach</p>

<p>These are all pretty tough to get into. You don’t have the test scores or the ECs to be a candidate that stands out for any of them. However, you do show very strong academic interest in math and science; you would’ve had better chances if you extended those academic interests outside of school. </p>

<p>Chance me back please!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/860949-ill-chance-you-back-weird-case.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/860949-ill-chance-you-back-weird-case.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks for the great feedback ksarmand! I’m a senior, and yes I retook the SAT IIs in January. Dobson is a real character. He’s 95, but still very energetic. I’ll never forget when the assistant teacher looked at my telescope on the last day and said “I think this guy’s done.” and Dobson went “Well, hot dog!!” and rushed over to see. I’m guessing Brown is flooded with new applicants because Emma Watson (actress; Hermione from the Harry Potter movies) is going there now. I’m hoping that all these new applicants are just one in a million shots who just want to meet her, and that they won’t be too tough of competitors. Anyway, thanks again.</p>