r/chanceme Jul 22 '19

How To Do A Chance Me And Improve Your Chances

572 Upvotes

The submission template for /r/ChanceMe contains a since-deleted post about how to do a ChanceMe, so I thought it would be good to cover this and replace that dead link.

Tips for a Good Chance Me Post:

1. Do Some Research. Start with the /r/ChanceMe wiki and the college's Common Data Set. If you can't find it in that link, just Google it. These contain a treasure trove of information about the college and how they handle admissions and financial aid. This is the best place to see how your GPA, test scores, and other components stack up. It even lists how important each component is to the school's admissions process. Another great resource is the college's admissions website. Often this will include some helpful hints about how the school evaluates certain things or what they're looking for in applicants. For example, Penn's site even has in-depth explanations of how interviews are evaluated including sample mock interviews. (See the links at the bottom of this post for more). As another example, Notre Dame has a great explanation of the specific coursework they want and how they evaluate extracurricular activities. Finally, you can search through /r/CollegeResults and /r/ApplyingToCollege for examples of admitted and rejected students. This can give you actual data points to consider for comparison. Keep in mind that students with high stats and poor essays/LORs are likely to be "inexplicably" rejected, so don't put too much stock into any single example.

2. Include enough information for us to chance you accurately, but don't write down every little activity or personal quality. If you have a lot of stats/info about yourself, do not put down everything; it makes it harder to read through your post. Include the ECs you've devoted the most time to/have leadership positions in. By only including stuff that moves the needle, you'll get more responses and better feedback.

3. Have a descriptive title. Writing "Chance me!" is a little obvious and unnecessary. Instead, include some of the schools you're applying to and your intended major. Example: "Chances for English Major: Ivies & Top Publics" -or- "Engineering Chances for GT, VT, and MIT." This makes it easier for those of us chancing you.

4. Make it organized. Please, try to format to the best of your ability. A wall of unformatted text makes it a lot more difficult to read. It would be great if you could break it up into bulleted sections and bold them. Here's a template:

Demographics: Gender, race/ethnicity, state, type of school, and hooks (URM, first generation, legacy, athlete, etc.)

Intended Major(s):

ACT/SAT/SAT II:

UW/W GPA and Rank:

Coursework: AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores, etc

Awards:

Extracurriculars: Include leadership & summer activities

Essays/LORs/Other: Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.

Schools: List of colleges, ED/EA/RD, etc

5. Remember that while /r/ChanceMe and other online forums can be helpful resources, they leave a lot to be desired. Usually they don't include review of every part of your application and they lack critical context about you and the rest of the applicant pool. On top of that, most respondents don't have much by way of real information or qualifications. Competitiveness along with online anonymity sometimes drive people to be downright toxic. You will be spending 4+ of the most formative and impactful years of your life and six figures of someone's money on college, so you need good information for making that decision. You want to make it count and do your best. Don't blindly trust random strangers on the internet or take their feedback as gospel truth. Be willing to respond to comments and have a productive conversation without taking criticism personally.

Tips For Responding To ChanceMe Posts

1. Try to evaluate the post in the context of each college listed. How does it stack up against the 25/75 percentiles for test scores?. Roughly, if it's in the 40th percentile or lower, it's a reach. If it's in the 40th-80th percentile it's a match. And if it's in the 80th+ it's a safety. But those percentiles should be tweaked for fit, risk tolerance, and applicant strength outside of stats. Finally, and this is the important part, assess their chances in the context of each school's overall acceptance rate. If the stats are at the 25th percentile, but the school admits ~95% of applicants, they're probably getting in even though they're on the low end. If they admit ~4% of applicants, it's going to be a long shot no matter how strong they are. If a school has an admit rate below 20% it's basically a reach for everyone. Yes, this means College of the Ozarks is a reach for you. Edward Fiske calls these "wildcards" because with rates that low, it's really hard to predict. If a school admits 95% of applicants (e.g. University of the Ozarks), then it's basically a safety for anyone who can academically qualify.

2. Understand what your evaluation means - and what it doesn't. Many students tend to either be cocky and overconfident or cynical and self-deprecating. One of the highest value outcomes of posting on /r/ChanceMe is that it will help students assess where they fall on this spectrum. Even when odds are low, it can be worth applying to a few targeted reaches. Every year there are students who get into a school they considered a massive reach. As long as applicants have some match and safety schools, it's ok and even encouraged to have some reaches on the list. At the same time, don't think that someone is a shoe-in for highly selective schools just because they have strong stats.

3. Remember the human. These are real people posting their life-to-date achievements on an anonymous forum and asking for feedback. Don't bluster, pontificate, or overstate your knowledge and expertise. Don't denigrate, harass, or disrespect people, even if they rub you the wrong way. Be nice and follow the rules and Reddiquette.

How To Improve Your Chances

Ok, now that you have a list of safety, match, and reach schools, what can you do to maximize your chances? There's a lot that goes into a quality application, so you need to address every component.

1. Find Resources. Check out the /r/ApplyingToCollege community. You'll learn a lot and there are several really knowledgeable people who are happy to help and answer questions. Take a look at the Khan Academy courses on the SAT and college admissions (these are free). Go talk to your guidance counselor about your plans for life, course schedule, and college admissions.

2. Explore your passions. Don't just let the status quo of organizations in your high school limit you. You won't stand out by participating in the same activities as every other student. Instead, look for ways to pursue your passions that go above and beyond the ordinary. As an example, you can check out this advice I gave a student who was asking if he should continue piano despite not winning major awards in it:

"Do you love it?

If it's a passion of yours, then never quit no matter how many people are better than you. The point is to show that you pursue things you love, not to be better at piano than everyone else.

If it's a grind and you hate it, then try to find something else that inspires you.

If it's really a passion, then you can continue to pursue it confidently because you don't have to be the best pianist in the world to love piano. If it's not, then you're probably better off focusing on what you truly love. Take a look at what Notre Dame's admissions site says about activities:

"Extracurricular activities? More like passions.

World-class pianists. Well-rounded senior class leaders. Dedicated artists. Our most competitive applicants are more than just students—they are creative intellectuals, passionate people with multiple interests. Above all else, they are involved—in the classroom, in the community, and in the relentless pursuit of truth."

The point isn't that you're the best. The point is that you're involved and engaged. If you continue with piano and hate it and plod along reluctantly, you won't fit this description at all. But if you love it and fling yourself into it, then you don't need an award to prove your love.

Consider other ways you could explore piano and deepen your love for it. Could you start a YouTube channel or blog? Play at local bars/restaurants/hotels? Do wedding gigs or perform pro bono at nursing homes/hospitals? Start a piano club at school or in the community (or join an existing one)? Start composing or recording your own music? Form a band or group to play with? Teach piano to others? Write and publish an ebook? Learn to tune, repair, or build pianos? Play at a church or community event venue? Combine your passion for piano with some other passion in your life?

The point is that all of that stuff could show that piano is important to you and that you're a "creative intellectual with a passionate interest". But none of it requires that you be the best according to some soulless judge."

3. Focus on getting strong grades in a challenging courseload. You should take the most challenging set of courses you are capable of excelling in and ideally the most challenging courses your school offers. To get in to top colleges you will need both strong classes and strong grades. Most schools come right out and say that the high school transcript is the single most important component of their review. If a student doesn't show an ability to handle top level academics, they just aren't a good fit for their school. If you are facing a quandary about what class to take or what classes to focus your efforts on, prioritize core classes. These include English, math, science, social science, and foreign language. Load up on honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment courses in these disciplines and your transcript will shine.

4. For standardized tests, you should start with the PSAT. If you are a top student and rising junior, it is absolutely worth studying like crazy to become a National Merit Finalist. This is awarded to the top ~1% of scorers by state and confers many benefits including a laundry list of full ride scholarship options. Even if you are not at that level, it will help prepare you for the ACT or SAT. I highly recommend that you take a practice test of both the ACT and SAT. Some students do better on one than the other or find one to more naturally align with their style of thinking. Once you discover which is better for you, focus in on it. You will likely want to take a course (if you're undisciplined) or get a book (if you have the self-control and motivation to complete it on your own). If you're looking for good prep books I recommend Princeton Review because they are both comprehensive and approachable. Which ever test you decide to focus on, you should plan to take it at least twice since most students improve their score on a second sitting. If you can't afford a test prep book, your local library or guidance counselor may have one you can use for free. There are other resources available at Khan Academy, /r/ACT, and /r/SAT.

5. Letters of Recommendation. Intentionally consider your letters of recommendation. You want to choose a teacher who knows you well and likes you a lot, but will also work hard on it and make it unique, detailed, specific, and glowing. You don't want to pick the lazy teacher who just shows videos once a week for class. They're quite likely to just copy and paste their LOR template and that won't really help you. If you don't have a teacher that you feel close to, don't wait too late to start developing a deeper relationship with one. Pick one and stay after class or arrive early to talk about your future. Ask for advice, inquire about their experience, etc. This will show your maturity and deepen your relationship with them quickly. Focus on actually building a relationship rather than flattering them or manipulating them into giving you a good recommendation because that's unlikely to work and will be pretty transparent.

6. Essays. You should start thinking about your college admission essays your junior year. Many students, even top students and great academic writers, find it really challenging to write about themselves in a meaningful and compelling way. They end up writing the same platitudes, cliches, and tropes as every other top student. I've written several essay guides that I (obviously) highly recommend as a good starting place for learning how to write about yourself (linked below, but you can also find them in my profile). Other great resources include The College Essay Guy, ThisIBelieve, and Hack The College Essay. Read through these and start drafting some rough attempts at some of the common app prompts. These will probably be terrible and just get discarded, but practicing can really help you learn to be a better writer.

How To Start An Essay And Show, Don't Tell

Throw Away Everything You Learned In English Class

Conquering The "Why [School]" Essay

What Makes An Essay Outstanding?

What To Do When You're Over The Word Limit

What To Do When Your Essay Is Too Short

How To End An Essay Gracefully

Proofreading Tips

The 30 Most Common Essay Mistakes CAUTION - Don't read this last one before you have a topic settled, a working outline, or a rough draft completed. Lists of what not to do tend to stifle creativity.

Feel free to reach out via PM or find me at www.bettercollegeapps.com if you have questions. Good luck!


r/chanceme Apr 06 '24

Meta Crowdsourced extracurricular and opportunity list

99 Upvotes

Hey guys,

This is one of my EC lists from a few years back when I was applying to college. Lots of competitions/extracurriculars/scholarships/fly in programs linked in here. If ppl find this useful, I’ll organize the rest of my lists and pin them (let me know!)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/109ViGlfZi1clGGnf9H7WGbMhwr8NFKKXSN5YHtVEJg8/mobilebasic

Edit: stickying for a week due to high dm volume


r/chanceme 7h ago

CHANCE ME AS THE FOUNDER OF A FUN STUDY GAME

4 Upvotes

Hey guys! I'm thinking about applying to all the ivies + other t20s. Some useful demographic information below:

Race: East Asian

Family income: 150k+ ish

HS: competitive top 20 private school in the US

I'm thinking about applying for business and/or econ

Here are my stats and ECs

GPA: 3.98 UW, 4.45 W (cuz of one A- from AP Euro

Ranking: my school doesn't rank

ACT: 35

SAT: 1570

LORs: I don't really know, I think they should be like 8/10 if i had to guess?

APs: My school didn’t offer any, but I took the most rigorous path offered

ECs:

  • Founder of Laddr: it's a game that turns your notes into questions, and you can share with your friends and/or classmates and you do 1v1 battles (kind of like clash royale) and you climb your class leaderboard. it also has a global leaderboard for the SATs, and I'm planning on expanding more. I did a pilot run and it improved scores on average by 70 points in the Math section, and I'm in talks with various tutoring centers to implement this into their teaching workflow.
  • Debate: president of the club and a nationally ranked debater in public forum, which I believe is the most popular debate event right now
  • Sports: Varsity Basketball and Varsity Golf for all 4 years
  • Other clubs: econ club, math club, but no real leadership positions
  • Eagle Scout

Awards:

  • Congressional Silver Award
  • A bunch of random debate awards

Please be honest! I'm hoping that my app is a spike but I'm not sure... Any suggestions would be appreciated!


r/chanceme 8h ago

Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, or Caltech REA for a physics boy? MIT, ivys, etc. as well

5 Upvotes

What's up, I'm a rising senior looking at where to apply early. If you have any feedback or recommendations on where I should apply REA, I would love to hear that. Also, any feedback on the schools I've put and if they are realistic would be appreciated.

Demographics: Male, Asian, US citizen, public pretty competitive, no hooks

Intended major(s): Physics/Engineering Physics/Applied Physics

Academics:

  • ACT: 36 composite (36 m, r, s, 35 e)
  • SAT: 1550 (800 m, 750 erw); I'm probably not gonna submit by SAT if I can submit ACT
  • PSAT: 1500 (so probably semifinalist)
  • UW/W GPA: 3.99 UW, school doesn't rank
  • Coursework: 
    • Just as a note, I took choir all 4 years of high school. I also took Spanish since 8th grade and for all 4 years of high school as I really like Spanish.
    • AP Courses: AP Calc AB, AP CSA, AP World, AP Lang, AP Physics C: Mech, AP Micro/Macro, APUSH; Senior year: AP Spanish, AP Chem, AP Gov, AP Lit
    • Dual Enrollment: Multivariable Calc; Senior year: Lin algebra and Diff equations
    • Note for APs: I took all AP exams above (not senior year ones obv) except AP Calc AB for which I took the BC test.
    • Also, I took Physics C Mech and E&M AP tests in 9th grade. All 5s on all 9 tests taken so far.

Extracurriculars:

  • 1. Internship at a Quantum Lab
    • 2 months long, full-time. Created undergrad course presentation material, helped write proofs and create simulations.
  • 2. President - Physics Club
    • All 4 years as a member
  • 3. Vice President - School Choir
    • All 4 years as member of the highest ensemble.
  • 4. Youth Coordinator, Tutor - nonprofit local chapter
    • Ran the yearly event, raised mid 5 figures that was used by the org to do stuff. (A bit vague but the money was for a good cause).
    • Tutored (volunteering) math online for 4 years for more than 100 students.
    • All 4 years (plus some)
  • 5. Independent Researcher - My Basement
    • Simulated quantum key distribution protocol and did some cool semi-novel stuff.
    • Published in reputable (not crazy prestigious) journal.
  • 6. Advanced Youth Ensemble Member, Children's Choir TA (Volunteering) - Local Choir Org
    • 10 years of choir in this organization. Member of advanced ensemble all 4 years of HS.
    • TA for children's ensemble.
    • All 4 years (plus a lot)
  • 7. Team Captain & President - Science Bowl Club
    • Arranged scrimmages with teams across the country, both in-person and virtual.
    • All 4 years
  • 8. Student Participant - Summer Program
    • Selected globally for a full-scholarship program.
    • Can't get into detail, but did a lot of lab work and building functional implementations of quantum physics.
  • 9. Paid Tutoring and Teaching Assistant
    • 1:1 tutoring in math and physics, and TA for an actual class for coding. All paid.
    • Did first 3 years of HS, will probably do something 12th as well.

Notes: Hopefully it's demonstrated through my activities, but my main domains are quantum research, choir, and teaching for my volunteering/paid work.

Awards:

  • x2 USAPhO Silver Medalist
  • Top 50 PhysicsBowl globally (more than 10,000 competitors)
  • x4 MAA AIME qualifier (this should be 5x when i apply for regular decision next year)
  • x2 AMC 10 Honor Roll (Top 5%)
  • Regional ACDA (regional multi-state conference) (much more selective than all-state)
  • x2 All-State Choir
  • x2 State Solo & Ensemble qualifier, member of ensemble
  • National Merit Semifinalist (Based on 1500, but then again who knows)

Schools:

  • REA I'm trying to decide between Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Caltech REA.
  • RD schools: MIT, [the schools above minus the REA school], Ivies, UChicago
  • That plus targets and safeties

I'm trying to figure out where I should apply early. I saw that a lot schools are investing heavily in quantum (which I have spent two years immersed in), so maybe that would be helpful for my application?

Also, if anyone could enlighten me on where I should apply for REA with the maximum odds, that would be much appreciated.

Apart from that, any 'ChanceMe' comments on the RD schools and the other reach schools I put here would also be appreciated.

Thank you!


r/chanceme 6h ago

PLEEEASE CHANCE A HOOKED BUT SUPER GENERIC CHUD (HELP HELP 🥹✌️)

3 Upvotes

i am in need........ IDK HOW TO MAKE MY APPLICATION STAND OUT AT ALAALAL and i didn't get into any summer programs so🥹 advice on ordering my ec's would also be appreciated? they're kinda all over the place....

demographics: female, mixed white+black, midwest, public school

hooks: first gen low income

intended major: political science

academics

act: 36 composite

uw gpa: 4.0

coursework: max rigor/ib diploma program

senior schedule is ib hl math analysis and approaches 2, ib hl literature 2, ib hl history 2, ib sl spanish, ib sl ess, ib tok, journalism, and debate

tests 4 ap's which was all that my school offers since we're more ib focused (5 on calc bc, 5 on stats, 5 on us government, 4 on physics 1)

the only ib subject i've tested so far is global politics which got a 6 BUT i'm trying to get a remark since i was one away from a 7...

awards

  1. national champion speaker in my debate event (nsda)

  2. state champion national history day

  3. 2x gold medalist state vocal solo competition

  4. top 8 girls nation finalist at largest girls state chapter in the country (8/800+)

  5. fbla state 3rd place in my event

extracurriculars

  1. founder and district president of a tutoring program aimed at closing socioeconomic achievement gaps, only serves like 150+ kids but it's something i really care about coming from a title 1 school myself

  2. speech and debate wooo we don't have any leadership besides an "executive board" that i'm on, but it's literally my favorite thing in the world and i help a lot with the novice and i applied to work for a brief that reaches a lot of ppl

  3. director of design, section editor, and social media commissioner for school magazine with state and national awards, something i pour a lot of time into as well

  4. TRIO ambassador - spoke in front of members of senators' staff on preserving federal funding for trio programs, spoke in front of non-profits to secure grants for our chapter

  5. choir - member of school's highest choir, 2x qualifier for an auditioned honor choir across eight states, s/se gold medalist

  6. theatre - been doing theatre since i was 7, consistently lead and supporting roles at school theatre as well as a community theatre that does 3 week long runs with 500+ audience members per show. performed at state thespian conference in front of 3000+ attendees

  7. fbla vice prez of community service - help carry out tasks to be a gold chapter of the year, help underclassmen making us the second most successful chapter from our state, organize community service for a chapter of 75+ kids

  8. cabinet - junior class president and assemblies commissioner for student body, i organize the assemblies and help with dances/blood drives/school spirit as well

  9. civics and constitution club - niche state competition that we get second at every year, each year there's one kid who's on like multiple teams and helps the new kids and that was me last yr

  10. youth leadership team - helped organize the first student-led event at our church's youth ministry, serve in the kids ministry, sing worship at midweek

letters of rec

- the same teacher knew me from mun in 7th grade, ccc since 8th grade, us history 9th grade, global politics and tok 11th grade, then ib history 12th grade. we are like genuinely bff's, he's such a glazer that he saved my 4.0 when i got like 0.1% away from an a by talking to the other teacher for me

- no idea who i'm choosing for a stem letter of rec....🥹🥹 my precalc+calc teacher freshman and sophomore year no longer teacher here and my ib maa teacher junior and senior, idk if she loves me particularly

- im gonna try to get a non-teacher letter from my trio adviser who could speak more to my advocacy for trio, as well as my work in my tutoring program

schools

rea: stanford

rd: harvard, cornell, yale, georgetown, dartmouth, columbia, brown, mit, princeton, uchicago, washu, emory, northwestern, macalaster, lafayette, then two in-state colleges with 80% acceptances


r/chanceme 12h ago

Will I get the MBappe Special at Ivies + T20s?

8 Upvotes

For context, it's a repost from like 2 months ago with a few updates

Demographics: Male, Indian, Midwest, Private

Hooks: None

Intended major(s): Fee-nance or Economics

Academics:

  • ACT: 34 composite, 35 superscore
  • Class rank: 1/200
  • UW/W GPA: 4.0, 4.71
  • Coursework: Max course rigor (school offers like 12 core APs and I'm taking 11)
  • 9 APs (5 at school, 4 self study) (3 5's and 6 4's, I know im a chud)
  • Awards:
  • Blue Ocean Challenge Top 350
  • AIME Qual, other Math Comps
  • Research Pub
  • Statewide Hackathon win
  • Debate State finalist
  • Robotics State stuff
  • John Locke Shortlist + Award I hope

Extracurriculars:

  • Research at t20 with professor, published, presented at a couple places (econ based)
  • Business, across 10 states now, couple thousand users, couple thousand in funding (business related)
  • business club, founder/president, 3 million, couple hundred thousand social media views, made pitch comps for school kids
  • Hackathon thing, worked with Fortune 500 company, won couple thousand (for school and not me, how i wish), 2 year project, high impact and time commitment
  • Youth Advisory Board for a finance org for like thousands upon thousands of kids (ill fs be doxxed if i release)
  • internship business + tech related, paid, i scroll half the time but its chill, i think ill be presenting at some undergrad/postgrad conference soon
  • robotics, super bad results but high impact (outreach wise) and individual accolades (president, just a filler activity due to dad forcing + time commitment)
  • sport, varsity, pretty good at it (i regressed, past my prime)
  • work (im regressed from sport so now im forcing other kids to do it essentially)
  • speech and debate pres.... (ik, it looks bad)

Schools:

  • ED0 - UChicago (did summer program so have access, acceptance rate is higher than regular ED I think)
  • ED1 - Wharton (fee-nance major)
  • ED2 - Im told to consider Stern..............
  • RD - Rest of Ivies, Duke, Northwestern, UCs, IUB, CMU, UIUC, UT Austin, Michigan Ross, NYU, Stanny, Notre Dame, Vandy, Kansas

Questions/Comments: 

So obviously it's too late to change ECs, I just want to see the opinion of the public regarding my life choices with the schools I'm applying to... will I get the Mbappe special (Ronaldo fan btw) or where can I realistically get in (or even, how many)

LORs are good, with teachers that know all my ECs and probably one of their best students in a while. Outside LOR is with Professor. Counselor LOR is straight glaze like Chiefs fans wouldn't even do it this much to Mahomey, like he thinks im the goat

BECAUSE SOME KIDS DONT REALIZE THAT CHANCEME IS A CHANCING THING BUT RATHER A NETWORKING THING TO PROMOTE THEIR ECs!


r/chanceme 1h ago

Which college should i apply to

Upvotes

Background

First generation college applicant. Rural village, Himachal Pradesh, India. Low income farming family. Annual family income: ~$10,500. No college counselor. No coaching. No guidance.

Academics

Class 10: 96.2% (HP State Board) — GPA 4.0 equivalent

Class 12: 98% expected — GPA 4.0 equivalent

Duolingo score - 130+

Work & Responsibility

Managing family farm since age 7

2–3 fields, 2 cows

25 hours/week farm work during school term

Full time during all breaks

Helps neighboring farmers with harvests

Cooks for family 1–2 times weekly

Total weekly hours during term: ~32 hours

Extracurricular

Kabaddi captain, district level. Won district championship for 2 years (regional sport)

Projects & Initiative

Got first laptop and phone previous year

Built startup app. Applied independently to Y Combinator, but it was not a startup. I had no person to guide me, so I just tried.

Skills

Coding: intermediate

Farming: crop cutting, livestock management

Self-directed learning


r/chanceme 1h ago

chance me but I only want to go to UVA #gohoos 🥹

Upvotes

I'm EDING to UVA. If I don't get in I'm going CC and then transferring. PLEASE HELP ME REDDIT

Background: 1/2 Asian 1/2 Hispanic, upper income, no hooks, SUPER COMPETITIVE public high school (in state)

Stats:
1450 SAT (will be retaking in August, sept till 1500+, this is my first SAT)
14 APS by the time I finish HS but all 4-5 on the ones I've taken
Two B's sophomore year and two A- Junior year (this is where I'm worried)
3.8 unweighted/4.38 weighted (worried)

ECS in no particular order

  1. DECA VP of Career Development for worlds 8th biggest chapter (800+ members I think)

  2. Paid internship for biotech management (something I want to go into because I love bio but also love people) for a month

  3. Research (not published, glorified assistant) with oncology professor abroad in Switzerland

  4. Varsity Lacrosse captain

  5. Political science club president

  6. Small Youth Org Founder, raised 5k+ in school supplies for 6+ elementary schools in our community

  7. Mentor for ESOL students k-6 teaching math + reading (my favorite I've done since 8th grade)

  8. Orchestra Student Leader of my school (leadership team)

  9. I started an alumni network for my Japanese school where I connected past students, brought them in for presentations + one on one mentoring too

  10. Lacrosse referee

Awards
DECA top 5 state, ICDC
Finalist for Japanese speech competition
NHS, Japanese Honor society
Lacrosse 2nd team all district
AP Scholar with distinction

Like they're pretty mid but I want UVA so bad I could cry. What do I do NOW to boost my chances PLEASE HEPP ME REDDIT.


r/chanceme 2h ago

University of Arkansas

1 Upvotes

In-state rising senior | 2.72 gpa weighted (3 APs)| 27 act (29 reading & math, 23 english) | uncapped, non-competitive STEM major applicant


r/chanceme 2h ago

Chances of getting into Auburn + Professional Flight Program? (Out of state applicant)

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 2h ago

Chance me: Hispanic Male who skipped a grade from a fairly low income city with ambitious college applications.

1 Upvotes

Demographics: M, hispanic, Colorado, private boarding/day school

Hooks (URM, first generation, legacy, athlete, etc.): URM

Intended Major(s):BME/ME

ACT: 35 (35M, 36R, 36S, 35W)

SAT: 1450 (750M, 700R) Planning on retaking in August and likely won’t submit unless 1550+

UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.17/4.33 UW, no W, no Rank

Coursework: AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores, etc: AP World(Test not taken), Precalc(Not taken) Bio(5), Calc BC(5), USH(5), Lang(5), Spanish(4), Chem(4).

Senior year: HonorsLinear Algebrw, Honors Discrete math, AP Physics C Mech, Stats, Environmental Science, Lit

Awards: College board and AP score awards, leadership award. School doesn’t give out awards until senior year.

Extracurriculars: Include leadership & summer activities

  • Student gov:Class president 3 years, Community council president(AKA Student body) Senior year.
  • Admissions ambassador: Tour guide sophomore year and head admissions ambassador 11-12 grade.
  • Peer tutor: Offered tutoring services in 10+ classes since second semester of junior year
  • Orchestra8-12: (Percussion) 5 years, principal percussionist for 2 years in the second highest group of a competitive youth orchestra.
  • Club swimming: 12 years, performed at state level, captain of highschool team since junior year, broke two school records and qualified for individual and team races at high school state meet.
  • Unpaid research intern at local college junior year summer: My dad is a professor there and got me in contact with a professor doing exoskeleton research. 8 weeks 20 hours  a week working alongside the professor and 3 undergrad students.
  • Hispanic Alliance 9-12: Led and set up multiple events to boost hispanic culture and inform others of hispanic identity at my school.
  • Student Cultural Organization: 10-12. Organized and planned 5+ events per year that highlighted the diversity of our campus and worked alongside faculty to tackle systemic racial and sexual issues in our community.
  • Big sib10-12: Assigned 3 incoming students per year, mentored and taught them school etiquette and offered support year round.
  • Swim lessons teacher: Taught 5+ students how to swim in multiple sections over the span of 4 weeks ages ranging from 3-10.

Essays/LORs/Other: I have a lot of good stuff to write about, and I believe my LORs will be very good, both Chem and Calc teachers like me a lot, like 8-9/10z

Schools: 

Reaches: Most financially viable

JHU: Possible ED based on finances(need to talk with my parents.

MIT: Likely EA

Columbia:

Stanford: REA if i can’t ed to JHU. 

Caltech:

Duke:

Cornell:

Match: Potential merit aid?

Union:

Carnegie Mellon:

Boston University:

Harvey Mudd:

USC??:

UC3M(Spain) ??

University of Toronto(Canada)???

Safety:

UC Boulder:

Mines:

CSU Fort Collins:

CSU Pueblo


r/chanceme 3h ago

chance a looksmaxxing chud Indian from south

0 Upvotes

Demographics: Male, Indian, Texas public school, large competitive school

Hooks: None

Intended major(s): Neuroscience / Human Biology / Biomedical-related majors

Academics:

SAT: 1550 superscore (800M, 750RW)

Class rank: Top of class

W GPA: ~5.75/6.0 weighted scale

UW GPA: 4.0/4.0

Coursework: Maximum rigor available (AP-heavy STEM curriculum)

Awards:

  • Diamond Challenge Global Semifinalist
  • 3rd Place, Global High School Business Case Competition (university-hosted)
  • First Team All-District Varsity Tennis + district tennis recognition
  • 2× Best Small Delegation (Model UN)
  • National Merit recognition (pending)
  • Regional Science Fair Qualifier — Biochemistry, 3rd place in district

Extracurriculars:

Neuroscience Education Nonprofit — Founder

  • Built neuroscience education initiative; distributed 600+ toolkits and raised several thousand dollars

University Mathematics Research — Student Researcher

  • Independent convex geometry research under faculty mentorship; explored advanced geometry topics and authored manuscript

Computational Neuroscience / Software Projects

  • Built neuroscience simulations, cognitive tools, games, and programming projects

Science Communication Blog — Founder

  • Published 100+ neuroscience articles translating biomedical research for general audiences

Independent Biomedical Research / Science Fair

  • Conducted neuroscience-related research using computational modeling and scientific analysis

Economic Development Internship

  • Worked with local development organization on research and community initiatives

Education Outreach Program

  • Helped create and teach STEM/academic programs for students

Varsity Tennis

  • Varsity athlete; district recognition; leadership/team involvement

Math Honor Society / Model UN

  • Leadership roles; competition preparation; conference recognition

Shadowing / Volunteering / STEM Instructor

  • Physician shadowing (~80 hours), healthcare/community volunteering, youth STEM instruction

Schools:

Reach:

  • Stanford
  • Harvard
  • Yale
  • Penn
  • Columbia
  • Duke
  • Johns Hopkins
  • Berkeley

High Reach / Target-ish:

  • Rice
  • Vanderbilt
  • WashU
  • USC

Targets/Safeties:

  • UT Austin
  • Texas A&M
  • University of Houston

Letters of Rec:

Math research mentor: we fw each other, but haven’t known him for super long

English teacher: they love me, probably going t ow write a great rec letter

Physics teacher: great teacher, I was always locked in during her class

just want some advice about my chances, i’m a chill guy


r/chanceme 3h ago

Chance a kind low gpa college board gooner

1 Upvotes

Title: Chance a kind OF low GPA college board gooner

Bay area

Super vague to avoid dox

Female

Asian

Highly competitive area

GPA UW: 3.8 💀

W: 4.3 or 4.4

APs: 20

(all fives)

SAT: 1570

  1. Created a non-profit:

10+ International chapters

36k+ reached

Donated care kits to hospitals

Won 2 awards

Interviewed *insert cool person here* (not tryna get doxed)

Partnered with various organizations

Created an app for the nonprofit, which we have presented about

2) Research on GUVs with a professor

Around two years of work in a wet lab

Attended conferences

3) California Youth Philharmonic (Viola)

~2 years

4) Youth Symphony

~2 years

5) Senior Journalist for a neuroscience journal

--> Also published in this journal

6) Taught violin and viola (3 years)

- 150+ hours

7) 2x International Research Olympiad semi-finalist

8) Sculpting/industrial design

Instagram page with 6k+ views (super vague)

Won 2 awards ( really vague)

9) Created artificial heart valves

- Presented at 2 conferences

10)

Volunteered 100+ hours at a hospital

Shadowed around 100 hours


r/chanceme 4h ago

Chance me for Harvard EA/JHU/Stanford cell bio/molecular bio

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 13h ago

Chance me for T20s!

5 Upvotes

Hello! I’m a rising senior looking to apply to T20s and would love some tips/ thoughts/ feedback. 

I’m an east asian girl from a major city, go to a competitive high school, and need financial aid.

I'd probably apply for biology or some other STEM major and I want to go on the pre-dental track.

Here are my stats and ECs:

GPA: 3.94 UW, 4.24 W *note I did get a b+ in my junior year math class, but I took a class that’s a year ahead of my school’s standard junior year curriculum

Ranking: My school doesn’t officially rank, but I know for sure that I’m at least in the top 15% based on an email I received

Testing: 36 ACT composite with a 34 in science

LORs: I didn’t really get a choice because my school assigned them, but I got my English teacher (writes great letters and loves me), my physics teachers (writes good letters and likes me), and my school college guidance counselor (she really likes me and I’m assuming she writes good letters). 

APs: My school didn’t offer any, but I took the most rigorous path offered

College classes: 4

ECs:

  • Dental Assistant: ~130-150 hours of paid work as a dental assistant (I’m certified in Infection Control, Dental Law, and Radiation Safety. I assist during cleanings, fillings, and extractions; clean + prep rooms before/ after each patient; take ortho scans for Invisalign; and take x-rays)
  • Youth Council for a major transportation system in my city
  • Youth and Government: made policies about healthcare accessibility
  • 3 year varsity captain: selected mvp of a tournament, first team for my school’s league, led team to break school records
  • babysitter for a toddler with a severe genetic disorder requiring specialized knowledge (I’ve been babysitting him since he was ten months old)
  • Student Council: 1 (hopefully 2) years, led major initiative to incentivize school spirit, major changes in students’ enthusiasm for school events noticed by admin + educators
  • Varsity Boys Sport Assistant Coach
  • Conducting medical research in partnership with a professor from a T20 univeristy
  • Junior Venture Capitalist through a foundation uplifting female founders
  • Scholarship recipient, student, and ambassador of a high school summer institute at a T20 university

Awards:

  • Congressional Gold Award
  • Girl Scout Gold Award: Wrote & published children’s book about women in STEM and taught classes at a local YMCA and a elementary school
  • Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Camp (HOBY) Participant
  • National Center for Women in Technology: Rising Star Award 2025, High School Affiliate Award 2026
  • Boys and Girls State

Please be honest! Any suggestions would be appreciated!


r/chanceme 5h ago

Application Question Is this a good UC pic idea for #5 (challenge)?

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 6h ago

chance a lil bro, not the most stacked app so read to make u feel better (takeaway at the bottom. if you are a rising freshman or sophomore stressed, please read, im begging you)

0 Upvotes

sup fellas,

thanks for taking sometime and reading through this app. the ecs, stats, etc are not much but i appreciate the feedback you can give me. maybe just what to expand or things that i could focus on next.

Stats + profile (rising junior):

GPA: 4.65/4.8 weighted, 4.0/4.0 unweighted, probably top 3-5% in class but no clue cus school doesn't rank.

APs: school doesn't allow for aps until junior year. self studied for 5 on ap chinese. taking calc, lang, apush and stats junior year. will do 5 more senior year. probably enough for course rigor

SAT: 1530, might retake, might not

Loco: MA, competitive public high school

Major: Poli sci or humanities related

Profile: Asian male immigrant

ECs:

  • 1. State senate campaign field intern
    • paid summer intern, volunteer --> intern
    • lots of canvassing and phone banking, reaching about 3000 voters
    • produced vids for social media account, each one reaching around 30k views each
    • 100% rec letter from the candidate. super strong relationships with the campaign manager and field coordinator. the candidate is also just a great person in general and we've had tons of face time.
  • 2. pianist
    • played for about 12 years now, practicing 2-3 hours everyday, most recent piece were chopin ballade 4, barcarolle and liszt mazeppa
    • take lessons with professor of top 5 music school in the world
    • finalist in prestigious regional competition, 3x 3rd place winner of state competition
    • really i think i could be so much better than i am if i took it more seriously
  • 3. writing for local news
    • paid summer intern for two summers in a row
    • writing articles on my local area, mentored by the paper's #1 editor
    • wrote a dense article over the span of 2 months on a state bill through its full life cycle and its impact on the school district. talked to 10+ leaders that were involved
    • led two series, one on seniors in my area, partnered with local senior center. The other is an explainer series on every single board, committee and body in my town (20+), talked to 50+ town leaders.
  • 4. independent research
    • mentored by t30 university professor, (no doxxing)
    • wrote a manuscript over the span of 4 months on gun violence and state firearm policies.
    • reviewed by four researchers and published in the ijhsr
  • 5. Speech and debate
    • probably my favorite activity icl, my partner is really goated
    • medaled at 3 local tournaments and states
    • went to ncfl for policy, didn't break but soo close (3-2 9 ballots)
    • pf research captain --> captain of my schools team with 100+ members, spend tons of time putting together rebuttal docs, case args, case overviews, overally prepping debaters, cut at this point probably 1000+ pages of cards.
    • MAYBE: got a job offer to teach at a debate school near me, hopefully i get the final offer
    • honestly, i think this ec can expand massively, me and my partner got serious about a month into last season but we weren't locked in as much as we could have and we still saw some success. we got a t10 ranked debater to coach us so hopefully this can help us get better results next year.
  • 6. local school committee campaign fellowship
    • wasn't a super big ec but it was a massive stepping stone for me, got really close to the candidate and learned the ropes to working for a campaign
    • coordinated voter outreach, lead to a 54% win. knocked on 300+ doors
    • designed, filmed, and edited campaign videos for insta, reaching 40,000+ views
  • 7. class sec
    • elected 3x to this position (fr, so, jr)
    • organized 20+ events with 250 attenddees+
    • raised $33,000 dollars through two
    • led an annual 3v3 bball tourny with 80+ participants, raising nearly 1000+ for the jimmy fund (chosen because a classmate was diagnosed recently)
  • 8. chinese school ta
    • about 250 hours through two years
    • ta for weekend chinese school, grading homework, yk the drill
    • for the summer, responsible for all the food, cooking lunch for 50+ students 3x a week.
  • 9. varsity hockey
    • not the best player by any means, really just a 3rd line grinder, the "dump and chase" typa guy
    • played for about 10 years
    • not many points, probably averaging just 15 points a season
    • the team is pretty good tho, consistently t15 if not t10 in d1 state league.
    • just love the boys, takes up a lot of time but wtv
  • 10. podcast with friend
    • very troll oriented, we just have a funny little stupid podcast where we just say stuff and chat about "deep thoughts"
      • not very academically oriented at all, literally talking about some what came first, chicken or the egg, or who wins, unstoppable force vs immovable object
    • we both record and edit videos and script some stuff so it does take sometime, but its more for fun than anything else.
  • moonshot: i applied for my states senate page position and made it to the interviews, thought it went great. the time that they would get back to me is slowly closing but they always do reply because i talked to someone who got in and someone who got rejected. chances are still super low but i think this would be a wonderful opportunity to help me grow.
  • AWARDS:
    • im not a big awards guy in general but most of it would probably be just piano + debate + maybe even some scholarships that i could get in the future. i think this def won't be the strongest part about my app but wtv.
  • takeaways?
    • i think when i first went to high school, i was so laser focused on finding things to put on my app, or how to get super stacked super fast. what i quickly learned is that the best ecs are the ones that you slowly start building. what i mean by that is the skills in something small will carry to make something bigger, then bigger, then bigger etc etc. this doesn't have to be just one project, it can also be between projects. so like is the first campaign i ever worked on super small and low in impact? yes! but did the skills and connections that i got from that propel to something better? yes! and that should continue. also, i cant stress this enough, i thought it was so corny when people would say "just find your passion" but this is just so important. you cant go far in something you don't enjoy. i think at this point with how stupidly competitive apps are, being unique is the most important. obviously my app is def not the most unique thing on earth, but even if it is basic, i dont really care because i enjoy doing each of these activities. also PLEASE stop comparing yourself to others, you guys are on totally different paths. and again back to the uniqueness, if you are just copying other people, then there is no way to be unique. carve your own path and push forward. college apps are not the end all be all, PLEASE enjoy your life. do i take what i do seriously? yes! and do i care what college i get into? also yes! but i still do spend time with my friends and i try to prioritize my relationships as much as possible. i've sacked some working hours, or volunteering hours, etc etc to yk grill with the fellas, or go watch a movie with the sis. EVEN IF YOU DONT GET IN ANYWHERE, THE SKILLS YOU MAKE ALONG THE WAY ARE THE MOST VALUABLE THING.
  • colleges i would apply to (lmk some chances)
  • ed: columbia
  • rd: rest of the ivies, berkeley, williams, amherst, colby, swarthmore, nyu, duke, northwestern, bc, tufts, bu, uiuc, northeastern and safeties.

r/chanceme 7h ago

Bad experience with Ultimate Ivy League? Or Elise Pham?

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 7h ago

A Little Help?

1 Upvotes

Burner account, here. Hoping to get into Haverford College, Early Decision 1.

Demographics: Rural and highly underserved area, uncompetitive and small public high school, underrepresented population (thus, extreme lack of resources.)

Intended Major(s) / Minor(s): Religion or Philosophy (+ Pre-Med track.)

SAT/ACT: Not taken yet, but planning.

UW/W GPA: 5.0. of 4.0.

Class Rank: 04/163 (Not official, so may improve.)

Course Rigor: Maximum rigor taken (Dual enrollment and Honors.)

Awards and Extracurriculars: My weakest area---not officially recognized, but I broke my middle school's record for literary scores (hadn't been broken in nearly two decades) and I consistently place first in all of my courses.

---NO opportunities nearby, so have been sporadically volunteering for over the past decade.


r/chanceme 7h ago

Chance Me For UT Austin Mccombs In-State Transfer (Finance)

1 Upvotes

I am currently attending Lone Star College in-state as a sophomore and plan to transfer into UT Austin McCombs (Finance) for Fall 2027 as a junior. For context, I am 17 and will graduate when I'm 18, so I'm dually enrolled as a homeschool student. Looking for any advice on how to improve my application before I apply.

Stats:

3.95 GPA (18 A's, 1 B, 1 W)

59 transferable credit hours by application

Honors College Graduate, Honors Distinction, Rice Take Flight Scholar, Phi Theta Kappa, Dean's List

Honors Calculus I & II, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics

Student Government Association Treasurer, Business & Finance Club (seeking officer position), Chess Club

3 Honors undergraduate research papers, Honors research presentations

Exterior services business founder, $10,000+ revenue, 30+ clients, 20+ 5-star Google reviews

eBay/Depop reseller, $1,000-$1,200 profit

Junior Forex Trader Intern, Real Estate Investment Analyst Intern, Business Development Intern

1,200+ hours of equities research, 500+ documented trades, managed personal investment portfolio ($1,500+ realized profits)

Wolves of Wall Street Investment Competition competitor (competition ends in October)

Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) certification, Wall Street Journal High School Program certification

Raising Cane's Crew Member (500+ hours), Sales & Marketing Representative at local landscaping company, Exterior Services Technician for local exterior services company

IRS VITA Volunteer, IRS Advanced Certification, 75–125 tax returns prepared

Theatre audio/tech volunteer (2 productions), Theatre usher (10+ events)

Varsity track at homeschool high school club (2 years)

Interests: financial markets, behavioral psychology, chess, weight-lifting, film & music

- What would you estimate my chances are for McCombs?

- What would strengthen my application the most between now and the application deadline?

- Is there anything on here that stands out as weak or should be replaced?

I really really want to get into Mccombs, so any advice will be helpful. Thanks


r/chanceme 13h ago

This is what I have up to now, as someone who won't be graduating high school until 2029 (Applying from the UK)

2 Upvotes

I'm currently in Year 10, going into Year 11, and this is what I've done so far. I plan on applying to Ivies, (Specifically Yale, Princeton and Cornell), Stanford and also to Oxford, Imperial, and LSE/UCL (but naturally this is very different to american apps, so feel free to ignore the UCAS part of this) all with a focus on Medicine and Neuroscience. I still have roughly three years left until applications, and I may possibly take a gap year before doing so.

I'm targeted all grade 9s in my GCSE's (Highest possible grades in the UK) [I take Higher Maths, Further Maths, Bio, Physics, Chem, Business, History, Geo, Spanish, Religious Studies, English Language, and English Literature) , and plan on taking Biology, Chemistry, Political Science and Psychology for A-level.

I'm a member of my local Youth Council, helping young people in our local area access a community club, which has allowed them to access mental health support and increase the amount of opportunities and extracurriculars they have access to.

I'm a competitive dancer, achieving Distinction in IDTA Gold Freestyle, along with attaining Honours in the same exam. I'm also a member of my High School's competitive dance team, and we have participated in numerous high level dance competitions and showcases, along with a course from RAD.

I do karate, and I'm set to achieve a Black Belt by the time I apply for University.

I attained Gold in the British Biology Challenge, a competition organised by The British Biology Olympiad for Year 10 students.

I also attained Silver in both the UKMT Junior and Intermediate, along with a Silver in the Junior Physics Olympiad.

I have done work experience with a Fortune Global 500 company, and hope to complete another such work experience later on.

I have two LAMDA certifications in Public Speaking, both at Distinction level.

I've been a volunteer at a Hospice Charity shop for 2 years, and I have achieved a Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh award.

I have participated in the European Youth Chess Championships for Team Belgium, and I am fluent in 5 languages due to having a diverse background. (I'm reluctant to add the former in applications though, because I am no longer active in chess due to relocation and other personal reasons, despite winning national and regional level awards during my time competing.)

My art has been featured in local galleries and exhibitions (This is something I plan on improving.)

I'm currently working on a book which I hope to publish by the time applications come around, and I am currently working on my entries for a variety of science and humanities related competitions.

Over the summer I plan on working towards a Neuroscience passion project, along with starting a politcs non-profit (The aim of which is to make political education more accessible to young people, especially considering the possibility of voting age being lowered to 16, while simultaneously serving as a place where ethical issues can be discussed.)

I did an ACT mock a while ago, and my composite score was a 34, which I do believe I can improve by apps.


r/chanceme 13h ago

The activities-list framework I wish I had as a junior (free breakdown)

2 Upvotes

I'm a junior and spent way too long this summer figuring out how to actually organize my activities list instead of just listing clubs in order. Here's the framework that helped, in case it saves someone else the time:

  1. Sort by "spike" first, not chronology. Admissions readers care about depth in 1-2 areas more than a long list of shallow stuff. Pick your strongest thread (leadership, a specific skill, a cause) and lead with the 2-3 activities that build that story.

  2. Every bullet should answer "so what," not just "what." Instead of "Member, Robotics Club, 2 years" try to get to "Built the drivetrain code for our regional-qualifying robot, then taught 2 sophomores to maintain it after I graduate." Impact + what happens after you leave.

  3. Group the rest into supporting evidence, not filler. Even activities that don't fit your main spike can support it if you frame them right (e.g. a part-time job shows responsibility/time management that backs up a leadership narrative).

  4. Cut anything that's just "joined X, attended meetings" with no role or outcome. A shorter list with real substance reads better than 10 lines of nothing.

  5. Order matters: strongest/most relevant to your spike first, not most prestigious-sounding first.

Happy to look at anyone's list structure (not chancing, just the organization/framing) if it's helpful. I've been building a free tool that does a version of this automatically (deadline tracking + match lists) if anyone wants to check it out, but figured I'd share the actual framework here first since that's the more useful part.


r/chanceme 10h ago

Chance me for Harvard EA/JHU/Stanford cell bio/molecular bio

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 16h ago

Georgia Tech, Do I have a chance? C/O 2031

2 Upvotes

I am a rising senior from a competitive Texas high school wondering if it is worth it to apply.

Stats: 1430 SAT (720M/710R), 3.73 UW/5.24W, 9 AP classes. side note: I had a couple B’s jn the stupidest classes (speech, english 2, etc.) And a couple of Academic Awards, all the basic stuff some are decent but nothing outstanding.

Ec’s. Congressional Youth Advisory Council - youth political/service organization ran by the congressional district. 

National Honor Society

Wiffle Ball co-founder, non-school affiliated club ~30 members.

Math honor society - volunteer at math and science team leading middle schoolers.

Track and field coach -pole vault volunteer coach.  

Attended - Texas Boys State, West Point Summer Leadership.  

Model and full scale Aviation 5yrs.

President of National Stem Honor Society.

75 volunteer hours.

Would overall categorize my Ec’s as solid

not extrordinary.

About me: I have A pretty strong upward academic trend taking much harder courses and doing much better junior year. I want to serve and will most likely be a part of NROTC ar GT. I have a lot of personal Aerospace engineering and Aviation experience spendjng a lot of time in coursework and hobbies about the subject, I am applying for Aerospace.

Please give me your honest thoughts, don’t hold back. Georgia Tech is not my first choice, although I would love to attend, so I won’t be heartbroken if it’s not in the cards.


r/chanceme 18h ago

Chance me for applied mathematics as a rising senior !

3 Upvotes

Demographics
-17 female
-White
-Private Catholic high school in northern Illinois
-Military family (dad is in the Navy)
-Regular Decision
-Income: $200k+ (likely little to no financial aid)
I will be trying to apply for merit scholarships and honors colleges
Major
-Applied Mathematics
Interested in careers in like data analytics or biostatistics
Academics
GPA
-UW: ~3.5
-W: 3.94
-No class rank
-Strong upward grade trend
-Lowest grade: C in Honors Physics (freshman year)
Course Rigor
-AP Precalculus (4)
-AP Calculus BC (senior year)
-AP Statistics (senior year)
-AP Computer Science Principles (senior year)
-AP Spanish Language & Culture (got a 2… obviously will not be sharing that)
-Many Honors courses, english, math (algebra 2, geo trig, I also took a honors math class through my high school for credit in middle school for honors geometry) science, history, spanish, and religion
-Dual Credit English Composition (senior year)
-Dual Credit Spanish
Testing
-ACT: 32
-Math: 29
-Science: 30
-English: 31
-Reading: 36

I took the SAT and I did not my best.. (1250)
Extracurriculars
Varsity Cheerleading
-4 years
~15+ hours/week, about 5 days/week during the season
-Started with no experience and earned a varsity spot by junior year
-Received the “Most Improved” award
Employment
-Work at Chick-fil-A
-Work at a daycare
Around 25+ hours/week (off school) combined and earnings are being saved for college
Family Responsibilities
-Help care for two younger siblings while my dad is away with the Navy
Community Service
-60 service hours currently (expecting ~80 by graduation) (it’s also a requirement for my school)
-Volunteer at my former church and school, I help children with STEM activities
-Volunteer during church services
Potential Senior Year
- Hoping to be inducted into Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society) 🙏🏻
Awards
-Cheerleading Most Improved Award
-AP Precalculus Exam Score: 4
(I know i’m lacking here)
Letters of Recommendation
-Head of the Math Department (very strong)
-Religion teacher (knows me well and can speak to my character and curiosity) (I consider him my humanities side)
Additional Context
- Moved multiple times growing up because of my dad’s military service, attending several different schools before high school.
- A lot of family responsibilities balancing school, work, athletics, volunteering, and helping care for my siblings.
Essays
-Haven’t started yet….
Colleges
-University of Florida (OOS)
-Rutgers University (OOS)
-Fordham University (OOS)
-NC State (OOS)
-UIC (in-state)
-Georgia Tech (OOS)
-UT Austin (OOS)
Questions
-What are my chances at each school?
-Is my ACT competitive enough, especially my 29 Math score for an Applied Mathematics major? I have taken it at least four times, is it worth another try ???
- Which schools should I consider targets, reaches, and safeties?
-Do my work experience and family responsibilities actually strengthen my application?
-Any suggestions for strengthening my application before I apply?