What are my Ivy League chances?

Question

About me- Senior, Indiana high school, female going into engineering, low income family


GPA: Weighted: 4.3556, Unweighted: 3.8889
Class rank: 49/683
SAT: 2110 (=1410 on 1600 scale)
ACT: 31
SAT II: Math 2 640, Chemistry 660

ECs
Choir-4 years, 3 years in top choir at my school, 1st and 2nd place titles, State Champions last year, current President
Key Club-4 years, committee chair, Vice President
Theatre-2 years
Speech Team-1 year
Stage Crew-3 years
Spanish Honor Society-1 year


Important Work experience-tutor, nursing home

I know I don't have a massive chance, but what do you think my chances are?

More info-
I took a risk with my essay. I wrote about how I didn't do the pig dissection freshman year and did the crazy alternate assignment instead, but still voiced my opinion in a respectful way. I explained how I still wanted to learn the information, but I had/have moral opposition to dissection.

I want to be a Chemical Engineer
I took honors chemistry my sophomore year and competed in the American Chemical Society Exam
I am taking AP Chemistry currently and have an A, I'm actually more excited about the class than I thought i'd be lol

I do math contests as well, I forgot to mention that. I compete at the local and state level, though I never place. I have fun with it though!

I'm aiming for Yale.. though New Haven isn't my first choice of towns, I do like the size of it, and of the campus.

I have already applied there, and a couple non-ivies such as RPI, Case Western, and Northeastern.

Answer 1

Why do you want to go to an Ivy League school? Just because it's got the name, or because you really want to go there?

Your chances depend on what school you apply to and what for. You say you want to be an engineer, but I don't see anything in your CV that indicates that you have a special interest in math or science--in fact, it looks like you are more interested in the arts. If I were looking at applications, I would wonder why someone with your background was applying to an engineering school. What type of engineering? EE? Civ E? IE? Chem E?

What about engineering schools that are extremely good without being "Ivies"? What about Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, MIT, Notre Dame? What school(s) are you interested in? Why? Have you visited these schools? Do you want to go to school in a city? Small town? Ivies are not all the same--if you hate cities, you really wouldn't like Columbia. But you might love Dartmouth.

This is not to discourage you, mind you. If your heart is set on Princeton, go for it. You have a perfectly good high school resume, but these are questions that I think you should be ready to answer on all your applications, regardless of whether or not they are for the specific seven schools with that particular and august designation. You should go to a school because it excites you and offers you lots of scope for expanding your interests and abilities, not just because it has a particular name. (You couldn't have paid me to go to Yale, but I came thisclose to Princeton. Picked NYU instead. Go figure...)

In any event, good luck with applications!

(As an aside, if engineering is your thing and you're female, there are tons of scholarships available. I found this out when applying for med school, for which there aren't. *g* If only I'd been interested in engineering...)

Answer 2

Weber State is a mid-range school at best, not in the top 100. Schools like Harvard accept very few transfer students. All these other things, activities, school offices, internships, etc. are needed, but to have any chance at admission to an Ivy League school such as Harvard or Yale, to begin with you better have all As, killer SAT scores, and great references. Also, there is the cost. For the 2008-2009 school year, Harvard estimates costs for tuition, housing, personal expenses, student fees, etc. to be slightly over $50,000.

Answer 3

I think that as long as your essay is compelling, i.e. gives a clear and comprehensive picture of who you are, where you have come from and where you are going, you have a shot. Don´t be afraid to take a risk, though, on the essay--you can write about an intellectual interest you have or a hobby that not many people participate in. Also, if you have a particular interest in attending a university, be sure to tell them! Never use the same essay for all schools.

Also, be sure to ace the interview(s) and ask recommenders who really know you to write on your behalf. Good luck!

Answer 4

Ivys are always the best esp in areas like engineering--there are so many great eng programs out there, don't limit yourself! You are fine, there are just tons of people out there all applying to the private schools. Make a list of 5 top engineering (not overall) schools and apply--I bet you'll be much happier. Eng is a great degree--you will always have a job!!!

Answer 5

You, like many other applicants, are qualified -- however, Ivy Leagues get so many applicants just AS qualified, so they reject more than they admit. Any Ivy League will accept about 9-13% of its applicants.

My recommendation would be to apply and just hope for the best!

Good luck. ♥

Answer 6

Hi, I'm from south America. Honestly, i don't know your chances but next year (I'm a junior) i will be applying to some ivies with similar stats!!.. so GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 7

It seems like you have a somewhat decent shot. GPA's are usually around 4.5/3.95 and test scores more like 2230. however it never hurts to apply so i'd definitely give it a shot. ps your grades are good enough to get you into a great school other than the ivy leagues(like UCLA or something)

Answer 8

Just apply.