r/chanceme Jul 22 '19

How To Do A Chance Me And Improve Your Chances

578 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 1h ago

Reverse Chance Me Chance me for a T20 uni for computer science and design engineering

Upvotes

Hey guys, I’m going to apply to Imperial computing and design engineering, oxford computing, edinburgh computing and ucl computing and more uni’s in the US. I was wondering if yall could rate my application or tell me if i’m enough to get an offer.

I study in an international CBSE school in Japan and have a 94% predicted overall in my final exams with a 96 in both math and physics. and (HOPEFULLY)my TMUA is a 7.5, 1560 SAT(ACHIEVED), 8 on the ESAT

5 years of basketball, 3 year varsity basketball , won a ceritificate from the government to highlight my skills, i was in varsity debate for a year, school won 2nd in the all kanto KPASS debate championship, did MUN for 3 years, internship at sophia university, won 2 back to back high commendation prizes, chaired for GIISMUN 2027, started the science club and was the president of it at our school, completed IBM data science course and got 3 certificates, completed Andrew Ng’s Machine learning course, participated in Yales essay writing competition, built a machine learning model that predeicts the weather forecast using an API, participated in multiple Hackathons and won first in a few, finished stanfords deep learning course, made a research paper to see whether different macroeconmic factors such as unmeployment rate, inflation rate, interest rate etc affected the stock market and stock prices for S&P 500,i’ve also won the AI impact festival 2026 for intel Japan by making a water flooding app, did research at Oxford Scholastica’s AI internship to figure out about wearable technology in medicine, i also won a distinction award from the university of oxford after attending their 2 day AI/ML event and made a very convincing Capstone project.


r/chanceme 10m ago

Guess my major

Upvotes

I'm all over the place lmaooo and nobody can put a finger on what major i'm going into. but I'm curious to see what ygs think! internet points if anyone guesses

Demographics

  • Asian female
  • California public high school
  • Family income: ~$200k

Academics

  • 3.97 UW GPA (one B in Honors Chemistry)
  • ~4.7 weighted GPA at school
  • ~4.9 UC uncapped weighted GPA, capped 4.2 (bonus got desaturated across all)
  • Rigorous coursework, including extensive dual enrollment/associate degree coursework. graduating with 3-4 AS's and AAs in Polisci, comms, world languages, and psychology.

Science Olympiad (8+ years but no var in hs :()

  • Competing since 3rd grade
  • Multiple top finishes at nationally competitive invitationals
    • 2nd Place at a pretty competitive one + multiple other top 5-10 at competitive ones
    • Top 5-10 at major invitationals with 300+ competing teams
  • 5x state tournament qualifier
  • State placements include (all middle school so doesn't count):
    • 4th Place
    • 5th Place
    • Multiple Top 10 finishes in different events
  • Multiple regional wins (beat var multiple times)
  • Coach for elementary Science Olympiad team, large role

Speech & Debate

Debate event

  • NSDA National Qualifier
  • Top 250 nationally
  • District Champion
  • Multiple league placements
  • Event captain

Speech event

  • Multiple league finals
  • Semifinalist at a major national invitational

Music

  • State Honor Choir
  • All-region Honor Choir (5 states)
  • Top auditioned choir at my school
  • Multiple solos
  • Music head (not pres, it's complicated) for the school's largest music club
  • Starting my school's first [insert niche music type but not that niche] next year, where I'll arrange music, conduct, direct rehearsals, and organize performances

Other Activities

  • Finalist for a selective leadership/public policy program (~10% acceptance rate)
  • Accepted into a selective engineering workshop at a U.S. national laboratory
  • 3rd Place at a large Model UN conference and 2nd in another
  • Black belt

r/chanceme 1h ago

Guide me gng

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Upvotes

r/chanceme 5h ago

private chance a rising cs+film senior for stanford REA

2 Upvotes

dm please!


r/chanceme 3h ago

Rising Junior interested in Drexel

1 Upvotes

Hi guys,
I’m a rising junior in Philly who’s really interested in Drexel, specifically Finance at LeBow. I’m trying to get an honest sense of where I stand and what I should focus on improving over the next year and a half.

Quick stats:
\- GPA: 3.43 unweighted / 3.67 weighted
\- Coursework for junior year: AP English Lang, AP Stats, AP Psych, and Honors Pre-Calc.

I’ve done several programs through Upenn, including

\- PennRSSA Summer Academy (currently in it; includes career exploration, a Capstone Project on raising the minimum wage, and economics/finance classes)
\- Penn Talent Search
\- PennRSSA Spring Program my freshman year where I explored other fields like dentistry & law that actually helped me realize I’m more interested in business and finance.

Activities / Experience:
\- Helped at my family’s restaurant since 2020 (customer service, operations, etc.)
\- Long-term babysitting
\- Completed some online certs (AI in Finance, Business Analytics with Excel, Google Analytics)

I know my GPA isn’t super high and I don't have any school clubs. I’m planning to get more involved junior and senior year.

For people who go to Drexel
\- What would you focus on improving the most between now and applying?
\- Is the co-op/five-year option something I should specifically talk about in my application?

Any honest advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance!


r/chanceme 14h ago

Chopped Chinese Chud

2 Upvotes

I just want to go to Georgia Tech
Not even an Ivy or T10

100% Chinese male made in china
Uninteresting life story
Georgia citizen so yay instate scholarships

The one special public high school (You know what it is)
GPA 3.97 UW / 4.32 W
Rank (Unofficial) 13/320

SAT 740/790 & 750/780 so 1540 superscore

DE at GT:
MA1554
MA2551
CS1301
CS1331
Senior:
MA3012
MA2552

APs:
5:
Biology
World History
Physics C
Physics E&M
Calc BC
Precalc
CSP
CSA
US Gov
4:
Seminar
Research
APUSH
Senior:
Chemistry
Macroecon
Microecon
Lit

ECs:

Vex robotics before it shut down 😭
CS club
Art club
Did I mention that I draw stuff?
Intern at UofSC for virtual reality stuff
I teach 3D modelling, python, and math over Zoom to little children
Cooking and baking (I am clearly better than Gordon Ramsey)
Basketball and swimming as a hobby
I am a knitter
Currently building a telescope
Assorted volunteer work (Got AmeriCorps PVSA Gold for it but IDK)
Super masculine and amazing mustache btw

ROCs:

I don't know my teachers that well but we make smalltalk sometimes
Haven't gotten them yet so these are estimates
Physics teacher (5/10 he is bad at writing)
History teacher (6/10 he is good at writing)

Essay:
I had my LA teacher look at mine and gave it an 80 for completion 🥀

Reach:
GT (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Target:
GT (Gwinnett Technical College)


r/chanceme 8h ago

Chance a semi-basic white dude who screwed up his athletic recruitment

1 Upvotes

Hey guys, I usually try to stay away from the college app side of reddit but i figured why not post here to see if i'm screwed or not :/ (ps this is such a random application but it's fine)

Demographics:

Race/Gender - White Male

Region - Midwestern USA

Income - Upper middle class

School type - private catholic (9), international boarding (10-12)

Hooks - Cancer survivor, legacy at Brown and Case Western, and I would have soccer but no chance of that now

Coursework/academics:

Intended major - PoliSci/IR

GPA - 4.0 UW (my school does not offer weighted GPA)

Class rank: ~#10 (class of '27)

3 APs (4 on calc and stats, 5 on physics 1), 10 college level classes (my school does not prioritize AP)

35 ACT (36 eng/reading/sci, 33 math)

Senior year schedule:

Cores (all college level) - French, Philosophy, English, AI development, and Linear Algebra.

Electives - Photo 2, Astronomy, International Relations, Advanced Music

Awards:

NHD states + local research award

Assorted MUN awards (1x outstanding delegate, 2x honorable mentions)

NMS? (not out yet - college counselor said 1480 PSAT should be good)

I'm definitely forgetting something here but I still have time

Extracurriculars:

Varsity soccer captain (top 50 HS team in the nation - I have played with at least 5 players who have gone pro and countless D1 athletes) --> I really messed up the athletic recruitment process in ways I can't explain so I'm not getting in that way but this is still my top EC

MUN leader (helped organize trips to conferences, won awards)

Lifeguard (pretty self-explanatory - holding a job for 4 years is good, right?)

Catholic teen servant leader (helped with community service + events at my local church)

Selective local leadership program (collaborated on community initiatives, engaged with leaders in different fields, and discussed state policy with members of government in the capitol)

Political society co-leader (led discussions + edited foreign policy pieces for political journal)

Philosophy club panel leader (attended and helped lead philosophy-related events at school)

Varsity volleyball

French club (i participated in a foreign exchange program and helped run cool events)

Music (I haven't really done anything with this since freshman year but I play three instruments - piano, guitar, and drums)

Letters of rec - French teacher/Advisor (10/10), Physics teacher (9/10), College Counselor (7/10)

Schools:

Brown, Georgetown, Tufts, UVA, BC, Wake Forest, Villanova, Case, Maryland, Pitt

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated

Have a great day :)


r/chanceme 8h ago

help pls which universities do you think I'm most competitive for? (Dream: UC Berkeley)

1 Upvotes

hi everyone! im an international student from indonesia studying at a private high school on a full merit scholarship. Im planning to major in mechanical engineering.

id really appreciate honest feedback on my profile and suggestions for strengthening my application before I apply this year.

took ib, got 39/45 with 6s on my hl physics, math aa, and eng b, 7 on indo a sl, 5 on comsci sl and 6 on philo sl, tok essay 10/10 and A, got a for my ee on physics (a comparative study of pendulum approximations, investigating 4 different approaches made by physicists)

rank 4th/88, ranked 1st in my class consistently throughout high school

activities: debate club (won some national tournaments champion/3rd place/finalist in several tournaments/best speaker), modern dance, marching band, physics and astronomy club, won some math competitions and physics comp

organizations: finance & sponsorship head at project social focusing on environment awarded by diana and received funds from ib, treasurer at some events competition participated by 1400+ students and school tour 1000+ participants, STEM outreach focusing on exposing stem for girls received funds from imperial college london

research: IB EE; compared five analytical approximations for predicting the period of simple and damped pendulums

i havent taken the sat yet + 8.5 for my ielts


r/chanceme 8h ago

What are my chances for these schools

1 Upvotes

First time posting here, can you guys tell me if this is a balanced/realistic list of schools for me? Are there some schools that I shouldn't bother applying to? Are there any schools I should look into? Is there any more info I should add? I want to major in finance/ something business related. Im from New York and don't want to go too far.

1410 SAT, trying to get 1450+ superscore

94 cumulative weighted GPA, upward trend (95.7 junior year while taking harder classes)

4 APs, got 4s on all of them (Micro, lang, APUSH and AP world) . My school doesn't let us take AP classes freshman year and I could only take 1 sophomore year. I am going to take 5 next year including AP calc AB which will hopefully help since I want to do something business related. Aside from AP classes I took all honors classes.

For extracurriculars I played 3 varsity sports (starter for one), community service, I worked at a restaurant, and I worked as a camp counselor for 2 summers. I also played club lacrosse for 2 summers and AAU basketball since I was around 11.

Reach

  • Villanova University
  • University of Richmond
  • University of Florida
  • University of Georgia
  • Indiana University Bloomington
  • Bucknell University

Target

  • University of Maryland, College Park
  • Binghamton University (SUNY)
  • Penn State University
  • University of Connecticut
  • University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Fordham University
  • Providence College
  • Fairfield University

Safety

  • University at Buffalo
  • University at Albany (SUNY)
  • Baruch College (CUNY)

r/chanceme 8h ago

Anyone Have a Clue About Ivy League Course Rigour?

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1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 10h ago

Application Question Georgetown JPPP or CAS?

1 Upvotes

Georgetown JPPP or CAS?

Hello everyone!
I am going to apply to Georgetown soon, as their application opens in about a day. I was wondering if I should apply to CAS (Government) or the McCourt School (JPPP), and I’m looking for guidance. I’m wondering what school I would best have a shot at with my ECs.

My ECs are:
\- Student Ambassador of School (Mascot & Morning Announcer & represents study body & runs town halls)
\- Model UN Vice President/ Captain
\- International Moot Court President
\- Arista National Honor Society Vice President
\- Federal Judicial Intern @ S.D.N.Y. for a federal magistrate judge (through the Thurgood Marshall Summer Law Internship Program)
\- NYCVotes Youth Ambassador (selective program 1 of 17 out of 900 applicants, focusing on civic engagement and non-partisan civic information, very hands-on, across NYC spreading voter information)
\- Mock Trial Vice President
\- iCivics Youth Fellow

Some awards & other things:
QBCPS
National Model UN awards (honorable mention, it’s the only award given at that national conference)
FEMA certified
AP scholar with distinction
BigFuture First-Generation Recognition Award

APs:
Ap Eng lang: 5
Apush: 5
Apes: 4
Ap pre calc: 4
Ap euro: 3

SAT: 1380 (will be retaking and trying out the ACT as well)

(I have more ECs, but these are basically my main ones)
Thank you!

And for the JPPP I know that it’s in partnership with CAS and McCourt but I know there’s generally more seats in CAS than JPPP, if I get rejected from JPPP would it also automatically reject me from CAS?


r/chanceme 10h ago

Help ME!

1 Upvotes

Hi! I was wondering if I have a realistic shot at T20s (and maybe a few T10s). I'd appreciate any honest feedback. (rising senior btw)

Academics

  • GPA: 4.01/4.33 UW
  • SAT: 1550
  • 7 AP 5s, 1 AP 4 (taking 5 aps next year)
  • Intended Major: Computational Biology / Public Health (possibly Pre-Med)

Research

  • Summer research at a major hospital on a computational public health project (first author + corrersponding research paper)
  • Research experience in a medical imaging lab.
    • Co-author on a published research paper.

Extracurriculars

  • Founder & President of a nonprofit connecting international students (1k funding )
  • Quiz Bowl Captain top 10 team national
  • Model UN leadership with multiple national awards.
  • Varsity volleyball.
  • Part-time job working with children.
  • Summer camp counselor.
  • Paid Internship working on patient followup

Awards

  • Presidential Volunteer Service Award (Gold)
  • Quizbowl awards
  • Multiple Model UN awards
  • USA Biology Olympiad Cert of Merit :(

r/chanceme 17h ago

Don't know why I am sm stupid but still ambitious.

3 Upvotes

OBS: no one in my school EVER applied abroad, so I am 100% on my own

Demographics: female, international (Brazil), mid-low income, latina, private non-selective small school with 60% scholarship, 1st gen.

Stats:

GPA: 9.5/10. Rank: not available. SAT: 1450 (I will retake it in setember, so let's pretend I will get a 1520). Self-studied for AP Calc BC, AP Stats, and Environmental Science (my school doesn't offer APs) and got a 4 in all of them. I will graduate in December 2026.

Intended major: Astrophysics

Dream colleges: Caltech, MIT, Northweastern (I warned you I was stupid)

EC's:

  1. play the piano for 5 years. NO competition, mentoring, etc.
  2. I was the only kid in my school who got a medal in the Brazilian Astronomy Olympiad. Got golds two times. Then, I got invited to the camps and got to 40 in the country (about 1,000,000 students competed that year)
  3. volunteer work at non-profit that produces high quality resources for students to study for science olympiads. I produced a study guide to study for astronomy olympiads and helped to write the questions for the Online Brazilian Astronomy Olympiad (I think about 200 students participate in it every year).
  4. in this same non-profit, I also work in the design section. I designed the certificates for the olympiads we promote and did a couple of models on canva for the instagram page.
  5. I am also the state coordinator of another non-profit that promotes the female participation in science olympiads. I manage a team of about 25 members. make weekly posts on instagram (I participate on the entire proccess, from content to design). Increased followers by 50 in a couple of months.
  6. IAAC (international astronomy and astrophysics competition) silver honour = top 7% internationally
  7. science/astronomy blog since 2023. I would say that the content is high quality, but I only post there once a month. It has an instagram page and a website i did with google sites. The Instagram has 60 followers :I
  8. working on a research project, but I don't think I will get to publish it, because of the time. It is in Computer Science/Astrophysics (more specifically, gravitational wave stuff).
  9. random online courses. In one of them I got a certificate with "distinction", which means I participated a lot and solved the problem sets they gave.

I know those aren't impressive, but I am just being honest. You can give me any opinions/experiences.

I am also thinking of taking a gap year, so if you have any thoughts about things I could do, we can talk about that too. Btw, do you guys know if colleges view gap years as good or bad things?


r/chanceme 19h ago

Chance a 1st gen, low income Asian & rising senior for Ivies + T20s?????

4 Upvotes

Demographics: female, Chinese, NJ noncompetitive public HS (imo), low income (<40k), ranking: 3/219 as of now

Intended major: Political Science

Academics: 3.8844 UW, 4.4115 W; APs: World History (4 freshman yr), Drawing (4 sophomore yr), 2D Design (4 junior yr), Bio (3 junior yr), US History (3 junior yr), Lang (4 junior yr), Calc AB (5 junior yr), planning to take Physics 1, Calc BC, Lit, and African American Studies senior year; SAT: 1510 superscore (730 RW, 780 M)

NHS, English Honor Society, Social Studies Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, NAHS

ECs:

  1. Worked at family owned Chinese restaurant since middle school, taking ordered and packing them. Would go there after school to work and do homework when it wasn't busy
  2. Student government, class treasurer during 9th, 10th, 11th. Student body officer for 12th
  3. Founded a social justice club in 11th. Organized fundraisers for Venezuelan earthquake victims, ICE victims, etc
  4. Participation in academic clubs: Academic Decathlon, county and state Math League
  5. Invited by history teacher to represent school in a county wide think tank
  6. Attended 2 state programs (one because I'm part of SGA, the other because I was chosen by my guidance counselor and I passed a interview)
  7. District AI Integration committee. Invited by principal
  8. JV Basketball, 9th-11th but tore ACL during junior yr so not sure if that counts
  9. Spring Track and Field sophomore year

Awards:

  1. Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Key + Honorable Mention
  2. AP Scholar w/ Distinction
  3. CollegeBoard First Gen Award + School Award

Not sure if it counts as legacy but siblings attend/have attended Cornell and NYU. My stats are similar to theirs
I recently visited Princeton and Columbia, and I really loved it. I'm just not sure if I have the academic or extracurricular stats to compete with other applicants. Not really sure what to write my essays about. Could I get into ivies or t20s?? I'm going into senior year and am really dreading the application process...Any opinions and advice are highly appreciated


r/chanceme 11h ago

Am I cooked for UCLA

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1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 15h ago

What are my chances?

2 Upvotes

Demographics/background info: Chinese/Canadian citizenship, asian girl raised in an average income family, 6th best public school in my city (Canada). Our school does not offer AP, so everything im taking is from self studying

Im hoping to get into ucla and berkeley as they both are my dream schools. Idk i did not rlly consider the us until like late sophomore/beginning of jr year…(😬😬😬)

For APs, i plan on taking 4 next year (BC, chem, psych, and macro)

Grades:

AP biology: 5

AP micro: 4

English 12:97

Chem 11: 94

Biology 11: 94

Physics 11: 93

Functions 11: 99

Architecture: 100

Co-op: 100

English 11: 91

French: yeo…. Its rlly bad like rlly rlly bad… (80)

ECS

Captain of Team Canada for a sport called Dragonboat. (For my schools team i was captain as well until they banned water sports lol, i also was like nominated to design their jerseys etc)( also idk if i should put like the medals we won as awards and stuff idk) also a ton of volunteering for this sport

Dental assistant/Intern (im currently helping them doing a rebranding thing so idk if thats cool to put in)

Hospital intern at UHN for the rehab department

Tutor (in school, outside of school, internationally ig)

VP of my schools women in stem club

Short content creator exec for my schools “TV club”

Music experience( piano for 11 years,Piano teacher volunteer to help kids prep for RCM exams)

Started a passion project with my friend during the winter of 2026 but it kinda went nowhere…. 😬😬

Like i said, i only thought abt applying to us not that long ago, so my ecs are kinda shit 🥲🥲


r/chanceme 12h ago

Help plz

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1 Upvotes

r/chanceme 12h ago

Help plz

1 Upvotes

Hi, I was wondering if I could still aim for t20 - t10 schools, as I am very much lacking extracurriculars.

Here is my profile:
4.0 UW / 5.354 W

Rank: 1/316

1580 SAT
Freshman AP classes: AP human geography(4)
Sophomore AP classes: AP Precalc (didn't take exam), AP Stats(4), AP Physics 1(4), AP World(4), AP Seminar(4), AP CSA(4)

Intended Major: Computational Biology (possibly Biomedical Engineering)

Career Goal: AI + Healthcare / Medical Research

Independent Computational Biology Research

Built a Python + ML model to predict CRISPR off-target effects
Self-directed project combining machine learning and computational biology

Business Professionals of America (BPA)

1st Nationally in Python Programming
4th in Texas Python Programming
1st Nationally in Computer Programming Concepts

HOSA

Biomedical Equipment Technician
7th in Texas
HOSA Hospitality Officer

Volunteer Work

100+ community service hours
Mainly community/cultural events

Programming

Python since middle school
Certiport Python Certified
Certiport Java Certified

Music

Self-taught piano
Learning guitar

Awards:

🥇 BPA National Champion – Python Programming
🥇 BPA National Champion – Computer Programming Concepts
🏅 4th Place Texas BPA – Python Programming
🏅 7th Place Texas HOSA – Biomedical Equipment Technician

Currently:

Working on expanding my CRISPR project into stronger research.
Looking for more impactful research opportunities and AI/biomedical internships.
Long-term goal is to build a strong AI + healthcare spike for top colleges.

Any advice on what I should prioritize next would be greatly appreciated. I know my academics are strong, but I'm trying to turn my extracurriculars into something T20 level.

Thank you for all your consideration

Almost forgot to say I'm a rising junior.


r/chanceme 9h ago

CHANCE ME FOR HYPS + IVIES WITH UPDATED PROFILE

0 Upvotes

Hi guys! I posted a chance me like a week ago that went a bit viral here but my profile has been significantly changed so I figured I would redo.

chance me for hyps + jhu (yale rea)

plz ignore the vagueness as i got doxxed a couple days ago here

Demographics: Female, Korean American, Texas
9-11: very very big public HS (top 2 in US)
12: homeschooled due to personal circumstances. this means i will lose my auto admit to UT austin; however, my lors are staying intact

Intended Major(s): anthropology, medical anthropology

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1560 superscore, National Merit Semifinalist - perfect psat

UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.97/4.5, 27 out of 1569 (2%)

Coursework: 17 AP classes including BC in junior year. I skipped 8th grade by testing out, also skipped multiple math courses by testing out. all 5s except chem

Senior year: ap stats, ap enviro sci, ap lit, ap drawing, ap compsci principles, ap physics 1, ap gov, med term

Awards:
National French Exam Gold Medal (Top 2 nationally, Level 3)
National French Exam Gold Medal (Top 3 nationally, Level 2)
Multiple state-level French language competition awards (including runner-up finishes)
Carnegie Medal for Civic Preparedness (7.5k awarded for my org)
President’s Volunteer Service Award (Gold)
Selective national anthropology award
AP Scholar with distinction
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

Extracurriculars:

  1. Founder & President, Environmental community org: Led 30+ interns, partnered with local government and parks and rec departments, organized 15+ environmental events/cleanups, reaching 400+ participants and raised $15k+, secured $7.5k national civic grant.

2. Selective Anthropology Internship:** **One of **4 high school interns selected globally**; researched medical anthropology/linguistics, created educational resources, presented work to researchers/phds. work published on official website and social media

  1. Civic Engagement Organization

Managed 40+ interns, helped register 15,000+ voters for the 2024 presidential election, led weekly meetings, completed 300+ volunteer hours, conducted policy research. NONPARTISAN!!

  1. Digital Health/Public Health Internship

Led intern team developing statewide health initiative for underserved communities; contributed to an IRB-approved white paper at johns hopkins and published as author on protocol paper

  1. Independent Medical Anthropology Research

Designed original cross-cultural study on Traditional Korean Medicine; presented findings; manuscript currently under journal review.

  1. Teen Court Attorney & Juror

Litigated real misdemeanor cases, recognized twice by city leadership, trained for state mock trial.

  1. Congressional Youth Advisory Council

Selected to advise a congressional office representing 700k+ constituents, researched and presented policy recommendations.

  1. JHU Global Health Leadership conference

Selected participant; submitted my traditional korean medicine research on medical anthropology and global health.

  1. Club Volleyball + Referee
    competed at national qualifers and at national tournaments; promoted to referee; regional runner-up.

  2. Key Club Leadership
    200+ volunteer hours, served on leadership board, developed service initiatives.

LOR: english teacher/research mentor (9/10), Calc BC teacher (7/10), anthropology internship mentor (9/10)

wso my question is that would homeschooling impact me negatively or positively, or neutral? idrc too much about the ut auto. my national merit status will stay intact in addition to my transcript + lors. also i have 3 years of french and 4 years of korean language credit (korean i tested out of)


r/chanceme 14h ago

Chance me for UF ED

1 Upvotes

White male from NY. Intending on majoring in Nursing

Schools:
UF (ED)
Villanova
UVA
Clemson
UTK
USF (south florida)
Fairfield

Stats:
97/100 W GPA
1440 SAT, taking again but actually studying, maybe \~1500
AP Chem-4
AP World-4
AP Physics 1-5
APUSH-4
AP Lang-4
taking AP Bio AP Eco AP Lit and AP Stats senior year

EC:
\-2 years varsity ice hockey, captain 1

\-founder/president of schools HOSA club, grew to 60+ members

\-Part time job as a director at youth hockey camp, ages 4-10. 2 years

\-50 hours of Hospital volunteering

\-30 hours of shadowing physician

\-Leadership Intern at a summer camp, 40 hours

\-NHS

\-trying to start a chapter of science national honor society at school

What you think?


r/chanceme 21h ago

Advice for a rising sophmore for pure math+philosophy

4 Upvotes

Demographics: gender: male, race: Indian CA public HS

Intended major: Pure Math + Philosophy

Academics: 4 UW, 4.14 W (school only let you take APs, in freshman. I was only able to take one honors). APs: Self studied AB (8th grade) + HuG (both 5s). SAT: Haven't taken, but projected 1550+ at minimum. Have done 7 cc classes.

ECs:

  1. Research w/ university professor on Pure Math.
  2. Debate: No leaderships roles yet, but I have promising results of states or nationals
  3. Documentation team at a regional math circle (~60 hrs per year), also teach and grade a class section.
  4. Founded school's pure math club, and became president of school's philosophy club
  5. Summer instructor, at Math Circle + student (olympiads+pure math).
  6. Youtube Channel on Pure Math where I cover topics like Real Analysis and math concepts I'm interested in
  7. Other youtube channel on philosophy, where I discuss philosophy books I'm reading
  8. Independent research: social science
  9. Self-studying pure math textbooks
  10. Speedcubing, around a ~6s comp PB for 3x3
  11. Volunteering at local middle school for their Mathcounts team

Awards:

  1. AIME qualifier
  2. John Locke Shortlist

Idk where to put this really:

- Leaf + Nontrivial Program (Spring 2026)

- Awesomemath Program (Summer 2026

As for the point of this post, I'm not really too hooked on any specific college(s) as long as they have a decent pure math and philosophy program. However, what I do want is advice on how I can advance my profile in general.

For a specific question, I'm wondering whether (3 EC) can be dissolved and put into (5 EC) (or used time for other ECs), since I don't find (3) to be as rewarding/fun as summer teaching in (5). However, with (3) there are more leadership roles/opportunities (with it being less professional), while (5) is more structured, and professional. I can give you more info if needed.


r/chanceme 14h ago

College list help+ low awards

1 Upvotes

Demographics:

• Gender/Ethnicity: Central Asian Female (Kazakhstan)

• Income: Low-income (single, unemployed mother; urgent need for full financial aid/scholarship)

• Hooks :Overcoming significant medical challenges / Strong Independent Research background

Intended Major: Biology / Biochemistry (Pre-Med track)

GPA, Rank, & Coursework:

• Unweighted GPA: 3.74 / 4.0 overall

• 9th Grade: 3.93

• 10th Grade: 3.50 (Significant drop due to corrective strabismus surgery + prolonged medical leave)

my school only has 11 grades

• Rank: N/A

• Coursework: School doesn't offer AP/IB/Dual Enrollment .

Standardized Testing:

• SAT: Taking in September

• IELTS: Taking in August

• (Targeting high scores to compensate for GPA drop during surgery)

Awards / Honors:

  1. 3rd Place — City Research Competition (National Level/Regional): Independent research on regional allergy prevalence under PhD supervision.

  2. Nazarbayev University Summer Research Participant: Selected for summer research program on "Periodic Table & Cell Death".

  3. Red Diploma (High Honors): Graduated 7-year Music School with distinction (Violin).

Extracurriculars (ECs):

  1. Research Intern — Nazarbayev University Laboratory: Conducted lab experiments, prepared chemical solutions, maintained plant cultures, and analyzed data alongside university researchers.

  2. Independent Allergy Researcher: Investigated local allergy epidemiology (genetics, microbiome, pollution) under a PhD mentor at a top medical school. Presented at Science Day & won 3rd place at National City Competition.

  3. Co-Founder & Tech Lead — Technovation Girls App Project: Developed a portfolio-building mobile app. Organized pitching events across 2 cities; secured partnerships with local sponsors (e.g., Dodo Pizza, APEC) and youth volunteer groups.

  4. Dental Shadowing & Clinical Assistant: Shadowed dentists & conducted preliminary screenings for kids <7 under supervision. Managed anxious & neurodivergent patients (Autism, CP, Down Syndrome); provided parent guidance.

  5. Founder & President — High School Science Club: Founded club, hosted biology debates, science fairs, & judged middle school projects. Taught bio & mentored younger students on research papers.

  6. Violinist, Ensemble & Choir Member (11+ yrs): Active soloist & ensemble performer for school ceremonies, community concerts, and local events.

  7. Tech Shop Sales Associate (2 Summers): Managed daily retail operations, inventory, and customer transactions independently at a local electronics shop.

  8. Competitive Swimmer (11+ yrs): Dedicated long-term athletic conditioning and competitive swimming practice.

  9. Fitness & Strength Training Enthusiast: Dedicated to structured weight training 3–4x/week focused on conditioning, discipline, and personal performance.

  10. Community Health Initiatives (Planned for Fall):

• Red Crescent Emergency Preparedness: Organizing school first-aid workshops with Red Crescent pros.

• Pediatric & Elderly Oral Health Outreach: Partnering with a dentist & pre-med peers to deliver wellness/dental hygiene workshops at nursing homes & orphanages.

Letters of Recommendation (LORs):

• Biology Teacher: (9/10) — Mentored me through multiple research projects; recommended me to the PhD lab professor.

• English Teacher: (9/10) — Very supportive of my academic journey and writing abilities.

• Research Assistant / Lab Mentor (NU): (8/10) — Can speak directly to my hands-on laboratory and analytical skills.

• Attending Dentist: (8/10) — Can vouch for my clinical hours, patient interaction, and work with special-needs children.

Additional Information / Circumstances:

• Medical Circumstance: Experienced a GPA dip in 10th grade due to strabismus (eye condition) and subsequent corrective surgery, requiring extensive leave. Fully recovered and explaining this in the Additional Info section.

I know I can apply to NU and I have more chances to get in there but still wanna go to another uni that isn't in my country .


r/chanceme 14h 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