Chances for dartmouth?

[Chimericality]

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Hello!

I'm currently studying in high school in Singapore( Its this tiny asian country ) so I guess you can consider me an international student.

I've just finished my freshman year, starting sophomore this jan (we do things differently here ) and I really want to become a doctor. We do have a ranked university here(top 30), which does offer good undergrad programs in biological sciences but my dream has always been to go to dartmouth, ever since this whole bunch of alumni from the ivy leagues came back for a reunion. Also, we take the A levels here as we follow the cambridge system of learning.

Anyway, as a student of one of the best high schools in the world, (according to the NYtimes) and the following stats, what are the chances of me getting into dartmouth for undergrad and med school come senior year? Oh and, money won't really be much of a problem, I guess, since the government here's willing to pay for your education provided you work for them for min 4 years.

GPA: 2.97 (freshman year, I completely screwed up, hope to increase to a 3.6 by 1st semester soph year.)

Subjects: Bio, chem, Phys, World History,English,Hindi, PE,German(going to quit soon), Algebra I & II, Pre-calc, Trig, Geometry, Social Studies, Philosophy Currently not taking any ap/honors classes, hope to by junior year.

EC: Drama club for the past 3 years - acted in several school plays and outside venues; Debate for 1 year, Indian cultural society - 3 years, Participated in several school based events, Volunteered at local hospital - 25 hrs and hope to do more, Going to shadow a physician and volunteer at National hospital for six months, Part of 'fairly Bothered' a team dedicated to promoting fair trade in the world, going for the work experience program for 2 months where I get to work in a doctor's office hopefully. Working on a research studies project where I'm comparing various Dr Seuss books to write my own children's book.

Leadership positions: Lights and Sounds head in drama club, House rep for past 3 years, Class History rep for 1 year

Assuming I continue doing all this, take more difficult classes and hopefully take up a better leadership position, what are the chances?

Thank you! 😀 and sorry for the extremely long post 😛

 

[tennisball80]

Are you in a U.S high school or a Singapore high school ?

 

[Chimericality]

Singapore, currently but i did go to middle school in L.A

 

[pressmom]

I have a friend who went to an international school in SE Asia and ended up going to Harvard. She isn't an American citizen. Are you an American citizen or would you be applying completely as an international student? (I'm guessing it makes a difference in how many spots are available.) I'm not sure what her grades were but she took virtually all her school's IB classes and was heavily involved in extracurriculars. To go to an Ivy League school, you'll have to do something to make yourself stand out. There will be people applying without your grade difficulties, so you need to think about other things to set yourself apart. Consider research programs either in Singapore or during the summer in the states. I know some have been mentioned in other threads. I met my friend at the FOCUS program at Brown University during the summer. Some of the courses there count for college credit.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Realize it is about 2 times harder for internationals to go to a ivy league in US. Dartmouth would be reach for you with your GPA, you must have some stellar explanations for ur 2.95, and get 3.8+'s from here on out. You should graduate top of class.....it is an under the table fact that Dartmouth LOVES Valedictorians and Salutorians (ranked 1 and 2), as i believe they accept the most of all the ivy league schools. So you must get there to make it easier for you. In addition you must ACE the SAT's and SAT II's.

Keep your EC's up and increase to things you are more pationate about (ex. you might just be a club member now, but eventually go to become president of that club, and do something community wise that you initiated to show your passion).

But remmember, even for students with 4.0 gpas, 2200+ SAT scores, and great EC's dartmouth is no guarantee.

 

[Maygyver]

To be brutally honest, if you got a 2.97, I am going to say your chances are probably low. There are plenty of other great Universities out there though. Most people who apply to Ivy Leagues general have 4.0s so I don't think you GPA will be able to match theirs. The GPA portion of the application is usually the easiest part too. I know a lot of schools will automatically reject low GPAs and then look into ECs.

 

[Chimericality]

Thanks guys for all your help! Even though its going to be a hard road for me, i'll probably still give my best shot and honestly, i appreciate the frank comments 🙂

 

[DrReo]

There are many who have outragous GPA (3.9+) and uber high SAT scores and still get the boot from the IVY schools.

If you don't get the scholarships, it's pretty expensive.