<p>Hi there! I'm just a typical Chinese girl new to CC. As a junior, I've been extremely anxious about college admissions (by extremely anxious, I mean waking up at 2 am in the morning due to nightmares about me getting rejected by Harvard, that sort of thing). </p>
<p>I was wondering if my stats and "typical" ECs at least guaranteed at one of the HYPMS. I have a 2360 SAT I (second time take, not superscore), 770 Bio, 800 chem, and 800 math ii. I'm also president of one club right now, and next year I'll president of three. I have loads of officer positions in other clubs as well. However, I do not have any outstanding awards or honors like Siemens Finalist (which is probably too late for me to start right now) or published research. I'm also going to need FA, if that's a factor (although I hear all of the HYPMS are need-blind). </p>
<p>So do I have a good chance of getting into ATLEAST one of the HYPMS?</p>
<p>Make sure you are pursuing your passions and not just checking boxes. As you can see from reading on this website. There are lots of kids with top GPAs, perfect or nearly perfect test scores and interesting ECs. You will need write great essays that show them who you are and how you would contribute to the environment at the college.</p>
<p>Think about how to make yourself standout for the unique and wonderful individual that you are.</p>
<p>Your race and gender may actually hurt you in many cases when it comes to these schools and there really is never a guarantee for these schools. However, those stats could get in anywhere else!</p>
<p>No guarantees; you’re just another face in the crowd at these schools. Unless you’ve got something notable and distinct to set you apart, your chances are only going to be average, and being Asian does not help in this regard. Being part of an over-represented minority myself, I’d concur that it’s a tough pill to swallow, but there’s not much you can do about it.</p>
<p>Never a guarantee–I had a friend with stats that were just as impressive who only got accepted to one (Yale). Then again, I had another friend who didn’t do nearly so well (also Asian and female) who got into most of them… (Harvard, Princeton, MIT, waitlisted at Yale, but she dropped that for obvious reasons).</p>
<p>I don’t see any volunteering, but you should probably look into those opportunities if you haven’t already. Leadership is good, grades are good, but no guarantees anywhere, unfortunately. Ivy/almost-Ivy admissions chances are a crapshoot, to be frank.</p>
<p>Being Chinese, female, and a junior myself, I know how stressful it is to do well in the college admissions process. Between schoolwork, ECs, internships/volunteering, and music (how typically Asian of me), I get little enough rest as it is without worrying about Ivy admissions. In the end, this is really all I can tell you–stop freaking out so much. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get into one of the HYPMS, even though it’d be spectacular to do so. But definitely, definitely do some volunteering if you aren’t already.</p>
<p>There are never guarantees with any of the elite schools. Most of the people who apply are qualified, but they simply don’t have enough spots. College is more than good stats. At a certain point, you have to be more than just good grades. You need to have a specific interest or hobby that has you stand out of the crowd. Right now you don’t have that.</p>
<p>Nothing is certain in college admissions, but you will certainly find a place at an excellent school. It might not be HYPMS, but please don’t let that worry you. Concentrate on doing what you love, and looking at schools past your current short list of five!</p>
<p>Some of the replies do seem harsh. Unfortunately, the reality is also harsh. At the schools the original poster is asking about, an overwhelming majority of applicants with similar credentials are denied.</p>
<p>The question is a naive one, but the poster is young, and this is her first post on CC.</p>
<p>The good news, as nemom says, is that America has way more than five outstanding colleges and universities.</p>
<p>MrsHarvard, you should not feel at all awkward about applying to any of those schools. You’re well within the range of accepted applicants. But as the ratio of applications to acceptances approaches 20:1 at some schools on your list, being well within range offers absolutely no guarantees.</p>
<p>“Typical ECs” is not what typically gets one into HYPSM. Being Pres of a Club is ho-hum. Now if you raised $50k for the homeless or AIDs research in that club, that would get notice of the adcoms.</p>
<p>Without gpa & rank, no one can give you advice.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Test scores are only ONE data point. And since GPA easily trumps test scores, it is impossible to say what “range” of college the OP is in.</p>
<p>OP, make sure you apply to some test-hungry schools, like USC and WashU.</p>
<p>I currently have around a 3.9 unweighted grade point average, and should be around the 3-4% top of my class. i don’t have any major awards, but I’ve interned at a lab over a summer a plan to do it again.</p>
<p>^^A 3.9 uw and top 4% tells me that your HS has some grade inflation. But regardless, the next question is how many of the top 4% get accepted to HYPSM? If it is only the Val/Sal, your great test scores probably won’t help much, if you are ~20 in the class. OTOH, if your school routinely sends 20+ to top schools, you are in the running.</p>
<p>btw: strongly suggest you consider a Lit/Hume subject test to show strength across disciplines.</p>