2400 and NO ECs! Can I get in anywhere?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Just kidding! XD Although I suppose I'm close enough to both of those... since, you know, having no leadership positions == having no ECs, in most people's opinions. -___-</p>

<p>I'm posting a new thread because the old one was out-of-date; recent repliers were confused about some things that had changed since I last posted. This is my third but will be my last chances thread, I promise. It feels weird to put myself out there, but it's addictive hearing what people have to say... </p>

<p>I'm a white female from Maryland. I am looking to major in cognitive neuroscience, and so my schools are all strong in that department. I also want to stay kinda close to home, so most of my schools are on the east coast! (: </p>

<hr>

<p>STATS
[ul][li] UW GPA: 4.00[/li][li] W GPA: 4.74[/li][li] Rank: 2/333 (but tied with two others)[/li][li] SAT I<a href="one%20sitting;%20Nov.%20of%20junior%20year">/b</a>:** CR 800, M 800, W 790[/li][li] SAT II: Math IIC 750 (:(), Literature 780, French 590 (lolol retaking), Physics and Chem to be taken in October (I'm actually preparing for these two, so I'm pretty confident)[/li][li] APs: American Gov't (4), Computer Science A (5), English Language (5), Computer Science AB (4), Calculus AB (5), and World History (5)[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>CLASSES</p>

<p>Most rigorous courseload available. Only non-weighted classes have been Health/PE freshman year and two years of Art.</p>

<p>Senior schedule:
[ul][<em>] AP Biology
[</em>] AP Chemistry
[<em>] AP English 12 (basically AP Lit)
[</em>] AP Calculus BC
[<em>] AP Psychology
[</em>] AP French 5
[li] GT Intern/Mentorship: My school offers a mentorship program; basically, you apply and if you get in (I did!) they hook you up with a mentor in your area of interest. Sweet deal. Intern/Mentorship involves spending at least five hours a week with one's mentor. I'll find out my placement later this month (sent in a resume to the Applied Physics Lab, if anyone is familiar), but hopefully, I'll get an internship with someone doing research in some branch of neuroscience.[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>SCHOOL-SPONSORED ECS</p>

<p>Here is a condensed version of my resume (the activities are in the order in which I present them in my applications.) All are memberships; no leadership positions as of yet:</p>

<p>[ul][li] PCs4Kids (11, 12): Give donated computers to needy students in the community and take part in mentoring sessions in which we teach the kids how to use their computers (five/six sessions a year, 4 hr each)[/li][li] Information Technology Academy (9, 10, 11, 12): Plan, oversee, and participate in technology-related events. As a member, I participate in computer programming competitions:[/li]» 9th grade: American Computer Science League; 1-1.5 hr practice weekly, three days in Ohio for international competition (ACSL All-Star 2006)
» 10th and 11th grade: American Computer Science League; ~2 hrs monthly for practice and qualifying rounds
» 11th grade: represented school at Loyola Programming Competition 2008, PC Olympics 2008
» 12th grade: plan to represent school in future programming contests; plan to attain an officer position in order to keep the club running smoothly
[li] Art Club (10, 11, co-leader in grade 12 if the club is continued -- sponsor wants to get rid of it b/c we already have NAHS): Create art projects in the school and community (create and sell holiday cards, created an underwater-themed mural [basic design by me] for a local pre-school, etc.)[/li][li] National Art Honor Society (10, 11, 12): Create art projects in the school and community (created and sold a calendar of artwork, created a display of artwork, helped Art Club with mural, etc.)[/li][li] Literary Magazine (9, 10): Compile a magazine of students' prose, poetry, and artwork; host an annual coffeehouse; personally contributed art[/li][li] Photography Club (9, 10): Experiment with techniques of taking and developing photography[/li][li] Math Team (10, 11, 12): Participate in weekly practices (~.5 hr) and monthly meets (3-4 hr) to develop our problem-solving skills[/li][li] National Honor Society (11, 12): 4+ hr community service per month, including tutoring other students, working with pre-schoolers, participating in drives, and other outside activities[/li][li] French National Honor Society (11, 12): participate in cultural and community service activities, including Multicultural Night (a school-wide event for the exploration of different cultures), a Mardi Gras party for a local pre-school class, and after-school French tutoring[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>OTHER ACTIVITIES
[ul][li] A few times a year, starting 4th grade: Volunteer at Lockerman Bundy Elementary School, an inner-city school in Baltimore; typically spend a school-day at LBES, working with the students (reading to/with them, doing math flash cards) or in the building (helped create a parents' lobby designed to increase parental involvement in the school; help organize the library[/li][li] Summer 2007: Participated in Summer College at University of Delaware, a five-week residential program; took two for-credit classes: ART 130 (Drawing I: Tools and Techniques) (A) and COMM 350 (Public Speaking) (A-)[/li][li] Summer 2008: Spent two weeks at Brown University for the Summer@Brown program; took Nervous System Function in Health and Disease[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>AWARDS</p>

<p>Bleh...</p>

<p>[ul][<em>] Recipient of Princeton Book Award (six winners in the Greater Baltimore area of ~80 nominees)
[</em>] AP Scholar with Distinction
[<em>] [projected National Merit Semifinalist]
[li] [maybe MD Distinguished Scholar][/li][li] Individual award for high score on multiple-choice portion of ACSL international competition 2006 [/li][</em>] Nominated for NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing contest (three nominees at my school); winners announced Sept.
[<em>] Recipient of "Sophomore English Student of the Year" department award
[</em>] National Honor Society
[<em>] French National Honor Society
[</em>] National Art Honor Society
[li] Honor roll lolol[/ul]</p>[/li]
<hr>

<p>My CommonApp essay is about my interest in neuroscience; I think it's pretty good and others seem to like it. I've also written an essay about my love for death metal, but I dunno if I'll have a chance to use it (maybe some schools' supplements will ask about a personal interest.) My CommonApp EC/activity essay will be about my internship, which I didn't mention in my resume because it's technically a class. My recs will be from my French teacher, who knows me really well (lol 'cause French is sooo relevant to neuroscience) and my English teacher, who is kind of ambivalent toward me lol but I think the rec should be good; I might get a third one from my Bio teacher (yesss, a relevant subject!) if she feels comfortable writing one (I had her freshman year and will have her for AP Bio next year.)</p>

<p>Sorry so many words. Applying to:</p>

<p>Brown
Case Western Reserve<a href="dad%20attended,%20so%20maybe%20a%20safety?%20%20Ish?">/b</a>
**Johns Hopkins
MIT
Northwestern
Princeton (XD 'cause I won their book award and the alumni were like, "we can write you rec letters :)" so why not?)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute<a href="mom%20attended,%20so%20maybe%20a%20safety?">/b</a>
**University of Delaware<a href="and%20their%20Honors%20Program">/b</a>
**Wellesley</p>

<p>My top "choice" is a three-way tie between Brown, JHU, and MIT. (: But I would be super happy at any school on my list! </p>

<p>What do you guys think?</p>

2

<p>Just wondering.. Why UDel over UMD-CP?</p>

<p>Case Western and RPI I think are good safeties, with the legacy status. Don't know too much about them, so I can't say too much, however.</p>

<p>In at UDel, Wellesley, RPI, Case, Northwestern, Brown.</p>

<p>Slight reach Hopkins, Princeton.</p>

<p>Reach MIT (It is for everyone.)</p>

3

<p>Really?! That is sooo optimistic!!! :D Thank you!!!</p>

<p>XD Umm... I know College Park is a reallllyyy good school, especially for a state school... but... a LOT of the people from my high school go there. And I'm like, "grrr, I don't wanna go to university with 50% of my graduating class." And I really liked my time at UDel, so I know that even though it's lower-ranked and stuff, I'd be happy there (<3 Main Street.)</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
In at UDel, Wellesley, RPI, Case, Northwestern, Brown.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Brown is probably harder to get into than the others. That's the only school my daughter was turned down by last year, and she had excellent grades, scores, and ECs. Brown must get more highly qualified candidates than they know what to do with!</p>

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<p>i say your in at least 1 of your top 3</p>

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<p>Hindoo - I was being optimistic, I know that Brown is highly competitive.</p>

<p>As far as UMD-CP goes, you'll be in the Honors college, which is a great deal. Plus, there are 20,000 students there. If you don't want to see people, you don't have to. Ask anyone who's had the same dilemma. If you don't want to see someone, you don't. Simple.</p>

7

<p>UDel has an Honors program, too! Although CP has the Gemstone program, the one with the research grant. </p>

<p>I dunno, I just think I'd be happier at UDel than at the school that everyone goes to. Maybe it's a pride issue, lol.</p>

8

<p>Hopkins is a match, but Pton and MIT are formidable reaches. And so is Brown. Granted, she'll likely get in, but don't say it like a sure thing. Because it isn't, and it's insulting to those 2400-SAT valedictorians that HAVE been rejected.</p>

<p>Impressive stats though! I like the French score, shows your human.</p>

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<p>Hahaha, thank you. Hopefully I'll do a little better next time, though... still expecting within the human range, though. ;]</p>

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<p>Page four! :(</p>

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<p>MIT, Princeton = Reach
Brown... low reach I think.
Everything else is basically in/safety.</p>

<p>The only thing is, looking at your ECs, it doesn't seem to really point towards your major. In fact, it would seem more like a CS or EE major at first glance, so you might not want to state a prospective major on the app. freaking ridiculous writing score lol. Never could get past a 720W -.- Looks nice, though.</p>

<p>[thread=546604]Chance me?[/thread]</p>

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<p>Yeah, good point! You're right that my ECs don't point to neuroscience at all, but I'm going to try to make up for it. I just decided this past year that neuroscience is what I want to study, but I'm very adamant about it. I took a Brown course on the subject, my internship next year will be with a neuroscientist, and my main essay is about my interest in neuroscience. </p>

<p>I think that a lot of schools will require me to write a "why this major?" essay. In them, I'll try to tie in my computer science experience with my neuroscience ambitions: I'll explain that my experience with technology will help me become a researcher (which is what I currently want to do, although I might switch to medicine) and that as impersonal and corny as it sounds, I want to analyze the brain as a "machine," lol. I'll try to make it work in my essay. :] Oh, and I might mention that I might want to do stuff with artificial intelligence, which is a blend of the two.</p>

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<p>Artificial intelligence = my second love :D (After quantum computing)
You look like you've got a really good plan going, I suspect you'll do well.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I think that a lot of schools will require me to write a "why this major?" essay.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Fewer than you'd think.</p>

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<p>In everywhere (Because Poseur pwns) </p>

<p>To be serious, in everywhere but Pton, MIT, and JHU... which are reaches. </p>

<p>BTW, when are you going to let me finish beating you in SCRABBLE(R)?</p>

16

<p>IT'S YOUR TURN, JEEZ. </p>

<p>Sigh, I hope JHU likes me. D: A lot of people from my school apply and get in with lower stats than mine, so I have a hard time thinking of it as TOO hard to get into, but I know I can't count on it.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Didn't know you took your turn, JEEZ.</p>

<p>A lot of people from my school apply to JHU and get in with lower stats than mine. D: I hope they like meeee!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>LOL I play online SCRABBLE(R) like all day... expect to see me obsessively playing right after you. </p>

<p>Oh, okay. I'm not that familiar with JHU, so you're in. ^_^</p>

<p>
[quote]
IT'S YOUR TURN, JEEZ.

[/quote]
It's your turn. I played ox, 13F.</p>

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<p>See ninja edits. About to watch a movie, though, so can't take a turn for a few hours.</p>

19

<p>It's still your turn... you could move and then movie. LOL</p>

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<p>I traded in letters for my last turn! </p>

<p>But my facebook account is "down for maintenance" right now.</p>