Academically perfect, subjectively terrible URM applying to HYPMS

Student Lounge Hispanic Students
1

<p>I am Mexican American and have perfect stats across the board (2400 SAT, 800 SAT subject tests, National AP Scholar, 4.0 GPA) but have no meaningful extracurricular activities (prospective STEM student but never made USAMO, no research experience, never started any clubs, etc.). It's not that I have no activities or have recommendations that berate me: My activities are just blah and show no focused academic passion. My recommendations will be lackluster at best, and I don't really have a moving story. Is having terrible ECs and subject portions of an application a deal-breaker for top schools for a URM at Ivy League schools? Is a place like Cornell out of reach for me? What about the schools people on here and similar board like to call "middle Ivies"?</p>

2

<p>■■■■■ alert!</p>

3

<p>No, I am serious with this.</p>

4

<p>■■■■■ or not, ECs are only ways to differentiate yourself - if you truly are a Mexican American with those stats, you’ve already differentiated yourself, there aren’t that many of you that you suffer from the Asian American drone problem.</p>

<p>Try taking what ECs you do have and making them sound at least somewhat interesting, a good writer should be able to do that. And then send your applications in and see what happens.</p>

5

<p>Perfect SAT, 4.0, 800 Subject tests but lackluster recommendations. I agree, ■■■■■!</p>

6

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<p>But does being a MA but suffering from what you call “the Asian American drone problem” make you as undesirable as the people who are not underrepresented minorities? </p>

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<p>How does that make me a ■■■■■? I am book-smart but not an interesting person—though still not smart or high-achieving enough to get into top schools on that alone because I have neither research experience nor olympiad victories.</p>

7

<p>You need to find a way to spin whatever activities you have done into an interesting story. You sound as if you’re already convinced that your story is boring. Don’t go down this path! There is always a way to tell a humorous, or tear-jerking, or just entertaining story about the most ordinary details of a person’s life.</p>