Advice and Extracurricular Help Please!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>This isn't really a chance thread because I haven't picked any schools definitely yet but I hope you guys can review my stats and recommend some schools? I am a rising senior btw</p>

<p>Public school in NY
SAT: ( 1 time) 770 CR, 740 M, 800 W Composite: 2310
SAT II: 750 World History(prob wont send), 790 US History, 800 Chemistry, 790 Math II
Never took ACT
Rank: 2/215 (might go up but probably not)
Weighted GPA: 104.99 (so far, my school adds 1 point per AP course so I will hopefully get about 6-7 more points next year. My unweighted GPA is about 98.9) All of my classes are honors except for spanish which is not offered as an honors course
Junior Year: I took AP Stats, US, English Lang, Psych and Chemistry (so total 5 APs)
Senior Year Courseload: (All AP) Spanish Lang, Studio Art, Calc BC, English Lit, US Government, Bio, Environmental Science</p>

<p>Extracurriculars and Awards
a lot of departmental awards (my school gives out an award to 1-2 students per course per year so I have about 12 from soph and junior year)
Mathletes (9,10, 11 and planning on 12)
Ecology Club (9, 10, 11 and planning on 12)
Varsity Cross Country (9, 10, 11)
Spring Track (10)
Homework Club (11 and planning on 12)- it's like a peer mentoring and tutoring club where high school students help 7th and 8th graders adjust to a new school since our school is from grades 7-12
Tutoring- I tutor two of my friends in Alg 2/Trig and another person in Chem
Math Honor Society
LOTE(Language other than English) Honor Society- Treasurer
Science Honor Society
National Honor Society- Vice President
Chess Club (11- it was only created this year)
It's Academic- a trivia club; I was also on our school's team that competed in a televised trivia show on Long Island, The Challenge (we only made it to the second round though)
Hospital Volunteering- 200 hours working in the emergency room and cardiology unit but I only do menial tasks
During the summer, I learn to read and write my native language, Punjabi (an Indian language) -I can already speak it
I got a 230 on my PSAT so I will prob be semifinalist in NY
Hopefully, I will have the AP Scholar w/ Distincton Award ( i took 5 aps this year and I already got a 5 in Euro in soph year)
Discus Award
Volunteering at a local 5K our school sets up
School Winner for the AMC 12 (in junior year, but I didnt prepare at all as we found out about it a week before the Feb date. I got a 75 which was enough to be the highest but I know that score isnt impressive)</p>

<p>And that's basically it, I'm really worried my ECs don't show "passion" and are too generic. I am trying to find an animal shelter to volunteer at since I love animals but my parents are unwilling to drive me far and we don't have any close by. If I am unable to find one, i will get a part time job at a pet store. I haven't held any other jobs though</p>

<p>I know this is long but any help will be greatly appreciated. I am very lost in this college process.</p>

2

<p>bump. i would love some opinions =/</p>

3

<p>i feel bad but bump!</p>

4

<p>Yor stats are very good, if not great, but you probably don’t need to hear it?</p>

<p>As for EC’s - I myself cannot grasp it, what’s a “good” EC what’s a “meaningless” EC… I think they look okay <em>shrugs</em>
From what I see, you’re more into math and chem than other subjects? Maybe try to make it more visible? Along with your devotion to volunteering?
Is everything really important to you, or maybe it’s better to leave some out to show more devotion to other things?
Personally, I think that learning you’re native language shows genuine interest. But I don’t know if this alone makes it a good EC…</p>

<p>Well, I’m sorry I can’t help you any more than that… I’m probably more lost in this process than you are, despite reading all those “Oficcial RD decisions” threads… :confused:
I’d be very grateful if you “chanced” back
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1170352-international-chances-anywhere.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1170352-international-chances-anywhere.html&lt;/a&gt;
But it’s okay if you don’t, as I know I couldn’t help you much…
Anyway, good luck =) And don’t feel bad! Compared to me, your stats and EC’s are great =)</p>

5

<p>I can understand your concerns about your ECs because they don’t show a clear direction but that’s not really an issue. You don’t have to have an extremely clear direction at such a young age. I wouldn’t be too concerned about your ECs. You do have leadership positions and showed you are active and committed to what you do. I don’t know what you want to do in the future but you definitely should consider the Ivies. You clearly have the stats to do so. While you are by no means a lock for any Ivy (no one is), you have a good chance at all of them. Basically, I was just going to suggest all of the best schools in the country. If you specify what you are interested, it would be possible to point you to specific schools but otherwise, its just go as high as you can.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for the replies, esp since the post is long so thank you for reading! I am interested in science and right now, would like to become a doctor so I will be looking into pre-med programs. Would you recommend undergrad, then med school or a straight 7-8 yr program for med school?</p>

<p>And really, my ECs aren’t horribly generic? I enjoy them but I know they dont really make me stand out.</p>

7

<p>I think what makes a “good” EC to a lot of colleges is when you’ve done it for 3 or 4 years (or longer if it’s something like Girl/Boy Scouts), and you have some kind of leadership position in it like President or Vice President, and/or have awards/honors. There isn’t anything wrong with having generic ECs, but it’s always good to stand out in some ways :)</p>

8

<p>thanks, so do i somewhat stand out?</p>

9

<p>Well in all honesty, I don’t think your ECs are particularly anything unique, I mean plenty of people at my school have essentially the same ones, but they’re still good. You’ve done most of them for awhile and you have some leadership positions. Your academic stats are VERY good, so I wouldn’t worry too much about your ECs…focus on your essays.</p>

10

<p>i’ll be frank: your ECs suck. sorry.</p>

<p>however this does not mean that all hope is lost :smiley: what you should do is apply Early Decision to a school like Duke Cornell Penn or Johns Hopkins, all of which have high ED acceptance rates, and you will likely get in with some STELLAR essays.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1168613-chances-congressional-page-columbia-ed-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1168613-chances-congressional-page-columbia-ed-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;
chance back</p>

11

<p>=[
Thanks for the advice though!</p>