[Advise me PLEASE~] Can I get into HYPMS and others?

Applying to College
1

I am a 12th grade(1st semester) Korean student with No citizenship, permanent residence, alumni relation. Here’s my stat(some are expected ones, not actual)

Major: Biology (possibly with minor in one of social studies)

School: Korea’s top Science high school, but not well known in the U.S for it is established in 2003.(I will be one of the first graduates, except for early graduates) Previos year, two students, early-graduating my school, admissioned for the U.S colleges, one go to MIT, the other to Columbia(with Rabi scholarship)

GPA: it quite rigorous with college-level math and science courses
10th grade
1st semester: 4.15/4.3 (Mostly A+ but B+ in Math)

  • college course: General Biology I
    2nd semester: 4.15/4.3 (All A+ except for B0 in Math T.T)
  • college course: General Biology II
    11th grade
    1st semester: 4.19/4.3
  • college courses: Genetics, Human Physiology, Calculus I
    2nd semester: 4.21/4.3
  • college courses: Molecular biology, Plant physiology, Cell biology,
    Organic chemistry
    12th grade
    1st semester: 4.15~4.2/4.3(expected)
  • college courses: Calculus II with multivariables
    2nd semester: Will not be sent before in admission
    (for I am attending Korean school)

Class Rank: 5~10/140(not officially reported and this is what I guess)

AP Exam:
Biology, Chemistry, Calculus BC: 4~5(expected)

SAT 1: Math 800 / Reading 700 / Writing 750 (expected)
SAT 2: Math IIC 800, Biology E 800, World history 750~800(expected)

TOEFL(CBT): 263(Writing 5.5)

Work experience/Leadership/Volunteering/Sports: Virtually NONE
(totally far away from so-called “Well-rounded person”, right?)

Extracurricular Activities / Honor
10 th grade

  • Research Group on Neural physiology in Seoul University
    (team representative)
  • GERI summer camp in Purdue University
  • Online Biology Studying Club
  • school Biology Club
  • preparatory APEC Leadership camp
  • Biology Olympiad Winter camp
  • Korean biology olympiad - Broze medal
  • Environmental book review contest - Honorable mention

11 th grade

  • Research Group on Developmental Genetics in Seoul University(Team leader)
  • Founder and leader of of Biology Olympiad preparation club
  • member of School Press
  • APEC Leadership camp
  • Biology Olympiad Winter camp
  • Best Research group award
  • Korean biology olympiad - Gold medal and semi-finalist of Korean representative for internional biology olympiad

12th grade

  • Tutor of of Biology Olympiad preparation club
  • member of School Press
  • Preparing for Publshing a paper on Developmental Genetics of Drosophila BXC genes.
  • preparing for debate contest on Enviromental issues
  • Working on editing biology olympiad guidance book (not an official puplication)
  • Working for Voluntary Agency Network of Korea: committed as an official Ambassador and expected to be soon committed to as the best Agency soon(This is an Web organization to ppublicize Korean culture and foster communication between Korean netizens aand foreigners)
  • Busan city superintendent of Education’s Award for best student in science

Essay: I would write about my passion for biology since I was 7. Since then, I spent great amount of time reading books on biology watching documentary program on biology, and currently mad an eclectic book on college biology, covering various fields of biology with 1st to 3rd grade college level. If I succed in publish my research result on Korean Journal of Genetics(SCI-Expanded level), I would also write about my research experience; staying up all night working with drosophila embryos, almost forgot eating while searching for references and developing hypothesis by myself… I would also mention about days of frustration due to ankylosing spondylitis(a diseases similar to rheumatism but a little bit more severe), overcoming that with the passion for study. I think we have long been neglecting pure science, so I am preparing to devout whole my life reviving world-wide veneration of science, especially in the field of biology. That’s the reason why I am preparing to go to the U.S, the world’s center of biology.

Desiring Schools(according to preference and hardness)

<h1>1: Caltech, Stanford, Havard, MIT, Princeton, Yale</h1>

<h1>2: Duke, Brown, JHU, Rice, Chicago, Cornell</h1>

<h1>3: UC berkeley, UCLA, CMU</h1>

What would be safety, match, slight reach, reach, big reach?

2

<p>how are your grades wieghed?
i dunno. your status isn't great, but your academics are.
i think you'll be fine for #2
not sure</p>

3

<p>your #2 and #3 lists are matches, i have no doubt that you will get in. #1 are reaches for everybody, but you are a very competitive applicant.</p>

4

<p>And our school grade system is quite rigorous. Above 97 is A+(4.3), above 93 is A0(4.0), above 90 is A0(3.7) and so forth. Until now, in our school history, there's only two guys who've ever got all A+ even in a single semester.
This is what Calculus professors say:
"If you fully understand the subject, you will get grade of C"
(Until now, only 3 got A+ in Calculus II)
And what do you mean by "your status is not so good"? You mean my lack of Volunteering/Sports/Leadership? Or low SAT score? Or something other than that?
Anyways, my first of the first choices are Caltech and MIT(Since I will definitely be a pure scientist) What do you think about the possibility to get into them? Lower than 50%, 30%, 10% or 5%?</p>

5

<p>NONONONONO
your other sTuff is amazing
i meant your country status thing
i heard it was harder to get into college in the US
if you are from another country...
maybe thats the chinese talking</p>

6

<p>nice to see a korean on CC!!
i used to attend a school in korea, too.
our "status" is not good because korea is an overrepresented country(along with China, India, Japan...etc).
i think your academics and ECs are great, but how did you get 263 on TOEFL when your SAT CR is 700+?</p>

<p>Research Group on Developmental Genetics in Seoul University
->amazing. but i'm not sure if the adcoms know that SNU is the #1 school in korea.</p>

<p>question>
why are General Biology I and General Biology II college credits?</p>

7

<p>"but how did you get 263 on TOEFL when your SAT CR is 700+?"
-> At the time, my condition was terrible, cause I stayed up all night before the test due to guys ceaselessly talking in the room next to me.(I am thinking about retaking it) Furthemore, I lost most of my score in Listening section. And the Critical reading score is what I expect, not I've already got. </p>

<p>"why are General Biology I and General Biology II college credits?"
-> I meant to say about the biology course biology major freshman first take in the college, the course tested in the AP biology test.</p>

<p>Anyways, are you also a Korean?</p>

8

<p>I'm a Korean-American (2nd generation or e-sae, as they call it). If your school is not established among the admissions offices such as Daewon Foreign High School, etc, then you are definitely at a disadvantage.</p>

<p>How is your ability to pay? That is a VERY important factor for international admissions. I think that your English is fair at best. Continue to work on your English because your essay WILL reflect your English writing ability, and all the aforementioned schools for which you are striving will notice it.</p>

<p>Furthermore, your extracurricular activities are amazing in light of the fact that you are still technically preparing for the "Korean SATs" or "soo-neung." I think you should mention that in your college interviews, where you really strove to achieve both goals because you had an obligation as a Korean to try for Korean colleges but you want the broader education that America has to offer.</p>

<p>My father and mother both graduated from Seoul National University and Yonsei respectively. As a first-born child of my parents, I really respect how harsh Korea is in respect to the vertical education that they provide to all children. Everything seems to be all rote memorization and all show, which definitely reflects on its society as well (everyone needs to be tall, etc). </p>

<p>Admissions committees know the SKY schools. Trust me. I myself am going back to Korea this summer before I go off to Harvard this fall. I can't wait. :)</p>

<p>Wow, personal reflection mixed in with advice. I like this.</p>

9

<p>biocrat </p>

<p>yeah, i'm korean.
i studied "soo-neung" too, but i left the country because i was sure i wanted to go to an american undergraduate school. </p>

<p>"If your school is not established among the admissions offices such as Daewon Foreign High School, etc, then you are definitely at a disadvantage."
->yeah, this is true. adcoms will have hard time figuring out what your school is like. this is why i left korea to attend highschool in US.</p>

<p>are biology I and II like Physics I and II, which are taken in korean highschools for soo-neung?</p>

10

<p>xjayz
congrats on Harvard!
you're family is amazing, lol</p>

11

<p>I am guessing Biology I and II are, I am surmising, the first year college introductory Biology class. I think the Physics is the same as well.</p>

<p>You can PM (Private Message) me if you'd like or you have any further personal questions.</p>

12

<p>We take the introductory college biologe course for two semesters and we call it General biology I, II for convenience.
Ah.. anyways, I not actually preparing for Soo-neung, because my school give us the opportunity to get into SNU, KAIST and POSTECH only with interview test based on newly legislated "Gifted Education Act(Koryu and Yeonsei university also unofficially offer the same chance for us) Instead, my school curriculum is horribly rigorous and getting good grade in my school would be more difficult than getting perfect score in Soo-neung.(During non-exam days, I sleep 3 to 4 hours on average)
Anyways, congratulation for Harvard.</p>

13

<p>I see. It sort of seems like a loophole to me, but that's besides the point. By the way, you don't say "horribly rigorous," you say "extremely rigorous."</p>

14

<p>Your "awards" and "research projects" are amazing :)
I'm also korean and an international student but my ECs are nothing compared to yours. :/
Let us know what happens when you apply to Princeton and such.
If you get rejected, I won't even bother to apply to HYPS lol.</p>

15

<p>kissthesky, you are currently in the states?</p>

16

<p>Yep.
I have been living here for 6 years now :) but my grammar still sucks
I'll never get into HYPS like this <em>sniff</em>
How I envy the both of you and your asian perfectness!</p>

17

<p>It's okay. I'm heading over to Korea in a week or so. I'm so excited!</p>

<p>Asian perfectness? I'm so short compared to the whole "height mania" that's taken Korea by storm.</p>

18

<p>wow. I'm a 2nd gen. KOrean, too, and both my parents were from SNU.<br>
They talk about people like you ALL the time. It's amazing to see one here on CC.<br>
Keep up the good work!
Btw, what's the name of your HS? I think I might know it...
Oh yeah, I think you have a great chance, no matter what others say.</p>

19

<p>Previously, it was named "Busan Science Academy"
But currently, governers decided to change its name to "Korean Science Academy"(from this year) to manifest that it is only one - legally and officially - Korean-representative science academy.
(My high school is the only one high school that is under direct-support of Korean Ministry of Science and Technology, so our school budget is tens of times higher than other schools. Also, my school is the only public school that have official college-level curriculum taught by dispatched professors of KAIST and get credit of such college-level subjects. Furthermore, we have college level lab facilities with various instruments such as SEM, TEM, NMR, flourescence microscope and even astronomical observatory dome with star-tracking system.)
I am quite proud of my school curriculum and facilities but I don't think admission officers may recognize it.</p>

20

<p>^ Trust me, they'll recognize it.</p>