Am I aiming too high?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, rising junior here! I'd like to go to someplace (preferably a LAC) such as Amherst, Williams, Oberlin, or Reed and I wanted to know if that was in my scope. Ideas for safety schools would be nice too.</p>

<p>School: Top level magnet school, VA
Ethnicity: Asian
W GPA: 4.23 (no UW given- HN: 4.5, AP: 5.0)
Rank: N/A
AP Scores: Chemistry (4) Biology (5) World History (5)
PSAT/SAT: 2110 (diagnostic) ~2250-2300 goal
SAT Subject: Math II (750) Chemistry (760)</p>

<p>Major: Neuroscience, though I could say Russian/Music if that would give me a better chance</p>

<p>Junior Year-
AP Calculus BC
AP US History
Electronics (sem) / Neuro (sem)
English 11 Honors
Physics 1 Honors
AP Macro/Microeconomics
AP Russian</p>

<p>not quite sure what I'll be doing senior year, but it'll include Multivar/Linear, AP Gov, and AP Lit.</p>

<p>Awards/Achievements:
-National Russian Olympiada- Gold (9-10)
-National Russian Essay Contest- Silver (9) Gold (10)
<em>I think of myself as pretty good at writing, but never entered contests before. This year I'm planning to do so, and maybe a science competition too</em></p>

<p>Extracurriculars:<br>
-AYP, Violist (7-11): one of the top youth orchestras in the nation
-Neuroscience Society (9-11)
-NeuroInspire (10-11): Mentor middeschoolers about neuroscience
-Russian Club (9-11)
-Online newspaper staff (10-11)
-Forensics (10-11)
-Student Reporter for local newspaper (8-12): wrote monthly articles</p>

<p>Volunteer:
-Youth Council at an Emergency Teen Shelter (10-11)
-Violist at an Ensemble that performs at assisted living centers (6-11)
-Free weekly viola lessons to a student from a disadvantaged background (10-11)
-<em>planning to apply as a volunteer at Givology</em></p>

<p>Job/Internship Experience:
-School Booth Technician (9-11)
-Chemistry Internship @ Georgetown this summer</p>

<p>((my main worry is my lack of standout ECs/leadership, my attempts at officer positions never seem to work out :/ i believe youth council is technically a leadership thing))</p>

2

<p>Not aiming too high at all! Try for leadership positions, but you seem like a competitive applicant for the schools you’ve mentioned</p>

3

<p>If you continue on the track you’re on next year, you should be solid for any LAC. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the feedback!</p>

<p>Anyone know what some good safeties would be?</p>

<p>(Also I just calculated my UW GPA = 3.86)</p>

5

<p>-bumpbump-</p>

6

<p>I think you have great chances! I think Occidental might be a good safety for you</p>

7

<p>Not aiming too high at all, especially for Oberlin and Reed. Get your SAT up to a 2200 and you’d be competitive anywhere.</p>

<p>Chance back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1518369-chances-haverford-brandeis-etc.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1518369-chances-haverford-brandeis-etc.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>Definitely not too high! All of those schools seem attainable if not (dare I say) safeties. I personally don’t think you have anything to worry about in the extracurricular department. I know you always hear about stories of some teen who invented a water purification system for impoverished children in Nicaragua or composed a symphony at age 12, but colleges don’t expect you to have done something like that. Your extracurriculars (it sounds like viola, Russian, and neuroscience-related activities are the main ones) are already unique in my opinion. Remember that colleges want quality over quantity. If I were you I would try to relate everything I did outside of school (volunteering, jobs, internships, clubs, organizations, etc.) to one of those three. You shall do great things, fritzitty.</p>