Am I heading in the right direction for top schools, HYPS+? Chance a rising junior!

<p>Asian-American male interested in majoring in Political Science.</p>

<p>Colleges Applying to:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
Columbia
Cornell
UPenn
Duke
Northwestern
University of Chicago
UCB
UCLA
UCSD (safety)</p>

<p>*I know most of these schools are reaches, but please tell me where I stand. Do I stand a good chance at applying?</p>

<p>GPA
UW GPA: 4.0
W GPA for UCs: 4.67 (Current) 4.83 (If all A's Junior Year)
W GPA for Private Schools: 4.63 (If all A's Junior Year)
GPA was calculated by my college counselor.</p>

<p>Class Rank:
My school does it by deciles, although I think I am currently in the Top 10.
Top 10% of 500 (10th grade class size = 492) = Top 50
Colleges take the median so ~25th</p>

<p>SAT scores:
Haven't officially taken it yet, but:
2 weeks ago - 2270 (780 M, 760 W w/ 10 Essay, 730 CR)
1 week ago - 2260 (770 M, 730 W w/ 10 Essay, 760 CR)
Tests are administered by my SAT prep place and are actual Collegeboard tests. Essays are graded by graduates from Harvard and Stanford. Shooting for a 2300+.</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
Haven't taken, but planned:
Math IIC
US History
Chinese
Chemistry
Literature (College counselor wants me to take it, but I think I suck at Lit)</p>

<p>AP's:</p>

<p>Soph -
AP European History 5</p>

<p>Junior -
AP Chemistry
AP US History
AP English Literature
AP Statistics
AP Calculus AB
AP Chinese</p>

<p>Senior -
AP English Language
AP Government
AP Macro/Microeconomics
AP Calculus BC
AP Psychology
AP Physics C</p>

<p>Principal Extracurricular Activities (P = planning to partake - reasonable only):</p>

<p>Speech and Debate [Lincoln-Douglas]: 9, 10, 11P, 12P
Mock Trial Attorney: 10, 11, 12P
Mock Trial President: 11, 12P
Youth Court: 11, 12P
-Currently a Jury member
-In a couple months, I hope to be an advocate, akin to lawyers.

UC Berkeley ATDP Program "The Practice of Law": 9
BYU Independent Study PoliSci Course: 11 (summer) -, planning to take at least 2
Key Club Volunteer Coordinator: 11
City's Teen Council (<20% chance of making it): 11
President/Founder of ASIA (Asian Students in America): 10, 11, 12
-Organized fundraisers for victims of March 9 Japanese Earthquake
Leadership Student Support and Recognition Committee Chair:
-Launched Birthday Grams project that recognized 99% of school's 1800 students
-Started the Most Inspirational Student initiative that recognized students that have academic integrity, are dedicated towards success, and are responsible to those around them

NHS: 11P, 12P
DECA: Business Law Competition: 11P
Recreational Soccer: Played since 5 years old - 10th grade
HS Freshman Soccer: 9
JV Track/Field: 10, 11P</p>

<p>*My college counselor (College counseling company) is planning on having me intern with a Political Science professor at one of the Ivy Leagues next summer, preferably Harvard. This year, they had a 100% chance of finding these internships. Their counselor program has hundreds of students.</p>

<p>Some unusual ECs (hate to say unique):
-Owner of a Flight Simulator YouTube channel with more than 800 subscribers and 400k views. I've been making/uploading videos since 8th grade.
-Participated in a Chinese government/Sun Yat-Sen (one of top univ. in China) sponsored tour in Guangzhou and Beijing - It was a "root-seeking" trip. Vice Premier Xi JinPing gave a speech to us in the Great Hall of the People about the importance of discovering our "roots." (My friend, who now goes to Princeton, fell asleep during the speech.)</p>

<p>Volunteering:
Volunteer for Senior Citizens: 9, 10, 11P, 12P ~ 50 hours
City Lights Volunteer Program: 9, 10, 11, 12P ~ 50 hours
Leadership: ~40 Hours
Youth Court: ~ 50 hours by the time I apply
Parents having me volunteer, starting July 31, at gatherings with important Chinese officials. Parent is an alumni president. ~25 Hours</p>

<ul>
<li>I know it's not about hours and it's about consistency. I'm just giving a rough estimate on what I have so far.</li>
</ul>

<p>Extraneous Extracurriculars:
Science Alliance (10)
Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) - 10
Internship with Online Health Awareness Company - 9 (summer)
-Performed Data Analysis
-Didn't like it, stopped after 3-4 weeks.
*I think this might demonstrate my attempt at pursuing other interests. Lame, indeed.</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit?
AP Scholar (Most likely - 99% chance)
National Forensics League Degree of Distinction
Stanford Invitational Octofinalist: 9
Berkeley Invitational Double-Octofinalist: 10
Regional Debate Awards
Principal's Award: 9, 10, 11P, 12P (I don't see how I could not get it)
NCS Scholar Athlete: 9
NCS Scholastic Team: 9 (Dunno why my Track team wasn't one)
*My awards are not up to standards with most on CC applying to Ivy Leagues and I understand that. Anything I can do to give me more/better things to list?</p>

<p>Additional Information:
Ethnicity: Asian American
Gender: Male
Income: Parents won't disclose to me, but they're making me apply for FA
Hooks: None
Legacy: OSU
Recs - Should be good: One from AP Gov teacher who is also the Mock Trial coach, Another from AP Calc to show a well-rounded personality, and last from the professor whom I will be interning with
Essays - Should be good. I haven't had any idea on what to write about and I go WOW every time I read someone else's.
School: Top 30 Public in California. Built in 2006.</p>

<p>Thanks before hand for chancing me. I know this is still way too early to tell, but I would appreciate all feedback given. Hopefully, an Asian applying for PoliSci is unique. Please also suggest any activities I should do to help build my profile. Once again, thanks for taking your time.</p>

<p>Keep what what you are doing and you’ll definitely be one of the better applicants. Maybe try and internship in a local or foreign government I’d you really want to be pol sci. But I’d say you’d be competitive, but remember they accept like 5% of applications, so don’t be sad if you get denied, but I’d say one+ HYP is pretty realistic</p>

<p>keep in mind, too, that as far as most schools are concerned you already have a 2300</p>

<p>i superscored for you, which is what most schools do, and you have a 2300 on the dot right now</p>

<p>wait, didn’t read it the first time, nevermind!</p>

<p>I’d say you’re definitely headed in the right direction. You have great stats and scores, and I’m sure you’ll do great on the SAT. HYPS is pretty realistic according to what you’ve written. Just keep up the great ECs and scores and I’m sure that you’ll be considered a worthy candidate! Good luck and excellent work so far. </p>

<p>Chance me back?? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1183217-hey-chance-me-columbia-princeton-nyu.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1183217-hey-chance-me-columbia-princeton-nyu.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Thanks for all your comments. I feel relieved that I’m heading on the right track and I all I need to do now is to push through Junior Year strong! I have one more question: What was my unique activity or WOW factor if I have one? I can’t determine it myself, unfortunately.</p>