Am I on the right track for the Ivy League? (sophomore in high school)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read this, and even a simple “yes” or “no” would help.

GPA: Unweighted: 4.0 Weighted: 4.9
SAT: I took the old SAT once as a Sophomore, but got a 2000. I am going to study as hard as possible and go for a 1600.
ACT: Will take it once Junior year, hoping for a 35.
SAT II: Taking Biology, Chemistry, and World History this year. Hoping for 700+ on each test. Will study hard.
AP: Taking one AP this year which is basically a 5, then next year I am taking 5 AP’s.
Awards: Planning to be an AP Scholar with Distinction, and get an AP capstone diploma.
Summer Activities: I am planning to do COSMOS next summer to further my research in the medical and bioengineering field. Is it too little?

I have been told in other threads that I am all over the place and not specialized enough. People think that I am doing all these things only for college apps. However, I love EVERYTHING I do and specifically picked these, and I believe that I am very deeply immersed into all of them.

-Robotics: I’ve done robotics for 10 years (6 years of First Lego League, 3 years of Google Lunar X-Prize, and 3 years of Botball, with some overlap). I’ve won numerous awards for First Lego League, but my most major award with FLL is “most influential team” at an international competition because we started the first robotics program in all of my valley and now there are 4,000 students enrolled in our nonprofit program (300+ hours). With Moonbots, I actually partnered with a team that sent a bot to the moon and became one of their junior members. With Botball, I received the highest Robotics Achievement Test score in the world (IKR omg) and I published and presented a presentation called “Deriving Solutions for Different Situations” and it discusses how to manage a team depending on different personalities. I did this at the Global Conference on Educational Robotics last year. I am currently the president of my Botball Club at school. HOWEVER, I have one big problem. Everything I have done, besides Botball, were before high school. Will I be able to put them on my application? How could I do it?

-Volunteering: When I grow up, I want to be a biomedical engineer and develop technologies, with robotics, to help the sick. Due to this, I volunteer at SMaRT Education (the robotics program that we started with 4,000 people) and at a local hospital. Is this the right track for me? Or should I just do volunteering on one of these subjects?

-Piano: I’ve played piano for 9 years. I am the first person in my family to play an instrument, and I love playing for them and inspiring them. I received a full scholarship to Idyllwild Summer Arts Program last summer, but that is about it. Is this what they were talking about how I’m all over the place? Should I just leave this off my application?

-Volleyball: I love volleyball. I love the team, the atmosphere, the competition, and the game in general. However, there were absolutely no boys volleyball programs in a 50 mile radius, so I worked with a local girls volleyball club and started the first boys volleyball club in all of my valley. I love it so much! I am currently captain and we have won a few tournaments. On my college app, how would I choose which awards to put? This is also different than my goal of being a biomedical engineer, but how can I fix that?

-Youth and Government: In Youth and Government, I serve as Forum Liaison and Spirit Committee cofounder and chair. I also hold a minor statewide position. I love the talking about issues, and we often go into discussions about technology in our rapidly advancing society. However, on paper, it doesn’t seem connected to my goal. I love this program though and I wouldn’t drop it ever. How can I make it so people don’t think I am unspecialized? I am working to pass a bill through the program which assesses the neurological situation of gambling. Would this help?

-Work: I work at my family’s donut shop. Um… is there a way to make this like specialized? Or should I leave it off my app?

-Worldquest: I am a member of world quest. History and events in the world are my favorite thing to learn about; we must see the mistakes we made in the past and the problems we faced to advance (what I want to do is work on biomedical technologies to advance society as a whole) However, this is not specialized on paper. How can I fix it?

-Clubs: I am in two clubs, robotics and national honor society. They are completely different, and I acknowledge this. I love robotics, but I joined (and preside) over NHS because it was a dying club at my school. People just did it for college apps and the president was not up to par. I integrated a survey based system to personalize volunteering so people might continue the volunteering on their own time and actually enjoy it. But is this too different?

On paper, all these activities seem much too different. However, all these things show my two greatest characteristics: I love helping people and I have good iniative. I am trying so hard to make it not seem like bragging, but this is a serious question I have. How would I show these two traits on paper? I don’t really want to use the major essay because I believe that my background shaped me into who I am greatly, and how my family’s survival translated into (omg I just found my college essay with these words!!!).

For my essay which I just though of, would it be wise to write about how my family’s instinct for survival, escaping genocide, has translated into myself wanting to expand our family’s reach? My family escaped genocide in Cambodia and came for a better life in America. However, in America, all they have done is survived, working at the donut shop for 50 years. They are the true reason I have learned that I want to help people and society, and that is why I have iniative right now to do all the things I do. It shaped me into who I am today.

OMG I just found my college essay (maybe)!!! Thank you everyone!!!

But would y’all still be able to do a “chance me” for the Ivy League schools, and maybe provide some advice on how my extracurricular activities can be shown to be specialized? Or would my essay be enough to show all of this? Thank you all!!!

2

There is no way that your unweighted gpa is a 4.9 and you are a sophomore with 1 AP… how does your school scale? Your ECs are good and your volunteering is focused, making it even better. Also, aim for a 36 on the ACT, not a 35. Also, colleges care very little about your pre-high school experience, so it is almost completely irrelevant. However, I wish you the best of luck!

3

You have done some cool stuff- keep up the good work. Are you on track for the Ivy League? I would say so, but unless you are a Nobel Laureate, they will still be reaches. You are just sophomore now, but you should soon begin asking yourself “Why the Ivy league?”. It is a sports conference. All 8 of them have some very different characteristics. Also, some really elite schools which beat their Ivy League counterparts in many respects are not part of the Ivy League- like Stanford, MIT, UChicago CalTech, etc.

Also, you DO NOT need to be 100% focused on one topic/discipline for extracurriculars. Do what you love, and do it well, but it looks like you got that covered.

4

I took the most rigorous courses available at my school. The only allowed AP as a sophomore is World History. Ok, I will study a lot and aim for those awesome test scores.

Thank you both so much!

5

If I did want to mention how long I’ve done robotics, could I say that I’ve done it for 10 years at least?

And will colleges weigh that low sat score greatly? Or if I get a perfect score next run, can it override this score?

6

You can definitely mention your passion for robotics and how your years of experience have only solidified your passion for it. I would only say this if you’re planning on going into something related to robotics-- computer science, etc. I think it’s great that you want to go into biomed-- this is something that colleges look for because they want someone with passion. Your passion, from what I see, is to go into biomed with an intent on making a difference for others. Develop that goal: how has working in a donut shop affected you? Did you work long hours? Meet someone fascinating? Have down time to think about yourself? That’s a possible essay prompt as well.

As for your test score, I think that scoring a 2250+ should be great. I can’t say whether or not it will “override”, but as long as colleges can ascertain that you are a strong-willed, hard-working, intelligent student, it should be fine. Make these attributes about you obvious through your essay.

7

Ah okay, cool! Thank you so much!

8

Just continue to do what you are doing. I would suggest applying for an internship that focuses on your passion. If you have practical experience, that would be a major plus for a high school student!

9

Odds:

50:1 for Harvard, Yale, Princeton
30:1 for Columbia, Penn, Brown
20:1 for Cornell, Dartmouth

10

Thank you!

What is the SAT II score range to be competitive in the Ivies? Is above a 700 good?

And I’ve always wanted to publish a research paper and maybe work with a college professor and develop something. However, I had always thought about this as something I would pursue full time in college.

What would be a good internship? And the Common Application only provides 10 spots for EC’s, and if I did intern there would be no place for every single one. Which EC should I leave out? Currently there is: volleyball, piano, robotics, volunteering with Eisenhower, volunteering with smart education, world quest, NHS, youth and government, work, and youth committee (forgot to mention this, but I am part of a youth Board and discuss how to improve our valley as a whole).

Also for piano, I have only received that one scholarship. Is that enough, or do colleges want me to win numerous competitions and stuff?

@ClarinetDad16 just curious, do you think my background will in any way improve my chances? My family escaped genocide, and I have a single mom with 2 jobs, and it shaped me.

If those are the odds, is my essay what is going to put me over?

11

I also speak 4 languages and I am self taught in Chinese, will that help or will everyone applying to these schools be quadrilingual?

12

@MattyCRaps - you are a blank slate. You have not hit the standardized test scores needed, you don’t have completed the academic rigor, leadership, etc.

And you seemingly are still just focused on a disparate athletic league of schools based on perceived prestige.

Research the schools that excel in what you want to study. Look to earn merit scholarships. Consider honors colleges. Cast a wide net. Kick butt and enjoy high school. And for now forget the Ivy League it’s a long shot.

13

Your balance is good. Your focus on Ivies is what can backfire. And taking advice from too many sources, many of whom are probably kids. Go read what your target schools say they value and want. It’s not all glory, titles, gloss. And do something for your community, especially if you’re going to claim you want to “help people and society.” Not just fancy named programs.

14

I see. I love tutoring underprivileged kids in robotics and helping out at our local hospital. Is there any recommendation that I can do to help out? I can’t think of any else that I could excel in as much. I do volunteer with many other things; I am part of our school’s freshman introduction program, I do volunteering with NHS and Y&G, and I am a camp counselor, but I am leaving those off my app. I want to find a volunteering oppurtunity that I can excel in and will give me experience for the future. Thank you!