Are these weak extra curricular activities for a female Asian applicant?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>School Newspaper (Assistant Editor, 9) (Sports Editor, 10, 11) (Format Editor, 11) [Have written at least 20 articles, edited at least 50, and spent a total of 20+ hours formatting each issue] [I actually utilize journalistic techniques before I write. For instance, I interview people such as football players, parents, students, teachers, etc]
National Honor Society (General member, 11) [Tutored a student, wrapped Easter presents for 4 hours, etc]
Chess Club (General member, 10, 11) [Have beaten 10 opponents from other schools]
School Yearbook (General member, 11) [Collected quotes and wrote a few articles]
Baking for the Elderly (General member, 10, 11)
Student Government (General member, 11) [Menial work]
Bowling Club (General member, 10, 11) [Joined to have fun with friends]
Band (General member, 9, 10)
Softball (Played 3rd base, 9)
Volunteered in a hospital for 120 hours</p>

<p>My only leadership positions are Sports Editor and News Editor for the school newspaper. Do you think my extra curricular activities are weak for top schools like UChicago and University of Southern California? I wasn't very involved in my freshman year because I was immature, which is why I don't have many leadership positions. I go to a mediocre public high school that has a total of 2000+ kids. My total family income is 40k. I wasn't born in the U.S., but I am a permanent resident.
My UW GPA is a 4.0. I've taken the most rigorous classes offered in my school. This year, I took AP Calc BC, AP Biology, AP World,and AP Micro (I'm expecting 5s on all four exams).</p>

<p>Here are my test scores:
SAT: 730CR, 790M, 780W 10 essay =2300 (first sitting, NEVER took a class or got a tutor)
PSAT: 68CR, 74M, 75W =217 (Most likely qualify for national merit)
SAT II: Math I (780) | Math II (expect an 800) | World History (720+) | Biology (770) | US History (740)</p>

2

<p>You have a great chance at USC</p>

<p>Chicago is a toss up for anyone</p>

3

<p>Thanks for answering! Is it more difficult to get into USC if you’re not a California resident? I live in New England.</p>

4

<p>43% of USC’s student body is from out of state, so it doesn’t matter</p>

5

<p>Do you think my extra curricular activities are weak? I hold no president or vice president positions.</p>

6

<p>For schools like UChicago (go for EA) and USC your ECs make you competitive enough. For anything above (Dartmouth, Duke, Penn, Columbia, HYPSM, etc.) having no major leadership positions will hinder chances unless you want to go for ED.</p>

7

<p>db</p>

<p>Are you planning to attend Duke?
You sound like duke people already.</p>

<p>USC: Decent to Good chances
HYPSM: Nobody knows
Duke, Chicago, Dartmouth, Penn, Columbia: Reach</p>

<p>You need certain luck to get into those colleges.
Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Thanks for answering! Most people who hold major leadership positions in my school have low SAT scores (1500-1800), mediocre grades, and take 1-2 AP classes in their junior and senior years. They don’t do well academically because they’re too devoted to their extra curriculars. I decided to not become editor-in-chief of the school newspaper next year because I don’t want to be sleep deprived and consequently struggle in my classes. Did I make a mistake by turning down the offer? The girl who will be editor-in-chief next year will probably end up going to state school. The graduating editor-in-chief is going to community college this fall. They’re smart people, but they have no time to study at all.</p>

9

<p>Do you think I could get into these schools?</p>

<p>UVA
USC at Chapel Hill
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell Engineering</p>

10

<p>If you like UChicago, write great essays and apply EA.
EA acceptance rate was 17% for the class of 2016.
(It is going to be lower than 17% for sure.)</p>

<p>RD admit rate was 9% and it is going to be lower.</p>

<p>Do your best and hope for the best.
Good luck with UChicago!</p>

11

<p>I think you should elevate one of your ECs you’re passionate about. For ex., using chess as an example, you could teach chess as a part-time job or as a volunteer position. You could start a magazine for chess players. </p>

<p>That said, UChicago and USC look like matches.</p>

12

<p>flashprism</p>

<p>What is your definition of “matches”?</p>

<p>Every top 10 college is a reach school for almost everybody.</p>

13

<p>I did find a few cases of people with no significant leadership positions and got into reach schools like Stanford and Penn(M&T).
Stanford
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13609756-post39.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13609756-post39.html&lt;/a&gt;
Penn(M&T)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14141402-post69.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14141402-post69.html&lt;/a&gt;
Yale
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14117098-post20.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14117098-post20.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>^20more- I was just comparing her to people I knew who got into those colleges, and her ECs seemed good. I’m not guaranteeing her anything, lol.</p>