Asian + First gen + Low income. I will chance you back!

<p>Since my board failed.. I created another one. Hopefully this gets more responses</p>

<p>Korean male attending competitive public high school in CA that sends 50+ to UCLA/Berkeley each year and around 30 to ivy-caliber schools. Income = 30,000. 4 people in household.</p>

<p>Grades</p>

<p>ELC student.
UC GPA (8 semesters capped one) = 4.18
UC weighted = 4.64 (3rd highest in school out of ~600 students)
UC unweighted = 3.82
upward trend in grades. (4.2 wGPA sophomore year to 5.0 wGPA in junior year)
College gpa: 4.0 (6 courses taken concurrently with my high school classes so far)
Class rank: Top 8% - Due to horrible PE grades and ranking emphasized mostly on unweighted gpa.</p>

<p>Course rigor</p>

<p>11 APs (2 self studied), 10 community college classes, and 4 UC approved honors courses by graduation. I will have junior status in terms of college units as a freshman in all the UCs and maybe some privates.</p>

<p>Senior schedule:</p>

<p>AP computer sci
AP stats
AP euro
AP english lit
AP Calc BC (independent study)
Honors us gov/economics
Astronomy 1 (intro to astronomy) - CC class
Astronomy 5 (lab requisite of astronomy 1) - CC class
Physics 11 (introductory physics with lab) - CC class
Philosophy 1 (introductory philosophy) - CC class</p>

<p>Standardized Tests</p>

<p>ACT composite: 34 (retaking December)
E: 31
M: 36
S: 35
R: 32
Essay: 7
Also taking SAT Reasoning in December</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
Math II – 760
World – 760
Korean – 780</p>

<p>AP Scores: 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3 so far. 3 in English lang was self-studied. Taking 5 more tests this year.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars</p>

<ul>
<li>Popping/Hip hop dance for 4 years. Performed at Kollaboration 2007. (pretty good at this, I dedicate a lot of my time to dancing)</li>
<li>Work at my dad's computer shop. (My dad operates the shop by himself so I have to help out. ~20 hours a week since 9th grade)</li>
<li>Peer tutor in school (I use my lunch time to tutor kids in math/science)</li>
<li>Paid tutor in my neighborhood</li>
<li>Mu Alpha Theta president (national math club organization, will hold my position)</li>
<li>Korean Club VP junior year. President this year.</li>
<li>Teaching and helping "mentally" disabled kids at a local elementary school during summer and winter breaks</li>
<li>Tennis (private lessons but not competitive)- 3 years</li>
<li>Active member of PAVA - I am involved in various other environmental activities (like beach clean ups, planting tress, etc.) during the weekends.</li>
</ul>

<p>Misc:</p>

<p>First generation student + low income
Applied for EOP (for UCs)
Very tough course load
Essays: Superb. My counselors and my current AP Lit teacher both thought so.
Recommendations: I haven’t read them, but I expect them to be good as well.</p>

<p>Schools I am applying to – in no specific order</p>

<p>Stanford
Dartmouth
Cornell
Middlebury
Johns Hopkins
University of Chicago
Wash U. St Louis
USC
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UC San Diego</p>

<p>wow. very strong record. i'm korean as well.</p>

<p>i think you'll be fine for all those colleges. i think all those CC classes will really pull through.</p>

<p>I've always wondered if financial status' helped people or hindered people. I always thought they helped, especially in your status b/c you have a strong profile and usually someone who does stuff such as yourself needs a little money (not much but certainly can't squander anything).</p>

<p>i'm guessing your essays are done, but still, working the dancing thing into your essay as an angle would really set you apart.</p>

<p>Thanks all. But chances at each schools?</p>

<p>Yeah essays are done and they might just be the strongest part of my application. :)</p>

<p>And I do really need the financial aid. Financial aid will be THE factor in choosing which college I go to.</p>

<p>Stanford - high reach
Dartmouth - reach
Cornell - reach
Middlebury - (dunno)
Johns Hopkins - high match or reach
University of Chicago - reach
Wash U. St Louis - high match or slight reach
USC - (dunno)
UCLA - in
UC Berkeley - high match
UC San Diego - in</p>

<p>good luck, your Korean score might hurt you since despite of the fact that you r korean you did not get perfect score...</p>

<p>I passed level 6 (highest level) in TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean) so that will offset my "low" Korean score. I honestly don't think a 780 will hurt me. And wow yoonlee9, my chances can not be that low.</p>

<p>What major are you applying for?</p>

<p>Business/Econ for most of my schools. Biology or premed related majors for UCSD and JHU</p>

<p>In that case, as long as you do well on your SATs, you should be a match for all the UCs and they'll likely offer you scholarships/generous grants and loans.</p>

<p>Stanford: reach (for everyone)
Dartmouth: reach (for everyone)
Cornell: reach (for everyone)
Middlebury: Not sure
Johns Hopkins: low reach
University of Chicago: high match
Wash U. St Louis: high match
USC: match (not sure if their aid offer would b enough though)
UCLA: safe match
UC Berkeley: match
UC San Diego: safe match</p>

<p>Nice record. You definitely have at the very least a decent shot at every school:</p>

<p>Stanford: reach
Dartmouth: mid reach
Cornell high match/low reach
Middlebury: don't know what/where this is
Johns Hopkins: low reach
UChi: high match - make sure to write a great essay though, UChi puts a lot of weight on essay
WashU: low reach, tough to get in RD
USC, UCLA, UC: low match - in</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/602605-chance-small-town-rural-kid-washu-ed-notre-dame.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/602605-chance-small-town-rural-kid-washu-ed-notre-dame.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I already have an ACT score of 34. I am only retaking SAT to see if I can do better (I got 2160 on my first one). Thanks guys. </p>

<p>Oh and I will chance you back if you post link to your board.</p>

<p>stanford and dartmouth are tough, but i think you're in at the rest: </p>

<p>chance me <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/599653-very-very-not-perfect.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/599653-very-very-not-perfect.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>thanks. Chanced you back</p>

<p>Although I am Asian, I come from a socio-economically disadvantaged background. Would that not help me as much as being an URM? AA should apply to anyone who is from a socioeconomically disadvantaged situation. =/</p>

<p>bump......</p>

<p>ur in at all state schools on ur list. Fits are Wash U Cornell Middlebury and JHU as long as u aren't doing any advanced degree programs. Stanford UChi and Dartmouth are slight reaches. Normally you would be in to all of these schools but b/c of the recent surge in apps u could be denied to some just b/c they don't have enough space. Keep your head up u have impressive credentials that colleges are just begging to see in their freshman class. And if the above does happen u have applied to enough schools that it's ok. </p>

<p>Chance me back? </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/601876-chance-junior-firefighter.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/601876-chance-junior-firefighter.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I would def say that you have a very good chance in getting into all of those schools. Not only do you have great ACT and SAT, but very good grades as well. Good luck
chance me back at <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/601339-well-here-goes.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/601339-well-here-goes.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Stanford- low reach
Dartmouth- reach
Cornell- high match
Middlebury- high match
Johns Hopkins- low reach
University of Chicago- low reach
Wash U. St Louis- safety/ low match
USC- safety
UCLA- high match
UC Berkeley- match
UC San Diego- ?</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/602724-chances-i-chance-back.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/602724-chances-i-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Thanks chanced you guys back on your respective boards. Any criticisms?</p>

<p>bump......</p>