<p>Hi, people of College Confidential. I would be so grateful if you could look over my qualifications that I'm posting, share your opinions at my chances of an Ivy League education, and give me any advice that may improve my chances.</p>
<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: African American
Grade: 11th
High School: The Science Academy of South Texas (An extremely competitive high school with a primary focus on maths, sciences, and engineering; #48 in country, #6 in state. Electives at my school are engineering courses under the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) program in partnership with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)).
GPA: 3.83 out of 4.0 unweighted; 97.1 out of 100
Rank: 19 out of 143; (Our class has a low amount of students due to the fact that many drop out and return to their local public schools because of an inability to keep up with the rigorous coursework and demands our school requires.)
SAT: 1st Try: 760 CR, 670 M, 740 W (2170); 2nd Try: 700 CR, 760 M, 720 W (2180); (Superscore: 2260) These were taken in October and January of 10th grade, respectively.
PSAT: 73 CR, 76 M, 77 W (226); I'm expecting to be selected for the National Merit and/or National Achievement Scholar program.</p>
<p>Coursework:
7th/8th
Algebra I (7), Geometry (8), Integrated Physics & Chemistry (8), Spanish I Monolingual (8)
9th
PAP - English I, Biology, Computer Science I, World History, Algebra II, Introduction to Engineering Design (PLTW; received RIT credit), Chemistry
CP - Research & Technical Writing, Foundations of Personal Fitness (both only offered at this level)
10th
PAP - Physics I, Environmental Systems, Pre-Calculus, English II, Digital Electronics (PLTW; received RIT credit)
CP - World Geography, Art I, Spanish II Monolingual. (all only offered at this level)
11th
AP/Dual - Psychology, Calculus AB
AP - U.S. History, English III, Physics B
Dual - Spanish III
PAP - Principles of Engineering (PLTW)
CP - Individual or Team Sports, Advanced Health, Communication Applications (all only offered at this level)
12th (Classes I've Selected to Take; Tentative)
AP - Statistics, U.S. Government, Macroeconomics, English IV, Chemistry, Biology
PAP - Civil Engineering and Architecture (PLTW), Engineering Design & Development (PLTW),
CP - Aerobic Activity, Advanced Journalism</p>
<p>ECs:
9th
Student Council - Freshman Representative
10th
National Honor Society
KQSA 93.5 Radio Station - Disc Jockey
P.E. Club
11th
Around the Globe Culture Club - Co-Founder & President (Mission: to educate, appreciate, and celebrate the cultural diversity of our school)
National Honor Society
KQSA 93.5 Radio Station - Disc Jockey
P.E. Club
Running Club
Environmental Science Club</p>
<p>Summer Activities/Community Service/Jobs/Honors/Etc.
7th
Selected for Duke University's TIP Program
8th
Selected for Johns Hopkins University's CTY Program
9th
Volunteered at local hospital during the summer (56 hours)
10th
Mentor for New Scholar Academy; summer program designed to help incoming freshmen get acclimatized to school atmosphere (Worked at 2 3-day sessions)
Shadowed an orthodontist (23 hours)
11th
Volunteer waiter for youth group Valentine's Day Banquet (4 hours)
Shadowed a general dentist (20 hours)
Selected for Rice University Summer Symposium, where I'll be conducting research at Rice with a graduate student</p>
<p>Thanks for bearing with that lengthy post. I wanted to paint the most complete profile of myself as possible. My dream school would be Penn, and some others that I am considering are Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Boston University, and UT Austin. I hope to be in a Pre-Dentistry or a natural science major. I would really appreciate if you could tell me if I have a shot at those and if not, what's stopping me.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, a few other things that I don't know but think could work in my favor:
- I'm a first generation American-born citizen; both my parents are from Ghana, West Africa and were naturalized only a few months ago; I lived in Ghana for 6 years and began schooling in America during the 2nd semester of 3rd grade so I had to play a bit of catch-up
- I'm in a single income family; my mom is a pediatrician though and probably makes close to 100K before taxes
- I'm the only black person in my grade; there are about 10 total in my school (of about 750)
- The Rio Grande Valley, the area of South Texas where I live, is notorious for low academic standards and terrible performance on standardized exams, etc. Not to sound cold or anything, but I think it may further illuminate my achievement.</p>
<p>Once again THANK YOU.</p>