Can I make it into these in future - Stanford ,Harvard ,Georgia Tech ,Carnegie,Princeton, Berkeley?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone.
I am studying in India at a CBSE school .I am just going to 10th Grade this April. ( 2015).
I have already decided to go for International studies and Ivies of the USA are my first choice. I have already read about the low acceptance rates and difficulties and therefore I will be working hard in these next 3 years to be at the top of applicant pool and get admitted into these colleges - Stanford , Harvard , Georgia Tech , Carnegie , Berkeley. After reading my stats , please advice me for more other colleges if they match my stats.
I wont be applying for Fin aid. Intended major - Computer Science

:diamonds: SATs and Other tests:

So , as I said , I have completed my 9th grade , so I havent given any SATs or other tests. But I would be preparing for them in these next 3 years to get the score of 2400. Not joking , I think 3 years of preparation can help me get that.

:diamonds: School Academics :

• Since Class 1 , I have been in the top 2-3% of the class ( I mean among all the sections of the class ).
• I have been getting overall grade A1 ( 90-100%) in all the classes.
• Standard 1 - Standard 8 : Overall Grade - A1
• Standard 9 : Overall Grade - N/A (Didn’t get the report card yet ; but would be getting A2-A1)
• Standard 10/11/12 : Would be working hard these next 3 years.

PS: I am preparing for NTSE ( The most prestigious talent search exam of India) and Olympiads.

:diamonds: Extra- Co-curriculars :

• I am the Sub Junior President and Web Designer at IT Club of my School. ( The club is well known in Delhi.)
• Have won over 50 Podiums at various prestigious Inter-School Tech fests.
• Have attended and presented ideas at various Tech Seminars in Schools.
• Would be taking courses at Coursera and Edx.
• Recipient of " IT Whiz Kid Award " - Award given to students doing extremely well in Computers and IT. ( I usually get it every year as I win 3-5 prizes ( Ist , 2nd , 3rd ) every year)
•Founded a Startup for helping people find pets to adopt or post ads for pet adoption/services. ( I was 13 then , so didn;'t get much chance to publicize it ; but I think it helps to express my love for entrepreneurship)
•Would be starting another Startup and this time , I would publicize it.
( I have contacts with Media/Newspapers , so I can publicize my startup and myself.)

So , these are my ECs till now. I have 3 years more and I would be working damn hard to build a strong ECs list.

:diamonds: Awards :

• Recipient of " Student of the Year Award " by The Statesman newspaper for brilliant Academic and ECs performances.
• Recipient of " Academic Excellence Award " by school for class 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
• Recipient of " IT Whiz Kid Award " by school for classes 7,8,9.
• Recipient of "Best Leader and All Rounder Award " for classes 3,4,5,6,7,8 - (An award given to student who brought fame to school due to his/her leadership skills and all-rounder working capacity)

In the next 3 years , I would be aiming for more Government and State Awards and I am hoping for some awards for raising a startup in the next years which has a unique idea and has a social service touch.

:diamonds: Research/Projects :

• No research yet. But will be doing some in next years. What do you think , a Math research or Internet related research , what would help me ?

• Created a site to find adopted pets in city and post ads for adoption.

• Creating another app but can’t disclose it right now. As I said , I can publicize it in future in media/newspapers.

:diamonds: Leadership:

• Served as Junior School Headboy in 2010-2011
• Served as Middle School Headboy in 2012-2013
(The only student in history of school to get selected as Headboy for 2 terms )
•Sub-Junior President of IT Club.
•Member of Dramatics club.

( During school events, many eminent chief guests congratulated me for my performance as Headboy)

I have 3 more years, and I would be aiming to be the President of IT Club and Senior School Headboy.

:diamonds: Social Service:

• Would be joining CRY India in summer. Most probably , I would also join their Home program where they can ask me to make a Game or App for them.

• I am planning to start my own campaign in next year to provide books to under privileged (This is my personal wish and I am not doing it just for making my application better).

• My friend and I have planned to start a campaign to educate others about important common rights through App and Flashcards. It would kick-off in 2015-16.

• I plan to join other NGOs and do some real work and elaborate about my contribution in my essays.

:diamonds: Essays/Recommendations :

• As my friends say , I have the quality to win my teachers. I can get them to write a beautiful and powerful recommendation.

• Dont laugh , but I would be writing essays for next 3 years to get an impressive essay to submit. I would tell them about my work at NGOs, raising my startups and difficulties that I went through. I feel I am quite good these.

So please tell me , how am I going. I have 3 more years left and I wont miss a thing to get into the Ivies and other top schools. I am open to all recommendations , suggestions and critics. Please, enlighten me more.

These are my stats till Class 9 , and I have now a lot of prestigious contests and exams infront of me and I will be working hard to achieve them.
Thanks in advance.

2

There is no chancing a freshman. You have barely done any of the things for which you will be judged. And to paraphrase something I saw on here the other day: no school ever accepted anyone based on hypothetical or projected scores.

3

Thanks for response. I have 3 years more . So could you tell me what should I do in next years to make a strong app. I am Junior school student , so I can’t give SATs or other important tests of my country like NTSE etc.

4

Definitely keep up with the extracurriculars you are already doing–the apps and all that. Be aware that awards, ECs, and leadership from the years before grade 9 will most likely not count. Colleges want to know what you did recently, not when you were 7. But overall you seem to be very hardworking already, so really all I can add is to keep working as hard as you can. Good luck (and stay on top of test requirements–you may have to take SAT subject tests as well).

5

bump

6

Most of the awards are of class 8-9. I plan to get the awards in next years as well. Yup you’re right. They dont look what I did as a kid. Thanks. Do you think APs matter for International students especially in India where they are too expensive and schools dont offer APs ?

7

If your school doesn’t offer APs, they won’t expect you to take them. They just want to see that you have made the most out of what was available to you

8

Bump

9

bump

10

I didn’t actually read any of that, but the fact that you are already this involved makes me think you have a shot. Just work hard that’s all there really is to it. And if your top goal here is to go ivy, then apply to them all because additive probability. Also chill

11

UPDATE: I got a 10 CGPA in Class 9. I founded my App Startup , it has been published in newspapers and online blog news. I have been accepted at a prominent NGO as a volunteer/tutor. I have joined the Duke Of Edinburgh ( International Awards for Youth People ) Award Programme and would be getting a Silver Medal for 200 Hrs of Volunteer service , adventure activities etc.

12

really cool and great chances for Georgia Tech but remember, u can only add 10 extracurricular activities on common app so opt for quality over quantity and also that you wouldn’t want to burn out after freshman or sophomore year so ensure a sustainable courseload and limit the ecs to what you really love to do. Good Luck!

13

Don’t do stuff only to get into colleges. From the look of it, more than half the stuff you have done are things that you believe that will get you into college. Yes, it is nice to excel in stuff, but adcomms will see straight through the game you are/will trying to play.

I’ll be real honest with you. Half the stuff that you have written right now is worthless. NTSE is crap; loads of students get it. Try to do well in olympiads (the real ones).

Also, the startup, etc. doesn’t count unless you receive major funding for it. Doing research vs thinking of doing it is vvvv hard. It is not like you find a topic on a simple google search. You will have to be familiar with undergrad level stuff to do actual worthwhile research. If it were that easy, we would have hundreds of people in 1 city alone doing publishable research.

Social Service doesn’t count for much unless you have done it passionately. App development is cliched.

You come off as too cocky in your post. I don’t think colleges will love that. Try to change your attitude.

You and your friends are in the 9th grade. Do you really think that whatever they say matters?

You still have 3 years to go. Stop doing everything at one time and focus on a single thing. You do not need 3 years to prepare for a standardised test. Also, you do not need 3 years to write an essay. Try to maintain the good grades, do just a single thing but become the best in it and stop all this farce. Believe me, it will help you a lot.

Best of luck! Do things wisely.

A note on research: It doesn’t count much unless you publish it or win some science fair. Since you have 3 years, I would suggest you to study as much as you can till the end of 11th grade and then pick up a topic to work on. Don’t try to do anything in haste.

PS: Don’t think about the colleges now. Think about doing things that you love. Try to bring about a positive change in your community.