Can I post a chance thread here?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Hi everyone. I moved here 1 year ago from Hong Kong and my counselor doesn't really know about this kind of cases. At the bottom of this page is my list, I know I'm very ambitious or even conceited, but please help me to find some safeties. Thank you so much.</p>

<p>race: Asian
gender: Male
State Residency:Virginia</p>

<p>Secondary School Record
GPA:3.72w, 3.70uw (All High School credits)
IN HONG KONG
-Top 1st Secondary School in Hong Kong rank:30/210 (7th-10th)</p>

<p>7th grade: 3 (2 credits)
8th grade: 3.5 (2 credits)
9th grade: 3.917 (6 credits)
10th grade: 3.5 (6 credits)</p>

<p>The followings are the credits I'm earning in the US:
11th grade (current grade) 3.85uw 3.92 w</p>

<p>-Public HS in Virginia (competitive, class size:500, 10+ accepted to Ivies, 30+ accepted to UVA and same tier)</p>

<p>Human Anatomy & Physiology A
ESL B2(highest level) A
English 9 A
AP Cal AB B+ (A weighted)
Physics A
Computer Graphics 1 A
World History 2 A</p>

<p>-Classes signed up for next year(pending)
- AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Cal BC, AP Physics C, US Gov., US History, English 11</p>

<p>Standardized Test Score
-PSAT: 177
-SAT: 17801900+ in Oct I swear!
Math: 730
Verbal: 500 <--550+ in Oct
Writing: 550 (9 essay) <--600+ in Oct
-SATII:
Math IIC: 720
Chem(Nov.): 700+
MathIC (Nov): 700+</p>

<p>ECs
HK:
-Community service in Hong Kong - 50hrs+
-Scout leader (9th-10th)
-Official of several clubs in school (10th)
US:
-Varsity Boys' Volleyball (varsity letter, scholar-athlete award) (11th)
-Hospital Volunteer (4hrs per week)(40hrs+ accumulated) (Planning to do as much as I can ~200hrs in 1 year)
-School volunteer(3hrs per week)(30hrs done)
-Honor Roll: 11th
-Hopefully I will be ex-co for a few clubs</p>

<p>Rec and essay:
Very excellent recs from teachers; they love me so much
Fairly good rec from counselor; I don't know. I just feel that she doesn't like me.
Essay: I will have somebody check it. so it will be good.</p>

<p>Other things:
- 1st Generation to come to America.
- Fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, Excellent in written Chinese
- play one chinese music instrument **
- **Talented in First Aid, with several certificates
- My dad is from HK and My mom is from Taiwan
- Elder Brother is studying Medicine in Taiwan
- Low income family (<$30000/yr)</p>

<p>intended major: BioChem, MicroBio, Chem, (pre-med path)</p>

2

<p>It's hard to say your chances really...</p>

<p>but if I had to guess, I'd say that you have a decent shot if you bring up your SAT scores on the next testing.</p>

3

<p>I'm less optimistic. The grades and especially the SAT scores are very low for an Asian applicant. EC's are okay although not stellar.</p>

4

<p>oops, I forgot to change the 11th GPA. It should be 3.92 uw, 4.0 w
Will this change matter?</p>

<p>The total GPA will stay the same, but the grades in Hong Kong, as that in most of Asian countries do, have really crazy grade inflation. Having an A is in the top 4%.</p>

5

<p>*sorry again, it should be grade deflation</p>

6

<p>i really don't know the competition for international, however, your EC are strong, but you need to bring up your Verbal and Writing</p>

7

<p>Not with those verbal and writing scores.</p>

8

<p>Just so you know they will look at 9th-12th grade, so don't worry about the rest. I think you have a good chance because you are first generation and because you are different then other people. Never describe urself as conceited (this may be something that you don't know about in our culture) because it makes people look at you negatively. I was REALLY suprised by how low ur SAT's were, you must really work hard for ur grades for them to be so high. You REALLY REALLY REALLY need to study for the SAT's!!!! Get a study guide and STUDY. Get a friend and talk about it with them. Get tips and tricks and time management down. Do well on those SATs! Everything else is good, I wish you the best of luck in applying. I do think that you have a chance at Cornell, but I highly recommend raising ur SAT scores. Write your essay on something unique like about ur life in Hong Kong. Write about an event in Hong Kong that changed your life or something that is really interesting and unique. Good Luck!!!</p>

9

<p>Take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
it's just right for you and it will replace you SATs</p>