<p>Aiming quite high, I realise, but upon careful perusal these are the colleges with programs that I am extremely interested in. I don't presume to have a good chance of gaining entrance into ANY of these schools, but I would love any critique or advice, or hey, even if you just want to smack me on the head and tell me to stop being unrealistic, that works too.</p>
<p>Torontonian junior going into senior year come September; attending a small private high school that required entrance testing; graduating class of approximately 115. </p>
<p>Female; Chinese (born in China, immigrated when eight years old); the older of two children. Fluent in Chinese, English, and French; passing knowledge of Spanish. Financial aid would be nice, but not the be-all and end-all.</p>
<p>Academics:
SAT I -- 2320 (800 M, 720 CR, 800 W)
SAT II -- 720 USH, 780 Math II, 800 Chemistry
APs -- 4 USH (soph), 5 Biology (junior), 5 Chemistry (junior). Writing five more next year (most of which are going to be on my own time and not offered by the school, because I like the challenge), and aiming for Canadian National Scholar.
GPA -- N/A. My average this year was a 93.3%, and my school is competitive (and slightly deflative in terms of marks).
Rank -- N/A.
(NOTE: I am on an advanced and rigorous curriculum; about half of my sophomore year and virtually all of my junior year consisted of senior-year classes.)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars (I know that these are weak)
- App. 300 hours of volunteer work to be completed by July (completed since beginning high school; at a local senior's home for three years, working with veterans for one, and a hospital's cancer centre for one) -- will continue in senior year.
- Spearheaded Adbusters Buy Nothing Day campaign in school.
- Stage/set design and construction for various dramatic productions within the school.
- Founder and Executive Club Captain of Writing Club; organised monthly writing competitions affiliated with school literary magazine.
- Tutor in mathematics since beginning high school, in school and out, of both peers and younger students.
- Science club participant
- Commonwealth Essay Competition participant
- Long time contributor to school newspaper; current literary columnist; have won awards for articles.
- Long time contributor and incoming co-editor of the literary magazine.
- Incoming co-director of all-profits-for-benefit (United Way) musical; will perform in school and mini-tour scheduled.
- Audit(ed) first year science classes at U of T(oronto) in my free time.</p>
<p>Misc. Awards/Achievements
- I've quite possibly won certificates for top percentiles (usually 5-10%) in every high school mathematics contest from Waterloo, ie. Euclid, COMC (Canadian Open Mathematics Competition), Galois (Gold Standard), Hypatia (Silver Standard), etc. Apologies for the vagueness, but I admit I haven't been keeping track, as my math teacher simply signs me up for every math contest that is available.
- 100+ in AMC 12, and AIME qualifier.
- 2003 Kumon Math Challenge, Fourth in Canada
- 2005 Toronto Metro Envirothon Competition, second place overall, first place for specialty (Forestry)
- 2006 Hamilton Brain Bee, third place finalist (competing again this year)
- 2006 National Biology Competition, 96% percentile
- 2006 Chem 13 News Exam, 98% percentile
- 2006 Toronto Star Newspaper Awards, First Place in Critical Writing, Other Arts
- Applying for University of Toronto Mentorship program (with Biomed and Neuroscience in mind particularly); also applying for various lab positions on the U of T campus (was previously considered too young to qualify).
- Scheduled internship at Henan Provincial Hospital (China) next summer, and volunteering via a provincial organisation at "AIDS Village", also in the province.</p>
<p>Again, I know I'm aiming quite high, but I would still love to know my chances for (once again): Harvard, Columbia, JHU, and UWSTL. Thank yous in advance!</p>