Canadian -- chances? Harvard (EA), Columbia, JHU.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Torontonian, currently attending University of Toronto Schools (prestigious private high school, highly competitive and academically-driven, graduating class of approximately 115). Female; Chinese (born in China, immigrated when eight years old); the older of two, by ten years. Fluent in Chinese, English, and French; passing knowledge of Spanish. Yes to financial aid.</p>

<p>Academics:
SAT I -- 2320 (800 M, 720 CR, 800 W)
SAT II -- 800 Chemistry, 780 Math II, 760 Biology M
APs -- 4 USH (soph), 5 Biology (junior), 5 Chemistry (junior). Writing five more next year (Physics B, Calculus BC, Eng Lit, Eng Lang, Chinese -- most of which are going to be on my own time and not offered by the school, because I like the challenge), aiming for Canadian National Scholar.
GPA -- Whatever a 93.3% translates into? Anyway, most advanced course load; all enriched courses, every single AP offered. School is slightly deflative in terms of marks.
Rank -- N/A. Top 15%, I should say.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (Admittedly, I know these are week.)
- 400+ hours of volunteer work to be completed by end of senior year (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).
- Brain Bee participant/coach
- 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.
- Commonwealth Essay Competition participant.
- Long-time contributor to school newspaper; current literary columnist; have won awards for articles.
- Content 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 first year science classes at University of Toronto.
- U of T Mentorship Program (inc. research)</p>

<p>Misc. Awards/Achievements
- Top percentiles (5-10%) in every high school mathematics contest from Waterloo, ie. Euclid, COMC (Canadian Open Mathematics Competition), Galois (Gold Standard), Hypatia (Silver Standard), etc.
- 100+ in AMC 12, AIME qualifier.
- 2003 AMC 8, First Place in Ontario
- 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
- 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 various lab positions on the U of T campus (for which I 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>

2

<p>Believe it or not, based on your stats, you're about an average Harvard applicant (though your GPA is a bit low - converts to 3.732 on a 4 point scale.) Average Harvard applicants have about a 10% chance of being accepted. However, you've got a few factors which might make you stand out from the herd (so to speak): You're an AIME qualifier, you're Canadian (which may or may not help), you're fluent in three languages, which is a bit unusual, even for kids applying to Harvard, and you have an interesting mix of science, math, and writing awards and ECs. If you can bring out these factors in your app and demonstrate your writing ability in your essays, I think you will improve your chances. Realistically though, even doing that will probably not improve your chances to much more than 20%. Needless to say, Harvard is very tough to get into.</p>

<p>You have a better chance at Columbia. Your stats put you well above the average applicant there, though you're not a shoe-in. Nobody is at any Ivy. At JHU, you have a better chance still. In fact, I'd be surprised if you didn't get into JHU.</p>

<p>You might also want to consider Washington University in St. Louis. It has one of the top med schools (ranked #2, I believe) in the U.S., and an excellent pre-med program. Overall, the undergrad school is ranked #12 by U.S. News. Given your stats, you'd be a very strong applicant there.</p>

3

<p>By the way, I'm not trying to discourage you from applying to Harvard. Your stats are certainly in the Harvard ball park. Just trying to make sure you understand the reality of the situation.</p>

4

<p>Unless you can convey a superb personality in your essay, your stats are really normal for Harvard applicants. I know someone who has won INTERNATIONAL music competitions, know three languages, AND is the math team captain in one of the most competitive math teams in the United States, more specifically, the number one math team in the state where Harvard is located. He is applying to Harvard too, and he definitely has a better chance, but still isn't shoe-in. So don't be dejected if you get rejected. Being Chinese helps you nothing at all too.</p>

5

<p>i agree..def average
rank in top 15% isnt really harvard level..even 1% isnt enough in most cases
amptron, how is speaking 3 languages special..esp. since oryx is chinese
and does aime have a lot of qualifiers? cuz on this board there r sooo many ppl that say that</p>

6

<p>AIME - American Invitational Mathematics Examination - is quite a big deal in the Math world. If I've got my stats correct, some 300,000 kids take the AMC 12, which is the qualifying test for AIME. Only 5% score high enough to be invited to take AIME. A fair number of kids, to be sure, but still, being AIME qualified is a pretty good indication that you're very, very good in math.</p>

<p>And it isn't just that the OP is fluent in 3 languages - which is pretty impressive in itself (and so what if she's Chinese) - but she's also among the top math students in Canada and the U.S., is clearly, given some of her ECs and SAT2 scores, quite good in the sciences, and is, based on her ECs and SAT writing score, a first rate writer to boot. True, her stats are about average for a Harvard applicant, but where she stands out, I think, is that she's so good in so many areas, and it's this multi-pronged excellence that may, as I said above, separate her from the rest of the Harvard applicants.</p>

7

<p>FYI, your gpa is 4.0. US has massive grade inflation and generally most canadian highschools consider an 80% and above to be 4.0 and they will put that on your secondary school report and your transcript.</p>

8

<p>getting to the aime is a joke. an acquaintance of mine just told me yesterday that getting to the usamo has become too easy since 500 are invited now. "any scum off the streets can make it". Dirty punk. I should make it though this year, pity i am a senior so i can't write it on my app. Anyways, to the OP, don't count on your math ability if you only made it to the aime. Your other ECs sound good, but i can't be sure since they are from canada. I bet admission officers will encounter a similar dilemna. </p>

<p>JHU, it is a good school, but I daresay you are in as long as you don't commit a felony or something. </p>

<p>Columbia, eh, maybe. </p>

<p>Harvard, probably not? Apply still. If your awards are as fancy as they sound (the part about 5% in math competitions sounds not so good), you have a very good chance.</p>

<p>Go China!</p>

9

<p>Getting into USAMO is friggin hard...</p>

10

<p>what will hurt you a lot is applying internationally while asking for financial aid.</p>

11

<p>Hmmm...AIME is a nice accomplishment...and USAMO is still at 375 if I'm not mistaken. I'm not sure that "any scum of the street" can make it; it's still the premier math competition in America and the most defining goal in a mathlete's carreer. I for one dedicated countless hours to making it. As a senior, you'd probably want around a 120 on the AMC 12 and a 11 on the AIME to get in. Considering the mode score on the AIME is 0 or 1 (and only the top 1% or so qualify for the AIME), and the mean is like...2-3, I don't think 11 can be attained by just anyone. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't dis the USAMO. It will eat you.</p>

12

<p>Clean police record, for what it's worth, so at least if I'm rejected it won't be for that reason. And GPA conversion has never failed to baffle me since I first became acquainted with the concept -- for me, it's somewhat difficult to believe that 80+% would equate with a 4.0 (I swear that my entire graduating class scores well above that), but counselors tell me that's how it's done.</p>

<p>123orange, your friend sounds like he has an EXCELLENT chance! I don't aspire to his level of excellence, but I can definitely appreciate it. Best of luck to him.</p>

<p>fastMEd, to be sure qualifying for the AIME would sound rather unimpressive to you (especially if you have the USAMO to potentially look forward to, best of luck with that, a good friend of mine is on the CMO), but I don't think it counts against me in any way? At the worst, it shows that while I'm not at world-level, I still have a certain level of proficiency in the mathematics.</p>

<p>Thank you all for being very helpful. Being Chinese is just, well, it is -- I'm aware of the stigma attached to Asian students sometimes but if it counts against me during applications, then so be it, you know? I can't change it, nor do I want to change it. If I'm rejected based on my ethnicity, then I'll cede to that and move on. </p>

<p>And I do realise that my stats are very average when compared to the hundreds of valedictorians applying to Harvard each year and I know that realistically, any chance of Harvard accepting me would be at least somewhat arbitrary. But then, the application process can be rather arbitrary to begin with so a chance is a chance, and I've never been one to let something slip by without trying. That's why I'm applying EA.</p>

<p>Or rather, that's why I've applied EA. My application is sent already. Again, thank you all. I appreciate this.</p>

<p>ETA. Re: international applicant and financial aid -- how much faith can I place in this statement, then?</p>

<p>The financial aid policies for foreign citizens are exactly the same as those for U.S. citizens. All aid is need-based, and admissions decisions are made without regard to whether or not an applicant needs financial assistance.</p>

<p>-- Harvard College Admissions, International Financial Aid Information</p>

13

<p>amptron, I have to point out some false information in your post. Knowing three languages may seem impressive for those who is only fluent in one language, but it is certainly not uncommon for the applicants in ANY of the Ivy League schools, not just for Harvard. I, for one, am trilingual. Does that make me stand out? Not if I'm qualified in other areas as well. Also, I believe MANY Canadian applicants will be fluent in both English and French, and many of them will be immigrants who speak another language. Also, on the issue of being good at many areas, colleges do NOT look for all-rounded students (that isn't to say they don't get in.) However, colleges want students who excel in particular areas of interests. There are so many "smart" people who are good at both the sciences and the humanities, but how good are they really? Can they publish a book? Find an unidentified gene? What difference will they make by getting that 800 on the SAT?</p>

<p>Oryx, since you've already sent your application, best of luck! But don't be discouraged if you don't get in. Harvard undergraduate college isn't as good as the name indicates. I heard my school has more competition than Harvard (excpet people don't act like they are so eliiiiiite.)</p>

14

<p>If you were raised in a household where your parents spoke another language, three languages is practically expected:</p>

<p>1 - Chinese or whatever.
2 - English.
3 - Language of study in high school.</p>

15

<p>hmmm, I reread my post and it seems I came off as a bit negative. Going to the AIME would not hurt, but I doubt it would help much since that is usually a given. The top 5% of AMC 12 participants (algebra level math) get to the AIME. Many schools require students to take the AMC 12 so many students do not take it very seriously. Well, there are 6-7 or so cocky punks at my school who got to USAMO so I guess that may be why I don't think AIME is much. I plan on trying to get there to teach them that its nothing to be cocky about. AIME is good, but I would say it is about as good as commended on the PSAT. Write the math stuff, it shows some diversity even though it also shows that you are not a top level math girl.</p>

16

<p>Orange - </p>

<p>I think we're both applying are own experience to this. In the U.S., trilingualism is, in fact, relatively rare. Heck, bilingualism is relatively rare among the native born as well. Canada, as I should have realized, is different. It has two official languages. Consequently, bilingualism is much more common and trilingualism among immigrants is not uncommon. Now, whether trilingualism is common among Harvard applicants is, well, a bit of a mystery. The kids from my school who got into Harvard were not trilingual. The kids I know from other high schools who got into Harvard were not trilingual. My assumption, then, based on my experience, is that many if not most Harvard applicants are not trilingual. Of course, I could be wrong.</p>

<p>As for my comment on Oryx's "all-roundedness", yes, I understand that in many cases schools like Harvard are looking for kids that excel in a particular area, and many kids like that will apply and tout their special talent, skill, or accomplishment. That is why I was suggesting Oryx play up her all-roundedness. It could be the thing that sets her apart.</p>

<p>Anyway, Oryx, good luck. And truth be told, if you don't get into Harvard, with your stats, ECs, and talents, you're bound to get into any number of superb schools.</p>