<p>I don't know if it's worth it to do this, given that I applied ED and will get my decision in a week, but I'm just curious what you all think. </p>
<p>South Asian female living in MN
My sister is Yale class of 2010
Private high school with a good track record; sends some kids to Harvard and Yale pretty much every year and last year sent two to MIT</p>
<p>GPA is 3.85 unweighted...not great, I know, but:
- pretty much one person in our graduating class gets a 4.0 every year
- my grades have been getting better and better - upward trends are good?
We don't do ranking. There are about 120 kids in my grade. </p>
<p>SAT I:
- most recent scores are 780 Math; 800 Writing; 770 CR
- combination of best scores is 780 Math; 800 Writing; 800 CR = 2380!</p>
<p>SAT II: 800 Math; 800 Physics; 770 Spanish
(not planning to take any others)</p>
<p>I sent in a resume on which I included the following (this is paraphrased):</p>
<p>ACADEMIC HONORS</p>
<ul>
<li><p>National AP Scholar (achieved when I was a junior)</p></li>
<li><p>Winner of Siemens Award - this is awarded to one girl and one boy from each state, for getting 5s on a bunch of math and science APs</p></li>
<li><p>National Merit Scholar Semifinalist (don't know whether I'm a finalist)</p></li>
<li><p>Bausch and Lomb Award for Excellence in Science (given by my school to one junior)</p></li>
<li><p>Pfizer-Solutia Award for Best Research Paper - this was part of STARS, a research program I did, described later</p></li>
<li><p>Cum Laude Society</p></li>
</ul>
<p>HONORS COURSES
I've taken 9 AP tests and I'll be taking 2 more this spring.
- I got a score of 5 on: Calc AB & BC, Physics C Mechanics & E&M, Spanish Lit, Chemistry, Spanish Language, Statistics
- Score of 4 on: English Lit, US History</p>
<p>Taken/taking 2 CIS courses and one course at the state university</p>
<p>Something extra: I had finished Calculus by sophomore year and I took both AP Physics and AP Chemistry junior year. I'm also young for my grade; I skipped 4th grade.</p>
<p>EXTRACURRICULARS (this is where I feel I'm weak)</p>
<p>Piano
- private lessons for 12 years
- also piano teacher to kids from the ages of 4 to 10
- Lead pianist in my music school's orchestra for their annual senior concert
- Performed at Mozart Piano Competition (local)
- Selected to attend competitive music camp at UMD
- Recorded a CD of piano solos in 2004
- Selected to play in studio recitals at Suzuki Piano Camp</p>
<p>School
- Captain of Science Bowl
- Science Olympiad - won 1st place in my event at the regional level & 2nd place in a different event at state
- Math team
- Yearbook & school newspaper editor (10th & 11th grade only)</p>
<p>Other stuff
- Tutored recent immigrants at Abraham Lincoln High School
- Summer Science Program
- Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS)
- Lived in Mexico for a month as part of a school immersion program
- Attended Education Program for Gifted Youth, 2004
- Attended Center for Talent Development, 3-week algebra course</p>
<p>Extra info about the summer camps:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Summer Science Program - Selected to attend via competitive process; 6-week-long astrophysics camp during which we performed an orbital determination by learning lots of physics and math and programming. (It was a LOT of fun.)</p></li>
<li><p>STARS - Six weeks during the summer. Researched in an electrochem lab with a mentor in St. Louis; created a mimic of a muscle and wrote a 20-page research paper on it. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Essays
- One about how I'm a grammar nazi (of course I didn't use the word nazi); all about the book Strunk and White and how I realized I should be more relaxed about grammar
- One about Science Olympiad and how I found a place to fit in with the science nerds</p>
<p>Sorry to make this so long-winded - but even if you've just skimmed - what do you think?</p>