Chance a dreamer! (ivy league schools, especially UPENN)

<p>New title, b/c last one wasnt appealing enough…</p>

<p>Hay, I’m an Asian junior attending a top 100 public school (competitive!), so if you would be so kind as to chance me for the ivies, then I would be quite grateful. I plan on applying to Upenn ED, and am attending a six week session there this summer to show my dedication, as UPenn is my top choice school.</p>

<p>Grades:</p>

<p>7th grade
Algebra B/A
Spanish 1 B/B</p>

<p>8th grade
H. Geometry B/B
Spanish 2 B/B</p>

<p>9th grade
H. English A/A
H. Algebra 2 B/A
H.U.S History A/B
Spanish 3 B/B
P.E A/A
Orchestra A/A
H. Chemistry B/A</p>

<p>10th grade
H. English A/A
H. Precalculus A/B
AP NSL A/A
Spanish 4 A/B
H. Biology A/A
H. Physics A/A
H. Symphonic Orchestra A/A</p>

<p>11th grade
Ap english lang. A/A
AP BC Calculus A/A
AP World history A/A
AP Biology A/A
H. Spanish 5 A/A
H. Symphonic Orchestra A/A</p>

<p>12th grade (prospective)
AP english literature
AP Psychology
AP Environmental Science
AP Spanish Literature
H. Multivariable Calculus
H. Symphonic Orchestra
Software Applications (required to graduate…)</p>

<p>It is thus that I have a 3.73 UW GPA. As you can see, it is because of my poor performance in high school courses that I took in 7 and 8 grade. Also, weighted GPA in my school is unreliable (AP’s count same as honors), and I don’t know it anyways. Will colleges understand this?</p>

<p>SAT’s:</p>

<p>PSAT 76 CR 80 M 80 W
SAT I (12/2007) 800 Cr 800 M 770 W
Math IIc(5/2007) 780
Literature (1/2008) 760
Biology (1/2008) 780</p>

<p>I also took my SAT’s really early b/c i just wanted to finish them. Will this sort of be a bonus?</p>

<p>Leadership/service:</p>

<li><p>One of three leading editors of a community youth based organization. We put out a publication, host leadership workshops featuring local leaders, have weekly discussions, and volunteer. We intend to foster greater leadership and critical thinking in an Asian demographic far too defined by conformity, and are also a solely youth run movement.</p></li>
<li><p>I am a student reporter for a local Korean newspaper, and write for the education section. Very few people have this honor, as similarly few are willing to commit.</p></li>
<li><p>President of Beta club, a school based endeavor intended to provide less socially apt students the chance to meet new friends, socialize, and enjoy a positive atmosphere where they are not judged.</p></li>
<li><p>President of young intellectual clubs, another school based endeavor aiming to cultivate an intellectual current in the midst of intellectual stagnation and banality associated with the college craze.</p></li>
<li><p>300+ community service hours by doing a lot of stuff.</p></li>
<li><p>Organized a weekly Korean chamber music program for the Randolph Hills nursing home, and dedicated two years of music service there.</p></li>
<li><p>Asian-American club member for four years.</p></li>
<li><p>One of four high school attendees of the East Coast Asian American Student Union conference (ECAASU), a program intended for college students. Organized this trip to gain new ideas/inspiration for current Asian community work that I do.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Law related EC’s (my intended major):</p>

<li><p>Intern at the State’s Attorney’s Office this academic year, this summer, and next. It is a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a real world judicial setting. Because law is a prospective career choice for me, I feel that the best way to further my interst is to go to the source.</p></li>
<li><p>Worked at American Home Title Inc. private law firm as another method by which to advance my legal pursuits. Summer of 2007.</p></li>
<li><p>Volunteer at the montgomery county circuit court as a teen juror. School year of 2007.</p></li>
<li><p>Acceptance and graduation from the CSLC Leadamerica Law&Trial advocacy program.</p></li>
<li><p>Member of the debate team this academic year, and next.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Honors/awards:</p>

<li><p>Fundraising chairman of the Science National Honors Society.</p></li>
<li><p>Member of the National English Honors Society.</p></li>
<li><p>Member of the Tri-M music Honors society.</p></li>
<li><p>One of four nominees in the school for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) national essay competiiton. (Very likely to win).</p></li>
<li><p>Published writer in the Joong-Ahn Korean newspaper.</p></li>
<li><p>Featured in a local newspaper twice for receiving a 2370 SAT in 2007, and contributing grealty to the community with a youth organized community leadership workshop.</p></li>
<li><p>Acceptance and graduation from the CSLC Leadamerica Law & Trial advocacy program.</p></li>
<li><p>Acceptance into the University of Pennsylvania college program.</p></li>
<li><p>National Merit commended scholar (will be semi and finalist)</p></li>
<li><p>AP scholar with distinction.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Music:</p>

<li><p>Member of the Montgomery college symphony orchestra.</p></li>
<li><p>Member of the Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra.</p></li>
<li><p>Member of the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra.</p></li>
<li><p>Member of school orchestra for four years.</p></li>
<li><p>First place viola solo MSMTA competition.</p></li>
<li><p>Second place duet MSMTA competition.</p></li>
<li><p>Member of Bethany Presbytarian Church Orchestra.</p></li>
<li><p>Proficient Violin and Viola player with 10 years of musical experience.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Sports (lol):</p>

<li><p>Team manager/assitant for Varsity Boy’s volleyball. (at least i try…)</p></li>
<li><p>A tennis, table tennis, and badmintion player by hobby.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Again, I plan on applying ED to upenn, my #1, and expect one excellent rec, and two good recs. I will also have stellar essays (no sweat ^ o ^).</p>

<p>Chance plx.</p>

<p>while im still a highschooler, i think you have a great chance. your SATs are above the 75th percentile for accepted upenn students and your gpa, while sort of on the low side, is still very competitive. also, your ecs look very good, but you may want to leave off your ecs of lesser importance on your apps. good luck</p>

<p>Wikee: Is your 3.73 including 7 and 8 grade grades?
Also, you stated law is your intended major. Law is strictly a graduate study, and a pre-law major is suicide for going to a good law school.</p>

<p>@ivyleaguewannabe</p>

<ol>
<li><p>my GPA includes the grades earned in 7th and 8th, but only in the classes i posted above.</p></li>
<li><p>I'm not planning to do pre-law, but by chance, my EC's happened to end up like this, so I decided to organize it as "law." Should I label them under a different category?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>honestly, i asked a couple of people, and we all think you have an amazing chance to get in there -- keep up the good work, and good luck with your application!</p>

<p>@redwingshockey</p>

<p>Thank you so much! I'm just getting so much pressure with college from my parents, so please excuse the prevalence of my inquiries =D</p>

<p>Wikee, recalculate your GPA excluding your middle school grades. From the Ivies down, nobody cares about middle school grades!! Now watch your GPA go up (at least a little bit!)</p>

<p>I think you have an ok shot at UPenn, but don't forget it is an ivy and you have a lot of B's in highschool. Remember the ivies often turn down applicants with perfect GPAs and perfect standardized test scores. No matter what anyone says, however, the transcript is the very first thing adcoms look at. With that said, your ECs are amazing!</p>

<p>Here's another piece of advice: you are not going to be able to list all the EC's you have on CC on your college application. Depending on whether you use the Common App or not (which is highly likely) you may only be able to list 5 or 6 ECs. Make sure you know now what 5 or 6 you are going to emphasize on your application and bolster those activities your senior year. </p>

<p>And no, don't rename your EC categories. It just confused me at first, thats all. </p>

<p>Again, good luck.</p>

<p>I think you're pretty safe at UPenn, not to mention HYPS...</p>

<p>@ivyleaguewannabe: Wow, thanks for the comprehensive advice. My re-calculated GPA is 3.833 (a big improvement!). </p>

<p>@mrclassicfreak: That's reassuring =D; however, I'm probably not going to apply for HYPS, b/c Upenn is where I got my heart set!</p>

<p>Ask your GC to show you what your college app transcript will be. It usually shows a single grade for the year (unless you have some half year courses, which would show for the half year you took the course). You should do that anyways to check the accuracy of the transcript and know what the colleges are seeing. 7th and 8th grade are not taken into consideration. </p>

<p>You have an excellent chance at Penn early. Just as a reminder, look for some good safety choices. THat is your biggest challenge in finding schools.</p>

<p>@cptofthehouse: My school belongs to a county which, for some reason, chooses to include any high school courses taken in middle school in the transcript. Thus, my transcript will resemble what is shown above. The county had a policy where those grades could be canceled, but discontinued it to disadvantage "advantaged" students -- equality for sure...</p>

<p>Also, I have several safety schools picked out, so don't worry =D.</p>

<p>It would be impossable to be safe at Penn or any top school with several Bs unless you went to Exeter, and even then, hardly safe. Get real guys!</p>

<p>@newyorka: That's what I figured, and I too doubt that I could be "safe" for Upenn, much less any other Ivy league; safe implies quite a high degree of certainty.</p>

<p>Given my SAT's and EC's, however, do you feel that my GPA is less of a weakness, and perhaps less accurate a reflection of my academic capacity?</p>

<p>To be honest, no, nothing makes up for a weak GPA other than a major hook.The GPA is simply the most important factor.</p>

<p>@newyorka: awwwww. o well, guess i'm paying for my indolence now (;_;)</p>

<p>NEWYORKA: Does College Confidential pay you to spend your time before college on their forum dashing people's hopes? Your posts reek of embitterment and you never say anything remotely positive and simply bring people down. It would be one thing if you had some legit. experience with this stuff, but you are a high school student and the sources of your information are more or less public besides the "elite" admissions counselor your parents bought for you.</p>

<p>Honestly, I've studied college admissions, might like to make a career of it and simply tell it as I see it. Sorry if you see it as bitter.</p>

<p>The truth is there's a reason more than 9 out of 10 are rejected from the top schools, most of the applicants never had a chance. Kids who have no access to good info see a 4.0 and 2150 as making them Harvard material. They waste countless hours at applications to schoools they have no chance at. If I can help them get real in time to focus on schools they can get into, I'll feel like I contributed something.</p>

<p>Read my posts more carefully Geoffrey, there are many here I tell thry have a realistic list and a good chance. Just my opinions and you're certainly entitled to yours. </p>

<p>Did I chance you?</p>

<p>I think the guy has more than a good shot at all the typical selective schools. I go to a school with lots of admits at prestigious colleges and he matchs up quite well against our top students.</p>

<p>Pretty damn good for Upenn. I d say you are in at Upenn except for mayb Wharton which is probably a reach - because your application isnt really focussed on business/commerce as much and well Wharton is the best business school (extreme competition).</p>

<p>once again...amazing stats...keep up the good work...and if you do make Upenn early, then its a good idea not to apply elsewhere - you save money!</p>

<p>Are you top 10%? If you are top 10% or higher, I honestly think that will offset your few Bs in highschool. </p>

<p>Odds are you will be in at one of the Ivies. Probably will get into UPenn, but no one can say for sure.</p>