<p>Chances are for (in order of preference) Cornell CoE, Princeton, UT Austin, MIT, Duke (Pratt), and Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Objective:</p>
<p>State: TX
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Hispanic
GPA: 4.0 UW 4.6 W
Rank: 27/900 (top 4%)
School type: Moderately competitive public school</p>
<p>Test Scores:</p>
<p>SAT: 2320 (800 M, 790 R, 730 W)
PSAT: 205 (commended)
SATII: yet to be taken
APs:
~Statistics (5)
~APUSH (4)
~English Language (5)
~Calc BC (next year)
~Physics C (next year)
~Macroeconomics (next year)
~Gov't (next year)</p>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<p>ECs:
~Mu Alpha Theta (9)
~Varsity (lol) Choir (10-12)
~NHS (11-12)
~Cross Country and Track* (9-12)</p>
<p>*Our cross country team wrecks. State champs 4 years in a row, top 5 nationally 3 years in a row. 20 hours a week, 50 weeks per year. So it's not your run-of-the-mill varsity sport.</p>
<p>Awards:
~District and Regional awards for choir
~Some insignificant team awards for JV cross and track
~National Merit Commended
~National Hispanic Recognition Program</p>
<p>Work and Volunteering:
~Reconstruction of a school in Honduras (~10 hours)
~About 100 hours working at a track camp over the summer
~Summer job '09, 30 hours a week for about two months</p>
<p>Essays: Better than yours.
Recs: I had simultaneous and passionate affairs with my English and Physics teachers, so they will be glowing.
Hooks: URM, recruited athlete (MIT only)</p>
<p>Do your worst. Let me know if I'm missing anything. Inb4 "Ivies are reaches for everybody".</p>
<p>ECs are very weak and you have absolutely no leadership positions. Objective stats are good and will get you into some of those schools, but if it comes down to ECs, you’re screwed. Also, the strength of your cross country team means nothing if you are not a varsity runner.</p>
<p>I’m technically a team captain, since all seniors who are on varsity are considered the captains. I share this position with three others, for a team of about 70 runners. And yes, I am on varsity. Otherwise, I doubt I’d be able to be recruited.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with CornelHopeful. I mean if you are a varsity captain of a kickass team, AFTER being a cancer survivor, that says a lot in itself. SAT I is plenty fine. </p>
<p>The fact that you survived cancer from a paralysis state to varsity sports on an awesome team alone would allow for a great essay. I think the fact that you had and survived cancer forgives your lack of EC’s since it restricts your ability to go to places. Other than sports, your EC’s don’t mean much though. I think you have a good shot at cornell and austin, and MIT/Princeton and Duke would be reaches.</p>
<p>[Q]I’m technically a team captain, since all seniors who are on varsity are considered the captains.[/Q]</p>
<p>Correction: You have 1 athletic leadership position but no academic leadership positions. I assumed that you were on JV because you stated that you had insignificant JV cross and track awards. I noticed the recuited athlete for MIT, but then realized that MIT is D3, which has A LOT lower standards for recruitment than D1. A top five team in the nation could have JV runners being recruited for a D3 running program. Also, you only have two ECs (XC and track) that you’ve participated in for all four years of high school. I do have to say, however, that they are not as bad as I initially asserted. Your ECs are not up to par with other top-notch applicants, though, and could be a hindrance to you.</p>
<p>Well if he was stuck in a bed with cancer, it’s not as if he could have done ECs. If I were you I would start an organization for cancer patients/survivors to stick together and have support for each other. Your essay may also allow you to overcome the lack of ECs.</p>
<p>@dvtran- he did not survive cancer nor was he ever a quadriplegic. Notice how he said, “at least was of those is true.” He is Hispanic, which does give him a slight edge. As I said earlier, he may get into a top-tier school such as MIT or Princeton. That does not take away from the fact that his ECs are not as superb as those of his competitors.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic, but I don’t think he was actually a quadriplegic cancer survivor. “At least one of those is true,” probably applies to his Hispanic origin.</p>
<p>GPA/SAT is excellent, rank is very good, URM is a huge plus, but ECs are pretty bland. I’m not too familiar with COE, but you have pretty good shots at all the schools listed, with Princeton being the least likely but still within reach. Obviously, if you are being seriously recruited at MIT for cross country, then that puts you in a better spot for acceptance (perhaps even better than slightly less selective schools like Cornell and Duke).</p>
<p>Now, you have great SATs and Grades. You are in the running.</p>
<p>Your ECs look below average, sorry. A sport and some honor societies aren’t quite what these schools usually see.</p>
<p>If you were white/asian, you would have a good shot at any of the schools.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, you are hispanic, which gives you an even better shot. So, you might be rejected from all but UT, but I would bet you would get into 2 of the others (maybe Cornell and Duke?)</p>
<p>My title was a mere jest. I opened an identical thread about six days ago with a generic title and received no comments. So for the record, I am NOT a quadriplegic, nor am I a cancer victim. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>At least I’m well-rounded and not overcommitted </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is correct, but these awards were from my freshman and sophomore years.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>True. Granted, choir and cross country/track are essentially my only ECs. I was barred from choir my freshman year due to a scheduling conflict, and NHS induction doesn’t happen until midway into Junior year. Mu Alpha Theta is lolworthy. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is kind of difficult to accomplish in a school of ~3300 students. My class alone has about 900. And between cross and choir, I simply don’t have the time. But regardless, I agree with you: my lack of academic leadership positions will be a hindrance.</p>
<p>Here’s what I think: your stats, coupled with URM status and reasonable (but not mind-blowing) ECs will make you an attractive candidate at all the schools on your list. You’ll probably be accepted by several, if not most of them.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, you are a total jackass. Your only shot is to opt out of the interview. In fact, limit any face to face time with anybody you ever see at those colleges before applications. Don’t even write to them. </p>
<p>Actually I think this ******baggery will seep in through the essay. Well, there’s nothing you can do. Actually, get one of your teachers that you have a “passionate” relationship with (whatever the hell that implies) to write it for you. Then, that will definitely make your essays better than all of ours.</p>
<p>In fact, why don’t you just focus the most on how you are Hispanic? Sure, lets get into college based on how I was born! That’s how great people do it. </p>
<p>If you do this, IMHO, you will get into those schools. I wish the best of luck to you, asshat.</p>
<p>You know, I was pretty sure before I opened this thread that the OP wasn’t really a quadriplegic or a cancer survivor. So I choose not to get too upset by the somewhat juvenile elements of the post.</p>
<p>And what exactly leads you to believe this?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If I were you, I would take what Hunt described as the “somewhat juvenile elements” of my post less seriously. No, I do not believe my essays are better than anyone else’s, nor did I have love affairs with my teachers. They were simple jests, a break from the generic “I’m a great writer so my essays will be fantastic/My recs will be amazing because my Spanish teacher says I’m the best student she’s ever had”. </p>
</p>