Chance a rising senior with a very awkward situation!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Just so you know I'll chance back!</p>

<p>Rising Senior
Top Boarding School in Pennsylvania
Asian
Location: CT</p>

<p>Class Rank: Anywhere from top 5-15% for Junior Year
SAT: 1870 with no studying. (770M- 550R- 560 W) Studying whole summer-Hopefully getting up to at least 2200+ (Hopefully 800-700-700)
SATII scores: 790, 720</p>

<p>Academics: </p>

<p>Sophomore Year: GPA (3.06...Long Story, more about this later).
Geometry
English
Music History
US History
Biology
French IV
Latin I</p>

<p>Junior Year: GPA (3.90)</p>

<p>Algebra II Honors
African American History
History of China
English Electives
Chemistry
Art History
Drawing and Design
Bible</p>

<p>Senior Year Projected Schedule: Projecting above 4 GPA
AP Microeconomics
AP Macroeconomics
AP Statistics
AP Chemistry
Pre-Calculus Honors
English Electives</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Varsity Hockey All 4 Years (TAKES UP ALL OF MY FALL AND WINTER, no time for other ECs)- Ranked Top 10 Hockey Teams among Independent Prep Schools
International Club- Executive Member and Country Representative- 3 years
BBoying/Hiphop dance club- Founder/President</p>

<p>Summer Internships at Strategic Value Partners - An global investment firm based in Japan and America
Volunteer work at Church
Volunteer coaching for club hockey teams.
USA Hockey 1992 Birth Year Select Festival Camp in Rochester NY and St. Cloud MN- (Ranked as number 5 defenseman in the East coast in 2004,2005,2006).
Invite to tryout for Japanese U-16 National Hockey Team.</p>

<p>Story:
I came to this boarding school in Pennsylvania as a recruit for hockey. Known for having the best hockey program in the state of Pennsylvania, people from all over the world (as close as Pennsylvania and as far as Russia, Czech Republic, Canada...etc) are recruited there regularly. In 2004, I was selected as one of the top six defensemen in the Mid-Atlantic Region (NY,NJ,PA,MD,DE) and was asked to play in many showcases. This continued until 2006 and I moved onto the new school. I had high hopes of being a pro, the first Japanese NHL hockey player. My focus was always on hockey, I had very little interest in academics. I was heavily recruited to many schools, and I knew at that time that I would go to college for hockey. Then during my sophomore year, disaster happened. I had a season ending injury, and I required surgery. My grades at the time weren't absolutely atrcoious, however, my surgery required routine check ups back home in Connecticut, I missed tons of school due to the fact that I had to travel home every week and my grades dropped horribly. Not only that, recruiting stopped, I was depressed and was a horrendous mess. I then soon realized that I need to change my focus from athletics to academics. Ever since then, my academics and attitude towards school have improved dramatically.</p>

<p>Essay: I will write about how my injury caused me to open my eyes and to step up.
Teacher Recs: will be VERY STRONG (one is my advisor who watched me through the whole maturing process)
Counselor letter: He will write about how my academics dropped due to my injury and extended absence from school.</p>

<p>Majoring in: Business and Japanese (Double Major) </p>

<p>Chance me for: (Chance me with my projected SAT stat please and also give a % chance please)
USC
Villanova
NYU
BU
Carnegie Mellon University
UC...(I know its a huge reach but I wanna try anyways) (LA,B,I,SD)
University of Washington</p>

<p>Question to all:
I think I'm pretty damn unique compared to some of the other asian applicants. Will that make me stand out over the other (I play piano, I play violin, I'm in the asian club) asians? Do you think that my essay and counselor letter/injury situation will allow some colleges to overlook my mediocre grades? Will my senior year courses (Econ/Stat) show my strong interest to business and give me an advantage?</p>

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

2

<p>your ECs definitely make you stand out. just by first glance i can see just how much time and effort you put into hockey and how much it means to you. and some of the others show ur interest in business.</p>

<p>i think since ur grades showed a substantial increase and with a very good essay, recs, and a nice interview, although it may not look as nice if you did a bit better, i’m sure the people at admission’s would understand.</p>

<p>one of my friends this year got into yale largely because he was very good at swimming despite not having superb grades or SAT scores.</p>

<p>as long as your SATs improve and you keep up and improve your grades, i’m sure you’ll be a strong applicant</p>

3

<p>Just taking those classes may show your interest but it’s difficult to tell that you are strongly interested in them. For example, I’m taking AP Stat now and next year I’m taking Micro/Macro Econ but I am definitely not interested in them. Branch out, see if there’s any club or EC you can either participate or start in.
I think colleges will be very understanding to your situation as long as you follow through with a stellar essay and keep climbing with an upward trend in grades. (And SAT)</p>

4

<p>your soph GPA is fine if it’s out of 4.00. A 3.00 is a B average, for an athlete that is good.</p>

5

<p>to demiitasse: It would show interest if Im doing an internship at a firm right?</p>

<p>Everyone, thanks for your feedback, however, I would appreciate if you would also chance me. Am I reaching too far? Should I look for more backup schools?</p>

6

<p>bumpidity bump</p>

7

<p>Standardized tests are by nature standardized. Just because you “study all summer” doesn’t necessarily mean you can raise your score 230 points, an almost unheard score increase by most standards.</p>

<p>At best I could see you in the low 2000’s. The SAT isn’t some final exam you can prep for, spending hours memorizing information. It is more analogous to an IQ, where deviations are rare, and dramatic score increases are even rarer.</p>

<p>I would look at some safety schools.</p>

8

<p>Really? I think I can do it though
My low reading score was a result of my lack of vocabulary. I know several several people who have raised their score at least 300 points. I know what I did wrong, and I know how I can improve. </p>

<p>I also KNOW that I can improve my writing section as well because I had no idea of how to approach it at all…what to look for and things like that. I won’t be too overconfident, but I’m pretty sure if I focus, I should be able to reach my goal.</p>

9

<p>for the UC’s, you’ll DEFINITELY make UCI. UCSD is a possibility (though you’re a non california resident…) :frowning: </p>

<p>don’t know about UCLA or UCB: think they look at your ec’s alot more than the other UC’s, so you’ll be a strong applicant. do improve your SAT scores though…</p>

<p>I don’t know about the other universities, but you are DEFINITELY a very strong applicant.</p>

10

<p>Asking for chances on the basis of such a large score increase–no matter how likely you believe it to be–is arrogant and dangerous. Assuming a 2000 SAT score would be generous; best would be to go with REAL, not projected, results.</p>

11

<p>Well lets put it this way. Majority of the questions I missed in the Reading section were the fill in section (lack of vocabulary). I already started studying a list given to me by a tutor of SAT vocab.</p>

<p>Math I already have a 770 and I think that it shouldnt be any problem (assuming I dont make any stupid mistakes).</p>

<p>Writing, my essay was an 11, which means my grammar was absolutely atrocious. I’m pretty sure that just doing a few days of studying the writing section, learning basic rules, it should shoot my writing score straight up. I think its pretty safe to say that I can at least score 100 points higher in both reading and writing. </p>

<p>I guess though, it would make sense if they would chance my real stats right now, but I don’t know how much it would benefit me considering the fact that I know I will raise my score. FFS, I’m going to a Tutor 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, 5 weeks this summer. I’d be absolutely surprised if I’m not up to 2,000.</p>

<p>Not trying to sound too arrogant here, but I think its pretty realistic to say that already knowing my specific weaknesses and improving on it would give me at least a 2,000.</p>

<p>But thanks for your input. </p>

<p>Additional Request: Chance on NOW, MY PROJECTED, and a 2000ish SAT score please.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

12

<p>I think you have a very good chance at all the schools that you intend to apply to if you can raise up your score to 2200 like you wish.</p>

<p>Are you going to Choate ?</p>

13

<p>Thanks for the input.
No, I do not go to Choate, I only live in CT, I go to boarding school in PA.</p>

14

<p>yeah you’ll have a very good chance if you raise your SAT score up and if your gpa is above a 4 like you predicted.
The internship would be great and you’re right, you’re totally different from the typical asian applicant. if you get the SAT score & GPA you’re reaching for, you can get into all these schools. carnegie mellon might still be a reach though but you’re looking good overall!</p>