Chance a student with poor EC's

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Colleges I'm considering applying to:
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC LA
UC San Diego
USC
Calpoly SLO
Stanford University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Brown University</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian
State: California
Lower/middle class family
Unweighted GPA: 3.95
Weighted GPA: 4.35
Unweighted class rank: 21/667</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning: 2030 (690 CR, 750 Math, 590 Writing, 9 essay)
Superscore: 2040 (600 writing)
SAT Math 2: 800
SAT Chemistry: 800
AP Chemistry: 5
AP Calculus BC: 5 with 5 for AB subscore</p>

<p>Took honors courses in English and math in freshman and sophomore year, declined AP World History in sophomore year (first AP class available). Had 2 AP's and an honors English class in junior year. Currently, I am taking three AP classes (Stats, Psychology, Biology). I intend to major in neuroscience or psychology. </p>

<p>EC's:
NO SIGNIFICANT CLUB WORK
10 years of violin playing
5 years in an out-of-school orchestra (5th grade to 9th grade)
Wushu (martial art) for 9 years, red belt
Volunteering in a library program that helps seniors learn how to use the computer and connect to the internet
Volunteering at the local middle school by helping the music director teach children how to play the violin, assist teacher with tuning instruments, etc</p>

<p>Awards:
ABRSM Certificates for Violin playing, Grades 2-7 (grades 6 and 7 completed during high school)
ABRSM Certificate for Music Theory Grade 5
Letter of Commendation (PSAT)
Runner-up Most Outstanding Orchestra Junior (not really significant, it was voted by students and presented at an awards ceremony)</p>

<p>I'm a bit scared of the 590 in Writing as well as my SAT score as a whole. I'm also worried about my lack of club work and the lack of leadership that's expressed in my EC's. As of now, I apply for ELC so I have guaranteed admittance to UCM if I apply. To be honest, most of the schools on the bottom of the list seem out of my range, but I'd be thrilled to be able to attend them. Are there any other schools I should consider applying for if I want to go into neuro/psych?</p>

<p>Shatter my dreams CC.</p>

2

<p>UC Berkeley - low reach/high match (more of a high match)
UC Davis - high safety
UC Irvine - safety
UC LA - high match
UC San Diego - low match
USC - high match/match
Calpoly SLO - safety
Stanford University - reach
Columbia University - reach
Cornell University - low reach
Brown University - low reach</p>

<p>obviously, the bottom 4 will be more sporadic with admission. overall, i wouldn’t be surprised if you got into at least 1 of the bottom 2. statistically, the only reasonable thing holding you back is your sat1. also, you say you are from a lower/middle class family - can you afford those bottom 4 schools and usc?</p>

<p>changed a couple*</p>

3

<p>bump 10char</p>

4

<p>bump 10char</p>

5

<p>violin and martial arts ARE good ECs.</p>

6

<p>I don’t want to be a downer but I have to disagree with redteabag- I would say that based on your test scores and ec’s, ivies will be out of your reach. Take a look at some official decisions threads for the schools you listed, that’ll give you an idea of what kind of things people do to get into those schools. Would you like to chance me back, even with my response :confused: ?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1181905-chance-me-hpysm.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1181905-chance-me-hpysm.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;