Chance a Terrified Junior with High Hopes and Bad Luck...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Heyy so I'm a rising senior and I'm freaking out about the college process...I would really appreciate any and all recommendations as to how I can strengthen my resume to be as powerful an applicant as I can...Thanks! I WILL CHANCE BACK IF YOU POST A LINK</p>

<p>Schools:
Duke ED (Main Choice)
Johns Hopkins (2nd Choice/possibly main choice with aid/scholarship)
Harvard/Princeton, 1 of the 2 (Crapshoot lol)
Brown
UNC-Chapel Hill
Georgia Tech
Wake Forest
NC State
Emory
Vanderbilt
UCSD
Case Western Reserve--Scholarship?
Carnegie Mellon
WUSTL
Rice
Georgetown
UVA</p>

<p>Demographics:</p>

<p>Gender: Male
Race: Asian-Indian
State: NC
School Type: Very Competitive Public (Top 300), 7-point scale. We usually have 5-6 kids get into Ivies and Duke, and in the 3 years we've been open, 2 Deep Springs
Financial Aid: Yes to privates, No to publics
College Major: BioMedical Engineering (Aspiring to become a neurologist)
GPA (Projected for end of this year): 4.88 W, 3.86 UW
Class Rank as of 1st Semester Junior Year: 5/445 (will probably go down, but should remain top 10)
Essays and Recommendations (AP Biology and AP English teachers along with supplementary rec from the doctor I interned for and counselor) will all be stellar</p>

<p>Standardized Tests:</p>

<p>SAT 1: 2000 (CR: 650, M: 680, W: 670, E: 10) WILL RETAKE, probably around 2100-2200
ACT: 30 (E: 30, M: 30, R: 33, S: 27, E: 8) WILL RETAKE, probably around 32-33
PSAT: 186 ugh… (CR: 63, M: 58, W: 65)
Subject Tests: Math II-760, Biology-680, Spanish w/ Listening-Not Taken
AP Tests (P=Projected):</p>

<p>APES: 4
AP Biology: P5
AP Psychology: P5
AP Calculus BC: P4, AB subscore P5
AP English L/C: P5</p>

<p>Sophomore Writing Test: 4, 20/20, perfect score (only 1-2% of all sophomores achieve this, according to my English teacher)</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors English 1: A
Honors Geometry: A
Honors Biology: A
Honors World History: A
Sports Medicine/Athletic Training 1: A
Spanish 2: A
Debate 1: A
PE/Health: A</p>

<p>GPA UW: 4.0
GPA W: 4.5
PSAT: 167</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Honors English II: A
Honors Algebra II: A
Honors Chemistry: A
Honors Spanish III: A
Honors Civics/Economics: A
Honors Pre-Calculus: A
AP Environmental Science: A
Debate II: A</p>

<p>GPA UW: 4.0
GPA W: 5.0
PSAT: 178</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Calculus AB: B (Final)
AP Calculus BC: B, very little chance I could bump up to an A
AP Biology II: A (Final)
AP Psychology: A (Final)
AP English Language/Composition: B, but a good chance i can bump up to an A
Honors Spanish IV: 90/B, very little chance I could bump up to an A
Physical Conditioning I: A (Should have taken Honors Debate III but because of budget cuts Debate was no longer a class)</p>

<p>Projected UW GPA (considering I get an A in English): 3.57
Projected W GPA (considering I get an A in English): 5.14</p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP Chemistry II
AP Literature
AP Spanish V
AP U.S. History
AP Human Geography
AP Statistics
Honors Debate IV</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:</p>

<p>Part of our school’s community service program (requires 25 hours per year of community service each year)
Freshman Year: 25 hours at the YMCA
Sophomore Year: 25 hours at the YMCA
Junior Year: 25 hours in the E.D. at Carolina’s Medical Center</p>

<p>Debate(9-12):
Co-Captain of Debate Team and Public Forum Debate Head Junior Year, All-Team Captain Senior Year
Only active senior to compete in tournaments in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades</p>

<p>HOSA(10-12):Not an officer, but I partake in the officer meetings and help plan trips to regional and state competitions; hoping to be President senior year (haven't had elections yet)</p>

<p>Internship:
70-hour academic medical internship at a private neurology practice last summer where I shadowed the head doctor and assisted in the research department. Also, I wrote a paper on the effects of Parkinson’s disease on the body.
Will complete another 70-hour internship at the same practice where I will complete a case study and hope to get a paper published in a medical journal.</p>

<p>Spanish Club(11-12):
President (12), Vice-President (11)
Help in organizing community service events for Spanish club members (over 100)</p>

<p>Spanish Honor Society (10-12):
President Junior year and will remain President Senior year
Have tutored Spanish I and II students 2-3 times/week since sophomore year</p>

<p>Student Humanitarian Organization (10-11):
Co-founder
Secretary 10th grade, President 11th grade
Raised money for countries in need of aid who have been affected by natural disasters
PROBLEM: THIS CLUB HAS BEEN CUT THIS YEAR. Should I still mention this club on my application?</p>

<p>Awards:
Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society): 11-12
Spanish Honor Society: 10-12
National Honor Society: 11-12
Junior Marshal
HOSA (10): Placed 9th in Kaiser Permanente Health Care Exam and 10th in Nutritional Knowledge Test at State Competition
HOSA (11): Placed 9th in Job-Seeking Skills (Regionals) and 3rd in Nutritional Knowledge Test at State Competition (Qualified for Nationals)</p>

<p>Summer Programs:
Attending Summer Ventures in Science in Math this summer, which is a state-funded month-long program where I stay in a college dorm and study science in math in unorthodox manners (for example, instead of learning about marine life, I'll actually go outside to a lake and study live fish). It's prestigious in that only 300 students get selected out of the 1500 that apply (this is what a rep told me).</p>

<p>Thanks again! Remember, I'll chance back with a link!</p>

2

<p>Since you chanced me, I’ll chance you. :wink: However, I only know about a very small fraction of your college list, so I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll just talk about those. :)</p>

<p>Harvard/Princeton/Brown- Ivies tend to be a reach for everyone, but I’d say you have a strong chance (stronger than me anyhow lol)
Wake Forest-My history teacher went there. I can ask him about it. Just know though that he’s insanely smart and knows so much about history that it’s insane. I don’t know if that reflects the majority of the student body though… :slight_smile:
UVA- You have a really good chance with UVA. :)</p>

<p>Your ECs are really good, especially the internship, HOSA and the humanitarian club, since they reflect your interests the most. Keep it up! :)</p>

<p>(I don’t know whether you should mention the humanitarian club or not… )</p>

<p>Sorry, I’m not much help… ^^;;</p>

3

<p>Your SAT/ACT are way low considering your grades. The first thing this will suggest to colleges is that your HS practices grade inflation (I’m not saying it’s true, but this is what they will think).</p>

<p>Here goes:</p>

<p>Duke ED (Main Choice) OUT OF REACH
Johns Hopkins (2nd Choice/possibly main choice with aid/scholarship) LOW REACH
Harvard/Princeton, 1 of the 2 (Crapshoot lol) OUT OF REACH
Brown OUT OF REACH
UNC-Chapel Hill REACH
Georgia Tech MATCH
Wake Forest REACH
NC State MATCH
Emory REACH
Vanderbilt REACH
UCSD REACH
Case Western Reserve–Scholarship? SAFETY
Carnegie Mellon MATCH in general, REACH for Engineering
WUSTL REACH (must show them some love, or no dice)
Rice REACH
Georgetown Pick 'em They are notoriously impossible to predict
UVA REACH</p>

4

<p>@Yumi696: You’re fine! Thanks for the reply :). Anyways, about the Humanitarian club, I think I might just put it down to show that I took initiative or something. I really do care about its purpose, but my school is so competitive that new clubs keep cycling in and out, and only the big ones stay (debate, HOSA, DECA, FBLA).</p>

<p>@Soze: is a 2000/30 really THAT bad to put me out of reach for Emory, Vanderbilt, WUSTL, etc? I’m definitely working to get it higher, but I wasn’t aware that it would kill me…Also, my school has virtually NO grade inflation, in fact it might even have some grade deflation, but standardized tests just aren’t my forte; I’m better at more straightforward tests like the AP exams.</p>

5

<p>I don’t think a 2000/30 will put you “out of reach” for those schools. Your ECs show strong leadership and commitment, and seeing that ECs tend to be important for top schools as a means of distinguishing one applicant from another, they’ll definitely boost your chances. Yes, your GPA/test scores aren’t the strongest for those schools and won’t do anything for you chances-wise, but I highly doubt the colleges on your list will nix you as an applicant just because they’re not perfect.</p>

6

<p>Hey, I’m really not to great at this, but I’ll try.</p>

<p>As far as the really elite colleges go (Harvard, Duke, Princeton, etc.) you probably are going to be a below average candidate. Though by no means are you out of range at any of them. If you apply to all of them, though it would be an uphill battle at all, I would not be surprised if you got into at least one.</p>

<p>Though these make up a large majority of the colleges you listed, the ones that aren’t quite so elite–Georgia Tech, South Carolina, UC San Diego–look like pretty good matches for you.</p>

<p>All in all, you have solid basics and some cool things dealing with medicine, your interest, to go along with them. You may want to cut back a little on how many of the elite schools you apply to; other than that, it looks like you have a solid list of reaches, matches, and safeties.</p>

7

<p>your grades really good and i think being asian indian would help? (feel free to correct me).
sat score is good for the lower reach schools, but you should raise it up a to 2100+ for the ivies. internship is a great hook. good luck!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/934871-chances-uc-schools-dentistry.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/934871-chances-uc-schools-dentistry.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>If you want to go into engineering, Harvard is not your place. The engineering program is small and not at all highly ranked.
Neurobio, on the other hand, is pretty awesome at H.
Just… think about whether you REALLY want to go to the schools on that list.</p>

9

<p>@swimstar: That’s my main concern, my scores. I feel like I’m solid at every other aspect (not trying to sound cocky), but my scores kind of bring it down…so if I have a 2100, on the low end, would that be sufficient for Vanderbilt/Emory/JHU standing?</p>

<p>@CameronSeib: Thanks! Yeah I’m just trying to keep my options open…it never hurts to have to choose between schools!</p>

<p>@kekseschule: Actually, anything of Asian descent will most likely hurt one in the admissions process…thanks!</p>

<p>@Elanorci: I’m leaning more towards Princeton for that reason, but they’re both pretty much out of my reach anyways haha. I’d love to go to all of the schools on my list, I’m not just doing it to brag…I’ve done some background homework on them and I can adjust myself pretty well to a lot of situations (I’ve moved schools 4 times in my life, but thankfully none during HS). Thanks!</p>

10

<p>I didn’t say Emory, Vanderbilt and WUSTL were “out of reach” I simply said that they were going to be a reach. You’re at least 200 points below the typical student, so you certainly can’t be called a “match” for these schools.</p>

<p>As for Harvard, Princeton and Duke, well <em>those</em> are out of reach. But they are for most people so you are in good company.</p>

11

<p>Too many reaches. While I see Emory as bing in reach, the ivies are not IMO and Duke will be very tough as an unhookd candidate from NC.</p>

12

<p>You are not looking good for the most selective colleges (i.e., Harvard and Princeton). The downward trend in your GPA will hurt you for these schools; and, although your ECs look solid, your scores will further lower your chance. Of course, it is still worth it to apply if you want to go there, but I am unfortunately not optimistic about your chances.</p>

<p>Duke, though, is certainly a possibility if you apply ED. You would be a borderline applicant; it would likely come down to compelling essays/recommendations in order to compensate for your somewhat subpar grades and scores. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

13

<p>bumpppppppppp</p>

14

<p>You can easily get into any non-Ivy.</p>

15

<p>

That’s about as incorrect as a statement can get.</p>

16

<p>@Precognition: I appreciate it :), but can you please elaborate?</p>

<p>@Jersey13: Same…can you please explain why? And possibly chance?</p>

17

<p>Bump that SAT/ACT up. Good ECs, scores are a bit weak. I like the entire neurology thing, sounds like a nice hook to your app. ;)</p>

<p>G’luck.</p>

18

<p>I always hate to focus on SATs, but your SAT and ACT scores are currently at the 25th percentile for Duke. Your best bet is to increase them as much as you can (hey, I went up 190 points on my second try, it’s doable). </p>

<p>The combination of your test scores and class rank make the Ivys very unlikely. </p>

<p>Your odds look better at Johns Hopkins and Emory. I’m wondering why you’d want to do biomedical engineering if you want to be a neurologist; engineering majors have very bad grade deflation, which is fine for engineering schools since they expect it, but isn’t the best for medical school. Your medical ECs are very very good, but you have to find some way to distinguish yourself from every other Asian/Indian applicant who wants to do medicine at Hopkins or Emory. </p>

<p>I’d say in at Georgia Tech. I don’t know about the others.</p>

19

<p>@Grisam: Thanks!</p>

<p>@djdopeslap: I’m majoring in BME for 2 reasons: 1. I really enjoy engineering, so it’s a great way to expand my pretty basic, high-school level knowledge and 2. JUST in case something goes wrong during college and I don’t meet the requirements for medical school/don’t pass the MCAT/have a change of heart, I can always graduate with this degree and pursue a Masters, instead of being stuck majoring in Bio/Chem/or BioChem like most students and end up with two options: teaching or working in a lab.</p>

<p>So I’m doing it more as a precaution and for piece of mind.</p>

<p>And my main focus is to get those scores up as high as possible, so if I get them to let’s say, 2200, how do I look then for Duke?</p>

20

<p>It’s the SAT’s =[ I hate to say…
Also, try not to show a decreasing trend in GPA. B in Calc AB isn’t good. I just don’t understand, how can you be taking both Calc AB and Calc BC? you should’ve taken Calc BC + AP Stats. It’s a fun combination, and I loved it this year (both AP tests were confusing though!)</p>

<p>I don’t know how competitive your school is exactly, but if it’s in the top 300, colleges will understand if you get a B or a few B’s. </p>

<p>I love your EC’s. I can’t believe your school would cut clubs, especially the humanitarian club that you co-founded. It doesn’t make sense. </p>

<p>Duke ED (Main Choice), Low reach (Raise your SAT to 2300, it would pretty much be a match)
Johns Hopkins (2nd Choice/possibly main choice with aid/scholarship), Low reach (same as above)
Harvard/Princeton, 1 of the 2, Out of reach (but to be honest, no one is a match for harvard/princeton, it’s about 35% personal appeal, 55% talent, 10% luck, at least that’s what i feel).
Brown, Out of reach
UNC-Chapel Hill, reach (I don’t know about UNC. I live in California, and I know that the top 10 at my school pretty much get accepted to UC berkeley every year. Since UNC is the same level, I would expect the same).
Georgia Tech, can’t judge, i have no idea.
Wake Forest, match
NC State, i’m hoping it’s a safety, because you’ll definitely get in.
Emory, low reach
Vanderbilt, low reach
UCSD, Match, unless you’re applying for their 7 year med program, then it’d be low reach.
Case Western Reserve–Scholarship? can’t judge
Carnegie Mellon, reach, really low reach for their engineering program
WUSTL, can’t judge… never heard of it
Rice, reach
Georgetown Reach
UVA REACH (out of state? I’d choose Chapel Hill over this)</p>