<p>Hey guys an OOS'er from New york planning on applying as a rising senior this year!
wanted to know what my chances are for banneker/keys and merit in general! Any insight helps as to what they look for besides stats obviously. Will post below. Thanks in advance :)</p>
<p>STATS
GPA: 91.24/100 (UW) my school does not have a 4.0 scale (~96 Weighted)
SAT I Breakdown: 2200: 760(math) 710 (critical reading) 730(writing)
SAT IIs: 700(Biology), 710(US History), (going to take Math IIC expecting 700 min, hoping 750+)</p>
<p>Rigor:
Taken 5 APs(Euro - 4 sophomore year, the other 4 are jr year and yet to come back but expecting 4-5 on all), several honors, and only 2 regular classes through 3 years in high school and 8th grade advanced courses. Taking 4 APs senior year. Low GP UW but with a very rigorous schedule and an upward trend (did not work very hard until I realized I needed to get serious around middle of 10th grade) (~87 8th grade(advanced courses), ~92 9th, ~92 10th, ~94 11th) </p>
<p>ECs
3 years cross-country
3 years winter track
3 years spring track
(Started sports 10th grade and fell in love, was not very active prior)
Global Awareness Club (3 years)
Peer Drug Educator(selective applicant only club)
Single Student Member (chosen) on local library board of trustees election committee(reviewed resumes of applicants for the board)
120+ hours of community service at local library as part of organization that organized rec events for school kids and members of the community
60+ hours at a nursing home
Camp Business Summer Program at Drexel University </p>
<p>Leadership:
Former Vice President and current President of community service club @ local library</p>
<p>Awards:
Scholar-Athlete distinction every season i've done a sport</p>
<p>Edit: Of persian decent, first US born child - first to go to a US college, second to go to college in general(only mother went, in another country).</p>
<p>bump…really need some opinions</p>
<p>Unlikely for BK. You will probably be offered a partial scholarship.</p>
<p>@OMGITsJustin i figured as much. Besides the presidential scholarships 2k-12k (i’m shooting for hopefully 10-12k on that) are there any other scholarships i’m eligible for that i may not have seen on the website?</p>
<p>There’s also the Dean’s Scholarship which is 4500/year for 2 years. Have you considered Cornell? They offer in-state tuition for some of their schools.</p>
<p>@OMGItsJustin I am applying to cornell! Isn’t the dean’s scholarship maryland only?</p>
<p>What is your intended major? </p>
<p>FYI, 8th grade performance is not taken into consideration for admission. </p>
<p>The most important thing you can do in order to be considered for merit scholarships and special programs like honors college is to apply by the Nov 1st priority deadline. This is not a commitment and is in no way a conflict should you decide to apply early decision elsewhere (early decision is a commitment, early action is not a commitment and neither is Maryland’s priority decision).</p>
<p>Yes, Dean’s Scholarship is specific to UMD, but all schools typically have some version of their own.</p>
<p>As for other scholarships, there may be something additional outside of what Maryland offers that are specific to students of Persian descent (and can be used at any school). I believe FastWeb is one of the biggest scholarship matching resources. </p>
<p>Also, food for thought: OOS Maryland full cost tuition with expenses is still less than IS Cornell full cost with expenses…just saying ;)</p>
<p>Cornell might be more expensive, but it meets 100% need. However, you need to get in first. 
For a higher chance at both cornell and B/K I’d recommend increasing those SAT subject scores. Your GPA and regular SATs are good but those subject test scores are kinda low.</p>
<p>For example, I had a 2300 SAT and 5s on 4 out of 5 ap tests last year when I applied to colleges, but had a 720 Am gov, 710 Physics and 760 Math II SAT Subject test scores. I would say the subject tests seriously hindered me from getting into top schools like mit, upenn or cornell. I’m in Maryland for engineering now with a 5000 presidents scholarship for 4 years and also a 5000 engineering scholarship for two years. This year had the most competitive B/K applicant pool ever and I unfortunately did not make it.</p>
<p>Food for thought, 710 physics is less than the 50th percentile which means that more than half the people who took the physics test did better than me. The top schools don’t want average in this regard, they want the cream of the crop. B/K is trying to steal people who would go into top schools. Since the top schools didn’t want me, similarly B/K didn’t invest in me</p>
<p>@wskider this makes sense. if you don’t mind what was your GPA? that may have also been a factor considering how comeptitve the schools you applied to are…the only real tippy top tier schools i’m applying to are cornell, georgetown and i guess UNC since im out of state :p</p>
<p>@wsikder only 5000 for your stats??? that doesnt make sense you have a near perfect SAT you should have at least been considered for B/K…i don’t see how you didnt get at least 10k</p>
<p>From my experience, scores don’t matter as much as your essays. As long as your SAT is 2200+ and your SAT IIs are 700+, you should be focusing on your essays: writing and rewriting them, having people give input, perfecting them to reflect yourself the best you can. </p>
<p>I got into Johns Hopkins+Cornell with a 2200 SAT, 720 physics, 800 math2 SAT.</p>
<p>Being a Maryland resident, sometimes I wish I lived in a state in which in-state tuition didn’t exist like New York lol. Then attending the state school wouldn’t be such a financial no-brainer, and I could be attending one of the “top-tier” schools I was accepted to without feeling guilty.</p>
<p>@OMGItsJustin what do you mean? there is instate/outofstate tuition in NY state schools</p>
<p>My GPA was 3.9 (had 3 bs over the course of high school mostly in english). Also I am an in state student so tuition is less and so are my merit scholarships. If I were OOS the scholarships would’ve been higher. And yeah you should try your best on the essays and get people to look over them and give feedback, but don’t get your hopes up for B/K, do it for the other scholarships</p>
<p>@wsikder was that all classes or academic only? My overall GPA is a 3.65-3.7ish Unweighted</p>
<p>It was all classes. One of my Bs was in gym lol</p>