Chance for BHP + Plan II

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

Thanks in advance

Race: Indian American
Income: 200K

Academics:
4.76/5 Weighted, top 3% (Top 100 High School in Country)
SAT: 1570 (790 Math, 780 Reading)
ACT: 36
SAT Subject: 800 Math II, 740 USH, 780 Physics
PSAT: 1490, should be NMSF

College Courses:
Freshman: AP Comp Sci (5)
Soph: AP Music (5), APUSH (5), AP Stats (5)
Junior: AP Euro (5), AP Macro Econ (5), AP Micro Econ (5), AP Spanish (5), IB Spanish SL (6), AP Physics (4), IB Physics SL (6), Comp Sci SL, AP Calc AB (5), AP English Literature (5), AP Human Geo (5)
Senior: History HL, Economics HL, AP Physics C, IB Math SL, AP Calc BC, Comp Sci HL, English HL
(I will be recieving my IB Diploma)

Extra Curricular:
Debate: UIL Quarterfinalist, top 10 Speakers in State, National championship qualifier
Economics: 1st place state economics challenge (Council of Economics Education), next year plan on published economics paper in a journal and starting a video series for AP tutoring
Track: Varsity all through high school
Piano: Composer, 1st in state composition contests all three years
Writing: Published in various magazines including Adbusters, HuffPost
Provisional Patents received for two personal inventions
Summer: Attend debate/research camps at MSU, Wake Forest, and UT
Citizenship Committee: Run a politics blog for the school, conduct interviews with Mayor and other politicians

Leadership:
Debate: Team Captain 2 years
Citizenship Committee: President
High School Democrats of America: President

Volunteering:
NHS One Time Things
Started Chess club at new ES, won state championship
Started Math Olympiad club at a new ES, 4th in the national championship

Essays: Assume they’re decent because hard to judge without reading them
Recs: Have not recieved, but will ask my TOK teacher, History teacher, and Economics teacher

A question I have is the type of extra curriculars BHP looks for - the things I have aren’t SUPER business related, but they involve leadership/community work. Does this work?

Thanks!

2

No chance at all. You need at least a 37 out of 36 in ACT to qualify for UT. Better luck next time.

You are definitely competitive for McCombs. Top 3% makes a highly compelling case for BHP. Plan II is harder to judge, so have some good essays with some humility built in somewhere there–maybe even something you have failed in, if that is possible. You should be thinking 40 Acres scholarship application most likely, after you complete the Harvard and Yale essays.

3

BHP probably no problem… They generally can’t look for business success stories because your priorities should have been nailing down your academic foundation, which you’ve done. Plan II, though, looks for multi-disciplinarians and creatives with exceptional communication skills and focus first, laundry list of credentials second… the sort of students that would apply to Yale and Plan II while completely dismissing Harvard.

4

You are a great candidate for both. For BHP, focus essays on some (out of your many) accomplishments that you did as a result of your own initiative, especially if you faced obstacles achieving them. You should shoot for Forty Acres.

5

BHP will love the high stats and the math-iness. But now put some time into those essays. In my limited experience, they really matter. They want to know who you are and how you think, especially if you are creative or resilient or bring something unusual to the table. Tell your story in a compelling way. Leadership matters, too. I’ve known some kids with less than top grades/scores who have been inventive class/activity leaders who got in.

6

Incidentally, when I last looked at the 40 Acres recipient group, a disproportionate number of awarded scholars (25% or so, if I remember correctly) were majoring in BHP and Plan II–and among those, every one I think had a successful HS debate background. YMMV though.