Chance for Top 25 US Schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi! </p>

<p>This is my first post here, so I'm sorry if I got anything wrong or missed out some key bits of information. :/ </p>

<p>I'm currently a junior/11th grade international Asian student from Singapore. I have a US Passport and I'd just like to know my chances for any of the top 25 US schools.</p>

<p>SAT: 1900 (That was my first try and I barely had 2 weeks preparation. I'm retaking again in June and I'm studying really hard for it. I think that I could probably get it up to 2000+, around 2100-2200 + since Math - allegedly the easiest to improve in? - was my weakest area.)</p>

<p>I take the IB and so far, my grades are:
HL English: 6 (my IOP was a 7 though, and that was the only assessment that actually goes towards any of the final mark)
HL Philosophy: 6
HL Psychology: 7
SL Math: 5
SL French: 6
SL Physics: 6
Getting those 3 bonus points are also a very real possibility for me. I think I will be looking at 40+ IB points for university predicted grades since these are the tentative grades and my teachers are pretty harsh since we're "only in the second term of IB". We haven't done many assessments in class yet. These are not my finalized predicted grades. </p>

<p>My extracurriculars are:</p>

<p>School debate team for 2 years
Debate captain for 1 year
Charity Service for 1 year (i.e., organizing charity at our school to give to other charities)
Student Helper (i.e., student counseling) for 1 year
Mentally Disabled Helper (i.e., organizing events for mentally disabled kids in my neighborhood all year round) for 1 year
School prefect for 1 year (i.e., giving back to the school)
Orbis volunteer for 1/2 year
Pedal kart team
10km Marathon runner</p>

<p>I have two teachers who really like me in mind for my Letter of Recommendation. I'm also on good terms with my counselors. </p>

<p>I am going to a Stanford course in the summer and if I work my butt off, I'm hoping to get a Letter of Recommendation from a professor and a very good grade out of it. </p>

<p>I also have a pretty intriguing life story cause I was born with a birth disfigurement which Orbis helped me with when I was young. I think in my essay, I can probably talk about how I overcame that and became sociable due to debate - which I now have a leadership position in - and how I signed up for Student Helper to tell other kids that it's okay to be different and volunteer at Orbis to give back. </p>

<p>So I have a few questions:</p>

<p>1) Would that be a very good essay topic to talk about?
2) What are my chances at the Ivies/Stanford, based on my extracurriculars and essay and what I will be doing in the summer?
3) What are my chances at the less prestigious schools (but equally great!) like UC Berkeley or UCLA or USC?
4) Given my relatively weak extracurriculars (there is no way I can go win anything national), what kind of grades should I be getting for SAT and IB if I want a shot at the ivies?
5) Does the fact that I have a US passport give me any kind of admission advantage even if I'm Asian/Chinese? </p>

<p>Thanks so much! :)</p>

2

<p>1) Yes, good essay topic. Get personal in it. Write freely, let the person who reads it really feel what you had to go through.</p>

<p>2) You need to keep going. Keep getting good grades, taking hard classes, VOLUNTEERING YOUR BUTT OFF. And then, I’d say a good chance. Not like 95% or anything, but maybe a 70% chance? How technical can I be here?</p>

<p>3) You’re pretty much set for those schools. When you apply, try to have 1-2 safety schools (Not sure what’s around you. But the equivalent to University of Pittsburgh), 3-4 matches (which I would consider UC Berkeley/UCLA), and 1-2 reach schools (Ivies/Stanford).</p>

<p>4) Your ECs aren’t weak, but they definitely aren’t strong. You want super high scores on SAT. I’m talking 720 and above for each if you can manage. Don’t feel bad if that doesn’t happen. You’d probably be safe with 680+ for one or two scores.</p>

3

<p>

You will have an easier time than the internationals from Singapore.</p>

4

<p>Get your SATs up to be competitive for stanford/ivies </p>

<p>1)Sounds like a good essay topic.
2)Your extracurriculars a mediocre and your sat is low, making them high reaches. What your doing this summer will help.
3) low reach
4) 2200+ and over 3.8 unweighted.
5) no clue. </p>

<p>Goodluck!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1294761-chance-me-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1294761-chance-me-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>A few things:</p>

<p>*Going to Stanford summer school will do zero for you at a top college. It’s open admission, anyone can go if they can pay. A letter from a prof who knows you for a few weeks? Probably worth very little.</p>

<p>*No college cares if you had only 2 weeks to study for the SAT. Don’t take it until you know you’re prepared. The number of times you take it and low scores will hurt you at many top schools.</p>

<p>*Your IB scores won’t get you into a top school. I would work on those rather than attending summer school at Stanford. Getting all 7’s will make a huge difference, though only 2 weaker HLs will all but keep you out of top schools.</p>

<p>You’re not an international, you’ll be treated as a domestic student. Top 25? Maybe at the very bottom of that with a 2200 SAT score, but probably not. Will Berkeley or UCLA take you if you’re full pay? Maybe. But they have so much choice from Asia. Learn what’s important to colleges and focus on that with the time you have left.</p>