Chance for UCs, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Upenn, Ivies

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey! Hoping this is still alive so I could get some chances, much appreciated!

First off, I’m homeschooled

Unweighted GPA: 4.0 for High School
Weighted GPA: probably somewhere around 4.4
(GPA for me doesnt matter much since I’m homeschooled. Colleges don’t look seriously at Homeschool GPAs)
College GPA: Somewhere around 3.7, took 4 classes: one A (Calc 1A), one B (Calc 1b which I regret pretty badly), and two classes currently should be running As (stats and Eng Lit)

California Resident

SAT: 1570
SAT II Scores: 800 Math 2, 800 Physics

APs: (9 total)
5: Microeconomics, Physics 1, Physics C E&M, Physics C Mechanics, AP Eng Lit.
4: Macroeconomics, Calc BC (bummer with AB subscore 5), AP Eng Lang, AP CS

ECs:
Published research paper in scientific proceedings
gave presentation at major international optics conference
internship in optics research field
organized 3 science camps for kids
started non-profit science club for kids
Private tutor
basketball coach
Online retailer
Did some math competitions, part of homeschool team

Volunteer:
3 mission trips in Mexico building houses for the poor (~150 hrs)
around 50 hrs serving disabled kids at camp for kids with disabilities
~200 hrs serving kids from dysfunctional families in Oklahoma City

Employed at fast food restaurant Chick Fil A for a year ~600 hrs

Any other significant accomplishments in a specific field
As mentioned before, research paper published
interning and doing other research in similar field
several math awards, nothing fancy
Physics USAPHO qualified

Any comments and advice greatly appreciated

Other:
Asian Male, Low Income
Hoping to be chanced for Ivies, Stanford, UCs, MIT, Caltech. Much appreciated!

2

You will be a competitive applicant but you need match and safeties on your list!

3

UCs would be matches and safeties in general I was hoping

4

Depends which UCs, but yes if you are applying to a broad range.

5

Great stats! The only thing I’d say is that the best UCs look for someone who sticks out. Schools such as UCLA and UCB get a ton of applicants who are well-rounded academically, have done a lot of service, etc. How are your essays? I’d say depending on how you separate yourself from other qualified applicants is the important factor here (clearly you are qualified academically!)

6

Quick bump, hoping for a bit more advice

7

Major?

Stats are good. USAPhO semifinalist is pretty good, but it won’t carry your application. A research paper is definitely a plus. If you are low income, have you applied to Questbridge?

Overall, all the reaches will be hard (i mean, that’s why they are called reaches). Get some matches and safeties. If you are going into STEM, just don’t apply CS. You will have an easier time applying for Physics.

8

@ACEPLUS Follow up, with your impressive stats as homeschooled student, do you get admitted to UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, any Ivies ? And what major do you apply ?

9

I think that you are a competitive applicant. I do however have two concerns.

The first concern has been mentioned by others. You need safeties. You need to spend a significant amount of effort identifying safeties, visiting, talking to professors, running the NPC (unless you are okay being full pay), and making sure that you are applying to two schools that you will be accepted to, will be happy to attend, and will be able to afford.

My second concern is that MIT, Caltech, and the 8 Ivy League universities covers a rather wide range of types of schools. If you throw in UCB and UCLA then you have an even wider range of schools. I think that you need to know why you want to attend these particular universities. On the one hand knowing what you like about Dartmouth College or what you like about Caltech will give you a better chance of being accepted. Also, you don’t want to spend a year at, for example Dartmouth College, and discover in the middle of January that you can’t stand a real winter in a small town, or spend a semester at Columbia and discover that you can’t stand NYC. You need to visit schools, talk to professors, and figure out what you want in a university.