Hey guys, my first post in CC. I just want to know what your thoughts are for my chance at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
I am a senior at a pretty good boarding school (along the lines of deerfield n taft) and got accepted to NYU CAS.
However, I am taking a gap year and planning to reapply to colleges.
Grades: I have A-/B+ average and got a-, a-, b+, b-, a- for my last classes.
Standardized testing
ACT W/ writing: 33
SAT 2 MATH 800
SAT 2 chemistry 740
AP CALC BC: 5 ab:5 Chem: 3 Comp gov: 4, Bio: 4
Hooks (?)
First-gen male student
Native Hawaiian and Korean mix
Applying for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Environment, Public Policy
State (if domestic applicant): Hawaii
I want to only indicate that I am native hawaiian, but I am Korean citizen and only have permanent residency at US, so I think I am going to say that I am Native Hawaiian and Korean mix. Do you think this ethnicity will hurt my chances?
Your stats aren’t particularly strong for Ivies… especially the low GPA. There are 4.0 kids w/ perfect ACTs/SATs who get rejected from the Ivies. What are your ECs? What are your essays like?
You got into NYU which is of course very competitive… is there a reason you aren’t going? That you got into NYU at least indicates a maybe for Ivies because I assume you had good ECs/essays to get in there… but on the face of it, your stats give me pause. What is your back-up plan? Will your spot at NYU stand?
What are you doing during your gap year? That can make a difference, if you do something that gives your application an extra edge.
The grades aren’t that bad for prep school, but not Harvard level. The ACTs are good, but I would work on improving them. As other poster mentioned, you don’t want them to know you are part Korean. Maybe not HYP, but good enough to apply to Ivies.