I just rechecked our stats for only 2020/2019, schoolwide for Berkley with GPA >4.2 its around 67%, so I think there’s lots of bias in the 90% number from older (probably easier) years. For UCLA 78%, so yeah I think since Im applying L&S it’s definitely a (very) high target/low reach. Thanks for the data though!
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Assuming your profile is accurate… I have met a few fibbers on here - I like you as an applicant. As others have mentioned narrow down your school list to something more manageable - 50% of what you listed maybe. Of course some of your schools are reaches for everyone, but I am confident if you can find commonalities among your many activities and accomplishments and present yourself in a memorable way that you have a “better than most” shot to be admitted to one of the reaches you decide are a fit.
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I don’t mean to like be cocky or anything but most people Irl have said that I will definitely need a very good rec to back up the legitimacy of most of my ECs since they sound very outlandish, so yeah sorry if that’s the vibe haha. I think people in the field will realize that most of them are very doable.
Thanks for the feedback!
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That was what I was trying to say when I commented earlier.
You need to keep in mind that although “people in the field” will get it, admissions officers are generalists and they will be very unlikely to consult someone who is an expert in the field on your application. If they see international honors and lukewarm recommendations, they will be skeptical.
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I think you need sit with your school counsellor and tell him/her what you have done till now and what your plans are for the next year. Keep them posted every quarter so they know you better. This will help them to give you suggestions and also an excellent rec letter.
Similarly talk to STEM teachers from your classes about science fairs you are attending/planning to attend and seek their guidance/advice. As you talk to them over a period off time they will be your best bet to get a rec letter.
There is a very high chance you will get into the college of your choice. Colleges like MIT, Stanford (and many more) are need blind.
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I’m planning on spending lots of time with my STEM teachers for recs, I have with my chem teacher, but realize he’s 9th grade and really need to improve standings with my junior teachers, but I was wondering whether a stellar Supp rec would at least help to legitimize some of my ec’s?
Thank you for the feedback. Is talking to counselors about ecs a lot a thing? I’ve thought about it but always thought it would be kinda weird to just go into my counselors office and idk basically talk about my ecs for 20 minutes or (we don’t have specific guidance counselors, only normal ones I think that cover both guidance and mental health stuff) is that a normal thing, or how would I go about informing them?
Our guidance counselor does everything, too, and my kids always made appointments once/year (at scheduling time), to go over their schedule, talk about goals, and give her other updates. This wasn’t something that other kids did, but I wanted to make sure she knew them and their goals.
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Your guidance counselor is going to need to write you a LOR as well. Many counselors have students (and sometimes their parents) fill out questionnaires to help them know what to put in the letter. You might make an appointment pre-emptively to talk about the colleges you want to apply to and the application process, including LOR. Ask him/her how they feel you can best highlight your outside activities and then go into details about what you did.
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I second the advice to look into the astronomy program at Univ. of Arizona (https://www.as.arizona.edu/). U of A does a lot of research at the solar observatory at the top of Mt Lemmon (Visit the SkyCenter | SkyCenter).
if your PSAT is 1480, what do you mean by not qualifying for NMSC? I’m a senior and couldn’t take my PSAT during my junior year, so I submitted my 1470 SAT score and still got Semifinalist. Obviously the scale is different so if my SAT score is lower than your PSAT, I think you should be fine. I’m also CA (btw, also live near UCLA :])
Might have been diff for ‘22 and ‘21 but I took my PSAT and got 1440 this year, and 1480 in freshman (I have no idea how it happened I think I was on low sleep or something) which is way below NMSQT cutoff for CA. I wish I could sub my SAT score but I’m p sure NMSQT only takes PSAT.
Thanks this makes a lot of sense!
Think about the whole process of talking to the counselors as a part of seeking guidance. It is more like - this is what I have done till now and this is the path I am planning moving forward. Sometimes you will be surprised with the feedback you might get. Handful of kids go and talk to them. When your counselor gives the letter it will be way better too.
I spoke to guidance counselors in public school (bay area) for my kid and they were very helpful
I think you stand out with the Astronomy publications and work on exoplanets, and will have a good chance at your match and reach schools that you listed.
Each of the Reach schools will have supplementary essay questions and so I would suggest shortlisting 5-7 among your Reaches (at least 2-3 of which are from the lower half of the selectivity scale among them) and focus on those 7 and the Matches (UCLA, Berk) along with at least 3 safeties.
After you submit these applications if you have time and the enthusiasm you can work on more reaches. This way you will have enough time to focus on the quality and content of your essays (including the supplementary ones).
Your essays will pbly be more important than recommendation letters.
Also you need to keep up with your school work in the junior and senior year, as well as plan on some meaningful activities for this summer.
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You have a wonderful academic profile and great ECs that support your interests. You will be a very competitive candidate at all schools. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee acceptance to reaches but I think you have a better than average chance of getting into at least one of them. That being said, you need to cull down the list of reaches and focus on those that are strong in your area of interest as opposed to focusing only on prestige. You won’t have time to do a good job on all these applications so you should focus on those reach schools where the astronomy/astrophysics programs are strong instead of shotgunning. Also, as it appears there are some less selective schools with strong programs in your area of interest, you may want to add those as safeties. And, finally, use the last half of this year to build some kind of relationship with your 11th grade teachers so you get quality LORs. Most schools want to hear from junior year teachers, not those you had as a freshman. Best of luck to you!
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That’s a very reach-heavy list. First, run the net price calculator for all of these schools and find out if you can actually afford them. If you can’t pay for them without a dump truck load of debt, then scratch them off the list. I promise, you’re not missing anything.
Also, It’s good you’re in CA, but most those UC schools are reaches. UCLA and Berkeley have a 15% admissions rate. They’re going to be a reach for anyone. UCI is around 25%. The rest, except for ASU, hover around 30%. Playing the odds, you’ll likely get into a couple of UC schools on the list.
The rest are a mixed bag of worms, because private universities have vastly different ways they distribute financial aid. Private schools are just not worth their sticker price, especially when you have good options in CA. If you can get a good financial aid package to make the cost competitive with a public university, then they would be worth considering. Otherwise you’re spending a lot of money for no additional benefit.
i ran through net price calculators again with my parents recently, and it said around 8kish more on average for most T20’s (if i got in) for the more generous ones around 5k more. for the stingiest colleges, it’s around 50k more over 4 years, which is probably alot, but i’m guessing this is due to them factoring our house worth which is almost 3-4x more than what we got it for, honestly this might just be because i’m naive and dont understand money but i would probably pay around 20k-30k over 4 years to go to a T10 over UCLA. idk i’ll have to see what finaid says in the chance i get in.
i’m not going to say which one, but one of the under 40% accpetance rate UC’s has around a 80% acceptance rate for our school across all gpa’s last year, (normally higher, but this was 2021) and 99% for my gpa, so i’m hoping that that school should be very likley, just due to our school advantage?
If i don’t get into any UC’s or other targets and reaches i would most likley end up doing CC and transferring into one, rather than going to CSU or an OOS saftey.
If you’re not already familiar with the College of Creative Studies at UCSB, that would be worth a look as a UC option. They have both a Computing major and a Physics major Majors | UCSB College of Creative Studies , and the “grad school for undergrads” approach could be a nice fit given your research experience. CCS has its own application in addition to applying to UCSB via the UC app.
I’d be surprised if you didn’t end up with good options within the UC system. And I think you have a shot at getting into one or more of the most financially generous elite schools, that could be worth the additional cost compared to UC’s. I agree that beyond a certain cost increment, it becomes hard to justify when so many of the UC campuses are top destinations for your areas of interest. You’re going to have great choices, I’m sure - good luck!
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Can you clarify this? academics are pretty specific about the language used around teaching, and I am some interested that there is an accredited college that has an 11th grader teaching a full course- no matter how brilliant the 11th grader. Guest lecture? ok. Lab assistant? possibly. TA? maaaayyyybe. Full-on responsibility for teaching a course? color me skeptical.