Yup…it’s another chance me. Hopefully you guys won’t mind going through mine.
In Junior year right now, here is how everything is stacking up so far:
UW GPA: 3.91, although likely to drop to 3.83
UC Weighted GPA: 4.26
SAT: 1510 (780M 730W), retaking for hopefully 1550+
Subject tests:
Math II - 800
Physics - 800
AP tests so far (completed): AP Music Theory - 3 AP English Language - 4
AP tests (future/prediction): AP Calculus BC - 5 AP Physics C: Mechanics - 5 AP US History - 5 AP Chinese - 5
ECs:
Sport for 6 years, have won many awards at state and international competitions over this time
Piano (CM level 10), earned 3rd place at a local competition
Ethnicity: Asian male (and with this statement, all hopes went out the window…lol)
State & Region: Northern California
Schools: All UCs, WashU at St. Louis, Cornell
Intended majors: Undecided (Letters & Sciences basically in the case of UCs), maybe Physics
Wondering if I’m even going to get into UC Merced at this point…am I worrying too much?
UCs don’t consider race, being male doesn’t affect admissions to L&S so being an Asian Male is fine. You look moderately competitive for UCB/UCLA, and strong candidate everywhere else. If you end up going engineering, your chances drop a lot.
Strong chances at all of your schools!
GPA is good so is SAT (maybe should be higher for Cornell as WashU)
You seem to have basic EC’s on the other hand, that don’t tie in with your major. Hopefully your essays make up.
Cornell - reach
WashU - reach
UC Berkeley- reach
UCLA - reach /low reach
UCSD - high match
UCSB - high match / match
UCI - match
UCD - match
UCSC - low match / high safety
UCR - safety
UCM - safety
good luck! I think you can get into atleast 8+ schools.
Be wary of UC admissions. Some really accomplished people I know from California got waitlisted/rejected from UCLA and Berk but got into schools ranked higher.
You’re worrying too much. I’m another CA Asian going to Berkeley right now. I was also a 3.9/4.3. Your extra-ciriculars are a little light, but your SAT II scores are obviously exceptional. You should likely get into all the “lower” UC’s and get into one or both of UCLA and Berkeley. Washington St. Louis might be tough, but you’re also definitely competitive for Cornell.
GPA/SAT should be fine for WashU. Remember to get the name of the school right-it’s Washington University in St. Louis.
You might need more leadership/community service ECs. As another poster mentioned, ECs could be stronger. As an Asian male (the dreaded demographic) you need to stand out more.
If Cornell/WashU are at the top of the list, I would suggest ED.
@Hamurtle Thanks for the input. Recently, I’ve been looking for jobs and applying to internships in pursuit of interests I currently have, and also for something to do over the summer instead of twiddling my thumbs. Do you think that landing such a position would help? I’m suspecting that it probably wouldn’t, considering it’s a job and all, but…?
Thanks. I’m a bit new to all of this and only recently started thinking about college admissions, so help would be appreciated.
@TheTennisNinja It’s a sport not many play in the US and it is a lot more popular in Asian countries and I find it pretty fun.
Table tennis.
I have a national ranking of around 300-350 of Boys under the age of 18 and I’ve won a bronze medal at an event at the US Nationals, but not many people play TT compared to the sports you mentioned so I have no idea if it means anything. Maybe it’s diverse and sets me apart? Who knows. lol
Table tennis/ping pong at a national level might arouse interest among ECs, but the stereotype is that only Asians (specifically Chinese) play the game.
Try to get some leadership-maybe coach kids in ping pong or do some academic research. As it stands, if what you listed are your only ECs, then things might be problematic.
@Hamurtle It’s a good thing I am planning to get a job or research internship this summer then. Thanks
I also forgot to mention that I had volunteered at a folk arts camp over the summer and taught kids Chinese culture. I also led my TA group in coordinating with supervisors and other groups in communication and task completion.
It just seems to me that everyone has done some form of volunteer work though, and while I do have an interesting story to write about it, I’m worried it’ll blend in with other essays about volunteering.