Chance Me - Asian Male Applying Psychology/Neuroscience to Colby College

Hi everyone,

I got rejected from both my ED & EDII (which were to T25 universities) and a lot of people from CC and Reddit said I would get into both so I’m kind of disappointed with their decision, but maybe the admissions department just didn’t understand my circumstances as well as I hoped. Any realistic feedback would be appreciated, my life is kind of in limbo right now just waiting for decisions lol

Asian male trying to do pre-med/psych, attend one of the top STEM schools in the country, doesn’t do class rank but has a national reputation and is known to top colleges by name. Family income is ~300k, not applying for aid.

GPA: 3.97 cumulative after junior year, 4.03 after 1st-semester senior year, 4.49 just for senior year though. My brother had Leukemia in my sophomore year and so my grades really tanked, my GPA for that year was like a 3.65. Since then, I’ve improved by a LOT, with all As this year except for a B in Multivariable Calculus, a class in which I have the hardest teacher at my school who historically always has a lower avg in his class.

ACT: 36 composite, not superscored

SATII: 790 MathII, 730 Chem

PSAT: NMS, 1510

AP Scores:
Bio 4
Mac Econ 5
Mic Econ 5
Psych 5
BC Calc 5
US Hist 3

AP-Level Classes in Senior Year: Multivar (Calc III), AP Gov and AP Lang.
All other classes are honors-level.

Essay: Common app wrote about my two main passions, cancer research (sparked by my brother) and running, I think that was a very strong essay and got it reviewed by many people so hopefully an 8.5-9/10.

Recs: Nothing stellar but won’t hinder me, I don’t think.

ECs:
-MVP for Track & Field, Varsity athlete for Fall, Winter, and Spring, State-level competitor, potential D3 runner… track is my main time-consumer outside school. I’ve talked with the coach before and he’s expressed interest in having me on the team and I believe he said I’d be on his list of potential athletes, which he gives to admissions. Not sure how much it helps at a school like Colby though…
-Officer position for my school’s Cancer Research Society, tied in with my passion and wrote about how it helped me cope with my brother’s condition in my common app.
-Member of school’s medical society, nothing big, just give presentations sometimes and educate people on general human anatomy.
-Had an internship at Georgetown’s Cancer Center, the program had a 5% acceptance rate and I conducted research in the field of predictive toxicology with my knowledge of bio and Python coding.
-Over the summer I coached track at a youth track club for the distance kids. It was a commitment of a few hours per week and it ties in with my love for running.
-During the school year, I regularly tutor math to middle schoolers at a middle school nearby.
-I volunteer at my local temple serving food in the kitchen to devotees, I find it a nice way to give back to my Hindu community for all their positivity and support over the years.
-I was invited to my county’s education excellence ceremony, which basically takes the best kids from each school (based on PSAT scores I think) and celebrates them and their most influential teacher at a banquet.
-I own a gaming YouTube channel with over 10,000 subscribers, over 2 million views, and almost 8 million minutes of watch time.

Thanks again for all your help guys, any questions will be answered ASAP by me.

Hey, I’m pretty sure I know what high school you go to haha. your stats are impressive and you have an excellent chance at getting in. also i wouldn’t sweat the gpa–i think Colby is more lenient, especially for students from magnet high schools like yours since they’re just so rigorous!
i’m curious as to how you came across colby and what made you want to apply? since its a fairly lowkey liberal arts school, especially among more STEM oriented high schools…:slight_smile:

@daringnorthward Thanks for all your feedback and advice! I really have liked the concept of an undergraduate liberal arts education since it’s very different from my HS as you said and I think I need a bit of a change lol… Colby also has a great biology/STEM program in general and so intertwined with the chill/low-key community just seems like a place where I can see myself thriving. Can I ask how you’re familiar with my school?

With those STATS and EC’s, I find it hard to believe that you were not admitted to any school of your choice…Any other factor that you can think of as to why you weren’t accepted? Did you interview? Sounds like an LAC might be an extended choice for you only now that 2 T25 Universities did not accept…Our S is Colby student…Specific questions?

@parentgeorgia Actually I applied to 3 LACs even before I heard back from my ED1 school, so they were always on my list. My GPA is probably why I was rejected, all the values given there are WEIGHTED GPA, my unweighted cumulative GPA after first semester of snr yr is only around 3.6. Maybe my recs weren’t very compelling? A top tier student at any other school is only an average one at mine, so it’s hard for teachers to write good recs when comparatively, a really bright student is overshadowed by prodigies. I interviewed for Bowdoin but was rejected. I’m hoping for the best with Colby, I’ll let you know with any further questions!!

You have greta stats , but I question why you would want a LAC if your want to STEM route, would not a large Public school be a better choice with their stem programs? It seems many schools would want a kid with you stats I am just wondering why you feel a LAC school would be a good fit.

Colby fortunately looks holistically at their apps. You appear v interesting, very bright and with varied experiences who can bring a lot to any campus or student body…Keep us posted…Godspeed…

@NJdad07090 I’m looking to expand my horizons, quite simply. Yes, I have a strong interest in neuroscience and psychology, but I love filmmaking and creative writing and business/economics as well. I want a holistic education with an intimate yet diverse student body, and I’ve found the problem with many large state schools is that I don’t get that feeling of community or individuality that I think is crucial to a successful college experience.

@parentgeorgia thank you so much for your kind words, it really helps me to hear encouraging thoughts like yours! :slight_smile:

Accepted! Major thanks to everyone who helped me out and gave advice!

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Congratulations! I’d been rooting for you!