Chance me @ Columbia, Cornell, CMU, NYU, etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Intended Major: English
Intended Minor (or double major, undecided): Mathematics
Applying to MIT, NYU, CMU, Cornell, Columbia, U of M, Yale, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins,
Columbia is my current #1.

BIO:
While male
Income: $100k
Public school (top 200 in USA)
Resident of New Jersey

STATS:
GPA: Unweighted: 4.0 Weighted: 4.9
SAT: 2300
SAT II: Math: 800, Physics: 790, Chemistry: 750, English: 780
AP Scores: AP Bio (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Gov (5), AP Lang (5), AP Chem (4), AP Stats (5)
National AP Scholar
Rank: 3/325

CLASSES:
Freshman Yr:

Honors English: A
Honors Algebra II: A
Honors Physical Science: A
PLTW Principles of Biomedical Science: A
PE: A
Honors World History: A+
Symphonic Band: A+
Russian II: A+

Sophomore Yr:

Honors English II: A
Honors Pre-Calculus: A
AP Biology: A
Honors US History I: A
PE: A
Russian III: A
PLTW Human Body Systems: A
Marketing and Management: A

Junior Yr:

AP English Language and Composition: A
AP US History: A
AP Statistics: A
AP Calculus BC: A
PE: A
Russian IV: A
AP Chemistry: A
PLTW Biomedical Innovations: A

Senior Course load:
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Physics
AP European History
Honors Multivariable Calculus and Advanced Topics
PE
AP Economics
PLTW Medical Interventions
Honors Russian V

Summer Activities:
-Summer before Sophomore year: Columbia University High School Summer Program (Math course)
-Summer before Junior Year: Princeton Laboratory Learners Program

  • Took a few online courses, CS50x Harvard University
    -This summer: local jobs

EXTRA-CURRICULARS:
-Interned at Princeton University Plasma Labs
-Montclair State University Gifted and Talented Program
-Church volunteering (50+ hours)
-Writing for Saching.com (20+ articles)

AWARDS:
2 National Essay Contests and 1 state level
English Student of the Year
Marching Band Rookie MVP
Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction Writing in the Sciences Online Course | Stanford (I guess this is an award)
JHU CTY Member
MENSA Member
Davidson Institute Young Scholar
3 Russian Olympiad Competitions (State level): Gold Medal
Bunch of smaller awards

CLUBS:
-Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society (Pres. and Founder) 3 yrs
-Debate Team 4 yrs
-Marching Band 4 yrs
-Chem Olympics 3 yrs
-NHS 2 yrs
-WLHS 3 yrs

My recs should be good, my teachers love me as of right now, and my essay planning is going well.

Please slap me with reality if I could get in or not!

2

I’m not particularly knowledgeable on this…but does getting and Enlgish Degree from an Ivy League school help pay wise or job wise? Is it worth the 250k to attend one of these schools in your area of study?

Your credentials look pretty solid I think you have a decent chance of getting in…but Ivy League schools and equivalents are reaches for practically everybody

3

@NeilMo I am also interested in studying at a high-profile school for English/ writing and I can tell you tha it is well worth it to get a degree from and Ivy League/ top 20 school in English. Schools like JHU, Harvard, Brown, and Columbia all have very reputable English/ writing programs.

Although it is sad to see, many people do get hired because of the college they attended. My cousin who went to Cornell only works with kids from UPenn and Harvard. This is because the company heavily recruits from said schools (this is for a food science company, mind you).

So, yes, getting an English degree from these schools (IMO) would be well worth it. I know that Harvard in particular has a very good alumni network for writers (I know a few writers who got their degrees from Harvard who are very successful). And although I cannot definitively say that they became successful because of Harvard, going to the university definitely gave them a leg up when applying for jobs.

4

@ap012199 good to know! Good luck in your applications. BTW, I’m looking at high profile schools too, lol. Applying early decision to UPenn (Wharton).hopefully we both get to go where we want

5

@NeilMo awesome! A friend at my school got accepted RD. I’m applying to Harvard EA with legacy… I wish you luck!

6

Sorry I’ve been avoiding the OP; you’re definitely qualified for all of these schools. Also, if the specific college admits by college and not to the university over all, your chances should increase since most schools’ on your list are popular schools for STEM. While your ECs in which you participate outside of school are a little trite, you can make up for that through interesting and honest essays. Good luck!