Coursework
11 APs total, 9 taken all 5s. Took the hardest classes possible more or less.
Awards
USAMO, USAPhO- both first in school history
Rensselaer Math and Science Book Award (School Award)
National Merit Semifinalist
AMC 12 DHR (top 1% nationally)
Extracurriculars
Led regional math team to national top 10 placements (HMMT, ARML, PuMAC, etc.)
Varsity Basketball Player
Leader of school Math Club/Team also led team to good results (2nd out of 3998 teams internationally at Purple Comet, 4th at Yale’s MMATHS)
Taught hundreds of students spanning over like 8 different jobs
A few internships and teaching jobs over the summers
Leader of chess club/physics club, but those are more for fun/less serious
Essays/LORs/Other
My stats/ECs are very typical for an Asian male, so my essays hopefully highlight other aspects of myself. The writing is going to be subjective for whoever reads it, but I aim for a distinctly personal voice and try to avoid writing about math/physics, and instead focus on things like teaching and basketball. Not going to rate my essays because it’s probably very college-specific, but in general people have liked “my style of writing.”
Cost Constraints / Budget
We qualify for a bit in general, but are not applying for it for schools that care.
Schools
Safety: SUNY (NY State School)
Likely: none
Match: UVA, USC, Georgia Tech
Reach: UIUC CS, MIT
I’m just curious what people on here think about my shot at these colleges. I think I have a great shot (90%) at getting into at least 1 of my 3 match schools. I think I have a decent shot (~50%) at MIT, because my essays and recs have a unique voice and probably reflect what they’re looking for, and I have a strength in math and am otherwise well-rounded. Obviously with like a 4% acceptance rate it’s kind of ludicrous, but it’s just a gut feeling idk. UIUC asks for like nothing so there’s not much basis to go off. I don’t expect to get in because of that, I think the essays/recs help me more than they hurt.
You are impressive but if you end up at SUNY will you be happy ?
Not sure what you mean on cost . Can you afford UIUC, USC, Ga Tech? You are or are not applying for aid? Have you done the USC net price calculator ? Can you afford what it says ?
I think the biggest factor will be the LOR from you math teams/tutor service advisor. Make sure the person has good notes about your accomplishments and will be enthusiastic supporting you and showing you as leading the school.
Good luck! I might add a few more schools if anything. You seem very solid.
Isn’t today the EA deadline? I am curious as to what actions you will take based on what we say.
Also, if I were interviewing you, I would ask you to elaborate on “led team to good results”. What did you personally do to lead this team? What worked well? What didn’t? Did your leadership go beyond a title? What have you learned about leadership from this experience? Whatever the answer is, the admissions committee would find it very informative.
Yeah we can afford the state schools. I get half off scholarship for national merit. Price isn’t a huge issue, we only qualify for the best financial aid programs.
I’d highly recommend adding more safety/likely schools. Everything you have there is a reach unfortunately due to low overall admission rates of qualified candidates.
You only get the scholarship IF, and only IF, you win National Merit. It only covers HALF OF THAT tuition. It doesn’t cover everything else. Believe me that I have personally been through this with my son who won National Merit. USC is currently priced at 80K+ per year. That’s a LOT more than a SUNY school.
SOOOOO:
On/Off Campus
Tuition (12-18 units for two semesters) $63,468
(If you get National merit that is $31,734 every year PLUS the following)
Fees $1,258
Housing $10,506
Dining/meals $6,930
Books and supplies $1,200 $
Personal and miscellaneous $1,702
Transportation $584 (Assume this is not price for travel on airlines, at the going rate, during Xmas and holiday travel.) Total$85,648
(Add $450 New Student Fee for your first semester.)
Bama is strongest but there’s others. CHeck each school’s website to ensure this info is up to date.
It’s the golden ticket. Save your family hundreds of thousands. Think about that!!
They are loaded with smart kids. Bama has the most In the country.
If it’s not for you it’s not for you and that’s fine. And your list has wonderful schools.
And not going to say - go to any of these over MIT. But you can study similar curriculum at hundreds of thousands less. High pedigree schools don’t have a monopoly on good outcomes.
Good luck wherever you go. Definitely discuss with your family. For some it’s could be a life altering decision financially to go to a school that desires you. But it’s not for everyone. Some say it’s worth it to pay for other schools and that’s fine too if they are able to without stressing mom and dad financially.
Two schools that would be safeties for you would be New Jersey Institute of Technology and UT - Dallas, both of which have significant merit aid available for National Merit Finalists. As others have mentioned, I think you’d have a good shot to get into any of the schools on your list (though I don’t think you have a 50% shot at MIT). That said, admissions have become extremely competitive, particularly for CS. I’d make sure there were some schools on my list with likelier admissions rates, unless I would be happy at a SUNY (and make sure to pick a SUNY or more…they’re not all the same!).
Are you certain about these? UVA OOS acceptance rate is 15% (RD, 18% EA), and OOS acceptance rate from GTech is 15%. Acceptance rate for USC was 12% this year. Unless your high school has a history of students from your school with profiles that are similar to yours being accepted at a close to 50% rate, these would all be reaches.
I think GT’s OOS acceptance rate was 13% last cycle and it’s truly holistic. Probably lower this cycle.
You should really think about adding a few more safety/match schools to the list. Some great suggestions so far. Act soon. You’ve already missed a few deadlines for big scholarships.
So I just checked the database and applicants from my school in the same GPA and SAT range have about a 80-90% acceptance rate for GT and UVA. USC is no guarantee though, I’m assuming because of the harder prompts.
These databases often reflect like 10 years of data and the last 2-3 years have been very different. My son had stats similar to yours and was above every other accepted applicant on the matrix and did not get in. He was a CS major though which is the worst, math might be a little easier to get into.
I’ve always found “chance me!” threads to be kind of pointless. You do your best and you get in or you don’t. But arguing with people over your chanced? Surely there is some better use of time.
@nhorq, you are a strong candidate and you should be proud of your accomplishments.
Which SUNY do you have in mind? Among them, Stonybrook has the strongest math department because it was guided by James Simons, who was a noted professor there before he went on to become a hedge fund billionaire. He still contributes to the department.
Re MIT, about 10 years ago USAMO meant about an 80% chance of admission. It is still a major accomplishment, but its impact on admissions has lessened, so on that basis, I would say about 40%. Your essays and recommendations will be key.
I also have some schools you may want to consider.
In terms of a still outstanding school but with easier admissions than MIT, have you considered Cornell?
Given your math interest, think about NYU. Its Courant Institute is world famous for math, and I think that would be a good match school for you.
CMU, along with MIT, is one of the few schools that explicitly asked about AMC scores. Given that they care, have you considered either their math or CS departments? CMU outside of CS would be a low reach, whereas CS would be a high reach.