I just got my ACT score back and I got 31 R 32 E 36 S 36 M, or 34 total, is that enough?
34 would be the average ACT score for most competitive schools, although the UW GPA is still low. I would say take your chances and apply.
If the math awards are verifiable (although some posters are casting their doubts), a competitive school will consider you worthy of admission.
I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think someone would take the time to make claims that could easily be validated through a Google search and risk exposure if the claims are false.
34 is a good score, but ultimately pretty average compared to all ivy league applicants. Your chances are increased though, but like I said, keep some safety schools in mind because of your GPA.
Like others said, it’s mainly lack of focus in EC’s and a low GPA. Aside from all that, I still recommend that you apply. You never know.
I love these “chance me” threads where the OP just puts down a list of colleges that looks like the US News’ top 20 ranking colleges list, with a 3.5 unweighted, 1380 SAT, and a 32 ACT composite… I hate to break it to you, but an asian male being superior at math is nothing new, sure it’ll help, but your biggest setback right now is your english. A 580 RW won’t get you anywhere near the top 20s.
North Dakota is a huge hook for you, it’s not URM or athlete or first gen, but it’s big. Play it up. Now as others have said, your verbal scores are too low to be considered for most of the schools on your list, in addition to your ECs being very academic related. A 1380 is very low for Asian males, really low, take it again, they’ll superscore so just focus on the verbal. Asian males will have a 1550 when applying to these schools.
Accept - Cornell, JHU
Reject - Cal Tech, Duke, Harvard, Brown, Yale
W/L - MIT, Stanford, you may have a better chance here because of your No Dak roots.
Add some safeties and matches and remove most of the ivies, I’d recommend Berkeley, UCLA (both don’t use affirmative action) and Michigan.
Here’s one positive note to leave you on, if you’re best applicant from No Dak, you’re in to more of these, all the colleges you mention want to say they have students from all 50 states. Only Cal Tech will say you don’t have the numbers to compete. And you could not have picked a better state from which to apply (well maybe Wyoming, lol).
I don’t think UCLA, UMich, and UC Berkeley would be safeties; in fact they would still be reaches for you with your academic qualifications. Some safeties for you may include your state schools (if you DO live in ND, I think those schools will be easy to get in for you). And @Alllviiinnn is right, you do seem like you are just listing the top 10 US colleges. You should look for colleges that will cater to your interests and that you sincerely believe you will get into. The ones you have listed are not those type of colleges.
Let me clarify - Michigan, UCLA and Berkeley are matches, maybe reaches, definitely not safeties.
@theloniusmonk Have you ever been told that your writing style resembles Donald Trump’s?
With a 3.50 UWGPA, UCB and UCLA are not only no safefy, contrary to some recent posts here, but are hardly matches! Consider them more on the reach side!
but I’m really good at math, isn’t that good enough? I mean, I know someone who was really good at math, and they got into harvard
“With a 3.50 UWGPA, UCB and UCLA are not only no safefy, contrary to some recent posts here, but are hardly matches! Consider them more on the reach side!”
I totally missed the 3.5UW, yeah they’re reaches.
“but I’m really good at math, isn’t that good enough? I mean, I know someone who was really good at math, and they got into harvard”
If you made the above statement in response to my post in regard to UCLA/UCB (which I believe you did, as you responded immediately after mine?) then I have to tell you a little secret:
You are both “correct” and “wrong”! Correct in regard to your “Harvard” abservation, but wrong if you meant to extend that observation to an elit public school such as UCLA or UCB. Top elit privates look for a supper academic talent in you and may forgive your other academic deficiencies in you.
But public schools are less forgiving! They go with certain inflexible rules! And for UCB and UCLA GPA is that unbreakable rule. That is why you see often someone is accepted to Stanford and rejected to UCLA … and believe me that happens often in California!
OK, so you guys seem to be insulting me even though I am obviously superior at math, did you not see that I got two-time IMO qualifier? Did you get two-time IMO qualifier? That’s what I thought. So since you are obviously dumber than I am, please sit down and tell me the truth. I am going to win the Nobel Prize through my prowess in linear algebra and lead humanities to lengths of which you could have never thought (Oh wait sorry you useless people are great at humanities aren’t you guys), while you are still attempting to learn the Schrodinger Equation. If I wanted to grow up homeless and be useless people of society I’d be humanity majors like you all imbeciles. So please, do not lecture where I will go, as I am basically already met the Harvard dean.
Ok man.
First off, you straight up lied about the IMO thing. None of us found that you ever participated in it.
Second, we’re not insulting you. You asked for critiquing, and you’re getting it. Don’t get butthurt when we don’t tell you exactly what you want to hear.
Third, you are not intellectually superior to any of us. Being good at math doesn’t get you into Harvard. If it did, most of us would be in Harvard. Don’t act like you’re some supreme being. Check your ego.
Fourth, don’t insult us. We’re giving you feedback. Don’t want it? Don’t come on here.
Fifth, if you’re so superior intellectually than us and you already know your future, why ask us about your chances?
Sixth, why don’t you soak in what people have told you and improve yourself with it rather than get upset? If you don’t want to hear the criticism, don’t ask the questions. Ivy league is big league, you’re chances aren’t great. Simple as that.
Finally, being smart doesn’t give you a pass to be a jerk. If that’s how you’re going to act heading into the college application process, I feel sorry for anyone who has to read your essays.
I haven’t commented on this thread before, so I think I’ll throw my hat in the ring.
The things going for you here are your Math accomplishments. Some people may have just straight skipped to the EC’s and grades section and completely bypassed the awards, so they may have give you less credit than you deserve. You have the Ivy average 34 ACT score, so that benefits you slightly.
There are a couple of things that are not going for you.
For one, your GPA shows that you aren’t devoted to school. Going to an Ivy league level school means 6 - 8 hrs of school work a day. A lot of that work is in the humanities, which from reading this thread you seem to look upon as beneath you. Colleges will require a whole bunch of humanities classes in order to graduate.
Secondly, from the last comment you made, I have to agree with @oakland818, in that you seem to be a little egotistical. Having a good personality is the number one thing colleges look for, as it reflects in your essays and your interview, which carry a lot of weight. Striking other fields of study down and the people who study those fields doesn’t reflect well on you.
Next, you are an Asian Male, which makes your chances even lower.
Lastly, don’t look down on the humanities, English in particular. If you make some amazing discover in linear algebra, but you can’t communicate well, then you might not be taken seriously. If you look at the CEO’s and other Chief members of companies, they all have great communications skills. Take it from a fellow STEM student.
I wish you all the best in your college apps.
He’s a tr*ll it seems through his most recent post, move on…
@Studious99 Maybe that’s why he got a 580 on the verbal section haha
“OK, so you guys seem to be insulting me even though I am obviously superior at math, did you not see that I got two-time IMO qualifier? Did you get two-time IMO qualifier? That’s what I thought. So since you are obviously dumber than I am, please sit down and tell me the truth. I am going to win the Nobel Prize through my prowess in linear algebra and lead humanities to lengths of which you could have never thought (Oh wait sorry you useless people are great at humanities aren’t you guys), while you are still attempting to learn the Schrodinger Equation. If I wanted to grow up homeless and be useless people of society I’d be humanity majors like you all imbeciles. So please, do not lecture where I will go, as I am basically already met the Harvard dean.”
First of all, please calm down.
Second of all, CollegeConfidential happens to be (for the most part) a forum where students and parents alike put aside their competitive nature to help each other out. You have asked for our advice to chance you, and we are answering as honestly as we can, and with the intent of helping you. We are not trying to insult you, though what we are saying may sound like an “insult” simply because it seems you have your heart set on Harvard. Being told that it won’t happen is hard, and it is natural to feel anger toward to the people who have told you so, but many of the people that have commented on your post are either college admits or parents of college admits, and thus have more experience and knowledge on what sort of stats these colleges are looking for. Even they have said you have little to no chance at these schools. And I have said earlier, I really would not want you to be one of the unlucky people that apply to only elite schools and gets rejected from every single one of them; would you rather be stuck in community college and get an associates degree than go to a 4-year school? We are only trying to help you out; also, what you said about humanities majors is not simply untrue. And many of us are also STEM-oriented students (for example, I am interested in biology/neuroscience and would like to go into medicine). I suggest you spend some time accepting your fate that you will most likely not be admitted into these schools and don’t take your anger out on others. Thanks.
Is this for real…no offense I live in ND and I’ve never heard of this kid in math competitions before or anything else…I was one of two people in ND who apparently qualified for the AIME last year but I could be wrong. It’s also next to impossible to take courses like combometrics at a high school let alone find that at any college other than NDSU. Do you to a boarding school outside of North Dakota?