Chance me for Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc,

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi CC, Rising senior at a public high school. Asian, male, upper-middle class income bracket. No class rank is available at our school. My stats:

SAT: 2330 Super (730R, 800M, 800W)

SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chemistry, 800 Bio M

GPA: 3.83 UW out of 4.0 (what im most worried about)

Class Rank: None, but if my school had one I’d be pretty low since basically everybody cheats their way to a 4.0

AP Tests:
2013:
AP Chemistry (5)
2014:
AP Calculus BC (5/5)
AP Chinese (5)
AP Statistics (5)
2015:
AP Biology (5)
AP French (5)
AP Physics C Mechanics (5)
AP Physics C Electricity/Magnetism (5)

Non-AP Coursework:
Community College Discrete Math
Stanford Organic Chemistry 1, 2, 3 (Labwork included)

Extracurriculars:
Chemistry Olympiad Study Camp (Top 20 in US)
Captain of Science Bowl Team
Captain of JV Quiz Bowl Team (went to HSNCT)
Science Olympiad (Regionals + States)
Vice-President of Academic Challenge (club that runs Science Bowl, Science Olympiad, etc.)
Started tutoring program for talented elementary students
UC Berkeley ATDP

Awards:
Chemistry Olympiad High Honors
Science Bowl Regionals 2nd Place
National AP Scholar

Letters of Recommendation:
One letter from my AP Chemistry teacher, whose class I obtained the highest grade in. She also runs the Chemistry Olympiad at our school, so she was very happy that I got into camp.
One letter from my AP Calculus teacher
One letter from my Organic Chemistry 3 professor at Stanford, where I was the only high schooler in her class. I got one of the top scores in her class of ~50

Where I’m Applying:
Early:
Caltech
MIT
Stanford
Regular:
Harvard
UC Berkeley
Caltech
UIUC
Northwestern
Columbia
Cornell

Intended Major:
I’m applying as a chemistry major, and I am certainly set on finishing a bachelor’s in chemistry. However, I’m also interested in perhaps attending medical school in the future.

2

Do you have any safeties in your list?
Most of the schools you mentioned are reaches for EVERYONE. I’d say UIUC could be a safety or a match by looking at your stats, but one safety is not enough.

3

Where are you from?

You are highly qualified, but you fall into the dreaded Asian male STEM subgroup, which is notoriously difficult. If you are from California (as seems likely from the OP), it will be even worse:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/admissions-hindsight-lessons-learned/1790144-what-did-i-do-wrong-p1.html

Almost all of your ECs are STEM-related, so you seem a bit narrow in terms of your focus. What is there about you that will distinguish your application from all the Asian male STEM applicants with similarly ridiculous (or better) credentials?

UCB should be close to a sure thing for you if you are applying in-state, but otherwise you have a bit of an uphill climb to make yourself stand out.

Also, Stanford EA is restricted, so technically you cannot also apply EA to Caltech and MIT if you go that route.

4

If you want to have an admission in your pocket as you move through regular applications, I’d find a different “early”. Ultimately, your best bets are going to be Berkeley and UIUC.

5

By looking at the top 20 list, I just figured out who you are. You fall, unfortunately, into the dreaded “Asian male from California who’s interested in STEM” category. Oddly specific, yes. But it’s flirting with rejection. And your school does provide a “rank”. Based on the previous year’s rankings, you fit comfortably into top quartile. I think you might get UCB (CoC right?) Regents. Do you have more safety/match schools?

6

^ I do not consider UCB a sure thing (less as Regent scholar !). The GPA is in the lower side and SAT score which does matter is the composite (score?) not the Super.

7

At this point, it’s up to your essays, interviews, and recommendations that will make you stand out from all of the other STEM-focused Asian applicants.

8

first, and i am SAVING your butt here: many schools require one rec from a humanities/social science teacher and another from a math/science teacher. one of those schools is caltech, which is on your list. better cross off a science teacher and ask an english teacher or so quick.

but great stats! i can definitely see you getting into berkeley, UIUC, and probably cornell and northwestern. the others are obviously huge reaches for anyone and are a tossup, but you’ve got a decent chance.

also quick note, UCs dont superscore!

good luck!

9

Um, this kid is wicked talented in chemistry. He made it to study camp in the Chemistry Olympiad. Applying as a chemistry major, you certainly have very good chances at most, if not all colleges on your list.

A bit off topic, but which textbooks did you use to study for the olympiad?

10

He is indeed. And that’s part of why I think he’s in good shape for UCB. But for the top schools on his list, he will be competing against a bunch of wicked talented Asian STEM kids from California. He might be a good applicant in Chemistry to Oxbridge, where brilliance in your course of study is paramount, but I don’t think that’s something he is considering.