Demographics
Hi! I’m a Chinese nonbinary (assigned female at birth) grade 11 student.
I am a US Citizen but live in Southeast Asia.
I go to a relatively small international private school (less than 400 students).
Both my parents have attended local universities and graduated with Bachelor’s degrees.
Intended Majors
My intended majors are international relations or political science. I’m also considering a minor in history.
GPAs, Ranks, SAT/ACT
My UW GPA is 3.9 (W GPA unsure, but I get 6-7s in all my IB subjects)
My school does not do class ranks.
My SAT score is in the 1300s (trying to reach for the 1400s).
Coursework
I’m taking the IB Diploma. My courses are HL English LangLit, HL Economics, HL Psychology, SL Chinese B, SL Biology, and SL Math AI.
Awards
Aside from high-honors (for multiple school years) and a couple MUN awards, I have no awards as they aren’t very common for my school/country.
Extracurriculars
- I am the president of my school’s MUN club. We regularly attend conferences. I also train all members of the club in MUN and have received multiple awards at national and international conferences.
- I’m the co-president of the debate club. We haven’t attended any competitions due to the pandemic but plan to soon.
- I’m the co-editor-in-chief for my school’s newspaper. I teach members how to write impactful articles and manage the website they are posted on.
- I’m the class president of my grade. (was also class pres for grade 9)
- I attended 2 summer programs (Stanford and SoNYT) centered around law and government the summer before my junior year.
- I’m the president of a service group that produces supplementary education material (i.e. worksheets, pamphlets, manuals) for preschoolers in underprivileged areas.
- I’m part of a board of directors for a student-led organization partnered with the Rotary Club. We regularly tutor students from less privileged communities in proper MUN procedure and hold nationwide conferences.
- In my spare time, I volunteer online transcribing historical documents for multiple organizations (e.g. Smithsonian, Library of Congress).
Next summer (before senior year), I plan to apply for virtual internships at museums or law firms (whichever ones are available).
Cost Constraints / Budget
No budget or constraints. We don’t plan to apply for financial aid and just intend to pay all of it upfront.
Schools
Scholarships: I don’t plan to apply to any.
Safeties/Likely: Carnegie Mellon, Wesleyan, UC Irvine, Tufts
Match (according to what I researched so I could be wrong): UCLA, UCB, USC, NYU
Reach: Georgetown, Yale, Columbia
Main Concerns
My school is quite small, but a good number of students have gotten into UCLA/UCB.
My country has had a very strict lockdown since March 2020, which has led to many opportunities and activities being cancelled. I worry this will lead to my application looking less impressive.
I am an international student (although I’m a US citizen, I still live abroad).
My dream school is UCLA but I’d be satisfied attending any college on my list.