Chance me for Ivies, UC's, Northwestern, Duke, WashU, GW, American, etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics: White male, SoCal, middle class
Mother never went to college
Father finished a bachelor’s
Best academically-achieving school in district, ranked in top 10% of California high schools

Intended Major: Political Science

Academics: ACT: 34 ACT (36 English, 33 Math, 34 Reading, 34 Science) w/ 11 on writing
GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.8 W, 4.4 UC GPA
Class Rank: Top 1.9% of class
AP’S: School only offers about 10 AP classes (many are foreign language); I have taken 3 (APUSH, Spanish Lang., APES) and scored 5’s on all of them. I will be taking approx. 4-5 more this year.
SAT II’s: APUSH 780; Spanish & Literature in October
One of 20 students in my class in the IB Full Diploma Program
Most academically rigorous courseload at my school
Senior year schedule: AP/IB Calc BC, AP/IB Spanish Lit, AP Biology, IB Global Politics (MUN), IB English 4, Honors Government
Highest UC GPA at my school because I pursued and passed an AP Government & Politics online course this past summer (UC approved, doesn’t go on my official transcripts but will be sent to them)

Extracurriculars (as listed on my Common Application, still need some revising):

  1. Founder & President of “Libraries for All” chapter in SoCal: Have many inter-district book and donation drives every year.
  2. Founder & Head Administrator of a Political Website: Focused on not only distributing current news but also writing about a high school student’s perspective; a few editors that I manage and work with closely
  3. Team Member / Crew Leader at Chick-fil-A: Started my freshman year, have been working anywhere from 15-40 hours depending on the week; help mentor the new employees and work manager-like positions (not official manager because I’m still 17)
  4. Student Liaison to the City Council: Work with principal of high school to compose a list of important school-related events; attend bi-monthly city council meetings and present this information to the city council
  5. Head Anchor and Script Editor for KSN: Main anchor & edit scripts for a network focused on highlighting kids athletes from around the world (SportsCenter but for kids?)
  6. Publicity/Vice President of Red Cross: Help publicize annual blood drives; work closely with president and coordinator of Red Cross chapter to kick start fundraisers and increase exposure
  7. Under-Secretary-General & Novice Trainer for MUN program: manage both websites, teach intermediate students speaking techniques and prepare them for conferences, work with advisors
  8. Volunteer Coordinator for CSF: Manage all seniors at high school, work to establish community service events and manage more than 200 students
  9. Tae Kwon Do leader & black belt (stopped 10th grade): Led classes of 20-30 on a weekly basis; helped peers learn proper self-discipline techniques
  10. IB Class Treasurer: Work with advisors and board members to coordinate community-based projects; handle all finances for the purchasing of any equipment necessary

Will be tying some of these activities to my interest in politics in my essays.

Honors: School doesn’t offer many?: AP Scholar, NHS, CSF, NAHS, SHS, DELE (signed by the Spanish Embassy); Letter of Recognition from State of California & City for my service as Student Liaison (will be receiving in the next month or two); Honor Roll every semester; ISA & Seal of Biliteracy; not sure what else, I may have one or two more to put but nothing insane like I won the Presidency for the country at age 17.

Schools: Ivies (Harvard, Yale, Princeton REA, Penn); UC’s (Berkeley, UCLA, Davis); UMichigan (EA); Oregon Clark Honor’s College (EA); Trinity College, Northwestern, WashU, Duke, Rochester, GW, American, Tulane, Rice?

Essays: Not the BEST essays anyone has EVER laid their eyes on, but I think they speak about me and will be very good. My Common App essay goes into detail about my fascination with politics and how it inspires me, blah blah blah.

Letters of Rec: One from APUSH & MUN teacher (very good), one from APES teacher (pretty good), one from work manager (STELLAR. He said he was going to write me one of the best letters of recommendation a college has ever seen).

EXTRA: One of few students involved in the Two-Way Spanish Immersion Program since Kinder: I was bilingual by middle school, allowed me more opportunities outside of class, able to take 3rd year college level Spanish course as a senior. Will discuss this in the “Extra Information” section of the Common App & UC App

I know at least half of the schools I’m applying to are crapshoots, but based off of the information I provided, what do you think my chances are compared to the average applicant? Also, I’m not trying to brag, but I know it’s pretty necessary to get admitted, so I’m laying it all out on the table for you guys (I hate arrogant people). Thanks! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions that would help you make a decision.

2

So, even if your ‘blah blah blah’ is just being too cool for school, my suggestion is to dump that essay and write a new one.

Think about the number of essays each AdComs person reads (very big). Think what the range of material is for almost all 17 years olds (very small). A nice essay about how inspirational politics is to you will make you interchangeable with many thousands of other applicants.

You have the stats, but if you want to stand out from the other smart, hardworking, passionate, dedicated students applying to those same tippy-top schools, your essay has to stand out as if you were there, saying ‘look- here I am, you want to know more’. We all love idealistic students, but there are a lot of them. There is only one of you, and that’s what needs to come through in your essay.

3

I applied to your previous thread and I think you have pretty decent chances at most of your schools. American, GW, and Oregon are matches/near safeties based on your grades/test scores. Rochester is a low match, just because it’s getting really popular and rising in the rankings.

The other schools are reaches/low reaches just because of their acceptance rates, but pick a favorite to ED.

Add Georgetown, Tufts, and UChicago to your list too. I can see you being accepted to any combination of the 3. And if you want to consider LACs, any of the Claremonts apart from Harvey Mudd could be a fit.

Try to pare down the list to about 10 schools and research how they would be a good fit for you.

4

I guess how I wrote that came off as just me being super average. My actual essay (don’t want to go into too much detail) talks about my ability to be open-minded but also opinionated, and my ability to juggle multiple ideas in my head at the same time. Just based off of that general description, does that still seem way too bland?

5

I related this to my interest in politics but wrote it in a way that didn’t seem too boring. I think it’s pretty unique, but I would love to hear other opinions.