Chance Me for Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Johns Hopkins, etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi! I am a rising HS senior in the class of 2021. White female from large middle class family in Denver CO. I would love some info about my chances for upper echelon schools (i.e.Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Johns Hopkins, etc.) and subsequent merit scholarships.

I plan to go for Chemistry or Biochemisty with the intent to pursue Medical Laboratory Science later on. I am in the IB Diploma program (more below).

Stats:
GPA (unweighted): 4.0
GPA (weighted): 4.85
PSAT: 1480
No SAT bc of Covid-19
ACT composite: 35
ACT Writing/Grammar: 35
ACT Math: 33
ACT Reading: 35
ACT Science: 35
No ACT Essay
Class Rank: Top 1% out of 300+ students

AP HuG: 5/5
AP European History: 5/5

IB Psych SL: 5/7
IB Spanish SL: 6/7
Will test IB Math AI SL, History HL, English Lang A HL, and Chem HL next may.

I have been in all honors classes through all of highschool and have had straight A’s since 7th grade (5 yrs).

Honors:
Honor roll - 3 yrs
Academic Awards in Spanish, Science, and AP Euro
National Honor Society
State and Regional Competitive Gymnast (through 2017) inc. 5+ State Championship wins
Varsity Diving Letter x2
Member of my schools Wind Ensemble (Highest audition based band group)
Top 1% of class for 3 yrs

Volunteering:
600+ volunteer hours
Hospital ambassador at RMHC pediatrics
Work in PICU, Peds, and Oncology wards
Volunteer at church with kids programming
Help run teen programming and plan events
Volunteer gymnastics coach (9th grade)
Created non-profit dog treat business (as part of IB CAS) to donate $ to needy shelters in the area

Work Experience:
Gymnastics Team Coach - Ages 5-14 (2018-Present)
Babysitting All Ages(2015-Present)
Market and run a non-profit

I would love to hear my chances of admission, as well as, merit scholarship opportunities bc paying for college is a big worry of mine.

Thanks so much!!!

2

No one can really evaluate your chances other than to say you look competitive. These schools all have very competitive applicants and corresponding low admit rates.

Most top schools do not award merit scholarships but award financial aid on the basis of need. Use their net price costing tools to see what it would cost you.

3

California does offer merit scholarships, but I believe they are for in-state students only. Not sure about that though. The others on your list don’t offer merit scholarships. You might be able to get NMS if you qualify, but that will be a small amount ($2K).

Your grades and scores are fine. I’m a little curious about your interest in lab science. This is typically an associates level degree. Are you interested in ultimately becoming a pathologist or head of a diagnostic lab? Or are you more interested in being a scientist/technician for a diagnostic lab? Neither of these require a graduate degree. The heads of most of the big diagnostic labs, and also in hospitals are pathologists (require an MD degree).

4

The UCs are full fees for nonresidents- $65k per year. This is because the UC’s are public universities, funded, in part, by California taxpayers.

The only way to get some funding would be through being a recruited athlete, and even then, this is not a guarantee because with Covid, funds won’t be available.

For merit, assume $2k per year-they just don’t have the money.