Chance me for T20s and others

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi! I’ll be applying to colleges next school year and I would like to get some input on my chances. Some stuff to note would be that I have an ‘extenuating circumstances’ note as I was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety in my sophomore year and I am a Canadian citizen with US permanent residence.

My intended major is Molecular Biology or Neuroscience/Neurobiology and I attend a competitive public school in New Jersey.

Stats:
Top 15% in a class of 450
UGPA: 3.89/4 WGPA: 4.41
ACT: 33 Composite: Math: 30 Science: 30 English: 35 Reading: 36 Essay: 10/12
SAT: Predicted score is 1550, taking it in June
Subject Tests: Math 2: 800 Biology (M): 800
AP Scores: World History: 4, Environmental Science: 4, Statistics: 4, English Lang: 5, US History: 5, Biology: 5, Psych: 5, English Lit: 5, Physics 1: 4
Sci Grades: AP Physics: 91%, Chemistry H: 90%, Biology H: 91%, Envi Sci: 93%, Statistics: 92%, AP Bio: 93% Precalculus: 90%, Calculus: 94%

Extras:
-12 years of competitive tennis (played USTA tournaments + had state rankings until junior year hit and I had to focus on academics and my own health)

  • entomology research internship with the Smithsonian Institute + USDA
  • 3 National Scholastic Writing Awards
  • ran my own little writing business (mostly fanfiction commissions + creative writings)
  • published editorials and articles in the local newspaper
  • run a YouTube channel for studying + health alongside a studying blog on Tumblr
  • did writing, biotechnology, and anatomy courses with Johns Hopkins’s CTY Program
  • drum major of a large marching band for 2 years and won state competitions + recognition from the state governor
  • clarinet player for 7 years + member of the wind ensemble for all four years of high school
  • Sci. Nat’l Honor Society and Eng Nat’l Honor Society member
  • 50+ volunteer hours by next year (mostly from tutoring biology and physics)
  • bilingual (English + Mandarin)
  • LGBT + Asian (big yikes lmao)
  • volunteering as an EMT next school year
  • worked in retail junior year

Recommendation Letters:
Biology + Env Sci Teacher: 9/10. We are pretty close and she’s had me as a freshman, sophomore, and a junior. I’ve earned As in her classes and she wrote my letter of rec for my Smithsonian internship
English Teacher: 10/10. My English teacher and I are at this point really good friends. We often talk about philosophy, current events, and literature at length during lunch. He also wrote a letter of rec for my internship.

Essays:
I’m fairly certain that my essays are good. Writing is one of my stronger points and I wrote about a topic that was deeply personal, unique, and captured how I changed as a person and who I became as a result of my experiences.

I’m applying to the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, McGill University, UCLA, UCB, Pitt, NYU, WashU, Northwestern, Emory, and Rutgers.

Thank you so much!

2

From just looking at your stats, you seem to be in good shape for these colleges. Of course, nothing is guaranteed so make sure you apply to a lot of safeties as well. As long as your application itself is stellar, I think you’ll be fine.

3

Can you afford all of these schools?
The UC’s do not fund non-resident students, so your costs would be $65K per year. No financial aid is given to OOS residents.

4

I can afford to go to the UCs. However, the schools I’m really aiming to get into are Canadian universities because of how low the tuition is for Canadian citizens. I’m only applying to the UCs because I liked the atmosphere and I have family that I could stay with.

5

I have no idea how Canadian schools accept students. Your stats and courses are in line for acceptances into US schools, stratified into safety, match and reaches. Get Pitt and Rutgers applications in early. The only reservation I have is regarding cost and affordability. OP indicates all of the schools are affordable.