Chance me for these schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Background
Year: 12
Gender: Female
Demographic: Asian-American
Location: Dallas, TX
Intended Major: Biophysics (first choice), physics (second choice, some schools have biophysics as a concentration under physics as well)

Some Numbers
Unweighted GPA: 4.00/4.00
Weighted GPA: 5.2760/6.0000
Class rank: 17/391
SAT: Taken on October 1, will update with scores later.
ACT: 34, retesting October 22 unless SAT seems good.
Physics Subject Test: 760
Math II Subject Test: 740
Finances: My parents said they’ll be able to pay for the higher end tuition.

Notes: I’m not good at like testing in general, though, I do try hard and study, my scores tend to not be the best. It’s what I have, though, and anyways, I do not have time to retake the subject tests. Weighted GPA is kind of low because I took a lot of specialized classes (like Pathophysiology), which are difficult but not weighted.

Current Classes
AP Physics C, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics, AP Economics (first semester), AP Government (second semester), AP English Literature, and Independent Study & Mentorship (ISM).

Notes: I am also taking two off-periods because I am in ISM. The class is a research-based class in which students find mentors who are working in their chosen field of study. Most of the students in the program must take off periods in order to have time to meet up with their mentors and get first hand experience to see what their jobs are really like at their place of work, as most professionals would not be working or have time to meet on weekends or after school. While working with a mentor, the student also develops a final product to contribute to their field of study. For an example, a person in this class in a previous year developed a way to make roller coasters safer for his engineering study. My topic of study is nutrition and dietetics, as I want to be a dietitian in the future. Anyhow, I heard from my school that this class looks good for colleges and opens a lot of job opportunities straight out of college. However, I am worried about those two free periods affecting my chances.

Past AP & CTE Classes
AP Maths: Calculus BC (11)
AP English: English Language (11)
AP Social Studies: Human Geography (9), World History (10), Art History (10), US History (11)
CTE: Medical Terminology (9), Anatomy & Physiology (10), Pathophysiology (11)

Awards
AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist

Extracurriculars and Others
Dance: I have danced for around six years. I added this to my application because I wrote my essay on dance. I used to do only hip hop, but since then I’ve expanded to Modern, Contemporary, and Ballroom as well. I do not do competition.
Science Olympiad: Team Manager.
UNICEF: Event Planner.
HOSA: Added because I’ve participated since freshman year despite the fact that I’m not an officer.
Volunteering: I’ve been apart of the volunteering club, Key Club, since its inception, and NHS.

Note: I know they’re not very good. Can’t do much about it now, though.

Schools of Interest
Safeties: UT Dallas (automatic admission), UT Austin (automatic admission), Texas A&M (automatic admission) SMU, Collin College (required to apply to)
Match: UCLA (high match), Emory (high match). I haven’t found many matches. Really need help on this.
Reach: UT Austin Honors Program, Johns Hopkins University (ED), Rice University, Barnard College

I’m still looking for more colleges. Please suggest some!

2

It is my opinion a higher ACT will not do anything to your application. Despite your generic ECs, you have a very strong app. So much of your chances will depend on how you write your app; I think that if you can write a really good essay you can plan on success at some top universities (Barnard, rice, JHU). Otherwise, I think those are certainly reaches. UCLA and Emory seem like matches but are definitely reasonable if you write your apps well. Best of luck.

3

Congratulations on your GPA and test scores. I think the only thing that might hold you back from Rice is that you don’t have any high level leadership or awards. I would call Rice a high reach.

It seems like there isn’t much difference in the education quality of UCLA and UT-Austin. Is there a particular major that you are interested in at UCLA? If the majors are about the same at both schools, then the price increase for UCLA may not be worth it.

You said you are NMSF, and I’m guessing you have the credentials to make NMF. Be sure to read the message boards for easy scholarships that are available for NMF. You would get merit awards from UT Dallas and Texas A&M. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/

4

Congrats on UT Austin.

Your hardest admit will be Rice.

5

How easy is ap environmental, I’m in cp physics rn but was thinking of taking environmental

6

If you’re fine with going to the Northeast, I would definitely recommend an Ivy League like Cornell. You definitely have a chance with their Arts and Sciences.
I’ll have to agree with the others, Rice is a hard admit, they rejected me pretty hard when I was a senior.

7

What about USC as a match/high match?

8

Thank you everyone for your input!

@Geraldconyer: APES is pretty hard at my school mostly because it’s very time consuming and all the work is on you. In class, we do labs and lab reports, but for the test, we have to read the required units in the chapters on our own. I personal prefer physics, but that’s just me.

9

@ScienceGirlMom: Thank you!

UCLA has a biophysics major; UT Austin does not.