Chance me for UCs, OOS schools! Will chance back

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographic Info:
Gender+Ethnicity: Asian Female
School Type: Competitive public in CA
Rank: N/A (I know I mentioned in some of my previous threads my approximate percentile rank, but since my class is significantly smaller than the past five graduating classes, the percentiles will most likely change)
Income Bracket: High Middle (I won’t need Financial Aid)
Hooks: None

Number time:
GPA: 3.75 UW/4.1 W
UC GPA (unweighted/capped weighted/fully weighted): 3.59/3.95/4.14 (ik, it sucks.)
SAT (retaking for 2300+ superscore in November)
First sitting: 2140 (690CR/800M/650W/9E)
Second sitting: 2210 (680 CR/800 M/730W/10E)
Superscore: 2220 (same writing and math, but 690 CR)
ACT: considering taking in September
SAT 2 Subjects (retaking in October for 800s in both): Math 2 (June 2015) and Chem (June 2014): BOTH 770

Course Load and Grades: (AP scores marked next to appropriate classes, classes with asterisk=a-g approved UC courses 10-11 grade; school restricts the number of AP and honors underclassmen are allowed to take)
Freshman:
Bio (A/A)
Geometry (A/A)
Chinese Honors (A/A)
Business (B/A)
Lit 9 (A/A)
Gym (A/A)
Orchestra (A/A)
Sophomore: (I suffered a really bad depression this year, which explains my pitifully low grades.)
Lit 10* (B/A)
World History* (B/A)
AP Chinese* (A/B/5)
Chem Honors* (B/B)
Alg 2/Trig* (B/B)
Dance* (A/A)
Business 2 (A/A)
Junior: (significant improvement, if it even counts).
Teacher’s Aid (A/A)
Business 3* (A/A)
Lit Honors* (A/A/took APLAC for this class: 4)
APUSH* (B/A/5)
AP Chem* (A/A/5)
Pre-Calc H* (B/A)
Planned Senior: (Note changes, this is as it’s planned out on the school’s registar)
AP Bio (switching to AP Physics 1 asap)
AP Calc AB (switching to BC if there is space, I made a mistake putting down AB…)
AP Gov (semester only)
AP Econ (semester only)
AP Lit
Lab Aide (I would take another science here, but my school does not allow double enrollment)
Will try to take Organic Chem at a local CC for dual enrollment

ECs and Awards:
DECA(1 year): won 1 6th place awards at regionals 2013, state competitor 2013
Volunteering(all years): have around 50 hours, will get around 100 when summer ends. I volunteer for fundraisers, school events, and this summer I’m volunteering at a sports camp for children with disabilities
Science Olympiad(1 year): Have 3 gold medals (both regionals and invitationals) and 1 silver medal (state level). To become VP of Events (basically in charge of comps) the coming year
Chemistry Olympiad (1 year): was top 2 in my school, but couldn’t go on because of conflicts with SciOly States and regional cutoffs. Plan to take it again next year.
Member of Chinese Honor Society
Self-Employed tutor for chem kids, write tests and help out. ~20 undocumented hours
AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor

Intended Major: Chemistry/Undeclared (based on school)

And now that that’s over, let’s start with schools! Sorry for the long post! Schools: all UCs bar SF, Merced, Riverside, CMU, NYU, Scripps (ED1?), HMC (ED2?), MIT (idk maybe. if it’s not out of reach…), Cornell, Vanderbilt, SCU (EA), Cal Poly SLO, SJSU, Occidental, USC (legacy), UT Austin, University of Washington.

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Hey I think you have a very solid chance at most of your schools! The only ones that may pose a difficulty are Vandy, Cornell, MIT (obviously), and possibly NYU. You retaking your SAT score for a 2300+ superscore would be a great boost to your chances.

Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1790920-could-i-possibly-be-a-future-sternie-at-nyu.html#latest

3

academics seem fine, even with the Bs. Taking the SAT 3 times might seem a little too much- at least that’s what I’m told. Maybe not. As for ECs, they look good, centered around debate/Olympiads.

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bummp. I also forgot to add a few ECs. I have music which I have done for 10 years, but I quit my sophomore year. I played three instruments. I also ran distance for track and played tennis for my school. My friends and I also started a club of sorts cleaning up our town.
One question that must be answered: If I get amazing teacher recs, nail my interview, and write good essays, is MIT out of reach for me?

5

bump! please help. I know I’m not the perfect student, but I still need to drop schools from my list if they are out of my reach. I would really appreciate it.

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I think MIT would be a high reach for you from looking at your profile so you shouldn’t be surprised if you end up being rejected. Simple because a lot of other Asian applicants that do olympiads and music etc. have higher standardized test scores AND have achieved numerous accolades in competitions, so I don’t really see how you’d stand out among the highly qualified pool of Asian applicants to MIT. You should be fine for the UC’s (I reckon you have a shot at UCLA, UC Berkeley) and Cornell as well (lower chances, but still realistic) if you write good essays, nail the interview etc. However, if you don’t mind spending a couple of hundred dollars on application fees, apply to MIT anyways as your reach school and who knows, maybe your personality will appeal to admission officers. Good luck

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@blu5959 thanks! Yeah if I get rejected from MIT, it’s really not a problem. The only thing I was looking for for my reach schools is whether or not they were out of reach. I might apply there as a gigantic (but not impossible) reach, but I’m still deciding.

8

Bump

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I think you have a solid shot at all the UCs and your OOS schools too! especially if you get that 2300 super score! the only reaches would be the ivy leagues and MIT as always! otherwise your resume is impressive!

chance me back? :slight_smile: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18637305#Comment_18637305

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I think you have a really good chance of getting into your schools! You show really great growth in your grades, even with the slight drop in your sophomore year. The fact that you are a self employed tutor will show that you are independent, and will differ from the majority of lazy kids who are applying and who have never held a job. The only thing is that all of your Chinese language stuff will not seem as impressive, because it looks like you already knew the language before highschool (giving you an advantage). It is great that you are very involved in your country also through volunteering! The other thing is that you have little to no leadership positions or positions at all in school activities (such as sports, clubs, fine arts). People want to see that you are branching out to your school and that you are unique. Schools get thousands of apps that show that a person is smart and has wonderful SAT or ACT scores. They want people who stand out. However, you never know what a school wants and they will always look at the app as a whole. I think you still have a chance :slight_smile: good luck

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@nimbooda14 Haha it’s nice to know that more than one person believes that MIT isn’t out of my reach (very large stretch, but still). Thanks for your input!
@sbsurfer99 Thanks for your input! Unfortunately, my language situation is out of my control, my dad forced me to take Chinese because HE could not handle the risk of me getting a bad grade in Spanish (yes. this was his concern.). Regardless, Chinese was the only Honors course I could take in my freshman year, so that was a nice trade off.

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Your unweighted GPA is a little low and your UC GPA is a little low (like mine haha) but with your SATs and extracurriculars you might be able to cover up the slight slip in GPA. I’d say you’re a low reach for UCB and UCLA, high match for UCSD/Davis, and match for UCSD. Not sure about the other universities for the most part, but I’d say cornell is a reach unless you prove yourself in some of your ECs or make your essays very good. Chance back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1791315-chance-me-johns-hopkins-ed-cornell-ucla-ucsd-ucd-ucsb-uci-emory-st-louis-washington-duke.html#latest

13

bump. removed UT Austin and Vanderbilt from my list. Need more opinions regarding my reach schools (esp HMC and MIT, if it’s not out of reach).

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bump

15

bumping this with some additional info. my (virtually) final school list (with majors!) stands like this:
UCB (CoC, Chemistry. you know, for the lels)
UCLA (L&S Chemistry)
UCSD (Chem)
UCD (see above)
UCSB (you guessed it)
UCI (yep.)
UCSC (no questions here)
USC (legacy+ Chem/Accounting)
UT Austin (Chemistry at Natural Science, Chemical Engineering at Cockerell)
Universtity of Washington (app hasn’t opened yet)
Occidental (may remove)
NYU (Stern debate with my dad, at a standstill)
CMC (undeclared)
Scripps (undeclared)
SJSU and Cal Poly SLO (app hasn’t opened yet)
Cornell (undeclared)
SCU (EA+Business Admin)
Harvey Mudd (Chemistry/Undeclared)

ED debate is open between HMC and Scripps. I took a college Physics class (non-UC approved) and received a B. I could’ve received an A, but due to last minute circumstances out of my control, that couldn’t happen. I will take Calc BC for the coming school year.