Chance me for Vandy ED

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vanderbilt University
1

Hi all,
I am currently a junior at a private high school in san francisco, and am looking to ED to Vandy, CMU, or WashU next november. I am in the IB and take HL Chem, HL Bio, and HL Lang and Lit. I have outstanding ECs and a good SAT, with a GPA on the lower end. Chance me:
Grades/Curriculum:
GPA: 3.55/4.00 UW
SAT: 1520
Bilingual IB Diploma: HL Chem, HL Bio, HL Lang and Lit, SL Math, SL French lang and lit, TOK, SL French Geo.
3.8/4.0 for all STEM courses
3.75/4.0 at Cornell Summer undergrad course

  • Can speak chinese, french, english (obviously), farsi (persian).
  • Major: biology
    Hooks: Second generation to attend college, Type 1 diabetic
    idk if those are considered hooks

ECs:
Undergrad Internship working with actual undergrad students at Northwestern University. Only 1-3 High school students get accepted to this program.

  • Work in real labs
  • 50 day lab
  • Publish paper by the end of 50 days.
  • Very prestigious research program

Global Issues Network Conference (GIN Conference) 10, 11

  • Presented to 200 students on Infectious diseases and volunteered for organization of the event.
  • Conducted a Q&A workshop on the presentation along with interactive activities.

Songs for Senegal Fund Raising Event (Sister School in Africa – Senegal) 9, 10, 11

  • Helped raised funds for sister school in Africa - Senegal

Model United Nations (BMUN) Conference - Berkeley 10, 11

  • Participated as a delegate, and was assigned a country to represent during the simulation.
  • Conducted research prior to the event and formulated positions before debating with fellow delegates.
  • Served for Sudan for Legal Rights committee (10th)
  • Served for Bahrain in the Legal Rights committee (11th)
  • Won research award for my country, first time in my high school’s history and in a committee of over 300 students, only 10 were awarded.

One Act Festival, Actor – International High school 10, 11

  • Performed leading and support role in one student-written and produced one-act play:
    The Green Hill, Along for the ride
  • Rehearsed weekly, assist with lighting and technical production, help with promotion

Athletics:

Varsity Tennis, 9, 10, 11

  • Placed 2nd in league and advanced to regionals
  • Recipient of Regional Athletic Director Award of Excellence (9th.)
  • Recipient of Most Improved Player Award (9th.)
    Bay Club, Tennis
  • USTA Junior Tennis Summer League -2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Fresno Team Tennis League Champion winner – 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
  • Gar Glenney Cup State Champion winner – 2012, 2013, 2014
  • Featured in Tennis Magazine and local Newspaper- 2012, 2013, 2014
  • USTA Ranked top 270 in Norcal – Boys 16 and under

Community Service and Involvement:

Type One Advocates (TOA) Nov, 2016
www.typeoneadvocates.org

  • Founded Type One Advocates, a non-profit organization (501c), raising awareness for Type One Diabetes in the Bay Area. By working with other non-profit organizations such as JDRF and CarbDM, Type One Advocates is able to educate, create awareness, mentor newly diagnosed children, educate their families, and raise money help build a striving community.
  • Facebook Followers: 2,300
  • Raised $2,000+ for diabetes research.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) 9, 10, 11

  • Youth Advocacy Leader for Children's Congress (JDRF), raised awareness about Type 1 Diabetes, mentoring program volunteer , “One Walk” Team leader and walker, raised over $1,000 for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (10th)

Retirement Homes (7, 8, 9,10)

  • Played the Piano for Retirement Homes on Sundays and special occasions

High school Admission Team, Admission Host

  • Serve as a student host for visiting students, give tours of the school for prospective students

Music:

  • National Guild Music Diploma candidate – Expected Graduation Date from Music
    School – June 2017)
  • National Guild Piano Certificate – 2008 through 2016
  • US Open Piano Competition 2nd place winner - 2013

Application Development:

  • Developing an application for Type 1 Diabetes management, blood sugar tracking, insulin dosing, carb counting, foot steps, and other important supplementary features.

In addition, I am a type one diabetic myself and had medical issues my first semester of junior year, resulting in my GPA to drop, but my principal assured me that a professional letter would be written to explain the drop. Besides that, I had a respectable sophomore and freshman year. I will also visit the school this summer will have my interview

2

your gpa is the only thing holding you back. At CMU, you will benefit the most because they view STEM gpa higher than overall gpa.

But your chances will experience the greatest increase at Vandy

3

@kjake2000 so do you think I have a better shot at vandy than all schools I listed?

4

bump

5

ECs look good. GPA not as good, but that all depends on class rank and context; if your school is super competitive/a pipeline to the ivies, then a lower GPA/class rank will be considered more favorably. It’s also good that your principal is willing to write a letter to explain the drop, which could mean a lot. Test scores are fine for EDI but won’t get you in or anything, if you didn’t really prep much/think you could jump up scores you would have time for a retake in the summer/early fall, but if you’ve already worked hard on it and reached the point of diminishing marginal returns I wouldn’t worry about it.

I’d say you have a reasonable shot at EDI. However, it will come down to how the adcoms subjectively interpret everything in their holistic review (e.g. whether the other stuff you bring to the table outweighs a lower GPA) which is hard to predict. From here, definitely work on getting good letters of recommendation and writing good essays.

6

I would say your best shot would be at Vandy.

7

@fdgjfg Thanks for your input, I am retaking the SAT this saturday, hoping for 1550+. The reason my GPA is low is because of my chinese grades in freshman year (3rd language). Throughout HS, I have been getting Straight As and A+ in sciences though and our school is very competitive (sent 4 to harvard, 3 to MIT, 2 to Columbia, 2 to Penn, etc this year out of 90 students) and doesnt have ranks. I have excellent in school colelge counselors, and an excellent out of school college counselor that charges money, and helps kids get into ivies (she will help with my essays). My recommendations are 10/10 and i am getting one from a northwestern university researcher which is probs a 11/10

8

@xfewds I agree with the consensus that Vandy ED1 is your best option. What do you expect your GPA to be by time you apply?

9

@VANDEMORY1342 3.68-3.7 I usually Have a 3.8-3.9 GPA every semester, just one semester ruined my GPA unfortunately due to medical issues.

10

My weighted GPA (if it even matters) is 4.8

11

bump + I am not applying for financial aid, Income bracket is 400k+