Chance Me! LACs, Tufts, Wash U, Pomona, UCs

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, I’m a rising senior who is unsure about where I stand. I’m applying to mostly reach schools (top ranked and very competitive) and I consider myself a fairly qualified applicant; however, I’m not sure whether I’m overshooting with my schools. Please be as brutal and honest as possible; I don’t want to get my hopes up by being unrealistic. Furthermore, I’m applying as premed/bio major but as an Asian with an average GPA/ECs and no distinct “edge” or “package” as well as no science extracurriculars, I’m concerned about how to stand out or whether I give off a negative impression in the applicant pool. I would appreciate any tips/advice or feedback at all. Thank you!

Chinese American female from a very average/mid range public school (most students go to community college) in Northern California
GPA: 3.9 UW, 4.2 W
Rank: top 10th decile rank (my school doesn’t rank numerically)
SAT: 1580 (800 Math, 780 English)
APs: AP Euro 5, APES 5, APUSH 5, AP Calc AB 5, AP Lang 5, AP Biology 4
SAT Subject Tests: Math II 780, will be taking Biology and Lit (confident in 750+ in both)
Activities: President of Model UN Club, Secretary/founding member of Satire Journalism Club, varsity badminton (4 yrs), studio art and illustration for 8+ yrs (placed in competitions and will be submitting supplemental portfolio), volunteer at Samaritan House free medical clinic, classical piano for 11+ yrs, various tutoring activities
Awards: National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar w Distinction, Presidential Volunteer Service Award Gold (500+ hrs service), California Scholarship Federation (4 yrs), Gifted and Talented Education (9 yrs)
Other: Volunteer English Teacher in Taiwan for underprivileged youth (summer 2017), interned at preclinical research company (summer 2018), member of Biotech program (200+ hours of lab experience + will be conducting a year long independent biotech research project this year), organizer of local HS MUN conference
Essay: describes my ethical dilemma and thought process over my internship at a company which practices animal testing (controversial topic); I personally think this is a pretty unique and interesting essay topic + demonstrates my good qualities such as taking initiative and being able to consider multiple perspectives
Rec Letters: APUSH teacher who only somewhat knows me but writes nice letters for everyone, Biotech teacher who likes me and helped me get my internship, Internship mentor who basically told me to write my own letter and slap his name on it

SCHOOLS
Major: Biology (premed track)
Dream: Brown, Columbia, Pomona
Reach: Tufts (ED), Wash U, Northwestern, Rice, Vassar, Swarthmore, Emory
Target: Scripps, Occidental, Whitman
UCs: Cal, LA, Davis, San Diego, Irvine
Safety: TBD

2

A 3.9 unweighted is average? Only on CC. Don’t give the impression of the humble brag.

There is nothing wrong with your stats/ECs. You’re a viable candidate. Differentiate yourself from the multitude of other Asian candidates with your essays.

Your target schools are actually matches.

3

@Hamurtle “target” and “match” schools are the same thing, just different words :slight_smile: (at least I’m pretty sure…)

If you do plan on applying to Tufts ED, make sure you impress them with your essays!! Tufts definitely likes to see creative responses to their supplements—pretty sure I got in because of those (fyi I had pretty average stats for Tufts, 4.0 GPA and 34 ACT), so make sure your personal voice/story shines in those. I think intelligent humor can go a long way in college application essays, but obviously if you’re not the funny type don’t try to be!

If Tufts doesn’t work out, as long as you have some pretty memorable essays, I could see you getting into some of your reach schools and maybe one of your “dream” schools. Goood luck!! And maybe I’ll see you on the hill come your freshman year :slight_smile:

4

And since WashU, Emory, and Rice are on your list, include Vanderbilt and Johns Hopkins as well, although that would be too many reaches.

I would target some of the so-called ‘Southern Ivies’ as not that many Asians apply relative to the quality of the schools. Emory and Vandy should definitely be schools on your radar.

5

Thank you! I apologize; I wasn’t trying to humble brag at all. It’s just that among other Asian American premed students applying to similarly competitive schools, it’s pretty common to see 4.0 GPAs. Also, by matches, do you mean safety? I was under the impression that target and match schools were the same thing.

6

And watch out for Tufts-Tufts syndrome and all that jazz. Your stats may give a Tufts adcom ideas that you’re using the school as a backup. Even if you are considering the land of Jumbo ED.

7

A safety is a school that you will be easily accepted to and is affordable financially.

8

Thank you @Tufts2021! I hope to see you at Tufts as well :slight_smile: And @Hamurtle I have heard about the Tufts syndrome, which I’ve been fairly worried about. Although Tufts is definitely my top choice and I’m even EDing to demonstrate this, is this still not enough for adcom? Do you have any tips or advice on how I can even further make myself a more viable Tufts candidate? Thank you!

9

ED shows enough interest so maybe you will be lucky.

WashU will be implementing ED2 this year. If the school is on your radar ED to Tufts and ED2 to WashU.

10

Pretty sure Tufts syndrome is only still a thing here on CC. Many of my classmates received perfect scores on their standardized tests and had perfect high school GPAs. I think that sometimes high stats kids don’t get into Tufts not because they likely won’t attend, but because admissions didn’t see them as a good fit. Tufts definitely tries to craft a unique and diverse student body through its application, so make sure to make yourself stand out!

11

You are a competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are great. Write amazing essays and you could get accepted to any of these schools