Chance me... low on EC's. Don't know what to do. Time running out.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey all. I'll just jump straight to the point:</p>

<p>I'm a rising junior. I go to a competitive high school and a few of our school's students (this year's seniors and former students) have gotten into prestigious schools like UChicago, MIT, Harvard, and Yale (mainly the top 10 ones). I'm not really sure where I want to go to myself, but I'd like to have as many options as possible. I'm also aware that kids from my school getting into those schools are not a basis for my acceptance, but it generally fits such a pattern. Anyways, here are my stats:</p>

<p>Basic academic stoofs:
-Rank: 4th
-GPA: 4.0 (subject to change... awaiting on a single final exam score)
-SAT: None. But I took the PSAT sophomore year (with very minimal effort) and scored on the 97th percentile for CR, 98th for writing and math (idk if these three subjects are exactly on par with what's actually on the PSATs, but you get the drift).
-I go to a magnet school and have duel-enrolled in the two hardest programs (one of which is IB).</p>

<p>AP Classes taken so far: 7 (expecting 5s, but maybe one or two 4's... wasn't adequately prepared this year...) - world, calc ab, stats, lang, APHG, phys b, gov't. I also have a few college courses taken at a nearby 'state' college under my belt (duel enrollment program).</p>

<p>SAT II scores:
- Math II: 790 (LOL... terrible)
- Physics: awaiting my results!</p>

<p>Junior Schedule:
-IB History
-IB Chemistry
-AP CS
-AP Phys C
-Calc 2/3 (basically BC but a bit more)
-AP Lit
-Spanish III
-IB TOK</p>

<p>Other:
-Ethnicity: ASIAN (yeah you've heard this so many freakin times)
-Gender: MALE (^)</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>... = intent to continue throughout HS</p>

<p>-Part of MAO (9,10, ...) - a math honor society in case you guys aren't familiar. Treasurer for 11th grade year. Placed in a few regional tournaments, but nothing big. Placed in one state thing with a team (stats).
-Part of Korean Club (but it's beginning to disintegrate, and was mostly just a random thing for fun, so it's something I probably won't mention)
-Part of the Key Club (10, ...)
-Part of Debate team (9, 10, ?). Nothing much to show for it though, other than those typical NFL point-based awards.
-Part of FBLA (10, ...). Served/Serving treasurer for both years.
-Just began the Congressional Awards a few months ago.. Not very far into it though :/
-Part of an anti-bullying club at my school (10,...)
-Part of SECME (10, ...) - definitely going to participate in more the next year.
-Part of an environmental club (10, ...) - I've participated in beach clean ups and the like.
-Part of NHS (10/11, ...). But who isn't on these forums?
-Planning to start a tutoring-based club for the next year (see, my school teaches really hard subjects and we just don't have teachers that are adequate enough to be teaching in a manner the underclassmen would understand... so it's kind of a support group if you will).
-I've been playing piano for several years, but neigh, I'm merely intermediate in my skill level (have gotten superior rankings before though) (9, 10, ...)
-Only sport: Tae Kwon Do (lol). I've done it for several years. 2nd degree black. I have gotten 1st/2nd place at state and national tournaments.</p>

<p>Community service:
- Roughly 140... I also HAVE to do an extra 150 by the time I graduate for the IB diploma, so I'm expecting that number to rise.</p>

<p>The moral of the story is... I just feel like another every-day applicant. I have no really outstanding awards to show for anything though. Also... I'm not exactly sure what to put on my future resume (like if I'd really want to include all these because it probably won't appear as if it's under the 'depth not breadth' category)... and I kind of have a feeling that what I'm doing isn't enough to make me stand out as a great applicant. I refuse to do any other sports - I feel like I'm covered there... and regardless, I'm not the footballsy type. And I really don't want to do anything cliche like volunteering at a hospital because that's what most my other classmates are doing and then I wouldn't really feel that original. I feel I'd write my college essays pretty darn tootin' well though if that's of any help.</p>

<p>I'm not asking to get into Harvard (wayyy to smart for me) or anything, but I have schools like MIT and Yale in my sights (not that great a disparity, but yeah)...</p>

<p>It was like 3:00 in the morning. Forgive me if I'm a bit incoherent...</p>

<p>LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL</p>

<p>I'm so sorry. I promised myself I'd never stoop down to this and I'm pretty sure you've seen the word "Asian" pop up so many times...</p>

<p>Also: Sorry if I come off as a bit arrogant. I really don't like to show off or anything... really I'm quite modest (lol an irony?).</p>

<p>sigh...</p>

2

<p>Its not that you’re Asian and consider yourself average. It’s what you do with your time. And reading this shows breadth not depth. I see many clubs, (Ivys want to see what you will contribute to their school. They often turn to sports as a first measure of this. Are you competing on a high school Tae Kwon Do team?). You say you don’t want to do anything cliche but this just screams cliche. Your GPA is fine but I need to see a dew more test scores. If you can figure out what makes you unique, because I can’t, than you have a low chance of getting in. </p>

<p>What’s your desired major, cause if you figure it out you should do ECs that pertain to that. Right now I can’t tell what you want to do. And footballsy? The point is that they are contributing to their school, for which your club involvement certainly fits the bill</p>

<p>Chance me!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1155428-chance-me-hypsm.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1155428-chance-me-hypsm.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Believe me when I say that a lot of my EC involvements are deep… it’s just that I’d prefer not to get into the details.</p>

<p>But yeah, I see where you’re coming from.</p>

<p>Intended major is probably biology or biomedical engineering. Somewhere round there.</p>

<p>But more specific advice on what I can do to change this, if you can?</p>

<p>And, with only two more years left to go, is it too late to improve on my resume?</p>

4

<p>Can’t edit first post for some reason, but here’s more detail:</p>

<p>-MAO. I love this club. I really love math, and it does sound all cliche and nerdzilike but I do. I’ve practically gone to all their meetings. I’ve been at every regional and state competition since I’ve joined, and, being the largest club on campus, my election as treasurer was no simple feat! I’ve placed 8th place in two statistics individual competitions, while also placing 2nd and 3rd with the team at regionals. 6th at states. I’ve also placed 2nd and 5th in precalc my freshman year.
-Key Club. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t as active in this as I should’ve been this year, but that’ll all change. I’ve mostly done some volunteer work at a place called ‘Quantum House’ where hospital patients without the financial ability could stay in, in place of paying to stay at a hospital and whatnot. I’ve also make PB sandwiches for the homeless :stuck_out_tongue: and I’ve participated in a fund-raiser during Halloween for UNICEF.
-Debate. I’ve gone to multiple tournaments and even went to a debate camp, but this was just not my year for debate. I do PF with my partner and have noticed significant results since debate camp, but just haven’t been able to strike any luck with placing (our district has REALLY SMART kids that win nationally A LOTS). Definitely going to further involvement in this club next year. NFL-wise in points, I have a degree of honor.
-FBLA. Our school used to have this club, but it was discontinued around 3~4 years ago. Myself and virtually 3 other students had to basically pick up this club from scratch. Its membership count is still low, but we’re giving it all we got to involve more people and get them to join. I had to create a financial spreadsheet and add funds from basically nothing as treasurer (and I’ll be treasurer next year as well). For what most people put effort into their clubs, this would be pretty involved. Also placed 2nd in business math in our state’s largest district (qualified to go to states, but I couldn’t because of APs).
-‘Anti-bullying club’ (don’t want to get into specifics). I’ve attended all their meetings and helped out in a few of their school-related activities. For example, we had a career fair at our school and I helped direct the people of various professions to their designated areas… came to school EXTRA early that day. I also participated in a 6 hour seminar in order to learn methods to prevent bullying and conflicts at our school along with other new recruits.
-Need to work on SECME. I’ve mostly neglected it this year because it mainly consisted of seniors whom ‘reserved all the rights’ to participation in competitions. But our school is known for winning 1st place nation wide several years in a row.
-‘Environmental club’. I go to weekly meetings. I’ve heard environmental conservation seminars. I’ve done one or two beach clean ups (much more in the future though…). It’s also a social thing though - which is nice.
-NHS. All members are juniors, so not much I could’ve done up to this point. Not an officer, but perhaps I’ll consider running for senior year.
-Planning to start that one club…(already included the details… could go further, but I’d rather not).
-I’ve played piano for about 6 years now, with a one year gap in between. For that reason (the gap) I couldn’t really work on my piano playing to the point where I’m all beastly asian like (like some kids I know…). However, I’ve played for seniors at a church, and have participated in fund-raisers for under-privileged children locally (which raises several thousand dollars annually), and this year, I’ve apparently been placed in this local newspaper for participating in this event (or so I’ve been told by a fellow pianist that claims to have this article), etc. etc. I’ve been in several competitions, for which I’ve all earned ‘Superior’ ratings (the highest available).
-I’ve done Tae Kwon Do ever since I moved to FL, which was in 5th grade. I’m currently a 2nd degree black belt, and have only recently been more active in competitions at the state and local level. I’ve so far earned 6 medals - 5 of which are 1st place, 1 of which is 2nd. Our dojo is reputable and for these two tournaments I’ve been in thus far, a local newspaper has done a story on us.</p>

<p>Now do you get what I’m saying? It’s kind of hard to place in events when people are as smart as the ones in my districts. I mean, these people are national finalists in what they do, and I, a mere servant boy.</p>

<p>Anyways, sorry for not being more specific earlier. I guess you were right to have assumed breadth over depth, but believe me, as far as depth goes, I’m as far in as anybody else…</p>

5

<p>You have a very good shot
Don’t worry
Continue showing your passion and commitments through your essays and establish yourself as a distinct personality. That could you set you a long way apart from the many applicants with similar stats who will apply</p>

6

<p>You are only taking 2 IB subjects. If they are standard level, then they are not particularly difficult courses themselves. The full diploma is much more rigorous. I have no experience with AP’s.</p>

<p>Your SAT 2 math score is really good, don’t worry about it.</p>

<p>I agree that most of your EC’s seem to lack depth. ‘part of’ this, ‘part of’ that etc etc. If you got first place in a national Tae Kwon Do competetion then that might be a good EC.</p>

<p>and finally, I think it is too early to start chancing. Take your SAT’s for real and come back this time next year with more concrete information.</p>

7

<p>if you have money, volunteer abroad.</p>

8

<p>@zhangvict</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice. Our school has a really rigorous course requiring certain classes for people that are in two magnet programs. But don’t worry, in the end, we’ve met all the requirements for the IB diploma.</p>

<p>@ilikepizza</p>

<p>I’m actually going on a missionary/goodwill trip to Haiti this summer for about a week. I know it’s probably been done by just about anyone who’s done these kinds of things, but I’d just like to have the experience. Anyways, the college-relatedness isn’t as big an issue to me for this trip.</p>

9

<p>Here’s also a bit more info…</p>

<p>-Placed 5th in a county wide bridge building contest
-Hook? (probably not): open heart surgery at age 4
-Intended major: Biology (or some other typical premed major)/Biomed engineering
-Reaches: Cornell, Stanford, Yale (1st choice), Brown, MIT, Tufts, Notre Dame, Rice … Don’t rage… If I don’t have a shot, just let me know pleasantly.
-Safeties: UF, Univ of Miami,… going to eventually add more to the list.</p>

10

<p>You have a very impressive list of ECs and grades/classes. Definitely take more SATII plus the SAT and/or ACT. You need to get in the top percentiles for that. However, that doesn’t seem to be too difficult for you. I would include most of your extracirculars bc they will not hurt your chances, you have good diversity in ECs. I recommend that you focus on your passions, which makes you stand out, especially when writing essays. Fortunately you have time for that. Good luck!</p>

11

<p>bump…</p>

<p>PSATs was 213 w/o studying sophomore year btdubbs.</p>

<p>Can somebody give me advice on internships or summer programs?</p>

<p>On internships, I virtually have no idea how to even start to get one anywhere. What are the steps necessary to get one??</p>

<p>Also, I’ve gotten several letters in the past for various summer programs (such as Stanford’s EPGY)… but can anyone tell me the actual benefit of participating in these when they cost so much? Or are the ones you have to apply to and the ones that are free the only worthwhile summer programs?</p>

<p>ALSO, I WILL CHANCE BACK ANYONE WHO HAS A CHANCE THREAD (but be sure to include the link in your post otherwise I will assume you do not have one).</p>

<p>Uber thanks ^^</p>

12

<p>For internships, just contact any local professors or professionals you are interested in interning with, and see what happens. Eventually one will say yes.</p>

<p>Oh and those summer programs like epgy are crap for college admissions ( but they are kinda fun). The only summer programs that are impressive are selective ones like rsi or tasp. As a general rule of thumb, free of cost = selective = impressive.</p>

13

<p>Your ECs are definitely breath not depth. By the way 213 is a good score but by no means a great one. As for the schools you’re applying to, the Ivies MIT and Stanford are all high reaches, as they are for most people, but you have a tiny shot, so you might as well apply.</p>

14

<p>^ Just a question - is that comment before or after reading my later post? I intended to keep my first post general, but seeing as how people think I’m literally doing nothing for these clubs, I decided to add more detail in a latter post…</p>

<p>which I’m kind of hoping you’ve yet to read.</p>

<p>and instead, could you tell me what to improve on? This thread’s main point is for me to get some advice from people, not (totally) discouraging opinions. If you can offer advice, then great.</p>

<p>also, I looked over my psat from last year and got a 203 (lol), but I’m pretty sure I can up that with a lot of studying this summer for junior year.</p>

<p>I’ll probably also look into internships sooner or later…</p>

15

<p>Hmm…my one really, really big thing would be to look into research internships in the biomedical sciences–try a local university or tech company. Even if they’re unpaid, research jobs give you an immense boost in college apps and apps for other summer programs. (And research mentors make fantastic supplementary letter writers too, hint hint.) I’d echo the sentiment about doing something with your summer. EPGY and JHU-CTY are perfectly fine, but they’re more about being able to pay than true merit. Free summer programs like RSI and TASP are ungodly selective, but they do look fantastic and are, more importantly, an extremely beneficial experience. (I applied to both, was rejected from the former and accepted to the latter, much to my surprise.)</p>

<p>Best of luck to you–as a fellow Asian, I do understand the insanity of college apps too.</p>

16

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1158539-chance-class-2016er-gt-princeton-stanford-public-ivys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1158539-chance-class-2016er-gt-princeton-stanford-public-ivys.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Your ECs are strong, but mostly school oriented.
If I were you, I would try and find a branch of a Children’s Heart organization, or a pediatric cardiologist to get involved with to link your child open heart surgery back full circle. I also think it would make a GREAT essay topic. Once I see your SAT Score, I could probably comment more on your actual chances. Your GPA looks good though.</p>