Hello. I’m a current junior, Stanford and UPenn had always been my dream schools. I definitely have safety schools in mind, but I was just wondering if I can get some feedback on these two amazing reach schools? (FYI I def know it will be very likely for me to get a rejection letter, but I just want to increase me chances.) Thanks
Current stats:
Weighted GPA: 4.6857
Unweighted GPA: 3.8577 (my school gives 3.85 to A and 4.0 to A+)
SAT: 1500 (I will take it a second time to improve score)
Subject tests: Math2 and Biology Molecular (haven’t taken yet)
Rank: 3/449
(hopefully, this year I can improve my states through a more rigorous courseload)
AP: (15 AP in total if everything goes expected)
Freshman: not allowed
Sophomore: APUSH, AP Seminar
Junior: AP Research, AP Calc AB, AP World, AP Language, AP Statistics, AP Physics
Senior: AP Calc BC, AP Environmental Science, AP Economics, AP Psychology, AP Literature, AP Physics II, AP Spanish
Community college courses: Statistics, Sociology, Macroeconomics, Human Bio (possibly take more as school year goes on?)
Extracurriculars: (just going to list the 10 apps that im very involved in)
Boston Alliance for Climate Education, National Action Fellowship, Action Youth Leader (advocate to divest pensions from fossil fuels)
Science National Honor Society, Co-Founder and Vice President (constructed gardens)
Sierra Club, Sierra Student Coalition Climate Justice League, SSC community organizer (campaign renewable energy economy)
The Student Conservation Association, SCA National Crews, Trail Corps and Conservation, Intern (trip/camp into wild)
Relay for Life, signature fundraiser for American Cancer Society, RFL President (fundraise for ACS)
Bioinformatics Inquiry through Sequencing at Tufts University (present research)
BioBuilder Educational Foundation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Intern (more research)
Sunrise Movement Climate Change, campaign activist, recruiter (demand refusal on oil)
Interact Rotary International service club, President (food drives)
Culture Connection Club, Co-Founder and President, affiliated with non-profit organization Chinese Culture Connection (help fund CCC afterschool program, assist election campaign)
So here ya go. Would honestly love some feedback. Although I’m only a junior, college is honestly just right around the corner, soooo yeah. :))))) Feedback would be very much appreciated. Thank you!!!
Too many ECs this inherently means they lack depth. Your 3.85 will probably be recast as 4.0 by top colleges. Great rigor on your course work. It will boil down to essays. I’d say your Penn chances are very good, Stanford though it’s hard to say
Aside from your academic accomplishments what do you do for fun? What hobbies are you passionate about?
Colleges are looking for students that are not just academically strong but those who will be engaged in personal interests or involved in the college community and utilize the resources available on campus. Did you participate in any sports or other hobbies in high school?
@Wje9164be Thank you for your feedback, really appreciate it. and Yeah, I get what you mean. I spent the majority of my time on my top 3 EC, since they require a lot more focus (planning events, public speaking and leading them). However, I was also very involved in the others as well but I did not devote as much as time as the other three. Throughout all my 10 EC I did not list them in any specific order, but I would like to say I was definitely passionate in all of the things I was in. I did them all for my own interest, in which i devoted a lot of time and effort in. But yes, I do get how you mean how it some activities may lack depth because I did not spend my time equally on all of them. But, I may be cutting some down, such as the ones that I was least involved in out of the 10. :))))) Sorry if I sound a bit aggressive lol, I’m not haha. Really appreciate it.
@raclut Thank you for your feedback. My major activities were surrounding around science, since the subject itself always fascinated me. I enjoy doing activities surrounding big oil, global warming, cancer and gardening. For my ECs, I thought it was rather apparent on that. And no, I’ve never done sports in high school, really not that athletic and interested nor good at it haha Throughout my ECs, I just thought my interest in things was rather apparent because throughout my titles, I clearly stated the name of the organization I was in and the majority of them revolved around the environmental field in which I may pursue in college.
@CU123 haha thanks! Yeah, alot of my friends also say the same thing since I want to pursue either math or science. I might apply for MIT as a reach as well, honestly really a reach haha
I just want to mention, the student conservation association, biobuilder and biosequencing were just 6 week programs I did over break. :)))) So the other 7 I did were long-term
MIT is probably the least of your reaches between Stanford and Penn due to being a female interested in STEM, you are a URM there. Tried to convince my own DD to apply to MIT but she was enamored with UChicago.
Upon review I made the assumption you were female (from your tag) which may be unfounded.
Hey I am also a junior, similar grades, but no way do I have that many extracurriculars. Sorry if this is a bother, but could you give me some advice? I never really did any clubs the first two years, and I am trying to get leadership positions in some clubs now, do you think it is too late for me? Also, I want to organize a community service event, but I have no idea where to start. Honestly, I am seriously impressed at how you managed to do so many extracurriculars while keeping those grades.
@CU123 thank you for feedback. And yeah, honestly all the schools I’m stating here (mit, Stanford, upenn) are all huge reaches for me haha. And yeah, I am interested in stem. MIT was one of my top colleges of which I wanted to apply too, but as time went on, I started to grow more interested in Stanford for Upenn. But I will apply to MIT as senior year comes
@AutumnBaby I think your profile fits very well for Stanford and Penn, meaning you have a top rank/GPA, very good but not perfect scores, and heavy EC and leadership involvement. Both schools care more about GPA/rank than SATs and put a very big emphasis on ECs. That said increasing your SAT wouldn’t hurt either. Both schools tend to have a lot of similarities in terms of academic culture, social life and people. MIT is definitely quite different.
@Awristotel Haha thank you so much. Just to clarify some things, the SCA, Biobuilder and bioseq were short 6 weeks program I did. I devoted majority of my time to SNHS, ACE and Sierra. The other four activities, I was also very involved in but not as much for my top three. For my long term, I would say its only 7 activities since the other 3 were short programs. And dont fret, it’s good you kept your grades up. I was the same in freshman, completely clueless about what I want. Then after testing some stuff out, I realized i had a huge passion in science. I was some clubs in high school, so I ran for some positions. Just stick to a something you really like, and hopefully, you may even get some leadership positions. Also, you can even start your own club that doesn’t exist in your school, like for me I decided to create CCC and SNHS. You can even look for internships or short programs during the summer. I also did some activities were not in school but outside. Like for me, I really like science, I try to do some lab stuff and reseach when I have time (aka 6 week program). I really wish I was able to do them for long-term but I have too much going on lol. Ask me if you have other questions?
@Penn95 Thanks a lot. Really appreciate it. Right now, for Junior year, I’m trying to lay out everything so for my senior year, things will go a lot smoother. And yeah, I will be taking the SAT again and hopefully improve my score. Thank you so much for your feedback! :))))
Hey again. Thank you for the advice on the extracurriculars. I am actually in the process of starting the SNHS at my school so that is good Do you have any advice on what to actually do during meetings and stuff? Like what the club can do?
@Awristotel Hey. That’s honestly awesome. For us, we decided to join a cambridge festival volunteer sponsored by MIT i believe. We will also be fundraising throughout the year and hopefully construct more garden beds. I would say start your sign ups soon for the new members, make sure they pass a certain requirement. Feel free to message me if you have other questions :)))
@Awristotel There’s numerous ways to fundraise, bake sales, collecting membership fees, selling candies, making slime, or hosting events in school. And yeah the gardening project was fun but make sure you collect money first
Throughout my ECs, I just thought my interest in things was rather apparent because throughout my titles, I clearly stated the name of the organization I was in and the majority of them revolved around the environmental field in which I may pursue in college. 
