Chance me! (Online High School Student)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, everyone! I’m new to CC, and I was wondering if anyone would like to chance me.

Some important notes:

  1. I’m a student at an accredited online high school, and as such, I have no access to leadership opportunities and clubs through my school. The number of AP courses available are pitiful too.
  2. I lived abroad up until this past summer, so I had few opportunities for EC’s outside of school too.
  3. I’m a legacy for Johns Hopkins.

I’d like to know my chances for UT Austin (40 Acres Scholars and Polymathic Scholars), Rice, UPenn, UCLA, USC (all scholarships), Vanderbilt (all scholarships too), Johns Hopkins, Brown, and Dartmouth. All these except for UT are RD.

NOTE: All of these except for UT are my reach schools (I have safeties). I’m applying for neuroscience and/or psychology.

ACT: 33 composite (36 E, 29 M, 35 R, 33 S)
SAT (not submitting): 1460 composite (790 EBRW, 670 M)

AP scores:
AP Psychology: 5
AP Biology: 4
AP Environmental Science: 4
AP Chemistry: 3

Unweighted GPA: 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.3

Rank: N/A (my school doesn’t rank, but I suspect I’m near or at the top of my class)

I’m a Texas student, so I’m under the FHSP with the Distinguished Level of Achievement (STEM and multidisciplinary endorsements).

Freshman courses: I studied part-time at my high school and part-time at an online community college. Took three regular high school courses (German 1, chemistry, biology) and four dual-credit courses (English 101, European History 1 and 2, and General Psych). Got straight A’s.

Sophomore courses: Full-time brick-and-mortar high school. Took pre-calculus, jazz band, human anatomy, German 2, video production, and AP Chemistry. Got straight A’s except for a B in AP Chem.

Junior courses: Online high school. AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP Psychology. I also took regular physics (my school doesn’t offer AP) and tested out of my basic required math and English credits. Got straight A’s except for a B+ on one of my English 1 for credit tests.

Senior courses: I’m taking courses at UT Austin through my high school. Dual-credit Calculus, US History 1, US History 2, US Foreign Policy, US Government, Classical Mythology. I’m also taking AP English Language and AP English Literature. I’m self-studying for both AP Physics C exams. I already completed a few courses and have straight A’s so far.

Awards and EC’s:
AP Scholar with Honor
Principal’s Honor Roll
Excellent Achievement awards in four courses
Film Festival finalist
Some piano awards here and there
Performance acknowledgements on AP tests, SAT, ACT, all dual-credit courses

Biology Club (at brick-and-mortar high school)
Music project (I wrote 80 songs and started producing a few)
Private editor for a graduate student
English tutor for ESOL students
Principal pianist for two choirs
I wrote a novel that centers on neurosociology since I had no access to neuroscience research labs
I also wrote a poetry book
I did extensive community service too

Diversity factors:
Low income
Hispanic
Has ASD

My essays and letters of rec are definitely my strongest points. I got letters from my AP Environmental and jazz band teachers, as well as my counselor. All of these people are stellar writers, and they know me well as a student and arguably better as a person than my family does. My writing skills have always been revered, and my Common App essay is pretty good and stands out in a good way (it touches on my life experience and how I used my psychology knowledge to help abuse victims).

The thing I’m worried about most, honestly, is my EC’s not being good enough. I had to join online high school my junior year because of financial reasons, which compromised the courses and EC’s available for me. I had been invited to German Honor Society and was going to join NHS, Spanish Honor Society, and Tri-M Music Honor Society just before I left my high school. I was also unable to take subject tests due to financial reasons and poor counseling. Will colleges take this into account? What else can I do to maximize my chances? I’d also appreciate any feedback on how to modify my list of reach schools.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! - indigoknight

2

SHORTER VERSION

I’d like to know my chances for UT Austin (40 Acres Scholars and Polymathic Scholars), Rice, UPenn, UCLA, USC (all scholarships), Vanderbilt (all scholarships too), Johns Hopkins, Brown, and Dartmouth. All these except for UT are RD and reach/dream schools for me (I have safeties in addition to these schools, don’t worry).

Notes:

  1. I’m an online student, so I have no access to clubs through my school. There’s few AP courses too.
  2. I lived abroad up until this past summer, so I had few opportunities for EC’s outside of school too.
  3. My father attended Johns Hopkins for some time, so I might have some kind of legacy status.
  4. I’m applying for neuroscience and/or psychology.

ACT: 33 composite (36 E, 29 M, 35 R, 33 S)
SAT (not submitting): 1460 composite (790 EBRW, 670 M)

AP Psychology: 5
AP Biology: 4
AP Environmental Science: 4
AP Chemistry: 3

Unweighted GPA: 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.3

Rank: N/A (my school doesn’t rank, but I suspect I’m near or at the top of my class)

I’m a Texas student, so I’m under the FHSP with the Distinguished Level of Achievement (STEM and multidisciplinary endorsements).

9th grade: Took German 1, chemistry, biology, and dual-credit English 101, European History 1 and 2, and General Psych. Got straight A’s.

10th grade: Studied full-time at a brick-and-mortar high school. Took pre-calculus, jazz band, human anatomy, German 2, video production, and AP Chemistry. Got straight A’s except for a B in AP Chem.

11th grade: Online high school. AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP Psychology. I also took regular physics (my school doesn’t offer AP) and tested out of basic required math and English credits. Got straight A’s except for a B+ on one of my English 1 for credit tests.

12th grade: I’m taking courses at UT Austin through my high school. Dual-credit Calculus, US History 1, US History 2, US Foreign Policy, US Government, Classical Mythology. I’m also taking AP English Lang and AP Lit. I’m self-studying both AP Physics C exams and taking Harvard neuroscience courses through EdX. I have straight A’s so far.

Awards and EC’s:
AP Scholar with Honor, Principal’s Honor Roll, Excellent Achievement awards in four courses, Film Festival finalist, Performance acknowledgements on AP tests, SAT, ACT, all dual-credit courses

Biology Club (at brick-and-mortar high school), music project (I wrote 80 songs), private editor for a college student, English tutor for ESOL students, principal pianist for two choirs, extensive community service, I wrote a novel that centers on neurosociology since I had no access to neuroscience research labs

Diversity factors: Low income, Hispanic, has ASD

I got letters of rec from my AP Environmental and jazz band teachers, as well as my counselor. All of these people are stellar writers, and they know me well as a student and arguably better as a person than my family does. My Common App essay is pretty good and stands out in a good way.

The thing I’m worried about most is my EC’s. I had to join online high school my junior year because of financial reasons, which compromised courses and EC’s available for me. I had been invited to German Honor Society and was going to join NHS, Spanish Honor Society, and Tri-M Music Honor Society just before I left my high school. I was also unable to take subject tests due to financial reasons and poor counseling. Will colleges take this into account? What else can I do to maximize my chances?