Hi all! I am currently a sophomore in High School, and I am aiming for the top tier universities in the U.S. like Ivies, MIT, Stanford etc. I have a particular passion and liking for Brown University, NYU, and MIT. If anyone attends those schools, I would greatly appreciate your feedback. I really want to attend top level universities not for the name, but for the emphasis on academics. My GPA is bad, my grades need to be improved, so I understand that very much.
Now, onto the goods!
Objective:
GPA: 3.6 (out of 4.0)
I go to a Prep school and the workload there is insane, I am also taking 4 AP’s this year.
SAT (New): 1530 - took it in November
730 R/W, 800 M
Subject Tests: 800 Physics, 750 Math 2 (I am retaking in January)
AP Exams: Comp Sci (5) --will be taking Chem, Math, Physics, and English this year!
PSAT: 740 Math, 700 R/W
Subjective:
Awards:
-Perfect score on NEML
-Perfect score on AMC8
-Perfect score on AMC10
-Numerous Perfect Scores on IMLEM and WOCOMAL
-Best Delegate Award at The New England Model U.N. Tournament held at St. Johns
-Headmasters List in Middle School
-Received Programmers Award at New England VEX Robotics Tournament
-Won the New England VEX Robotics Tournament
-Qualified for the CFLs in Speech
-Received International Rank in Top 20 on NSF Science Competition
-Best High School Jazz Combo Awarded by Downbeat Magazine
Extracurriculars:
-Varsity Squash
-Varsity Tennis (First Seat this year)
-Head Member of Math Team
-Head Member of Speech Team
-Director of our Schools Tech Crew
-Head of South Asian Society
-Lead Drummer in our Prestigious Jazz Band (We raised $200,000 for charity and we received enough sponsors to go on tour in South Africa and Europe)
-Done numerous gigs around the U.S. (Played with Chick Corea at the Blue Note Jazz Club in NY, Played with Chris Potter in Kentucky, Played with Victor Wooten in Boston…all really talented musicians)
-Did some JHU CTY courses
Work/Job Experience:
-Completed 4 years of college courses at the New England Conservatory of Music (received a Certificate of High Honor from the Institute, also given college credit)
-Published a Funk Album
-Completed a Paid Private Internship at Google, under the name of employee Mark Howard (We worked on the self-driving car team, back then it wasn’t a separate company)
-Completed a 3 week Internship at MIT, at the Center for Ultracold Atoms (My purpose was to test and collect data regarding the Bose-Einstein Condensate and then design experiments to improve the use of Ultracold Atoms)
As a HS Sophomore, your list of activities is pretty impressive. College admissions officers don’t just look at your credentials though, they also compare you with your peers. Do you feel that you stand out among your peers?
Given that you go to a prep school, you are exposed to more opportunities than the average HS student in the US. Admissions officers are of course fully aware of this. In addition, are you a legacy student or considering athletic drafting? If so, I can say with confidence that you will be accepted, as long as you keep up the good work you have going on rn.
Also, don’t include anything from middle school. Only list HS activities/achievements. If you include anything from before HS, it will look kind of pretentious and seem like resume-padding.
As expected from a prep school student, you seem very well-rounded and excellent in many regards. What do you thin k you will be studying in college? What’s a major you have in mind?
@IsoDidact I do plan to major in Computer Science or Mathematics, similar to your area’s of interest.
I now realize that any middle school awards or activities I did would not fit my college applications, thank you for point that out.
I am not sure what is athletic drafting…but I have heard of many sports recruits from my school as well as others. I am not very committed to sports so that I can be recruited to an ivy, but I have been playing for many years which is why I am at Varsity level.
And no, I am not a legacy student. Both negatives towards my application. 
Also, the biggest problem I have with my peers is my GPA. It is low for the top tier colleges I plan to apply to. However, my GPA is the only thing holding me back, that to by not that much because my SAT score is above 75th percentile despite me not being a Junior or Senior, same goes for my subject tests and AP.
Yes, at your prep school I’d imagine that many students are either legacy or athletic recruits. If you think you are good enough in a sport to play at the college level (for the university’s team), you should contact the respective coaches at the university. Legacies and/or athletic recruitment are almost guaranteed acceptances, especially from prep schools.
As a sophomore, your standardized test scores are pretty impressive. I took the SAT in Dec. and got a 1580, but I’m a junior. I also took the SAT II Math 2 and got an 800. A fifth of all students who take the SAT II math 2 exam get full score so it isn’t that hard. I’ll be taking the physics SAT II in June, so your 800 seems quite impressive to me lol 
If I may ask, what is your race/gender? Affirmative action might negatively or positively affect you.
MIT and Stanford have excellent CS programs, but the Ivies are not very strong in CS or engineering fields. Of course, these schools are all reaches for everybody (but not for a legacy or athletic recruit!)
What other universities are you looking into? I trust that finances shouldnt be a problem since you’re/your family is able to afford prep school.
Again, everything is in perspective with the peers at your school. Like anybody would say, try to bring up your GPA! 
@IsoDidact I was born in America, but both of my parents are from India. At home, I speak, read, and write fluent Hindi. I also lived in India for two summers.
I am also deeply looking into many of the ‘lower’ ivies, but are still very excellent. In terms of finding a strong cs programs, I am not too worried because I am 100% sure programs at ivied would be at the least very good. I really have a liking for Brown University because it has strong academic focus but their diversity, campus size, and passion for fun is very similar to my prep school. The same is for Cornell, and as a plus Cornell has an emphasis on technology. John Hopkins and NYU fall under the same category.
Are you looking into an athletic recruitment for an ivy? If so, what sports do you play on Varsity level? I am not sure about athletics because for one I don’t play any team sports, and second I’ve only done varsity squash for one season, and tennis for two. Most students who get athletic recruitment play year round. I just play when the season comes. However, I want to known more about athletic recruitment as that can significantly help me in my admissions. Could you give some insight on where to start or how?
I am working on my GPA, but my school doesn’t calculate GPA’s, so I do it myself. My school also has no ranking system either. They just send the final end year grades of each year to college, nothing else. Is this a plus for me?
@IsoDidact I am actually worried about the SAT Math Level 2 test, I normally think I am good in math, but I did pretty bad on my first try. I can’t take it three times because by then it’s too much, I just hope I can do good. Could you reccomend me any tips to study for the test? Thank you so much.
Also I got an 800 in physics because one our school does science differently. I took an AP level physics course (didn’t take ap exam) in freshman year. Then I did an internship based off of physics, the students their helped me and i then took it in October. Most students do biology freshman year so I guess I’m different
Good to know that you like Brown. As for sports, I play golf on the varsity team for my school. However, I am no where as good as I need to be in order to be an athletic recruit for college. College athletic teams are insanely good (often Olympics-level, or equivalent). You have probably seen some of the more popular sports, like college football or college basketball, on TV. Idk how good you are at squash or tennis, but if you think you are good enough, first talk to your sports coach at school, then contact the sports coach at Brown (or whatever university) to inquire about athletic recruitment.
I’m afraid I can’t help you too much there haha.
Schools like Stanford have their own way of calculating GPA. Search online for their methodology, and you can calculate your own Stanford GPA from there.
Also, try not to hype up the ivies that much lol. Many public universities, like the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) or Georgia Tech, offer world-class CS programs with high job placement rates right out of college. Employers recognize these schools.
In the end, it all comes down to what YOU like. Have you visited campus? While NYU and Johns Hopkins are excellent schools, they have (imo) horrible campus environments. NYU is right in the city (not your traditional college campus vibe), and while Johns Hopkins has a pretty good campus, it’s located right next to a ghetto area (not very safe). lol My purpose is not to bash either school but I just want to show you how important it is to visit and get a feel of the school. I had a few friends who applied ED to a school they never visited, and when they got in, they were surprised to find that the school was not exactly as they thought it was.
For SAT math, just do a few practice tests. It covers topics up to Pre-calc. If you got a perfect score on the AMC 10 I’m SURE you can do well I got 800 but I got NOWHERE near full score on the AMC LOL.
I’m curious about your internship at Google… I pm’d you about it.
Cheers
I think you’re definitely on the right track for these colleges.
Great ECs, great scores, all you have to worry about are your gpa and maybe letters of recommendation.
Since you’re only a sophomore, you can easily bring your gpa up before you apply. If your school does weighted gpas, make sure to take lots of AP/ accelerated courses, as those often will boost it. For LoRs, start thinking of teachers who know you well (and will remember you by your senior year) and if there are none, get close to a few.
Good luck!
@IsoDidact So, I am definitely not as good as Olympic Team Level. I am worse in squash than I am in Tennis, I win and lose as much as any other. Our squash team as a whole has remained undefeated for 40 years, though that is subject to change any day.
Yea, like I said, I think I am good in math. I did kumon, Russian School of Mathemaitcs, Chyten, AlohaMath, SingaporeMath, and Mathcounts…it would be a shame if it didn’t pay off.
I am worried because I work very poorly under time pressure, and the subject test is all about that.
Any tips for taking the test is GREATLY appreciated!
Thank you!
@TryYourBest1 Go look for review books, like the Barron’s review book. Buy them online or check them out at your local library. They have a lot of practice tests in them and decent explanations. Each test is under 1 hour so it shouldn’t be too time consuming to finish a few. Focus on the questions you got wrong. Were they conceptual (don’t know/forgot how to do the problem) or accidental mistakes (read the question wrong, solved for wrong variable, bubbled in another answer)?
If conceptual, try brushing up on that area of math and do similar problems. For accidental mistakes, the key is to practice more and/or try to be more focused.
Because of the crazy SAT Math 2 curve, u can get around 4 questions wrong or leave 5 questions blank and still get full score.
Wow, I hope I can do well. Thanks for your tips. Is that what you did to get an 800?
Yes. If I recall correctly, the first time I took a practice exam, I got around 760. I took around 5 practice tests in 1 month before the actual test, and scored 800 in one sitting. During the exam I felt a bit uneasy for a question or two, but the curve was certainly assuring.
Full score on the SAT Math 2 is 80 percentile, so it doesn’t really make you stand out against other students… which is one of the downsides.
@IsoDidact But it would be worse if I dont get a perfect score at all XD
Hey! Love your username btw
Depending on what prep school you go to and its prestige (eg. Phillips Exeter/Andover, St.Paul’s, Sidwell, etc etc etc) you may be in an Ivy/upper tier school recruitment pipeline. Ask around if you don’t already know, because a lot of Ivys will pull from schools like those even if you have lower scores or a lower GPA because of the reputation of the prep school.
Your extracurriculars are impressive, though given your grade level I think colleges will take them with a grain of salt unless you continue this trend throughout all of high school. I would place you as an upper match for NYU, low reach for Brown, and MIT and the HYPS are a crapshoot no matter what. I wouldn’t be surprised if they rolled dice on some decisions- there are just so many over-qualified people and not enough space.
In terms of your ethnicity/major combination, I would almost (almost!) encourage you (for the non-MIT type schools) to think about other, less conventional majors, unless you are truly passionate, because right now, you’re sounding like a bit of a stereotype. I feel your pain, dude, but that’s just the way the world turns right now.
Yep, I agree with @penumbra7 . Affirmative action is a killer. However, the “recruitment pipeline” isnt as nice as it appears.
A lot of kids from top prep schools (Exeter, Andover etc) have family ties/legacy status to top universities. Or they come from families where they can make multi-million donations. That’s one of the reasons why so many prep school kids get into top schools. Aka “reputation.” If you don’t have family connections to the admissions office (I know some prep school kids have relatives on the admissions board! or the administration of certain universities), aren’t a legacy, and arent able to make huge donations, your chances are much lower than many of your peers. That is, unless you do something amazing during HS.
But, you don’t go to a prep school to have higher chances of universities admission. You go there for the amazing prep school experience. If you want higher chances of college admissions, you would probably be better off at a public HS. It’s a dilemma for many.
BTW, I see that you do VEX as well. Have you guys made nationals? worlds? I hope to see you this year at Nationals or World’s!
@penumbra Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. Yes, comparing my ethnicity to my desired major is a very well-known stereotype. I am also looking to majoring in music as well. But, I don’t want to make music my career because its a difficult lifestyle, and Ivy’s aren’t looking for music majors anyways. But, I have thought of double-majoring. I know Columbia and Brown offer that.
I too am not 100% sure about how much I love those top of the top tier schools (MIT, Stanford). As prestigious as they sound, it feels like people who go their have insane work ethics, and study all the time. A school like Brown finds the balance between work and leisure, which is why I have more of a passion to go their.
And yes, I do attend one of the prep schools you mentioned, though a better GPA would always help! I used to be a straight A student in middle school, but I’m sure everyone was who wanted to work. High school has really made a turn for the worse in terms of academics, I just can’t wait for finals XD.
And to statement you said “they rolled dice on some decisions”, do colleges actually choose acceptances at random? I wouldn’t be surprised, because I heard in an interview that colleges give 15 minutes max to make your decision. Two people would be assigned to your app, and if they are convinced he/she fits the college, then they have convince the entire board in just 15 minutes.
@IsoDidact hahahahaa worlds?!?!? Highly doubt it, we did win a big tournament recently in New Hampshire!
Did you guys make it to Nationals? If so, congrats!
IsoDidact said, “That is, unless you do something amazing during HS.”-- I am hoping that this NASA Internship can be that amazing thing. Also, I do not come from a multi-millionare, rich family and my parents didn’t go to Ivy League colleges. They did something way more crazy. My parents completely skipped High School and went to college at the age of 14-15, they went to IIT Kanpur (its a top-tier college). Neither of them did Masters, and both came to the US for much higher-paying jobs than anything in India.
Yes, I do go to a Prep School for the Prep school experience. I get to meet many celebrities at school. I’ve shaken hands with Tom Brady, Ben Stiller, James Taylor, Steph Curry, and even the Surgeon General of the United States; though this isn’t something I can write on a college app.
Plus, the Prep School title is very similar to a Ivy League title. Me going to a Prep School is what got me an Internship at Google, so I do think students at a Prep School might have an upper chance for good schools @penumbra.
But @IsoDidact is right, unless you have legacy, lots of money, or an Olympic Gold Medal athlete, there is no sure-shot of getting in.
Also, what is affirmative action? I saw @IsoDidact asked me about it, but I ignored it on accident (my bad!). I am a Hindu and male. I speak Hindi and both of my parents were born and brought up in India.
Hahaha. IIT is like India’s equivalent of MIT, you know? And on the common app, they ask for your parent’s education and IIT pops up when you type that your parents got a degree from India. So…just saying… It never hurts to put it, I suppose. I think more prestigious universities will recognize the name though.
And just wanted to say, wow! You’ve got a lot of accomplishments. And I think that if the middle school award is really important-like national award, you can include it. Or an activity that you’ve been doing from a young age and still do- include it on your resume. But, best bet is to just stick to hs stuff.