Chance me please (junior) :) maybe the lower ivies and other top -ish schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Asian female

Prospective Major: Biology/ something along the Premed track

GPA

weighted: 6.81 (out of 7)
unweighted: 3.89 (out of 4)

these included my junior semester grades because they were making class ranks and my semester grades were trash so my GPA is going to be higher by the time I apply - around 6.95 w and 3.97 UW(before the semester grades I had a 7 and a 4 but I’m pretty sure I’m going to get a B+ in AP Physics*

SAT: 1520
I’m planning to take the ACT and I have gotten 34s and 35s so far on mock tests

APs:
AP Psychology
AP Bio
AP Physics 1
AP Lang

(for next year)
AP Chem
AP Comp Sci Principles
AP Lit
AP Spanish

Awards and honors:
Congressional Art Competition
Top 5 in the World Dance Championships

Extra:

TA at my Chinese school
Volunteer dance teacher at the same Chinese school
Scioly (but I only started this year because I was scared that I wasn’t going to get in my first two years. Kinda regret that, but this isn’t a big part)
-Took my dance class (the one I teach) and got to perform at a nursing home every year because they loved our CNY performances

  • drew portraits of senior residents at a nursing home and entertained them (in the middle of painting more portraits now but COVID might make it hard for me to send them)
  • taught English at an orphan school in Burma !!! NO this was not a trip just for teaching English… I know colleges don’t like seeing volunteer trips because it shows of money, but I was visiting relatives in the area and it was a really impulsive question when we passed by the school and I asked my uncle if I could volunteer there)
    -Swim team for two years (State runner-ups both years)

I know that nothing about me is impressive at all, but I just want to know :slight_smile: thanks
and please don’t be super rude ;-; I’m very open to criticism but I am already very aware of how far I am from the average applicant to those schools

this is the first time I’ve done this so please tell me if I’m missing anything!!

also I’m not sure if I’m a URM because I check off Asain, but I’m Burmese (in southeast Asia) and I don’t think it’s fair if they compare Burmese (and Cambodian, Hmong, etc) to the typical Chinese, Korean

Thank you :slight_smile:

2

Hi! I don’t know a ton, but I think you’re definitely impressive!!! Don’t sell yourself short. I would recommend seeing if your school has any type of tool students can use to compare themselves to past applicants— mine uses scoir— and see how you do against people from your school. Your stats may be a bit low for some schools, so the best way to get an edge for somewhere you really care about would be applying ED if they offer it. This shows commitment, which colleges like as it increases their yield rate. Have you thought about women’s colleges/ universities? Some schools (like Barnard, bryn mawr, and Smith) are just as good but may offer slightly more friendly admissions as well as more merit aid from the later two. Speaking of, what’s the plan for paying? Do you need/ want financial aid?

3

I think that it is definitely worth applying to a small number of highly ranked universities. However, I think that you should think about what you want in a university and come up with a short list of ones that you think would be a good fit for you.

And of course you also need to find at least two solid safeties, and remember that a lot of universities have very solid premed programs.

4

@yeehawqueen aw thank you! My school uses Naviance and I have compared my stats with others who have gotten into those types of schools, but it gives a very general answer, so as long as my stats are higher than the 25 percentile, it says “good.” I’ll look into the women’s colleges and see if they’re a good fit, thanks for the suggestion! As for financial aid, I would really like to get some, but I’m not sure about the amount I would get because my family’s household income is a little over 100k, so I’m applying for scholarships left and right lol. Thanks again!

5

@DadTwoGirls Thank you! I have found my safeties already, and I have a pretty narrow list of the universities I want to apply to. Is it okay to do the premed track at my state school(It’s also a lot cheaper)? I have heard from some people that medical schools don’t look at the undergrad school, but I have heard from others that graduating from a higher tier school will give you more prestige.