Chance me please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Lehigh University
1

<p>Intended Major: Biology (Pre-med track)
GPA: 3.4/4.0 (Unweighted)
Rank: Top 15%
Ethnicity: South Asian
Languages Spoken: English, Hindi, Punjabi, French and Spanish
SAT (I know they are really low ) I took them multiple times so I can't take them again. I scored well on the practice test but no on the real one.
Math: 630 CR: 550 Writing: 630
Course Load
Freshmen Year
World Cultures Honors, Biology Honors
English 9-Enriched, Geometry Enriched
French 1 & Spanish 1
Sophmore Year
AP World History-4
Chemistry- H, French 2 H, Spanish 2-H
Algebra II-E, English 10-E
Junior Year
AP Biology-3, AP United States History-4
French 3 H, Spanish 3 H
English 11-E, Pre-Calc E
Senior Year
AP Calc AB, AP Chem, AP Microecon, AP Macroecon
English 12-H
Anatomy & Physiology
Could not take Spanish and French 4 because I wanted to take 4 AP classes so it would not fit,
discussed by counselor</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activity
4 Year Soccer (1 Year Varsity)
4 year Outdoor Track (3 year JV, probably on V this year)
2 Year indoor Track (10th and 12th grade Varsity)
4 year President of a charity event I run at school
3 year President of another charity event I run at school
3 year NHS member
3 year student council member (treasurer in my junior year)
120+ Community Service Hours
Religious youth group member all 4 years
Organized a charity event outside of school
4 year Asian Student Association member
The list continues but this post is already too long</p>

<p>Visits: 1 official to the campus and I met with an admissions staff member that came to my school.
Filled out a total of two cards</p>

<p>ChemE and etc please help me out. Do I have a chance at all (higher than 20%)?</p>

2

<p>Futuredoctor24 -</p>

<p>I’ll do as LehighChemE does and go through the information you have bit by bit (much like Lehigh actually will). </p>

<p>A 3.4 uwGPA is good, not high, but given the rigor of your classes, it is quite good. It may also be useful (for you) to find out your wGPA. Lehigh (and other top tier schools) will compute and look it. This way, they see your grades and acedemic rigor in one score. </p>

<p>Being in the top 15% is great! It’s not going to help you much, though, but it certainly won’t hurt you either. On the other hand, if you are actually closer to top 10%, it may help you. Either way, good job with these two so far. </p>

<p>You speak five languages? Wow. This will definitely bode well for you! This can even be your so called “hook” that will help you go from “almost” to “accepted.” </p>

<p>Okay, so your SAT scores are low. Even if you don’t want to retake them, try doing the ACT. It’s a completely different test and, assuming you, as a future doctor, are good at science, you’ll probably score higher. If you do this, aim for at least a 28. However, even without doing that, you may still get in. Since Lehigh views your application holistically, you won’t be denied for SAT scores without at least considering the rest of your application. </p>

<p>You have a great courseload! It’s very rigorous and shows your motivation and drive. This can make your 3.4 GPA seem more like a 4.0! Lehigh weights acedemic rigor a lot, so good job!</p>

<p>Lastly, your EC’s look great! It looks like you have a bunch that you’re very dedicated to, which will also bode well for you. Continue doing the ones you’ve been doing for a long time and discuss one with passion in your EC essay and you should be fine in this regard. </p>

<p>Overall, you seem to have a pretty strong and consistent application. If only it wasn’t for those pesky SAT scores! If you’re applying ED, I’d say you have below average chances, but still not bad. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got accepted (pending your essays and etc. of course!). However, if you don’t apply ED, I’d say you have a more slim chance of getting in without retaking the SATs or doing ACTs. Even still, it wouldn’t be the first time that a qualified student with low SAT scores got accepted to a top tier school. My last second advice: keep showing your interest and take the ACTs!!</p>

<p>Best of luck! If we’re not both in the Lehigh class of 2017, maybe we’ll both be in the med school class of 2021!</p>

3

<p>Do you have any experience with the ACTs? Do I have to study for them or should I just take them? I’m really bad at Geometry which kills me on the SAT math. Hopefully we are in the Lehigh class of 2017 and med school class of 2021. I will be applying RD though</p>

4

<p>I don’t have any experience with ACTs, but I would assume you need to study. I would recommend buying an ACT review book, but then again I am just guessing. If you’re not good at math, at least the ACT will allow you to show how good you are at science (assuming you are good at science). Even if you score badly on ACT math also, then don’t worry about it and just highlight your strengths. It’s probably best for you to apply RD so that you have more time to take the test (if you decide to do so). Either way, best of luck!</p>

5

<p>Just to put in my two cents, I think the math on the ACT is more advanced and centers more on higher forms of algebra and even some pre-calculus. But you do not need calculus to take either test. For what it’s worth, I took the ACT and I thought it was easier than the SAT.</p>

<p>The ACT science section really isn’t a science test like an SAT subject test in bio or chem. The ACT science section is more of a logic/data test. It tests you on how you interpret data and what kinds of conclusions you can draw from it. This is very much like what I do as a process engineer co-op student, by the way. I guess you could call it an “engineering section”, so to speak.</p>

<p>I agree with Mike (Lehigh2017), you need to take either (or both) of these tests again.</p>

<p>Best,</p>

<ul>
<li>Mike</li>
</ul>

6

<p>I’m planning on taking the ACT. I took a practice test for the first 3 sections besides the science and got a 30,30,29 (reading). what are the best ways to prepare for the act in a month? I like how they are no tricks involved.</p>

7

<p>wait,
I got a 25,30,31,30
according to the scale given for the practice test.</p>

8

<p>To prepare for the ACT, just do a lot of practice tests. The questions are worded differently than the SAT and you have to get used to that. The timing is also different. My DS said that the science is more about reading than science. After he actually did some practice science sections, he got a 35 on that section. Science is his strongest subject, but he had to get used to the questions.</p>

<p>He was tutored extensively on SAT CR, but his highest was only 580. After that, he focused on English and Reading practice sections on ACT and got both of those up to 30. Practice really helped. (Still didn’t do well on writing, but the admissions offices I contacted said they don’t look at the writing - not sure about Lehigh.) He did do well on SAT math (720 or 730, can’t remember), but not sending any SATs because the writing and CR were weak (for him). He did hit 34 on ACT math so we just submitted ACTs with all college apps.</p>

<p>I’m feeling pretty good about his chances at Lehigh, but less optimistic about merit aid, even though he’s got a great ranking and WGPA. From what I can tell, the school is not great with merit aid. Could be a deal breaker.</p>

<p>Anyway, to the OP, definitely try the ACT. Get the red review book. It really helped.</p>

9

<p>Linymom can you please provide me with books to improve my english and reading over the next month? as in author info and etc. Please respond to my pm. LehighChemE any tips?</p>