<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] ACT: C 32 :(
E 30
M 31
R 33
S 35
Essay 9
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Unavailable (not given)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unavailable (not given)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Can't be taken
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): Can't be taken
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: (Year 12 Final) Physics B, Applicable Maths A, Discrete Maths A, Political and Legal Studies A, Chemistry A, English A, Accounting A</p>
<p>(Year 11 Final) Physics A, Introductory Calculus A, Political and Legal Studies A, English A, Accounting A
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Academic scholarship to my high school, regional winner for Mock Trials
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): MUN, Mock Trials, School magazine (needed to apply), pianist
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Admin for a CEO at a mining company (just started), assistant for a furniture retail store (3 yrs), experience in a top law firm (unpaid)
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Helping with the elderly, charity, planting trees etc.
[<em>] Summer Activities: Family business
[</em>] Essays: Common App - about an overseas trip, Supplemental - not yet done XD
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: They had no idea what to write for a US recommendation, read them both - spoke favourably but short
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Didn't see it but had to help her with the application because she had never done this before
[<em>] Additional Rec: None
[</em>] Interview: Not yet
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): Australia
[<em>] School Type: Anglican private girls school
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>] Income Bracket: ~75k per year
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): parents never attended college, money was scarce in the earlier years of my life, I'm 16 and have already finished high school (not sure about this being a "hook")[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much your hooks are an actual hook, maybe talk more about your unique experiences? For instance, I’m sure they don’t get that many Amnesty international activists, perhaps talk about how that has affected your view on life, changed you as a person etc.
But those schools are high reach for anyone no matter what the scores simply for the sheer number of applicants. Doesn’t mean you don’t have a shot. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>I’m also an Aussie (from Sydney; judging by the names of your Year 12 subjects I’d presume your not), so here are some points from perhaps a more familiar perspective:
SAT Subject Tests: not sure if you’ve done them but you should endeavour to score well on them; you’ll need 750+ on all of them to be competitive at the colleges you’re applying for as an Australian needing aid.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The ACT score is relatively low for an Australian given most that eventually get in have 2300+ SAT scores, and a 32 ACT is about 2160…if you can, you might want to re-do or sit the SAT.</p></li>
<li><p>With your “hooks”, I would not consider younger age to be one; I too am 16, and many other high school grads in Australia are 16. With the “parents never attended college, money was scarce”, you might want to explore that in an essay. If you try to communicate that just by listing those characteristics in an application, it really downplays their significance. Perhaps link it in with a discussion of your work with Amnesty International. On that note, your essays will be your opportunity to compensate for lacklustre stats, but it is imperative that you make clear that you ARE attached to whichever college, or else you’ll just be one of the crowd…</p></li>
<li><p>Scores in high school; how do they rank high school students in your state? If you get an ENTER/ATAR, you’ll want it to be 99+ (or highest band or whatever), and you’ll want to be right at the top of your cohort for each subject.</p></li>
<li><p>Did you apply EA/ED with Yale, Brown, or Penn? If you did that might help your chances, though with Brown and Penn your FA will not certainly not be an asset.</p></li>
</ol>