Chance me plz! I need some honest opinions (UCs, USC, Brown, CMU, UMich, Boston U etc) [CA resident, 3.93 GPA, 3.95/4.16/4.26 for UC, psychology]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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chance me plz!!! I need brutally honest opinions so I can have a better gauge for apps

Demographics: female/Asian/middle class/CA/ private christian school

Intended major:
psychology

GPA: 3.93 (uw), 4.25 (w)

Class Rank: 3/40

ACT/SAT Scores: n/a right now (kinda worried about this)

Coursework
*10 APS: Music theory, Chinese, Lit, APUSH, Calc AB, Stats, Lang, Bio, Art Drawing, Gov
*2 Honors: English 9-10

Awards/Extracurriculars
-Class council 2 yrs, Student council treasurer snr. yr,
-Started a club this yr that aligns well with my personal interests
-1000+ hours of community service
-Girl Scout since kindergarten, currently working on gold award
-Interned for county supervisor’s office, created proposals to help kids with developmental disabilities
-UCSC SIP intern summer camp(?) for psych
-Worked 3 yrs as a camp counselor
-Taekwondo black belt, helped teach kids
-Taught disadvantaged kids English in Taiwan during the summer
-Online tutor (math, English, piano)
-Volunteer at homeless shelters, humane society, etc
-created crochet club at elderly homes where products are later donated to children in hospitals, courtrooms, etc
-organized monthly charity concerts (piano), raising 1k+ for children’s hospitals
-Published art in NA celebrating art
-Girl Scout camp leader (2 yrs)
-raising a guide dog (just adding this because I talk about it in my app)

Awards
-school leadership award 2x, academic recognition 4x, fine arts recognition 2x
-Susan b Anthony and Frederick Douglas award for social justice
-Piano (competitions internationally) and cello (orchestra co-chair)
-PVSA gold all four yrs of hs
-AP Scholar
-President’s honor roll 6x, regular honor roll 2x
(I don’t have that many academic competition awards so I’m a little nervous about that)

Essays/LORs/Other
-OK ish essays, not too sure about them but I think they aptly describe certain parts of my personality and character
-Letters of recommendation would most likely be average, I had a lot of growth in one particular class so hopefully she could talk abt my determination/ willingness to learn??
-asking for one from lang and one from calc, then one from counselor

Schools
ED Brown ( I know it’s a long shot but I just wanted to try and I feel like I would fit in really well there :sob:)
All UCs, USC, Tufts, U wash, Carnegie Mellon, U Mich, Northwestern, UPenn, Duke, NYU, Boston U, Columbia, Santa Clara, UIUC, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, CSUs

sorry if this is messy I’m still kinda new to this thank uuuuu

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If you go to a private school - it’s likely you should ask your counselors.

Why are you worried about no test score right now. Do you plan to have a test score?

That’s a lot of APs for such a small school - that’s good.

Hopefully if your essay is ok-ish, you have time to tighten it up. You might seek feedback on here - there’s a path to do so.

Also, you’ll need more than a letter of recommendation if this is your list. Look at each school and what they require. Duke, for example, requires this - and it’s best if one can be STEM and one non-STem: We require three letters of recommendation for each applicant: one from your school counselor and two from teachers who have taught you in major academic courses (English, mathematics, social studies, sciences, foreign languages), preferably within the last two years of secondary school.

You need to see the requirements of all your schools and ensure you meet them.

So with a 3.93 UW and such rigor, I don’t think you need to worry.

Yes, Brown is a long shot - but there’s no reason you shouldn’t apply. I wouldn’t apply ED to Brown because why bind yourself when they say this: Please do not assume that your admission chances are improved by applying under the Early Decision plan. The Board of Admission makes the same decisions under Early Decision that it would under the Regular Decision plan.

So here’s one to be concerned with no test - because 81% submitted tests and I assume some of the other 19% was likely athletes.

Are you going to take the test?

That said, if you get turned down - oh well. It wasn’t meant to be. It’s ok to be turned down - it really is. It means you reached enough.

So you’re applying to all UCs - and they are test blind - so there you go. Will you be happy with Riverside or Merced if those are your only acceptances? Why all UCs? How about CSUs?

So why U Wash and UIUC - it seems like you want smaller schools. There are solid smaller schools - you have SCU but how about USD or USF. Or a U of Denver type schools?

What is your goal with the psych degree that you are aiming so high rank wise?

Do you have any cost considerations? It may be there but I didn’t see it.

You have a lot of reaches - but you also have schools you will be accepted to - so you needn’t worry.

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Yes, I’ve taken the test but scores have not come out yet. I’m not sure about the brown ED but it’s my super top school so I thought it would just be a good way to make sure I have my apps done in a timely manner+ a shot in the dark.

I honestly would prefer a bigger school but just like u wash for the location and vibe. I’ll totally look in USD and USF. Rank wise, I wanted to go the med route but was unsure so I’ve stuck with psych for now because it’s something I’m interested in. Parents are flexible for costs and I’ve checked that I am eligible for some aid.

Side note: Do you think my reaches are too unattainable?

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Let’s see your test score b4 we make that assessment. You do have a lot of reaches and I’m not sure that you picked them based on fit.

You have to be somewhere four years, day after day - so you want to be at the right school.

If med school is at play, you add another $400k so depending on the amount of aid you’d get, you still might want cheaper.

A UW or UIUC won’t give you money (or significant money). Are they affordable ?

You do have many reaches but as long you have two safeties that you’d be happy to attend, the rest of the list can be as crazy as you want it to be.

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If Brown is your top choice, would be affordable, and you do not need to compare aid offers–I see no problem with ED at Brown. I agree it will not give you any sort of boost, but getting an early decision could be nice if it would allow you to just shut down the rest of your process.

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Based on your current affinity for Brown, you also may want to consider suggestions from this site:

As an additional idea, look into Mount Holyoke, which offers an excellent psychology program.

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I love your ECs! Especially the starting the crochet group at a senior center. So much better than some random club at your school. Impressive.

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Congratulations on all of your accomplishments in high school. I think you are well-prepared to succeed at any college.

What have your AP scores been like so far? Also, do you speak Chinese at home? If so, have you taken any other foreign languages? Some of the most competitive schools like heritage speakers to also take an additional foreign language.

I would definitely think about what activities and honors really encapsulate you and are most impressive. The 1000+ hours of community service jumped out at me. If you’re participating in international piano competitions, then it would seem that you’re playing at a pretty high level, and I didn’t know you were musical until after 18 other things were listed. I would prioritize and chunk some of your activities/interests so that some of your accomplishments don’t get lost. Also, a black belt in Taekwando and working on your gold award in Girl Scouts show great discipline and longevity in those activities.

If you’re starting this senior year, I wouldn’t mention this as you have little experience/background with it by the time you’re filling out the apps.

If you’re thinking about med school, then make sure you talk with your family about whether they would be willing to use any savings from college to help towards med school expenses. Med school will probably be about $400k and generally the only way to pay for it is from money from your family or loans.

If Brown is your top school, and your family has run the Net Price Calculator for it and seen that it is within budget, I definitely understand wanting to shoot your shot for it. Have you visited yet? I am wary of anyone EDing to a school they have not visited (preferably while school is in session), but I do know there are people who do that. I just don’t think it’s a best practice.

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Same here - these are really great! The black belt is impressive, but the crochet club, raising a guide dog, Girl Scouts, music - you’ll be a very interesting candidate for the schools you’re applying to.

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“So there is this Girl Scout with a black belt who crochets” is well on its way to being a successful streaming series pitch.

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my ap scores are not superb, scattered but all above passing. I’ve visited before and I really love the area and school. I speak chinese at home :frowning: tried to do Spanish but my school stopped offering it.

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thanks so much! I really tried pursuing my passions and connecting them to the community in some way

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This is true for the more elite private schools with dedicated college counselors who know substantial admissions history and may have connections to highly selective colleges (for knowledge of what they look for, not for special privileged admissions favoritism). Not all private schools are of this type, however (many religious private schools are chosen mainly for the religious environment rather than for auditioning for highly selective colleges).

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yeah, my school’s counselor is not super helpful as my school is more religion-focused rather than academic.

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My contrarian take is that Brown is a very good school but why ED when you have a plethora of in-state options that are much cheaper and not necessarily less prestigious. Optionality is a good thing and if you get admitted you will have to let go of every other school on your list, and your preferences may change between ED app and decisions.

I concur with others that you have an excellent profile and although you have a bunch of teaches some of them will be bound to come through. Good luck!

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So, given the “mixed” AP scores, you’re wondering how the grades (and thus your high GPA) at your small-ish, religion-focused school, might measure-up academically to the “rest of the world”?

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Congratulations on some wonderful EC’s and a competitive resume.

What are your 3 UC GPA’s: GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub

Based on your class ranking, you should be UC ELC eligible so UC Merced would be a Safety.

Here are some general admit rates based on the UC Capped weighted GPA. Psychology is a Selective/Impacted major at several of the UC’s so the actual major admit rate can be lower.

2022 (most current) Admit rates based on the Capped weighted UC GPA.

Campus 4.00+ 3.70-3.99 3.30-3.69 3.00-3.29
Berkeley 17% 3% 1% 0%
Davis 58% 20% 5% 2%
Irvine 35% 10% 3% 0%
Los Angeles 13% 2% 1% 0%
Merced 97% 97% 95% 85%
Riverside 95% 83% 42% 17%
San Diego 37% 8% 1% 0%
Santa Barbara 41% 8% 3% 0%
Santa Cruz 69% 45% 16% 4%

Best of luck.

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Thank you so much! Yeah, I’ve been told that psychology acceptances at these schools would be harder. Would applying undecided better my chances then? Or worsen them?

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I’m wondering what the impact of it is on college apps. By not academically focused, I meant that not a lot of resources are provided specifically for academic success (especially considering it’s a private)

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Check if Psych is an impacted major. At Cal you have to specifically apply to it. If you get in as undeclared, you won’t be able to switch. Other schools may have similar rules. Check carefully.

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