Chance Me! + Some questions

[vssb]

Demographics: Bay Area, South Asian

Intended Major(s): Bioengineering so have options (premed or transfer to cs or even mech)

ACT/SAT/SAT II: N/A

W/UW GPA and Rank: Academic GPA (9 -11) - 4.1852/3.7407, 10-11 GPA - 4.5294/3.8235, I believe I am in the top 20% (my school does it by the decile).

Coursework: Will max out the number of AP’s I can take out my school this year (10th - WHAP (3), 11th - AP Calc AB (4), APUSH (4), APES (5), AP Psych (5), took honors chemistry and physio, will be taking honors physics and AP Bio during senior year. I have a heavier course load compared to most at my school. Did a Pre-Calc class at a CC during the summer before Junior year so I can get into Calc, and I got an A.

Awards: 1st Place Award from Junior Achievement and John Muir (It was an internship where I had to create a solution to a problem in my county, med related)

Extracurriculars: (Not in any order)

Job at Ace Hardware (11-12)

Volunteering at local crisis center and hosting food drives for them (9-12)

National Honor Society (11-12)

California Scholarship Federation (11-12)

JV Tennis (9-12)

Orchestra (6-9)

Model UN (11-12)

Dental Shadowing - Every week, about 3-4 hours(11-12)

Tutoring (11-12)

Founder of a Podcast I made into a club at school (11-12)

Boy Scouts - Will get Eagle sometime this fall, I am in the works of starting my Eagle Project this month (5-12)

Essays/LORs/Other: My LOR’s so far are probably a 7 or a 8 out of 10 (I have two so far)

Schools I am applying to

• All UCs

• Boston University (considering ED/EA)

• Tulane University (considering ED/EA)

• Case Western Reserve University (EA)

• University of Miami

• Purdue University

• University of San Diego

• University of Southern California

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Boston College

Additional info:
I’ll probably EA to as many schools as I can, but those three are for sure as of now.

Questions
If I plan on EDing to Boston, should I do ED2 to Boston University with a SAT score, or ED1 without it. My Oct 2 test just got cancelled and I was counting on it. I was expecting around a 1500.

Also, what do you think my chances are if I ED to Boston or Tulane without a test.

Please recommend any college you think suits my profile!

Thanks for reading! Please share your thoughts!!!

[tsbna44]

You mention ED to Boston twice. You mean BU and Tulane for ED2. You should only ED to a school you can afford and you absolutely want to attend. So if you get in BU and it’s $80k a year then the in-state schools are out. So run the NPCs. Tulane and BU are vastly different. So why them ? One is very urban. On is not urban at all and has a traditional campus with access to the city.

Take off the grade 6 stuff. Only HS matters. U can note it was 9th only but three years.

What’s your cost situation? What can you afford or what do your parents want to spend ?

Looks like you are applying for rank which is not the right reason.

Id say your odds at BU aren’t great. Better at Tulane if u kiss some butt and apply ED. If your SAT comes through it’s a bonus.

Hopefully a UC will work for you. You may add a Lehigh, WPI, Pitt, Az and ASU if your in state options don’t work. Don’t forget the SAT won’t be looked at in-state at the publics.

[vssb]

No, I meant that if I ED to Boston, should I do ED 1 without an sat score, or ED 2 with an SAT score. My family is fortunate enough to afford the price given after inputting their information into the net price calculator for both schools. I mention Tulane as I might ED there. So I asked what my chances are if I ED to Tulane as well. Tulane only has ED 1 so I am limited there. I am not solely looking at rank. I am applying to BU because their med school research has helped my brother’s case of Metopic Synostosis, so I am very fond of the school. The research sort of ignited my passion for school and medicine as a whole. I am applying to Tulane because of their one-door policy, campus, and liveness. Elaborating on the liveness, Tulane is known as a outgoing and social school, and that is the type of person I want to become. I’ve always been a bit of an introvert, and I elaborated on this with some examples from my life in my Tulane interview. Thank you for your thoughts!

[tsbna44]

Got it. Just my opinion but Tulane gives you better odds. But start doing virtual sessions, etc.

Btw. Just because your parents can afford $320k, do they want to spend it? That’s b4 grad school. For example, I could afford it but my kids applied to no schools that had no merit. I didn’t want to spend $80k. My daughter could only consider schools that came in $45k or less and chose one at the time was about $27k. Now about $18k after more scholarships.

The point is Speak with your parents because there are much lowe cost options ie the UCs/CSUs and from your list Purdue.

When you ED you lose all financial flexibility. But for a school like Tulane it can very much be the deciding factor.

[vssb]

Yeah, my parents and I are still talking about the financials. Theoretically, what do you think my chances are if I ED to Boston or Tulane.

[tsbna44]

I’m just an amateur of course- but better to Tulane but not great to either. Maybe 30% to Tulane and 15% to BU. The GPA and rank concern me. If you go TO, that concerns me additionally.

But not impossible.

If you’ll not qualify for aid and your parents want to spend less, I’d apply EA and assume you’re not going - and your parents should pay less because (in my opinion) neither is worth it.

[vssb]

Could you please elaborate on your numbers? Thanks for your response!

[tsbna44]

Well Tulane admitted less than 10% - but everything I read says they have a much higher ED rate vs. RD. For 2024, it was 23%.

So I think your odds aren’t great for either but if you have a chance, it would be ED. Tulane has really cranked up its marketing and therefore # of apps the past few years and it’s made their admissions close to Ivy like. Also, more female than male attend so that may or may not be a hinderance. I could see them admitting you as a revenue boost.

The average BU student is in the top 6% - so my guess is you have no shot there.

But again, I’m an amateur.

DO NOT fall in love with any school…ever.

Include these two in your consideration but have a wide swath - and before doing ED, regardless of the enhanced chances, make sure they are willing and able to spend $80K a year because when you think about it, if you spend $50K, that’s $120k SAVINGS. or if you spend $25K a year, that’s $220K savings. Your parents can do a lot with that including helping you to buy a house one day.

And you’ll have grad school which will be hundreds of thousands more.

So ensure they are onboard.

[vssb]

My school rank aside, are my extra curricular not helping my case? Also, I just wanted to say that I would probably be in the top 10% (my school only does deciles) if my freshman GPA is not in the mix. I know it may not mean much, but I believe I have a significant upward trend. Additionally, isn’t Boston’s ED rate also somewhat high? According to this website, it was 30% for the last admissions pool.

[tsbna44]

Most colleges have a higher ED rate because it’s a near guarantee of filling seats.

Your ECs are fine - the job at Ace and the JV Tennis as well as the crisis center. The NHS, etc. doesn’t matter - it matters what you did but not being a member. So most see Honor Societies as fluff without weight given. If you said, you planned tutoring at an elementary school, etc. as a project for NHS - that would be one thing. But to be a member is no lift.

Here’s the thing- your resume is your resume.

You have to decide do you want to go ED to one of these? You can’t change anything now.

But if you’re worried about your ECs, don’t - you have a job and played tennis four years + helped at a crisis center. It’s quality, not quantity that matters.

I did not let my kids apply ED anywhere but I am cost conscious.

I believe you won’t get into either. Doesn’t mean I’m right. It just means to ensure you have matches and safeties to apply to as well.

Good luck to you.