Hi everyone, I am an Asian male from a North Carolina magnet school. Right now I only have a vague idea of where I want to apply. However, UNC Morehead Cain is looking like a possibility. If I do that, I will also apply to an Ivy. However, I will have to get nominated for any full-ride scholarships, which will be difficult given the competitiveness of my school. I either want to major in a field of biology or computer science, which will be based on where I get in. My reach dream schools are Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, and Duke.
SAT: took twice, first time 1460 with 7/7/7 essay, second time 1550 (no essay)
PSAT: 1500, at least national merit semifinalist
At my school, there is no unweighted GPA. Junior GPA: 4.5/5. Freshman and sophomore GPA: 4.45 (at different non-magnet school). I took a relatively difficult courseload: AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP level Chinese, Advanced Physics, Orchestra, Web Dev. I took AP Stats sophomore year.
Senior year, if I get all A’s I will have a 4.92/5 weighted GPA. Classes: Math Mod, Diff EQ, Classical Genetics, Combinatorics, Procedural Programming, Databases, Environmental Chem, Graph Theory, Molecular and Cellular Biology. Every class except Classical Genetics is AP level (when calculated into GPA).
I volunteered at my hometown’s Cultural and Community Center for about 60 hours. I also played violin at a few fundraisers for my county’s school system and for a food drive.
Sports: Freshman year-JV Basketball, JV Football. Sophmore year-JV Basketball, varsity football. Junior year-varsity basketball (no football at magnet school).
I have a leadership position in the counseling department at my school. I will help contact colleges to set up college rep visits. A relatively selective position that I had to apply for.
Main extracurricular is research in plant bio done at NC State. I started this summer and will continue into the school year. I have an independent project that branched off of a grad students project. I will be able to submit to competitions if everything goes well. May have a published paper.
Recs: Chem teacher: ok, Chinese teacher: good, Research mentor: probably the best.
The reason I am considering Morehead Cain is because the people that got it from my school this year weren’t all top of the class but they all did athletics or a dance club. Since I was a dual sport athlete until I was unable to continue to play football, I think I have a decent shot. I’m just concerned because I don’t have any real hooks (unless first generation citizen counts).
I am also considering applying to the Park scholarship at NC State. However, I know less about this scholarship.