Chance Me Top Schools? =]

<p>All right. It's been an exciting year!</p>

<p>Just updating my stuff, and want some new input! In fact, I really would appreciate some ideas on what some good safety schools would be for me.</p>

<p>Schools I am considering:</p>

<p>a bunch, but I'm AIMING for hpyscm, as my username indicates. (with "c" being caltech) lol. I don't know what I should have for safeties, so that's why I'm making this thread hee hee.</p>

<p>Looking to go into Physics</p>

<p>Asian male
Highly competitive HS
Rank: 4 out of around 560
4=regular classes, 5=AP or honors
GPA: 3.95 UW, 4.75 W</p>

<p>PSAT: 226
SAT: 2360 (CR:760)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chemistry, 800 Physics, 780 Biology M, 740 USH (lol)</p>

<p>AP Scores:</p>

<p>AP Calc BC: 5
AP Lang: 5
APUSH: 5
AP Psych: 5
AP Physics B: 5
AP Physics C Mech: 5 (self-studied)
AP Biology: 5</p>

<p>Hooks: Summer Science Program</p>

<p>Freshman year:</p>

<p>Honors Chem
Algebra 2
Spanish 3
Health/P.E.
English 9
Honors Orchestra
Early Western Civilization and Islamic world (mandatory history classes, no honors available)</p>

<p>Sophomore year:</p>

<p>AP Biology (5)
Honors Precalculus
English 10
Spanish 4
PE
Intro to Psychology
Honors chamber orchestra</p>

<p>Junior year:
AP US History
AP Calc BC
AP Physics
AP Language and Composition
AP Psych
Honors chamber orchestra
Spanish 5</p>

<p>P.E. over the summer</p>

<p>Senior year:
Current Issues (required course for all seniors)
AP Lit
AP Spanish
Honors chamber orchestra
AP Chemistry
AP Physics C (independent study but still goes on transcript)
AP Statistics</p>

<p>Activities/Honors</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
• Violin: Eastern Regionals (1st violin section)
• Violin: All-State (1st violin 4th chair, which means 4th highest in state)
• Science Bowl
• NEMFA (New England Music Festival Association)
• Math Team
• Key Club
• Opus 89 (local orchestra)
• Piano Honors
• Participated in a Trio and Quartet for Piano
• Self-taught myself guitar
• Was in a rock band
o 2nd place at school battle of the bands
o Haiti benefit concert (along with other bands). Peformed in a local Haiti help concert to raise funds and awareness for Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake
• Played in the pit orchestra for a West Hartford Musical- Oklahoma! (30+ hours of volunteering)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:</p>

<p>• FIRST Robotics
• Math Team- second highest scoring underclassman on B team in my state
• Key Club
• Science Bowl
• Debate Club</p>

<p>Music:
• Played violin in a fundraising concert.
• Connecticut Youth Symphony
• Eastern Regionals (1st violin)
• NEMFA (New England Music Festival Association) (1st vln chair 15)
• Piano Honors
• Piano quintet, finalist in the Rayburn Chamber Music Competition (Yale University)
• Volunteering at nursing home every Friday, playing piano music =]
• 2nd place at Audrey Thayer Piano Competition (local piano competition for highest-level piano students)</p>

<p>Other stuff:
• President of Math Honors Society (Mu Alpha Theta)
• AMC 10 school winner (114)
• Foreign Language Honor Society (Spanish Honors Society)
• On Math team, was one of the 8 people from our school to go to the state-level math meet- (CT State Association of Mathematics Leagues (CSAML))
• Advanced from the state level math competition to New Englands- The New England Association of Mathematics Leagues (NEAML)</p>

<p>Summer
• In a pit orchestra (volunteering), I think around 60 hours total
• Helped write articles for the math wiki @ Main Page - OMC
• Teaching Violin lessons
• Tutoring in math
• Doing epilepsy research at Yale University
• 60+ hours volunteering at a camp for mentally and physically disabled children</p>

<p>Junior Year:</p>

<p>Music:</p>

<p>• 2012 NAfME All-National Honor Orchestra. 1st vln 9th chair
• All-State Music Festival 1st vln 6th chair
• Connecticut Youth Symphony 4th chair 1st violin
• Eastern Regionals Concertmaster
• Carnegie Hall performance (soloist in vivaldi concerto for 4 violins)
• New England Music Festival associate concertmaster
• Piano Honors
• Piano achievement Day Pre-College 1 level passed</p>

<p>Academic:
• Science Bowl Captain of B team
• BEST robotics (1st place robot, 1st place team, 1st place spirit, 2nd place presentation, 3rd place engineering notebook!)
• FIRST robotics
• President of Mu Alpha Theta
• Math Team- CAPTAIN
o Qualified for States – 3rd place geometry in division
o Qualified for NEAML this year, but couldn’t go due to teacher having something that day (what a n00b)
• JETS Division 2 Bronze Medal team at Connecticut
• Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award</p>

<p>• NHS
• Science National Honors Society
• Foreign Language Honors Society
• Dartmouth College Book Award
• Research at Yale for Epilepsy</p>

<p>Summer:</p>

<p>Summer Science Program
Continued epilepsy research (almost done with my research paper for Siemens)</p>

<p>tl;dr:</p>

<p>Violin all-nationals level, piano not as much lol
Summer Science Program
Math team, science bowl (kinda), and Mu Alpha Theta leadership positions
Some robotics and other sciencey awards</p>

<p>Sorry this is so disorganized. I literally just copy/pasted from a list I have been randomly updating for the past few years. I'll make sure it looks better on the common app!</p>

<p>Thanks for chancing me in advance, and I'll chance back!</p>

<p>Thanks!! =]</p>

<p>Wow, i’m feeling pretty bad about my application now.</p>

<p>An Asian math whiz / violin prodigy. What else is new?</p>

<p>But on a more serious note, you have a good shot everywhere. Your application is REALLY impressive, nice work.</p>

<p>Which Summer Science Program are you talking about? The one I know that goes by the same name is one where the participants create algorithms to map out the paths of various asteroids. Since you mentioned you continued your epilepsy research at the camp, I don’t think we’re talking about the same one.</p>

<p>Nope I’m talking about the asteroid one <3. I continued my research once I came back</p>

<p>I guess I wasn’t clear about that… sorry :P</p>

<p>In that case I feel like you have solid chances for all the schools. SSP will definitely help you a lot and your violin credentials are quite impressive. Just make sure you write pretty good essays!</p>

<p>I love the range of music, from rock to Vivaldi, and the community service component using your musical skills. You certainly are qualified for all of these schools. Admission still is a reach for everyone.</p>

<p>O my goodness! You have a great chance for all schools. Just keep you grades up!</p>

<p>ayyyyyyyy look what everyone’s saying about your chances
don’t apply to uconn now LOL</p>

<p>HYPSCM: High reach</p>

<p>Music EC might help you but I don’t see anything special.
Remember! You are an Asian male CT.</p>

<p>You will get into some great colleges.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your responses. 20more, do you really think they’re all high reaches? :/</p>

<p>applying to any of these schools is like the lottery but i think you have a good chance at all of em…dont forget to apply to other schools tho just in case the drawing is not in your favor! good luck!</p>

<p>Yeah I totally know what you mean, and I will make sure to apply to other schools. Speaking of which, what schools do you think would be good safeties for me?</p>

<p>Asian people like you make me want to commit suicide … YOU HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF GETTING ANYWHERE</p>

<p>UChicago
UMichigan
UMaryland- college park
UC s
UT Austin
Duke
UArizona</p>

<p>“20more, do you really think they’re all high reaches?”
Yes, I do.</p>

<p>Let me give you two examples (out of many).</p>

<p>Friend of mine (Asian male from an elite HS, HS class of 2011)
SAT 2400 and 35ACT
GPA 4.0 (UW)
Multiple 800s on SAT IIs
Not spectular ECs but a national award in science
Result: Rejected or waitlisted from HYPSMC
Attending: lower Ivy school</p>

<p>Me (Asian male from an elite HS, HS class of 2011)
SAT 2380 ACT 35
GPA 3.96 (UW)
Multiple 800s on SAT IIs
AIME (2) and math contest awards (No national level)
Community service awards and unique ECs
Result: Did not apply to Cal Tech but rejected or waitlisted from HYPSM.
Attending: UChicago</p>

<p>I know you will get into some great colleges (could be HY or SM who knows).
But, don’t think that you have good chances at those colleges because you don’t.
Do your best and hope for the best.</p>

<p>Being an Asian male is “bigger problem” than you think.</p>

<p>Good luck to you!!!</p>

<p>Lol ok man. Thanks for the honest feedback</p>

<p>And thanks dragonfly for that list… I’ll definitely look into those!!!</p>

<p>You’re looking pretty well off right now… If anyone gets into hpyscm, it’ll be you :smiley: Just btw, when you say president of Mu Alpha Theta, do you mean your local division? (math nerd here)</p>