Hi, I’m new to this website, and I’m in need of help. I’m a senior in a highly competitive high school and currently applying to colleges. I really want to narrow my list of universities, and I don’t really know how. I would greatly appreciate the feedback! Please be as blunt as possible. Thanks!
Schools: University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, UC Berkeley, University of Chicago (DREAM SCHOOL so EA), Cornell, Columbia (<–trying to choose between the two Cs), Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, John Hopkins (another dream school but not as high as UChicago), and Northwestern
Stats:
SAT: n/a
ACT: 31 (retake?)
SAT II: WHistory- 680, USHistory- 680, BioM- 610 (I know they are horrible, sorry. Considering not sending)
IB Diploma Candidate: Scores out of 7 (HL: English, Geography, Economics (Mirco and Macro)) (SL: Spanish (6), Math, Environmental Science, Biology(5))
Unweighted GPA: 3.776/4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.48/5.0
Rank: 76/756
AP Scores (self report or no?):
AP Human Geography (5), AP US History (5), AP World History (4), AP English Lang (4), AP Bio (3), AP Spanish Lang (3)
Service Hours: roughly more than 500
Senior Year Courses: (For the IB classes, I’m taking both the AP and IB exams, so this year I have 12 exams total)
IB TOK
IB HL English Literature
IB SL Environmental Systems and Societies
IB HL Macro and Micro Economics
AP BC Calculus
Newspaper/Journalism Honors 2
AP Physics 1 (Self-study)
Teacher Assistant for IB Geography
AP US Government (online)
Junior:
IB SL Bio
IB English Language
IB/AP Human Geography
AP US History
IB SL Math
Newspaper/Journalism 1
IB Spanish 4 Language
IB TOK
Sophomore:
PreAP Algebra 2
PreAP English 2
PreIB Spanish 3
AP World History
Speech/Health (4.0 but required for graduation)
PreAP Chemistry
Freshman:
Theatre 1 (FA cred)
P.E.
PreAP English 1
PreAP World Geography
PreAP Spanish 2
PreAP Geometry
PreAP Biology
Awards:
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- Anticipated IB Diploma candidate
- National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar
- Silver (2015) and Bronze (2016) Awards in the National Spanish Exam (for non-native speaker)
- Bronze Award in District UIL for both English in Ready Writing and Journalism in Editorial Writing
- A Honor Roll
- Top Sales Performer in 2015 for my school’s newspaper subscription
- (Applying to some other scholarship/awards, etc.)
Extracurricular Activities:
- Editor-in-Chief of my school’s newspaper
- Co-founder and co-president for a student volunteer organization; currently tied with a local non-profit and working with three elementary schools (for tutoring and extra volunteer opportunities)
- Staff writer for an online literary mag (since this June); recently gotten started and has a decent following; based in Toronto about social issues and culture.
- Cultural volunteer/representative in my city’s Indonesian Consulate; I help sell food, help set up/clean up after big events, teach traditional dances, perform in dances, etc.
- Volunteering in general: in hospitals (for Red Cross and Students without Borders (a student branch of Doctors without Borders); at schools and related school events (for National Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society); at my school (worked in our book-room to pass out textbooks, etc.)
- I’m getting a job at my local Barnes & Noble soon, so hopefully maybe that as well
Summer activities:
- The past two summers I’ve been working at MD Anderson Cancer Center as an intern in two different fields of oncology: Epidemiology and Infectious Disease; I’ve aided in research, clinical work, clerical work, patient care, shadowing and learning more about specific fields within these branches, and I had to a research project on a specific field of oncology. Mine was about breast and ovarian cancer study.
- Volunteering (again) in general at a hospital
- Volunteered at my school to help the freshman class get settled, bring them on a tour, etc.
- Babysitting for the neighbors and family friends
Essay: Pretty decent; I’m a strong writer, and I’ve had my college essays revised and edited by friends in school, by friends at university currently and by a college counselor.
Recommendations: Hoping for some good ones. I’ve got my junior year English teacher, my junior year Spanish teacher, my sophomore year Algebra 2 teacher (we’re close and I’ve known her for awhile), my IB counselor (who is also my Geography/Environmental Sci teacher), and my junior year IB Bio teacher.
Additional recommendations: Possibly from a fellow and/or associate professor I interned with this summer. I’m also family friends with a professor at Stanford who I interned a little bit for last summer (like 3 weeks worth). I’m not sure.
State: Texas
School Type: Public (Class of 756)
Ethnicity: Mixed Race (Hispanic and Pacific Islander)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: roughly around $120k (Note on the income bracket: My father is in the medical field but my mother is unemployed, so that’s why it is that high. Also, my dad went to college and my mother didn’t (she left without a diploma because she couldn’t afford staying in school).
Additional Info: URM, female in STEM, parents were immigrants (now have citizenship)
Possible Majors: Molecular and Cell Bio, Cancer Bio, Bio (in general)
Thanks again!