Chance Me: Yale, Princeton, JHU, and UMBC

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a fourteen year old Asian/Pacific Islander female at a public high school that specializes in agricultural programs. My intended major is Computer Science, but I hope to enter

GPA Weighted: 5.44 (out of 6.0, should be 5.65 by end of year, my school made an error in reporting my courses)
GPA Unweighted: 3.96 (out of 4.0)
4 AP classes: Biology, Government, World History, and Environmental Science
Biology: 4 Government: 4
Class Rank: 2/350 (should be 1 by end of year)
I have taken most of my courses required for high school graduation at my local community college as a Dual-Enrollment student

Letters of Recommendation: I am hoping my letters are strong, as one is from my Communications professor at the community college who is also the head of the Communications Department at Notre Dame University, and the others are from my AP Biology teacher, my guidance counselor, and one of my middle school teachers who was a club sponsor for me.

I am not sure if this makes a difference, but I have only been in high school for two years, last year and this year, as I entered high school one year early by skipping eighth grade and advancing to ninth grade, and then moving up to twelfth grade this year. My highest math course at the moment is Calculus, which I will be taking at UMBC in the Spring as a non-degree seeking student. In addition, my father passed away last March in the middle of my school year very suddenly, and my essay touches on this topic.

Extracurricular Activities (during high school only- I face a bit of a disadvantage because I was only in high school for one year and these were the activities I took part in): I am a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society at CCBC, I started two speech and debate clubs, the Thomas Jefferson Speech and Debate Council, at my middle school and elementary school to help younger children learn debate techniques, I am a member of the Capitol Debate regional team, and I have come in first place with my partner at a regional, nationally ranked debate tournament at Georgetown University. I have received letters and certificates of recognition for starting debate clubs from President Barack Obama, Governor Larry Hogan, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Delegate Chris West, and Senator Ben Cardin. I also received the international LiFT scholarship from the Linux Foundation, and I completed a training course in Systems Administration. I have received multiple certificates for the completion of data science courses from Johns Hopkins University, and I competed in the International Data Science Bowl this past year, but did not place. I play softball and tennis, and I played on a travel team for softball. I co-founded a global innovations platform, and received funding from national health organizations to continue development. I am also certified in Tableau. I have lots of volunteer hours from working at a health campus and developing applications for them, and helping at a nonprofit health clinic at a local organization. I also run a free tutoring service for students at CCBC and my high school, and I am a paid tutor for two high schoolers. I am a member of the Future Physicians of America club and Mock Trial team at my high school. I have also had multiple poems published in my school’s literary magazine.

My SAT scores are not great, I received a 1390 (Reading and Writing: 720, Math: 670), but I retook the test and am hoping to get an improved score. My most recent PSAT score (if it matters) is a 1410 (Reading and Writing: 680, Math: 730).

I am really hoping for a substantial scholarship to UMBC, as I do not qualify for any sort of financial aid, so I primarily want to know if there is a possibility of me receiving a full-ride there.

Thank you!

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@sarburn With these scores, Yale and Princeton are definitely out of reach,. You need at the very least 1450+ and ideally 1500+ to have a decent chance at YP.

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I got the same score on the SAT . Try the ACT I think it’s a better test

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Seeing as how you’re only 14, the school choices that you’ve listed may take into consideration your SAT scores. As of right now, it’s too late to take any more standardized testings as you are a senior. Hope you’re SAT score will come out well. PSAT scores do not matter at all.

As for your GPA and activities, they definitely boost you over the top. However, keep in mind that you are competing with students that are as accomplished if not more than you are.

Your chances of getting in are decent. Don’t put all your hopes into those schools only though. Try for some other schools as well.

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For Yale and Princeton applying as a 14 year old is an obstacle, not an advantage. Typically, the most selective schools will only take a chance on such a young student when they are world class prodigies. You’d need to demonstrate truly spectacular intellectual promise and achievement on a national level to overcome the presumption that you lack the maturity to succeed in an environment that can be challenging for a 19 year old. I think you’d have a much, much better chance at HYPMS applying at 16. At 14, particularly with SAT scores that put you below the 25th percentile, I think your chances are not at all good.

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@tdy123 Thank you for the feedback! I am hoping to get an SAT score over 1500 with my recent testing session, as I my current score of 1390 is from two years ago. I received an international scholarship from the Linux Foundation to advance in the Linux field, as well as multiple speech and debate awards at the national and international levels and funding from the National Health Institute to develop an innovations platform. Do you think these will have any weight in the decision? I have had a very hard time overcoming the age issue, but I have taken multiple courses at my local community college and the University of Maryland with older peers, and asked my professors who wrote me letters of recommendation to highlight my maturity.

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@Riality @alexandra00 @Penn95 Thank you for the feedback!

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Mind doing Chances for me too?

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@sarburn you wrote “my current score of 1390 is from two years ago,” implying that you were 12 years old when you took it. Based on that, are you sure that the scores are still on your record? See https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/special-circumstances/younger-students

Unfortunately, “overcoming the age issue” may be impossible at schools which require freshman to live on campus. Put yourself in the position of a college administrator and consider the current climate regarding sexual assault/harassment both on campus and off. The risk of putting an unsupervised 14 or 15 year old in a freshman dorm with 18-21 year olds may just be to high.