chance this scared junior!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everyone, I'm an Indian junior at a large and pretty competitive high school. I would really appreciate if I could get some input on my chances at:
Yale (dream school, but a very long shot in my opinion)
Columbia
Cornell
UPenn
NYU
Northwestern
Pitt (my one safety, lol)
U of Chicago
Vanderbilt</p>

<p>My Stats are:</p>

<p>o 11th Grade (junior year)
Weighted grade-point average (maximum of 5.0): 5.0
De-weighted grade-point average (maximum of 4.0): 4.0
Class rank: 3rd out of 796
o 10th Grade (sophomore year)
Weighted grade-point average (maximum of 5.0): 5.0
De-weighted grade-point average (maximum of 4.0): 4.0
Class rank: 4th out of 814
o 9th Grade (freshman year)
Weighted grade-point average (maximum of 5.0): 4.667
De-weighted grade-point average (maximum of 4.0): 4.0
Class rank: 8th out of 808 </p>

<p>Classes: I have gotten low to mid A's in all of my classes throughout my high school career thus far</p>

<p>9th: honors college algebra, honors english, honors French 2, computer programming: visual basic, computer programming: C++, honors biology, Honors american studies</p>

<p>10th: honors trig and analytic geometry, honors english, honors french 3, PLTW: Intro to Engineering (honors), honors chemistry, AP american history</p>

<p>11th: AP calc AB, honors english, honors french 4, AP biology, honors physics, AP world history</p>

<p>Standardized Tests: I didnt do too hot on these lol :(</p>

<p>SAT: 740 reading, 690 math, 740 writing
SAT II's: us history 700, the following are based on practice tests, since i am taking them over this weekend: math I: 750, biology: 730, world history: 720
AP tests: us history 5, the following are projected, calc AB 4, bio 5, history 5
PSAT: 206 sophomore year, 218 junior year</p>

<p>EC's: many of these will happen for sure, so I had to put them in past tense for my resume lol
• Math Honor Society
• French Honor Society (leadership position: Vice President)
• National Honor Society (leadership position: Treasurer)
o National society for students that are gifted in academics and possess character and leadership qualities.
• Pittsburgh Health Career Scholars Academy
o Formerly known as the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Healthcare, this was a highly selective summer program hosted by the University of Pittsburgh in which students studied the health care field, as well as conducted research.
• Political Science Club
o High school club for students interested in politics. Attended the Model United Nations at Kutztown University and the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference at University of Pennsylvania through this club.
• Future Business Leaders of America (leadership position: vice president)
o This club is for those students who are interested in the business field.
• Club Med
o Students who join this club are highly interested in pursuing a career in medicine.
• Odyssey of the Mind
o Club that stresses work outside of school on a long term technical problem that can be exhibited at the regional, state, and world level.
• Science Olympiad
o This club is for students who are interested in the sciences. The club participates in two regional competitions, and encompasses a variety of categories in the sciences.
• Parkland Track and Field
o Threw the javelin for high school’s track and field team as a sophomore.
• Parkland Tennis Team
o Participated at the junior varsity level as a freshman.
• Lehigh Valley Hospital
o Volunteered at this hospital over the summer of 2008. Volunteer activities included working in the pharmacy and the volunteer office.
• Sacred Heart Hospital
o Volunteered at this hospital over the summer of 2009.</p>

<p>my officer positions are: vice pres of fbla and french honor society, as well as treasurer of national honor society</p>

<p>Work experience: Kumon Math and Reading center since the last year, will continue employment at this tutoring center until college</p>

<p>Awards: so few :(</p>

<p>• 2006, March 18 – Received 2nd place at the Lehigh Valley Science & Engineering Research Fair in my category.
• 2006, March 18 – Also received The Office of Naval Research: Naval Science Award at the Lehigh Valley Science & Engineering Research Fair.
• 2007, January – Advanced to the FBLA state level competition in the Business Math category.
• 2007, May – Graduated from Bal-Vihar; a Hindu religious school.
• 2007, December – Advanced to FBLA state level competition in the Business Calculations category.
• 2008, August – Completed 64 hours of service at Lehigh Valley Hospital for the summer.
• 2008, December – Scored in the top 99th percentile on the PSAT/NMSQT with a score of 218.
2009, January - ninth place at state competition for fbla
• 2009, March – First place at regional competition with Odyssey of the Mind.</p>

<p>Well, that's about it. I know that I have almost no chance at yale and columbia, but what the heck, might as well try lol. Realistically, I'm aiming for vanderbilt, university of chicago, or northwestern university (i have family in chicago, which is convenient).</p>

<p>If you've read this far, THANK YOU, and I would really appreciate if you guys could give me some good, honest feedback. Thanks again.</p>

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<p>Oh, i almost forgot lol:</p>

<p>senior year courses are: AP calc BC, AP French, AP english, AP chemistry, AP comparative government, and AP Economics</p>

3

<p>sorry but i have to bump lol</p>

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<p>I think the most selective schools will be tough. You have great grades, very good scores, and good ECs. But you’re an ORM with ECs that are pretty typical–especially if you’re male. Your list isn’t bad. As you note, Pitt should be safe–it’s a great school, and may give you merit aid, too. I think you have good chances at NYU, Chicago, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern–but even with those, you may not get into all of them. I think you may even want to add a couple more schools–when you’re shooting for the most selective schools, it’s very hard to predict what they will be looking for. I wouldn’t discourage you from applying to Ivies–you’re in the zone–but you have to be realistic about it. Maybe add Brown, something like Michigan.</p>

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<p>SATs are low. Most upper elite tier colleges will cut off most unhooked Asian applicants right where you stand. Boost that score by cutting back on the fluff ECs, and then on your remaining ECs, try to take a leadership position. In other ECs, kick butt in competition and move up to state-level whenever possible.</p>

<p>Skip the hospital and health-related activities. That’s like wearing a “Reject Me” sign in front of college admissions committees. Don’t you kids realize that they hate Asian pre-meds?</p>

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<p>Thankyou both very much for your replies. I do have one question though, what is ORM? and in my application, should I stress going to the governor’s school, since it sort of is a big deal in my area? Also, my posted sat score is not superscored, its from one sitting, dont know if that helps. Im planning on taking it again in october, but its not feasible for my ability to get higher than, say a 2250 lol. Thanks again for the replies. Any other feedback?</p>

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<p>ORM is “over-represented majority.” You are a science-loving, tennis-playing Asian male. There are a lot of people in that niche (many of them play the violin, too). I would not advise skipping the health-related activities if that’s what you really want to do. Doing ECs that you care about is more important than picking ones that will get you in a college one notch “better.” I think it’s self-defeating, too, since you are more likely to excel in ECs you like.</p>

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<p>Oh, ok, that makes sense lol. Ivies aside, what are my legitimate chances at:</p>

<p>Vanderbilt
NYU
University of Chicago
Northwestern University
University of Notre Dame
Unversity of Virginia</p>

<p>Thank You</p>

<p>And addressing the “hook” matter, I guess my only hook would be that I was accepted to the prestigious governor’s school, and I’ll be going there over the summer. This will give me the opportunity of conducting research at a high tier university (University of Pittsburgh). Don’t know if that helps much or not though…lol. Once again, thanks for all your replies!</p>

9

<p>bump…please help me! I really want to know my chances at these colleges. Thank you.</p>

10

<p>some please chance me! Thanks</p>

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<p>Yo what up Varun
Dude u ar my hero u’ll def get into thoses schools
Apply to Yale early if ur sure thats ur numba 1</p>

<p>Yo boy
NM, the dude who ran around in a hot dog suit</p>

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<p>lol, who are you?</p>

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<p>2008, August – Completed 64 hours of service at Lehigh Valley Hospital for the summer.
• 2007, January – Advanced to the FBLA state level competition in the Business Math category.
• 2007, May – Graduated from Bal-Vihar; a Hindu religious school.
• 2007, December – Advanced to FBLA state level competition in the Business Calculations category.</p>

<p>These are not awards.</p>

<p>You have good chances, no one can complain about your grades (Great job!), but if you want my truthful opinion, you stock piled on ECs that you have not continued to do, which shows little commitment and little passion for anything (unless you have been doing it since freshman year, then i apologize). If you have just been doing these clubs this year or just to get in, it will reflect in your essay IMO.</p>

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<p>Yea, I agree that some of my EC’s are pretty shallow. FBLA, however, I have been a part of since freshmen year, going to states every single year, and placing in states this year. I am also vice president of FBLA, its actually one of my main clubs lol. Thanks for the feedback. any other opinions are greatly appreciated.</p>

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<p>you’ll get in, dont worry</p>

16

<p>i would say on almost all of the colleges… good luck</p>

17

<p>sry for all of these replies, </p>

<p>my college application will look almost exactly like this,
please let me know if you got in any of these colleges.
<a href="mailto:school2soccer@yahoo.com">school2soccer@yahoo.com</a></p>

<p>im not even kidding, my application will almost me identical. hopefully i’ll do better on sat’s, haha. im too foreign (but from Nepal)</p>

<p>please email me (im a freshman at hs right now, going to be a sophomore in fall)</p>

<p>*<strong><em>please email</em></strong>
Thanks</p>

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<p>Thank you all for the replies. I would would greatly appreciate if someone did the reach/match/safety method on my prospective colleges lol, as a more concrete way for me to know what colleges I have a better chance at.</p>

19

<p>bump…any other ideas?</p>

20

<p>bump…could someone please use the reach/match/safety method on my stats…thanks.</p>