Chances an Asian!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Title screwed up. My bad. Chance* an Asian. I'm gonna be bashed for this, I know it...</p>

<p>Junior right now. Chances ED and RD. Stats incomplete, I selected the main things.</p>

<p>Asian Male in NJ (best race/demographic combination you could have huh?)
Competitive Public</p>

<p>GPA: UW – 3.88, W – 4.38 (the school’s grading system was changed at the beginning of my junior year, grading went from A = >=95% to A = >=93% and AP/honors weighting was doubled from .25/.50 to .50/1.0 respectively; so my W GPA is a useless indicator :()</p>

<p>Rank: School doesn’t release it. But, I’m in top 5% in a class of about 600.</p>

<p>Letter Grades: Only one B+ as a freshman. Rest were A’s and A-‘s </p>

<p>APs: Physics B (frosh, 4 on test); rest were junior: Chem, Calc BC, Comp Sci A (took AB test), English
(expected (in order): 5, 5, 5, 4)</p>

<p>Senior Yr: All APs: Bio, Stat, English, Art History, Euro Hist, Latin</p>

<p>SAT I: M-800, CR – 730 (ugh…), W-740, Total – 2270 (retook recently, expecting better CR/W scores)</p>

<p>SAT IIs: MathII – 800 (2nd try, first time was low), Bio – 710 (done w/ H. Bio, I probably won’t submit this), Chem and Latin – awaiting scores</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Clubs/Programs/Etc.</p>

<ul>
<li>Medical Futures Club for 3 yrs (officer 12th) – heavy involvement this year.</li>
<li>Science Competitor’s Club for 3 yrs (officer 11th and 12th) – competed in Science Bowl, Toshiba Exploravision, and other minor contests </li>
<li>Central Jersey Math League (11th) </li>
<li>JSA for 4 yrs (officer 11th and 12th), position with regional cabinet this year + probably senior. Did a lot with JSA, tons of involvement. Possibly supplemental from advisor.</li>
<li>NJ Science Olympiad (10th and 11th) – competed for school in Chem I and Chem II</li>
<li>Chemistry Olympics (11th) – Research Competition, took 2nd, school came in first :)</li>
<li>Latin Club (9th and 11th) – no positions but lots of involvement, competition at Princeton U all three yrs with 2nd, 4th, and 2nd place standing each successive year in the region.</li>
<li>Columbia Science Honors Program (hoping to get in this year)</li>
<li>Attended Medical Program at UMDNJ - RWJ </li>
</ul>

<p>Community Service </p>

<ul>
<li> Local hospital (250+ hrs)</li>
<li> Local senior center (100+ hrs)</li>
<li> March of Dimes Local Youth Council, plenty of recognition here as well, lots of involvement (officer position 12th, 100+ hrs)</li>
</ul>

<p>Awards</p>

<ul>
<li> Chem Olympics Silver</li>
<li> National Latin Exam (in order by year): Silver, Gold, Gold</li>
<li> AIME Qualifier (does it mean anything anymore?)</li>
<li> USNCO Semifinalist </li>
<li> Competed USABO (no placing)</li>
<li> NJ Science Olympiad – Chem II top 10% ranking (I like Chem? Love Bio too. Looking forward to AP)</li>
<li> Competed in Science Bowl</li>
<li> Other Competitions Planned: Seed Magazine, Intel STS, Siemens, Science and Humanities Symposium</li>
</ul>

<p>*I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting stuff here and there… </p>

<p>Summer (this is the big one)</p>

<ul>
<li> Researched summer before sophomore year for over 300 hrs at a microbiology lab at a local university. Wrote a report and submitted to regional science fair for practice. No results of course. Performed small-scale labs. Will return this summer to work on my Intel Project to be submitted next year. Will be receiving a supplemental rec from professor and submitting research with my application. Expected total of over 600 hrs once done this summer. I only wish I had started sooner (freshman year perhaps). </li>
</ul>

<p>Misc. – Played piano for 6 yrs (I still hate the bloody thing, if that’s any indication of my proficiency). Play tennis, take lessons at a local racquet club (again, I suck, it’s just a hobby).</p>

<p>Well that’s it. I don’t know how much I might have left out, but I pretty much summed up the big stuff. Gimme chances ED and RD. Thx.</p>

2

<p>ED 29% RD 14%. If there was any justice in the world it would be 100%, but there isn't. But you'll get in somewhere good with those #'s - just apply to a bunch of the top 20 and someone will take you. I hope.</p>

3

<p>RD was less than 12.5% this year.</p>

<p><a href="http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/early2007statistics.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/early2007statistics.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>u have pretty good chances. being an asian male at a competitive NJ schools is a definite downer tho. the only thing you can do now is to write AWESOME essays. your chances of admission will hinge upon how you present yourself. and keep up the research!</p>

5

<p>thx so far...I'm considering plastic surgery and a legal name change :)</p>

6

<p>if you're really worried about that, i think it would be substantially more cost-effective to not report your ethnicity</p>

7

<p>well If he has generic East Asian name like Chan, Chueng Lee Kim Sato Murai </p>

<p>etc etc The adcom will figure it out....</p>

8

<p>yeah...exactly :(</p>

9

<p>Even if Prospective MD were to rename himself Lateesha Washington, the adcoms would figure it out based on his stereotypical score profile, activities, etc. I have to laugh at the ugh over "only" a 730. DON'T take any more SATs - it only makes you look more nerdy if you take the SAT 7 times even though your first set of scores is plenty good enough. I know it's hard to believe, but they WON'T like you any better with a higher CR/W than they do with a 730. Your academics are not the problem so increasing your efforts there won't help at all - it's perfectly clear that you are more than academically qualified for Penn or any other Ivy - what they are looking for is something else - some sign that you are an interesting person who will contribute to the vitality of the school and won't spend the next 4 years buried in the bowels of the library getting ready for med school. Unfortunately, everything about you hints to the adcoms that you will do just that, so your job is to convince them otherwise. The essays are one chance to make that clear. Another is to find some activity that is less stereotypical - instead of playing classical piano, become a rapper, take up motorcycle racing, something to show them that you have something that makes you different from all the other Asian kids with 800M SATs.</p>

10

<p>^^ i agree with you.</p>

11

<p>I appreciate the commentary Percy, I wish there was time to do that...</p>

<p>My emphasis will be placed on debate. Something I am very involved in and enjoy. I have one summer left to do something I guess...although research will take up most of my time.</p>

12

<p>I didn't have an 800M SAT. It's a ****ing number. I'm the pride of Asia aren't I?</p>

13

<p>Venkat - that's the whole point - they ain't particularly looking for 800 SATs. 700s (and even 600s) will do just as nicely if you have the other stuff they are looking for. Some of that "other stuff" (race, legacy status, athletic ability) you aren't in a position to influence, other aspects you are. The big mistake that people make is to put all (or any of) their efforts into "improving" 730+ SATs when the adcoms could care less if you have 730 or 780 - PROVIDED you have the right 'package' otherwise. They LOVE to turn down Asians w/ 800M - the adcoms themselves are rarely if ever Asians w. 800M and it makes them feel GOOD to be able to blackball the kids who were always beating them in school.</p>

14

<p>a) submit the 710 in bio... i submitted a 590 in japanese and a 710 on the math iic. that and you don't have a choice if you're planning to send the scores you're still waiting for.</p>

<p>b) you might want to mask your pre med interest as something else if possible (because you have all that research, you might not be able to...idk). maybe indicate an interest in math or physics or something. i did the same thing, but i got a 790 on the math not an 800.</p>

15

<p>why do you say "chance an asian?" isn't that demeaning to your own achievements?</p>

16

<p>Here is my estimate:</p>

<p>ED: Acceptance rate = either 0% or 100%
RD: Acceptance rate = either 0% or 100%</p>

<p>No such thing as 19% or 63% or... you get my point. I mean, how can you be 19% accepted. XD</p>

17

<p>^Since you deny that there is such a thing as probability I'll do the following bet with you - first you'll put up $100 and I'll pull a card from a deck. If that card is the ace of spades I'll give you another $100. If it isn't I keep your $100. Then I'll put up $100 (the $100 I just won from you, probably) and we'll flip a coin - if it's heads then you give me another $100. If it's tails you keep my $100 . According to you these two bets are the same because the odds of getting the ace of spades and getting heads on the coin are both either 0 or 100%</p>

18

<p>Percy: Of course I understand probability and I have never denied the existence of probability, but college admission differs from cards. I repeat: there is no such thing as 19% accepted. I mean... HOW THE HELL can you be 19% accepted? :P</p>

<p>College admission differs from card picking because it involves countless factors. You don't pick a card from 52 cards; you pick a card from thousands of cards. In addition, each card has its own design, size, shape, colour, and texture. It's not just about numbers.</p>

<p>You can be 0% accepted, which means that you're rejected. You can be 100% be accepted, which means that you're accepted. But I don't understand how you can be 19% or 25% or 66% accepted...-.-...</p>

<p>Oh by the way, I won't bet with you because the first bet is unfair to me. ^_^</p>

19

<p>not percentage accepted, dude.
the probability of being accepted, expressed as a percent.
19/100 chances of acceptance, not 19% accepted.</p>

20

<p>Chance of being accepted is useless. I will never consider a school's accepted rate. That's all I'm saying.</p>