Chances at Chicago, Columbia, etc. International, no GPA, 2260 SAT

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Student from Hong Kong. Senior, first year in an "international school" (private/independent, roughly follows the American system), previously studied in the local HK system (somewhat similar to the British system).</p>

<p>Local HKCE exams
4 distinctions, 4 credits (99th percentile)</p>

<p>SAT June 2009
CR: 710
M: 800
W: 620 (Essay 5)
Total: 2130</p>

<p>SAT October 2009
CR: 780
M: 770
W: 680 (Essay 8)
Total: 2230</p>

<p>Superscore is 2260 or 1580.</p>

<p>TOEFL: 105</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests:
(November)
Physics
Chinese w/ Listening
Maths II
(December)
World History</p>

<p>I haven't taken any of them yet, but I confidently expect to get 800 in all four based on results of practice tests. </p>

<p>Courses for this year:
AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP World History, Mandarin 3 (Grade 11), Computer Intro to Programming and Design (Grade 11), Music Technology (Grade 10)</p>

<p>GPA:
As this is my first year in an international school I do not yet have a GPA, although I'll receive a mid-term GPA which will be sent to the colleges. I doubt that GPA will significantly influence my chances of admission due to my extraordinary circumstances. </p>

<p>EC:
During the last three years my extracurricular activities (within the school) were virtually non-existent, due to the philosophy of local schools in focusing on the academics (specifically, in the last two years we focused on the HKCE exams). I was never a member of any club or team. The only award I've won from competition is the first place of an English typing competition last year; I've also won a school award for being ranked #1 in the subject of English language three years ago.
This year I joined the Reading & Writing Club in my school, is going to join the Human Rights Club and plan to participate in the Badminton team (which should be in the third season, too late for consideration by colleges)</p>

<p>College list:
I plan to apply to the following colleges: U of Chicago, Columbia U, UC (LA, Berkeley, San Diego), Northwestern U, U of Wisconsin-Madison, U of Michigan and U of Rochester. My major is undecided yet, but it should be either economics or sociology.</p>

<p>Comment/questions:
My SAT scores are far above average for most of these schools. In particular, the fact that Chicago does not consider the writing section should give me an advantage. I also believe myself to be a more competent essay writer than most (despite my low essay scores in the SAT), and this should give me an advantage in my applications.
On the other hand, my EC record is dismal, I have no volunteer work or job experience, and my extraordinarily circumstances means that the colleges may not be able to acquire sufficient information about my background, and this may discourage them from accepting me. </p>

<p>Initially, I considered Chicago and Columbia as reaches, UC and Northwestern as matches, and the other three as fairly safe schools. After reading some of the threads here, it appears that I may have been overly optimistic and may have underestimated the weight of EC/volunteer work. I hope that you can evaluate my chances at these colleges and perhaps suggest some safer choices if you do agree that my list is somewhat risky. </p>

<p>In addition, I want to know how badly my lack of EC/volunteer work affects my chances. Would some colleges consider a highly academically-focused individual, with some academic achievements, as acceptable or even desirable in some circumstances, or do all colleges basically require a certain amount of EC/volunteer work for admission? </p>

<p>Moreover, is it possible to alleviate the colleges' potential concern for my lack of EC with descriptions of my independent extracurricular activities (such as participation in several sports), or are colleges primarily concerned with actual records and awards?</p>

<p>Finally, I am trying to decide whether to take two more subject tests in December (e.g. Chemistry, Literature) - is it desirable to take more SAT subject tests, assuming that you can get a high score (say, 90th percentile) without spending time on them?</p>

2

<p>Coming from an international pool of students (especially in Hong Kong!) your chances are tough at a lot of schools. And that 680 on the writing is below many of your reach/match schools (with exception of Chicago as they don’t look at it).
I’d agree with you that your lack of ECs/Awards will hurt. But if you are involved in sports or other independent activities, I think you could make them work if you describe the time commitment in your application.
I don’t know of any schools off hand that don’t really look at ECs? Sorry
And I don’t think many schools look at more than 3 SATIIs…so I’m not sure if it would benefit you to take more (not sure, though)
I think you have a solid list of schools and should apply to all of them, but you should look at some other schools as well, perhaps Notre Dame (they don’t look at writing, either), Boston College, Boston University, etc.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your response. I was actually hoping for a rough estimate of my chances (though I know it’s highly subjective) - would you consider my chances of getting into Chicago or Columbia as above or below 50%? And would my chances at Rochester or Wisconsin be above or below 80%?</p>

4

<p>i wouldn’t say that your SATs are not good - i’ve got friends who got in with much lower SATs. but i would say your ECs will work against you.
i would say maybe right about your hometown, how you perceive it and what you’ve done to contribute (if at all)?
Write a great essay and work on your ECs - focus on how you present them.
I wouldn’t say your chances are great at Columbia or Chicago, but you will be okay.</p>