Chances at MIT/Cornell/Princeton/Upenn/Penn State/University of Maryland/CMU

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Profile:</p>

<p>Gender: Male</p>

<p>Year: Rising Junior</p>

<p>Race: Caucasian</p>

<p>Location: Texas</p>

<p>Parents: Father has Ph.D, mother has some college</p>

<p>School: Homeschooled since 1st grade, but haven’t taken any classes at home since 7th grade. I have been outsourcing my classes at a local education center (more of a “prep” school), and have also been taking classes at the Community College. The courses I have taken or will have taken and projected GPA are listed below. I haven’t taken any AP courses, or the AP tests. I thought that my CC record would be sufficient, is that correct? Oh by the way, I plan to go into Chemical or Electrical Engineering in College. </p>

<p>Classes:</p>

<p>Community College Courses: (course numbers in parenthesis) </p>

<p>Sophomore Year:</p>

<li><p>College Algebra. (1314). </p></li>
<li><p>Trigonometry. (1316). </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Junior Year:</p>

<li><p>Pre Calculus. (2412). </p></li>
<li><p>Calculus 1. (2413). </p></li>
<li><p>English. (1301). </p></li>
<li><p>History. (1301). </p></li>
<li><p>English (1302). </p></li>
<li><p>History (1302). </p></li>
<li><p>Introduction to Chemistry (1405). </p></li>
<li><p>General Chemistry 1 (1411). </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Senior Year: </p>

<li><p>Calculus 2. (2414). </p></li>
<li><p>Calculus 3. (2415). </p></li>
<li><p>Physics-Mechanics and Heat. (2425). </p></li>
<li><p>Physics-Electricity, Magnetism and Light (2426). </p></li>
<li><p>Biology 1 (1406). </p></li>
<li><p>Biology 2 (1407). </p></li>
<li><p>Foundations of Engineering 1 (1304). </p></li>
<li><p>Foundations of Engineering 2 (1305). </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Community College GPA: 4.0 (Not Weighted) </p>

<p>Horizons Education Center Classes in High School:</p>

<p>Freshmen Year:</p>

<li><p>Bob Jones Curriculum Biology:</p></li>
<li><p>Saxon Algebra 2. (Took Algebra 1 in 8th grade…)</p></li>
<li><p>English 9:</p></li>
<li><p>AD Player’s Drama: </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Sophomore Year: </p>

<li><p>SAT preparation class:</p></li>
<li><p>Literary Analysis (English 10):</p></li>
<li><p>Integrated Physics and Chemistry:</p></li>
<li><p>French 1:</p></li>
<li><p>Art Technology:</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Junior Year: </p>

<li>French 2. </li>
</ol>

<p>Senior Year: </p>

<li>British Literature:</li>
</ol>

<p>Horizons Education Center GPA: 4.0 (Not Weighted) </p>

<p>Sat Scores</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning Test: Math-750, Writing-770, Critical Reading-700. (2220 total)</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests: Math II: 800. Chemistry: 750(Can bring up…)</p>

<p>Top 5 Extra Curricular Activities:</p>

<li><p>Civil Air Patrol: Billy Mitchell Award recipient. One year of leadership experience at the Squadron level. Was selected as the Flight Commander over 10-12 cadets, and also volunteered to operate the supply quarters of the Squadron. </p></li>
<li><p>Sports: Participated in Tai Kwon Do for 3 years from 5-8th grade. Earned the rank of 1st Poom Black Belt. Participated in numerous competitions and won many trophies and medals. I also played high school basketball for a home school league in Houston, TX. I have played JV for two years, and will be playing Varsity for the next two years. </p></li>
<li><p>Community Service: Let’s see, where do I begin! Since 5th grade I have operated the Audio/Visual unit at my church. Doing the math, that alone gives me 200+ hours of service. I volunteered at the Republican National Convention as a page. I worked 30+ hours at that convention. I solely organized a food drive in Houston and raised 500lbs of food for the homeless. That took about 20+ hours of my time. I have played the piano for the elderly in the nursing home since a young age. 20+ hours of service playing the piano. All in all, I probably have 300+ hours of community service right now. I will have a lot more before I graduate!</p></li>
<li><p>Music: I have played the piano and taken lessons since I was 5 years old. I have played in at least two recitals every year since that point. I see myself as very accomplished in the piano. I played the trumpet in a Home School Orchestra during 5th and 6th grade…I probably should of stayed involved in it, but I didn’t know I wanted to go to an Ivy at the time :slight_smile: </p></li>
<li><p>Job Experience: Since I turned 12 I have been doing odd jobs for my neighbor’s. I currently do pet care for 3 of my neighbor’s. I have had an “off and on” mowing business over the years. I normally have one or two lawns that I mow over the summer. This summer I worked at a Furniture Store in my town. It was a great learning experience for me. </p>

<p>Being homeschooled, I haven’t had the opportunity to do some of the “normal” activities that fellow Ivy league bound students have done, such as Robotics, math clubs, state science fair competitions (actually I won the 2008 science fair competition at Horizons Education Center)…etc. Anyways, I have a few questions about my resume.</p></li>
<li><p>Do I have the “right” courses for MIT or Cornell? Any suggestions to revise my schedule? </p></li>
<li><p>Are my extra curricular activities good enough for an Ivy League institution? If not, do you have any ideas that I could integrate into my schedule over the next two years? </p></li>
<li><p>Does having a lot of CC courses, but not any AP courses or tests hurt my chances? </p></li>
<li><p>Being a homeschooled student from the south (Texas), will that put me as “minority” and thus increase my chances? </p></li>
<li><p>I haven’t taken Geometry because I went onto more advance math, should I take a summer Geometry course? Is it that important? I mean, I will have completed Calculus 3 by graduation, and was just wondering if Geometry really matters…</p></li>
<li><p>Any other tips?!? Thank you so much for your input!</p></li>
</ol>

2

<p>Ok, first of all, I’m really happy to see a fellow homeschooled student posting a chance thread :slight_smile: I cannot claim to be experienced at all in homeschooled admissions, since I am applying myself this year, but I can definitely give you a good perspective based on my own experiences.</p>

<p>Let’s take a look:</p>

<p>-Coursework is very good, especially with that 4.0 GPA. We’ve done very similar courseloads at our respective community colleges, except you’ve done bio as opposed to my heavier focus on chem :P</p>

<p>-Test scores are good, nothing not to like. But, you’re going to want to take at least 1-2 more subject tests. If you’re curious as to what I’m doing, I’m taking Chemistry, Physics, Literature, US History, and Literature. Of course, you don’t have to take so many (CHECK the requirements of your colleges…for example Columbia requires 4 from homeschooled students), BUT I highly recommend taking a couple more, and getting 700+ in them. By the looks of your schedule, which as I mentioned is similar to mine, you could easily pull off 700+ in Physics and History (provided you took US history haha).</p>

<p>-ECs: Great, but not super outstanding. I get the feeling that homeschooled students’ ECs are scrutinized more than HS students, because they are expected to make more use of all that “free time” (which, as we both know, is kind of nonexistent lol). What I recommend is to really focus on the first EC of yours (very unique) in your app. Basically, bring lots of attention to it!</p>

<p>As for your questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>You have a great curriculum and transcript. Don’t worry about not having taking any AP classes or tests (I haven’t). You may want to consider taking AP tests after you are admitted, depending on the credit giving policies of the school you are going to (they may not accept the CC credit). That’s what I’m doing. Also, SAVE YOUR SYLLABUSES. I’ve heard that they make it a lot easier to get college credit (keep in mind though that schools like MIT and Cornell aren’t likely to give much anyways, but it’s always worth a try).</p></li>
<li><p>See what I wrote about your ECs above.</p></li>
<li><p>Not at all, but do take more SATIIs!!!</p></li>
<li><p>I’ve always wondered this myself. Here’s my theory - as a homeschooled applicant, you automatically stand out. They haven’t even read your app and you already have caught the adcom’s attention. That’s very, very, very, good. Homeschooled students are known to be unique and smart. So, if you have an app that delivers on this expectation, you have a good chance. It’s important to allay any fears they might have over your academic prowess by taking lots of SATIIs, having a good SATI (which you do, but you might shoot for 2300+ if you care to), and having good recommendations. You should submit an extra recommendation if the college allows it! The more they know about you the better!</p></li>
<li><p>That’s absurd. You do not need to take geometry…if you can a 750 on the SATI math and an 800 on SATII math you’re totally fine.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to see my homeschool profile, you can check it out here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/531963-chance-unique-applicant.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/531963-chance-unique-applicant.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
</ol>

<p>Chances for you:</p>

<p>MIT - High Reach
Cornell - Low Reach
Princeton - Reach
Upenn - Reach
Penn State - Match
University of Maryland - Safety (?)
CMU - Safety (?)</p>

<p>I’m not totally familiar with the last two. Remember that all the ivy-level schools are reaches for nearly everyone. With your current SATI score and grades, you are in the ball-park…just like everyone else :wink: </p>

<p>Have you considered any other smaller schools like Swarthmore, Pomona..?</p>

<p>Good luck! (to the both of us haha)</p>

<p>EDIT: LOL I don’t think I’ve ever written this much for a chance thread! :P</p>

3

<p>Thank you very much for your time! I’ll would reply to your thread, but we are virtually on the same track! :)</p>

<p>Thanks for your information about the subject tests. I havn’t really thought about taking more then 2 subject tests before. I’m taking American History this year, so next may i’ll probably take the American history test. I havn’t had physics, and won’t take my first physics course till my senior year :(. Is there a good “self” study book for the SAT physics?? (Oh btw, did you notice you put Literature twice on your list? :-p). I could look into taking the Literature test. I have read a lot, so I could probably do well. Or I could take the French test…So many possibilities! lol. </p>

<p>I haven’t heard of Swarthmore or Pomona. Do they offer engineering degrees? </p>

<p>My recommendations should be amazing. I can get a great one from the principle at my private school, and probably a couple from my professor’s at my CC.</p>

<p>haha thanks alot for your time! Your insights have really helped me. Best of luck to ya!</p>

4

<p>Whoops, I meant to say Math II and Literature, to make a total of 5. </p>

<p>As far as subject tests go: I didn’t notice that you haven’t taken physics yet. You can easily self-study it with Princeton Review and Sparknotes (what I did for an 800). Or you can do literature, which is harder according to some people, but it doesn’t require much background knowledge.</p>

<p>I also overlooked the fact that you want to go into engineering. Instead of Pomona, take a look at Harvey Mudd (in the same consortium). It’s very well known for sciences/engineering, and it’s in CA :)</p>

5

<p>Oh ok. Yeah I have to agree that taking more subject tests will look very good on my record. </p>

<p>I saw that the physics test has a wicked good curve :). You can miss 15 or something and still get an 800. I’ll probably look into taking that. </p>

<p>Oh yeah! Harvey Mudd! Great college! Very small though…But it is in Cali!</p>

6

<p>Harvey Mudd may be small, but remember that it’s next door to 4 other colleges, which you can take classes at, etc</p>

7

<p>Not going to chance you, but…
“1. Bob Jones Curriculum Biology:”
:slight_smile: my school has some bob jones textbooks =P
We rarely follow what they say to do, though (my English teacher even had us look for propaganda in an intro paragraph - name-calling propaganda with no specific proof…)</p>

8

<p>Yeah the Bob Jone’s Curriculum is kind of…really conservative. That is why I plan to take biology at the CC my senior year.</p>

9

<p>OMG. Bob Jones Biology? Are you SERIOUS?</p>

<p>I wouldn’t even stop at calling it conservative… I’d call it something else!</p>

<p>In all honesty, I would value NOT reading that text more than reading it. It is better to figure things out on your own than to be fed misinformation and pseudoscience.</p>

<p>We tend to accept science for its results but do not understand its methods. Creationists don’t understand the distinction between the two.</p>

10

<p>Engineers tend to accept science for its results but do not understand its methods.</p>

<p>-fixt =P</p>