<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I am a rising high school senior, and I was wondering if I'm on the right track to get into a top school like Harvey Mudd, Stanford or Pomona (probably my top choices). My brother goes to Pomona, and has gone a similar route as me (he had great test scores though, 2320 SAT and 2400 SAT II - Physics, Chem, Literature). I've been homeschooled since 2nd grade (for philosophical, not religious, reasons), and started taking classes at a local community college 8th grade. By second semester freshman year, I was taking classes full time. My intended major is Computer Science (this is an interest that is relatively new, since last summer) or Math. I'll give a list of my classes for each semester and the highlights of my extracurriculars. I would also greatly appreciate feedback on my future plans and where they'll place me.</p>
<p>Ethnicity/Gender: White/Male
SAT (taken twice): 2110 (CR: 730, M: 740, W: 640); 2190 (CR: 780, M: 680, W: 730)
SAT II: Math 2 (790 - freshman year), Physics (N/A - not yet taken), Literature (N/A - not yet taken)
AP Tests: Calc AB (4 - freshman year), Calc BC (4 - sophomore year) [note on these: I took calc BC my freshman year and shouldn've taken the BC test then], Computer Science (unknown - junior year)
GPA: ~3.907
*Awards: * Student Athlete, QuestBridge College Prep awards, Varsity letters in track/cross country since freshman year.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
Sports: Varsity letters for cross country and track since freshman year (at a local high school). I'm not doing track this year, and will be getting CrossFit certification instead.</p>
<p>Music: Played violin and taken lessons since I was 5. I was a member of the Phoenix Youth Symphony's Symphonette orchestra freshman and sophomore year. I'm currently a member of the Phoenix Youth Symphony (the highest group in the PYS organization).</p>
<p>Venture Crew/Boy Scouts: Tons of backpacking, whitewater kayaking, and some interesting end of year trips during summer (2 week backpack in Honduran rainforest, backpack through one of the Grand Canyon's toughest hikes, 100-mile backpack in the Gila Wilderness). I've been vice president twice and will be president senior year. In this area I will also be getting my Eagle Scout soon.</p>
<p>Gaming: Started and managed an international Real-Time Strategy gaming team my freshman year, which became the best team in the world for the game that we played. Due to this, I was invited to and flown out to a major and exclusive event in Cologne, Germany by Electronic Arts for a couple days. I also convinced EA to invite a fellow team member as well. After this event, the game we were playing became much less competitive and received much less tournament funding, so the team officially disbanded in the spring of my sophomore year. Also during that time I acquired some (remote) internship work regarding game design with S2 Games, a game developer in Michigan.</p>
<p>Programming: I am currently working on some of my own programming projects, one of which is an extension of a final project I did for my computer science class taken at Harvard, via their Extension School. I'm developing this project into a professional application which I will be marketing and selling to businesses in the future. I am also doing (much more) remote internship work for S2 Games, but I am programming for them instead (I had to reapply for the position due to the different skills required). I was invited to work for them in person this summer (for payment), but due to administrative difficulties and Michigan's child labor laws, I couldn't.</p>
<p>Transcript
All grades are A's unless specified</p>
<p>Freshman Year
Fall: Calc I (AB), Second Year English Composition, Homeschooling work</p>
<p>Spring: Calc II (BC), Journalism (Feature Writing), Spanish 101</p>
<p>Sophomore Year
Fall: Calc III (multivariable calc) [note: got a B], Marketing 101 (intro to PR), History (Western Civ, Beginning - Middle Ages), Spanish 102</p>
<p>Spring: Macroeconomics, Classical Backgrounds in Literature, History (Western Civ, Middle Ages - 1789), University Physics I (calc-based, mechanics)</p>
<p>Junior Year
Fall: General Chemistry I [note: got a B], Chem Lab, Microeconomics, Spanish 201, Intensive Intro to Computer Science at Harvard (via their extension school) [note: got a B+]</p>
<p>Spring: Building Mobile Applications (Android, iOS at Harvard via the Extension School), University Physics II (calc-based, electricity and magnetism), Differential Equations</p>
<p>Essay</p>
<p>I added this so you could get an example of my writing for college essays/college prompts. It was for the Stanford Summer Program, which I was accepted to but did not attend due to financial reasons.</p>
<p>Prompt: "Simplify, simplify, simplify," wrote Henry David Thoreau. If you were to follow Thoreau's advice and give up most of your possessions, which ones would you keep, and why?</p>
<p>Essay: </p>
<p>Possessions are tools. They enable people to engage in, and thus absorb many different experiences, experiences which they might not otherwise be able to have except for the possession of those tools. For example, automobiles enable us to get from point A to point B faster than walking (usually) and are thus an effective tool for traveling between two points. But they also enable us to have the experience of driving, which, for better or worse, is a different experience than walking. </p>
<p>The sum total of their experiences give people personal definition. We are, in a sense, what we do, and what we choose to do. Our experiences, especially when they involve a process of conscious choice as an integral part of the experience (writing software is a more active condition than watching television), give form to a human being. The sum total of the actions one engages in (meaning ones experiences) creates ones character and is ultimately the cause of ones happiness, defined as self-fulfillment. For me, determining which possessions I would keep means determining which possessions would enable the experiences I value most, the experiences most conducive for happiness and self-fulfillment. </p>
<p>From this perspective, my most versatile possession is my computer. I can educate and inform myself through many online resources such as MITs OpenCourseWare website and the BBC homepage; entertain myself with movies, music, and video games; socialize through e-mail, social networking, and instant messaging applications. My computer quenches my desire for knowledge, culture and friendship, providing access to many experiences and ideas normally not accessible to me (due to high acquisition costs). </p>
<p>However, my computer is not only a low cost portal through which I experience the world; it also provides access to a world where I can create. Programming is one of my lifes greatest joys; the exhilaration of watching worlds spring forth is unmatched. The process feels like the introduction to a novel that writes itself as the reader interfaces with it, enabling give-and-take between user and creation that is far more powerful than any interaction with static works. Creating these programs gives me a sense of awe for the complexity and richness of our own universe, and the intricate ways that everything relates and fits together. Because my computer allows me to explore many aspects of the world through the internet, is a useful tool for entertainment and socialization, and enables me to experience the delight of programming, it is my most valuable possession.</p>
<p>My backpacking gear is another possession (or set of possessions) that I regard as essential. I consider exploring the earths natural beauty, much of which is disappearing, a priceless experience. My gear provides the tools I need to experience this splendor. Few experiences in my life have been more mesmerizing than watching a scarlet sunset bathe the red sandstone walls of the Grand Canyon, and few moments are more satisfying than entering a campsite after a long trek and bathing in the calming sounds of an adjacent creek. </p>
<p>My outdoor experiences have been more than just aesthetic -- they are profoundly educational. The intensity of the physical challenges has given me great insight into my own psychological limits. The unpredictability of nature has forced me to become mentally flexible. And a neon green gum wrapper along a picturesque trail is a jarring reminder of mankinds impact upon the natural world. I highly value my experiences in the wilderness, whether atop snow-laden mountains in the Gila Wilderness or aboard a dugout canoe in the Honduran rainforest, and I wish to continue exploring nature throughout my life.</p>
<p>I would not choose to keep these possessions based on their economic or sentimental value; I have selected them due to the experiences they enable. Though perhaps very different in nature, both possessions provide me windows through which I can view the universe. They allow me to experience a vast amount of the universe as well as create dynamic worlds of my own. These simple tools help me satisfy my quest for discovery and desire for creation. And this, to me, is what my life is all about.</p>
<hr>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to read through all of this. Any and all comments are appreciated!</p>