-Caltech
-Stanford
-MIT
-Princeton
-University of Chicago
-Harvard
-Brown
-Georgia Tech
-UC Berkeley
(Going into 11th grade, planning to take 6 honors/higher level classes)
(If it matters) Race/gender: Indian male
Intended major: Physics
Received A’s in all my STEM classes except physics honors where I got a B+
Unweighted GPA for sophomore year: 3.78
of honors classes: 5 (AP US History, Multivariable Calc, Chem Honors, Physics Honors, standard English, Spanish 3 honors)
Unweighted GPA for freshman year: 3.82
of honors classes: 1 (Standard history, Standard english, Biology, Spanish 2, Differential equations)
APs: 5 on AP calc AB (8th grade), 5 on AP calc BC (9th grade, self studied), 5 on APUSH (10th grade), 5 on AP physics C Mechanics (10th grade, self studied), 5 on AP physics C Electricity/Magnetism (10th grade, self studied)
Received AP Scholar with Distinction
SAT: 2230, 800 on SAT math II, 690 on SAT US History
94.5 on AMC 12B, 2015
Participated in F=ma exam, score unknown
Part of Robotics/Engineering club at my school
Part of the Cross Country/Track teams at my school, not varsity
Part of school orchestra and outside orchestra (violin II)
I do volunteering as well
In 9th grade I did an internship in computational chemistry that included a final presentation, I’m going to start a physics internship this year
What would be my chances of getting into these universities (extrapolating these stats to my 11th grade year)? What are some realistic universities I can look at (that have good physics/STEM programs)?
Math/physics is obviously your thing, and it shows strongly on your transcript and ECs. That kind of brilliance may go a long way towards MIT and Caltech, which may be your best bets in terms of the elite schools. Anything you can do to deepen that is good. What courses are you planning to take junior and senior year? Do you have independent research and/or potential for publication? Are you applying to RSI or Simons Summer Research Program for 2016? Raising your AMC 12 score would also help. There are very few applicants in a given year who have completed calculus BC by 9th grade and are doing differential equations, so your math prowess is what stands out the most.
For some of the more holistic schools you will want to expand a bit on your other areas. The problem is that your other ECs are weak. If you were really strong in one other area then I think you would be in a much stronger position overall. But right now you come off as very math/physics lopsided, and I don’t know how that will fly at places like Stanford and Brown.
Are you a California resident? Asian male from California with a STEM focus is the most brutal demographic around, and you would be effectively competing with a lot of other highly qualified applicants. Even if not from California it’s still a tough demographic. If you’re not from California then UCB out of state is tough, and expensive, with limited aid. What is your financial status? If you are in state, then UCB is a strong option.
Junior year I’m planning to take IB History SL, IB English SL, IB Computer Science, IB Chemistry HL, IB Spanish SL, Abstract/Linear algebra. I’m also currently enrolled in a Stanford online course (Light and Heat)
Senior year I’m planning to take IB Economics HL, IB English HL, Advanced Computer Science, Math independent study, IB Biology HL, hopefully another Stanford online physics course
What I’m worried about is my B+ in my physics honors class. I’m not planning on taking another physics class (as I already have completed my high school’s physics offerings by taking the AP Physics C exams and getting 5’s), so how much will this B+ hurt me? Will my AP physics C scores redeem this weak point?
I doubt I’ll have potential for publication unless I get into RSI or something like that, which is highly unlikely (but I plan to apply). As of now the internships I was in/am planning to be in are all I have.
Additionally, I plan to take SAT physics and SAT chem. I’m pretty confident that I can nab an 800 on sat Phys, I just couldn’t take it this year due to a conflict.
I doubt aid will be a problem for UC Berkeley.
Additionally, I’d like to know what my chances are (with these current specs) at places like CMU, Georgia Tech, and Harvey Mudd.
Another question: What can I do to fix my “lopsidedness” and make myself appear more holistic?
