<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>Thank you for reading! I've been a lurker of CC for around a year now and finally got around to registering an account a few months ago. I'm amazed at all the talented students in this community. It's both reassuring and disconcerting! Anyways, I'm nearly done with my applications and thought it would be helpful to know my perceived chances at the schools I'm applying to.</p>
<p>----- Schools -----</p>
<p>UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis, USC, Stanford (Super Reach?)</p>
<p>----- Quick Snapshot -----</p>
<ul>
<li>I'm a Chinese male attending one of the most competitive public high schools in California. It doesn't do a class ranking system.</li>
<li>9-12 GPA: 4.08W, 3.82UW, 10-12GPA (for UCs): 4.14W</li>
<li>SAT I: 2120 (720 Reading, 720 Writing, 680 Math)</li>
<li>SAT II: Math IIC (740), World History (650), Literature (640)</li>
<li>Honors/AP Courses Taken (most rigorous class schedule available since 9th grade):
9th grade: H English-9, H Geometry, H Integrated Science 1, H World History-9
10th grade: H English-10, H Algebra 2, H Integrated Science 2, H US History-10, AP Computer Science AB
11th grade: H European Literature, H Pre-Calculus, AP Physics, AP European History
12th grade: AP English Literature, AP Environmental Science, AP American Government, Calculus 150A/B (at Cal State Fullerton)</li>
</ul>
<p>I also took Accounting 101 during the summer of 11th grade at Santa Ana College and received an A. As an additional note, our school doesn't allow freshmen and sophomores to take AP classes in the core subjects, which means that I was not able to receive weighted GPA averages during 9th and 10th grade, leading to a slightly lower GPA than many other applicants. I believe this is all factored in the admission process though.</p>
<p>I do understand that my academics (especially my test results) are very weak compared to many other students applying to the schools in my list. I finished 9th grade and the first semester of 10th grade with straight A's in the most rigorous schedule possible in all honors classes, but stumbled slightly in my second semester of 10th grade (3.67W in that semester) as I had trouble managing my time with my activities outside of school. It took until the beginning of junior year before I got my GPA settled again, but the damage had been done already. </p>
<p>----- Passion ------</p>
<p>I have a passion for creating and managing businesses, an interest that evolved from my web development experiences since I was 8 years old. This is something that I've taken and transformed into real-life experiences through the creation of two legally registered companies since 2007 - more information to follow. My intended undergraduate major at my list of schools is in the Business Administration and related fields.</p>
<p>----- Important Activities ------</p>
<ul>
<li>Chief Executive Officer at VectorLevel LLC - Grades 11, 12 / May 2008 - Current / 49 hours/week</li>
</ul>
<p>I founded VectorLevel LLC (VectorLevel</a> LLC - High Performance Hosting Solutions), a website hosting company, in May 2008. Essentially, what this company does is provide the resources for websites to be online. I manage all aspects of daily operations with server/network management, support & sales departments, employees, and more. Our company is profitable with a growing customer base around the world, has a payroll of 3 employees, and we’re becoming a reputable startup in the website hosting industry.</p>
<ul>
<li>President / Vice-President of GreenLift, Inc. - Grades 11, 12 / Nov 2007 - Current / 15 hours/week</li>
</ul>
<p>I co-founded GreenLift, Inc. (GreenLift</a>, Inc.), a non-profit corporation in California in November 2007. GreenLift was founded on the basis of providing crucial assistance to a number of charities in a variety of areas through monetary donations and the raising of public awareness. I started off as President, but I currently serve as Vice President so I can focus more time on VectorLevel.</p>
<p>Our focus is on allowing people to donate to a large list of partner charities and entering all donors of $100 or more into monthly drawings for prizes. Through this, we hope to raise public awareness for charities and reward donors for helping our world as a whole. We are currently waiting on the IRS for our 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status before publicly operating so donations can be tax-exempt for the donor. </p>
<p>Some other notable activities that I feel are relevant to my passion are located below.</p>
<ul>
<li>Community Guide at Web Hosting Talk - Grade 12 / Sep 2008 - Current / 50 hours/week</li>
</ul>
<p>Web Hosting Talk (Web</a> Hosting Talk - The largest, most influential web hosting community on the Internet) is the largest, most influential web hosting community on the internet with over 200,000 members and represents a huge aspect of the hosting industry. WHT is owned by iNet Interactive, a social media company operating prominent online communities for technology professionals and technology enthusiasts. As a staff member (Community Guide), I work with other staff on regulating all aspects of the community and promoting free discussion. This position requires a clear understanding of how the web hosting industry works.</p>
<ul>
<li>Linux System Administrator Grade 10, 11, 12 / 42 hours/week</li>
</ul>
<p>For 2 years now, I’ve worked for many individuals such as employees of Cisco and many other hosting companies as both a freelancer/salaried employee doing systems administration tasks involving hosting servers, network management, etc.</p>
<ul>
<li>Webmaster / Web Designer & Coding</li>
</ul>
<p>Since the age of 8, I’ve designed, coded, and managed numerous websites, several of which became large popular online communities with as many as 4000 members. This involves many skills involved in managing a successful business and I believe my experiences running these websites gave me the necessary background to move to real companies. Several large communities of mine have since been shut down, but a prominent one that is still online today is below.</p>
<p>--- ofallthedays (ofallthedays</a>) – ofallthedays, founded in January 2007, brings together communities around the world by providing people with a dynamic place to post details about their day. The goal of this project is to foster a connection between communities around the world with different cultures and beliefs. We have an active community of almost 200 members with over 40,000 posts.</p>
<p>----- Final Notes -----</p>
<p>I do have the usual awards such as AP Scholar, participation in various clubs such as Youth Action Team throughout high school, 100+ volunteer hours, etc., but I felt it would be helpful to separate myself from the pack by demonstrating the ways I have explored my passion and turned it into something concrete. As you can probably see, I spend a disproportionately amount of time working on activities (majority of every day) that are not related to school. Starting from sophomore year, I had to balance my involvement with the development of my websites, the various jobs I held in the web hosting industry, and most importantly my own businesses all with schoolwork in a rigorous and tight schedule. Time was very restrictive, but I believe that I successfully split my time between my education and real-life enrichment.</p>
<p>I believe my essays and letters of recommendation are excellent representations of who I am.</p>
<p>Do I have a chance? Thank you for reading everything - I know it's pretty long! If I missed anything, please let me know and I'll do my best to elaborate.</p>