Chances at various schools? Thanks!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I attend a very competitive public school in CA that is ranked 271st of all high schools in the nation, according to Newsweek's Challenge Index. Our school does not do class ranks.</p>

<p>I am interested in some form of engineering or computer science or medicine.</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian American</p>

<p>GPA: 3.8 weighted / 3.5 unweighted</p>

<p>My low GPA is mainly due to nearly straight B's sophomore year. I have shown an upward trend since my freshman year. My junior year, I got mainly A's; my weighted GPA for junior year was 4.5.</p>

<p>Junior Year Classes:</p>

<p>Honors English 3
AP Physics C
AP Calculus AB
Honors Spanish 4
US History
Digital Photography
Foods</p>

<p>Senior Year Classes:</p>

<p>AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry
AP English 4
AP Spanish 5
Government/Economics</p>

<p>I tried to take the most rigorous courses available at my high school. I took Chemistry for advancement over one summer, so that I could take both AP Physics C and AP Chemistry in the following years.</p>

<p>SAT:
1980 Total (retaking, mainly for writing, on October 14th)
-720 Verbal
-690 Math
-580 Writing</p>

<p>ACT:
31 Composite (retaking to improve science by a lot, and writing)
-34 Reading
-32 Math
-34 English
-25 Science
-08 Essay
SAT II Math IIC - 710
SAT II Physics - 690
AP Physics C: Mechanics - 5
AP Physics C: Electromagnetism - 4
AP Calculus AB - 4</p>

<p>Awards</p>

<p>AP Scholar Award
Various awards for speech / debate</p>

<p>Activities / Hobbies (I will forget some, but what I can remember of them)</p>

<p>-I will have my Eagle Scout Award by the end of the year. Already completed my project, just need to finish up paperwork. I have over 200 hours of community service.
-I worked at a national automotive engineering and reconstruction firm over the last summer. Alongside a dedicated IT Professional, I setup and customized a network of computers and a small business server. Now, I continue to do work for the company in my spare time during this tough school year.
-I have played tennis EVERY day for the last 5 years with the same coach and have greatly improved my game.
-I have become an avid cell phone user. lol. Seriously though, I became part of a select group of teenagers called "Cingular Trendforce". I wrote an essay and got selected to beta test one of Cingular's upcoming phones. After testing, I wrote a detailed review covering every aspect of the phone. Additionally, I constantly test the latest wireless technology (HSDPA, UMTS, etc.) and experiment with software modifications for my various phones.
-Computers... another one of my "hobbies"... Before my job at the automotive engineering firm, I would do periodic consulting for neighbors and friends. I have always done extraordinary things with computers. I made my first website at age 9 after reading a comprehensive HTML guide. I set up a satellite dish on my roof and connected it to my computer, allowing me to watch satellite TV.
-Digital Photography... another hobby. While taking Digital Photgraphy last year, I started photographing outside of class. I bought a digital SLR and researched lenses and various aspects of a camera. I practiced composition and ended up creating some very nice photographs.</p>

<p>I play the piano, saxophone and drums.</p>

<p>9th
- R/C Club
-School food drives
-Junior Varsity Tennis</p>

<p>10th
-Adopt-A-Family
-Speech/Debate tournaments
-Food Drives
-Varsity Tennis</p>

<p>11th
-Math Club
-Break dancing club
-Food drives
-Varsity Tennis</p>

<p>12th
-Badminton club
-Dance and social club
-Varsity Tennis</p>

<p>Travel:</p>

<p>Throughout my life I've been a lot of places. Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Alaska, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Caribbean, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Mexico.</p>

<p>Recommendations:
I hope to have some strong recommendations. I am getting a recommendation from my Chemistry, Physics, and AP Physics teacher (all the same teacher) who I had for three different subjects. I am also getting a recommendation from my Honors English 3 teacher.</p>

<p>Colleges (I know some are absurd, so constructive criticism please.)
-Stanford SCEA (Yeah, I know. I'm just getting a lot of family pressure to apply no matter what, since my dad and sister went there. And two of my cousins and an uncle and an aunt.)
-UC Berkeley (UC's are IN STATE)
-UCLA
-USC
-UCSD
-UC Davis
-UC Irvine
-Claremont Mckenna College
-Pomona College
-Harvey Mudd
-Purdue
-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
-University of Washington Seattle
-Boston University</p>

<p>I know there are quite a few reaches.</p>

<p>Based on what I listed above... what are my chances at getting into some of these schools? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I can't possibly see the first 3 or Pomona, but the rest seem possible.</p>

3

<p>At BU, UW-Seattle, RPI, Purdue (depending on how quickly you apply), UC-Irvine, and UC-Davis your chances are good.</p>

<p>UC-Berkeley, UCLA are decent.</p>

<p>Pomona and Harvey Mudd are reaches.</p>

4

<p>I can't address most of the CA colleges, but here's my take on the rest:</p>

<p>-Stanford - Big Reach
-Purdue - Low Match/Safety
-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Match
-University of Washington Seattle - Safety
-Boston University - Low Match</p>

5

<p>Straight Bs soph year is going to hrt bat the top UCs, unless your school is highly competitive and you're still in the top 10%. Stanford, even as a legacy, is highly unlikely as they take fewer legacies than other top schools, about 25% compared to over 40% at every ivy. You should be accepted at UCs under UCSD. Math SAT is too low for Mudd and Pomona is a big reach. Try CMC.</p>

6

<p>CMC is really not that much easier to get into than Pomona or Harvey Mudd. If Pomona is a "big reach," I wouldn't say "try CMC" as a back-up.</p>

<p>(school, acceptance rate, median SAT)
CMC, 21%, 1310-1490
Pomona, 19%, 1380-1530
Harvey Mudd, 36%, 1380-1560</p>

<p>For most people, CMC is at least as hard to get into as Berkeley or LA. </p>

<p>I just wanted to clear that up. But you still have a decent enough chance at the claremonts and top UCs to be worth applying. You might want to make sure that you have enough matches that you'd be happy with though.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the input guys.</p>

<p>Anyone else have any thoughts?</p>

8

<p>TriHFH:</p>

<p>UCB/UCLA: Reach (Engineering)
UCSD: Slight Reach (Engineering)
UCI/UCD: Safe Match</p>

9

<p>Ummmmm HI WILL! Whoa that is so weird. I can't believe I found you on this site. I was just looking at the post and was like, hmmm 271st in the nation, that sounds like some guy I know in San Diego, but then I look at the username and it's you! Whoa, weird. By the way, it's Sonia.</p>

<p>-Stanford SCEA (Yeah, I know. I'm just getting a lot of family pressure to apply no matter what, since my dad and sister went there. And two of my cousins and an uncle and an aunt.): Yeah, talk about it, Will. If you get in, then I'll have ANOTHER semi-legacy that I won't live up to ;) I'd say it's a reach, but worth a shot...
-UC Berkeley (UC's are IN STATE): reach, but more likely than Stanford. Your ECs help you a lot.
-UCLA: slight reach
-USC: slight reach
-UCSD: match
-UC Davis: safety
-UC Irvine: safety
-Claremont Mckenna College: reach
-Purdue: match
-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: match (whoa! Grandpa taught there, right?)
-University of Washington Seattle: safety
-Boston University: match</p>

<p>Yeah, like you said, just try to improve your SAT scores. Your ACT is looking good, a lot better than mine, haha. We need to catch up :)</p>

10

<p>Well, I'm bringing my thread back up from the dead.</p>

<p>I have new SAT and ACT scores, and I'm wondering if they will help my application to UCLA/USC/UCSD.</p>

<p>My new SAT score is 2010... was dissapointed with it, but still an improvement.</p>

<p>My new ACT score is a 34 composite. I'm hoping this will help offset my mediocre GPA.</p>

<p>What do you guys think?</p>

11

<p>TriHFH:</p>

<p>UCB/UCLA: Reach (Engineering)
UCSD: Slight Reach (Engineering)
UCI/UCD: Safe Match</p>