Chances at Yale, MIT?

<p>...or HYPS, really</p>

<p>South Asian female living in MN
My sister is Yale class of 2010
Private high school with a good track record; sends some kids to Harvard and Yale pretty much every year and last year sent two to MIT</p>

<p>GPA is 3.85 unweighted...not great, I know, but:
- pretty much one person in our graduating class gets a 4.0 every year
- my grades have been getting better and better - upward trends are good?
No ranking. class size ~120</p>

<p>SAT I:
- most recent: 780 M, 800 W, 770 CR
- superscore: 780 M, 800 W, 800 CR = 2380</p>

<p>SAT II:
- 800 Math
- 800 Physics
- 770 Spanish</p>

<ul>
<li>National AP Scholar (achieved when I was a junior)</li>
<li>Winner of Siemens Award for Adv. Placement - given to one girl and one boy from each state, for getting 5s on a bunch of math and science APs</li>
<li>National Merit Scholar Semifinalist</li>
<li>Bausch and Lomb Award for Excellence in Science (given by my school to one junior)</li>
<li>Pfizer-Solutia Award for Best Research Paper</li>
<li>Cum Laude Society</li>
</ul>

<p>APs: Calc AB(5), Calc BC(5), Physics C Mech(5) & E&M(5), Spanish Lit(5), Chem(5), Spanish Lang(5), Stats(5), English Lit(4), US History(4)
I'll be taking 2 more this spring.</p>

<p>CIS: Political Science, Econ(currently)
Taking math (multivariable calc) at the state U</p>

<p>Math & science course track:
9th grade - AB calc
10th grade - BC calc & accelerated physics & accel chem
11th grade - AP stats, AP physics, AP chem
12th grade - multivariable calc, linear algebra, AP bio</p>

<p>**I'm young for my grade; I skipped 4th grade. Does this matter at all?</p>

<p>ECs (this is where I feel I'm weak)</p>

<p>Piano
- private lessons for 12 years
- also piano teacher to kids from the ages of 4 to 10
- Lead pianist in my music school's orchestra for their annual senior concert
- Performed at Mozart Piano Competition (local)
- Selected to attend competitive music camp at UMD
- Recorded a CD of piano solos in 2004
- Selected to play in studio recitals at Suzuki Piano Camp</p>

<p>School (not many leadership positions)
- Captain of Science Bowl
- Science Olympiad - won 1st place in my event at the regional level & 2nd place in a different event at state
- Math team
- Yearbook & school newspaper editor (10th & 11th grade only)</p>

<p>Other stuff
- Tutored recent immigrants at Abraham Lincoln High School
- Summer Science Program
- Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS)
- Lived in Mexico for a month as part of a school immersion program
- Attended Education Program for Gifted Youth, 2004
- Attended Center for Talent Development, 3-week algebra course</p>

<p>Extra info about the summer camps:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Summer Science Program - Selected to attend via competitive process; 6-week-long astrophysics camp during which we performed an orbital determination by learning lots of physics and math and programming. (It was a LOT of fun.)</p></li>
<li><p>STARS - Six weeks during the summer. Researched in an electrochem lab with a mentor in St. Louis; created a mimic of a muscle and wrote a 20-page research paper on it.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Essays
- One about how I'm a grammar nazi (of course I didn't use the word nazi); all about the book Strunk and White and how I realized I should be more relaxed about grammar
- One about Science Olympiad and how I found a place to fit in with the science nerds</p>

<p>Recs
- Teacher of most difficult physics course offered at school; literally told me I was the best/one of the best students he'd ever taught.
- Teacher of AP chem and AP bio; also adviser of 2 clubs I do (science bowl & science olympiad). She loves me, but she's a bit absent-minded; I hope her rec was good. She's very experienced in writing them.</p>

<p>bumpity bump</p>

<p>you are a great person</p>

<p>Both teacher recs from science teachers?</p>

<p>I feel like an idiot.</p>

<p>2380.</p>

<p>Yes, Flippy; actually, I've been most passionate about science during high school (i bet you can tell that), and my college counselor recommended that I do this. I was wary; I wanted to include one from my Spanish teacher, since I also absolutely LOVE Spanish, but he advised against it, and hey, you don't just disregard their advice. They know what they're doing. I think my recs turned out great - I THINK.</p>

<p>Well if you don't get in early, there are a lot of schools that require 1 from science/math and 1 from humanities.</p>

<p>I don't think you need to worry too much about not getting in early though. You are quite amazing.</p>

<p>Come on, guys. This is ridiculous. I'm not this great. I got the same reaction in the Yale forum... but I've seen chances threads with much better ECs (in my opinion) get ripped on! What's the deal here? Am I padding too much?</p>

<p>And Sesq, I seem to remember that your chances thread (as a JUNIOR) is quite amazing. Your AP load and ECs are flabbergasting! You may end up a better candidate than I am!</p>

<p>bump? can SOMEONE give me honest feedback, or at least SPECIFIC??</p>