Chances @ Chicago, Berkeley, WUSTL?, recs?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm from the Midwest (Kansas all my life) Chinese senior girl, but I have no "dream" school. I don't get the point of the ivies (don't hurt me!) but I don't know where else I should apply. Didn't like northwestern or stanford's campuses. I'm looking into chemistry/math NOT premed, NOT engineering (i get that a lot)</p>

<p>GPA: 4.00UW, 4.82 W</p>

<p>Class Rank: 1/425 (for four years)</p>

<p>APs: European History 4,
Macroecon 5,
Microecon 4 (soph year)
US history 5,
English lit 5,
Calc BC 5,
Chem 5 (junior year)
Physics (planning, senior year)</p>

<p>ACT: 35 comp. w/ writing
34 Eng
35 Math
36 Reading
36 Sci</p>

<p>SAT: 2130, don't remember the breakdown</p>

<p>SAT II:
Math II 800,
Chem 750,
Physics in December</p>

<p>Classes:
Calc 3/Diff Eq, English 12 H/AP, AP Gov, AP Physics, German 2 (cuz i needed a foreign lang. for berkeley), Gifted program, Apparel construction & Textiles 4 (sewing)
Also in independent study research (chem) looking at the effects increased co2 will have on world (pos and neg)</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit Semifinalist,
KS Honors Scholar (top 10% of grad. class),
a few regional math competitions,
Bausch and Lomb Hon. Scholars award (for ACT science score-36, gpa in science classes, etc.)</p>

<p>ECs:
Math Club, 4 years, co-prez for 2
Academic Decathlon, 3 years, co-capn 1 year
Amnesty International, 3 years
Science Olympiad, 2 years, treasurer
National Honor Society, 2 years
Girl Scouts, 10 years
used to be in a chinese folk dance group performing in the area for ethnic enrichment stuff</p>

<p>Volunteer work:
shelving @ public library, since Feb. 2009
sometimes I help @ a clothing pantry for homeless (once a year/semester usually)</p>

<p>so basically, any ideas on other places i could apply? and chances at U of Chicago, UC Berkeley, Wash U?</p>

2

<p>First, let me say there’s something refreshing about your attitude.</p>

<p>You have strong stats and with a near perfect ACT and valedictorian I think you have good chances at all those schools, with the caveat that you are Asian which can make it difficult everywhere.</p>

3

<p>thanx! I’m just really nervous about this whole college mess that i got myself into and i’m the oldest in my family so being the first to do EVERYTHING kinda puts a bit of pressure on me to do it right. my parents are immigrants (naturalized citizens) and they went to college in the US but my mom went to a state school and my dad did co-op engineering w/ general motors, so they don’t really know anything either. but, seriously, you’re awesome.</p>

4

<p>you’re on fire.
don’t worry, being from Kansas, amazing stats, and being a non stereotypical asian will take you far. good luck!
p.s. why don’t you like NU? I visited it, Evanston is nice and I liked the school lol</p>

5

<p>i dunno why exactly NU’s campus didn’t fit me. i really wanted to like it (integrated sciences seemed to match my SOUL) but i just couldn’t force myself to love the campus. And I’m kind of a clean freak, so mushy posters taped to the ground after the rain… well, nuff said. So, the next day i visited U of Chicago and LOVED IT. <em>kinda the same thing happened when I visited Stanford then UC Berkeley.</em> i mean, who could hate an area that screamed “Hogwarts!!” from door to door? Haven’t we all been wishing to be @ Hogwarts since second grade? </p>

<p>btw, I actually think i’m really stereotypical azn except that i’m not fluent in any language except english. and i don’t play violin OR piano (even tho i have played both)</p>

6

<p>actual results: </p>

<p>WUStL - waitlisted
UChicago - waitlisted
UIUC - accepted, got $13,000 but efc was too high for any need-based aid
KU - accepted
Berkeley - since i’m oos, it doesn’t matter to me anymore. </p>

<p>disappointed? yes.</p>

7

<p>actual results continued: </p>

<p>WUStL - waitlisted, actually waiting
UChigago - waitlisted, not waiting - it was my top choice, broke my heart, and now I’m done waiting for them
UIUC - accepted, wish i could go :frowning:
UCBerkeley - accepted (got a random 632 scholarship which covers a little over 1% of cost) and not going
KU - accepted, national merit scholarship & likely to attend b/c UIUC will never give me more scholarships</p>

8

<p>You should definitely wait it out for UChicago. Send them more stuff, tell them with many words that you want to go here (I got off the waitlist)</p>

9

<p>***? i just read through your stats and was EXTREMELY shocked that you did not get into the UofC (or WashU for that matter.) I’m here now and the only stat I had higher than you was SAT’s, since you had a 35 act i don’t think that should have mattered at all.</p>

<p>Interesting though is that you were not rejected but waitlisted from a whole bunch of schools. Based on my off the top of the head analysis, that means your basically the type of student these colleges want but due to giant swarms of applicants this year, there are lots of students like you that they already took. This your probably near the top of the list and if enough students decline, you’ll be in.</p>

<p>Btw from your initial post, I think if UChicago takes you, you’d be very happy here. Loads of non premed math/chem people here since those departments are excellent. Also, the whole castle look to the campus was what made me choose uchicago over northwestern and somewhere else. </p>

<p>Thus I highly recommend waiting it out. While it might even seem unethical, I would accept the KU offer while waiting on other waitlists. Its a big state school, I’m sure they will always offer more natnl merit scholarship than they expect people to accept.</p>

<p>But anyways best of luck, your tone in this post was indeed refreshing and I hope you succeed wherever you end up.</p>

10

<p>Wow yea, seriously you have amazing numbers (a 4.8+ high school GPA?!) </p>

<p>Did you apply to other schools? Have you decided where to go for college?</p>

11

<p>You should wait for WashU and UChicago. Just give it a try. Update them and write a letter of appeal elaborating on why you really want to go there.</p>

12

<p>did you read what you wrote? its your DREAM SCHOOL.
i dont know if thats important to you or not but it is important to me.
ive been waitlisted at my number 1, pitzer. it wrenched my heart out.
im writing them the most thought out, heartfelt letter i can muster without tearing up the whole time.
APPEAL. itll be worth it. youll feel like god if you get in. </p>

<p>p.s i got waitlisted too at uofc. i have nowhere near your stats, i really think its all in the essays with them. SO APPEAL</p>