Chances: EA UChicago, HYP, etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi there, I'm a</p>

<p>Chinese-American male from Washington state
Public high school, not very competitive</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted
SAT: 2310 (800M, 730R, 780W)
SAT2: 780 Math2, 780 US History, 760 Chemistry
Rank: 1/350
AP: 5 on Calculus BC/AB subscore, Chemistry, Biology, US History, World History, English Lang.</p>

<p>Courses: toughest possible, 5 APs this year
Teacher recs: great</p>

<p>Awards:
National Council of Teachers of Engilsh Achievement Award in Writing
National Merit Commended Student
2007-2008 Science Student of the Year at my school
2008 Regional Science Bowl 4th place team</p>

<p>ECs:
4 years cross country, also out of season running in the winter and summer
3 years track
1 year varsity tennis
3 years of choir: jazz choir and also I am the co-leader of the men's choir
3 years of school musicals
100 hrs volunteer work at hospital
Have been playing piano for 13 years</p>

<p>Other:
Did a DNA sequencing study on a certain trout species, published a unique DNA sequence on the NCBI website
Went to Presidential Classroom Communications and Journalism week last summer
Went to Boys State last summer</p>

<p>Applying to:
UChicago EA
Harvard
Princeton
Yale
Stanford
UPenn
Brown
WashU
University of Washington (safety)</p>

<p>I'd like to know your thoughts. I really want to go to the University of Chicago - I know my essays will be very important, and I think I'll at least do a decent job on them, but I want to know how good my chances are just based on stats. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>UChicago is a great choice. In comparing the feedback I get from a friend at UChicago and a friend at Harvard, it seems that not only is the person at Chicago happier, but they are being challenged more. Don't just settle for "decent" essays for them though. The supplement essays (the quirky ones, not the one about why you want to go) play an extremely important role from what I can gather, so it would be in your best interest to write an exceptional essay. You have the grades, scores, etc. that much is certain and it looks like you've committed yourself to xcountry/track... would you want to run in college?
Another thing: I've spoken with a WashU rep and they said they don't like being a safety school so if they suspect they are being used as a safety, they will reject you. They are the only college I can think of that considers whether or not you've visited their campus in the decision process (to evaluate interest presumably). Just some food for thought.</p>

3

<p>Wow we actually are really similar applicants. All the academic stuff is similar and we're applying to almost the same schools. Just the extracurriculars are different. GL to you =]</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the feedback, aquaphiliac. I have worked pretty hard on the Chicago supplement essay, and I think it's pretty good, so I really hope it works. And I might decide to run in college.</p>