chances for a very unusual girl...?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I know this is long, but if anyone could help give me an idea of where I stand, I would LOVE it~~</p>

<p>I'm currently a freshman at the University of Wisconsin. I didn't go to college out of state b/c of my parents asked me to stay near home to help w/ the family (I have 3 younger sisters and a grandfather living with me). I'm planning on applying as a transfer to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, Dart, and Columbia. I want to apply because Wisco doesn't have my intended majors (Asian American studies or Gender Studies). Here are my stats:</p>

<p>-Asian American girl
-fluent in Japanese
-competant in Russian
-competant in French
-competant in Korean
-can speak/write Danish
-SAT 1400 (will take again)
-planning on taking 3 SATII's...probably 2 English and a Japanese</p>

<p>-Homeschooled my entire life, straight A's, taught by my dad, a Phd professor at Wisconsin. B/c I've been homeschooled there really is no "concrete" way of judging these classes...but I'll list them anyways:</p>

<p>FRESHMAN
Algebra I
English Grammar/Syntax
Expository Writing I
French I
World History
Russian I
American Lit
Biology
Bible</p>

<p>SOPH
Chemistry
Expository Writing II
Creative Writing Workshop
U.S History
French II
Russian II
Geometry
Contemporary/Modern Lit
Quantitative Logic
Health
Bible</p>

<p>JUNIOR
Advanced Algebra
Anatomy and Physiology
Graphic Art
Japanese I
Japanese II
AP. English Writing
AP English Lit
British Lit
Existential Authors</p>

<p>SENIOR
8 months abroad in Tokyo, Japan w/ AFS (July 02-March 03). Studied Japanese econ, Japanese history, Genetics, and Japanese; recieved all A's, instruction all in Japanese
3 classes at U-Wisconsin (09/03-12/03) GPA 3.2 (I know its bad, but I started classes 2 days after returning from Japan, and it was too much of a reverse culture shock for me. Also it's counted as my senior year, so...
Japanese III (A-)
Korean I (B-) I know!
History of Science (A-)
Microbiology (at home, got an A)</p>

<p>I took off the spring semester 2004 to return to Japan where I taught English and worked with missionary English translators and literary translators from Feb-June.</p>

<p>This semester I'm back at U-Wisconsin taking 16 cr. hours of: Chemistry, Women's Studies, South Asian Studies, Anthropology, and Asian American Studies. I'm expecting a 3.9-4.0 GPA for the semester.</p>

<p>SOME ECs:
HIGH SCHOOL: 1000+ voulunteer hrs.
-Three time Featured poet in Poetry.com's annual published magazine
-National merit finalist
-Founder and president of WI Homeschool film appreciation club
-Founder and president of WI Homeschool Japanese club
-Co-founder of CARES, a volunteer tutoring organization for WI homeschoolers
-Co-founder and vice-president of local High School's Japanese Film Club
-Founder and president of local High School's Japanese Club
-English and ESL tutor with Waukesha Literacy Council</p>

<p>COLLEGE:
-U-Wisco tutor: English and ESL tutoring for underrepresented minorities 04'
-U-Wisco GUTS (greater university tutoring service) English writing, English comp, ESL and Japanese tutor 04'
-Developing a high school curriculum w/ my Sociology professor to promote Asian American history awareness
-Founder and president of WISE, a student group to combat Asian American invisibility in the media, sports and government
-ESL Tutor to Chinese community in Milwaukee County (summer 04')
-ESL tutor to Japanese GE employees in Wisconsin (summer 04')</p>

<p>MUSIC:
Played piano for 12 years and won many awards.</p>

<p>THEATER/ROLES:
-Acting and Playwright awards from First Stage Milwaukee for Best New Play: Wrote, acted and directed new play “This Is Us” 02'
-Young Playwright Honorary Mention from First Stage Milwaukee for New Play, “Working Title” Summer Classical Workshop 02'
-Talent Scholarship awards from Milwaukee Repetoiary Theater 01' and 02'
-Scholarship awards from First Stage Milwaukee 01'-03'
-Intern for First Stage Milwaukee 99'-03'
-Talent scholarship recipient for First Stage Milwaukee Summer Classical Workshop 02'
-Milwaukee Repetoiry Theater production of “Miracle Worker” -Helen 99'
-First Stage Milwaukee production of “Diary of Anne Frank” -Anne 00'
-American Theater Company of Chicago and Milwaukee Repetoiry Theater production of “A Christmas Carol”-Ensemble 00'
-First Stage Milwaukee New Play Showcase of “August Snow” -Taw 01'
-First Stage Milwaukee New Play Showcase of “Even Steven Goes To War”-Xiong 01'
-Acacia Theatre production of “Much Ado About Nothing” - Benedick 01'
-First Stage Milwaukee production of “Little Women”-Beth 02'
-First Stage Summer Classical Workshop production of “A Midsummer Night's Dream”-Puck 02'
-Milwaukee Repitoiry Theater Shakespeare Festival: “Macbeth”-Lady Macbeth 02'
-First Stage Milwaukee production of “The Hobbit”-Gollum 03'
-First Stage Milwaukee production of “A Wrinkle In Time”-Meg 03'</p>

<p>*Bit role in 2000 film “What Women Want” starring Mel Gibson
*Bit role in 2004 film “Mr. 3000” starring Bernie Mac</p>

<p>TAE KWON DO:
-1st degree black belt
-Gold Medal 01', 02', 03', Tae Kwon Do Midwest Championships (sparring)
-Teaching recognition awards, 02' and 03'</p>

<p>CHURCH:
- Co-founder of The Altar, a youth music ministry outreach in WI
-Summer 02, summer 03': AIDS World Relief trip to Malawi: working with children orphaned by AIDS</p>

<p><em>sigh</em> I know its alot to slog through. Chances please? You have NO idea how much it wouold be appreciated...</p>

2

<p>I can't say anything about your chances -- but I noticed that you were also an AFS student like me!</p>

<p>I did AFS YP 03-04 to Japan, though. We missed each other by a year.</p>

3

<p>I dont want to be mean, but I will tell the blunt truth. Transfers are very rare to these colleges, so I'd say a pretty difficult reach. Your seem to be doing good (lots of stuff going on in your life), but you grades (the ones you listed that were non-home schooled) and math level may not be at the level that is needed to be accepted. Also SAT scores need to be in 1500s range to be considered in competative region, though a few (most athletics) got in with 1400s.</p>

4

<p>Good lord. I'd like to hope these schools are safeties for you, because your academic & extracurricular background is amazing. Hope you do well in whatever you do.</p>

5

<p>Yes your EC's are one of your strong points. One of the best I have ever seen.</p>

6

<p>wow....im jealous of ur EC's...</p>

7

<p>Thanks everyone!! its kind of a strange thing though, w/ my EC's... b/c I've always been homeschooled, I've gotten the opportunity to do things most of my peers have not, but I've also missed out on things that the public/private/prep schooled student has been able to, ie. being able to play in organized sports, ect. I've always been kind of jealous of that...:)</p>

<p>And Dreamkissed, that's SO cool~ another AFSer! where in Japan were you placed??</p>

8

<p>anyone else?</p>

9

<p>well...its hard to judge your grades because you've been homeschooled. and i agree with Anthony249, you'll need some work on the math. harvard's easiest math course is calculus 1, and that's for freshman. your ECs are very cool, and the fact that you come from wisconsin but you need the more basic classes too.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

10

<p>I would sign up to take calculus next semester, as much as it sucks I think you need it to show you can do ut, most applicants did at least a year of calc or pre-calc. If you do well enough, get the prof to write a letter of recommendation noting your progress. Good chance at some of these, maybe add a couple safeties (for you) like UNC-CH or Emory.</p>

11

<p>Thanks guys! I actually took pre-calc and trig in Japan...I forgot to mention that. I'm am taking a regular calc course next semester, I would have taken it this semester, but I would have been taking 21 credits (the limit here is 18). Does anyone know how hard universities like yale/brown/dart or columbia are to get into as opposed to harvard?</p>

12

<p>anyone else have comments/critiques?? <em>pokenudge</em></p>

13

<p>like most homeschooled kids, u have very strong ec's.. ur grades/test scores are decent.. but not quite the level these colleges are looking for, in my opinion.. especially as a transfer. good luck anyways though, you never know.. you ARE a highly unusual applicant and one never knows</p>

14

<p>You only took pre-cal and trig? Were you 1st year student or something? I was a 2nd year student and they were doing calculus AB and vector analysis in my class. I think it might of just been because I was in a rikei curriculum though.</p>

<p>Btw, I'm so envious that you got to live in Tokyo. I lived in a city near Nagoya. It was really cool, but it would have been nice to at least once had the chance to explore that Tokyo area. Oh well.</p>

<p>Before I end this post (sorry for talking about Japan so much, I don't get to talk returnees from Japan very often so I get excited when I do) -- I didn't notice anything in your EC's about taking the Japanese proficiency test. You should seriously consider taking the test if you want to prove your proficiency in Japanese. If you do end up transferring to a high level university like Harvard (PAKKUN!), then if you for example passed, 2kyu, I think it would be a lot easier for Harvard to know where to put you in terms of Japanese. :)</p>

15

<p>I'm retaking the SAT next month, as well as 3 SAT II's, but is 1400 really not that good anymore? What "level" would I need to be what these colleges are looking for?</p>

16

<p>for transfer.. above 1500
there are always exceptions, but don't count on them</p>

17

<p>OMG dreamkissed I did a 2 week family switch near Nagoya ~! Purikura everyday in Sakae <3 Oh yeah. ^^ What high school did you go to there? Was it Daiichi Koukou by any chance? And I was a first year student, apparently there was no room in the second year for an exchange student that year. :-/</p>

18

<p>so harvardhopeful, the transfer website's "most succcessful applicants have verbal and math SAT I scores of 600 or above" quote is just a sham then?</p>

19

<p>yah, SATs are always a major point. I'd consider taking a look at some of the colleges ranked just a bit lower than harvard/yale/princeton, etc.</p>

<p>northwestern, cornell, brown,darthmouth, columbia,... and don't forget washington in st. louis.. ranked 11 in us news and I heard admission isn't too hard for a school that good</p>

20

<p>I'm being realistic about my chances at harvard/yale, which is why i'm also applying at brown, columbia, brown, duke, stanford and dart. how do you all think my chances would be at those schools? better/same?</p>