<p>I am planning on majoring in Aero/Mech Engineering.</p>
<p>I am applying to:
Brown
UPenn
Northwestern
U. of Michigan
Boston University
All UCs
Cal Poly - SLO
Arizona State (already accepted)</p>
<p>GPA: 3.958 weighted/3.375 unweighted
Rank: 30% (must be above 4.57 to be in top 10% at my school)
Ethnicity: Half white, Half Chinese (father immigrated from Hong Kong)</p>
<p>AP Courses:
Chemistry
Physics
Calculus AB
US Gov't
Macroeconomics
Composition and Literature
Statistics
Studio Art
Art History</p>
<p>Honors Courses:
Chinese 4
Physics
American Literature</p>
<p>ECs:
-Flight training (working towards my Private Pilot's License) (11/12)
-AYSO soccer: Goalkeeper, team captain, Coaches MVP (9/10/11/12)
-Paid freelance photography for small businesses, weddings, senior portraits (9/10/11/12)
-School Newspaper Photo Editor (12)
-Student board with 10 students that work closely with the Head Counselor (she wrote my LOR)</p>
<p>Volunteer Work:
-165 hours in the Navajo Nation working with locals building a community youth center (11)</p>
<p>Misc:
-My photo coverage of the Occupy UCD movement for my school paper was covered by the New York Times
-Took 4 years of Chinese, starting from level 1
-I took AP Chem as a sophomore with no previous experience and got a C (only C through all of high school)</p>
<p>I am applying to:
Brown
UPenn
Northwestern
U. of Michigan
Boston University
All UCs
Cal Poly - SLO
Arizona State (already accepted)</p>
<p>Please let me know what you think my chances are! I'll chance back!</p>
<p>Your EC’s are good (very very good), and you’re well-rounded. Brown, UPenn, Berkeley (out-of-state I assume) and Northwestern are reaches but definitely possible. I’m not familiar with ACT scores so I’m not positive. Also your GPA is the only thing that makes me unsure for your reaches, but that’s hard to improve upon. If your GPA was better, I would say these were all matches because you’re a good candidate. The rest are matches, with Boston, Cal Poly, UCSC, UCSB, Davis, Irvine being safeties.
Chance back?</p>
<p>The GPA is definitely really low for some of those higher tier schools you listed, such as Brown, Upenn, Berkeley, Northwestern, UCLA, and UCSD. The ACT score is great for all those schools except for Brown and UPenn. I found the ECs really interesting. It definitely helps if you get that pilot license, as it has everything to do with your major. Right now, I’d say Brown, UPenn, Northwestern, and Berkeley are reaches, UCLA, UCSD, and Michigan are matches, the rest are safeties. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>My school is very competitive, and like I said, the top 10% of my class has a GPA of 4.57-4.86. 5 people were accepted to Stanford ED. Will this help or hurt my chances of admission at these schools?</p>
<p>Just a sidenote, AYSO is hardly an extracurricular unless your team was nationally recognized or something, seeing as AYSO allows anyone and everyone to play, and teams practice like once a week for an hour. </p>
<p>The only EC I think really gives you a push is your pilot’s license, as it’s related to your intended major.</p>
<p>You did take a lot of AP classes which shows you’re a hard worker but what were your scores on the AP exams?</p>
<p>I think the upper-tier schools like Brown and Northwestern are reaches and some of the UC’s are as well (Berkeley, UCLA). It’s really difficult to tell without SAT/AP scores and how your essay was, etc.</p>
<p>For AP tests, I got a 3 on both Chem and Calc. Something went wrong with my studio art portfolio so I have to redo that this year.</p>
<p>In terms of ECs, our school paper is nationally awarded and in the top 40 nationally as ranked by the National Scholastic Press Association. I thought that might carry some weight. Hopefully it does!</p>
<p>Your EC’s are very interesting and are definitely a plus. I think that your GPA might cause for some hard times, but your ACT is great. I’d say that Brown and UPenn are reaches, and your chances there would most likely be hindered by your GPA. But for the rest, including UMichigan and Northwestern, I think you’re in good shape for. From reading the posts, it sounds like your school has a lot of recognition throughout college admissions offices as being a source of academically competitive students, so that’s a definite plus on your side. It’s always nice to attend a school with a wonderful reputation!</p>
<p>Although your test scores aren’t anything to boast about when it comes to the ivy league schools, your ECs are a pretty interesting read. You should be fine for all of them except Brown, Upenn, and Northwestern, which are reaches, so they’re still possible but less likely. Good luck!</p>