Chances for an atypical asian

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey all, I'm going to be a senior and just started looking at colleges. I'm not the prototypical asian that gets great scores, has a high GPA, plays piano and is amazing at math and science. But what I do have going for me is that I started web designing when I was 12, and become a very good designer and programmer. </p>

<p>Gender: Male
High School: NY Public, sends about top 20% to top schools (it's in the top 500 in US news rankings)
Class Size: 300
Rank: School does not rank
GPA (unweighted): 3.75
No weighted GPA's
Course Selection: Very challenging
Middle class, probably won't get much financial aid.</p>

<p>PSAT: 208</p>

<p>SAT I (OK scores, I know I should prob retake, but I really don't want to..)
Math: 730
Reading: 660
Writing: 600</p>

<p>SAT II
Math I: 750
Chemistry: 700
World History: 680</p>

<p>AP's
World History: 5
Chemistry: 4
Biology: 5
US History: 5
English Language: 4</p>

<p>EC's
SCHOOL RELATED CLUBS
Computer Club (President and Founder 10, 11, 12)
Model UN (President 11, 12)
Math Team (9, 10, Captain: 11, 12)
Environmental Club (Treasurer 11, 12)
School Newspaper (Sports Editor, 11, 12)
Varsity Track (9, 10, 11, 12)
National Honor Society (11, 12)</p>

<p>OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL (I think this is what can help me get into the great schools)
200 hours volunteer work</p>

<p>I started my own web development business in 2005. It is pretty successful, raking a few thousand every year. Also, I run another website which makes thousands on advertising.</p>

<p>This summer I work full time at one of the most prominent web development and consulting firms which is contracted to build hundreds of university websites, including a few ivys that I'm considering... haha</p>

<p>Please let me know if I have a shot at Wharton UPenn (which is my dream school), Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Chicago, Boston College, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, USC, and what I think my saftey is: SUNY Binghamton. Suggestions on how to improve or any other schools I should or shouldn't consider are very welcomed!</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>def. retake sats, how do you fall from a 208 PSAT to a 1990 SAT
Your goals for the majority of those schools should be at least 700 give or take in each area (your math, if you raise it to 770-780 could at least partially offset the low writing score)</p>

3

<p>Your scores will actually keep you out of some of these schools. Especially Wharton. Your ECs are great, but there are kids who run businesses AND have better SATs.</p>

4

<p>haha, don't be so confident about that "atypical asian" persona...Math team captain, Computer Club, Model UN? haha just kidding...but really, it's good that you don't completely fit the Asian stereotype. That will help you out with apps, I believe. Raise those SAT scores if you want a good shot at any of the top 15 or so schools (considering you're Asian, not a URM). The fact is, it's not only Asians that score well on SAT's or do well academically who get accepted by the schools you want to go to; it's everyone. So, with that in mind, you should definitely retake. Oh, and pdef, the PSAT score is not completely accurate. Give or take 100 points is completely within expectations. I myself scored a 2110 the first time when I had a 223 PSAT score.</p>

<p>well, there's my advice. I'd like it if you could chance my newest thread. Thanks!</p>

5

<p>yea your numbers (sat/gpa) are on the low side...</p>

6

<p>Yea... I know my SAT's are below average but the thing is I really don't have time to study with work everyday and visiting colleges almost every weekend.. :( Between the PSAT and SAT I studied really hard but the scores didn't improve which also discouraged me a bit.</p>

<p>I look at the US News stats for 25%-75% percentile for SAT and I'm at the bottom 25% at the top schools like HYPS but for a school like Cornell I'm probably near the 50% average even with a 1390. Are those numbers misleading because I'm asian male? Or do I still have a small chance at those schools?</p>

7

<p>Well, remember...the bottom 50% of those schools are mostly reserved for legacies, unrepresented minorities, and athletes. Can you be recruited? That would help a lot. But yeah, being Asian definitely hurts you (I feel ya bro). Don't worry! It's not too late though. I'm taking the ACT in a couple weeks; maybe you should try too. If you can't score well on the SAT, the ACT might do you good. Many people who cant score over a 2200 on the SAT score well on the ACT. I scored a 2180 superscore on the SAT and, on a practice ACT, scored a 35 out of 36 (converts to roughly a 2350).</p>

8

<p>You need to choose priorities. You are very unlikely to get into a top school with your current scores. Web design is great, but there are dozens here on CC alone.</p>

<p>Are you at the top of your class or close? If you're in the top 5% (schools know where you are in your class even when they don't rank) then it would be worth an all out SAT effort.
Can you work less and raise the scores?</p>

9

<p>Very low SAT 1. That will keep you out of every Ivy League because you are an Asian male.</p>

<p>Wharton UPenn (which is my dream school): REJECT
Harvard: REJECT
Yale: REJECT
Princeton: REJECT
Stanford: REJECT
Brown: REJECT
Dartmouth: REJECT
Cornell: REJECT
Chicago: Unlikely
Boston College: In
Johns Hopkins: Unlikely
NYU: In
Carnegie Mellon: In
USC: Maybe
and what I think my saftey is: SUNY Binghamton: In</p>

10

<p>I don't know, I agree with above, except I think you have a possibility of getting into Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell with good essays, and also JHU.</p>

<p>I suggest taking the SAT I again after studying - at least try to hit 2050.</p>

11

<p>I agree with Gaffe's decisions.</p>

<p>To knicksfan--you say you're too busy to study for the SAT because you're visiting colleges every weekend. Why? You don't have to. You should really wait until you actually get into colleges to visit them.</p>

12

<p>Thanks for all the great input so far</p>

<p>Crap I never knew the SAT was such an important factor.. I thought it was important but they would look at the other things too. So is that a bunch of BS when Ivy league admissions tell you that they don't have a cutoff and will consider applicants with scores between 600-800 in SAT I CR, M, and W?</p>

<p>I'm really considering taking the ACT now... since I've had a hard time improving my SAT scores even with studying. I don't really know much about the ACT though since I've never really considered it before. What would I have to score to be better than a 1380? I saw on Wikipedia that a 1380 would be a 29 or 30. So would I need a 32+ ACT?</p>

<p>Fusiondogg - I've just been checking out colleges that would seem to be of interest to me and on my level like BC, NYU, trying to figure out where I want to apply because I don't want to waste time applying somewhere I won't go.</p>

13

<p>It's best to aim for 33+ for the schools you want to apply to. 34 or 35 would be safer in your case, considering your GPA is only a 3.75. That converts to a 2250-2350 SAT score.</p>

<p>No admission officer from HYPS wants to tell you that his school has de facto standards. Sure, the school won't skip over your application just because you have under 650 for a section, but the chances of getting in are little to none. Even unrepresented minorities at top schools don't have it easy with 650 per section. Just look at the statistics and admission results every year. </p>

<p>I can't emphasize enough that it's not one factor which will decide the outcome of your application. It's a holistic approach that admission officers use; however, the whole "we factor in everything" methodology is somewhat downplayed at schools like Harvard because so many people have good applications that you can't just excel at one thing alone and get in anymore.</p>

14

<p>^I've actually never heard of anyone's grade's dropping because they visit colleges too much...that doesn't bode well for your organizational skills.</p>

<p>And they will consider all applicants in that range BUT as an asian kid you're in the most competitive pool and will be compared to your peers who had similar upbringings, lived in the same place, attended the same schools, etc. And I can guarantee you that there will be at least a handful of kids with better scores.</p>

<p>And your scores are low for Wharton, regardless of whether or not you're asian. It just is. Still apply if it's your dream. But somewhere else would be much more likely to accept you.</p>

<p>NYU and BC seem like better matches for you. Look into more schools in that range. And apply to one or two ivies as reaches. But honestly, Harvard, Yale, etc. is probably going ot be a waste of time.</p>

15

<p>Ok based on everyone's input so far, I'm going to work at improving my scores and GPA (although thats hard to change at this point). Are there any other weaknesses I should work on?</p>

16

<p>It's not a weakness at this point, but you'll need impressive essays...so you should probably start those whenever you feel ready. Also, bear in mind that you'll want stellar recommendations; have you asked any teachers to be your recommendations yet? Outside sources? Remember, top colleges look for intellectual interest, insightfulness, and a love for learning. Emphasize that in your essays, and hope you'll get recommendations to match. Test your teachers, if you haven't decided who you want to write for you, and see if they respond with an "okay, I'll do it" or a "sure! I'd be happy to". Nothing's worse than having a bad recommendation screw up your otherwise impressive application.</p>

17

<p>Isn't it better to be Asian? I am Iranian, would it be better to write white or Asian on a application? Middle Easterns are considered white, but I suppose they can be called Asian.</p>