Chances for Duke, Rice, Columbia, UPenn, Harvard, Stanford

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Current School: Public High School in Texas (pretty competitive)
Asian Male
HS GPA: 3.9769 (only 97+ is 4.00)
Rank 2/~650
SAT: 2400 one sitting- 11 essay
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Biology M, 800 Chemistry
ACT: 36 Composite (34E, 36R, 36M, 36S, 36W)

(Notable) Extracurriculars:
(1): President of Science Club at a school that has consistently been top 3 in the state of Texas in Science; in UIL competitions I’ve consistently been top 5 in the state, and have won the District and Regional competitions individually.
(2): President/Captain of the Science Bowl team since sophomore year; won North Texas regional Science Bowl and placed third in our group at the National Science Bowl out of eight or nine teams
(3): Biology and Chemistry Olympiad Semifinalist- Biology Olympiad sophomore and junior year, Chemistry junior year
(4): Conducted research at Texas Christian University on riboswitches as novel biosensors
(5): Community Service- 250 hours from church, various Key Club projects
(6): Math Club co-president
(7): Youth Orchestra cellist 4 years, award winning recital student
(8): Best Score in Nation, TEAMS engineering competition

Course Rigor:
Extremely rigorous; 13 AP tests through junior year, all 5’s (have taken basically every science AP course through junior year, taking Organic Chemistry at university this year)

Recs:
(1): Science Club sponsor and teacher for 2 years (AP Environmental Science and AP Biology)- we maintain a great relationship and work together to run our school Science Club, which was 2nd in the state of Texas competitively last year.
(2): Science Bowl and Quiz Bowl sponsor and teacher for 2 years (Honors Chemistry and AP Chemistry)- one of my favorite teachers, we also have a great relationship, and I often eat lunch in his class and chat with him about miscellaneous things.

Essays:
I think that I effectively showed my love for science while also incorporating my various quirks. I’ve never felt like the strongest writer, but I would say my voice came through, and that’s what I was looking for.

I realize that especially Columbia, Penn, Harvard, and Stanford are reaches for everyone, but I hope my passion shines through uniquely. Just want to hear some feedback. I’ll be happy to chance back, thanks!

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You must know you have outstanding credentials. They could not be more perfect.

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Wow this is awesome. I think you’re a strong candidate. :slight_smile:
Do you have any study tips for the critical reading section of the SAT? My math is okay and my writing is pretty strong but my CR is suffering.

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@lostaccount Thank you, if worst comes to worst I do have safeties at USC, UT, and TCU. :((

@claire32 Thanks! What do you struggle with? Realistically with vocab, I don’t agree with rote memorization, and I’ve personally acquired the vocab through a lot of reading, but if you’re in a time crunch I think its alright. For passage based questions I’d work on reading comprehension. I try to always look for what point the author is trying to convey.
Feel free to message me!!!

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@paulryu On my last SAT I missed 4 vocabulary questions so I’m not too concerned with the vocabulary. However the difficult passage questions give me a hard time. I’m going to complete and relook at sample tests that I’ve done in the SAT book that I got at my test prep class. Are there other strategies you would suggest?

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I think you’re more than extremely qualified. It’s good that you acknowledge these schools are reaches for everyone though on the chance that something doesn’t go accordingly. Duke and Rice you should be fine…again it’s all subjective, but I really think you have a strong chance at each school. Congrats on being an amazing candidate, wish I had your credentials for Columbia, lol :wink:

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@claire32 Mmm, as you read through the passages, just try to make note of the arguments, tone, etc, that the author uses. As you answer questions, try to eliminate the obviously wrong answers, and then make arguments for each answer that you are considering and weigh them against each other.

@fishgill Would be wonderful if I see you there. Good luck!!

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@paulryu Thanks for the strategies! Good luck to you on getting into these colleges!

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I think you are likely to be admitted to Penn and Columbia. I think you have a good chance at Harvard and Stanford too.

The essays need to be compelling, and show that you know the schools well. Good luck.

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You’ve got a great shot. One question though: why didn’t you apply anywhere ED?

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UT Austin

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@Much2learn Thank you.

@sgopal2 Application didn’t feel ready, I’m kind of a perfectionist…

@ClarinetDad16 A great university, thanks.

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damn pretty good app, couldnt ask for better. Pretty good chances at any school. Will most likely get into one of those top schools (Harvard, Stanford)

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I’m just wondering, what exactly did you talk about with the Chem teacher? I always have awkward moments with my Bio teacher whenever I try to talk with her.

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@KenichiTanaka If i just get into one I’ll be extremely happy.

@neophite Haha, just tons of different stuff. We share a lot of the same interests like hip hop, soccer, cell biology, and he’s extremely well read, so I’d just have casual conversations with him. He’s a wonderful person, and a few students, including me, have started calling him dad. :wink:

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Oh gosh. This post reminds me alot of my own stats when I applied. I definitely think you have a shot at all these schools. I’m really curious to see where you end up going.

Keep me posted!

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@AnnieBot Just looked at your post. Wow… very similar hahaha. Do you attend Vanderbilt? I was considering applying but in the end decided not to.

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@paulryu Yeah I attend Vanderbilt.

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For anyone interested, so far the schools who have given me a decision are TCU (accepted, interviewing for their Chancellor’s full scholarship this weekend,) UT (accepted, Dean’s scholars- Natural Science Honors.) Had an alumni interview with Stanford which went well. Harvard and Penn alumni interviews soon!

I’ll probably update in early April again.

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@paulryu good job! I hope to see you get into those other schools too