<p>Male from Maryland, 80K income, White. Top 100 HS (its public)
I am applying as a nuclear engineering major, which is unavailable in my state.
Rank: top 5% My school does not rank, though from what I know, I'm 2/500</p>
<p>Science/Math Stuff (years):
It looks like I will have self-studied MV Calc (using the book by Stewart) in just 3 weeks
MNS (2)
SNHS (2)
Science Olympiad (2) (I generally placed in the top third (at least) in all my events at all competitions.)
This year I'm joining engineering club and I'm making a group in support of nuclear energy.
Other:
Chorus (2)
200 hours volunteering: library, food storehouse
Awards:
National History Day, 1st place, county level
Maryland Distinguished scholar finalist
AP National Scholar
Recs: Excellent, standard
Essay: I dunno
SAT: 710 CR 740 M 690 (10) W <---------- This better not kill me
SATs 2s in October (I don't think it matters, anyways)
Math 2, physics, ush
APs: 4: USH; 5: BC Calc, micro, macro, eng lang, us gov, world, stats
currently taking: eng lit, span lang, physics c (both)
GPA: 4.00
WGPA: 4.74 (GaTech recalculates this to (7/25) + 4.00, do the math)
So, yeah.
Thanks for any comments. ;)</p>
<p>great grades, decent test scores, average or below average involvement. You might make presidential semi-finalist, but unlikely to make finalist, much less full-ride. Most full-ride kids I’ve known have had awesome resumes. What you have listed does not look impressive. You list clubs, but no accomplishments. You list honors, but no achievements. Passion? How did you make a different? Founding warm/fuzzy clubs in senior year is tell-tale sign you haven’t been doing much.</p>
<p>You are in the running. It’s hard to give exact chances because it is difficult to know exactly what the PSP is looking for and how your interview will go. I’ve seen 4.00 UW GPA / 1500 M+CR SAT students declined (one 4.00 UW GPA / 1600 M+CR declined) and I’ve seen some 3.80 UW GPA / 1350 M+CR offered full rides.</p>
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<p>The only time my friends and I ever discussed our SAT scores, I found out I had the lowest math score (740) and by far the highest critical reading and writing scores (750, 700). Your SAT is more than fine.</p>
<p>With stats like yours, I say the only way you’ll be rejected is if you copy and paste the wrong essay.</p>
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<p>I’m inclined to agree. I thought my stats were at least at a “competitive” level, and I really liked the two supplementary essays I wrote. (I’m biased because I wrote them, obviously, but I seriously thought they were good!) I received my acceptance letter fairly early (two days before Thanksgiving), but I didn’t even make semi-finalist status for the PSP.</p>
<p>As a PS Scholar myself, let me assure you that grades and SAT scores aren’t the biggest factors in the decision process.<br>
In fact, please don’t take the first two replies to heart. In fact, I wasn’t the “typical” PS finalist when I applied, and yet I received near a full scholarship. In fact, my stats were pretty similar (perhaps even worse in comparison to yours).
From your scores and your stats, I can say that you are definitely qualified to be a semifinalist. If you write strong essays that really reveal who you are and what you stand for, I’d say you have a good chance. More so, if you do quality for semifinalist, be sure to get your personality and your professional attitude across in the interview. Those are some of the most important factors.</p>
<p>I really recommend that you apply. It’s an awesome opportunity. I almost didn’t apply because I “didn’t think I was good enough”, and now as a 3rd year PS, I’m so thankful that I did.</p>