Chances for Ivy League

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

This is my final chance thread - everything is basically finalized now. I need to write the supplements for Ivies other than Cornell (most likely applying ED here), but by the time I get the ED letter, I’ll know whether or not I have to submit the other essays.

Race: Chinese-American
Gender: M
Family Income: $200k+, will still apply for financial aid
Intended Major: Probably history or philosophy, can’t decide rn

GPA: 3.56 UW, 4.28 W (9-11)

Courseload:
Freshman
Ancient Civilizations H
English 1H
Algebra 2/Trig H
Marching Band/Jazz Ensemble
Biology H
Chinese 2

Sophomore
AP World History
English 2H
Precalculus H
Marching Band/Jazz Ensemble
Chemistry H
Chinese 3

Junior
AP Physics 1
AP US History
AP Calculus BC
English 3H
Marching Band/Jazz Ensemble
Chinese 4

Senior
AP English Literature
AP Psychology
AP US Government
AP Microeconomics
AP Statistics
AP Environmental Science
Marching Band (no 6th period senior year 2nd semester)

Senior year is much easier than junior year, imo; I expect probably all A’s or one/two B’s max

AP stats: World History 4, US History 4, Calculus BC 4
SAT Subjects: 790 World History, 770 US History, 750 Chinese w/ Listening, 770 Math level 2
PSAT: 1500 (750 M, 750 R), Index 225
ACT: 35 (35 Reading, 33 Math, 35 English, 36 Science) with 31 Optional writing essay (11 all subsections)

EC’s:
Principal’s Honor roll all 4 years (W GPA above 4.0)
CSF Honorary Member
Marched in 2014 National Cherry Blossom Parade
Marching Band Trumpet Section Leader
Lincoln Douglas debate at UC Berkeley Cal Invitational (didn’t win anything, went 3 wins, 3 losses)
JSA (Junior State of America) Member and GenUN (Generation United Nations) member
Volunteered at local fine arts center for around 200 hours
Juror on Peer Court in local superior Court (Orange County)

Essays: Great - I chose common app question #4 and discussed how diverse and politically divided my family is (one’s communist, two are trump conservatives, some liberal, we are mainly Chinese with an Irish American stepdad and half-Filipino stepsister) and even though we’re on opposite ends of the political spectrum, we don’t live on opposite sides of the house with lines between us; we respect and understand each other’s opinions. The problem I want to solve is partisan gerrymandering (if you don’t know what that is, look it up) and how my family’s status is the solution.

Cornell CAS essay: I started the essay with how I wasn’t allowed to buy a hat with a red star when I was 11 in Beijing, and how overarching events in history and concepts in philosophy influenced my mother and grandmother in their lives. (I discussed grandma’s cynophobia and how it was associated with the 2nd Sino-Japanese War [a Japanese army dog bit her neighbor’s leg off right in front of her when she was my age in Shanghai], and how subsequent Qing and Communist suppression of centers of higher education led my mother to come to America) I did my research on Cornell’s history and philosophy departments and have accordingly incorporated faculty and classes I’d like to take.

Letters of Rec:
English teacher: excellent
History teacher: outstanding (he read the second essay and loved it)
Counselor: Average (I meet with him probably a little more than the rest of the 700 students he has to counsel, but he doesn’t know me well)

My GPA is the biggest hurt-factor. The thread title does say Ivy League, but I’m only applying to Cornell, Brown, and Yale. I’ve visited Cornell and love it, but Brown’s atmosphere and Yale’s liberal arts programs are also awesome
Deadlines are in 2 months (November 1) - I still have time for another one or two regional debate tournaments. As you can probably see, I am most proud of my essays. Do feel free to critique them, though. Thanks!

NOTE #2: I have safety schools - local community college and Calstates. I’m not putting all of my eggs into one basket (forgive the cliche).

2

Oh crap - I’m not supposed to post what my essays are about, am I…

3

I think you’re good lol

But I have a question for you… What did you do to get such a high score on reading?? For the act

4

Like…How did you go by doing the passages and questions

5

There’s a huge gap between ivies and comm. coll./CSU. You are competitive for some super wonderful privates 2 notches down from the ivies. If ED Cornell is not an accept, then I suggest you focus your efforts there. good luck.

6

Both essays sound interesting. They also seem to show your curiosity. You might ask a mod to edit out the specifics. What classes brought the gpa down? That can make a difference.

7

as @lookingforward says, your essays sound interesting. BUT, you mostly describe the experiences of family members. Colleges need to hear about YOU: your passions, your ideas, your actions.

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@aidiwwwnmw1 I didn’t take a class for the ACT (I took it cold full length for the first time), but what I can remember from the reading section was that it was significantly easier than the old SAT’s critical reading section. I did take a summer class for the old SAT, and doing the content for the SAT critical reading sections probably overprepared me for the ACT’s. From actually doing the test, your best bet with the time limit is to read the passage and get the main idea, who’s speaking, and how the speaker thinks. I can’t tell you much more, though - the ACT sections vary for every person. I barely finished on time and got a 33 on math when others ace it with 10 minutes to go.
@pickpocket thanks!
@lookingforward Yea, I’m planning to go to law school after college and then someday either be a professor or enter politics. For your question, I got two C’s (real bummer, I know) in Precalculus H and Calculus BC, both in the second semester. Since I’m applying as a liberal arts major, I guess it softens the blow a little, but not by much.

9

@pickpocket I probably sounded ignorant in my original post, but I do know how wide the gap is. My local CC has an acceptance rate of 98% and most of the calstates around 35-60%.

10

you seem smart, so I’m just going to tell you from experience… community college is not a safety school… its a last option for those who can’t afford a real school. Even those who can’t afford a real school would rather not go to school at all than to be stuck in a community college. They don’t teach you anything and it will not be beneficial to your education. You’d be wasting your time in a place like that. College is supposed to be difficult and hard to get into… its not supposed to have a 98% acceptance rate.

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@RJ1129 Yes, I know already - it’s the “failure” school to every Asian parent (and most non-Asian parents) in existence. It’s a last resort if worst comes to worst.
@pickpocket I’d rather not elaborate more on the essays, but the influences on my family are just the concrete details that I start the essays with.

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Last resorts aren’t the same thing as safety schools… they’re last resorts. A safety school is a school you can get into if your reach school doesn’t accept you. If your reach school is an ivy league school, your safety school should be like Georgetown or Boston University… not community college. Just remember, its your life… and what you do now will effect it indefinitely.

13

I believe you should include on your list some excellent private schools that offer merit aid and that are easier to gain admission to. Your list is unbalanced. Good luck.

14

Okay, I think there’s a little misinterpretation here. Nowhere in the original post do I say that the schools I listed, including the Ivies and the cc and state universities, are the only ones I’m applying to. 1) I’m applying to most of the UC’s (UCLA, UCB, UCD, UCSB, UCI, UCR/UCM). 2) I’m also applying to USC (by no means a safety, though) and one or two local privates (Chapman, namely). The point of the thread was to give my chances for the Ivies, which are only PART of my app. I think that should clear it up.

If it makes any difference, I got notified today that I am a NMSC semifinalist (Finalists don’t get chosen until February).

15

Bump?