<p>Hi, I am currently a high school junior who is interested in science and technology majors in college.
I got a 2330 on my SAT (1st try) and a 233 on the PSAT (I probably got national merit, right? I haven't heard back yet).
I play the oboe at a competitive level; I made it to my state's All-State Band as a sophomore, and All-State Orchestra this year. I also participated in Carnegie Hall's Honors Performance Series this past February. I am the section leader in my youth orchestra, and play in school orchestra too.
I'm in 4 AP classes and a load of electives, my GPA is a 4.5 weighted, and I believe I am in the top 5 of my class (not sure though). I've gotten fives on two previous AP exams, I plan on taking AP exams for all 4 current ones, but I'll probably fail the Physics C exam. There's no chance I'll do well on that...
I volunteer at the local library twice a week, serve as a member of its Teen Board, and am a member of NHS. I am also the president of my school's Math Olympiad team, and secretary of Quiz Bowl.
And I'm Asian-American.
So at this point, I'm really stuck between these two as my top choices. I have friends at my school who are also applying early admission to both of them, so the chances are that only one person from my school will be accepted for each. I really want to make this decision correctly.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading this! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Um, well, no. Actually, schools don’t have a certain quota from each school. Your assumption is incorrect.</p>
<p>What’s your cumulative unweighted GPA? That’s what colleges look at. Then, they look at rigor.</p>
<p>SAT is good, but you have to take minimum TWO subject tests.</p>
<p>It’s great that you play the oboe and have a lot going on with it, but in general your activities aren’t at the level that these colleges expect. </p>
<p>All you can do now is the following:
take Math II and a science of your choice subject tests
Write good essays</p>
<p>Those schools are huge reaches for everyone, including you. Those may be your top choices, but you’re going to need some matches and backups. Over 90% of applicants do not get in (reject or WL).</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I forgot to include my subject tests. I got an 800 on SAT Chemistry as a sophomore, and a 770 on SAT Math II at the beginning of junior year. My cumulative unweighted GPA is a 4.42, I believe.</p>
<p>H and P are a crap shoot for everybody. Apply and see what happens. Your stats look impeccable, but you have to have something special, something that will jump off the page and grab the adcoms’ attention. </p>
<p>Please also apply to some guaranteed admit places, like your state flagship. </p>
<p>Your stats are amazing. Harvard and Princeton are a crapshoot for everyone. Hopefully you can visit both and decide which is a better fit for you and apply to that one SCEA to improve you chances. Fabulous essays will also help. Good luck.</p>
<p>How do you have a 4.42 unweighted GPA? By definition an unweighted GPA can’t be >4.0 (unless you’re on a 5pt scale; which I doubt since your weighted GPA was 4.5). </p>
<p>I’m really hoping the music achievements will be the extracurricular that stands out, because not many people go to Carnegie Hall (at least in my limited experience). I visited Princeton and they say that colleges look for quality, not quantity. I mean, I used to be a member of 7 school clubs on top of the 2 hour a day music commitment, but then I realized that it would be too much, come Junior year.
And to be honest, my school doesn’t even report unweighted GPA. No one talks about it, and our GPA is only one number on the report card. It is a little strange how they do it; my school gives you a 5.0 GPA scale only of every single one of your classes is an AP, which is impossible because of the gym requirement. My friend who is the current valedictorian in my class almost has 100% in all of her classes (4 AP’s and a number of electives) and has a 4.62 GPA.</p>
<p>@ wannabefeynman
The reason I’ll probably fail the Physics C exam is that it is widely considered the second most difficult AP exam, and my teacher hasn’t gotten us a third of the way through our textbook yet. Exam is in three months, and we just finished the first chapter of elastic collisions. (9 out of 18 total)</p>
<p>@OboeWhizzy
That is a stupid comment about the test being difficult. Differential geometry is considered very difficult - math majors still take it and many succeed. Do not have a predetermined mindset or you will fail for sure. </p>
<p>You say your teacher has not gotten you past one third of the textbook, but you say you have covered 9/18 chapters? Also, you have three months. What is stopping you from studying on your own? </p>
<p>The AP Physics exam is given on May 12th by the College Board. Today is April 14th, so I have less than a month to finish half of the course. It is generally known that AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism is the hardest, and that AP Physics C: Mechanics is the second hardest. The states show this, because the questions are so hard that students only need to get a 37% or higher to get a 5. Even then, only two people in the history of my school have gotten 5’s; one a 4, and the rest were 2’s or 1’s.
Many people consider Differential Geometry difficult, yes, just like many people consider BC Calculus difficult. The problem lies with the College Board, and the fact that the questions it creates for AP Physics C are simply out of most high school physics teachers’ capabilities of teaching. The BC Calculus exam, on the other hand, is quite doable considering the depth and rigour that the average BC teacher teaches. </p>
<p>That was stupid of me. I read 3 months and did not think that the exam is in one month. </p>
<p>Have you taken the AP Physics C Exam? No. Then how can you tell it is difficult? The problem lies with the College Board in the sense that the questions it creates are too easy, not the contrary. If you study for it, I see know reason why you can not score a perfect mark. </p>
<p>Ah, thank you for your confidence in me. At this point, with 4 AP’s to study for, Physics C has been relegated to a somewhat inferior standing in the “AP Pecking Order” as I like to call the priority list in my mind. I really shouldn’t, and should be giving it my all. But when you have a teacher who doesn’t care about the exam and a majority of classmates who don’t either, it’s hard to be as proactive as I am for AP Language and Composition, where my teacher has almost a flawless track record of perfect 5’s and a few 4’s from all of her years in teaching.
I can tell that the exam is difficult because I have friends who purchased three AP Physics prep books, began studying in December, could eventually do all of the questions my physics teacher could think of, but still ended up with 2’s on the actual exam. It’s a true killer.
But yes, what you say is really true, how I shouldn’t give up on it and continue studying.</p>
<p>Do not care about the exam. If you enjoy physics, then learn physics without thinking about the exam. Then see if you are prepared for the exam. If not, then you still learnt quite a bit. As for those who bought prep books and got a 2, I can fulminate against them for a century. When a test was approaching in one of my classes, I completely ignored it. I only was learning about the subjects I enjoyed - not for the appeasement of my parents, being able to be accepted into a good university or have high marks on tests. Here I am, with 100% in AP Calculus BC and whilst doing that course over the summer in 15 days. Now many parents are happy and I will get into a good university. The key strategy for me was not to study for the test, but to study for the enjoyment of studying subjects for which I have a deep-seated passion for. Good luck!</p>
<p>That’s a good philosophy. I guess my AP Physics teacher really doesn’t know what he’s talking about then. He wants us to “enjoy physics” so he doesn’t want “any of that bogged down exam nonsense” and spent most of class time baking cookies for us. Real nice guy, most definitely, but all of his students enjoy cookies and going to his classroom, but not the subject he teaches.
And wow about BC Calc! You must be a real smart one, because I took it as a yearlong course and have a 96% cumulative average as of now. I won’t have an issue getting the 5, but that class is a more stressful one for me.</p>