Chances for Top Schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Applying to: WashU, Brown, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, University of College Park (backup), UVA (?), maybe Princeton and Harvard (just for the chance)</p>

<p>About me:</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian (Taiwanese to be exact)
Sex: Male
Residency: Maryland
School Type: Ranked 250-ish on the latest national high school rating report</p>

<p>GPA: 5.62 weighted (out of 6), and 3.71 unweighted (out of 4).
SAT: 2080 (740M/670CR/670WR) - pending retake in the Fall.
SAT II: Biology M (06/08): 750; Math II (06/09): 770; US History (05/10): 710 (whoops)
Class Rank: 9 out of 454 (top 2% of class)</p>

<p>APs:</p>

<p>AP Biology - freshman year - 5
AP Chemistry - sophomore year - 4
AP World History - sophomore year - 5
AP Statistics - sophomore year - 5
AP Calculus AB - junior year - scores pending
AP English Composition - junior year - scores pending
AP US History - junior year - scores pending
AP Psychology - junior year - scores pending </p>

<p>APs I'm taking senior year: </p>

<p>AP Physics C
AP English Literature
AP Calculus BC
AP Economics
AP Government</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Varsity Tennis (2010 – Present)
JV Tennis (2009 – 2010)
Spanish National Honor Society (2010 – Present)
National Honor Society (2009 – Present)
Science National Honor Society (2009 – Present)
-Co-founder (2009)
-Vice President (2009 – 2010)
-President (2010 – Present)
National Mathematics Honor Society (Mu Alpha Theta) (2008 – Present)
-Secretary (2009 – 2010)
-President (2010 – Present)
Key Club (2008 – Present)
Chess Club (2007 – Present)
-Vice President (2008 – 2010)
-President (2010 – Present)</p>

<p>Awards/Achievements:
[Varsity] All-Academic Team Award (2009 – [2010])
Maryland Athletic Association – Scholar Athlete Award (2010)
National Merit Scholarship: Commended Student (2010)
Baltimore County Public Schools – Physics Olympics (2010): First Place Team
AP Scholar Award with Honor (2009)
Maryland State Grade Chess Championships (2008) – 10th Grade, Third Place
Perfect Attendance (2001 – Present)</p>

<p>Community Service:
peer tutoring at my high school, tree planting at various locations, soup kitchens, science fair judging, and a "counselor" type organization at my school where we introduce incoming freshman/new students to our high school (give tours, explain how our school works, etc.)</p>

<p>Jobs: assistant tennis coaching (this summer of junior year)</p>

<p>Any opinions? Tips?</p>

2

<p>EDIT: </p>

<p>Parents: Currently unemployed (laid off in the recession, haven’t been able to find work due to immigrant biases) </p>

<p>Additional Experiences:
Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission – Language Study Program for Expatriate Youth (2009)
-Six-week camp in Taiwan, exploring and learning Taiwanese/Chinese culture and language with international compatriots from over 34 countries.</p>

<p>Quad-lingual: fluent in English, proficient in Taiwanese, Mandarin, and Spanish</p>

3

<p>GPA is decent (on the low side), but test scores and ECs are just not good enough for the schools that you listed. Unless you ED/EA to WUSTL or Hopkins, its reaches to high reaches across the board.</p>

4

<p>Really? I thought the opposite; my ECs were decent but my GPA was not good enough. I do agree that my test score (SAT I) is way too low. </p>

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

5

<p>Your GPA isn’t super strong, nor are your test scores. (specifically the sat 1).
As for your ECs, it seems like almost all of them were started last year and are pretty common. See if you can’t find a more unique EC.
The four language thing is pretty awesome though!</p>

6

<p>Thanks :)</p>

<p>Yeah I agree - my GPA isn’t my favorite part, and I’m terrible at the SAT. </p>

<p>Most of them (the honor societies especially) are of last year because that’s when we were allowed to apply :confused: </p>

<p>I suppose use the Common App section to explain the Science National Honor Society Chapter at my school; since the Science Honor Society isn’t that well established at any level, it gave us a lot of flexibility in how we wanted our members to participate in science extracurriculars (community service, in-school lab projects, field trips, etc.)</p>

7

<p>Lots of reaches. Are your safeties financial safeties? It’s unclear whether you’ll be applying as an international. JHU looks the most promising of the privates but they don’t meet need. If you don’t love (and can’t afford with no aid) UMD, you may want to look at schools where you may get merit aid.</p>

8

<p>My safeties are financial safeties. I was born in the US (I just have some international activities haha) and we’ve lived in Maryland for 12 years. </p>

<p>I was comparing myself to a college freshman friend at WashU and he had a lower GPA than mine, okayish SAT scores (not much higher than mine), and decent/good extracurriculars. But then again, it has been two years since his admission, so who knows.</p>

9

<p>First off, it’s pretty cool that you’re quad-lingual. You should include that in an essay or other question somewhere on the app, especially that you’re an Asian who’s fluent in Spanish.</p>

<p>But your GPA and SAT score will hurt you alot alot alot, especially that you’re Asian. Get your GPA up to at least a 3.8, and aim for a 2150+ Composite on the SAT.</p>

<p>Anyway, chances:</p>

<p>Good Fit: UVA, Maryland-College Park
Mid-Reach: WashU
High Reach: Cornell, John Hopkins, Brown
Very High Reach: Princeton, Harvard</p>

10

<p>This is probably the biggest range in who got in 2 years ago and who will get in this year in history.</p>

11

<p>if you were not asian, you would have good chance at all except H/P.
you are a sure bet at UVA and UMCP.
you’ll likely to get into any of the other target schools.</p>

12

<p>I believe I can throw in the quad-lingual aspect into the “Additional Information” aspect of the common app. </p>

<p>I think that no one can for sure say “Oh I’m definitely getting into Harvard/Princeton” at any level. If I get in, fantastic; if I don’t, at least I tried. </p>

<p>My GPA will most likely stay at a 3.71. If I get a 4.0 senior year (first semester), that puts my unweighted GPA at 3.78 (does that round to 3.8? haha).</p>

13

<p>Also, I know that my GPA is trash, but I believe it makes more sense in light of the classes I took. If I didn’t get a B in AP Biology freshman year, I would have a 3.8 right now. So perhaps the B in a college course as a freshman would look good? </p>

<p>Brings the question of “B in AP course or A in honors?” up again.</p>