Chances for Top Universities/Early Decision?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi my name is Erica, current senior from a California public school (1300 kids).</p>

<p>This is my first post; I only came to this site to see what my chances are at certain universities since 1. I'm having major doubts 2. my parents won't pay for colleges they don't approve of and 3. I can't decide on doing Early Decision (so far that's the plan):</p>

<p>GPA: current 5.0; overall 4.78
SAT: 770 M, 700 W, 700 CR
ACT: 31 with essay 11
SAT subject: 800 math II, 720 bio</p>

<ul>
<li>Varsity track and field (4 years)</li>
<li>3 presidential level KidsKorps awards for community service</li>
<li>Private/public tutoring (6+ years)</li>
<li>President of HS literature club & environmental-awareness club, member of NHS (2 years)</li>
<li>Internship at Harvard School of Public Health (summer after junior year for two weeks) </li>
<li>2nd degree black belt</li>
<li>Science Mustang HS Award (11th)</li>
<li>National Merit semi-finalist (11th)</li>
</ul>

<p>I have 2 really good recs from teachers that I know well personally outside of school (freshman english and junior calculus), a letter from my harvard professor, and a great counselour who writes well. I'm also about to start a UCSD adv calc class for the fall quarter so I can have 4 years of math (total math freak). I have taken every AP class offered at my school, and I'm a AP Scholar (8+ tests with 4s or 5s I think). I'm currently ranked 1 at my high school, but kids from my HS end up at community colleges, CSU and UC schools, so I feel the rank doesn't mean much. Only two graduated kids are going to the Ivy League (one had a 2400; other had her own patent).</p>

<p>My top choices:
1. Princeton University
2. Yale
3. Stanford
4. Brown
5. U Chicago
6. UPenn (SEAS)
7. Williams
8. Columbia (engineering)
9. Dartmouth
10. Tufts</p>

<p>Biggest problem besides competition, is that my parents won't pay $50k schools that aren't "ivies, stanford, MIT." My dad went to Stanford and is all for it. If I don't get into them, then I will be forced to attend a UC, which I'll be miserable at. My brother is at Berk, he loves it but told me I'd hate it, knowing me very well.</p>

<p>Thus I feel pressured to do ED for Brown (20-22%) since I honestly think I can't get in with regular admissions. What do you think? Early or is the risk worth it and applying regular everywhere?</p>

<p>Oh I forgot to mention I am asian, which doesn't really help. My parents are both alive. I am not living in poverty or the first to graduate. Haha.</p>

<p>Academic interests:
1. Biomedical engineering or chem enginerring
2. Applied Math
3. English lit and lang</p>

<p>Junior classes:
ap psych, ap calc bc, ap spanish, ap bio
ap physics b, ap us history, ap environmental sci, ap lang</p>

<p>current senior classes:
ap euro history, ap econ and gov, ap lit, adv journalism
ap comparative government, ap physics c, yoga, free 4th in spring for internship or job. (or relaxing if i get accepted, maybe)</p>

<p>OPEN TO CRITICISM, COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK. my family already says the worst and my peers give me **** for being ambitious... i can handle anything :)</p>

2

<p>Other random stuff:
Over summer I took a law class and a philosophy one.
I work at a yogurt shack.
I was homecoming queen last year.
I play piano… yeah that won’t help. Only gets rid of stress.</p>

3

<p>You need to raise scores for any real shot at the ivies and Stanford, even as a legacy. The competition from CA is brutal. If you ED one, your best shot by far will be Columbia engineering, especially if you’re a non Asian female.</p>

4

<p>Welcome to CC! Where the extraordinary are ordinary, the overachieving come standard, and incredulously amazing profiles are the norm. Yes, I’m exaggerating, but only by a little, whether that’s a good thing or not. So then…</p>

<p>Trust me when you say you don’t want “anything” as far as criticism goes. That’s not psychologically health. One of the very few natural gifts I possess is the tear almost anyone down, so I’ll leave it at that. The point is, no one wants the hear an excess amount of negative criticism, so don’t open yourself up to that. There are luckily very few truly nasty posters on CC, but even still.</p>

<p>Well then, your academics seem pretty good. Being valedictorian will help you. Your tests do leave something to be desired. Speaking as a fellow Asian, I don’t think you want to pull the “shotgun” route and apply to as many Ivies and top-tier schools as possible, in the hopes of getting into one. It’s inherently stupid and speaks to nothing but an OCD. Narrow your list down to three or four reaches, three or four matches, and one or two safeties. If you apply to two dozen, your essays will probably end up being weak and all in all, you’ll regret it. I’d aim for some of the lower Ivies if I were you, and if your parents don’t pay, aim for a low-cost public institution such as the UCs, and then get into a good graduate school.</p>

5

<p>Thank you so much! I’m retaking SAT and ACT in october and already signed up for november (which I hope it doesn’t get to that). </p>

<p>I think I’m applying ED to Brown or UPenn SEAS. They aren’t as impossible as HYP, but still as good in my opinion. I really like UChicago and feel as a math/science person it’s a good match, but my parents won’t budge. :(</p>

<p>Oh, and I do have OCD, so it might explain the mass college applications… well self-diagnosed OCD.</p>

6

<p>Cant apply to Columbia SEAS without either a chem or physics SATII btw</p>

<p>For Columbia Engineering, you must take any mathematics test and either Physics or Chemistry.</p>

7

<p>Oh, thanks for the notice.
I guess I’ll also submit the chem score: 760 SAT II chem, making it 3 subject tests.
AP chem (10th grade) - A and 5 on ap exam.
AP physics B as junior - A and 4 on exam.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>