<p>I wouldn’t consider his being a first-generation applicant to be a significant hook. It’s certainly nowhere near the level of being a URM.</p>
<p>Yale: reach (it is for everyone, but at least it’s not a high reach)
MIT: low reach
Duke: Medium/High match
Penn: High match</p>
<p>^ Yale and MIT are essentially of the same selectivity.</p>
<p>Penn high match? None of the top 20 schools are matches for anyone. Top 20 schools are all highly selective.</p>
<p>OP, I’m a high school freshman Asian-Indian male. If everything goes well, I should have around 12 APs done by junior year…hope I can get myself up to your level.</p>
<p>@silverturtle: um, no the OP is not far from being ensured a spot at Duke. did you go to high school in north carolina? (and i’m talking about north carolina, because although Duke is a private school, location does play a role in the selection process). because i did, and i have seen so many different types of people from my schools and surrounding high schools apply for duke and get rejected/waitlisted/accepted. trust me…</p>
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<p>The fact that you know people who were rejected, accepted, or waitlisted disproves my claim how exactly?</p>
<p>is there anything other than being rejected/waitlisted/accepted haha those are like the only things that can happen</p>
<p>This whole thread is a perfect example of why high school students who know little about admissions should not be chancing others.</p>
<p>^ Good thing Redroses isn’t a high school student!</p>
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<p>That’s not exactly true. Although they are selective, an applicant can still be well qualified enough to the point that they have an excellent chance- especially with the lower tiers of the top 20. </p>
<p>The only schools that I would say are so selective that it is a reach even for max stat applicants are the HYPSM uber schools.</p>
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<p>I’m going to be a little more realistic here …</p>
<p>Your GPA is great, not amazing. The 5.2 is fooling people because your school gives a 6 for A’s in AP classes. The 3.9 should be the focus. And a 3.9 is great, not amazing.</p>
<p>Taking 10 AP classes is great, not tremendous. I personally took around the same amount, and there are many, many applicants taking the same load.</p>
<p>Extracurricular activities are good, not outstanding. While you do have a lot of leadership positions, there doesn’t seem to be much depth or focus. For instance, are there are any projects you led in these groups that would be worth talking about? Do you have an intense passion for any of these groups that you can elaborate on in an essay? Your activities are going up against people who win state and national academic, artistic, etc. competitions, so you’ll need some of that to make yours stand out.</p>
<p>And Enigma is misleading you. While there are Asians who get into top schools with scores 2230 and below, the vast majority of them are rejected, especially in comparison to those who get 2300 and above.</p>
<p>However, this is not to say you have no chance at the above schools. You still stand a good chance (better chances at Duke and UPenn I’d say because they’re a bit less selective), but recognize that a good chance to top schools still does not mean you’re very likely to be accepted.</p>
<p>I would have to agree with silverturtle, the OP is not close to being guaranteed a spot. I don’t think silverturtle meant that he has no chance, it’s just that saying he is almost guaranteed for Duke is too much of a stretch. </p>
<p>I would say OP has a good chance at Duke, especially since he is an NC resident. But obviously not guaranteed.</p>
<p>you seem like a pretty cookie-cutter asian applicant…</p>