Hey! I’m currently a Texas high school junior(large public), who hasn’t really focused on getting into any good school… because well… I thought it wouldn’t be too plausible. However, I’ve done pretty well academically/stat wise, so I was wondering how much work do you guys think it’ll take/what are my chances to getting into a T10 school considering I have little to no ECs right now. I have auto-admit to my state school, which was originally my plan.
**Not hooked, Asian male.
Any suggestions towards what specifically I could do to boost my ECs would be much appreciated.
Sorry for the lack of specificity in this post. If more information about me/my stats/current ECs would help, please ask.
This is what I’ll be attempting to do this year:
Started debate this year, will hopefully win some awards/reach the state level
Without knowing your stats and more about your ECs, it is impossible to figure out anything. Since you are a Texas resident - are you in the top 6% of uyour class?
Moreover, “T-10” is a nebulous term, really, since the lists are different for different majors and for students who are looking for different things.
Which brings me to my second point - your chances of finding the right college for you when your single criterion is “it is very competitive, popular, and famous” are pretty slim. What do you want from college? What majors, what size, what social climate, how challenging the classes, etc?
Many students who really would do better with a less intense college are caught up in this idea that the more prestigious a college is, the better it is for everybody.
To choose the best college for you, you need to envision what your ideal college education would look like, rather than imagining what it would feel like to tell your friends a family that you were accepted to Harvard or Stanford.
College doesn’t end when you get an admission letter, and focusing on factors like “is it a T-10” means focusing exclusively on that one day in May, rather than the four years that you are going to spend in college.
Thank you for your thorough reply! I really appreciate the input.
To start, here are my stats:
Rank 1/900
Unweighted: 4.0
SAT: 1570
19-22 AP classes throughout high school (So far taken 6, 4 5s and 2 4s)
As stated before, I have auto-admit to UT Austin.
As for the reason behind potentially attending a T10, I have a few. For one, I would like to go out of state, and it would not make any sense for me to chose a school out of state if its not a T10 over UT. Because I am undecided on major, and haven’t really decided on what I want in a college, I would like to see if I could even consider these schools. They clearly have their own perks, and would perhaps be better suited for me.
Currently my ECs are definetly lacking and none are impressive. I am wondering how much work would it take to get my ECs to the level needed for a T10, from pretty much 0, other than volunteer work. I understand that it depends on the EC specifics, but the caliber I see online varies dramatically. Furthermore, I am even wondering if it is possible for me to attain the necessary ECs to get into one of these universities, this late.
What would you say is my current chances into a T10, given my stats and close to no ECs of significance(by this I mean nothing of a national level, low level awards in competitions, little to no leadership positions).
Again, if you need any other info feel free to ask and thanks for the help!
That makes sense, however, even without knowing your major, could you give an idea of what features interest you? Are you looking for an urban or rural or suburban, small, large or medium, are you looking for warm weather or would a cold NE location be attractive? Are you looking for a school with a strong party culture. or strong Greek culture? These are things which can determine how well you fit in, and consequently, how well you’ll do.
You may also find that there are many non T-10 colleges that you may like as much or more than you like UT Austin, because they have something that you like which UT lacks.
What do you do with your time out of the classroom? A common characteristic across the students I know at T-10 type schools is that most of them are genuinely interested in something (or several things), and they pursue those interests with drive and determination.
Once you get home from school & finish your homework, what do you do with all the hours until bedtime?
These schools accept between 5% and 10% of applicants. This means they reject between 90% and 95% of applicants.
You can figure out your odds yourself. Apply and see. There are no guarantees at these schools. Amongst the rejections are a ton of extremely well qualified candidates.
Many other applicants to those colleges have high-end academic records like yours but also an EC record that shows commitment and achievement, plus the other things like essays and recommendations that attract positive attention from admission readers.