<p>Okay, I would like to know my chances at:
John Hopkins
Stanford
Caltech
Columbia
Berkeley
*All out of state universities for me</p>
<p>Class: 2008
Rank: 1/286
GPA UW: 4</p>
<p>Scores:
PSAT: 211
SAT I Math: 770
SAT I CR: 690
SAT I Writing: 730
SAT II US History: 740
SAT II Chemistry: 710
SAT II Math 2: 800
SAT II Physics: 710
SAT II Biology: 760
AP American History: 5
AP Chemistry: 5
AP Physics: 5
AP Biology: 5
AP Calculus AB: 5</p>
<p>I will take AP Psychology, AP Government, and AP Literature during senior year.</p>
<p>EC (I included what I plan to do next year):
200 Community Service Hours
Orchestra (4 years)
National Honors Society
JV Tennis (2 years)
Varsity Tennis (2 years)
Qualified USAMO (3 years)</p>
<p>Academically, you're in the ballpark, but so are thousands of other applicants. Think about how you can stand out in the ball park -- What is your "hook?" For example, are you good enough to play tennis in college? If so, contact the tennis coaches at the schools you're interested in. Do you play an unusual instrument? Send in a CD to schools that accept supplemental materials, or even contact the orchestra/band directors at individual schools to discuss performance opportunities. How will your recommendations and essays help you stand out as someone each school wants?</p>
<p>In short, think about why each of these schools would want YOU out of all of the thousands of equally well qualified applicants, and make sure your application materials reflect that! Good luck!</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree that you need a hook, especially since you're applying to ivies and ivy-caliber schools. I read one of these books written by admissions officers (I think this one was A for Admission, about Duke) and I think you're what they call a BRWK-- a Bright Well-Rounded Kid. The problem is that the new fad in college admissions right now is "a passion"-- just "well rounded" isn't what top schools want any more. I would think you definitely need more activites that show your "passion" for something in particular. Especially for schools like Berkeley and Caltech, you should have all kinds of science and math ECs to show them you would fit at their school. Your academics are amazing, you seem to have strong ECs, but they're so standard.</p>
<p>Thanks for the evaluations. I guess my ECs are really weak. Could you give me some examples of ECs that stand out and show passion? Would something like Siemens or Intel be good enough, or are they too standard?</p>
<p>Wait...*** IS EVERYONE SMOKING. There are not "thousands of other applicants" (Carolyn) who qualify for USAMO 3 years straight in high school. Colleges definitely know what that means. I think you're a big step ahead of a lot of other applicants with that stat.</p>
<p>And as for the above post, Siemens and Intel would obviously be good, but don't count on winning anything. Go buy a lottery ticket the same day you turn in your Siemens application.</p>