Hey, I’m a bored junior starting to look at colleges. I’m hoping to go into some kind of science or engineering, probably not biology.
Chance me for:
Caltech/MIT/Berkeley (let me dream, okay?)
Rice
Purdue
Rochester
Rose Hulman
Also, any suggestions for matches? I have a safety, don’t worry.
SAT: 2330 single sitting (800 CR, 800 M, 730 W). No subject tests yet.
UW GPA: 3.94/4.0
APs: World History (5), Calc BC (5?), Biology (4?), US Government (5?)
Senior year courses: AP Chem, AP Physics 2, AP English Lit, AP Macro/Microeconomics, AP Computer Science, band, possibly German 3, possibly Calc 3 at community college
Awards: uhh, National Merit semifinalist, I guess?
EC: eep
Marching band (9-12), section leader (11-12)
Various math contests, consistently among top few in school. 93 AMC 12…
Mu Alpha Theta (10-12), science honor society (11-12), NHS (12)
Tutoring for 5th and 6th grade math, 100ish hours
Various volunteering things around school (parent/teacher conference setup, basketball concessions, etc.), 100ish hours total. Is it worth mentioning?
Piano since 7th grade, but nothing significant. Is this also worth mentioning?
Summer activities: governor’s school, Summer Science Program (the one cosponsored by MIT. No clue how I got in.)
Recs: at least 9/10 from chem or calc teacher. Humanities teachers, probably 5-6/10 
School: public school in a Midwest suburb, 250ish in my class. Doesn’t rank.
Gender: F
Race: Asian
Thanks!
those EC’s arent even that shabby, true, they aren’t extraordinary. but for all of those schools except MIT, you do have a fair chance of admission.
I’m just concerned that I don’t have leadership in math/science activities or research experience. I guess the summer program is something, but that doesn’t show commitment.
Why ask a humanities teacher you think will only write a 5/10 rec? Why not go for something stronger?
@TheGeekClique I just don’t know who to ask besides my math and science teachers, but I don’t want all of my recs to be the same, you know? The thing is, none of my history or English teachers know me well. I mean, they wouldn’t say bad things, but they’d probably go, “Uh, she’s quiet and gets good grades.” Nothing substantial.
i think you have good chances at those schools (especially since u scored really high on SAT!! ) - not sure about MiT and Caltech tho
@BallisticTaco I’m going to be very honest with you. You won’t get into MIT/Caltech without a significant science/math related EC. As in you either need to have very consistent, strong math/science base with shown proficiency, or you need to have a few very big math/science awards such as Siemens Regional Finalist, placing at the Intel ISEF International competition, USAMO, etc. Also the fact that you’re asian kind of diminishes your chances, because think of how many super-competitive asians are applying to these top schools. There are numerous kids at my school who have perfect GPAs, near-perfect SATS (2370s), and they also have a pretty decent science/math-related extra-curricular (One was part of the science olympiad team that went to states and nationals, another guy did science fair and went to states as well). Neither of them got accepted into MIT - they both got rejected. Berkeley is a possibility, but I think Caltech/MIT are completely out of reach. Message me if you want to discuss further
@MrWiggles Yup, I’m perfectly aware of that. I don’t think anyone from my school has ever been accepted to Caltech, and only about 4 have gotten into MIT since the class of 2000. I pretty much put them there for kicks.
Reconsider your humanities rec- that will do you more harm than your ECs- as babachicken said, they may not be outstanding but they are not shabby. What is your summer plan for this summer? Any chance you will be doing something with somebody who could write a meaningful rec based on that?
@MrWiggles OP attended or is attending SSP. That’s a pretty big deal. If she is passionate about astronomy or astrophysics and further develops that interest this summer it is a pretty big hook for both Caltech and MIT. However, she absolutely needs to have recs that are superlative. She should consider asking whoever wrote the recs for her to get onto SSP to write them for college because they must have said she was outstanding or she would not have gotten in.
@Falcon1 Oh - I didn’t see the part about the program. I did a little research and it looks very competitive. That does help her chances a lot! I think if you can get into that program then MIT/Caltech are not completely out of reach.
Guys, why are you all obsessing over the MIT/Caltech thing? It was a joke T_T