<p>1600 SAT I (sophomore year)
800 Math IIC (freshman year)
800 Writing (sophomore year)
770 Biology-E (freshman year)
800 Physics
800 Chemistry
(700 Literature, 780 World History, 790 US History)
4 AP (got 5s on all of them), AP Scholar with Honors
intend to take additional 4-5 AP this (senior) year
4.0 GPA U, 4.4+ W (I believe it's a school record)
taken Multivariable Calculus I & II, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra at Cal Poly Pomona
taken Intro to Comp Sci at Harvey Mudd (did 3-week compressed schedule)</p>
<p>EC: not so impressive
been playing piano since kindergarten, but I don't have much to show for it besides Semifinalist in Lennox Young Artists Competition
play piano in the chapel group at my (Lutheran) high school
I only got President's Student Service Award junior year, though I'll probably get it this year as well
Chess Club treasurer for one year
help out in school computer lab (I'm like a mini-administrator on the network)</p>
<p>Essay foci:
the fact that my school is really really small and that I took half of my AP classes independent study
my computer lab duties & experiences
I write (very small) computer games (on my website listed in my profile)</p>
<p>What are my chances of getting into:
Caltech
MIT
Harvey Mudd (actually, I applied last year and got accepted for this year)
Olin
Princeton
Harvard
Stanford
Cornell
with major of Computer Sci, Computational Sci, or Applied Math?</p>
<p>I guess you would expect to receive advice from someone with better stats than you. Well, tough luck - either you posted this thing to make fun of us earthlings or you have a severe self-confidence problem. Go see a shrink, then!</p>
<p>yeah well your academic stats are obviously great, but your lack of solid ECs might damage you. try to make up for that by writing strong and personal essays and you should be in</p>
<p>I forgot to mention a key handicap: I'm Asian, and as much as the colleges all claim that they don't base their decisions on race, I know my race does play a part (I've seen it happen to my cousins)...the problem is that I fit the stereotype of the bookworm pushed to study by my parents...I can't hide the fact that I'm Asian, either: I could decline to state my race, but my last name gives it away</p>
<p>Also, Caltech rejected me last year, and Harvey Mudd only accepted me as a regular student, not a Nova Scholar...similarly, USC accepted me through its Resident Honors Program, but I didn't receive any scholarship aid besides the minimum...</p>
<p>Call me paranoid if you wish, but I don't want to mess up this single chance to get into college...don't forget all the horror stories of people with great scores and grades who get rejected</p>
<p>Also, my parents said they could pay only 15-20K a year for college, and that would already wipe out their savings...last year, my EFC was 30K (this problem comes from the fact that my parents own our house)...</p>
<p>OF COURSE you're asian with those scores! just kidding :)</p>
<p>but yeah.. i don't think you're human. how does someone get a bunch of 800's on sat's in their freshman and sophomore years? you're freakin insane.</p>
<p>the thing is, I "test well"...and that's about it...I can't remember a thing about bio or world history...it just seems like I think the same way that the system does, and consequently I can get high scores on standardized exams without really knowing the material...</p>
<p>you're obviously well qualified... you'd do very well at any of the institutions mentioned, and i'm sure you'll be very successful afterwards as well. however, at those ubercrazyawesome schools, there are tons of well qualified candidates like you. typically adm officers will look for your passion, or that one thing that sticks out about you. </p>
<p>based on your scores, you'd be a shoo-in. however, because you are like a bunch of my azn friends, you may not be pulled out from the crowd. i would play up your individuality in your essay and short answers.</p>
<p>then again, taking college courses during highschool is pretty nifty. i'd accept you.</p>
<p>hmm...individuality...well, I'm sure not a "people person," and up till about two years ago I didn't let anyone know who I was as a person...</p>
<p>I was thinking about writing an essay about my "coming out" at Lutheran High, but that would mean my admitting I was antisocial for the greater portion of my life, and the colleges might fear a relapse, especially if I leave the close-knit community at my high school and enter a big campus...</p>
<p>thanks for the advice...I'll chew on it some more...</p>
<p>maybe I can blame my antisocial past on my traumatic experience of going into preschool without knowing English lol ;) but I don't know if that's appropriate for an application essay</p>
<p>oh dear, no english at preschool? that must have been a fun year.</p>
<p>when i first read "coming out," my immediate thought was "oh, he's gay. now THAT could be quite an essay to read."</p>
<p>that essay idea has potential. make it honest, personal, and don't make it sound <em>too</em> pretentious. i still fear it may not give you that "edge" tho...</p>
<p>whatever you do, show your passion. my TA worked in admissions at JHU and she said that she most wants to read about kids that are "excited about something." i got the same advice from my interviewer for MIT. basically, passionate kids make for an interesting, intense, and diverse school. </p>
<p>i wrote my MIT essay on "Saturday Night Scrabble" with my father. it fell under the essay option dealing with disappointment, as I have only won 2 of my 200+ games with my dad. i dont know how much they liked it, my english teacher(s) sure had fun reading it...</p>
<p>no, I'm not gay...as you can see, though, I'm not exactly "with it" in slang and colloquialisms...</p>
<p>so we can have fun with our essays? I don't think I can let my mom see it, though...she'd hit the roof...I tried writing an essay about why I chose creation over evolution, and she said it was inappropriate and controversial...</p>
<p>AP Scholar: pass 3 tests & have some minimum average
AP Scholar with Honors: (high?) pass 4 tests & ""
AP Scholar with Distinction: (high?) pass 5 tests & ""
National AP Scholar: high pass 8 tests & ""</p>
<p>Canadians have an easier time...if I were Canadian, I would already be a National AP Scholar, I think...</p>
<p>"so we can have fun with our essays?" yes, pleeeease do. you can choose to wow the ad board with amazing, flawless writing and untouchable arguments. i'm sure any admissions officer would appreciate a perfect thesis on the butterfly effect... after all, it just proves your ability to write and think.</p>
<p>then again, the essay is the one place (besides the interview) where the adm officers can really get a sense of who you are. maybe you are, at heart, a philosopher. whatever you are, whatever you love... <em>show it</em>.</p>
<p>hmm as for creation vs. evolution... its a risky essay, i'll grant you that. if its well thought out and doesn't rub the other side the wrong way, i don't see why it would be terrible. however, <em>watch where you send that</em>. you never know who is going to be reading your essay.</p>
<p>hmm..."rubbing the other side the wrong way"...I kinda attacked both sides in my essay...I said that both sides were guilty of the offenses that they cited in the other (circular reasoning, for example)...I basically compared them to bickering political parties (slight exaggeration)...I might just rub both sides the wrong way and get myself in trouble lol</p>
<p>grrr...I deleted that essay and replaced it with a traditional boring "I do lots of activities" essay...that was for some competition; but I can whip the (very short) essay again if you really wanted to read it lol</p>