Debating schools; Chance me for UPenn, JHU, Cornell

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>So I have fallen in love with UPenn and am debating an Early Decision apply and also possibly these schools:</p>

<p>REACH?
Cornell
MIT (Why not? :p)
UPenn RD
UChicago EA</p>

<p>MATCH?
NYU
Carnegie
Tufts
UPenn ED
UVA</p>

<p>SAFE?
Boston University
Rutgers
TCNJ</p>

<p>My intended major is Biomedical Engineering</p>

<p>First Generation Asian Male from NJ. Public School.
GPA: Our school doesn't release this? I believe they only send Class Rank. Not sure :/
WGPA: 4.47
Class Rank: 10/~300 Top 3-4%</p>

<p>PSAT 215
SAT 2400! (2nd Try. 2240 First)</p>

<p>Sat II
Math IIC - 800
US History - 750
Chemisty - 760
Biology - 700 ( Possibly Retake)</p>

<p>Course Rigor
All AP's and Honors Classes, most rigorous in my class.
Sophomore Year:
AP Stat (5)
Junior Year:
AP Calculus BC (4)
AP Chemistry (4)
AP English Lit (4)
AP Spanish (3)
APUSH (4)
Senior Year:
AP Gov
AP Comp Sci
AP English Lang
AP Physics
Multivariable Calculus at local Community College </p>

<p>EC's :
Lifeguard (Possibly, I take the test this week)
Editing Wikipedia Articles (Lol, does this count? I've help create over 40 new pages)</p>

<p>Deciding between Internship at Sun Chemical Systems (In the field of Chemistry) or Internship at Becton Dickinson (Fortune 500 Company. More work and longer commute, but Biomedical Engineering Company)</p>

<p>National Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society
Paid Work at Kumon (Tutoring Company)
Relay for Life Team Captain (Bronze Level Team)
Volunteer at local hospital ~900 Hours
Volunteer at Camp for disabled children ~300 Hours
Volunteer at Islamic Religious School ~ 300 Hours
Math League: First in School out of 50 Sophomore Year. Co-President.
Science League
Founder and President of Model UN Team
Editor of School Newspaper
School Leadership Camp
Freshman Orientation and 8th Grade Tours
Quiz Bowl Team (State Finalists in TV Game Show)
Research: Independent Ecological Research with professor at Ramapo College of NJ.
Robotics Team: Design Captain at my old school. Regional Semifinalists
Science in the community:
~Hosted, with my friends, a Science Fair for kids at the local library (We got a couple of teachers from the highschool to come judge)
~Every Saturday I join my friend in "Wonder Science" a program we started to demonstrate "cool science" (Reactions, Magnets, you know)
~Tutoring Buddies: Again done by my friends and I; free tutoring program at the library</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit Commended
Probably AP Scholar (According to the Website I qualify?)
2nd in School AMC, Qualified for the AIME
Young Playwrights County Winner</p>

<p>Are my perceptions realistic?
Do I have a shot at my "match" schools?</p>

2

<p>Chances:</p>

<p>Cornell - Low Reach
UPenn ED - Low Reach → Needs some work
MIT EA - Low Reach → Needs some work
UChicago EA - Match
UPenn RD - Low Reach</p>

<p>Top 4 Weakness in your application:</p>

<p>**- OKish leadership

  • AP scores are ok
  • Your extracurriculars are a bit all over the place
  • A little bit better class rank needed
    **</p>
3

<p>I was waiting for your reply AIexpert, haha.</p>

<p>Thank you for the perception. I’m still punching myself over my AP scores. Also, what I might do is not include some EC’s to show that I have some focus.</p>

<p>As for Class Rank, it’s probably not changing… Oh well :p</p>

4

<p>Would disagree that UChicago EA is “match”. Not sure what “AIexpert” is basing that on! Last year’s numbers certainly would not support that. UPenn lets in a significant % of its class ED… so keep that in mind. </p>

<p>And AP scores? No need to report them to any school for admission purposes…</p>

5

<p>OneAndDone2012 - Depending on the college - you do submit “unofficial AP scores” during the process.</p>

<p>For UChicagoEA - I’m assuming first generation and the fact that OHMighty is Editor of the Newspaper (which means a good writer) will help a bunch.</p>

6

<p>No, don’t worry about class rank. You are absolutely fine as long as you are within the top 5% of your class. Your ECs are also great. Highlight your STEM activities (as you have a number of those and since your prospective major is BME), include your job as a lifeguard, include any clubs that you have leadership positions in, include your tutoring activities, and include your service hours (~1500? How?!). I would get rid of the few excessive, unimportant ECs such as SHS, Freshman Orientation, and editing Wikiepdia, but that’s about it. All in all, I can say that you will be a very competitive applicant for all schools, even top tiers. Your hook of being a first generation college student will help as well. </p>

<p>MIT: Reach (they are highly unpredictable, but I can tell you that you will be a highly competitive applicant)
Cornell: High Match
UPenn RD: Low Reach
UPenn ED: High Match (heard that applying ED at UPenn helps a lot)
UChicago: Reach (Unpredictable, but you will be highly competitive)
NYU: Match/Low match
Carnegie Mellon: Match
Tufts: High Match
UVA: Match
BU: Safety
Rutgers: Safety
TCNJ: Safety </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Also, why not look at Duke University and Johns Hopkins Univeristy? Both have excellent BME programs.</p>

8

<p>i was just about to say to try duke or jhu. you look great but don’t forget that 700 in bio will definitely hurt you, especially if you are applying as biomedical engineering</p>

9

<p>Thank You all for your feedback; your perspectives are much appreciated.</p>

<p>I definitely agree that there are way too many EC’s on that post; right now I’m throwing whatever I have against the wall and seeing what sticks.
I’ve felt pretty mediocre regarding my Class Rank and Unweighted GPA, maybe it’s just a paranoid Asian thing. But, like you pointed out, it’s top 5% so it should be fine.
Also, as far as the SAT II Bio test, I took that Freshman Year and is on a different College Board Account… do I have to send it? </p>

<p>As far as EA goes for MIT and UChicago, should I do it?
I know the acceptance rate is higher (By how much?) but I heard the the pool of applicants is much more competitive…</p>

<p>Another pressing issue is Financial Aid. I’ve heard over and over again “Don’t apply ED if you want Aid! Don’t do it! You will die!”
But the difference in acceptance rates for UPenn is so drastic…</p>

<p>My family’s income is about $65,000 yearly; if we cannot afford the financial aid package given to us by the ED to UPenn, can we break the ED? If so, how do we prove that we cannot afford their package?</p>

<p>So many questions…
We really have no experience with the American College System :/</p>

10

<p>Yes, if the tuition is too high for your family then you can decline the acceptance. </p>

<p>Have you heard of a program called Questbridge?</p>

11

<p>OHMighty - I question why some of the schools are on your list if BME is your intended major. I don’t believe UChicago or NYU are BME schools.</p>