Do i have a shot at Northwestern?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello everyone, I appreciate your time on this post,
I am new to this forum and will be new to this country in September next year.
I am in my senior year in a traditional Chinese high school in Shanghai and seek to study overseas for college.

99% of my classmated are facing the notorious GAOKAO, so i guess I’m the lucky one?

GPA：3.8/4.0

SAT 1 : 2200 (CR:720 M:800 W:680)
(Only took it once, go for 2250 in October.)

SAT 2 : 800 for Math2, 790 for Physics
(will take Literature in November)

AP/ACT: None

In school:
Monitor of my class,
Planned a Luxun(a Chinese writer) Theme Week and hosted a Reciting contest during that
Hosted a couple of official ceremonies and concerts

Sports:
School Basketball team, won 2 district champs and 1 state champs.

Clubs:
one semester in the psychology club
core member of the Basketball Club
2 semester in the reciting club

Internship:
2 weeks at a local TV station
3 weeks at an advertising company (Participated in designing the logo of a start-up company)

Awards:
won lingiustics contest in the 2014 Shanghai Students Drama Festival as the leading recitor of my team

Others:
Planned a TEDX and attracted an audience of 300
Editor of a local student media
Hosted 4 Salons on how to do a project
Shooting a documentary for a moving basketball team’s story that will be completed in September

Volunteering:
200 hours at the local gym
50 teaching hours in the local elementary schools

My dream school is Northwestern
NYU-Stern also caught my eyes, what are my chances?

My advisor recommended Emory, CMU and UCB/UCLA to me.
Are they high-reaches for me?

Thank you for your time.
If you have any interests in China and its education system, plz let me know.

2

Your numbers look in line with all the schools you mention. But then again, so do all the other applicants. With many Chinese coming to undergraduate universities in recent years, some recruiters mention that Chinese often look alike on paper, as the educational system in China values performance and uniformity over creative thinking. Work your essays, and try to distinguish yourself from the other Chinese students with the same strong scores. You play team sports, so that’s one.

This is a good topic: “Shooting a documentary for a moving basketball team’s story that will be completed in September.”

Also note, the schools you mention have very high percentage of Chinese student applicants and students. This can be a disadvantage for the above mentioned reason, but also for your experience at college: With many Chinese, the tendency is to flock to the native language and the same schools (the schools on your list)… The US is filled with outstanding schools, and some you never heard of might even give you an unexpectedly interesting merit scholarship or opportunities. All good schools have lots of Chinese, so you won’t be lonely speaking 上海话。

3

Your stats look definitely sufficient for the schools you listed, but being a Chinese international as the person above stated already, will be a large disadvantage.