This is a very immature statement, made to someone who was seeking to provide assistance and perspective to you on the admissions process. If this kind of attitude comes through in your application essays, you may find yourself on the outside looking in for a good number of schools.
Some of the best advice I ever heard about college life was given when I was on a college tour with my kids. A panel of students at this particular university was asked, “What is the best advice that you could give an entering student here?” The response I remember well was, “Get over yourself. There are so many of your fellow students who are doing so many amazing things here, that you realize that you are not that special.” Given the schools that you are aiming for, you might want to keep these words in mind.
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I’m going to pile on here, because this is the second instance in a single thread.
The best advice I can offer is to have your default position be that the intent of others is always pure until proven otherwise. Assigning intent incorrectly will quickly lead to you being labeled as one who doesn’t play well with others. Above any and all other accomplishments, this quality, the ability to be a good and pleasant coworker, is highly prized.
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Dear OP, you have asked for the contributors of CC to look at your case with a critical eye and they have. I feel like validation is is what you were really asking for, however. A few pieces of advice from a well published science researcher that never went to an Ivy League school and that published her first paper in grad school. You should probably change your application strategy. I want to go to the Ivy League does not convey the critical thinking skills that a published researcher would possess. I am glad that you got the opportunity to be mentored in a research setting but the chances of you succeeding in your own research (you mentioned first authorship) in such a short timeframe are really small. Research is much more about persevering through countless failures that you learn from, and developing critical thinking and problem solving skills. You are most probably very ambitious, hard working and intelligent. I don’t think a couple of Bs will hurt your application but a lack of perspective of who you are and how you can contribute to your world will. And by the way, I don’t think any of us here on this forum would blame you for the resume padding craze that high schoolers participate in. Just remember, there are lots of you doing this. Good luck with your applications OP!
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Thanks for your response. Yes, I asked for a review of my academic grades, but not necessarily my ECs. I only brought it up because someone asked about it earlier. But I do agree with you, research is meticulous and you have to fail multiple times before you succeed. I have gone through countless revisions of the actual product created in the research as well as the paper and poster itself. I did not bring this up, however, because it was not part of my original question. I don’t consider my research and startup as “resume paddings” because I enjoy doing both. My only concern at the moment is my academics.
I put this in the “if you don’t like the legal advice you are given, get a new lawyer”. The app fees and the time to complete an application isn’t that overburdening. I think everyone here would say that you have a greater than zero percent chance. Does the consultant you are taking to do a lot of advertising like “ x% of our clients get into one of their 3 top choices”? If so, they may be trying to control expectations to protect themselves.
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This is unusual but not particularly rare anymore. I know dozens of students with published papers in high school.
@apply2bsmd2022 I did not bring this up, however, because it was not part of my original question.
In your original post, you did ask whether you had no chance even with international EC’s. That’s why some of us gave input on research etc. because you seemed to imply that will be a big part of your portfolio. None of us here can speculate as to how your B/B+'s in humanities courses will impact admissions at top schools. Since it is a holistic process, the other components -such as your research and non-profit startup- are also integral to the story.
You do need to be aware that there are “research EC pop-up services” and “non-profit pop-ups” , and many students will have these on their applications. That’s what folks here are trying to tell you. You need to show the AO’s how you stand out in that crowd, and have that be supported by LOR’s from teachers. The Ivies etc. look at LOR’s from teachers - they’re thought to be more objective than ones from a research mentor or someone outside the school.
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Me too. I just question the claims of first authorship and/or the scientific impact of said published research. I happily mentor high school students but have yet to come across one that merits first authorship or any authorship at all. The few that have had their names in print are in the acknowledgments section.
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So…you know that if you want to, you can apply to Ivy League schools without the permission of this college counselor who you aren’t using anyway. So…go ahead and apply and see what happens. Maybe you will get accepted and maybe you won’t. With under 10% acceptance rates, you can figure out the odds yourself.
Here is my very free advice. Build your college list from the bottom up. Find two sure things for admission, that are affordable and that you like. You might need those.
Finding reach schools is easy. Finding affordable sure things that you like can be more challenging. So…start there.
What is the college counselor at your high school saying to you??
And really…answer these questions?
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Why Ivy League schools?
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Are you planning to apply to BS/MD programs?
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What can your parents pay annually for you to attend college?
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I have no reason to lie to you.
Thanks for the reflection questions. I’ll think about them more thoroughly.
And you need to hope that the AOs are actually looking for someone with your background. No one can know in advance what they will emphasize or care about during the applications process. Students with better resumes are rejected every year, while some that might be perceived as softer get in. When interviewed, most cannot point to the specifics that got them in over classmates of their that they thought were better qualified. It leads to some labeling the process as random. It isn’t on the inside, but it is highly subjective.
The elephant in the room is that you asked about an athletic league. The schools represented within the Ivy League are very different than one and other. It would behoove you to learn more about the differences. They will not all be a good fit.
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I asked whether you were planning to apply to BS/MD programs for a reason. There is nothing in your posts here that indicates any significant involvement in the medical field…shadowing, volunteering, something. And no…medical research doesn’t fill this hole.
BS/MD programs are more competitive for admission than elite colleges.
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Relax! I’m questioning the large number of high school students as first authors, not your accomplishments. And I will not continue to share my thoughts on the topic because you are the original poster, it’s your thread and to be honest you are too defensive. Good luck again.
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Okay, I receive lots of good information and my original question was answered. Moderators can you please lock/delete the thread
I was talking specifically about first authors. You may not have seen them, but there are likely hundreds of students each year with first authorship in published papers. That same research often wins them major science awards (Intel, Regeneron, etc.).
I’ve been reading through this thread as a fellow rising senior and honestly… i have a few words of advice, peer-to-peer.
first of all, i get that you’re being vague for the sake of privacy but college apps are much more holistic than this. you should know this. the people on this forum can’t evaluate you based on your UW GPA and a couple mentions of your extracurriculars. All Ivies are different too. They’re looking for different things – that’s why in those college decision reaction videos, they can be accepted by Harvard but rejected by UPenn. you have a sort of “Ivy tunnel vision”, like I get it: prestige kind of blinds you. but as some other people have mentioned, you need to develop a well-rounded list including matches and safeties.
second of all, I’m not quite clear on how the competitiveness of a HS would hurt you. I personally come from a less competitive, larger HS so not much background knowledge from me on my part. as long as YOU excel in the best way you possibly can, and represent that clearly in your essays and mention how it’s affected you, I think you have as clear a shot as anyone else. You mentioned that you’re going to be a STEM major, a couple of Bs in subjects that are not your focus will probably not hurt you as much as you think it will. no college counselor can accurately gauge your chances. the process is weird, and honestly no one is stopping you from applying. something you need to remember is that applying never hurts. if YOU think that you have a shot or you REALLY REALLY want to go to an Ivy, it never hurts to try.
third of all, I will be blunt. you have a serious, serious attitude problem towards the people that are trying to give you advice. i don’t know if it’s your specific writing style but I think many people in this thread and many that have read this thread can agree that you are being slightly immature. many of these people are adults trying to give you advice based on extremely vague information. i think you are quite aware that you have done well. I’m not naive, I know chance-me’s are not only posts looking for advice but internally we all want to seek validation at some degree. the problem here is that you seem, ever so slightly, to be wanting the latter more than the former.
overall, best of luck on your college app journey. I’m sure you’ll have amazing results.
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