Do You Think I Can Make It? Chance a Hopeful Junior!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>Objective:</p>

<ul>
<li>SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (780M, 790W, 690CR)-will take again to raise CR score.</li>
<li>ACT: N/A</li>
<li>SAT II: Bio E - 800, Math Level 2 - 800, Planning to take Chem at the end of the year and do very well</li>
<li>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 </li>
<li>Rank - 1/200ish</li>
<li>AP (place score in parenthesis): Only took Biology so far (5). Planning to take AP Calc BC, AP Gov, AP Chem, and AP USH at the end of this year and doing well.</li>
<li>Sophomore Year Course Load: AP Biology, Honors English, Precalculus Honors (only sophomore in class), AP US History I, Spanish III Honors, Honors Chem</li>
<li>Junior Year Course Load: AP US History II, AP Gov, AP Calc BC (only junior in the class, only one taking BC test), AP Chem, Spanish IV Honors, Honors English </li>
<li>Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP Euro, AP Spanish, AP English, AP Physics
(Will graduate with 10 AP’s total)</li>
</ul>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Co-curricular/Extracurricular Activities Resum</p>

2

<p>You’re no more and no less qualified than most applicants I’d say. Write strong essays, show personality and your chance is just as good as anyone’s. Actually, I think your extracurriculars are especially impressive, but so are a lot of people’s.</p>

3

<p>A few points.

  1. Being Asian makes you an ORM (over-represented minority) not a URM, atleast for top tier schools like the Ivies.<br>
  2. Your first generation college and low income situation offsets the ORM status, so I’d say its a wash, though it may be a slight positive.
  3. Your stats are very good (even better once you bring your CR score up), but your ECs are pretty much in the middle of the pack for applicants, if not a little subpar. That being said, you have an honest chance of getting in. It’s really a toss-up, as you don’t have any reason not to accept you, but also don’t have anything to put you over the thousands of other applicants with great test scores and grades, in addition to a slew of impressive ECs.
  4. A suggestion: I suggest going to governor’s school this summer. As a general rule of thumb, free programs are more selective and hence more prestigious–they prove you’re actually smart or accomplished, not just that you have enough money to pay to go to a summer program. I don’t know about the other programs you mentioned, but if they are for-profit, then I suggest you don’t attend.</p>
4

<p>I’m sitting in my dorm at Brown and just read your resume out loud…</p>

<p>Basically, on paper you’re kind of a robot. Think about this. One reaction was “Can this kid seriously enjoy all of that?!” The thing is, if you do all of those things just because they look good on an application and/or are “what admissions officers want”, that’s pretty obvious. People who just pander to what the “ideal” is can be easily identified. So instead of trying to fit in as many super-whoopee-perfect-extra-awesome-curriculars as you can, think about what you enjoy, which of those things you LIKE, what you WANT to do, and focus on that. That’s what will come through, and make you a real person that they would really want.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your insight, but it seems as if you’re implying that I don’t enjoy the activities that I am involved with. Because if I wasn’t passionate about music, martial arts, and science, I wouldn’t be involved in all of these extracurriculars… </p>

<p>Of course, these “look good” on a college resume, but I really hadn’t even considered building up my college resume until the end of last year. In my opinion, I feel that the VAST majority of my activities accurately reflect myself as a person.</p>

6

<p>There’s something glaring on your resume. One Brown student (presumably white, like 90% of the Brown admissions committee) put it bluntly:</p>

<p>“Basically, on paper you’re kind of a robot.”</p>

<p>See page 8 here: [College</a> Admissions by Asian Advantage College Consulting](<a href=“http://www.slideshare.net/jamesschen/college-admissions]College”>College Admissions by Asian Advantage College Consulting | PPT)</p>

<p>You’ve given me a clue about your school (Morris County, where I’m from). PM me with more specific information, like the name of your school. And don’t be distracted by the follow-up messages attacking me. You’ve got the “anti-hook”. Now, how are you going to overcome this anti-Asian bias which exists EVERYWHERE, not just at Brown? Answers with reasons. please.</p>

7

<p>Anyone else?</p>