Duke, Berkeley, Rice, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Ivies Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello!

I am currently a high school junior and would like y’all to just shoot some opinions at me on my chances at some schools. I’m interested in Duke, Berkeley, Rice, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, MIT, California Institute of Technology, and some Ivies like Princeton, Yale, and Harvard. I’m still indefinite on whether I will apply but I’d still enjoy your opinions. Thanks!

Intro
Grade: 11th
Race: Vietnamese
Sex: Male
Income Bracket: 150k+ (parents combined)

Stats
PSAT: 228
SAT I: 2220 (790 reading, 690 math, 740 writing) will be retaking June 6th
SAT II: will be taking US History, Math II, and Chemistry on May 2nd
ACT: 33 (English 34, Math 33, Reading 35, Science 31, Combined English/Writing 32)
AP Exams: 4 on Statistics, 5 on World History
GPA: 5.0-5.3 (weighted) official transcript for this year not yet released, will update then
4.0 (unweighted)
Class Rank: 5/344

Schedule
Sophomore Year:
AP Statistics
AP World History
(and some other non-aps like Art 1, Spanish 1/2)

Junior Year:
AP Calculus AB/BC
AP Chemistry
AP US History
AP Language
AP Environmental Science
Health Science 2

Senior Year:
AP Literature
AP European History
AP Physics I/II
Art 2
Foundations of Multivariable Calculus
AP Computer Science A

Extracurriculars
Clubs:
HOSA (Health Occupations) Treasurer, VP (3 years)
Mu Alpha Theta Secretary, President (3 years)
Beta Club (3 years), NHS (2 years)
Student Council (2 years)
Science Olympiad (3 years)

Volunteering:
Peer Tutoring/Middle-school Tutoring (2 years, once or twice every week)
Managed fundraiser for children with special needs

Programs
UNC Catalyst Conference
NC State HOBY
UNC Project Uplift
NC Governor School (Natural Science)

Awards
A Honor Roll (3 years)
HOSA State Finalist (2nd place)
Science Olympiad Regional Finalist (2nd and 3rd place)

Hooks
Father was a refugee of Vietnam War, came to America alone at age of 15/16 (plan on writing about in essays, thoughts?)
I run a tie-dye business with my best friend online, and donate all profits to charity-it’s really fun too
I can speak Vietnamese and English (does this help at all?)

Other
Possible Major: BME (thoughts?)
High school: Public, mid-sized
State: North Carolina

Sorry for the long list; I’d really appreciate it if you could give me your honest opinion! Thanks again!

2

You have pretty good stats in my opinion. I don’t think the father thing is really a hook and the tye-die business is really an extracurricular. Also, I don’t think the vietnamese speaking thing won’t really help since you’re vietnamese so its kinda expected. Since you took ap classes I assume you took the exams so should you be an AP scholar atleast ? Other than that I think you have a decent shot at some of the non ivies since i dont really have an answer for those.

3

You have a decent shot at Duke. Are you first generation to go to college?

Pick one school and apply ED.

4

@sgopal2 Thanks for replying. I’m not the first generation; both my father and mother got bachelor’s degrees. And I’ve thought about it but I’m not sure what would happen if I applied ED and was accepted and just couldn’t pay. Is it still binding?

5

@asuangen No, it’s not binding if you can’t pay, although it can be hard to let go of a school you’ve become very attached to due to finances.

6

@Qwerty568 Oh alright, thanks for the info. Btw, what do you think qualifies as strong hooks?

7

@asuangen Strong hooks? URM, first-gen, recruited athlete, serious connections (aka your surname is Obama or Kennedy). That’s about it. None of the hooks you listed are real hooks- Asians are over represented minorities, regardless of hardship, and your tie dye business is an extracurricular, not a hook. Neither is speaking Vietnamese.

8

@Qwerty568 thanks for the clarification.

9

I think that you have a good shot at Hopkins; definitely the numbers. Don’t know about BME, or MIT; I don’t know if they’ll want to see more engineering involvement / research / other STEM activities. Your ECs maybe kind of meh for the Ivies, but the tie-dye business sounds cool

10

Your grades are on point.

11

Regarding financial aid: have a serious talk with your parents NOW about how much they would be willing to pay. Then compare to the net price calculator below. If the amounts are different by a large amount you should consider applying RD and add a bunch of safety schools.
https://financialaid.duke.edu/net-price-calculator

Now regarding your standardized test scores: your ACT score is actually at the 25th percentile for matriculated students at Pratt. Similarly the median (50th percentile) for SAT is 2290. So to be honest your standardized test scores are a little low if you apply to Duke engineering. The engineering admissions are much more numbers oriented vs Trinity.

12

Why are you thinking of writing about your dad’s struggles in your essays? The essays are supposed to be about YOU.

13

I doubt you will listen @asuangen, but seeking an acceptance letter from one of these colleges shouldn’t be a way of substantiating your talents or accomplishments. I presume it is the prospect of recognition that has peaked your interest in these schools, because you are “indefinite on whether [you] will apply.” This suggests that you want to prove something to someone, perhaps even yourself. You can’t use an acceptance letter as some kind of success metric.

A myriad of factors go into college admissions, several of which you have no control over. You can be smarter and more accomplished than half the students at the schools you listed and still not be accepted. It all depends on what matters to the school that year. Athletes? Minorities? Mathematics majors? English majors? Research experience? Legacy? Community service? Music? Being brilliant doesn’t guarantee acceptance into one of these schools. There are always other factors at play (perhaps in your favor). While an acceptance letter can affirm your abilities, a rejection certainly does not void them.

I am not trying to dismiss the value of such universities. They each provide an array of incredible opportunities (environment, professors, resources, other students). However, you already have (I hope) what makes these schools’ students successful in the first place, a love of learning and being d**n good at it. However, their degree can’t make you any better than what you choose to be anywhere else.

That being said, if you have you heart set on one of these schools for reasons other than prestige, apply! You need to love the college you’re going to attend. Do everything in your power to have that school recognize your potential, send in your application, apply to several safety schools (make sure they nearly guaranteed you admission), and then LET IT GO! You can’t do anything after that. If you get accepted, jump and scream with joy. If you are rejected, you can mope around or keep on stepping without missing a beat. People who do the latter will find success anywhere. People who mope around often dig themselves into a pit they never get out of.

I had scores and interests (BME) quite similar to yours. I was intimately involved in school, church, and community activities. I was a National AP Scholar, Varsity Athlete, Science Captain, Academics President, National Top 50 STEM student, Marketing Leader, Eagle Scout, and the Valedictorian (the only one). I won state medals in writing and science, received glowing recommendations, and wrote exceptional essays. I even had a job during my junior and senior year! I could ramble on forever, but the point is that I did everything I knew how to correctly and was rejected everywhere.

Rice, Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, Duke, and Stanford all sent me flat rejections. I wasn’t even wait listed. Nobody doubted that I would be accepted to at least ONE if not several of those schools, including myself. I got a nice shock into harsh reality. I want you to accept this now, rather than have to try reconciling this with yourself later. That being said, you do show extreme potential and promise. I don’t go around doling out false hope. I really believe you will be a strong candidate for the schools you have listed. Of course, there are some improvements you can make.

MY ADVICE

-Raise your SAT I Math and English to at least 760 (780+ Math is preferable for engineering students)

-Score 770+ on two SAT II Subject Tests

-Move up in Class Rank (every edge you can get helps)

-Aim for 5s on all AP Tests

-Do something memorable/huge/lasting in one of your extracurricular activities to really prove your leadership skills and sincerity to your commitments (make sure you can easily communicate to colleges what it is that you have done)

-Grow the Tie-Dye charity (organize a large community event, expand, gain recognition, ect.). This is probably one of the coolest things I’ve heard of a kid doing. It doesn’t appear to me that you’ve done this as part of a college resume. You’ve started something fun with pure motives. You will stand out from from other students involved in generic charities or stereotypical service, if you can really relay your passion.

Sorry that was so long…

Best of Luck :slight_smile:

14

For Stanford - I hate to break it to you - but you don’t look much different than 80-90% of the rejected applicants. Many upon many apply to Stanford with incredible stories or accomplishments - whether it is a releasing an app, starting their own tech company and actually carrying it out [Please listen to @Qwerty568 a tie-dye business is only an EC, not a hook, but if that’s something you really enjoy - please do talk about it], finalists/winners/semi’s of the Google Science Fair, people that have given TED talks, heck, even people who already worked as research assistants at Caltech, UCB, and even Stanford itself. But by no means does this mean you have no chance. Just hope for the best because Stanford is not a school looking for numbers.

Now, MIT. MIT wants people with genuine passions. People get in with 2.4 GPA’s because of how compelling they were. Before someone says “they donated” or “they’re recruited” - let me remind you that MIT is need-blind, does not consider legacy status, does not consider donor status, and does not recruit athletes (MIT is div III anyways). Let me wrap this up with words from an MIT admissions officer - "I frequently saw kids with perfect SAT scores and perfect grades and a gazillion AP classes get rejected. Why? Because often these kids knew how to grind, but brought nothing else to the table. And that’s not who we’re looking for at MIT. We admit kids who show genuine passion. Sure AP’s can be one of many passion indicators - but I emphasize one of many.
When I was on the road, kids asked me repeatedly whether or not they should take a given AP class.
“Well,” I’d respond, “would you be taking it because you genuinely want to, or simply because you think it will get you into college?”

Berkeley - Honestly, who knows. A friend of mine got in this year and didn’t pass 2 math classes.

Duke - Apply there ED and I see you as a very competitive applicant.

15

@ryackz Thank for putting in the time to type that all out, I’m glad it was long! You have a great perspective; I’ve never looked at it like that. I’ll definitely work to raise my scores and expand the tie dye business, and I’ll consider your advice on colleges too.

16

As a parent who has gone through this twice, I think you received golden advice above. If you do have one or more favorite schools, like Rice or Hopkins, and you have the financial means, you must try and visit. Make sure you seek them out at local college fairs, too. Some schools put a lot of weight on interest, while others, like Stanford, don’t care.

17

I would agree about not writing an essay about your father. The essay should be about about you. You might mention (very briefly) about his struggles if you think it would help them understand something important about you, but otherwise, I would leave it out. Good luck!

18

I would definitely shy away from an essay about your father’s experiences. Although I’m sure they’re remarkable, even your dad winning a Nobel Peace prize doesn’t relate to your own experience.

19

@StanfordSwag MIT actually does recruit athletes; I think you are confusing division III with something else.

20

I would consider taking a look at Columbia and UChicago. They give significantly more FA (20-30k more per year) than the other schools at your income level. Try running your numbers on the net price calculator of each school. Shouldn’t be the only reason you apply to a school, but its something to take a look at.