Engineering major at Berkeley, UMich, USC, Vandy, and more!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi! I would really like a number of people to chance my stats and EC's for some schools. <em>I am applying to safeties, so don't worry about me not getting in anywhere...haha</em></p>

<p>MY IFFY SCHOOLS:
- UMich
- Berkeley
- University of Southern California
- Vanderbilt
- UCLA
- Duke
- Notre Dame
- Rice
* APPLYING AS AN ENGINEERING MAJOR TO ALL SCHOOLS *</p>

<p>STATS:
UW GPA: 4.0
W GPA: 4.682
Rank: 5 out of 584 (large, public high school in DFW in Texas)
ACT: 34 English+33 Math+30 Reading+27 Science+10 Writing = 31 Composite
SAT: 670 Reading + 730 Math + 650 Writing = 2050 Composite
SAT II: Took Math IIC in October, I'm guessing about a 720-750 :( - I was going to take Physics but I was unprepared... I still don't want to. Will it make a big difference?</p>

<p>SENIOR COURSES/AP'S TAKEN & SCORES:
AP's Taken (by graduation): AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP English Lit/Comp, AP English Lang/Comp (4), AP Statistics
Senior Courses: AP Calc BC, AP Stats, Newspaper II, AP English Lit, Dual-Credit Govt, AP Physics, Pre-AP CompSci</p>

<p>EXTRA CURRICULAR:
1. App Development - 5 iPhone games on App Store, over 10,000 downloads in 39 countries; founded Orange Square Apps (11-12)
2. Publications - Editor-in-Chief of school newspaper (12), Head of Graphic Design for newspaper (10-12); founded The Viking Scroll online and designed website (12)
3. Volunteer - Teacher's assistant 2 weeks every summer for local science center, 240 hours total (9-12)
4. National Honor Society - Elected Secretary (12), Member (11)
5. Student Govt - Junior Class Boys' Social Chair (11), Senior Class Treasurer (12)
6. Site-Based Committee - chosen as 1 of 2 student representatives for faculty board that makes decisions for school (9-12)
7. Mentoring - Mentored for Project SOAR and for PALs Program (11); over 280 hours total
8. Paid Employment - Office Intern at Grand Prairie Ford Car Dealership in Summer (11); Assembly Line Worker (10)
9. JV Cross Country - won district championship both years (9-10)</p>

<p>HONORS:
1. Jr. Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference Video Contest Winner; met Colin Powell because of award (9)
2. Regional Media Fair Awards: 1st Place Video Production (9), 1st Place Desktop Publishing (10-11)
3. National Merit Commended Award (12)</p>

<p>ESSAYS:
Decent... nothing amazing, but I think they're okay. Sufficient. Some better than others. </p>

<p>ME:
Middle-class, white male from suburb of Texas; goes to large, public highschool, applying to engineering at all schools</p>

<p>PLEASE help and give me some chances! I really would appreciate it. What are my strengths/weaknesses? THANKS SO MUCH</p>

2

<p>Bumppppppp</p>

3

<p>I think you PM’d me your essay, and I really enjoyed it. I’d say you’re pretty much on point with all the schools you applied to…You have almost a 90% of getting into either UCLA or Berkeley…just trust me on this one.
Chance back please.</p>

4

<p>I can’t see any possibility of Berkeley, USC, or UCLA rejected you (I live in California). The others it’s hard to say but you are a strong applicant.</p>

5

<p>Bumppppppp</p>

6

<p>lol I live only a few minutes away from DFW. Small world. And you have great chances at most of those schools, although your SAT/ACT scores are kind of dragging you down. If you can get a 34+ or 2250+ you’d be very competitive at some top schools like Duke. But even a 33+ or 2200 would really boost your chances.</p>

7

<p>Thanks! Yeah I agree… If I sent my scores to Vandy, UMich, Berkeley, and Notre Dame already, do you think it’ll hurt too much? Those are the schools I’m most focused on</p>

8

<p>Well you can continue to send scores and they will just look at your highest ones. So no, it shouldn’t hurt you if you already sent those test scores.</p>

<p>Also, certain places like Duke or Rice require 2 subject tests if you are planning to submit your SAT score. But if you submit your ACT score, that will satisfy the subject test requirements. Something to think about. It’s not crucial that you take the Physics Subject test, but it would be just another helpful boost if you can atleast 700+ it (preferably 750+).</p>

<p>Just focus on those SAT/ACT scores for now. That’s really your only noticeable weakness. They’re not that bad for the schools that are your main focus, but you should still try to improve them</p>

<p>Edit: Berkeley requires 2 subject tests regardless. So if it’s one of your top choices, then you’ll need to take another subject test</p>

9

<p>Agh okay. Well I’m not sure my parents will be down for me taking any more standardized tests… If I just submit the scores I have AS-IS and with no additional ones, will it make THAT much of a difference? I know it sounds lazy, but I really don’t want to take another ACT or SAT or SAT Subject Test…</p>

10

<p>I usually don’t put a ton of weight on just standardized test scores, but in this case I really do think it’ll make a difference. A 2050 and 31 seems kind of low for someone who is in the top 1% of his class. </p>

<p>You really should retake them atleast once. You don’t even have to study for them, just burn a few hours on a Saturday. The improvement will probably be automatic. I took the ACT once and got a 34, but before I had done that I took the SAT 3 times. The first time I got a 2120, then a 2180, and then a 2260. People almost always tend to do better as they retake the SAT/ACT, so yes I think you should give it a shot. It can only boost your chances</p>

11

<p>WAH okay… I might take it again. :frowning:
Anyone else have any opinions?!</p>

12

<p>You’re a match for Berkeley. It is not a safety for anyone. It rejects several thousands of students with stats slightly better than yours, so do not be too complacent. But you should apply with a stat like that. Good luck!</p>