Final Thoughts for a Senior (Privates, UCs, CSUs)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everyone! So I already am set on the colleges I'm applying for. Just wanted some last minute thoughts before I dive on in. :)</p>

<p>Female, Asian
Income 120k
Southern California Resident </p>

<p>GPA: 3.93 (UW out of 4.0) 4.13 (W out of 5.0)
Rank: Top 15%</p>

<p>ACT: 32 (E: 33, M: 34, R: 30, S: 32, Writing: 8)
SAT II: Chemistry (700) Math 2 (660) Physics (580)
AP: Chemistry (3), English Language (3), Biology, English Literature</p>

<p>Honors: Geometry, English, Adv. Algebra, World Literature, World History, Chinese 3/4, Physics, Math Analysis/Calculus A, Chinese 5/6, Chinese 7/8
Overall a rigorous course work.</p>

<p>Recommendations: Strong</p>

<p>ECs:
- Color Guard (9 - 12) [Captain 11-12]
- Varsity Virtual Business (Human Resources) (11 - 12) [VP for HR 12]
- Around The World (10-12) [President 10, Vice President 11, President 12]
- United Community (10 - 11) [Secretary 11]
- Volunteer at hospital (12)
- Seniors Activities Commission (12)
- Tiger Link Leader (11)
- Juniors Activities Commission (11)
- Sophomore Work & Activities Team (10)
- Tutor elementary students + run enrichment program (10)
- Key Club (9 - 12)</p>

<p>Awards:
4.0 GPA (Spotlight on Excellence 2012)
Perfect Attendance (2013)
3.5 and above GPA (Spotlight on Excellence 2013)
3.5 and above GPA (Spotlight on Excellence 2014)
1st place in LA County Fair
2nd place in Digital Print Design for California State Fair 2014
5th overall at WGASC Championship Finals Intermediate A Division 2012 (Winterguard)
1st overall at WGASC Championship Finals Intermediate A Division 2013 (Winterguard)
8th overall at WGASC Championship Finals Scholastic A Division 2014 (Winterguard, Bumped up a division)</p>

<p>Major: Biochemistry w/ pre-med and minor in business (management)</p>

<p>Schools Applying to:
University of Souther California (Dream School) [My mom, uncle, and granduncle went here. Legacy?]
UC Berkley
UC San Diego
UC Irvine
UC Santa Barbara
UCLA
CalState LA
CalState Long Beach
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Pomona
Scripps
Claremont Mckenna
Stanford (I know this one is super reach)
University of Pennsylvania
Yale </p>

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<p>Bump :3</p>

3

<p>I’ve read enough regarding UC Irvine and UC Davis, along with knowing friends that have been accepted to those UC’s, that you’ll probably get into those two schools at least.</p>

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<p>hold on, i’m writing a longer response now that you’ve replied to my topic XD</p>

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<p>I also posted this paragraph in my thread, but idk if you’ll see it there, so i’ll post it here. Interestingly, you’re also Asian, have an income level of 120k, live in CA, and have a GPA of 3.9, just like Woandering (the other person who posted in my thread). I thought I had clicked on Woandering’s link again when I actually clicked on yours, SeoulTofu XD. Using whatever limited knowledge in my head I have, you’d have a decent shot at most of the universities on your list. A bit iffy for the ivy league schools you listed, though. Ehh…the math classes that you took aren’t really impressive in my opinion. You should had at least gotten to Calculus BC by senior year if you want to be really competitive. Or did you, but decided to leave that out? Hmm…, for the more prestigious universities that you’re applying to, I think you should had gotten in some more AP courses. Your AP scores are rather low as 3’s. However, I’ve heard that colleges don’t look at your ap scores until you’re actually accepted into the college itself. They’ll just check whether you’ve passed the AP exam or not, I think. Your EC’s are super excellent, but do the *<strong><em>4.0 GPA (Spotlight on Excellence 2012 Perfect Attendance (2013)3.5 and above GPA (Spotlight on Excellence 2013)3.5 and above GPA (Spotlight on Excellence 2014)</em></strong> that you listed even hold any meaning XD. They’re kinda redundant since colleges know you already have a high GPA (which you will list separately in the actual apps), but of course they’re better than nothing. Similar to Woandering above, remember to place your community service hours. Eh, I’ve ran out of things to say. Idk if i got to 15 sentences that I promised. </p>

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<p>You need to calculate your UC/CSU GPA, see link: <a href=“GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub”>http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You have competitive stats and legacy will help at USC.</p>

<p>Yale/Stanford: Reach
CMC/Pomona: Low Reach
UPenn/SLO/UCB/UCLA: High Match
Scripps/UCSD/USC/UCSB/UCI: Match
CSULB: Low Match
CSULA: Safety</p>

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<p>UC Berkley-low-mid reach depending on major
UC San Diego-match
UC Irvine-low match
UC Santa Barbara-match
UCLA-low mid reach
CalState LA-safety
CalState Long Beach-saefty
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-match
Pomona-low mid reach
Scripps-low mid reach
Claremont Mckenna-low mid reach
Stanford (I know this one is super reach)-high reach
University of Pennsylvania-high reach
Yale-high reach
USC-low reach/high match</p>

<p>You are overall a good candidate and you have a good list. You should make most of the schools that you apply to. Your Ec’s are pretty decent, good GPA, low test scores though but your 32 ACT is good enough for most of your schools.</p>

<p>Chance me back please?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1692280-please-help-me-pick-dartmouth-or-wharton-ed-will-chance-back.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1692280-please-help-me-pick-dartmouth-or-wharton-ed-will-chance-back.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I just calculated my UC/CSU GPA and it is 4.19. As for my volunteer hours, I believe it is at 90+ hours. Any other last opinions? :smiley: </p>

<p>@napkin99 @Gumbymom @catseverywhere‌ Thank you so much for your replies! I feel a bit more comforted by these chances even though they shouldn’t be taken to heart too much since the admission offices are truly a mystery. But really thank you cause I’ve been stressing a lot over whether or not I’d get accepted anywhere. Even got stomach spasms from it XD Thank you again!</p>

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<p>UCB’s bit of a reach, but you’re very competitive at all other UCs. You’re fine at the CSUs. The private elites are kinda reaches for everyone, but you’re definitely very competitive. </p>

<p>Generally, people seem to put CMC and Pomona on a lower scale in terms of difficulty, but I believe they’re on par with Yale, so at least IMHO they’re reaches for everyone. Good luck!</p>

<p>Chance me? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1690007-claremont-mckenna-duke-bucknell-grinnell-uofr-chances.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1690007-claremont-mckenna-duke-bucknell-grinnell-uofr-chances.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>University of Souther California - low Reach (?)
UC Berkley - Reach
UC San Diego - Match
UC Irvine - Match
UC Santa Barbara - Match
UCLA - Low reach
CalState LA - safety
CalState Long Beach - safety
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo - match
Pomona - low reach (?)
Scripps - low reach (?)
Claremont Mckenna - reach
Stanford (I know this one is super reach) - super reach
University of Pennsylvania - reach
Yale - reach</p>

<p>Hiya! Thanks for the chance. From the looks of it, you are definitely a good student. The only issue that I might have with your app is your subject test scores, which are a tad bit low. If you have the time, consider retaking it. Your ACT could use some work if you want to be competitive for Stanford/Penn/Yale/Berkeley/USC/ because for those schools, it is around 25-30th percentile. I’m not sure if saying you are an honor roll student is worth noting, but I do like your other awards. </p>

<p>I’m not sure how much legacy is a factor in your app, but it should be worth noting. If it is that important, I might even call it a match, depending on how they view your subject test scores. I don’t really know much about the claremonts, but from their freshman statistics, you look to be around 25th - 30th percentile, which isn’t really safe, but probably sufficient. Good luck and I hope you get in!</p>

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<p>For your ecs you might have a commitment kind of issue here, I mean you only kept the same clubs for 1 -2 years max.</p>

<p>Retake sat 2 math 2 and chem get them to at least 750 if you want a good chance</p>

<p>Write great essays and have great letters of recommendations</p>

<p>Then you would have a way better chance. So don’t apply early and work on that</p>

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<p>@Woandering‌ @bonsly‌ @Sharecentury‌ Thank you so much for your thoughts and words :)</p>

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<p>@SeoulTofu - I’m sure most of the schools on your list would love to have you! However, I would think Stanford and Yale are probably out of reach because you don’t seem to have any special hook, and your academics, while good, are probably not quite to the standard these schools are looking for- top 15%, 32 ACT, 3s on AP tests, and sub-700 on SAT subject tests are not going to make you a standout applicant.</p>

<p>If you really want to apply to Stanford or Yale, you might want to consider your overall strategy if you apply SCEA to either. You could apply ED2 to Pomona, CMC, or Scripps if you don’t get into your SCEA school. As an alternative to SCEA, you could apply ED1 to Pomona, CMC, or Scripps.</p>

<p>The disadvantage of ED2 - you won’t know the result until after RD applications deadlines, so you still have to apply to all your RD schools on the assumption you will be rejected by the ED2 school.</p>