Good stats + meh ec's prospective shotgunner

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US Citizen, from Virginia
  • Public high school (2k kids, ~1200 avg SAT)
  • Asian female, upper middle class, suburban area, no hooks

Intended Major(s): Economics/international relations/public policy/linguistics
Econ as main choice because I desire employment + other ones just for fun

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: i don’t know, only rank
  • Class Rank: tied (with like 14 people) for 1/547
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1600, only sitting

Coursework
13 APs, 13 honors; math up to multivar and language up to 5/AP
Calc BC (5), APUSH (5), Eng Lang (4), Physics 1 (5), Econ (5s), US Gov (5)
Some extra DE classes in history, poly sci, econ, language, etc.

Awards
NSLI-Y scholar
DECA icdc finalist 2x
Harvard IR scholar thing
ISEF finalist but 9th grade
national merit final / that ap test thing

Extracurriculars

  1. Model UN Officer (no ranks): team of ~50, run simulations for novices, review position papers, organize committees, etc. all that
  2. Translation stuff: translated like 300+ hours of speech b/t English, work w some friends and experimenting w machine learning to automate. made low thousands from it since. also translated, like, a whole novel series on my own.
  3. “activism”?: bandwagoned with some friends trying to push back our school’s start time and now i have a seat on the school board’s steering committee for the issue?
  4. Euro + Fed Challenge (co-founder): pretty new club but we’ve done pretty well
  5. Investing club/personal portfolio: self-explanatory. decent returns.
  6. Language stuff: made my own language and writing system for it
  7. Part-time job: boba shop near my house. year-round, inc. summers usually
  8. piano stuff: some paid transcription and arrangement mostly. no awards, oof
  9. bonsai trees: kept some really old ones alive since i was ten. an essay on this lmao

Essays/LORs/Other
Pretty good imo but relatively average for applicants, I imagine; won’t move the needle

Cost Constraints / Budget
luckily no restrictions here

Schools
Already got accepted EA into UVA, so just thinking of firing off some shotgun applications since I have the time and a lot of the essays already written—just wanna know if it’s worth it with my profile as a comparatively average ORM applicant. Thinking about ED2 to UChicago or just seeing how all my other RD apps turn out.

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If you love UVA then why ?

If you want to shotgun some sure…but I would find schools that do not track Demonstrated Interest. The Ivies. Emory, etc.

I wouldn’t solely trust the list I attached. . Still check each school.

A top school that tracks interest…don’t bother.

If you’re going to go to UVA vs spending $80k a year elsewhere…well it’s just a game then.

The list says UChicago tracks interest. They don’t have a common data set so I can’t verify this but on their webpage they talk about the ways to get to know them. So to me if you’re taking a shotgun approach, I wouldn’t include Chicago but rather the schools that definitely don’t track.

Good luck.

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You are NOT a “comparatively average ORM applicant”! You could apply anywhere in the country, and you might get in. Or you might not. With such stellar stats as yours, it really is going to depend upon whether you can frame your ECs and write your essays and have LORs that all work together to make the admissions committee sit up and take notice - and from what you present, there is a heck of a good reason for them to take notice! Please don’t sell yourself short. You sound incredible, as if you are going places.

Is writing a statement with a question mark at the end of it the new written equivalent of upspeak? Has it come to this, that smart, accomplished young women now lack the confidence to even write a statement, let alone speak one?

If you want Harvard, I suggest that you mention that you invented your own language, and that you’re interested in possibly concentrating in linguistics. That “little” translation machine learning thing you mention sounds amazing - could be the showpiece of an application. Harvard has a leading department in linguistics, and it’s not that common for people to do what you already have. You sound like a language genius - except that you are so high achieving and doing so much, that you don’t realize how exceptional this is! MIT might also be interested in you because of this, possibly Stanford. You can also add Berkeley, UCLA, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Cornell, U Chicago, Georgetown.

I’m not saying that you must emphasize linguistics over Econ/IR/Public Policy. It’s just that so many applicants are interested in Econ/IR/Public Policy, that you won’t stand out from the pack, even though your credentials are impeccable. Relatively few high school students have an interest in linguistics at all, let alone one as highly developed as yours. I really think that Harvard is the place for you, what with its having leading departments in all the areas you’re interested in, and the fact that you might be able to use your demonstrated accomplishment in linguistics, and demonstrated achievement in applied linguistics, no less, to make yourself stand out from the pack.

Don’t bother applying anywhere that you and your family aren’t willing to pay for, what with UVa at in-state price already in the bag for you, unless you just want to have an acceptance letter suitable for framing to put on your bedroom wall. You might be surprised that some of the Ivies would give you fin aid, if you get in, especially Harvard.

Now go get 'em. You’ve got all the elements for a successful application. In the second essay for Harvard, tell them all about your interest in and experience with linguistics, maybe tie it into public policy/IR with a tower of Babel opening line, with a theme of how communication saves the world. Have fun with it!

And if you wind up at UVa, that is still amazing, nothing to be ashamed of.

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How did you already hear about EA for UVA? I wouldn’t say meh ec’s but I will tell you that my son had very similar stats/APs and was deferred at CWRU so you never know! Good luck!

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From the UVA website

“ We aim to release decisions of admit, defer, or deny by mid-February”

So…do they do rolling admissions for EA? Or what?

Your post is what some would call a humble brag. Your ECs are just fine. If you want to apply to other colleges because you can’t see yourself at UVA, and those other colleges will be affordable, it would be fine to do so.

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I panicked thinking maybe my son had missed an announcement (he applied EA to UVA). They definitely don’t do rolling admissions…

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You shouldn’t be influenced by advice you not apply ED2 to Chicago based on their consideration of demonstrated interest. Of course ED2 is the ultimate display of demonstrated interest in that it is binding…

“Our Early Decision II (ED II) application option is best for students who have identified UChicago as their absolute first choice and know they would choose to attend UChicago immediately if offered admission, but are not ready to apply by the November 1 Early Decision I deadline. This admissions plan is binding, meaning that if admitted, you commit to attending UChicago, withdrawing outstanding applications from any other school, and not applying to any additional colleges”

In terms of having heard from UVA that does seem odd. This was posted by UVA dec 10th…,

“Students who applied in the early action cycle – in which applicants who met an earlier application deadline are not bound to accept their admissions offers – will be notified in mid-February”

Did you receive an acceptance or are you anticipating it?

Your credentials and achievements are impressive and would make you competitive at most schools. If you have identified a specific school such as Chicago as your “absolute first choice” go for it. If given your credentials you want to reach high in numerous spots and then decide go if and where accepted, for it.

Just make sure UVA is real, affordable and an option you will be deservedly happy and proud about.

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@emmmaaaaaa

Please tell us how you have gotten an EA acceptance to UVA….or is this an anticipated EA acceptance?

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Hopefully this is real but definitely apply to University of Chicago. They want kids that think at a different level. If you actually investigated the school and you think it’s a good fit then yes, go for it. That is why lists, rankings, etc should only be used as a guideline but not an absolute.

Your capable of applying to whomever still has apps open. Good luck.

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Anyone else notice the OP account was suspended? I don’t think we are going to hear further info.

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Hi, I know your trying to be helpful but that list /article is off for many schools. As an example Beloit, and Knox would be in your first high interest categories if I am reading this correctly. Having kids /families reach out and connect is really important to them. Not sure if they just went by the cds and came up with the list?

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This topic was automatically closed 5 minutes after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.

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I noticed. But that’s because I did it as the OP had 3 different accounts. Since the OP cannot respond to the valid questions of veracity, I have closed the thread

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