GPA good/acceptable, other stuff, unsure. My chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Thanks for reading, I'll try to make this easy to read but include details.</p>

<p>I'm in grade 12, interested in applying to a college with strong math / science (physics) / engineering programs because I'm not sure what I want to do yet.</p>

<p>GPA (end of junior year)</p>

<p>3.95~ unweighted
4.9~ weighted</p>

<p>and rank 6 / 550~</p>

<p>SAT 1: taken twice, scored around 2050 both times (highest scores: 710 reading, 710 math, 670 writing)</p>

<p>SAT 2:</p>

<p>750 (US History)
780 (Math 2)
800 (Physics)</p>

<p>ACT: waiting on results, disregard for now I think.</p>

<p>AP Tests: all five</p>

<p>Calc AB
Calc BC
Statistics
Physics
Environmental Science
US History</p>

<p>Classes taken: mostly honors / AP</p>

<p>(six AP classes junior year, four senior year)</p>

<p>Extracurricular, organized by year</p>

<p>Middle school through Freshman - practiced karate, played the cello, and debate club</p>

<p>Sophomore Year - Environmental club</p>

<p>Junior Year - Environmental club, Physics club, Chess club (founder), Science Olympiad (received silver medal at State competition)</p>

<p>Senior Year - Physics Club, Junior State of America (founder), Science Olympiad, City Teen Council (community service)</p>

<p>So a variety, but mostly involved for only a year or two</p>

<p>Interesting things to note:</p>

<p>I am 50% Hungarian, 3/8 Afghan, 1/8 Mongolian, can speak Hungarian and have traveled to Hungary several times.
I am currently taking a college course (Calculus 3 at NC State)
I was born in CA but moved to NC after Freshman year</p>

<p>Summary
4.9 GPA, rank 6/550, six fives on AP exams, 2050~ SAT, a variety of activities but mostly short-term, diverse background</p>

<p>Schools interested in, ranked according to how selective (feel free to change or give opinion on this too)</p>

<p>Reach - UC-Berkeley, Cal Tech, Stanford</p>

<p>Match - Georgia Tech, Carnegie-Mellon, Michigan at Ann Arbor</p>

<p>Safety - NC State, ???</p>

<p>Note: I am interested in going to these schools but in no way expect or believe I am going to get in. So be honest but don't flame.</p>

<p>Again, thanks for taking the time to read and respond if you do!</p>

2

<p>You did chance yourself pretty well. UC Berkeley and possibly another one of your reaches can be dragged down to a high match if you can play your race card effectively and/or if you can bring that SAT up (have you considered the ACT). Also, why aren't you considering UNC?</p>

3

<p>UNC was on my list, but I found out that they don't have an engineering department. Right now I don't know if I want to specialize in engineering or physics so I will limit my search to schools that are strong in both areas.</p>

<p>I took the ACT recently and I feel better about the test than the SAT, so I expect an improvement.</p>

4

<p>Bump (sorry >_<)</p>

5

<p>your grades are awesome, but dont reflect on your sat scores. you dont really have anything going on extracellularly (do you have a job?). if i was an adcom i would say school was your life and you are somewhat an over achiever as far as grades go. Don't take that personally, im just judging you but what i see in your profile.</p>

<p>I would say stanford and caltech are enormous reaches. caltech only takes like 150 kids a year. berkeley is probably a better shot than caltech or stanford because it is SUPPOSED to be more numbers based, and your UC GPA is probably pretty high, a 4.2 something (i'd guess).the rest you should be good based off the awesome grades. good luck!</p>

6

<p>Would I have a better chance at MIT rather than Cal Tech?</p>

7

<p>


Maybe. It's my impression that MIT places more emphasis on essays and recommendations than Caltech does. If those two areas are strong for you, then you'd have a better shot at MIT, because essays and recs could more easily make up for non-distinguishing ECs there than at Caltech.</p>

8

<p>Stanford emphasizes on extracurriculars a lot more tha MIT, berkely or Caltech.</p>

<p>stanford is gonna be a big reach for you. your extracurrciulars arent very good at all. yes, you have variety. But yes, youve also been involved in them for only 1-2 years each. yes, that is NOT good because it shows NO commitment</p>

9

<p>Alright, what about these colleges?</p>

<p>Duke
Cornell</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
berkeley is probably a better shot than caltech or stanford because it is SUPPOSED to be more numbers based, and your UC GPA is probably pretty high, a 4.2 something (i'd guess).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A 4.2 UC GPA is about average for Berkeley. And I'd say his/her chance at Berkeley is about the same as at Caltech and Stanford -- OOS + applying for engineering + weak SAT I score + average ECs = reach.</p>

11

<p>LOL Farzan. I think you can make Duke most definitely.</p>

12

<p>Easy Match-UC-Berkeley
Match-Cal Tech
Slight Reach-Stanford
Safety- Georgia Tech, Carnegie-Mellon, Michigan at Ann Arbor
Safety- NC State</p>

13

<p>The ACT results are (partially?) in.</p>

<p>32 English
35 Math
33 Reading
35 Science</p>

<p>34 Composite</p>

<p>Writing not graded yet!</p>

<p>Now, I humbly request updated chances with my current list of schools:</p>

<p>Reach - UC-Berkeley, Cal Tech, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, MIT, Duke</p>

<p>Match - Georgia Tech, Rice, UNC - Chapel Hill</p>

<p>Safety - NC State, ???</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
Easy Match-UC-Berkeley
Match-Cal Tech
Slight Reach-Stanford
Safety- Georgia Tech, Carnegie-Mellon, Michigan at Ann Arbor
Safety- NC State

[/quote]
</p>

<p>lol an "easy match" at Berkeley? And a "match" at Caltech? What?</p>