Harvard, Princeton, UChicago, Columbia, Vanderbilt, UPenn, UCLA, UF

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Unweighted GPA 3.4 (extremely upward trend) I had horrible freshman and sophomore years. Thanks to AP weight, I will be just about in the Top 10% of my class of 525) but frankly i’m not banking on that. My extracurriculars and arts supplement will be what distinguish me. My question is will I make it past the “academically qualified” stage of the review process.

SAT 1- Composite- 2280 (770 CR, 750 Writing, 760 Math) , SAT Subject Tests- US History (800), Literature- (pending)
Molecular Biology (pending), World History- (pending)

Junior Year-

  1. AP US History- C+, A (4 on Exam, 800 on SAT 2)
  2. AP Psychology- B, A (4 on exam)
  3. AP Lang- A,B (3 on Exam but 750+ on SAT writing and reading)
  4. AP Micro/Macro Economics (took over the summer)
  5. Marine Science Honors- B+, A
  6. Algebra 2- A,A
  7. Chinese 1- (I already took 3 years of Spanish decided to switch languages, i’ve also taken 8 years of Gujurati writing classes, Gujurati is the second most spoken language in India)
  8. Pre-Calculus- (took over the summer)

Senior Year- (Predicted)

  1. AP English Literature- A
  2. AP Statistics- A
  3. AP Comparative Government- A
  4. AP Computer Science- A
  5. AP Biology- A maybe B (probably A, hard teacher lol )
  6. AP Music Theory- A
  7. Chinese 2- A

Recommendations/Essay: Both will be fantastic. I already wrote my essay on my economic perspective and the transient nature of the capitalist system and how it ties into my general disposition as a person.

Extracurriculars-
Intern at the Office of Congresswoman and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz- (IMPORTANT)- I AM GETTING A PERSONALLY WRITTEN LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION FROM THE CONGRESSWOMAN
Summer 2015- Ongoing- I was accepted to an internship position almost exclusively reserved for college students by merits of a bill I sent as supplement to my application. As an intern, i’ve made the effort to apply my studies, be it of economics, statistics, or computer science towards my job, in attempt to make my role as an “intern” anything but menial.

Musician- Founder of the South Florida Hindu Temple Classical Jazz Band- (IMPORTANT)- I AM SUBMITTING A FILM SCORE/PIECE OF MUSIC I COMPOSED; A FUSION OF ELECTRONIC AND ORCHESTRA, THIS IS FORSURE A STAND OUT PART OF MY APPLICATION
Age 4- Ongoing -I have played Violin and Piano for several years, earning 5 Superiors in local/state competitions for Violin and 4 Superiors in Piano. I also use Logic Pro X , various software/VST’s, hardware, and live instrumentation to compose my own original music— a fusion of Jazz and Orchestral with a tinge of Hip-Hop rhythms and Ostinato.

Founder and President of CCHS Philosophy Club
A venue for inquiry, discussion, and debate on the pressing moral events of our day.

President and Cofounder of CCHS Chess Club-
Organized mini-tournaments, held weekly meetings, in the process of setting up a program by which club members will be able to teach and play chess with prisoners at a local correctional facility.

CCHS Varsity Debate Team (LD Captain)- Yeah.

Regional Representative for “Liberty In North Korea” (501c organization)-
Raised 2,000 dollars for an effort to rescue North Korean refugees in North East China who otherwise face the danger of being exploited for labor or recaptured and executed. The next measure of action is hosting a school seminar on the travesties faced by the North Korean people.

2

Your ECs are definitely impressive, and your SAT is on-par with most of the schools.

What’s worrying is that your ECs might actually be “too good” in some respects, because all these connections to high-profile people and corporations begs the question of if your parents simply “know the right people.” How did you become the Regional Representative for Liberty in North Korea? How did you come to get the internship with the Congresswoman (I know you said it was an application process, but my question still stands)? All these things would be difficult for a college student or adult to do, but for a high schooler to do it almost seems like you’re somehow getting outside help.

If you’re not getting outside help and these are truly things that interest you and that you’ve pursued on your own, then I applaud you and think you have a decent shot at most of these schools (though your GPA will still hold you back). If you are just a privileged kid with parents who “know people,” then these ECs are a lot less impressive (though still impressive to some extent). Be careful in your essays and activities list how you frame all this stuff, because it could actually come off negatively if you just seem like a kid who got a lot handed to you.

As for your GPA, it will be a significant negative factor despite your ECs. Remember, colleges want people who will be successful in college first and foremost. If you haven’t shown that you can be successful in a rigorous academic setting, then why would a college risk it for you specifically? Do you have any legitimate hooks, like URM or first gen or low income?

3

Although your ECs are definitely impressive and your SAT is ok for those top schools, but the main part of application (accadimics) is not good at all. For all schools in your list (except perhaps UF, which I do not know much), you basically have no chance. You need to lower your expectation significantly or will be left out with no school to attend coming next year!

4

I agree with the above poster. GPA is just too low, even if you had an upward trend. In fact, I’m actually concerned a bit about the upward trend. Did you get C’s or D’s in any of the previous two years? If so, no chance at any of those schools with possible exception of UF.

5

@jarret211 So let me pose a true scenario then. I didn’t take a single AP sophomore year, I was more into music at the time, and a majority of my learning occurred independently. I took honors world history and ending up getting a C and a C+. Today I took a practice subject test for World History and got a 730… without a bit of studying… Say I raise that to 800 which probably will not be difficult. What would you say?

6

@jarret211 Can one not reasonably argue in that scenario that I was not being given substantive work and thus underachieved and I would succeed to a far greater degree in a more stimulating curriculum. I certainly would argue it because Honors world history sucked. I swear I spent weekends at the library studying the development of the Islamic caliphate and the psychological state of Imperialists, but school work for the first couple years of High School was just dull. What changed? Well I got genuinely passionate teachers who didn’t beat around the bush with busy work.

7

Will be very uphill for the Ivy schools, and the UChicago. You’ve made great progress, but from a pure status all basis, the odds a very long with your GPA. On the other hand, you’re solid for the remaining schools.

8

@aurthur “but school work for the first couple years of High School was just dull. What changed? Well I got genuinely passionate teachers who didn’t beat around the bush with busy work.”

It’s up to you to find the drive to succeed. Teachers are not responsible for that. They are responsible for teaching you, first and foremost. Passionate teachers are a plus, but it’s ultimately up to you to succeed.

9

I’m not sure colleges will assign much weight to a letter of recommendation from a congresswoman when you’ve been an intern in her office for a few months now. Unless you’re working closely with Rep. Wasserman Schultz, it might be better to get a letter from someone who’s known you for several years.

10

@NotVerySmart I agree with this sentiment. Getting the letter from DWS might actually just look like you’re doing it only because of her name and may become a negative tick against you. What can DWS say about YOU that nobody else can? If you’re getting your rec letter from her purely because of her name, don’t bother. Admissions is not about who you know, it’s about you — unless, of course, you know a donor. Then it’s about who you know.

11

A couple of things to think about:

First of all, from the description of your essay it seems quite pedantic. Be sure you’re focusing on yourself and not the economy. Second of all, if (as it seems) you’ve never gotten straight A’s in the past, what makes you so sure you will this year?

12

@NotVerySmart @BabylonBabylon It will be written in the name of the Congresswoman by her right hand man- director of constituent services: my boss, who has come to know me very well and can certainly provide a detailed character analysis.

13

@HariboGoldBear Hey man! I go to Cooper. I really appreciate the tip.

14

@collegebobollege Thanks for the tip! I wrote the essay from my heart and so while I do speak eloquently, I don’t come of as a pundit; rather a passionate observer.

15

@aurthur alright, just be careful. I wrote my essay that way as well and got feedback to make it more personal and anecdotal so just be careful

16

If the congresswoman’s right hand man is the person who’s been working with you, I would have him sign the letter of recommendation. No college is going to take it less seriously than they would a ghostwritten letter - and they may well trust it more than a letter with a congresswoman’s signature at the bottom.

17

Curious about where the stat about SAT 1530 being in the 68th % comes from. Where did that information come from?

18

^ For UChicago that is.

19

^ that 1530 is the sum of only 2 sections!

20

My biggest concern is that even with the “upward trend”, you’re still got Bs and Cs in your junior year. That will be tough to overcome for elite colleges. Also, if I’m reading between the lines, your “bad year” is not only your Freshman year (which some colleges do not even count or emphasize as much) but also your Sophomore year.

Clearly an uphill battle. You never know though, you could be surprised that you get in at one of your top choices, but its probably better/healthier to not expect much and think that it is a long shot. My only other advice is to make your school choices a bit more balanced. You have 6 high reach, 1 low-middle reach schools and 1 match/safety school. You need to trim down your reach schools and add a few more match and safety schools.