Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>And in addition to those in the title, UC Berkeley.</p>

<p>Demographics:
Male
Mixed Race (Asian, White)
Large Suburban Public School (2800 kids), CA: School does not usually send kids (except URMs and athletes) to first tier Ivies</p>

<p>Tests:
GPA: 4.81 (Rank 1 of 790)
SAT: 2400
PSAT: 234 (National Merit Semifinalist)
ACT: 35 (English 36, Math 35, Reading 36, Science 33, Essay 11)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Chem, 800 World History, 800 US History, 800 Physics, 800 Bio-E
APs: 5 World History, 5 Euro History, 5 Human Geography, 5 Chem, 5 Bio, 5 Physics B, 5 CalcAB, 5 US History, 5 Art History, 5 US Government, 5 English Language and Composition, 5 EnviroSci, 5 Psychology</p>

<p>ECs:
Moot Court - 4 years (Best Speaker x3, Most Valuable Team Member, 1st Place Team)
Junior Statesmen of America - 4 years (Best Speaker x6, Chief Justice, Regional Senator, Chapter President, Conservative Party Chairman x2, Director of Moderating)
Model United Nations - 4 years (Outstanding Delegate x2)
Academic Decathlon - 3 years (Gold Medal Economics x2, Silver Medal Super Decathlete,
Silver Medal Math, Bronze Medal Essay, Bronze Medal Interview, Blue Ribbon Economics, Red Ribbon Math, Highest Scoring Team Member x2, Team Leadership Award)
Lion's Speech Contest - 3 years (Regional Winner)
Mathletes - 2 years (2nd Place Team)
Science Olympiad - 2 years (Silver Regionals Ecology, Bronze State Ecology, Bronze State Remote Sensing, Silver Team Regionals, Bronze Team State)</p>

<p>Worked as an Appeals Analyst in a paid position for the California State Personnel Board.
Interned for Rudy Giuliani for President and also for the California Department of Fair Housing and Employment.</p>

<p>Everyone at school tells me not to worry about it, but I don't think they're very reliable sources, since normally the top kids at our school gets rejected from HYP (but usually get into Stanford). I'm also worried that none of my ECs are really eye-catching, and that Adcoms might offhandedly write me off as a college-whore (even though I'm really not and I actually enjoy all of this stuff).</p>

2

<p>I think you should be able to get at least one of HYPS, probably more. I mean, your academic stats are about as perfect as they get. But since you are Asian I guess it’s possible you could be rejected by them all - incredible as that seems. What can you do? Apply and hope for the best, maybe pay a counselor to frame your app and help with essays. I think it helps that your ECs are more “political” than the stereotypical “science.” </p>

<p>I still think you have as good of chances as I’ve seen on this board (except for some URMs), and that’s saying a lot.</p>

3

<p>I’ve been looking at other posts and realized forgot my senior schedule. Here it is:</p>

<p>Terms 1/3:
AP Stats
AP Spanish Literature
AP English Literature
AP Government</p>

<p>Terms 2/4:
Independent Study: International Relations
AP Calculus BC
AP French Language
AP Economics</p>

<p>Online:
AP Physics C Mechanics
AP Physics C Electricity and Magnetism</p>

4

<p>I’ve seen people with similar, if not better (national awards) get rejected from all four HYPS. So while you have a good chance, you might get rejected from all 4 too.</p>

5

<p>I would be appalled if you got rejected from all four. You have perfect (literally…) academics and your EC’s are great as well. Your rigor looks fantastic but you are ORM from cali… Just work on those essays I guess but you will get into one of the HYPS. good luck!</p>

6

<p>You’re certainly in the running. With no outstanding EC or leadership, you will have to show them a passion in your application and give them a reason to believe you’ll be a major contributor on campus. It will come down to your essay and recs.</p>

7

<p>do you play sports?</p>

8

<p>I played football Freshman year, but I didn’t come back for Sophomore year because I wanted to dedicate more time to my academic competitions, which I found more meaningful. I also was Sophomore Class Vice-President, but found that very dull and unrewarding. I was an School Board Representative last year, but also found that uninteresting. I didn’t list anything on here that I don’t continue to do to this day.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your feedback and advice. It confirms a lot of the stuff I’ve been worrying about and lets me know that spending so much time on writing my essays and cultivating my recs was a good call.</p>

9

<p>I think you have a decent shot, but you’re unhooked. You obviously have the states and intelligence to thrive at HYPS, but its up in the air to say whether or not you’ll be accepted. I think you’ll have a good shot, if your essays are strong as well. Good luck!</p>

10

<p>You’ve got awesome chances. Some of the above posters are underestimating the power of being number one in a huge class, having a great GPA, having tons of stellar Subject Test scores, and having a 2400. </p>

<p>It is highly unlikely that you don’t get into a very top school.</p>

11

<p>honestly, i feel that you have a better chance than probably 98% of the population…so definitely apply and see what happens. on the extremely off-chance that you get rejected from all four (pretty sure that’s NOT going to happen though), well then that’s just lousy luck. it doesn’t seem as if there’s one thing you should’ve done in your high school career that you haven’t done; you’re extremely strong academically and involved outside the classroom.
good luck!</p>

12

<p>APPLY
do not listen to the people hear and their “no hook” babble. you have great ECs (very accomplished in what you do) and fantastic academics. you just need to show PASSION in your essay about what youve done, and your solid. do you people really think that everyone in HYPS are these incredible super kids who are not only the best at their schools but the leaders of national organizations? OF COURSE NOT. HYPS doesn’t just want those type of kids. they also want normal kids who were outstanding at their school and who showed interest. Not everyone can do everything before college, and HYPS knows that.</p>

13

<p>Sir, you are a legend.</p>

14

<p>You are a legend or a ■■■■■. Assuming you’re not a ■■■■■, you will DEFINITELY get into at least 1/4. I have a friend with similar stats to you who got into Princeton, Stanford, and MIT, but got waitlisted at Harvard. I don’t know what happened at Harvard with him. I guess he just got unlucky there. You’re as close to a slam-dunk applicant as I’ve seen in a while.</p>

15

<p>I’m willing to bet that adcoms see most of OP’s achievements as pure numbers and fail to imagine what it’s like as a high schooler to balance so many AP classes while simultaneously preparing for SATs (and ultimately acing it, good job btw!) and participating in ECs. An unhooked applicant, in this case OP, can be just as excellent as if not more excellent than a hooked one. But, every great student applies to HYPS and there simply aren’t enough spots for everyone I guess.</p>

<p>I have an Asian friend currently attending Harvard. He had a 2390 SAT and a 4.0 UW GPA (not sure about weighted). I suppose he had great ECs and he spent a lot of time on his essays, but he was still your typical Asian. In the end, he got into both Stanford and Harvard. Does anyone have any hard evidence that Asians are at a disadvantage in college admissions? It’s hard to believe that something so huge in America can be so racist.</p>

<p>Anyways, OP, you have everything that it takes to get into HYPS. You definitely deserve a spot in one and if they don’t accept you, it’s their loss. I predict you’ll get into at least one. Just make sure your karma’s clean for the next few months, lol.</p>

16

<p>Sorry for continuing to bump this but…</p>

<p>Isn’t being mixed a hook?
I am so jealous of you guys. At my school, the most intelligent/best looking/most athletic students are mixed.</p>