I am painfully aware of a very average GPA, that is actually closer to 3.7. I speculate that I can raise my SAT score to 2300+ and am confident in a 35 on the SAT. I am apprehensive because I spent a lot of my time focusing on extracurriculars and it has taken a toll on my GPA. I go to a very challenging private high school (consistently 2nd in the nation according to polls) which only adds .25 per AP class on a 100 point scale. I am very apprehensive about the admissions process as there is much pressure by my parents to get into a top-class university. Any help is appreciated! Thank you!
Goal:
Tier I (Reach): University of Pennsylvania (Early Decision), Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, WashU, Northwestern, U Chicago, (Stanford—might not apply do to likelihood of getting in)
Tier II: Reed College, Emory, Pepperdine University, UT Honors
Tier III: Trinity (Scholarship)
Statistics:
Year: Junior
SAT I: 2290 (Math: 750; Reading: 760; Writing: 780)
ACT: Expected score of 35 (judging by ACT PLAN scores)
SAT II: Bio-M (800); Math II (800); Physics (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Rank: Highschool does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5); Environmental (5); APUSH (5); AP English (5); AP European (5); AP World (5);
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
1st Grand Award (EV): Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
3rd Award I-SWEEEP
MUN Distinguished Delegate
Permanent Collection Artist
Subjective
Extracurriculars (see above for awards):
United States World Team Pentathlete:
Top three finish at Nationals, Poor performance at World Championships
B Rank Fencer- In touch with Ivy Coaches, Potential (A) rank
1st Team All-State Varsity Soccer
Captain and co-founder of Varsity Baseball team.
Job/Work Experience: (paid)
400 Hours Paid Intern Work at a private Biotechnology Institution
Volunteer Work
200 Hours Community Service (Camp Camp/ Assorted)
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
I felt confident with Common App Essay, most likely a 9 as writing is my strong suit.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher #1 7/10: AP Biology teacher, I got a good grade but didn’t have a personal connection with her.
Teacher #2 9/10: Tenured English Teacher, exceptional letter (I peeked at it whoops)
Optional Rec: 9/10: Chief Scientific Officer of aforementioned Biotechnology Company
Counselor: 7/10: Described me as an awesome student, one of the best in her career and I hung out in her office a lot so we knew each other pretty well. Mentioned that I took every AP class available excluding language and art classes and took Calc 3 and linear algebra in 11th
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biology
Intended Grad Program: Law School
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private: 32 Student Graduating Class
Ethnicity: Caucasian/Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~ 80k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
If you are wondering why Biology and Law School (an odd combination), I was projecting a career as an IP Attorney.
Thanks Again!
-Apprehensive Student