Hit me with your best shot. Chances.

<p>General Info:
Asian male from an upper-middle class family. (out of state)</p>

<p>School Info:
GPA: 4.23
Rank: 1/444 (big ol' public school)
Coursework: Most rigorous available
AP Scores: US History (5), BC Calc (5), Bio (5), AP Psych (4), AP Lang/Comp(4)
SAT: 2180
ACT: 33
SAT IIs: US History (750) Math II (770); Bio E (730)
Scores might be a weakness.</p>

<p>ECs:
Spanish Honor Society (Prez)
Science Club/Science Olympiad (prez/el capitan)
Spanish Club (secretary)
Varsity Cross Country/Track
Academic Quiz Bowl Team
National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society, English Honor Society</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit Semifinalist (PSAT)
Participant at National Science Olympiad competition (loads of individual medals at state/local levels)
Junior Class Valedictorian
Recipient of 2007 Swarthmore Book Award
AP Scholar with Distinction Award
National Honor Society Member
National Spanish Honor Society Member (2008 President, 2007 Vice President)
National English Honor Society Member
Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society Member</p>

<p>Work Exp:
Summer Solar Physics Research at local university</p>

<p>Volunteer:
Volunteer at Space Center (100+ hours)
Member of United Way Youth Leaders Council (100+hours)
Inter-Act Club Member
Weekly Spanish Tutor at local kindergarten class</p>

<p>Additional Stuff:
Essays: Pretty good I think, I wanna emphasize how diverse I am as an athlete and scholar.
Recs: I hope they're pretty good because they're from my english teacher (long time academic team coach) and bio teacher (long time science olympiad team coach)</p>

<p>Strengths: Top of class, very tough courseload, well-rounded as a student and athlete.
Weaknesses: Test scores...?</p>

<p>"....Fire awaaaayyyy....."</p>

<p>if you get in i will lose all faith in the integrity of the US admissions system</p>

<p>for shame, TAdd, for shame</p>

<p>okay lets break this down a little bit. i think your strengths are definetly your gpa and standardized test scores (specifically your act) which is very excellent. i am assuming you are a junior, so i will say you are headed in the right track and everything you are doing seems to be right. i guess what i would concentrnate on are your ec's. you have a good list of ec's but what counts is how involved you are in them and what events you have to represent your leadership as well as meaningful moments. you need to pick carefully which ec's you want to "play up"the most. as far as your essay goes. i dont know how well an essay like that would turn out. to be honest i think it would be better to find one ec that your are super passionate about and have events and leadership to vouch for it. I think that will be more meaningful, but then again thats your choice and i dont know how that would turn out. but all in all i think if you keep up wat you have, you shouldn't really have a problem.</p>

<p>Sorry to break it to you, but you're not diverse at all. Like... at all. Summer research (typical asian). Mu alpha theta (come on...). and lots of asians run cross country, (Me...) , and your scores are not a weakness. As long as your essays are decent, you should be in good shape.</p>

<p>Appreciate the brutal honesty guys. =P</p>

<p>Thanks for the input!</p>

<p>I was joking by the way</p>

<p>You've got a decent chance. Get good recs and essays</p>

<p>just curious, XC/track times? 800-5k</p>

<p>I bet you get in, if your essays/recs are good... CNI, I disagree, I think TAdd is right thinking his scores are a weakness: I must remind you, he's asian. But I think his ECs are pretty good, as long as he showed them right, and it's good that he goes to a big public school, bc then that 1st in class looks more impressive. I would be interested to know what state you come from, though, because that certainly makes a difference: if you're from New York, your chances will be much worse than, say, Nebraska.</p>

<p>I'm around a 19ish for the 5k, I'm not trying to win state championships or anything...just trying to stay in shape.</p>

<p>TAdd, what state are you from??</p>

<p>I don't think that he's a junior, bc he already knows that he's a PSAT nat'l semifinalist, and students qualified for that are definitely seniors.</p>

<p>Oh, and TAdd, I definitely have the same sat score (from the first time that I took it) and same math sat score.</p>

<p>AL, btw....</p>

<p>I'd say your chances are excellent. I was just accepted to Duke last week, and I'd say our stats are pretty similar. good luck!</p>

<p>first of all, great EC's!<br>
Your SAT scores however...not so hot
and doesn't getting 730 or so on the biology place you around 70-80% range? </p>

<p>Does your school limit the amount of AP's you can take? It doesn't seem like you took many AP's (unless it was the most rigorous your school offered). </p>

<p>And 444 isn't exactly what I would consider a big public school. My class size is around 980</p>

<p>I don't think that a 2180 would warrant a rejection; honestly, I really do think that people place too much emphasize on SAT scores. Albeit, that's my opinion, but I think that there are so many other factors that have much more weight.</p>

<p>i think you're a pretty typical candidate. my stats are similar. I wouldn't be surprised either way, but I think your chance of getting in is greater than your chance of not getting in. I guess my own assessment applies to me too lol</p>

<p>and your scores are no weakness. i don't know why everyone is harping on your sat. got 33 act. certainly, none of your scores are spectacular, but they put you in range.</p>

<p>good shot. good luck!</p>

<p>It just depends on how a particular admissions officor feels man. If they like you and your essay, your probably in, if they already read 1000 essays and your the last one, SEE YA, BRING OUT THE TRASHBAG REJECT PILE! You know, its all about conveying your personality at Duke, a 2180 is good, but believe me they see so many of those and higher it would make your head spin so fast you could mix paint colors in your mouth!!!</p>

<p>Any last minute chances?</p>