How competitive am I?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Some basic info on me:
White male
Live in Bay Area
Intended majors: Biotechnology, Biology,
business

Top 15% of my class
Public High School (not many APs and IB Diploma is new)
Going into junior year
IB Diploma candidate (taking 4 HLS and 2 SL, maybe 1 more online)

The fun stuff:
3.87 unweighted GPA (4.2 weighted, should go up with IB HL classes)
27 Practice ACT (beginning tutoring in like 2 weeks)
Took all the honors classes offered for underclassmen
Completed biotech pathway end of sophomore year (only kids in my class to do so, if that matters)

ECs
Teen chairman on temple board
Treasurer of temple youth group
Marketing manager of school business club (DECA)
Water polo (maybe varsity this year?)
Teach kids at temple Hebrew school basic Hebrew and bar mitzvah prep (200 hours)
Work at a winery
Founder of organization that teaches middle schoolers basic budgeting and financial skills (just started)

Schools I’m interested in: Emory, Georgetown, Boston U, NYU, Colgate, U of M, Babson,

Awards:
Principal’s scholar award (2x)
Multiple certificates of completion or recognition of outstanding work

Need to find safety schools

Am I on track for these schools?
Are my ECs solid enough or do I need some more outstanding ECs?
Have spent time looking for biotech research opportunities in my local area and have found none.

Help. Very lost and stressed

2

Oh forgot to mention camps:
Biotech camp at community college (received college credit)
2 year CTY participant
Civic Leadership Institute participant
Waksman student scholar (published on NCBI)

3

Just concentrate on your standardized testing. Nobody can chance you until you know your scores. Additional ECs won’t help you get in. Lack of any ECs hurts, but more ECs when you already have good ones (which you do) does not help. Of course, if you just happen to come across an EC that you love and want to join, go for it! But don’t look around to artificially boost your EC list. Instead spend your time getting a score of 32 or higher on the ACT. Below that will be your weakness, not lack of ECs or awards.

4

@brantly thanks for the feedback! I feel like I need to exhume my passions more because I see all these other kids who want to get into the same schools as me list all these incredible extracurriculars. When I see that I feel like I’m missing a lot and I need better and stronger ECs

5

Better to go deep than broad. Don’t worry about it. You can be elected mayor of your town, but with a 27 ACT you’re unlikely to be accepted to any of those places. So are the other kids who have “incredible extracurriculars.” If they have a 27 ACT, they’re not going to Emory or Georgetown unless they are recruited athletes. Concentrate on your ACT prep.