Hey guys~ I’m an international student from Taiwan. I’m applying for class of 2021, and I’m thinking whether to take AP tests this May or not. As I’m applying again (failed last year totally, screwed up SAT I and nearly all of the essays :(( ) and I’m aiming for HYPS/top ivies/overall top 10 schools, I’m asking for your opinions on whether AP scores would help my application or not.
Here’s my basic info:
ACT (Composite): 35.
SAT II: Math/Phys/Chem all 800.
Toefl: 113.
GPA (unweighted): 3.94 out of 4.00.
Overall ranking: 1 out of 876.
ECs: Project Manager and Teaching Specialist in Cheng-Chi Education Foundation / IPhO Selection Camp Finalist / Youth Researcher in the Molecular Biology, Center of Genomics, Academic Sinica / Team Leader in the School Badminton Varsity Team / First Violinist in the National Youth Orchestra etc.
Awards: National High School Student Science Competition (Physics Division): First Prize / Taiwan International Science Fair (Biology Division): Second Prize / National Literature Award (Prose Division): First Prize / National High School Badminton Competition: Third Prize, etc.
I’m pretty sure that I could score okay on APs (if I’m taking it, I’ll do Chem/Bio/Cal BC/Phys C (both of them), but they are so expensive xD! Do you think that I should take them or not? big thanks!
No, more test scores won’t help your application. Your other stats already convey that you are a strong student. Your challenge will be to elevate your self-presentation from “strong” to “outstanding”, and AP exams are too easy and generic for that purpose.
Focus on your ECs and your essays, not more tests.
Dang. Those ECs look so strong (especially making IPhO). I wouldn’t worry about AP tests and wasting money. You are bound to make a few ivies with just the ECs.
hey guys sorry for such a late reply but thanks a lot!
b@r!um and GMTplusT thank you for your advice. so I don’t really have to take AP in order to boost my application right? all i have to do is just to concentrate on my essays right?
Shreyas0718 thanks for your encouragement! lol this is my second time applying for schools in the states (I didn’t really do well in the 1st time QAQ) so you really think that these would be able to bring me into ivies? how about HYPS lol what am I still in lack of? thanks!
Honestly, I don’t know how to interpret your list of achievements. At first glance they look very impressive, but on second glance I became skeptical - most students only excel in one thing, because it takes such a tremendous amount of work to become “the best” at something. You say that you have national awards in physics, biology, literature, badminton and orchestra. Either you are superman, or these awards are too easy to get…?
The only applicants I have met who consistently got admitted to the Ivies are applicants with international awards (such as the IPhO or the IMO) or applicants who have done graduate-level work in high school (Master’s and PhD-level work).
Therefore, I want to caution you to believe anyone who tells you that they are confident in your chances. It’s still a crap-shot and you need a back-up plan.
When i was in junior high I was a student of the class of classical music, which was why I could make it to the National Youth Orchestra. In fact, I began to play the violin at the age of three. For badminton it’s basically the same. I started playing it when i was seven and never totally gave it up even til now.
After the senior high school entrance exam, I decided that I didn’t want to continue on the road of becoming either a professional violinist or a badminton player and thus I choose to go to a normal senior high school. I did really well on sciences and mathematics so, by passing some special tests, I was allowed to skip courses of math/phys/chem/bio/geo in high school and was able to take some advanced courses and do some researches in some colleges and the Academic Sinica, which was why i had a lot of time for IPhO, the science fair, prose writing and other EC activities (ofc I worked extremely hard too.)
After the graduation, I went to National Taiwan University, double majoring medicine and mathematics. I got high GPA, became the youngest intern ever in the NTU hospital and did good research in the molecular bio center, but I wasn’t happy at all under NTU Med’s traditional eastern education (ex. too many required courses). Therefore, when I got very sick and was forced to take a break (thyroid storm triggered by pneumonia, had to rest for a while or I would just die) due to a nosocomial infection in the end of last year, I left the school.
Now I’ve recovered and I’m working in an educational foundation (the first EC listed above). I think US college education is what I want and therefore I’m applying again this year. #b@r!um what do you think then? do you think I’ll have a chance for HYPS? thanks a lot for your advice and please feel free to ask me any other questions if it’s necessary.
If you’ve already attended a university, you’d be considered a transfer student. Are you aware how few transfer students these schools accept? Only a handful each year.
You cannot apply as a freshman. A freshman is a student who just graduated high school.You’re a transfer, meaning that you have taken and passed university classes. The universities you’re aiming for take very, very few transfers - some, none at all (Princeton). Your best bets are Cornell and USC.
Your post explains why your first post seemed so incredible: you have included 8-9 years of narrative as a 4 year HS career. Note that ECs are things you do after school hours during HS. So, your current job is not an EC, and your middle school accomplishments are not included either.
It’s also not clear just how much university you have done- I don’t know the curriculum at NTU, but I don’t know of any medical school that has students serve as interns before the 4th year of study.
At any rate, because you have been enrolled as a university student you are a transfer student- and if you have completed 2 or more years of university work you are not eligible to transfer to Harvard or Yale. Read their websites: the policies are stated clearly.
I think you misunderstand what ECs are – most that you’ve listed won’t count. I think you don’t understand American admissions policies – you should read the websites very, very closely. You should rethink your application strategy – accept the fact that you’re unlikely to get into HYPS etc. and apply to a wider selection of schools.
@katliamom@collegemom3717 What do you mean by that? so, any activity done after finishing high-school does not count as an extracurricular? even if it is something related to athletics, music or art?
In college admissions world, extra-curriculars are activities that high school students do in addition to their school work. For high school students their academic school work is their job; ECs are what they do in addition to that job. Obviously, there is a lot of overlap- the school orchestra and the hockey team may be run by the school, but they are extra to the students school work.
They are typically only used for high school students applying for their first time to university (or first / second year university students applying to transfer). Admissions Committees care about ECs for a number of reasons: colleges want to build communities, so having people who participate (who will be in the orchestra, be on the athletic teams, run the student radio station, etc) is important. A student who has achieved a very high level of accomplishment- performed at Carnegie Hall, won the Intel prize, been on an Olympic team, starred in a film- clearly is an achiever whose star power should reflect well on the school, now and in the future. For more ordinary students, having stayed with an EC over a period of years, to the point of achieving a leadership role, demonstrates a maturity and commitment that suggests that they can take on a project (such as a college education) and stick with it to the end. And so on.
By the time a student is applying to graduate school the emphasis is on their academic credentials and ECs not related to the subject are not relevant.
Your situation is unusual, because you have done some number of years of university (not sure how many), and you have been out of any form of schooling for some amount of time (not sure how much). So, you are a non-traditional student wanting to transfer into a top tier school. If I have that part straight, then I suppose that you can talk about what you do after work as ECs, but my guess is that you have been out of secondary school so long that those activities may just be too long ago- the focus needs to be on what you have done in recent years. That’s why for somebody in Grade 12 applying to college for the first time activities in Grade 7 or 8 are not usually referenced.
By definition, extracurricular is something you to outside of school - specifically, high school. Colleges want to see what you accomplished beyond the high school classroom.
It sounds like you kept up badminton but gave up seriously playing the violin when you entered high school, right?
So your high school ECs would be badminton and your various science/literature competitions. (Which isn’t bad!)
Your job is not an EC. It’s your work that you do now that you’re not in school.
But keep in mind that, for the purposes of transferring to a US university (because you won’t be considered an entering freshman,) your college accomplishments count more than your high school ECs - since it’s been a while.
As others have stated above, you are a transfer student. Don’t even try to apply as a freshman. You will not like the consequences.
To recap:
Advanced Placement tests are given to high school students who are taking a high school “college level” course and the student may get credit if they receive a passing score.
So, it’s basically a test for 15 to 18 year olds and won’t help with admissions.
AP credits are used for credit and not admissions.
ECs are high school activities that high schoolers participate in for their enjoyment or passion. ECs are only counted from grade 9 to grade 12.
In college, students don’t have ECs, but work in internships, research or volunteer placements in the areas of their study.
Each of the schools you’ve listed are overloaded with qualified high school applicants. These schools are picky and generally funded by US grants and endowments. Their primary purpose is to serve US students. Celebrities, billionaire donors’ kids, recruited athletes, youth authors, genius level students, and Olympic athletes typically take most of the spots at these schools. The few spots that remain are given to desired students. International candidates fair poorly.
If you hope to attend a US school, you have to apply to other universities which won’t be as limited by their space.