how to improve my stats/EC?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Attending an Ivy had always been my dream, but I’m still expecting a rejection letter lol. I know no matter what I do, getting rejected is always possible, but I’m just hoping to improve my chances. So I’m going to be a junior this fall, so here are my stats so far:

Current GPA: 4.6(w) 3.85(UW)
My school calculates unweighted GPA differently. Usually when people get an A or A+, they get a unweighted GPA of 4.0, but for our school an A+ is a 4.0 while an A is a 3.85 lol…

Current Rank: 5/449

Haven’t taken sat. Planning to only take sat. Subject tests: Math II and Literature

AP I’ve taken:
Freshman year: none since not allowed
Sophomore year: APUSH, AP Seminar (aiming for capstone)
Junior Year: AP Physics, AP Lang, AP Research, AP Calc AB, AP World, AP Stats
Senior year: AP Spanish, AP Gov, AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science, AP Economics, AP Calc BC
(If everything goes as planned, I would have taken 14 AP classes by the end of senior year)

Extracurriculars: (i don’t play an instrument or play sports):

1.) Founder and VP of science national honor society:
We never had an SNHS in our school and I don’t believe we ever had one in our city, my friend and I decided to create this club. We often do volunteer at local hospitals or just any science related events. At the end of the year we conduct science fairs. Sometimes we even conduct fun lab activities after school. We do fundraising mainly for cancer patients as well. Our purpose is to mainly bring those who are interested in the science field to bring awareness of the scientific aspect of our society.

2.) Active member of ACE (Alliance for Climate Education)
This is not an in-school club. Basically this is an organization to gather youth to make a difference in addressing about global warming. I’ve only recently joined it, and so far, we have a lot of events during the week where it’s mainly held in Boston. Global warming is a current issue and I honestly think it’s a huge honor to be part of this organization. I’m hoping to be more involved next year. i was also thinking of merging this with SNHS such as creating global warming for projects.

3.) President of Relay for Life
This club is mainly focused on cancer. Our biggest event of the year is the Tufts University Overnight walk, where all the “Relay for Life” members are gathered to fight against cancer. Throughout the year we fundraiser money for cancer patients through bake sales or even craft. This year we raised 1K while may not be a huge accomplishment to some, but I personally think this is a huge step for the whole club. I’m hoping to raise up to 10K next year.

4.) BioBuilder
This is a 6-week session held during the school year that I am definitely going to be doing next year. My friend done it and she said it was a lot of fun since there was a lot of hands-on lab experiments. The program is held during April I believe and it’s at MIT. I’m hoping to gain more experience through the program.

5.) Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
This is a 6-week volunteering program which I was going to go this summer but it was past the deadline, so I’m going to do next summer. I’m very hoping as volunteers, we can really make a very real difference on cancer.

6.) BioSequencing at Tufts
Now this summer program is going to be something I’m doing this summer. It’s a 6-week program in which I will have the opportunity to learn important molecular biology and genetics laboratory techniques, work with a next-generation DNA sequencer, and use advanced computer technology to gather and make sense of the data.

7.) President of Interact Club
This is mainly a volunteering club. We often hold food drives for those in need. We volunteer at local libraries and festivals in our community. We perform at least two projects a year, which are both mainly servicing the community. This year, we held food drives in our local community for those in need. Both the officers and advisor found the experience to be very rewarding since so many people came.

8.) Founder and president of Culture Connection
This club is going to be officially launched this fall. This club is mainly to celebrate the Chinese culture. We collaborate with the Chinese Culture Connection which is a non-profit organization where we tutor kids but also teach them their Chinese heritage. We hold ceremonies, end of the year festivals and volunteer for culture related events. We don’t want to just solely focus on the Chinese culture, but also have others celebrate their own culture as well. This is one of the club that I’m most passionate in.

9.) Active member of NHS
Need I say more? XD The society plays a huge role in the school where we all work together to make the community become a better place. We hold induction nights, make projects, fundraising and volunteer. We do a lot of community service in our community, but since it is so common in everyone’s application, I was wondering if I should still put it there lol.

10.) Active member of Zonta Club
The club is mainly focused on feminism. I’ve joined the club this year and we have a huge event in our local city hall where we got to meet the mayor which was a huge honor. Zonta International is a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. Zonta International envisions a world in which women’s rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential.

I was wondering if I should keep the summer activities I’ve done in the summer? Since they only last 6 weeks which doesn’t really show commitment I guess. I’m hoping to pursue a career in the science field, that’s why I’m participating in so much science related activities but I just really hope I won’t come off as fake.

Please give me some advice and feedback. I by no means am trying to brag, really nothing to even brag about lol. I just wanted to give a full background of what I did throughout my high school career so I can get good advice lol. Don’t kill me lmao.

2

They’re good extracurriculars and your stats look solid for Ivy/Top 25 schools. I loved how you explained your involvement in each- make sure to do that just as well on the Common App. You do a lot of volunteer work!

In order to gain an edge in admissions, I would suggest that you do something that adds on to those extracurriculars. For instance, you could do a series of artworks on Chinese culture and submit it to a gallery, fair, or contest. What that does is emphasize your passion and understanding for the subject while furthering your cause by bringing the subject to people that might not have been exposed to it otherwise. That can sometimes be the cherry on top for ivy/Top 25s.

Just an idea- you’re doing great!

3

Thank you so much! And honestly, I paint a lot when I’m at home. usually in my spare time, I always paint to get my mind off of things. But I just wasn’t sure if I should include that as a separate EC coz i just feel like it makes me seem like not being passionate about the scientific aspect of me lol. But now that you mentioned it, I could include that I paint for Chinese culture in the accomplishments or something if I was given the chance. Thank you.

4

Idk if this would help, but I’m planning to apply for these colleges in senior year. I know it’s a lot but I really want to test my chances and not regret for not applying for them since it’s a once in a lifetime chance. I honestly feel very bad for listing some colleges as match or even safety cries coz i lowkey can’t get into any of them haahahhaa… My dream school would be UPenn and Standford lol

All are early action except for those that are restrictive early action

Reach Schools:
Brown University
University of Pennsylvania
Dartmouth College
Johns Hopkins University
Stanford University (RD)
Columbia University
Yale University (RD)
Cornell University
MIT
Duke University
Harvard (RD)
Princeton (RD)
UCLA
UC Berkley

Match:
Boston College
New York University
Boston University

Safety:
Bentley University
UMass Amherst

My college essay:
I was really thinking about writing my experience in the Chinese restaurant my dad opened when I was younger. Or about my father’s experience coming into the US. Because i felt like the experience taught me a lot. It was 10 years of my life and it was opened in MA, very close to a lot of the Ivies (BC, BU, Harvard, MIT, Tufts), leading me to develop a Ivy dream at a very young age. I wanted to talk about the fossil fuels that I see every day, coming out the driver’s car. The restaurant taught me how to appreciate my own culture.

Recently I’ve also heard of how Asians have a lower chance of getting into the top colleges. Is that true? Because I am Chinese, sooo… I mean like even if the top colleges do give a lower chance towards asians, i think i will still report myself as chinese on my common app. Not going to neglect my race because of going into college lol.

5

I would add at least 1, probably 2 more colleges to both your match and safety lists. You have a lot of reach schools-which is great, don’t get me wrong- I share the same excitement for them! However, you need to make sure that you’re covered in case of a worst-case scenario. As for the reaches, you may want to whittle them down a bit.

Every school has its downsides, and in my experience school stereotypes tend to be true. Yes, Berkeley students are actually stressed, and USC can feel cliquey. Are they both still great schools? Of course! They just have their issues, as any school does. What you need to do now is to examine all of these schools in detail and start to get a feel of what their experiences are like, and how that experience matches up to what you want for yourself.

Niche’s ratings are very good for getting an honest view of colleges, and so are PrincetonReview profiles.

All of this aside, you can totally still apply to all of your reaches if you want! There’s nothing wrong with that.

Your essay topics: Just based on what you said, I already want to read more! Your musings on fossil fuels is an unexpected and interesting tidbit within that essay. It sounds like you could really make this essay your own- jot down some bullet points or start an outline so you don’t lose the concept. I really, really like the ideas that you wrote in your post.

About race: It’s illegal to discriminate against an applicant because of race. However, some believe that colleges do. I really have no idea if Asians have a lower chance of getting in, but I agree that you should mark yourself as Chinese if you are Chinese.

P.S. Yay, put painting on your application! I’m a scientific person that paints, too! :slight_smile:

6

Haha thank you so much! And yeah the school list will definitely be cut down as time passes on, those were just some ideas. I was also thinking of writing about my expirience where the neighbor cut down this tree in front of my house. Gosh I know it sounds so ridiculous but omg I legit couldn’t eat anything that day lol. I was going around reading CC threads and all I see were those National rank swimmer and I’m here like. Gotta work harder next year

7

@AutumnBaby

It seems you are doing fine on academics and ECs. You should have great choices. I would start to do some real looking into the school experience you want, not just the supposed “prestige” of the schools.

Dartmouth and Berkeley could not be more different in terms of size, “feel”, location, you name it. Unless you are overwhelmed by a specific program at both schools, I can’t imagine being equally passionate about a 6000 student school in rural/small town New Hampshire and a 40,000 student school in Oakland CA.

Same for NYU and Stanford. Completely different experiences.

I would start really thinking about the experience you want. The size, location, feel, and COST.

It makes no sense to get admitted to schools you can’t afford. You should have an honest discussion with your parents and spend some time on the on-line calculators to see what schools will work for you.

It is very time-consuming to apply to many of the schools you listed. Most requred additional essays (Stanford asks for 5) beyond the common app. You can only attend one school. Do your research now so that you don’t waste time (and money - 75 bucks a application in many cases) on schools you can’t afford or don’t really want to attend.

8

@CaliDad2020 Haha yeah i totally agree. If I were to simplify my application, it would be safety school: Bentley. Match: BC and Reach would be UPenn and Stanford. I’m still not completely sure about my major, but it’ll be between math and science. Another thing, is just I don’t feel as competitive as other applicants I feel like. I may be able to raise both my GPA and rank but I really want my EC to stand out. I think I’ll be able to do fine on both the SAT and essay. I’m mainly worried about my EC. I honestly try to do things in my interest, I try to filter them down to just the ones I’m most involved in.

9

Another thing was that, I try to apply to colleges that are near me as well since I live in MA :)))

10

@autunmbaby I really wouldn’t trip out too much on your EC’s. There is much talk today of how admission officers (and consumers, employers, you name it) want a story and want an authentic story.

You seem engagned in your ECs. Pursue those that most engage you. Pursue them in interesting, fun ways. Do it cause you love it, not cause it will look good.

As, if not more important than ECs and essays are teacher recs. Make sure you choose those wisely.

But really, stay engaged. Learn and be involved because you want to be. There are hundreds and hundreds of awesome schools out there (and Mass is in the middle of dozens and dozens of them). You can only go to one.

But do figure out your finances. We know many kids who did not plan properly for their finances and had to either leave an awesome school after a few years because they were not realistic about the actual cost, who had to turn down a school they loved because they were not realistic or who graduated with crushing debt.

With so many options out there, proper planning can save you from those mistakes.

11

@CaliDad2020 Thank you so much for your advice! This is going to sound so cliche, but like I sincerely care about our environment. Books like 1984, Brave New World really inspired me to take a step in society. Especially issues like global warming. For our next SNHS project, we were thinking of planting some miniature trees in our city if possible. The things I do really do interest me since it really does make an impact in society. It’s just the college admission is rather stressing me out since I’m going to be a junior this fall. Attending an Ivy had always been my dream. I understand how going to a “brand” college doesn’t guaranteed your success in life, but I just really want to do this myself. But, even if I were to get rejected, I mean I wouldn’t be too shocked but it’s just something that I’d feel grateful for if I do get it lol.

12

And yes, I will definitely get all my financial situation figured out and planned ahead of time! :slight_smile: thanks

13

@autumnBaby great - pursue your passion, especially in your ECs.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying “don’t apply to an Ivy League University” I’m saying, if you really mean “the Ivies” to be the 8 schools that compete in the D1 Ivy League (which is the actual definition): Dartmouth and Columbia are very, very different environments and schools. As are Cornell and Princeton…

If you love Dartmouth, figure out why. And then figure out, if you aren’t fortunate to get into Dartmouth, would you be almost as happy at a similarly sized rural-ish school - like, I dunno, Lehigh or the five-college town of Amherst or William and Mary.

Or is there is something particular to Dartmouth academics, say their “modified major” program, that attracts you. Then you’ll need to find schools that have similar programs.

Or did you just fall in love with Northern New England - and then maybe you would also look at Middlebury and Bates and Bowdoin and Colby and College of the Atlantic.

I wouldn’t suggest artificially restricting your “dream” choices (as long as you’re willing to do the work for the application and can afford them.) But in selecting your ED school and your match and safety schools, where prestige might not be the big a draw, what is important to you.

14

@CaliDad2020 Haha thanks! And yeah, I’ll start looking closely into every college as time goes on. Thanks for your advice, it was truly helpful.

15

If you sincerely care about our environment, you should be looking closely at Middlebury. They have one of the best environmental studies programs in the country. They’re also a great school for IR.

16

@urbanslaughter Thank you. I’ll def look into it