I'm actually kinda nostalgic - last chances thread!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hey - what's up? Like the title says, Last Chances Thread! In the next 3 weeks, my future (well, at least for the next 4 years) will be decided...Read on:</p>

<p>Indian Male, CA, Competitive Public (like #3-4 in CA)</p>

<p>ACADEMICS</p>

<p>SAT: 2310 (M:780 W:800 CR:730 E: 8 lol )
SAT II: 770 Math 2, 740 USH, 730 Biology M
ACT: Composite = 34: 35 math, 34's everything else.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.67 UW. Approximately 4.24 W
Toughest courseload possible though... my current schedule:</p>

<p>AP Physics C
AP English Lit.
AP Chemistry
AP Econ.
Sociology
AP Statistics</p>

<p>11 AP's by the time High School's finished...</p>

<p>AP's: So far: Euro (4), US History (5), Bio (5) and Calc. AB (5)</p>

<p>School doesn't rank, but I'm pretty sure I'm in the top 10%</p>

<p>Recommendations: Both my Math and History teachers have asked me to come to them, and they've written awesome recs. </p>

<p>Essay: Personally, I think it's awesome...one's about my favorite teacher/biggest influence, and the other's about toothpaste.</p>

<p>Awards and Honors</p>

<p>Ranked in the top 65 in the Nation (my age group) in Chess.
Won a couple of state awards, couple of national awards, etc.
National 'A' Level ranking in the US Chess Federation.</p>

<p>99th Percentile PSAT: Commended, I didn't get Semi-Finalist since my score wasn't high enough (mine --> 215, while the CA cutoff was 217).</p>

<p>Qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (Yep. I got a 3, and I'm proud of it!)</p>

<p>IEC (Industry Education Council) outstanding educational achievement award given for exemplary participation in a Business 21st Century Institute.</p>

<p>CSF Gold Sealbearer - basically unimportant.
NHS Card thingy. - basically unimportant.</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS</p>

<p>Captain of the La Ca</p>

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<p>UCLA, Cal, UCSD, ASU - You should definitely be accepted</p>

<p>Stanford is quirky with their choices and are quite unpredictable
Duke usually goes more by stats so I think you're in
JHU Probably in
Cornell - I got a likely letter from Cornell and I'm not even an athlete nor do I have special talents, and your scores are even better than mine and your ECs are way better. So I think you should get in, but the reason I got in is probably b/c of writing a different style of essay from the norm, som i guess the decision may hinge on your essays.</p>

<p>Columbia- Reject (Fu is tough, they like 800s in almost all maths)
Dartmouth - 50/50 </p>

<p>Just my opinion, dont put too much stock in it haha</p>

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<p>Agree with above</p>

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<p>thanks for your opinion - I still don't know if my GPA will detract from Ivy-level schools....</p>

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<p>Your GPA is a bit low, though your school may be taken into account. Your scores are obviously strong, and your ECs are good, as are your awards. However, you're applying to a very competitive program. So I'd say:</p>

<p>Berkeley: slight reach (50-50)
UCLA: high match
UCSD: match (BME program is competitive)</p>

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<p>Thanks, how about the schools on the <em>other</em> coast?</p>

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<p>You're a very strong applicant...I would say in at most of them barring Stanford (if you get in, good for you!), Columbia (it's Columbia...their engineering isn't that great anyway), and Dartmouth (because you expressed interest in a field that isn't reflected in your application/ECs). I don't know about JHU Bioeng either, it's incredibly difficult. Maybe you'll get into CAS if not Engineering. I gotta say, aside from the amazingness of your ECs, your app is very similar to mine (except you did a lot more research than I did!). Good luck!</p>

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<p>I expect you to get into Stanford since they need strong chess players (really). I have a lady friend who is over 2000 USCF and was accepted at Stanford and is playing on their team. (I think she's over 2100 now).</p>

<p>Columbia--probable reject (they are NY and east coast centric in my view--and get a ton of applications from Indians nowadays).</p>

<p>Dartmouth--probably a yes.<br>
UC Berkeley--probably a no (yes, I know you are in-state, but the 3.67 UW is only about a 4.0 to 4.1 UC GPA--and you are applying for one of the three toughest majors--and Berkeley is about a 4.2 to 4.3 for those majors). At UCLA, they throw everyone into a general pool which is why you will be accepted easily there.
All the other UCs--no problem--even UCSD</p>

<p>JHU--I'd say acceptance--you are borderline here--so a real 50-50 shot (how was your essay?)--so waitlist is possible--but I expect an acceptance.
Duke--Ditto with what I said about UC Berkeley, except that they accept even fewer Asians</p>

<p>Cornell--no problem--you're a good fit and you'll be accepted easily in my view.
MIT--who knows--I would have thought you'd be either accepted or rejected by now--probable reject or waitlist--they put 300 on the waitlist each year and take about 50 off of it</p>

<p>All the rest--safe matches.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Wow. thanks, but my USCF is somewhere around 1900, not quite 2000...
Dang...I was kinda counting on Berkeley :(</p>

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<p>Saying Berkeley is "probably a no" is just silly. You have a decent shot.</p>

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<p>^ "probably a no" is another way of saying "reach," but you can still have a "decent shot" even if it's a reach.</p>

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<p>Yep, REJECT at MIT...</p>

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<p>And, Admit to UC San Diego - but not for Bioengineering (which is Impacted)...ChemE</p>

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<p>It depends on how your GPA looks in the context of your school. Low rank (outside top 2-3%) is going to hurt you for the ultra-selective schools. My admittedly subjective observation is that you are much better off as a rank 2/400 with an SAT of 2200 than rank 15/200 with 2350 SAT. On the plus side, if your rank is high enough you do have what the ultra-selectives are looking for --- demonstrated passion and high level of achievement for something outside of school. Good luck.</p>

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<p>I am pretty much shattered....I have no idea what to do!</p>

<p>REJECT at UCLA - the rest of my schools seem to be lost causes :(</p>

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<p>Anyone, please?</p>

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<p>................................................................................................................................................................................................................................</p>

<p>I'm in shock after reading your profile. </p>

<p>You seem very qualified for these schools! That research stuff you did sounds pretty intense.</p>

<p>I got into SD and LA, and I'm not nearly as technically proficient as you seem to be on your app. I mean, did you blow it on your essays or something (sound arrogant, too confident, etc)?</p>

<p>I guess the question should be:</p>

<p>Are you even real?</p>

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<p>haha, trust me - I'm plenty real!
I dunno, I thought my essays were pretty good, not arrogant at all really. It was just about my family and stuff...and how that influenced me toward my major/belief in education, etc.</p>

<p>I guess they were just looking for different things in terms of my app...plus - I think my GPA's a killer</p>

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<p>bump.....?</p>

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<p>hmm. there were a couple 3.8uw/2200s at my school that got rejected from LA. but i would think research should give you an edge over similar applicants. speaking of which, i believe you may have replied to my "pwnage" comment on the duke thread. i have similar number of APs (12 by the end of this year) and pretty similar test scores (215 on the PSAT as well...eeire). despite ucla claiming that their admission criteria has been altered to reflect a holistic slant, i there were definitely many more people with higher gpas being admitted. i did get into ucla, and my gpa in is in the 3.7s (only academic classes), but yea, i still think you should maintain hope that the "system" for lack of a better word works in your favor</p>