<p>hi im an asian senior at a pretty damn competative high school in CA. For me, im kinda ehhh with scores/grades..probably a 3.65/4.0 and a 3.93ish weighted. I will apply to UCs and also really want to apply to two extremely selective schools (brown and upenn) but I am not sure if i have any hope. my sats iis avg a 750 and SATs CR620/M750/W690. </p>
<p>My situation is that I am extremely dedicated to certain areas such as bio/biomedical sciences and i stand out in class (participation, great project leader, work well with all students, and even help students in bio who score higher than me..even though i am not the top scorer..cus i guess im not great at test-taking) I will definately ask my bio teacher for a rec and hopefully it will be extremely strong since i know she will probably have solid topics to talk about (extreme dedication/work ethic, leader, etc). I may also get a US history AP rec which should be great but not 'wow' as my bio one may be.</p>
<p>im also really involved in volunteering (and not just like sorting food cans and clothes) but working with disabled childeren to strenghthen their motor coordination and linguistic skills. at school, i am VP of the largest volunteering club and will have been in it for all my four years in high school (dedication ). </p>
<p>I am not sure what my chances are since i will be competing with the best of the applicants. My essay will probably focus on the volunteering with disabled children/bio and trying to tie that to my personality of dedication/perseverance/passion.</p>
<p>so to make a long story short...I am extrememly hardworking, but dont really have lots of things going for me. What i mentioned above are hilites that i am proud of (i have other strong leadership positions and ECs outside of school).</p>
<p>Im also taking all my senior courses at a community college thru a program..so that could show challenging myself</p>
<p>What should i do? anything to up my chances for brown/upenn/duke/carnegie and other selective colleges?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>