<p>Hello everyone!</p>
<p>I know that these threads are really annoying, but I really don't know whether I actually have a chance at the schools I'm interested in, principally: Stanford, Caltech, MIT, UC Berkeley, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon SCS, Georgia Tech. I know these are all super-top schools, but it really isn't worth the move if I don't get into any of these. I think I want to study either Mathematics, Physics or Computer Science.</p>
<p>Basic Info:
[ul][<em>]I am from Victoria, Australia.
[</em>]I am white.
[<em>]I am currently in year 11, the penultimate year.
[</em>]I do not intend to apply for financial aid.
[/ul]</p>
<p>School Info
[ul]
[<em>]Catholic, non-selective, boys school. We are usually ranked top ten in the state for VCE results.
[</em>]One thing to note is, my school scores very harshly. Unlike America, in years 9-11, grades don't affect university admissions, so my school prefers to leave lots of room for improvement in subjective subjects like English, History, etc. So, you might notice I have a lot of Bs even though I am at the very top of my year level.
[<em>]Science isn't separated into Biology, Chemistry and Physics until year 11, until then everyone just takes science.
[</em>]In Victoria, we have a system whereby everyone takes the same exams in whatever they are doing, sort of like the SATs/AP but harder. There are usually four "units" to a subject, with the first two (1/2) usually taken in year 11 and the second two (3/4) being taken in year 12. So in my list of subjects for years 11 & 12 (and maths methods in year 10), that's what the numbers mean. Also, people can only generally take 6 subjects maximum, so we do a lot less subjects than American students. This is why I don't do lots of history/biology/chemistry in my final years. I want to do either physics/maths at uni, so I have to focus on those. I don't think this will be a deal-breaker as most Australian kids I know ho have gotten into HYPS did not have the insane variety of subjects as American kids.
[/ul]</p>
<p>Basic Academic Info:
[ul][<em>]SAT: 1st and only time 2270 CR:710, M: 800, W:760
[</em>]SAT II: I plan to take Math II, Physics and Japanese w/ Listening this year
[<em>]Class rank: My school doesn't give out ranks, but 1 or 2 out of ~250
[</em>]GPA: My school doesn't give out GPA, and each year is separate. I've maintained about 8.3/10 for year 9 (~3.32/4.0) and 9.8/10 for year 10 (~3.92/4.0).
[/ul]</p>
<p>Subjects & Grades
Where a grade is indicated by a slash, I took it both semesters and those are the grades for each semester. If there's just one grade, I only took it for one semester.</p>
<p>Year 9:
Core:
Religious Education A/B
English B+/B+
Geography B+/A
Australian History B/A
Mathematics (Advanced) A/A+
Physical Education C/B <-- This grade is purely based on results in timed runs etc.
Science A/A+
Nutrition A</p>
<p>Elective:
This combination of electives is as difficult as I could get. Only two languages were allowed, and we had to have an art subject.
Japanese A+/A
French A/A+
Forensic Science A
Art A</p>
<p>Year 10:
Core:
Religious Education A+/A
English A/B+
Science A+/A+ (dux)
Mathematical Methods 1/2 A+/A+ (dux; year 11 subject)
PE C+/C+ (again, based on how physically fit you are/how much the PE teachers like you)
</p>
<p>Elective:
These are all the most difficult electives.
Literature B/B+
Aviation A+ (dux)
Japanese A+/A+ (dux)
Microbiology & Immunology A+
</p>
<p>Year 11:
Note: I don't have my grades yet
English 1/2 - normal, everyone does it
Japanese SL 1/2 - difficult
Mathematical Methods 3/4 - very difficult, usually taken in year 12
General Mathematics (Science) 1/2 - very difficult
Physics 1/2 - difficult
Aviation (elective subject where I learn to fly through CAE Oxford Aviation Academy, not assessed by our external board) - very, very difficult
Ethics 2 (compulsory religious subject for my school, not assessed by our external board) - easy, everyone at school does it
Introduction to Law - this is a university subject which I will take at the Australian Catholic University, I haven't started it yet (semester 2 only).</p>
<p>Year 12:
This is my plan for year 12, not finalised
English 3/4 - normal difficulty, everyone does it
Japanese SL 3/4 - very difficult
Specialist Mathematics 3/4 - very difficult
Physics 3/4 - difficult
University of Melbourne Extension Program in Mathematics (a real first-year uni course in maths) -very, very difficult</p>
<p>People usually think I'm masochistic when I tell them my subjects, if that helps you think of difficulty.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
[ul]
[<em>]Sing with St. Patrick's Cathedral Choir, biggest church in Australia. Have sung with them for 7 years now, will be 8 by the time I apply. About 48 wks/year, 5hrs/week + Christmas and Easter where we do ~10hrs each for both of those big weeks.
[</em>]Perform with the Young Australian Broadway Chorus. Have done so for 6.5 years now, will be 7 years by the time I graduate. I do 5hrs/week + 28 concerts / year. I am in the highest tier of the company, about 30 people / ~5000 or so. I am also a soloist.
[<em>]Debating. I am in my year level's top 3x3 debating team. We have been state finalists for two years running now. I have also been a state finalist two years running in British Parliamentary debating and last year was a finalist for Model UN debating. I am confident I can make a national/worlds competition this year. This is ~5 hours/week in the peak season (20wks/year) and ~1hr/week all the rest of the year.
[</em>]I play viola and sing. I am AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board) grade 7 for viola. I play in the school symphony orchestra as principal violist and I am in my school's top string quartet group. I sing in the school choir (not exclusive) and the school vocal ensemble (exclusive). This accumulates to about 6.5hrs/week of rehearsals/lessons and ~10-11hrs/week of practice. Last year I played in the Melbourne Youth Music Chamber Strings (well-renowned youth ensemble) as third violist (3/8) but I had to quit due to lack of time this year.
[<em>]I have done my school musical every year for the past 4 years and plan to continue doing so. I have had a main part in each of these. This amounts to anywhere from 1-5 hrs/week depending on how close we are to the show.
[</em>]I teach myself programming and have done since I was ten. I love it. My langue maternelle is C++, but I also dabble in C, Java, Obj-C and ASM. I am really interested in graphics programming and I am currently focusing on 3D graphics programming using OpenGL.
[li]I also have started this year to teach myself Latin, as I feel I have sung the language far too long for me to not understand it. :P[/li][/ul]
Some would not count the last two on my list as ECs, but I decided to include them anyway because they take up a significant amount of my time, energy and "passion."</p>
<p>Volunteering:
[ul][<em>]Volunteered 1hr/week last year at an old age daycare.
[</em>]Volunteering 1hr/week this year at Lentil as Anything, an organisation for people to have a cheap meal, and to employ refugees.
[li]~40 hours total.[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Awards:
[ul]
[<em>]University of Melbourne Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholar - this is awarded to high achieving Victorian high school students at the end of year 10. It is also a scholarship for Melbourne.
[</em>]Distinction in Australian Mathematics Competition. (2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) I think I can push an HD this year, I am always just one or two questions off it. :(
[<em>]Royal Academy of Dance Grade 5 Merit (72/100, quite a high Merit, just one mark off a Distinction)
[</em>]AMEB Grade 6 Viola Pass with Merit.
[<em>]Dux of class 2009, 2010, 2011
[</em>]Dux of Mathematical Methods 1/2 (year 11), Science, Japanese and Aviation; 2012
[/ul]</p>
<p>Other Info:
I'm not sure if I should include this stuff
[ul]
[<em>]Last year I spent 2 weeks in Japan including 5 nights with a hostfamily.
[</em>]Last year I spent 3 weeks in France including one week with a hostfamily.
[/ul]</p>
<p>Summary:
Basically, I'm interested in maths and science, as well as performing. This is what I really want to convey in my future applications. Please tell me what I can do to improve, and whether or not I have a hope in hell at the schools I mentioned above. :)</p>
I just have a few questions, when you say my SAT is fine, does that mean I shouldn’t retake? Also, what does ‘reach’ mean? Impossible, less like than others, same as others, slightly better etc.</p>
I could easily get into any of those schools or any other go8 uni, but the only Australian universities I am interested in are Melbourne and ANU. However, I feel that computer science is under-taught and undervalued at these institutions, as opposed to leading ones in the US. In addition, the Australian system really tries to pigeonhole you into a very narrow course set up for certain career pathways. I think I’d be much better suited toward the liberal arts curriculum of US colleges.</p>