<p>Hey guys, </p>
<p>Just another Ivy Chancer here. Tell me what you think, and be honest please.</p>
<p>Me:
Mixed White/Korean (Side note, which should I bubble for race? Both seem subpar in terms of minorities)
Upper Class
Legacy at Yale
Attend a somewhat prestigious private school
Junior</p>
<p>Academics:
3.95 Unweighted GPA (Hardest classes ofc)
2350 SAT I
800 Math II
800 Physics
790 Chemistry
740 US History
Numerous Academic Recognitions from Art to Physics</p>
<p>Sports:
JV Soccer 9-11
Varsity Track 9+
Placed 5th place at Hawaii States for my event, hoping to win next year</p>
<p>Other EC:
Debate team 11+
Learning helicopter aerodynamics for a project with Sikorsky
Worked as an intern for American Savings Bank during Soph-Junior summer(College-Senior level)
Nothing else really... :(</p>
<p>Essay:
Got the topic and currently working on the 5th draft. Looking to be really good.</p>
<p>Recs:
1: Supposedly the best recommendation writer at the school. Formed a good relationship with him, and one of the few students he's writing for. English teacher.
2: Someone who writes lots of recommendation letters every year (25). Should be good. AP Chem teacher.</p>
<p>So yeah, I'm really worried about my EC. I don't have any awesome EC's like volunteering at a hospital or anything.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>I don’t have any awesome EC’s like volunteering at a hospital or anything…
Voluteering at a hospital is soo common, but if you make something truly unique out of it, it will be good.</p>
<p>It seems to be a common belief here that volunteering is a necessary EC for the ivies.
It is not.
Your chances are good. Write a kick-ass essay, don’t dwell on what you don’t have, and make the adcoms realize that they want what you do have.
Good luck.</p>
<p>grr…must say i’m a bit jealous of your SAT scores. =I BUT…i would try to engage in more extracurriculars. You can never have too many of those. && i agree that voluteering at a hospital is a bit played out. Try something no one else has ever done. But other than that your chances are looking pretty snazzy =)</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies guys.</p>
<p>Any other opinions? </p>
<p><em>bump</em></p>
<p>Edit: Forgot to say what colleges I’m applying to!</p>
<p>Not necessarily in any order:
Harvard
Princeton
Stanford
MIT
*Yale
Williams
Cal Tech
Harvey Mudd</p>
<p>Some backups:
Santa Clara
LMU
USC (Heard they give half scholarship for National Merit Finalists)</p>
<p>*Might not apply to Yale.</p>
<p>You’re a legacy, so obviously that improves your chances. Focus on your strengths, which seems to be mostly academic. Are you particularly passionate about anything?</p>
<p>“i would try to engage in more extracurriculars. You can never have too many of those”</p>
<p>That’s not true. In general, quality is more important that quantity – top-tier schools don’t want a laundry list of clubs you’re a member of; it’s better to show great leadership in several areas. I’m not saying you shouldn’t participate in more ECs, but just beware of taking on the “you can never have enough” mentality and spreading yourself too thin.</p>