Ivy leagues and any top 30 schools?.........

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I know that in realistic manner, it is impossible for me to get into ivy league....... but I had my reasons for my failures..... I just want to hope but I want to see whether I have hope..... please judge me realistically.....</p>

<p>9~10 International Baccalaureate
Freshman: 3.27 I have no excuse for this gpa except that I did not work hard.....
Sophomore: 3.38 Im not making excuse or anything but my school suddenly changed its grading system and misinformed us..... they told me that 6 and 7 is an A, but A was 3.5, so I failed bad. And I need complain that they only calculated my second quarter grade. </p>

<p>11~12 Advance Placement
Junior: currently I have 3.75 but I think I will be able to raise it up to 3.88. I took 3 AP this year.
Senior: I'm really determined to do well and aiming for 4.0. I might be taking 4~5 AP</p>

<p>If things go the way mentioned above, I will be having around 3.65 gpa uw .....</p>

<p>My current sat score is 2250, but Im going to retake it to ace it. Im gonna study it over summer and im confident in this.
For SAT I have 2 800 on Math 2c and USH, 720 on Bio. Also Im thinking to take 6 more sat 2 to increase my chance. </p>

<p>As for my EC im a
- secretary at Yale Model United Nation
- President and founder of Science Club and Math club
- member of debate team
- Director and scriptwriter of Web comic
- Self researcher: I researched topic regarding height
- Learner of code academy
- Did Taekwondo for 5 years and hold 2nd degree black belt
- Varsity swim team: though my new school did not had swim team......
- I can speak 5 language: Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese and German</p>

<p>I know this is not good enough so I decided to do some online college course during summer and after summer.
During summer: Brown University and harvard university summer program and additional taekwondo federation camp
After summer I signed up for the following courses:
- Physics
- criminology
- Philosophy
- psychology
- us justice system</p>

<p>Im going to do well on this, i hope so....</p>

<p>Finally the reason I did not do so well on some of grade is because of the fear of my father. Since I was born in a korean family(i currently go to international school), I had high expectation but unlike other I was literally intimidated by my father. He once threw me a remote and a wooden hammer just because I could not get the grade he wanted. I lived under his fear. And Im still is. I actually went to a hopsital to receive mental clynic...... I am going to write this for my background just for the explanation that I was raised under really harsh circumstance. People might say that oh its not like that you were poor or anything...... I was mentally tortured.... I attempted suicide twice and he cursed at all those horrible word that you can think of. He literally told me that I was piece of shit and should kill myself......</p>

<p>I really want to get into one of the Ivy leagues or top 30 university in america...... Do I have hope....? </p>

2

<p>If you want to go to a school solely because it is “ranked” in the top 30 or because you are a fraise of your father, you aren’t going to school for the right reason. It will come across in your application that you are seeking the school solely for its prestige rather than the actual education and you will get rejected. Not to mention that some really great schools opt out of rankings. You didn’t even give a major you want to study. You chances are slim because your passion isn’t there, even with high scores and okay grades.</p>

3

<p>Try to bring up your GPA. You really don’t need to take any more SAT2. Taking 6 more SAT2 would be the least cost-efficient thing you can do right now. You would better spend the time on improving your GPA, SAT1 and dwell deeper in your EC.</p>

4

<p>I find myself repeating this over and over: create your list of colleges based on your actual, current (not future, hoped-for) statistics. If you really have a bang-up first term senior year, or your scores skyrocket, you may adjust the list, but very few students experience a change that will radically alter their prospects. At most, a reach school might become a “high match,” or a “match” will become “safe.” If the Ivy League is out of reach for who and what you are at the end of your Junior year, it probably will remain so. You are highly qualified, but no school wants a student who is only interested in their “brand.” They want to know what you have to contribute. If you would like suggestions for schools that you are likely to get into, or might fulfill your demands, then most people on these threads will gladly volunteer their ideas. Unfortunately, none of us are going to tell you that you will get into colleges where your chances are very slim, if that’s what you want.</p>

5

<p>Thank you so much for the advice, I’ll try to find a school that is fit for my passion and interest. Thanks a million!</p>

6

<p>Okay a few things

  1. Retaking a 2250 SAT is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I’m sorry to be blunt, but are you kidding me? NO ONE CARES IF YOU GET A 2300 or 2250. Once you’re past a certain point, schools could not care less. Seriously, studying the SAT to get a couple extra points is ridiculous. Don’t do it.
  2. 6 SAT II’s? No. You have 2 800’s, and taking more will make you look like a grade/score grubber. Don’t.
  3. Are you applying as international? If so, your chances are even slimmer.</p>
7

<p>Hey, I would say try to find some schools you enjoy with good STEM programs, since that seems to be what you want to go into. Then narrow your list down to ten, and apply to those (make sure two of those are solid “safeties” that you’d be happy going to but have a considerable chance at.
Also, don’t take the SAT again. Just… don’t.
And I want to reiterate the importance of you actually liking the colleges you apply to. You can’t just apply to schools based on their level of prestige. No school is worth it if you wouldn’t be truly happy there, and proud of that school. </p>

8

<p>Definitely agree with others… DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME TAKING THE SAT AGAIN. It won’t help your chances at all, especially when you need to focus more on rising your GPA during your senior year.
Colleges want to see involvement in areas that you are truly interested in, not “application padders”, so taking more SAT II’s also doesn’t make sense and won’t help you. </p>

<p>Make sure you’re doing the summer courses because you actually have passion in the areas you’re participating in, more isn’t always better (and actually hardly ever is) when it comes to college applications. Taekwondo and club president seem to be your strongest EC’s, but compared to what most people consider strong on this website, they’re relatively “weak”. Don’t put random information like “self-researcher” on your application unless you can actually describe it in greater detail because according to what you put above… that’s the definition of what colleges dislike (random EC’s to look better)</p>

<p>Likewise, apply to places that YOU actually want to go to. I understand that family issues may influence your desire to go to a “top school in the U.S.”, but you are making a decision that will impact YOU not your father for the rest of your life. Colleges can easily tell through essays and interviews how passionate you are about attending THEIR college, not a top-30 ranked college. </p>