Junior (Aiming for UPenn :P Yale Columbia UChicago and WashU) Looking for Advice

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>SAT I: Havent taken yet, in 2150-2250 range</p>

<p>SAT II : World History: 680 :( (will this hurt me, i know UPenn doesn't do score choice) will be taking Math II, Biology, and US History, most likely will score 700 upwards on each</p>

<p>Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.9/4.4 (keep in mind i have a very strong upward trend after freshmen year)</p>

<p>Rank: Very competitive high school in top 300 in country, trying for top 10%, right now in top 15 or 20</p>

<p>AP: World History (5) Expecting 4-5 on Biology, Lang, US History, Calc AB</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Composition, AP Comp Sci, AP Stat, AP Micro/Macro Econ, AP Spanish (have been doing spanish all 4 years), AP Gov Pol, Jazz Band, AP Physics or Chem, haven't decided yet</p>

<p>Major Awards: None :( </p>

<p>Common Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, Honor roll and High Honor roll all years, Other various small things</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Youth Orchestra (8-12, Section leader in 11-12)
Debate Team (9-12, Varsity in 11-12) did not excel at debate, but committed
Science Olympiad (11-12) Hopefully will win some events
Marching Band (10-12, Section Leader 11-12)
Baseball (9 played club team outside school because I was cut, 10 I managed to make it JV, 11-12 Varsity, starting 12) (I also play in summer, have played for a variety of different teams)
Regional Orchestra (diff from one before, this is more prestigious) (11-12)
Wrote Novel in 11th grade that ive been working on since 7th grade, self-publish
Wrote pilot of a TV Show with friend, will try to pitch to companies (they won't buy it lol, but it was fun)
Moody's Mega Math Challenge (11-12, I'll see how we do, hopefully good ;) )</p>

<p>No leadership except for music related things</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Worked at Subway summer after junior year</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community Service: This is where i lack guys, please advise me on how to improve this aspect of my application, what can i do to change this before next year</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendations: Should be good, i have developed pretty strong connections with my teachers</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: I have talked to him like 3 times total... i should probs get on that, but idk what to ask or talk about</p>

<p>Additional Info: Fluent in 3 languages (Hindi, Punjabi, English)</p>

<p>Other:
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Hooks: Not really, maybe for baseball... but that's wishful thinking</p>

<p>Basically I need advice on how to improve 3 things:
- community/volunteer service (how to improve in the time before next year)
- leadership in clubs (is it that necessary for me to get into upenn <em>im thinking ed</em>)
- Counselor Recommendation (what do i do to make her like me more, im a likable guy but she doesnt get me)
- Major Awards (I know this is silly, but is it that necessary for me?)</p>

<p>I know I have a variety of things and am well-rounded, but am I too well-rounded? I am not doing music as a major in college, though I will definitely continue it. English is not what I want to do either, even though I've written quite a bit...</p>

2

<p>Here’s an idea on what you should do to improve community/volunteer service. It’s really complicated, but I think you can handle it. VOLUNTEER MORE. Go to your local homeless shelter. Help out at a hospital. Pick up trash around your neighborhood with an organization. Go to a soup kitchen. There are loads of things you can do, so this really shouldn’t be a problem.</p>

3

<p>In all honesty, your app is very generic. You need to have something eye catching, and I hate to say your isn’t it. You need to do something major that will take a lot of your time while simultaneously doing well in school. Yes, leadership is absolutely necessary, even for schools way lower in rankings than the ones you have listed.</p>

<p>Basically, take a look around the other “What are my chances?” forums for these schools, check out the replies and look at their ECs. Also, make sure you look at the results thread: the admitted, rejected, and waitlisted.</p>

<p>In the next year or so, you need to (no adult help, but peers are okay) do something like plan and carry out a successful charity event or community project that will get about $10,000 (that will certainly stand out) or improve on something major.</p>

<p>Leadership: At this point, there’s not much you can do except hold office under your ECs that are under one umbrella (music, math, politics, etc).</p>

<p>Counselor: Help her (volunteer) any free time you get. Ask her about her kids or tell her a funny story that happened. Find something you both like and build up on it.</p>

<p>Major Awards are EXTREMELY recommended for top schools, and if you truly desire admittance to one of these schools, you’d better work your a** off to qualify for one.</p>

<p>Top colleges love a focus in one area. Kwasi Enin (a kid accepted into all of the Ivys) is doing premed at Yale, but had a strong music background like you and a MINDBLOWING essay. It’s more impressive to have one area focused in your EC than a bunch spread around. 2-3 great ECs and 7 common ECs under the music department (spread over 3+ years), and maybe a couple of literature or science along the way, is a lot more impressive than 15 ECs that are from different departments.</p>

4

<p>@Gallory thank you so much for your advice. I will definitely take it into consideration </p>

5

<p>bump</p>

6

<p>@metsfan9‌ If you are really committed in music, what you can do is go to music competition or engage in
solo competitions and get significant awards. </p>

7

<p>bump 4char</p>

8

<p>Your current scores are under the range for admitted Indian students at Yale–it’s super competitive.</p>

9

<p>Come back when you have your sat score.</p>

10

<p>bump</p>

11

<p>WashU might be a little easier than the others, but they still have a 15ish% acceptance rate, so it’s not like it’s easy. </p>

<p>The rest are <10% and have very strong applicant pools. I’d say aiming for 2250 is kinda setting your sights a bit too low; aim for 2400. </p>