<p>Well, basically, I'm in the class of 2009 (a.k.a junior at the beginning of the next school year) and I wanted to know what kinds of schools I should be looking at. Without further ado:</p>
<p>Male
Ethnicity: Asian (Woot! )
State: NJ (as if being Asian wasn't bad enough huh?)
School: It's New Jersey, let your imagination run wild...</p>
<p>GPA: I haven't officially calculated it b/c my school's system is being altered between this year and the next (making higher grades easier to achieve). e.g. : before - 94.5% or above = A, after - 92.5% or above = A. I am fairly sure I'm in the top 5% of my class (granted, however, that this very class numbers in excess of 700 students) and possibly among the top 20 students. But, grades are everything and therefore, here are my grades by letter, course, and year:</p>
<p>Frosh:
AP Physics B : A- (4 on exam)
Alg II Honors : B+ (teacher from hell, I'm actually really good in math tho )
Honors English I : A-
Honors Gov + Ec: A-
Latin I: A
PE: A</p>
<p>Soph:
Honors Chem : A- (94.3%; I couldn't believe it. I had the highest grade in my class on the final (96%) and still didn't get the A )
Honors Bio: A
Honors Pre-AP Calc: A-
Computer Programming Pascal: A
Honors English II: A-
Honors US History: A
Latin II: A
PE: A</p>
<p>GPA Roughly: 3.84 UW, 4.02 W (and by the end of junior year, I expect to have increased it significantly and also offset my grades further by scoring well on standardized tests)</p>
<p>Junior Year Schedule: AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP English, AP Comp Sci A, Latin III Honors, Global Studies Honors</p>
<p>SAT: Taking in January (expecting >2200, haven't studied much yet tho)
PSAT: 206 as soph (barely studied if that compensates somewhat)
SAT II's: Will take Chem, Math II, and either Bio or Latin</p>
<p>Recs: I already know one of the teachers I will be using very well (H Chem/ AP Chem) and will have a two year rapport with her by app time. She's said to write excellent recs and is known for being one of the best chem teachers in the state (she's also a harsh grader, which may be how I ended up with an A- in H Chem even when I personally love the subject). I don't know about the other one yet.</p>
<p>Supplemental: Two - One from research mentor and other from JSA supervisor.</p>
<p>EC (ok, deep breath, here we go): </p>
<p>Clubs:
-Medical Careers Club (since 10th, hopefully officer by 12th)
-NJ Science League (H Chem in 10th, hopefully AP Chem in 11th)
-Junior Statesmen of America (since 9th, 'Director of Debate' 11_
-Science Competitors Club (since 10th, officer next year)
-Latin Club/Competitions (club only in 9th, just comps in 10th)</p>
<p>Will join:</p>
<p>-Chemistry Olympics (11) (requires AP Chem)
-Math League (11) (requires AP Calc)</p>
<p>Research:</p>
<ul>
<li>Beginning a research stint at a microbiology lab at Rutgers U this summer. Going to work 8-5 every weekday for about 7-8 wks. Will continue next summer as well.</li>
<li>I'm hoping to compete in ISEF, JSHS, Intel, + Siemens with my research </li>
</ul>
<p>Science:</p>
<ul>
<li>Already competed in Exploravision, NJ Science League (H Chem)</li>
<li>Will do 11th: USNCO, NJ Science League (AP Chem), research comps already mentioned, RWJ Mini-Medical Program, Columbia SHP (going to try at least), and others.</li>
</ul>
<p>Math:</p>
<ul>
<li>AMC 12 (10th) - score was under the mark, will try again next year</li>
<li>Joining Math League as mentioned (will hope for some good results)</li>
</ul>
<p>JSA:</p>
<ul>
<li>Political oratory is my other big passion after science and math and I have arguably more involvement in JSA than the others (even though it sort of requires it). I won a best speaker award at a recent convention (with the hopes for others on the way), will apply for (and most likely will receive) a position on the regional cabinet, representing all of NJ, and also write lengthy, provocative political articles for the JSA newspaper. I'm also attending a JSA symposium on politics this summer at Princeton U for three days. </li>
</ul>
<p>Latin:</p>
<ul>
<li>National Latin Exam Scores: Latin 1 Silver, Latin 2 Gold</li>
<li>Competed at Princeton U team tournament in Latin. 9th - 2nd place, 10th - 4th place ()</li>
</ul>
<p>Community Service:</p>
<p>-Volunteered @ local library 9th grade. Hospital and senior center 10th grade.
-Part of the March of Dimes since 10th grade. Have raised money/awareness/etc. May have leadership position in 12th.
-Planning to volunteer with the American Cancer Society next year.
-All told, I have upwards of 100 hrs so far and perhaps 200-250 by the end of next year.</p>
<p>Extra: Played the piano for 3 yrs. (not that great though, this isn't something that will make my main list of ECs). Played tennis for 6 yrs (again, not that great, but may make an essay). </p>
<p>I know much of what I have said is based upon potential outcomes, but I want to know if I'm headed in the right direction if my goal is to get into a good premed school. Let's assume I pick up the slack and score well junior year (I really have been slacking so far). The five essential questions I am asking are: Will my grades hurt me? Are my ECs weak? What can I do to improve? How do competitions factor in (what's good, what's bad)? Am I on the right track to make a premed school that will furnish me with the best education possible? I want complete, brutal honesty; I'm open to almost all comments (except derogatory ones of course). Thanks in advance for any responses, I really appreciate you guys helping ease my worries (which I hope will be the case).</p>
<p>Schools I Have Researched (Thoroughly) And Am Interested In Include:</p>
<ul>
<li>JHU (#1 by far)</li>
<li>Cornell</li>
<li>Duke</li>
<li>UPenn (I think I'm a longshot though)</li>
<li>NYU (w/ scholarship though)</li>
<li>UMich</li>
<li>UChicago</li>
<li>Wash U</li>
<li>Rutgers (backup, not really interested come to think of it)</li>
</ul>
<p>If you prefer, I would even appreciate chances on these schools. Any help/ comments are welcome. I'm quite open-ended.</p>