Meow. I like Princeton, Williams, Yale, and Dartmouth. Guess if they like me back!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Asian female, NJ
born in Beijing, US citizen
average suburban high school</p>

<p>Objective:
GPA: 3.98-3.99ish (school uses weighted 100-pt scale. I tried converting my grades to an unweighted 4.0-scale using collegeboard's scale. One A-)
Rank: 1/411
SAT (superscore): 2330 (800cr, 800m, 730wr - 10 essay)
SAT II: 790 Math II, 700 Lit
ACT: 33 (34e, 34m, 33r, 31s, 8 essay ;_; won't send unless school asks)
AP: Calc BC (5)
IB: Diploma Candidate (most rigorous)
Senior Year Schedule: English HL, History of the Americas HL, Physics SL, AP Statistics, Math SL, Psychology HL, German SL, Independent Study in Art (will be taking AP Art Studio), Gym (hah!)</p>

<p>Awards/Honors, smaller awards:
Scholastic Writing-Region-At-Large Gold Key (Poetry)
1st Place Poetry Slam (school, 3rd Place sophomore year)
published in Teen Ink
Semifinalist/Finalist in Forensics x3 (Prose)
ABRSM Gr 8 Certification with Merit
1st Place at multiple Battle of the Bands (local, 2nd/3rd several times too)
High Distinction in Visual Arts at TeenArts (local)
NJ Scholars Nominee
Summa Award (GPA above 90 for the year -___-)
crapload of honor societies</p>

<p>ECs:
LMTI<a href="national%20service%20program%20that%20promotes%20leadership%20and%20drug-free%20lifestyles,%20focuses%20on%20personal%20choices%20and%20positivity,%20broken%20up%20into%20state%20and%20local%20chapters">/b</a> - President, Secretary, Youth Advisory Council at State level, 9-12
**Lit Stuff:
Lit Society<a href="creative%20writing%20workshop%20group,%20focused%20on%20slam%20poetry">/u</a> - Vice President, 9-12
- I've been writing on my own for about 7 years now. Each year, I record a spoken word album that collects my poetry from the year (summers 2010 and 2011).
Forensics<a href="our%20team%20has%20two%20people%20who%20consistently%20compete%20;_;%20which%20has%20been%20difficult%20for%20us">/u</a> - President, Vice President, Secretary, 9-12
Student Production<a href="student%20written%20and%20directed%20play/musical">/u</a> - Actor, Pianist twice, Senior Director (which ties into the writing stuff), 9-12
Fall Play - 11, likely 12 (we have traditionally small 11ish people casts)
Quill<a href="newspaper">/u</a> - Editor (not in chief ;<em>;), 9-12
Music Stuff:
two2one<a href="alternative%20rock%20band">/u</a> - keyboard/synthesizer, 8-11
Piano - private lessons 1-10, I still play on my own ;</em>;
Jazz Band - piano, 9-10
Art Stuff:
I've been taking art through school (10-12), but none of my teachers focus on technique, so I will be taking private art lessons next year.
Independent Study: origami design, portfolio - origami with 2D illustration?
EE: origami technology and origami algorithms as practical tools
CAS Project: Random Act of Origami, coordinating with guidance to leave kind messages in origami for students who are struggling
(This is more of an interest that's still developing.)</p>

<p>Other Stuff I probably won't even mention:
Interact (9-11) - didn't do much
Student Government (11) - General Assembly</p>

<p>Summers:
2009: China, TI Summer Leadership Conference
2010: SAT camp ;_;, TI Summer Leadership Conference
2011: German school (4-week), Youth Advisory Council for TI</p>

<p>[Oh man. Sorry this was longer than I meant it to be. I also plan on doing YoungArts and the Urban Slam next year. For my essays, I'm trying to think of a way to convey my passion for literature, especially slam poetry/creative writing, while also showing my curiosity in other areas and my growth through TI. Any suggestions?
Please don't give me the sarcastic "Well, what do YOU think?" cause top students at my school the past couple of years haven't gotten into top colleges...I'm not sure what they're missing, but it's possible I could be missing the same thing.]</p>

<p>Chance me for (<em>highest interest):
Amherst
Brown
UChicago
Columbia
Dartmouth</em>
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
UPenn
Princeton*
Rice
Stanford
Swarthmore
Williams*
Yale*
(Rutgers and/or TCNJ will be my safeties)</p>

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<p>Woo! 31 views and no comments! Woo!</p>

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<p>Good academic resume, especially the rank; however taking into your ethnicity, it might not help you AS much. Awards are decent thought nothing really stands out (sorry if I offend but I don’t know US competitions very well) </p>

<p>However, your ECs show extreme dedication to the arts which is very good. Good mix of leadership roles which is nice. The music is iffy though because it is the standard Asian application but nonetheless good to have.</p>

<p>I don’t know that many local university in the States b/c I’m Canadian and I’m not sure about CC terminology so here goes:</p>

<p>Amherst --dunno
Brown – pretty good chance, one of the highest acceptance of Ivys I believe
UChicago --dunno
Columbia – pretty hard especially for Asians. If they want the hardcore ones, they get it from mainland because they have connections
Dartmouth* --dunno
Harvard – very very hard, just like everyone else though
Johns Hopkins – I heard its very hard to get in; not sure about its policies though
Northwestern --dunno
UPenn --fair chance; I knew someone who got in with about your application maybe a bit less on the arts side and more on the science side
Princeton* – hard
Rice --dunno
Stanford --dunno
Swarthmore --dunno
Williams* --dunno
Yale* – They like arts students but you don’t take Latin!!! Pretty low chance (not because of your not taking Latin however; I was just commenting slash promoting Latin xD)</p>

<p>If you’ve time, chance mine:
[url=&lt;a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1179672-chance-me-ivy-league-please.html]Mine[/url”&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1179672-chance-me-ivy-league-please.html]Mine[/url</a>]</p>

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<p>Amherst- reach. this is the harvard of lacs basically so…
Brown- reach; brown would be more swayed by a good essay though
UChicago- low/mid reach; a quirky essay and youre in
Columbia- reach
Dartmouth<em>-mid reach
Harvard-reach
Johns Hopkins- low reach
Northwestern- high match
UPenn- low reach
Princeton</em>-reach
Rice - high match
Stanford- reach
Swarthmore-low reach
Williams<em>- reach
Yale</em>- reach</p>

<p>If you can, apply EA or ED to Dartmouth, Yale, Williams, or Princeton.</p>

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<p>I think you would be a excellent canidate for these schools. Have you considered sending in a recording of your piano, or maybe a piece of art work.</p>

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<p>I will be applying to as many EA schools as I’m interested in, but I cannot apply ED for financial reasons. I’ve also heard that it’s more difficult to get into schools SCEA, and I would feel much better getting an early acceptance.</p>

<p>If anything, I’m sending in a creative writing sample. But aren’t art supplements useless unless you’re extraordinarily talented and have won major awards or national competitions?</p>

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<p>^ I second what SeattleBulldog said. It will set you apart a little more.</p>

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<p>I’m in the same boat with ED. But is it really harder for SCEA? Because I was thinking about that with Yale. But if it’s harder I might as well just do EA at a few schools instead.</p>

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<p>ED Dartmouth, i think you’ll get in, i have a sibling that goes there that got in that was nothing compared to you. also, what major are you looking at? I didnt really have the determination to read through all of your stat list</p>

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<p>Meowwwwwww</p>

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<p>flyingeagle1994 - so I’ve heard. There are a lot of legacies and athletic recruits that apply early. I’ve also heard that if you can get in early, then you can get in regular.</p>

<p>Aiminghigher - I can’t apply ED anywhere for financial reasons. I hope Dartmouth will want me during the RD round, too…I will probably apply undecided. I’m really into Literature, but English is a really popular major, so I don’t want that to work against me, and I have been changing my mind very often.</p>

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<p>Amherst / Williams / Swarthmore - ~50% chance of admission to at least one (At liberal arts colleges, asian students are underrepresented minorities)</p>

<p>Brown - low chance, they tend to be EC focused.
UChicago - Depends on your essays. Given your literary ECs, I’d peg chances at ~70%
Columbia - Small chance, but high reach
Dartmouth* - Decent shot; apply ED and you are probably in
Harvard - very high reach/ probably reject
Johns Hopkins - don’t know, sorry
Northwestern - Probably in
UPenn - Small chance, high reach
Princeton* - very high reach/ probably reject
Rice - low reach/in? If I remember right, Rice is making a point of recruiting asian students
Stanford - very high reach/ probably reject
Yale* - very high reach/ probably reject</p>

<p>Your biggest problem is your lack of strong extracurricular achievement combined with Asian ethnicity. Strong grades and test scores are basically just a prerequisite for consideration at many of these schools - it’s extracurriculars that get you admitted. While your EC profile isn’t all bad - it’s somewhat different from the standard math club/violin/piano/debate profile most Asian applicants present - it lacks real differentiation from the pack. Given the noted bias against Asian students in the college admissions process, you must be significantly different from the standard applicant, which I don’t think you have here (in particular SAT prep camp really hurts). In all probability you will still get into at least two of the schools on your list, but probably not more competitive ones. I am guessing previous applicants from your school had similar problems as well - good academics but relatively weak ECs.</p>

<p>Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.</p>

<p>That said, if the achievement in speech:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>was at either the state or NFL national tournament, you can disregard what I said above.</p>

<p>Regarding SCEA - quite a few studies have been done on quantifying the benefit of applying early, the most comprehensive of which was conducted by Professor Christopher Avery of the Harvard Kennedy School. The general consensus is that for most institutions the benefit for applying early equals roughly 100 points on the SAT. The ED bonus, as you might guess, is even larger.</p>

<p>Regarding financial issues and ED, what exactly is the problem? If you call the school’s admissions office they can usually set you up with a decent estimate of your fin. aid package, should you be admitted after applying ED.</p>

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<p>Your rank is amazing, the fact that you’re an IB candidate makes your resume even more impressive, you have a couple APs thrown in there too, and your SAT scores are quite high too. Your extracurriculars are AMAZING - you have tons of variety, which is great! I don’t really know what/how prestigious that Summer Leadership Conference is, so that might not really mean too much, and you’re severely lacking in terms of sports and volunteering and it seems like there’s not much evidence of leadership abilities or public speaking skills, but aside from that, you’re pretty much perfect!</p>

<p>Amherst: match
Brown: match
UChicago: match
Columbia: mid reach
Dartmouth<em>: match
Harvard: very high reach
Johns Hopkins: match
Northwestern: accepted
UPenn: mid reach
Princeton</em>: high reach
Rice: accepted
Stanford: high reach
Swarthmore: low reach
Williams<em>: match
Yale</em>: high reach</p>

<p>Good luck! :)</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Brown’s acceptance rate: 8.7% (match school!!!)
Harvard’s acceptance rate: 6.2%</p>

<p>Yes, tremendous difference in selectivity right there…</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Amherst’s acceptance rate: 12.8%
Swarthmore: 15.4%
Williams: 17%</p>

<p>Sigh.</p>

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<p>aangel42 - at my school, sports run at the same time as clubs, and since I wanted to be a part of the literary-type clubs, I chose to participate in those rather than in sports. My sophomore year, I nearly joined winter track, but I realized I only wanted to do it to have some sport on my application, so I dropped it.</p>

<p>The summer leadership conference is neither prestigious nor selective, but it has changed my life, in terms of my attitude, optimistic outlook, and the way I treat others. In my local chapter, I’ve done at least 200 hours of service (probably 300+ by the time I apply), running events that focus on natural highs (as opposed to chemical highs) so teens in my community can have fun without using. The town often asks the group to volunteer at holiday events; if not, we hold movie/family nights for the community. It’s difficult to explain, but I will use the second common app essay to elaborate and show what this group means to me.</p>

<p>I won’t claim that I have super-leader skills, but I do have elected leadership positions in every one of my activities possible except Quill and Student Production (self-motivated to be one of the two senior directors). For TI, I have leadership positions at both the local and state level.</p>

<p>sniperpas - When you say “strong extracurricular achievement,” do you mean something on a national level (e.g. USAMO, Siemens, Scholastic Gold Medal, etc)? Are you sure all Asians who are accepted to the more competitive schools I’m looking at must have at least one of these to gain acceptance? Of the Asian Ivy Leaguers I know (which is, admittedly, not many), almost none had exceptional achievements on that scale. As for financial aid, my parents are worried the financial aid package we’re offered after acceptance will be enough for us. At that point, I wouldn’t be able to get out of the ED agreement. And you don’t have to apologize for your honesty!</p>

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<p>I think part of what snipersas says is true, but he shouldn’t limit the discussion to asians, but just non-URM’s in general. Either you gotta be hard core (USAMO, siemens), or you gotta be different. Put yourself in the admissions officers’ shoes and think about it. That being said, schools like cornell, johns hopkins, rice, etc (schools ranked below 10) tend to care lee because all the hardcore/special kids are accepted at HYP, etc (above 10 schools), so they have to al least get some academically qualified kids first. well it never hurts to apply. I think top students at your school were simply lacking on the hard-core side, like NFL debate or science research, or they take it for granted that they are smart so they deserve it. If you are just average smart, and no significant achievements, you wont fare well in the game. If you apply ED UPenn CAS you have a pretty high chance. Just MHO.</p>

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<p>Oh, and one last point, this girl who’s ranked number 2 this year had the exact same stats as you, 2330 SAT (730 math), perfect grades, leadership in clubs, etc. She also didnt do Upenn early cuz of aid issues (creepy huh?) And she got rejected/waitlisted at every ivy, but got in Tufts and william and mary. I heard she was complaining about the aid thing costing her an ivy league spot. So convince your parents to let you do ED, tell them its for the future.</p>

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<p>why did you write meow in the title</p>

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<p>Thanks andrew, I’ll try to talk to my parents. Even then, I’m not dead set on one college yet (partly because I know I might be rejected from all of them). I’d honestly be more than happy to be accepted to any one on my list (other than the safeties).</p>

<p>I like cats.</p>

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<p>me too. i have two, they’re both mean though</p>