<p>Well, like the others, i would like any and all feedback possible for my chances at the colleges. Im currently in my junior year, with my PSAT taken and still have the SAT and majority of SAT II's. Im looking to go to preferrably an ivy league (dont really have a favorite) or the UC's, mainly UCLA, UCSD, and berkely. Thanks in advance for any replies, I know there's a lot of these threads :)</p>
<p>GPA: 4.47 at the moment, with 4.0 unweighted
SAT 1: yet to take (will take 2400 new sat)
PSAT: 223 (should be enough for semi-finalist, i live in CA)
SAT II: Biology - 730 (will retake, hopefully for higher score),others have yet to take
rank: top 8(not sure) in class of around 570</p>
<p>AP's taken by the end of senior year:
already taken and tested:
AP Biology - 4
AP Calculus AB - 5
junior (current) year:
AP Physics C, so thats electricity and mechanics, so counts as two ap classes and will be taking two ap tests
AP computer science
AP chemistry
AP us histroy
taking senior year:
Ap Calculus BC
AP English
Ap Gov
AP Trig Stats</p>
<p>honors classes(not sure how much these matter):
hon pre calc
hon humanities
hon american lit
hon biology
hon chemistry
hon 9th grade english
hon english</p>
<p>Extra Curricular:
Part of Tzu Chi(religious community service) organization, co-editor
Co-pres of science and engineering club at school
key club
speech and debate team
school tennis team
school waterpolo team, as well as school waterpolo summer league team
science olympiad team
asian culture club
violin for my whole life, part of city youth symphony orchestra
ap educational services(tutoring, community service) club
csf
nhs</p>
<p>So i was wondering what i could do to improve my chances of going to my selected colleges. Any feedback will be much appreciated thanks! :)</p>
<p>The honors classes usually count for just as much as the AP classes; most colleges figure that they are as difficult if not more difficult than AP classes and they are "honors" because they deviate from the nationally-required AP curriculum. With your tutoring EC and passion for intellectualism, I'd suggest you not only take a look at the Ivy's but also the highly-selective, science-apt LAC's: Harvey Mudd (especially), Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Carleton, Grinnell, and Middlebury. The LAC'S are a better option for someone interested in graduate or Ph.D work. You also may want to consider MIT, Caltech, and the University of Chicago (an awesome Physics school).</p>
<p>Redbull- LAC offers professors from the best of both worlds. They are research leaders in their fields, but they also have a unmatched desire for teaching undergraduates. Instead of simply lecturing students in hopes of returning to their research, LAC professors kindle knowledge and critical thinking within their students. I point to Reed's website [<a href="http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html%5D%5B/url">http://web.reed.edu/ir/phd.html][/url</a>], which ranks college graduates that go onto to receive Ph.D's. Overall:</p>
<p>In the humanities field, all but one [Yale] ranked schools are LAC's. This study shows that LAC's inspire students to receive post-undergraduate degrees. In fact, Harvard doesn't even appear on the list. I wasn't trying to say that going to a good research university for grad school preparation is a bad thing; it just seems that, pound for pound and dollar for dollar, LAC's may be a better bet.</p>
<p>As a California resident, you stand a great shot at all of the UC schools. For the Ivy Leagues, you stand a solid shot at Cornell, Penn, and Brown. By virtue of your test scores, you should have a relative shot at Dartmouth. Once you get to Columbia, Harvard, Yale and Princeton, your standardized test scores will be very similar to the bulk of the applicants and they'll consider your extracurricular activities, teacher/counselor recommendations, and interview. Unfortunately for you, you happen to engage in many typical "Asian" activities and nothing of particular interest really JUMPS out of your resume. Once one reaches this purgatory, the tendency is to become overdependent on one part of their application to carry them through, such as through the essay. But success stories from out of the admissions to these schools generally have been that admitted students typically are strong in all sections of the application. You, along with a lot of other people, ask "what can I do to improve my chances?" In terms of the numbers, you really can't do anything at all. In terms of extracurricular activities, I hope you don't undertake any activities simply derived from the advice of strangers online. If you choose to do something that is "out of character" for the sake of your college application, it might very hurt more than help.</p>
<p>So, what CAN you do? If you get a firm grasp, a real understanding of the admissions process, you can tailor your application to present you in the best light. As is, you are a solid applicant anywhere, but how you show that in your application will make the difference between getting admitted and getting rejected. For now, just keep on doing what you're doing. Keep subscribing to this website and follow the testimonials as next year's college cycle comes and goes. By the summer of next year, with a fresh list of accomplishments in hand, start asking chances about college and ask for help in creating the perfect application. A rising junior without your test scores in hand is too early to be asking about chances! Best of luck,</p>
<p>I don't have much to say about your chances (it's already all been said), but Physics C: E/M and Mech are both half an exam, an hour and a half apiece versus the normal 3hr AP.</p>