My chances to get into Hopkins, CalTech, and other colleges?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I just started the application process and I’m really unsure of which schools are my reach, match, or safety. People keep giving me completely different estimates, sometimes one says I have a chance at Princeton and sometimes one says my match is Pepperdine, so I’m really confused. I’m posting my stats and ECs and other information, please help me estimate my chance to get into Hopkins (my top choice tho I’m not a premed), Caltech, Brown, Harvey Mudd, Berkeley, Rice, and what other schools I should probably apply to??

I’m a rising senior, my schedule this year is: regular English, AP Spanish, AP Physics C, post-AP math, and APUSH.
(I’ve taken Calc BC, AP Bio, and AP Chem in previous years)

My ACT: 35
SAT Bio: 800
SAT Chem: 800
SAT Math II: 800

Sports: I play varsity field hockey and JV lacrosse, but I’m not good enough to get recruited for fockey.
I have done some community service, including YMCA volunteering and service trip overseas. But my school doesn’t have required hours so idk how many hours I’ve done, my estimate is about 250.
I’m president of math club, president of science club, and captain of Science Olympiad team.
Two-year AIME qualifier, one-year USABO qualifier.
I’ve done some lab reserach about biology but it’s jsut a summer program, not an actual research.
I’ve interned at a molecular biology lab for a month the winter of my junior year.
I’m into art, I don’t intend to be an art major but I might submit a porfolio (please tell me whether this would help because I wouldn’t waste time on it if it doesn’t)

That’s basically what I’ve done, pretty generic. And some demographic information: I’m a girl, asian, and I’m an international student.

My intended major is applied math and bio double major or mathematical biology with a CS minor. Please help me estimate my chance at those schools and give some suggestions on where else I should apply:)

2

Are you looking for financial aid or can you afford $65,000 to $75,000 per year?

The one thing that you have to understand is that many of these places are really small. At Caltech, you are fighting for 1 of 12 positions for an international female.

3

You should apply for CMU as well =p

Your credentials are great and I think you have a chance at these schools.

4

Thanks!! Forgot to include that I’m not applying for financial aid but I’m considering merit based scholarships. And my GPA is 3.98 unweighted, 4.4 out of 4.5 weighted.

5

Merit aid is unlikely to nonexistent at those schools.

6

Fantastic stats. Female AIME qualifiers are pretty rare (if you weren’t Asian, you’d be a shoe-in to most of those places) and an interest in bioinformatics or computational biology will imo set you apart from many of the students looking for biology. If you were domestic, I’d say your chances at any of those schools would be excellent. International is the wrinkle and I honestly just don’t know enough to opine. Best of luck, and congrats on your achievements!

7

You will certainly get a good look. The problem is that schools with very low acceptance rates can be very picky. So they see plenty of students with great stats, and pass on a lot of them. I’d say you should add in a few lower ranked schools to be sure you have options, though.

8

Thanks for the advice intparent! I also have some relatively “safety” schools: UCSD, UCSB, and UWashington-Seattle. I’m still not sure about my chances at those schools because I’m an international student.

9

OP - your safeties don’t give merit $. If you can’t afford the price tag, then it doesn’t qualify as a safety even with your stats.

Being international complicates chancing you, although the initial list you posted are reaches for everyone even if your stats are in the ballpark.