My Chances?

Applying to College
1

<p>im a junior in high school and i am really worried about colleges
my standarized test scores are pretty bad</p>

<p>CR:640
Math:800
W:640
ACT : 29
im planning to take the SAT II's this summer but i havent prepared for them at all</p>

<p>unweighted GPA: 4.0 [our school doesnot have weighted]
i dont know about the class rank either b/c our school does not rank students</p>

<p>i only have few AP classes b/c our school does not offer any humanities AP classes other than foreign languages</p>

<p>i have average ECs.
vicepresident of Keyclub, class secretary this year and hopefully president next year, maybe president of multicultural club,
member of SADD, religion diversity, varsity tennis, residential life committee, math team,
national honor society, spanish honor society, mu alpha theta,
worked at a korean school, sunday school, editor of the church youth group newsletter, autism school, school maintenance
also i plan to do research at a university in biomedical field this summer
[im passionate about multiculture, religion and SADD]</p>

<p>im asian, like math, science [stereotype], and photography
i go to a math and science school and moved to the States about 4 1/2 years ago from korea. do u think these two factors will affect at all?
im pretty close to my teachers and talk to them personally often...</p>

<p>i want to go into premed..but still not sure
i want to become a doctor to help people [seriously not for the money] but i dont think i'll be able to compete with others that are far better than me b/c even now my SAT language scores are pretty bad
but i plan to major in biochem and minor in spanish
[considering comparative religion, optometry, anthropolgoy...]</p>

<p>wow...this is really long
but if somebody read this, can you tell me what my reach and reality schools are?
i've thought about colleges a lot..but i want to know WHICH LEVEL IM REALLY AT</p>

<p>thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>you have a combined gpa of 1440 and your worried its too low?
why dont you retake in october and study all summer....most colleges take the best score out of total
you have a perfect gpa, im assuming its out of 4.0

[quote]
i want to become a doctor to help people [seriously not for the money] but i dont think i'll be able to compete with others that are

[/quote]

sorry but so does many millions, so thats not a hook
and plus you need to sat2 so check them out
as of now i would say:
nyu
UCs
Lehigh
BC
BU</p>

3

<p>thanks for the reply
yeah i should probably retake the SAT but i dont know if i'll get any better
but i will study this summer! :D</p>

<p>and the whole helping people thing..
i added it b/c im still not sure if i really should go to medical school or not</p>

<p>are u saying those school are my reach? or reality?
im just really lost right now and dont know what to do</p>

4

<p>^thats perfectly normal...you have a long way ahead of you....you have untill sophmore of your college years which is like another 3 years
so just relax and enjoy life now :)</p>

5

<p>i guess im just being impatient
but i dont want to go to college as premed and then change my mind to not go to medical school and start all over
but thanks for the advice.:)</p>

6

<p>i think you have a very good chance. </p>

<p>i understand completely about your SATs. Mine was 1460 combined, and i didn't get into any of my top choices. So my advice on that front is to study your ass off for the SAT IIs. It will really pay off, I promise. I can't stress how important those are. </p>

<p>Second, you might want to try doing a few things to help your application stand out. Your ECs are very good (with the president thing and all) but not super wow. I think you should consider putting together a photography portfolio... that could be neat, and might add some extra oomph to your app. Ask your/an art teacher to help you out, and make it look professional. </p>

<p>Essays are another huge thing. Do them early, and make them unique. That's lame advice, sorry. Just make sure you get them done, and let a few people edit/read them so they can pick up inconsistancies/errors that might make you look stupid or whatever. Did you speak English before you moved here? You might be able to play up your transition to the states in an essay... this would kill 2 birds with one stone, and explain your lower SAT language scores. </p>

<p>On what schools to consider... i honestly think BU and BC would be safeties for you. Deffinitely go for the biggies if you'd like to... JHU, Rice, Stanford... you know. Just be aware that these days, a lot of kids who deserve to get in won't, so find a few safeties and matches that you love. </p>

<p>Sorry, that was rather long winded. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>~lexi</p>

7

<p>I think you have a pretty good shot at any of the non-ivy mildly competitive schools (by mildly, I mean schools that aren't THAT hard to get into). I would say you have a chance of getting into USC, the UCs (Berkeley and UCLA might be reaches), CMU perhaps, NYU, UMichigan Ann Arbor, even JHU (it would be a reach but if you let your essays/recommendations stand out, then you might get in). Cornell and Duke would be reaches but they are possible. HPY and Brown would definitely be reaches but you could always try. Remember, it's not always the grades/test scores that determine admission...if you have some other "hook" or if you write an extraordinarily different and vivid essay that really reveals your passion/ambition, you would still have a chance at those top ivies despite the very low chance. I would say apply to one state school (as a safety) just in case. In general, however, I think you have a great chance at any good university.</p>

<p>I hope this helps. :)</p>

8

<p>im planning to take the chem, math IIC, and spanish ones...is that good enough?
thanks for the replies! you guys are awesome! :D</p>

9

<p>thats very good
in your desired goal of major, a math and a science is good, and the spanish is also because shows your multicultured :)
just remember if your planning on taking all three at the same time, good luck....it gets REALLY TIRING after the second one when you sit for all three at the same time</p>

10

<p>also with my counselor..
i came to this school this year and my couselor this year is leaving, so i have a new counselor for next year..
i've talked to my counselor all the time, so he told me that he would write me a recommendation if i needed him to..but is that possible? when he's not working for the school anymore?</p>

11

<p>hehe
i've resolved that problem
im taking the chemistry part in may and math and spanish in june...
i wanted to be careful:D</p>

12

<p>If you're thinking premed, I would take bio as well. You still have plenty of time so you can take a lot of SAT subject tests and the reasoning test multiple times to achieve a very high score. Don't worry, you're pretty competitive :). I got into 5 very competitive universities with a 1290 SAT score. My subject test scores weren't that high either. But I got rejected by Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Cornell, and Berkeley in the same time :) hahaha. And I got waitlisted by Northwestern. With your SAT scores and your GPA, you DEFINITELY have a chance of getting into a top university. Just push yourself to the limit and start writing your essays early (I know this is lame advice but it's very true). Good luck with everything! :)</p>

13

<p>Yeah, those sound like good SAT IIs, if you're taking US History or something this year, then you should probably take that one too. But over all, I'd say you're really strong except for your CR and Writing scores on your SAT. Well-roundedness(is that a word?) is good. You should probably study up on the English (I know, I hate it too), before you take the SATs again. Other than that, I'd say you're looking pretty good. I had less than you, and I got into my top choices at some pretty good schools...so I'd say that you have a definite shot.
Oh, and don't worry that your school doesn't offer a lot of APs. The college admissions people know what courses your school offers and they can't expect you to take classes that aren't there. :-)</p>

14

<p>1290 out of 1600 SAT score..not out of 2400...haha</p>

15

<p>well with SAT II's
biology - i had a really bad biology teacher and im taking AP bio next year..so im not so confident in that field
history - our humantities teachers are very weak
should i just study them on my own with the princetonreview books and take them?</p>

<p>essays,,
that's the reason im asking you guys for help
b/c all my senior friends told me to start writing the essays this summer and i need to know where i want to apply to so that i can write my essays ;)</p>

16

<p>you need to go to your gc ASAP
every student does this....its a college search.....your gc can appoint you to the direction...i forgot how it works......but there is a list collges wiht a score out of 100...example jhu med has 99
tell your gc to look for the range best suite you
make an appoinment asap...gl :)</p>

17

<p>also next year
im taking
AP bio
AP spanish
organic chem
english/history/eco/gov - required courses
my counselor also wants me to take multivariable,diff eq., linear algebra.; or complex analysis
[not so sure if i want to...i dont think they are going to be hard or worth the time except complex analysis]
it's going to be tough with all the activities and stuff</p>

<p>i also have to take either AP physics B or C and the C class is supposed to be hardest class in our school...i was planning to take C, but lately i've been thinking about taking B instead..what should i do!? :(</p>

18

<p>Ya, I think you should save bio and history for next year. Take them during october/november. About your essays, they don't necessarily have to be about the major you're pursuing (unless the essay questions specifically ask that) although knowing what you want to pursue can be an asset within your essay writing. However, most questions are along the lines of: "write about a meaningful experience" which is VERY open ended. Just make sure you're writing these essays with an open mind (when you're not distracted or thinking about something else). Try to be original. Don't tailor your essay according to what you think a college is looking for. Your essay should sound like you...let close friends/parents/teachers who really know you read them over and ask them if your essay reflects your "voice". If you follow these guidelines, you'll most probably write a decent essay to say the very least.</p>

19

<p>oh i forgot...also AP Art</p>

20

<p>If you think you'll do good in AP Physics C, then go ahead and take it. If, however, you're not confident about it, then I don't think it would hurt if you took AP Physics B. I think that with your recent gpa, you won't have trouble taking C. Think about it some more, I guess...</p>

<p>Good luck!!</p>