My chances!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys,
I came across this website and liked the way it is organized and what it does. Like many others, I am looking for "your" opinions. I am a physics freak, I can see myself as a professor or a researcher a decade from now. Since I'm still in High school, I need to worry about colleges (ugh! <em>#</em>@).<br>
The definite list schools that I want to apply to are: </p>

<p>Berkely
Caltech
MIT
Carnegie Mellon
Dartmouth
UPenn</p>

<p>Backups: Stevens (close to my house) and NYU</p>

<p>Here is a brief list of my stats (it is very incomplete, and that is why I want your opinions)</p>

<p>I'm a junior, asian, and moved here in middle of the 7th grade. </p>

<p>Grades: I was lazy and diverted my freshman year. I just didnt care, so my freshman year suffered (I never did my homework at home). My sophomore year, I started to pay more attention to school; but, I wasnt fully focused. But I still managed to pull out straight A's. My junior year, I am trying extremely hard. Numerically, I am ranked, despite my freshman year grades, 5 out of 400 as of now (it will go up to about 3, or possibly 2). My GPA is 3.9 unweighted (I dont know my GPA weighted, but I'll guess around 4.3, 4.4). </p>

<p>I have a lot of extra-curriculur activites (dont feel like listing them)
I have won numerous awards:<br>
- Placed 2nd in North New Jersey's Science Fair sophomore and junior years
- Named the Young American PHysics Talent
- Participated in Montclair State University's summer research program
- Will be doing summer research during the summer (at either Ruters or Princeton University - yet to hear from the mentor)</p>

<p>Test Scores: This is where I need help. Please tell me the test scores I need to get in the colleges listed above, and possibly other prestigious physics/engineering programs. I will be taking 4 SAT II's and I think I will score very high in Math and Physcis. </p>

<p>This is how I see myself: Brilliant but lazy. That is what the admission officers are going to see too. If one was to graph my grades from my freshman year onwards, it would look like an exponential growth :p (perhaps, they will see see something unique in that). I will graduate with about 10 AP classes. </p>

<p>Thank you very much everyone, your opinions are very valuable to me.</p>

2

<p>Go to the websites of the colleges you listed and look up the 75% score from the Common Data Set or the Fact Book. You'll then have an idea of what you need (at least).</p>

3

<p>"brilliant but lazy" - that's a worrisome self-characterization</p>

<p>Admission Officers know the amount of work it takes to graduate with a degree in Physics - particularly at the best schools. Someone not willing to work extremely hard (even being brilliant) will not get through. This - more than any test scores - will handicap you.</p>

4

<p>Whoop de doo. Typical typical. No sports, mediocre achievments, don't know your test scores, and brilliant (sure buddy) but lazy will get you nowhere.</p>

5

<p>l m A o</p>

<p>if you work harder then PROB.</p>

6

<p>thanks a bunch for the replies, </p>

<p>It was my mistake that I didnt put everything about myself. I am the first singles for my high school tennis team and I also ran track and field. I have 2 varsity letters for tennis and 1 for track. Also, I have a great deal of extracurriculur activities; for example, captain of the school academic quiz bowl team. </p>

<p>Notready4purple: You are absolutely right. I do not - perhaps, I choose not to - try to my full potential. But I am progressively working in a positive direction. Actually, if you were to look at my transcript, you would see a great improvement in my grades - besides, my sophomore and junior (and senior, possibly) year grades are extremely well, with almost all A+. I actually think - just my viewpoint - that some colleges will take this into account. </p>

<p>Thank you</p>

7

<p>We can't give you even semi-accurate opinions on your chances unless you actually show us your ECs. =)</p>

8

<p>Of course;</p>

<p>Asian Club
Interact Club
Juggernauts (academic quiz bowl)
Student Advisory Board
Waklsman Students Scholar program
Elementry tutoring
Math tutoring (I tutor science and other subjects out of my own time aswell)
Math Club
Ecology Club
Tennis (varsity; first singles)
Track & Field
Model UN
National Honor Society (and SHS, it isnt organized yet for spring)
Science Research (completed 2 physics project in my own time since I do not have the class)
..... </p>

<p>I also have done many community activities;
Every year for the past 3 years, I help out in the local Hands in Hand festival for unstable senior citizens. I've helped in numerous park renovations and I've done numerous walks for fundraiser. I know! I have to do more community activities outside of school, which I will =). </p>

<p>Anything else, I will be more than happy to tell ya. Thank you very much.</p>

9

<p>physicsphun1,</p>

<p>Yes an upward trend, such as you describe, will be looked on favorably. I am just not sure that at the very top level, where you will be competing against students who are brilliant and hard-working, that it will be enough. I don't know enough about Stevens to comment - but you might want to look at schools that are somewhat less of reach schools for everyone.</p>

<p>Back to your original question on test scores, you would want very high 700's (or 800) in Math and Science on the SAT IIs for the schools you listed.</p>

10

<p>There is one main thing colleges and especially the ones you listed want. Brilliance, and if you do have that this is great. Unfortunately you are one of the two extremes that usually get rejected. Bright but indolent is the one, and diligent but not smart is the other one. But do apply by all means. You never know.</p>

11

<p>I absolutely agree with you guys</p>

<p>from personal experience, I know that MIT and other engineering powerhouses look at not just the grades and what the numbers tell them, but the intelligence and mere "genius" - if you want to call it that. For example, my neighbor's brother was not a great student - or atleast, thats what his grades told others. He was a B and C student, not ranked in the top 5%. He had a perfect math score, however. Also, he was recruited by AT&T (if i remember correctly) his sophomor year and was a brilliant engineer. He was one of those people, really, that one comes across two or three times in life; one of those who seems to fix everything and anything. He was accepted, with his not-so-good grades and overall test scores, to MIT. But he chose Stevens instead, since it was closer to home and he had to take care of his family. He now lives in Las Vegas and is an acoustics engineer. ANyways, the point is that although there are people with brilliant grades and test scores, I have a feeling - perhaps, I'm right - that prestigious colleges read between lines (not to mention, I'm a critic of the whole application process. They should have intense oral and written placement exams, like in other countries). </p>

<p>Also, I see many people not so smart going to top colleges. Our school's football star, "big eric", is heavily recruited from Notre-Dame and Stanford. His rank: 100 + out of 390. Our basketball star will most likely play for Cornell. Another student, three years ago, went to harvard with almost a full scholarship for football. I guess their talent gives them an extra edge. </p>

<p>WEll, I play tennis too, and I'm certainly the better ones from the county and the best inthe team. But I'm not heavily recruited since tennis is very selective game reserved to those who spend a fortune for "professional help." </p>

<p>Just wanted to throw that out there,
Thanks guys, I appreciate it very much</p>

<p>=)</p>

12

<p>As I said before, you should not be deterred by any comments. By all means, do apply.</p>

13

<p>will do =)</p>

14

<p>What school in NJ? And why do you think you're brilliant?</p>

15

<p>colonia high school bud
lol well, I think i'm brilliant despite what others may think, and people - teachers, family members, and fellow buddies - consistently get on my nerves to make me "unlazy." I cant really convince you to believe anything, but I can tell you something that might prove the point of me being smart but idolent. I - honestly - get highest grades on tests and classes with no effort put forth, as compared to other kids who work their asses off. Well, since I only go to one high school, its more suitable for me to say that I am RELATIVELY smart/brilliant. Havent seen the whole world yet. </p>

<p>As for me sounding a little conceited, I truly am not. I do not even know you, and I can still safely claim that you are brilliant. So are many others. In a sense, everyone is brilliant. The trick is to apply yourself and be motivated; I just lack the incentive, and although I am starting to realize that I'm cheating my own potential, I will just learn the hard way. Sigh</p>

<p>Thank you very much bud
TC</p>

16

<p>I'm pretty sure that Harvard doesn't give athletic scholarships, and surprisingly I'm a lot like you in terms of "smart and lazy" (high test scores and not that high gpa), and I've heard that UC Berkeley doesn't count freshman year grades, so you might be in luck (can anyone confirm that)</p>

17

<p>I think I have a great chance at Berkely; but I'm aiming for Caltech and MIT (and possibly U of Chicago)</p>