NEW...chances at ivies?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Asian female, junior in VA school that sends about 1-2 people to top schools each year </p>

<p>Freshman year</p>

<p>Orchestra- A
Honors World History I- A
Honors English 9- A
Spanish I- A
Health/PE 9- A
Honors Earth Science- A
Honors Geometry- A
Health/PE 10 (summer)- A</p>

<p>Sophomore</p>

<p>Honors English 10- A
Chamber Orchestra- A
Honors Algebra II- A
Honors World History II- A
Spanish II- A
Business Law- A
Honors Biology- A</p>

<p>Junior</p>

<p>AP US History- A
Honors Chamber Orchestra- A
Honors Chemistry- A
AP Environmental Science- A
Honors English 11- A
Honors Math Analysis/Trig- A
Spanish III- A
Honors Shakespeare I (online)- A</p>

<p>Senior (projected)</p>

<p>AP European History
AP English 12
AP Government
AP Biology
AP Calculus
Honors Physics
Honors Spanish IV
Honors Chamber Orchestra
Honors Shakespeare II (online)</p>

<p>GPA: 4.7ish
Unweighted: 4.0
Class rank: top 1-2% out of 500?</p>

<p>PSAT: 225
SAT I: (CR 800/M 710/W 800)= 2310
SAT IIs: ?</p>

<p>EC</p>

<p>Debate
4 years
Captain 2 years
Random awards- 3rd place Districts, 3rd place Regionals, JMU semifinals, 5th place Speaker
Attended U of R camp in ‘07 </p>

<p>Violin
8 years
School orchestra 8 years - Chamber Orchestra 3 years
All County Orchestra- ‘06
School musical
Played in numerous places (Children’s hospital, science museum, bank opening, library opening, nursing home, PSAT high scorers award ceremony, church, etc.)</p>

<p>Piano
4 years private lessons
~5 hours/week</p>

<p>*Volunteering *
100+ hours at local nursing home
40+ hours at ecology club
20 hours tutoring
10+ hours on election days
Helped produce a list of resources for entrepreneurship class in Uganda</p>

<p>Job
Courtesy clerk at Ukrop’s Grocers, 07- present, ~10 hours/week</p>

<p>Chinese
Fluent in Chinese
Chinese school- 9 years
Visited China 3 times</p>

<p>Honors
National Honor Society (hoping to run for position next year)
Spanish Honor Society
Math Honor Society (projected)</p>

<p>Summer ‘08
Hopefully internship, some college summer program</p>

<p>Awards</p>

<p>1st place FBLA Business Law Districts
1st place FBLA Business Law States
1st place FBLA Business Law Nationals
State Essay Contest Winner (sponsored by House of Delegates)
PSAT high scorer- 3 years
National Merit Finalist (hopefully)
Honor Roll- 7 years
English Department Award (2 freshman out of 500)
Science Scholar (1 out of 500)
Most Improved, MVP- Orchestra
5+ Perfect SOLs (state test)
3x team scorer VA math league (team scorer: one of top 5 scores from each school)
Outstanding Volunteer- Spring Arbor Nursing Home</p>

<p>Teachers recs/essays should be good
Comments, suggestions?</p>

2

<p>too many B’s</p>

3

<p>What do you mean?</p>

4

<p>That was sarcasm, lima. She means that you have good grades.</p>

<p>That actually brings up an important point; with the interview(s), have a little fun and try not to be so serious. Comoing off as a stiff, not well rounded person is not good.</p>

<p>You are literally the same person as I am (except that I’m a dude) with similar test scores, GPA, ECs (though you should consider some sports and more community things), etc. Just make sure you do well on your SAT IIs (at least 2 800’s is preferred, of the 3 youll need to take) and you stand a good chance.</p>

<p>You might also want to consider doing either (or both) the Siemens Westinghouse Competition or the Intel STS.</p>

<p>The thing with HYPS of course is that everyone will be like you in terms of academics, ECs, and overall character so it will be a crapshoot. It’s too unpredictable. The good news is that you will stand a chance. :)</p>

<p>You may also wish to consider applying to the likes of Stanford or MIT/Caltech. What is/are your backup/safeties?</p>

<p>I’ll let you know if I get into Harvard or Pton. Good luck and keep up that excellent work!</p>

5

<p>I’m kidding. You’re grades look great (perfect, in fact). Sorry, it was a joke. </p>

<p>Try to do well on SAT IIs, and maybe pick up another leadership position or two, but other than that you look really competitve. </p>

<p>Are you going to send in a music tape? Focus on your passions (debate and music from what I can see) and you’ll do fine, I think. </p>

<p>It’s all a crapshoot. Which schools are you planning on applying to? What major do you plan to study? (I know you’re probably not applying to all the Ivy League schools and have some safeties).</p>

6

<p>Thanks for replying! Sorry, I thought you were joking, but I just wanted to make sure. Lol. </p>

<p>I actually don’t really know which colleges I want to apply to yet. I guess I feel kind of lost because I don’t really have a strong passion towards any field and I don’t know what I want to be. I was just posting to see if I had any chance.</p>

7

<p>Tintin, I looked at those competitions. The problem is I’m not much of a science/math person (contrary to the Asian stereotype) so I’m not sure how much of a chance I’ll have.</p>

8

<p>Man you must have worked non stop your entire high school career. However I don’t see anything that really stands out and makes you interesting or gives you texture. Your not an international student, athlete or have a specific passion where you excel. It appears as if you did everything under the sun in hopes of getting in to college and that you do not have anything that ties everything together. People don’t seem to realize that doing as many things as possible in a wide array of subjects is not a always the best way to get in to college. It also would appear that you come off as a bit of a nerd and only goal in life is to get in to HYP. Again, they are looking for interesting people with texture and something that differentiates them. In spite of what I just said congratulations on doing so well in high school, I am sure you will go and be successful in a good college.</p>

9

<p>Yikes…do I really seem that unfocused? What should I do? I had hoped that the business law thing would stand out, but I guess it’s not international?</p>

<p>Lol. Didn’t mean to come off as a nerd. I did get voted junior homecoming princess, but it seems shallow to put that on an application.`</p>

10

<p>I disagree Swissas. Everyone on paper is nothing but a bunch of stats. You can’t show texture, based solely on grades, regardless of what they are. Are you implying that bad/worse grades look better? Please don’t be offended, as this is not meant to be an attack on you, but generally speaking, I find that when people on CC say things like that, often they are jealous.</p>

<p>Swissas does bring up a valid point about the ECs, wherein you could distinguish yourself more. </p>

<p>As for texture… that’s what essays are for. And interviews.</p>

<p>edit: Yeah, don’t put anything regarding HC or the likes on an app. That doesn’t show character or potential.</p>

11

<p><em>sigh</em> We all seem unfocused in some way, and if you weren’t you would be criticized for not having enough ECs or variety, so you just can’t win with that one. And actually, I do see a clear love of music in your ECs. </p>

<p>Don’t pick up any other stuff just to try to get colleges to like you, or drop anything you like. Just use your essays to show your passions, and explain why you do what you do, so that you don’t seem like you’re doing it just to get into college. Which should be easy if you really aren’t doing it all just to get into college in the first place. :)</p>

<p>I wouldn’t put the Homecoming Princess thing. That’s not really an achievement. >.></p>

<p>Oh, I suppose the answer to the original question is that you have a great shot, but with the Ivies you can’t really predict what will happen.</p>

12

<p>Well, the thing with music is, even though I do love it and spend a lot of time on it, I’m not extraordinarily good at it. I mean, I’m a competent player, but I’ve never won any competitions.</p>

13

<p>

how? just because she has great grades and ECs? According to CC, every person with a 2400 appears like a boring study freak, and every person with a 2100 sounds like a great, well-rounded person who must’ve spent less time studying and therefore must be a more interesting person. In fact, there are people who think that getting a 2400 actually HURTS ur application because of this mentality on CC! Just because someone has better grades and stats than you doesn’t necessary mean they worked harder or cared more.</p>

14

<p>what a nerd!! god damnit!!! people need to just enjoy life a little, i mean, whats the big deal at going to an ivy league school!! …everyones going to get into some college, and depending on how hard your work in college depends on what kind of job you get. Me graduating from UNC is the same as this guy graduating from Princeton.</p>

15

<p>^ Um…chill? CC is full of nerds…working hard in high school is not indicative of not enjoying life…</p>

16

<p>I agree 121889, those B’s will kill you :\ Ever contemplate attending community college?</p>

<p>In all seriousness though, it’s good stuff :3
“Higher” Ivies are always reaches for most.
Cornell is a good match though :P</p>

<p>Hockeyfreak: I agree in that, personal ability is the main catalyst in creating a successful life, not the specific college. But really, many people want to reach for Ivies because of:
1.Prestige
2.Perfectionist
3.Better education/better jobs in the future (debatable)</p>

17

<p>^4. Just liking the schools. :3</p>

18

<p>I really don’t understand the “you must have no life” comments. All of the things I’ve done I’ve enjoyed. All the activities have really helped me learn and improve as a person, not just increased chances at top colleges.</p>

19

<p>Um, I hope you’re joking because you are certainly wrong. Not everyone is going to get into a college (I think the US rate is under 30%). How hard you work does determine what job you will get (and how much it will pay); so how exactly is that the same from UNC and Princeton? Princeton grads typically go on to higher education beyond college, which you will NOT do if you choose to not work hard.</p>

<p>What UNC does have is a better basketball team.</p>

<p>Like I’ve said, often theres a hint of jealousy.</p>

<p>edit: US college degree attainment rate is 27%, so I presume the attendance rate will be marginally higher but around 30%.</p>

20

<p>Any other suggestions?</p>