Ok, I guess I'll try this...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'll be a senior this fall. My school is a very large, very competitive high school in Chicagoland, Illinois. These are the schools I'm interested in:</p>

<p>Stanford
Amherst
Yale
Williams
Dartmouth
UPenn
MIT
Swarthmore
CalTech
Ponoma
U of Chicago</p>

<p>Ethnicity: White</p>

<p>Academic Profile: TOUGHEST COURSELOAD (4 APs junior and senior years)(I am expecting 5s and maybe a few 4s)
GPA: 4.4976
Unweighted: 3.98 (All As and two A- so far)
Class rank: 7/788</p>

<p>ACT: 33 (34 superscored)
SAT II:
Math IIC-800
Physics (I will take it in the fall, expecting 780+)</p>

<p>My recommendations should be excellent.</p>

<p>Extracirriculars:
Freshman:
-F/S soccer
-JV tennis
-Math team (6th in state as team)
-piano</p>

<p>Sophomore:
-S cross country
-JV tennis
-Math team (6th in state as team)
-piano</p>

<p>Junior:
-volunteered as math tutor at school (1-2 times a week during lunch)
-V cross country
-note: I did not participate in tennis due to injury
-piano
-Math team (6th in state as team)
-National Honor Society
-JETS JV- 3rd in state
-36-Hour problem Honorable mention</p>

<p>Note: I haven't really entered any piano competitions, but I do perform in recitals at a local church. Currently, I am playing Chopin pieces, to give you an idea. My essay will probably be about piano.</p>

<p>In terms of community service, in addition to tutoring math, I'd say about 50 hours a year.</p>

<p>Awards: I have won numerous departmental awards from my high school over the years. About 3 a year, I believe.</p>

<p>This summer, I will be working on a Siemens Westinghouse project as well as participating in a NYLF in Medicine.</p>

<p>Likely majors: math, physics</p>

2

<p>bump bump bump</p>

3

<p>cmon people give me some help here!</p>

4

<p>I know a lot of people at Penn with stats lower than yours.</p>

5

<p>Your EC's are not flattering, and you definitely need to get all AP 5's, no questions or excuses especially since you're white.
Stanford--far reach
Amherst--slight reach (I'm not familiar w/this one)
Yale--far reach
Williams--slight reach
Dartmouth--medium reach
UPenn--medium to far reach
MIT--far reach
Swarthmore--medium reach
CalTech--far reach (Caltech and MIT ask for very, very strong math and science students who have demonstrated success in those fields through winning state and national titles individually and collaboratively by team competition...I see a blatant lack of those)
Ponoma--slight reach
U of Chicago--match
BEST of luck to you</p>

6

<p>^Umm, did you notice that, with my teams, I finished 3rd and 6th in the state on Math Team (including Top 10 individual honors) and JETS. Note that Illinois is just as competitive in such events as NY and California. Also, I'm doing an individual study for the Westinghouse that I plan on sending to colleges. And I earned an Honorable Mention in the 36-hour problem competition. Sorry I haven't found a cure to AIDS.</p>

<p>On a further note, I agree with you that my ECs aren't outstanding, but notice that I actively participate in sports, which take much more time out of one's life than 10 1-hour per week clubs.</p>

<p>I'm sorry if I'm fuming, but your post seemed condescending and it seemed like you neglected to take notice of the numbers at the beginning of the thread.</p>

7

<p>I apologize if it sounded condescending.
Just b/c you are able to boast numbers, what exactly do those numbers mean?
your situation depends upon what role you played in the team competition, either as captain or whatever and how prominent the competition is. So, when i attempted to play college counselor, I had no idea of that and just assumed that they were your average competitions for your average folks. The Siemens Competition is def. prestigious, and I think you should devote much time and your best effort to researching whatever you're passionate for. Then, try to do well at the regional competition. And who knows what those Ivy Leagues want this coming year? Just put your heart and soul into that application. Good luck.</p>