ouch--tests hurt.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>yeh, i'm just another student with low SATs.
i think i already know that my standardized test scores are a reach for bunch of these top 20 schools. but i applied anyway. and now i'm pretty emo cuz i realize that i don't know a single person who got accepted into an Ivy with a sub-2100 score.
anyways.</p>

<p>British born Japanese-American dual citizen with Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean decent
sub-urban school in East Bay Area, CA
4.65 GPA, most rigorous curriculum at school, all A's except for one B throughout Grade 10 to 12
rank: 1st out of 300+ graduating class
intended major: dual-degree in Computer Science Engineering and East Asian Studies</p>

<p>Academic-ECs:
-have attended weekly San Francisco Japanese Language Class all day every Saturday for 10 yrs (7hrs/day)
-after-school 2-year commitment computer technology program (7hrs/week)</p>

<p>Athletics:
Varsity Soccer for 3 yrs, senior year as captain
year-round club soccer for 10yrs
JV Baseball + youth league
Asian Church Basketball League</p>

<p>Other Activities:
private piano lessons for 7 yrs (Lvl. 6 Certificate of Merit)
Vice President of Asian Student Union
some community service through school Interact Club</p>

<p>Honors/ Recognition:
o Grade 4-12 “A” Honor Roll
o International Scholars Literary Arts Contest (2004, 25th Annual)
of Japan Overseas Educational Services (JOES)
—Honorable Medal for Tanka Genre: traditional Japanese poem consisting of 31-syllables
o Passed first round of 2006 American Math Competition (AMC-12)
o Nominee for National Student Leadership Conference and National Youth Leadership Forum
o National Society of High School Scholars
o Who’s Who Among American High School Students</p>

<p>Work-Experience:10 hr-average work week
Japanese-English bilingual store
Official Gr. 8 Referee of United States Soccer Federation
Baseball Umpire for youth league
Book-sale setup assistant for East Bay Japanese-American organization</p>

<p>Exams:
SAT I: 2040 (620CR, 770M, 650W) —90th national percentile (third sitting, 250-point improvement in from first sitting)
SAT II: 800 Japanese with Listening, 760 Math 2C, 710 Physics, 690 US History
ACT Composite: 28 (28 English, 32 Mathematics, 26 Reading, 26 Science, 08/12 Writing) –93rd US percentile
AP: US History (4), Calculus BC (5, AB-subscore—5)
Level 1 of the Dec. 3, 2006 Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)</p>

<p>-concurrently enrolled in 7 courses, 20 units at community college for final spring semester</p>

<p>-language: Japanese-English bilingual speaker, 5yrs French, currently acquiring Chinese</p>

<p>-essays: my complex ethnic background and how it has stimulated my interest in language; growing up as a Japanese immigrant in a single-mother household near the Richmond ghetto and how those experiences have contributed to my autonomy and self-sufficiency</p>

<p>applied to:
SFSU, Fresno State
UCB, UCLA, UCSD
Stanford
Harvard
Columbia
Princeton
Brown
UPenn
Cornell
JHU
Northwestern</p>

<p>do you guys think it's worth taking a risk for my upcoming Harvard and Princeton interviews by taking a radical stance on a current event/ political issue (i.e. Iraq War)?</p>

2

<p>keisukey:</p>

<p>UCB/UCLA: Match (Engineering)
UCSD: Safe Match (Engineering)</p>

3

<p>If I were you, I'd take Who's Who and NYLF nominee off your list of ECs. They aren't impressive; in fact could get laughed at.</p>

4

<p>I feel you on the crappy SAT scores. I'm below 2100 and my math SAT score is quite delightful.
Good luck!</p>

5

<p>You'll get into the top UCs which isn't so bad! Honestly though, did you look at the common data sets before doing all those applications to super reaches?</p>

6

<p>nihonjin ga daikirai desu.</p>

7

<p>oh yeh, despite the fact that my SAT I scores fall in around the 25th percentile for the Ivies, let me also add that my unweighted GPA is 3.95 and my family makes under 20K, if that shows any significance</p>

8

<p>so any hope? -_-</p>

9

<p>"nihonjin ga daikirai desu." means something about really hating Japanese people, what an @$$hole, you guys definitely kick @$$. </p>

<p>Even if you don't get in an Ivy(not saying you can't), all the schools on your list look great. I'm kinda in the same boat, rockin a good math and a relatively crappy verbal. Good luck.</p>

10

<p>haha thx steve22.</p>

<p>yeh, i know my college list looks pretty good but im not really up to going to a merely above-average school. i set high standards for myself but it seems like the SATs will hurt huh...</p>

11

<p>bee yuu emm pee</p>

12

<p>Keisukey, you and I are in the same boat. I think the highest score I will get, if ever, will be a 2100. I'm leagues away from the perfect scorers and the 2300+ group. I want to apply to Harvard and Princeton next year. It's tough knowing that you don't have a good shot just because of a bunch of SAT scores. Otherwise, I'm seriously one of the most hardworking students in my school.. </p>

<p>Here's to hoping that we'll get where we want to. My stats are VERY similar to yours (ACT off by 1!) I know exactly how you feel about having unsatisfactory scores while knowing you've worked really, really hard at school.. </p>

<p>PM me if you get into these schools. It'll give me hope!</p>