Plan my future! (I'm a Junior)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>Hey, I’m a junior that would really like your advice. Brown is definitely my number one pick; I love it. Visited it over the summer last year, and I think its an incredible place. Also, I’m quite liberal. Okay, very liberal, but in terms of how strongly I believe in my beliefs.</p>

<p>But after reading a lot of other people’s “chance me’s”, I’m now feel very doubtful that I can get into Brown at all, so I would like to know what I would need to do to get a better shot of getting in. </p>

<p>My strengths are mainly in mathematics, and otherwise I’m “well rounded”. My weakness is in my ECs I believe; nothing outstanding in terms of in the nation or even state (except for AIME qualifier…). I’m a “star” at school though, but pretty bland outside of it. Nothing I’m phenomenal at.</p>

<p>So I’ll give some info:</p>

<p>1) Basics:
-Ethnicity: Asian
-Sex: Male
-Location: CT
-Public School
-Definitely first decile according to my Guidance Counselor</p>

<p>2) GPA and classes
-Not sure about my GPA. Definitely A- at least, probably A. </p>

<p>My guidance counselor says that I’ve probably got the hardest schedule possible (all honors/APs). My freshmen courses basically don’t count, so I won’t bother.</p>

<p>-Sophmore year:
honors spanish III, honors english, AP Calc AB (basically 3-4 years early), honors chem. The social studies classes were just some required crap, everyone had to take them. I A’s or A+'s in every class except english, an A-. </p>

<p>-Junior year:
honors spanish IV, honors english, AP Calc BC (EPGY), AP Physics (a year early), APUSH, AP Statisics. A+ in Calc, A in Physics/APUSH/Stat, B/B+ in spanish and english respectively</p>

<p>-My senior year schedule (this is fairly definite):
AP Economics, AP Spanish, AP English, AP Human Geo, Multivariable Calc (EPGY over summer), AP Biology, AP English. </p>

<p>I also had a 100 in lvl 1 orchestra (it counts as an academic) for all my years. That’s more for EC’s</p>

<p>For my accelerated math stuff, I basically asked the math head if I could study on my own over the summer, and she said okay. I passed the final exams for geometry so that I could take Alg II freshmen year, and then the honors precalc exam so that I could take AP Calc Soph. year.</p>

<p>Test Scores:
-211 on PSAT (no nat. merit scholar here…)
-but I did much better on the SAT in January: 2280 (800, 720,750)
-800 on Math Lvl II SAT II
-5 on AP Calc AB Exam
-I’ll be taking Physics/History SAT II’s</p>

<p>EC’s (up to now, some predictions):
-Class VP-10th/11th. Hopefully I’ll win another term.
-School Orchestra: 9th-co-principal, 10th-co-concertmaster, 11th-shared concertmaster/co-concertmaster, 12th-concertmaster.
-Newspaper-10th-Journalist, 11th-Managing editor and editorial writer (the nice spot), 12th-Co-Editor in Chief
-Math Team-Varsity member 9th, 10th, 11th. I’ll be a tri-captain in 12th. It’s a very strong math team
-AIME Qualifier (11th)
-JETS-10th-JV (usually 11th is minimum), 11th-Varsity
-Political Science Club-Head of Liberals
-Tennis-9th-JV, 10th/11th-Varsity, 12th-Captain?
-co principal in a fairly prestigious youth orchestra
-USTA Team Tennis-11th, Advanced team-advancing to sectionals, possibly nationals
-Student Senate-Junior Class rep
-Theatre-Pit Orchestra (9th/10th)
-Member of quartet-provide music for various concerts, shows, etc.
-Regional Orchestra-9th/10th/11th)
-All States (violin), 11th
-Track-10th/11th, varsity
-Rugby Club-Organizer (plan out schedule)
-Debate team-9th/10th-Varsity. Unfortunately, advisor is gone, so it doesn’t exist right now.
-Spanish Honor Society-11th</p>

<p>Volunteering:
-Tutoring in various kinds of math (~20)
-Soup Kitchen Volunteer (50+ hours)
-Assistant computer technician at school (100+ hours)</p>

<p>Employment:
-Violin for hire, usually as a substitute
-Quartet has been hired for weddings
-rec tennis coach (10th), probably this summer
-Tutoring (I tutor for money too)</p>

<p>Summer:
-nothing that really counts except for volunteer work, tennis camps. I went to China for the Olympics! But I doubt that counts for much.
-Probably where I need advice on. What to do, where, etc. My mom says I should do more volunteer work, but I think I should try to apply to some prestigious summer camps like the Ross Program or something.</p>

<p>Awards:
Not much here either. Scholar athlete, a local tennis scholarship, and some random school awards for mathematics and state testing. I did get a silver on the Nat. Latin Exam freshmen year when I took Latin (it didn’t fit after freshmen year though).
Maybe I’ll get more this year. I also plan on doing some violin competitions too.</p>

<p>Junior year unfortunately might be a bit late for getting back. So hopefully, I can get some advice!</p>

<p>Thanks very much for any advice. College scares me.</p>

2

<p>my advice: go away and stop bragging.</p>

<p>just sayin’…</p>

3

<p>I don’t think your ECs are weak at all. you have held many leadership positions. just make sure you shape your application so it shows a definite focus (you wouldn’t want your ECs to appear like a laundry list)</p>

4

<p>is your sat in order of subscores (Cr/math/writing)? I would have predicted higher in math with your math2 of 800 and MVC/CalcBC aime qualifier etc etc or is the 800 there math? i feel like any aime qualifier can ace SAT but anyways i’m not trying to be mean your application looks very solid and you look like you could have a good shot at Brown, but there are no guarantees. Try to figure out if early decision maybe is what you’re planning on and way to be ahead of the game!</p>

5

<p>I think you have a very strong shot. You don’t have to be a national or international star in something to get into an Ivy League school! You’ve got plenty of good ECs. For applicants like you (kind of like me) it will probably come down to your essays and how well you can articulate why Brown is the right place for you (I think this helped me a lot!)</p>

<p>Why are you getting B’s in math and English though? That might hurt you; your junior grades should be your highest, and you got A’s in those subjects before.</p>

6

<p>You have a pretty solid shot. Make sure you decide on a niche into which you want to fit (and make sure it isn’t a very cliched one that everyone else will also choose) and spend the next 6 months pursuing more ECs that fit the mold you have chosen for yourself. Write your essays about how much this niche means to you (you have solid ECs and should easily be able to do this), and I think you have a very good chance of admission. </p>

<p>Remember, at this point, you are only putting the finishing touches on your application in terms of ECs and scores. Make that as good as you can, don’t futilely try to branch out into other areas, and then focus on writing some specatular essays that pull it all together in a cohesive story about why you are the best person the A.O.s will see when they start looking for someone to fill the niche you’ve chosen for yourself. Do this and I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t get in (a classification which gives you probably a 40% chance of getting in, over the 8% chance the general population of applicants has of getting in).</p>

7

<p>Oh, I put my SAT in Math/Verbal/Writing, so I did get an 800 on my math SAT.</p>

<p>My english/spanish classes got a lot harder, unfortunately, mainly because of the difference in teachers. Hopefully I can bring them up; the spanish class in particular is notorious for being difficult. </p>

<p>Sorry if I came across as “bragging”, I read other threads on EC’s and other “chance me’s” and those scared the crap out of me because the those EC’s that were supposed to be “outstanding” or “excellent” seemed so out of reach.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the advice, and the resassurance. I was getting very spooked.</p>