Please Chance Me

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
1

<p>BACKGROUND:
Male, live in NY, born in South Asia, moved to U.S. when almost three yrs old, English was my third language, household income is around 85,000 so about 55,000 net, I have two older siblings, both of whom went to college. Father is a pharmacist. Mother is a housekeeper.</p>

<p>STATS:
GPA: 103 weighted, 95 unweighted (weighting system: honors = +10, AP = +12)
Class Rank: 6/300
SAT Reasoning Test: M: 710 Cr: 670 W: 670 Total: 2050/2400 and 1380/1600
AP: Last year I took 3 APs, and got two 4s and one 3. This year I am taking 5 AP classes (6 if you count economics as macro and micro as separate since tests are separate) + engineering research class + phys ed + a graduation requirement class.
SAT II: Phys: 800 MathIIC: 800 Literature: 700
Essays: Good, meaning not super because I am not an extremely creative writer and I rarely use SAT words, but good in the sense that I feel I successfully expressed my personality
Letters of Recommendation: One of them was really good, and the other two were average good.</p>

<p>AWARDS/EXTRACURRICULARS/WORK EXPERIENCE:
--AP Scholar
--Varsity Tennis Team: 3yrs (I made counties once)
--Varsity Excellence Award (received twice)
--Two-time scholar athlete
--Distinguished High Honor Roll student
--Mathletes: 4yrs (county champion last year, captain this year)
--Science Olympiads: 2yrs, ever since it was offered (I entered all the physics and chemistry competitions)
--SWEEP (an environmental club): 2yrs
--Key Club: 20 hrs community service
--School Radio: 2yrs (journalist)
--Have been working hard at a convenient store 30hrs/week for 3yrs. I have been sales manager for 1.5 years. This is big for me since it took up a lot of my time on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
--Even though I am an atheist, I have been helping every year, for five years, to help set up the food and dining preparations during the four weekend community feasts in the month of Ramadan. My counselor told me this is community service. So it took at least 3hrs/day<em>2days</em>4weekends<em>4yrs(high school yrs)=96 hours.
--I volunteered to tutor two students, on math and chemistry during junior year, after school every day, 1 hr each session, for 32 weeks. So 1</em>5<em>32 = 160 hours.
--I gave tennis lessons to a couple of persons at my tennis club during sophomore year, once a week, three hours a week, for six months. So 3</em>4*6= 72 hours. Afterwards, she became my girlfriend, which indeed was the ultimate payoff!</p>

<p>RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:
--I have completed original research on two projects, one involving chemistry at a state university, the other involving a bit of physics, environmental science, and biology—mixed—at a prominent national lab. I will be sending my abstracts for both research projects. Neither project was published, but I am entering the second one into ISEF. All this research stuff is perhaps my biggest “hook.”</p>

<p>MISCALLENOUS:
--I have been privately tutored for Arabic twice a week, for about 2 years now.
--I speak four languages fluently: Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, English; I know there are some conflicts about whether Urdu and/or Punjabi are languages or dialects, it’s acknowledged.
--I have taken part in civil protests against the war in Iraq as well as against the Patriot Act for twice a month, for two years.
--I trained at an international tennis academy in Texas for 1 month. (But please note, I do NOT wish to play college tennis)
--I regularly play tennis at a local club
--I love to play chess with my friends; I tried to create an official club, but my school’s board failed to pass it in time to make it official this year.
--My favorite album is War by U2
--As subtly mentioned above, I am taking an engineering research class. This year is the first year ever that my school is offering it, and it is very unique. I doubt many other schools have it, so this may catch a second glimpse.</p>

<p>PERSONAL QUALITIES:
--Mathematically and scientifically inclined
--Extremely politically active (I’m somewhere between liberal and libertarian)
--Very outgoing, I love my closest friends with all my heart, and I like most everyone else (except for the cocky jocks, for they are so annoying).
--Theologically open-minded
--I like to get personal with small groups of people, rather than lead a huge pack, as evident in my tutoring and tennis-lessons providing.</p>

<p>ACADEMIC INTERESTS:
--Economics
--Philosophy
--Mathematics
--Physics</p>

2

<p>Hey. While your rank is quite outstanding, your SAT scores definitely need some work. If you can retake the SATs, definitely do. Furthermore, Philosophy might not be a good interest if you're scientifically/mathematically-inclined. I feel that you have a good chance, but you'll definitely have to try and brush up those essays as much as possible.</p>

3

<p>Well, since Wesleyan has a later SAT deadline, I guess I can take the January SAT. Is it really worth it though? Or can my SAT IIs compensate?</p>

4

<p>Also, a crucial aspect of philosophy, logic, is pure mathematics. But I understand what you mean.</p>

5

<p>I think that your SATs are fine. People on CC sometimes think everyone must be perfect. A 2050 is both respectable and good for Wes.</p>

<p>I think you have a very strong chance</p>

6

<p>I hope so, I mean the two SAT II's that I'll be sending (I think they only require 2 at least) are perfect scores, so I'm hoping they would compensate somewhat.</p>

7

<p>Okay... SAT's almost serve as qualifiers here. Sure, kids can be a fit for Wes, but one never knows. Scoring high on the SATs just improves a person's chances. I'm just sayin'. This applies not only to Wes, but also to any other top school.</p>

8

<p>"Furthermore, Philosophy might not be a good interest if you're scientifically/mathematically-inclined."</p>

<p>What is that supposed to mean? Who are we to tell someone what their interests should and shouldn't be? Especially at Wesleyan, where a well-rounded liberal arts education and also interdisciplinary studies are stressed highly. I mean, I'm a math and sociology double major, and I've taken neuroscience and chem classes, as well as philosophy classes. Showtunesguy, you seem like a nice guy, but I think it would be good to refrain from being so judgemental.</p>

<p>Sat: Your chances seem good. One thing I notice from your post is that you don't seem to brag as much as a lot of students do. While this can be a good thing in a lot of ways, keep in mind that most people are on their college applications will be stretching the truth in completely absurd ways, claiming community service hours far above what they likely actually did. So something like working 30 hours a week for 3 years is HUGE (I mean, a typical work week for adults is 40 hours/week!), especially in addition to being captain of your math team and involved in a significant number of extracurriculars, and you shouldn't let that be overlooked. Sell yourself! :)</p>

<p>You seem like a great candidate for Wesleyan, and it seems like a good match for you, and I wish you the best of luck! The average SAT score at Wesleyan is something around 1400/1600, so your SATs are in the ballpark, and your rank is great. And an essay that portrays who you are pretty well is the best kind of essay you can have. Hope to see you on campus in a couple of years! Except I guess I would be graduated by then. Wow, now that's a weird thought...</p>

9

<p>madjoy, sat123, katzd, I'm not trying to say that anyone needs to have perfect scores. I'm simply saying that it'd just be good to TRY to secure a spot in the Class of 2012. And yes, I apologize-- sat123 could very well be a philosophy major. My mistake. Nevertheless, I've only said what I've said because I really want sat123 to get in. My suggestions may not satisfy everyone's opinions, but they are my own. I completely respect yours, and I definitely feel that sat123 has every right to come here and to major in whatever ze (in the tradition of gender neutrality) so chooses.</p>

10

<p>i wasn't attacking showtunesguy89, it just sometimes pis ses me off that some people think that tests are everything. My sister got a 1950/2400 on her SATs, but because she was #5 in her class and had a great essay/recs/extra currics she was excepted to top schools.</p>

<p>She ended up going to UPenn, turning down places like Wesleyan, Tufts, and Bowdown.</p>

<p>I'm just saying that tests aren't everything. There are always exceptions.</p>

<p>But Sat123, I think you chances are very high.</p>