Please chance meeeee!

<p>Helloooooo :)</p>

<p>I'm a homeschooled student who lives in the United States. I'm Asian, yet not one of the typical Asian students who have tons of nationally recognized awards and positions (I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I'm saying this just because I've seen a lot of people of my ethnicity who have done amazingly). Not only have I seen those Asians, I have also seen applicants of other ethnicities with jaw-dropping achievements they have made since their middle school years in the United States. I admit I don't have any Ivy stuff. I've got no hook. I learned English in a year and have done a lot of activities related to English such as an English tutor or class assistant ever since. I could barely speak A WORD in English when I first moved here. It was like 2 years ago, I guess. Can it be a hook if I describe it well in my essay...?</p>

<p>I attended high school, but I soon turned to homeschooling for which I have a reasonable excuse. I've kept in touch with people whom I met throughout my school years. Also, I live in a very small town, so I get to meet a lot of people while volunteering, etc. I have a strong feeling that someone will bring up an assumption about homeschoolers' social awkwardness, so I need to confirm that I'm very far from "socially awkward."</p>

<p>INTENDED COLLEGE MAJOR
English Language / Literature, Creative Writing</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULAR / VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
1. Teacher’s Assistant – English classes; a local high school (2012 – Current)
• Helps students with essay writing
• Grades tests and quizzes
• Corrects students’ projects and papers
2. Tutor – Public Library (2013 – Current)
• Unpaid volunteer
• Helps students who need assistance with their homework or writing assignments
3. Tutor – a local elementary school (2013-2014)
• English; Creative Writing
• Unpaid volunteer
4. Literary Magazine Club – a local high school (2012-2013)
• Language Editor (Korean – English)
5. Several other activities as a tutor (2013-Current)
6. Feed homeless people every week (2013-Current)
7. Less Important Club Participation (2012 – 2013) : Science Team – Member, Robotics – Member, Interact – Member
8. Other Volunteer Activities (2012 – Current)
• total hrs: 300+
- President's award</p>

<p>ACADEMIC AWARDS
Principal’s Honor Roll (2012 – 2013)
CSF membership (2012 – 2013)
(Do they even count? lol. I don't have major awards)</p>

<p>STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES
SAT Reasoning Test
• 2250 in first sitting
• To be taken again in June (goal: 2350-2400)
SAT Subject Tests
• US History – 780
• Math 2c – 800
• Korean – 800
• Chemistry - 780
• Literature - 800
• World History and Biology to be taken in October or November
ACT
• 33 in first sitting 35 in second</p>

<p>Have a GED and a TOEFL score (moved to the US less than 5 yrs ago. much much less)</p>

<p>So here we go</p>

<p>COLLEGE OBJECTIVE
• Harvard College
• University of California, Santa Barbara
• University of California, San Diego
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of California, Berkeley<br>
• Boston College
• Carnegie Mellon University
• New York University
• University of Virginia
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
• Stanford University
• Brown University
• Princeton University
• Columbia University
• Brandeis University
• Emory University
• Kenyon College
• Georgetown University
• Dartmouth College</p>

<p>Where do you think I could get in......?
I know it's very unpredictable.
But any thoughts? please....? Thank you!</p>

<p>oh, and I’m a girl… lol well, it’s not important… yeah I’m just saying, haha :slight_smile: no legacy, no need for scholarships</p>

<p>Ummm also I don’t have any AP score. I couldn’t take the AP exams because a local high school here didn’t provide exams for homeschoolers and because other high schools were like more than 20 miles away from here… :(</p>

<p>• Harvard College- Reach
• University of California, Santa Barbara-Safety
• University of California, San Diego-High match
• University of California, Los Angeles- Safety
• University of California, Berkeley- Low match
• Boston College-Low match
• Carnegie Mellon University-Reach
• New York University- High match
• University of Virginia-High match
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Reach
• Stanford University-Reach
• Brown University-Low match
• Princeton University-Reach
• Columbia University-Low match
• Brandeis University-Low match
• Emory University-Low match
• Kenyon College- (Not sure)
• Georgetown University-High match
• Dartmouth College-Low match</p>

<p>You have pretty Good Everything. Good Luck</p>

<p>@Saif11963‌ Thank you so much for wishing me good luck!!! <3</p>

<p>Is it too much to apply to all of them during the regular decision round?</p>

<p>Bump…? :(</p>

<p>Try to get the advantage of Early action not the Early Decision … I dont know how many of your listed universities have Early action but I think Some of them have this option. and in the regular decision part you can apply to all if you like. But make a list of your FIRST CHOICE (not only the Reach, THE CHOICE) That will help you to apply more powerfully :slight_smile: Thank me if you get into your dream schools :slight_smile: Well wishes</p>

<p>Your SAT scores are very good. Also, learning English in two years is quite the accomplishment. I would definitely write about that in a college essay. </p>

<p>Overall Harvard and basically any other Ivy league will be a high reach. Then again, those schools are reaches for everyone. I’d say you could get into some very good schools with your application. Good luck! :smiley: Help me out? :wink: <a href=“Should I transfer? - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums”>Should I transfer? - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums;

<p>@Saif11963‌ haha, thank you very much! I’ll keep that in mind! I should go for Early Action then :)</p>

<p>@Dzheims‌ Yes, I understand Ivies are reaches for everyone, haha. That’s very true. They have turned down thousands of students with impressive applications. I’m a bit worried, but I will definitely try my best :slight_smile: Thank you for helping !!! :)</p>

<p>@peanutbutterlol, I forgot to mention, I was also homeschooled. Depending on where you are applying, that can actually play to your advantage. You just need to explain it in a way that will emphasize the benefits of homeschooling. Show that you can work hard independently, etc. Also be sure to avoid homeschool stereotypes like being antisocial.</p>

<p>@Dzheims‌ yeah some people think homeschoolers are antisocial, haha. I’ll keep that in mind! Wow, it’s very impressive how you were homeschooled and got into college that early. I posted on your thread some hours ago, and as I said in my post, I think you’re a very bright student :slight_smile: thank you for your comment!</p>

<p>All of those schools are very competitive to get into. You need to add at least one safety; like maybe San Diego State. Applying only to elite schools is a receipt for disappointment.</p>

<p>Seriously, add a couple of ordinary colleges to your list. Otherwise you might end up taking a year off.</p>

<p>@NROTCgrad‌ I thought at least one of them (like Kenyon College) could be my safety, but I will def add some safer ones! I know my stuff has weaknesses everywhere anyway haha. It really helped! Thanks for your advice!!! :)</p>

<p>Nope, Kenyon is absolutely not a safety. I would call it a match, though. I live less than an hour from Kenyon and my dad went there. It is one of my specialties, and, in fact, how I stumbled onto your thread.</p>

<p>Probably UC-Santa Barbara and UCSD are as close to safeties as you get on your list. Kenyon is much harder to get into than either one; its students have at least 200 points higher SAT scores and two points higher ACT scores than those two UC’s.</p>

<p>I think its really cool how you are so involved in the writing community! My sister is a creative writing major at Arizona State and she absolutely loves it! As for the colleges you listed, I think you are qualified for all of them (not saying they aren’t reach schools) and have a shot of getting in but you have to make sure you really get across who you are and what you are all about in your application essays. My friend who graduated this past year didn’t really have that great of stats but told such amazing stories on his essays that really reflected who he is and how he could contribute to different communities and he got into Princeton. I am sure you have a very interesting story and try and highlight that in you essays not to mention your SATs are fantastic! Good luck and I wish you the best this fall! Could you see if you can help me out? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1657051-what-are-my-chances-for-stanford-mit-caltech-etc.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1657051-what-are-my-chances-for-stanford-mit-caltech-etc.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>@NROTCgrad‌ I’ll look for some other safety schools to add to my application :slight_smile: thanks!</p>

<p>@biggestsunsfan‌ wow, thank you for saying I’m qualified for all of them! It’s really cool how your sister loves her college major! I love writing too!! I too think the essays are really important and I’ll definitely try my best to write good ones.Thank you again for such kind words! I wish you the best too, and yeah absolutely! I’d love to help! :)</p>

<p>hey, everyone, should I go for Columbia or Harvard for the Early Action/Decision round??? I know they are high reaches but I just want to give it a try as I think I will eventually regret not doing so :)</p>

<p>Early Action is fine, but do not apply Early Decision unless you are totally certain that you can afford to pay for Harvard or Columbia. Also, of course, only apply to one college for Early Decision.</p>

<p>Personally, I think that almost nobody should apply Early Decision. It is far too binding. Plus, you might change your mind. Be very very careful about applying ED.</p>