<p>I'm applying class of 2014, gonna be a senior next year
anywho </p>
<p>Stats:
ACT: 34
GPA: 4.3 ish weighted, 3.7-3.8 ish unweighted
Rank: because of a weird system, I'm technically 43/424, but they rank me #1
AP Courses: APUSH, AP euro, AP calc BC, AP bio, AP language. Next year: AP statistics, AP physics B, AP lit, AP gov
AP Exams:only taken APUSH test, got a 5</p>
<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars:
guitar(studied with classical indian musician, can play some pretty tough jazz stuff, gonna be in jazz band next year, compose music, plan on sending CD next year)
NHS (going for president) hospital volunteering
Going to do research over the summer with a biochemist at Ohio State for something like 15 hours a week, taking chemistry over the summer at OSU
School Type: public
Gender: M
From the indian subcontinent.</p>
<p>I have about 40 hours of service at the hospital, but I could get that up to like 200 or whatever I need to. I plan on sending a CD too to showcase my musical ability. I also run Cross Country, but I'm pretty terrible, its more for fun.</p>
<p>Obviously still working on my app for applying next year. I am for sure a national merit commended, doubt I'm much better. My teachers love me because i'm a pretty exuberant student (and I think I know teachers that would be good for recs) , I'm a pretty good writer too so I'm not too worried about my college essays. </p>
<p>So what can I add that would make me a winner.
I'm taking the SAT this saturday, but I'm not banking on it since on practice tests I did way better on the ACT</p>
<p>what? sorry to be mean but your gpa is pretty low. your rank isnt even in top 10%…i dont think you will make it to plme. plme doesnt even have interviews, so i would imagine paper stats are even more important, so youre at a disadvantage there.</p>
<p>plme only cares that your stats are to a certain point. after that, they care about maturity seen through your plme-specific essays, so be sure to make those essays GREAT. honestly. otherwise you’re their typical rejected application.</p>
<p>see the thing about the ranking is that its doesn’t really count. Basically I got effed over because some idiot in the administration weights the grades of IB students so extremely unfairly over AP students to the point that they can get a 4.5 with out really trying. So what they do with the new system is automatically rank everyone with a 4.1 or higher valedictorian and put that on the app. That is, I’m #1 in my class on my app, and colleges won’t see anything but that. I know its a convoluted system but there is nothing I can do about it. </p>
<p>So what should I do? I need advice on what I can do to pump up my app.</p>
<p>Whatever rank is on your transcript or Guidance Counselor form is what matters. Does the 43/424 show up anywhere or will only the #1 be used for you?</p>
<h1>1 should be the only thing that shows up, but I heard they might ask how many valedictorians there are, or what the highest GPA in the school is or something. in which case it still wouldn’t be clear what my ranking is, I know that I’ll just be down as #1</h1>
<p>because my school is weird. really I should be in the top 10 in the school, that guesstimate of my gpa was somewhat conservative. the way my school works is that it goes off of a really crappy gpa system which boosts different people’s gpa’s in a way that keeps people who work more, take harder classes, and in some cases have better grades from raising their rank to where it should be. For example, a person who takes a study hall can end up with a way better gpa than a person who chooses to take a semester class instead, and a person who takes classes at ohio state during the day doesn’t get that reflected in their gpa…</p>
<p>nevin021s - hate to disappoint you but your chances at PLME are very low. I had higher ACT, GPA, am a National Merit Finalist and had 5 in 7 AP tests, perfect SAT II in MAth II, Chem and Bio. I have the similar heritage (Indian Male). I had over 400 hours of volunteer work and was Captain of a Varsity sport and was President of two clubs. I had applied to PLME this year and did NOTget in. I got into HPME and that is where I will go in fall 2009. I applied to PLME for fun, so I was not disappointed. If that is your first choice, you need lot more. Good Luck.</p>
<p>its true, though. even if though he is #1, he has nothing special. there are some crazy kids out there who do some crazy activities all day long…thats the reality i learned going through my bs/md phase.</p>
<p>you can definitely make it to a lot of programs, though. plme is a super reach, though. if you can somehow write the craziest essay ever, you have a shot. keep in mind that activities are basically geared toward one thing, which is showing you have a passion for something. if you can convey that passion in words, then its pretty much the same, though its a bit more shaky.</p>
<p>well first off I really want to go to a reach medical program in general: that implies plme, hpme, and many others. Brown is really just my #1. I also am happy you said that because getting an idea of what I’m competing against, whether it be reach or not, helps. </p>
<p>And OSU’s med program is harder than plme to get into. why do I say that? because you need to be a national merit finalist to even apply.</p>
<p>Each program is looking for something in its applicants. Someone who gets into one program may not get into another. Same as applying to college. Apply broadly. Someone else’s application is not your application. Look at the program’s accepted student stats that they provide- not at one student who got rejected for some reason. Its not because of his top stats.</p>