Rate My Chances: Resume of an Ivy Hopeful

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Scholastic Achievements
GPA = 4.0/4.0 (un-weighted), 5.6/6.0 (weighted)
SAT Scores = Math:730, Reading:750, Writing:800
SAT II Scores= Chemistry:770, US History:800, Math II:800
AP Scores: 5s in 5 Chemistry, US History, English Language, Computer Science A, and World History, and a 3 in Spanish Language
Class Rank = 6/502
• Business Professionals of America State Participant in Software Engineer Team, 2010
• Science Olympiad State Finalist, 2009
• Computer Science TCEA State Participant, 2009
• Travis Chess Tournament, 1st Place, 2009
• Academic Excellence, 2009, 2008
• Valedictorian at PEARLS (Middle School), 2007</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities<br>
• Science National Honor Society Activities Director, 2010 – present
• Spanish National Honor Society President, 2009 – present
• South Asian Cultural Society Vice President, 2009 – present
• Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, 2008-present
• Chess Club President, 2008 – present
• Speech and Debate Team, 2008 – present
• Basketball Team, 2007 – 2009</p>

<p>Community Service<br>
• Served as instructor for free chess lessons for children at First Colony Library, 2010 – present
• Volunteered 60 hours in St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital, 2009 – present
• Volunteered 80 hours for the Youth Expanding Services, 2007 – present
• Volunteered 40 hours for the City of Sugar Land, 2007 – present
• Volunteered for 15 hours performing Hurricane Ike Relief, 2008</p>

<p>Work Experience
• Internship at Rice University , where I conducted research in Enhanced Oil Recovery – 40 hours/week, 8 weeks</p>

<p>Assuming essays and recommendations are all on par with the rest of the applicants, please take a look at this resume and tell me what you think my chances are at the following universities:
Harvard
Stanford
Princeton
Yale
UPenn
Brown
Columbia
Rice</p>

<p>I would also greatly appreciate it if you could tell me what information on this resume seems out of place, extraneous, unnecessary, etc. Any advice on other things that I should do or include would be great as well.</p>

<p>I'm not sure if I'm putting this in the correct forum, as this is my first time using this site. So, if this is the wrong place to ask for this kind of help, please direct me to the correct forum.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance</p>

2

<p>What grade are you in?
Work done before freshman year doesn’t affect admissions. I wasn’t even aware middle schools had valedictorians.</p>

3

<p>I recommend removing this:</p>

<p>• Computer Science TCEA State Participant, 2009
• Travis Chess Tournament, 1st Place, 2009
• Academic Excellence, 2009, 2008
• Valedictorian at PEARLS (Middle School), 2007</p>

<p>These awards will barely have any effect on your app.</p>

<p>Average chances.
Difficult to find passion.
Got scores and GPA.</p>

<p>How is your courseload compared to those of other people in your class?</p>

4

<p>

</p>

<p>Keep the Chess 1st Place award though! Otherwise I agree with that^</p>

5

<p>You have a good chance of getting into a few, probably Rice. Apply to a few safety schools, rock the essays, and get great recommendations, and you will have an extra edge. </p>

<p>Also, to repeat lebronjame’s question, how difficult are your courses compared to your school?</p>

<p>And now could you chance me back: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/958575-chance-urm-top-schools-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/958575-chance-urm-top-schools-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>I agree with lebron. Average chances… we don’t really know what you’re passionate about.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for all the advice guys, lets see…</p>

<p>My course load was among the most rigorous in the school and I have taken or will take nearly all the AP courses offered by the school. I would qualify it as “most demanding”</p>

<p>Spatula - I’m a rising senior. I know things done in middle school don’t really affect admissions, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to throw it in. In retrospect, it probably is useless, and I think I will remove it.</p>

<p>Lebron - Should I really remove my state qualification in computer science? I was under the impression state level events were valuable and this was a challenging event as well. I’m also not sure about taking out the Travis chess tournament 1st place award. It wasn’t a particularly competitive even, but at the same time, I am quite good at chess. However, I agree that I should remove academic excellence and middle school valedictorian.</p>

<p>Circular - chanced</p>

<p>x.sunny - Unfortunately, I don’t know myself what I have a passion for. I enjoy doing several things, but I’m not sure if I feel truly “passionate” about any of them. I know this is a problem, but I’m not sure what I can do this late in the game.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help guys. Keep it coming!</p>

8

<p>At that level of school, it takes winning a state event to be of significance. </p>

<p>HYPS will be tough, your CR and M are low for an unhooked student, you’re not val or sal, no phenomenal EC and you’re from a state sending them lots of applicants.</p>

<p>I would add more schools on the Rice level to have more choice this Spring.</p>

9

<p>I would take out the computer science thing as well - being a participant doesn’t really get you very far. (To an admissions officer, it may look like your desperate to pad your resume.) For the same reason, the 15 hours of hurricane relief doesn’t sound like that much. </p>

<p>Also - if there is score choice don’t send the SAT II in chemistry. Just send the 800s.</p>

<p>For the really top schools: your grades are pretty good (high GPA but class rank is a little low for HYPS), your SAT I is ok, and some nice ECs. But for HYPS, nothing really stands out to say that among all those incredibly qualified applicants, you should be the one. (Not to say that you haven’t done very well - you have - but those schools are just so damn competitive.)</p>

<p>Harvard - Reach/High Reach
Stanford - Reach/High Reach
Princeton -Reach/High Reach
Yale - Reach/High Reach
UPenn - Reach
Brown - Reach
Columbia - Reach
Rice - Match</p>

10

<p>Hey, try to sum everything up on a resume.
Currently, it is difficult to find passion, so organize it that way.</p>

11

<p>Wow things get swamped in this forum so quickly…</p>

<p>Anyway, can you please elaborate a little bit more lebronjames? What exactly do you mean by “organize it that way”?</p>

<p>Cubsfan - Regarding the removal of the state participant achievements in computer science and business professionals of America, would it be of more significance to include that I was a finalist at the regional level (which allowed me to be a participant at the state level)?</p>

<p>Redroses - I am going to apply to more schools, but I wanted to know what my chances might be at these top schools. When you say more schools on the Rice level, which ones specifically do you mean?</p>

12

<p>Yes, anytime you participate at the state level in a competition that requires you to win or be a finalist at the regional level you want to make sure that this is clear on the application. (Otherwise, it might just sound as if you were picked by your school for a state competition and that you didn’t do too well.)</p>

13

<p>You don’t need a “passion.” That’s a buzz-word that is thrown around far too much in college admissions. Remove the academic excellence awards and the valedictorian of middle school piece, and that is all.</p>