Rising senior without summer camps. What is the thing I need to improve most?

Applying to College
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I applied to three Math-related summer camps and just got rejected by all of them. I do feel a bit disoriented for what I can do in the summer then. International student from China studying in Houston, Texas.
Currently, a rising junior at a public non-competitive high school. School only has a whole letter grade.

Freshman: Having 3 Bs. Attending MUN without any awards.
Freshman AP: AP Stats and Human Geography, both 4, it’s the altered very short version online due to the start of pandemic.
Freshman summer: Tech summer camps about artificial intelligence. Those “you pay I teach” programs and nothing selective at all.

Sophomore: Fully remote learning for the whole year, except in-person AP exams. Half A half B.
Sophomore AP:

  • Music Theory 5 overall, 4 for concept and 5 for the listening.
  • Physics C 5 for both.
  • Calculus BC 5 (5+5 for two contents).
  • European History 3
  • Psychology 4
  • Computer Science A 5

Junior: Just finished in-person. 1B in semester 1, As in semester 2. Took AP Chemistry, Biology, US History and Language. Did not feel confident about AP Chemistry or Language. Scores will be released in this July. Take calculus 3 and differential equation (each as a semester course) at community college online and got both A.

Take school Japanese course every Saturday from freshmen years till now, and will continue.

Self-taught and passed district credit by exam for Physics 1 in the rising freshman summer, and did the same for Chemistry 1 in the rising sophomore summer. The school only weighted 1 score for each category of core classes. Weighted GPA 6.1 in Texas scale. School ranked 2nd 25%, definitely not reporting in resume.

Club: Member of SNHS starting sophomore. NHS, NEHS starting junior. Applying for PsiAlpha now. No any awards or officer position for that. Founder of a small classical music club.
Competition: Really weak. Won district UIL in CS and Math but never advanced passing regionals. AMC 12 distinguished took in Sophomore year. Did not take it last year due to surgery.

Language: Native Chinese/English. Usable Japanese.

Hobby: Piano, Music composition, Photography, no awards related, just as enthusiast.

Family affordability on college: Bachelor’s degree is affordable at most of private colleges. Can pay for grad school as well if it has substantial financial aid or going to public school.

SAT: 1490, 690+800. Studies quite a bit and increased that from 680+800 to 690+800, so I thought I would end there. Taking ACT in June.

I felt a bit disoriented and stressed when the semester is ending, and I need to finish the resume before school ends for counselors to write rec letters. I have no clue how the resume is going to be built, and I did not think my academic history is strong enough for me to push to better schools. Dream school is MIT and Stanford, which is quite dreaming. Will try my best to secure University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University before stretching out for league schools.

Thank you so much for reading this long, eager to see your advice.

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If you have completed your junior year, you are a rising senior. You put rising junior in your post.

Most college applicants have never done a summer program of any kind anywhere. My suggestion is that you get a summer job…if your visa to be here allows you to also work.

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Agree about a summer job and maybe you could find one that aligns with one of your interests - if not any job should be of value. Heard a presentation by a college rep (ivy) at our high school
and when a parent asked about what would make you stop and take another look at an application - she didn’t hesitate and said a job! She said they see jobs for lower income kids more often, but minimal for middle-higher income families.

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TAMU to ivies is quite a large jump, any plans to apply to schools in between? RIT, RPI, Texas Tech, etc… all could be considered.

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Oh sorry I lost my mind on typing… My visa didn’t allow me to work, sadly.

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Thanks for your suggestion, I’ll make sure to study more about those schools!

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Well…you can volunteer perhaps.

Also…if you are an international student, do you think you can easily attend medical school in the U.S. There are precious few international students accepted to medical schools in this country and most are from Canada.

@WayOutWestMom am I correct about this?

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I don’t think I’m applying to medical schools, it is really not my subject… I’m sick of blood quite seriously. Thanks for the advice for volunteering.

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For clarity’s sake, is your school in the second 25% or are you ranked in the 2nd 25% of your class? Do you think you will end up ranking in the top 6% of your class?

In terms of grad school, it tends to be very cheap (the program pays you to attend, usually with research or teaching responsibilities attached) or very expensive, with few options in between. Considering the financial situation as you presented it, you may also want to consider going to a less expensive school for undergrad (less expensive because it costs less or it gives you a lot of merit aid) to save money for grad school.

How far away would you like to be from home? Do you prefer small, medium, or larger classes? Do you have any ideas about what you might like to major in? How important is sports or Greek life to you? Are there any extracurriculars you would like to pursue in college?

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Assuming that you have a place to live in the US this summer, take summer school at a 4 yr (not community) college nearby, preferably at a flagship state U, in the subjects that you enjoy and will do well in. Many public colleges offer in-state tuition rates to everyone during the summer. If you don’t have a place to live, choose a school that offers housing for summer school.

It appears that math and Physics are your strong points, so I’d go with those. A’s in higher level math and Physics at a good college would help to show admissions committees that you are truly exceptional in these fields. You’re trying to show outstanding ability in these fields, outside of the summer program track. Nothing says achievement like achievement, and this late in the game it’s too late for published research or a national level award - so do it by A’s in higher level math and Physics the summer before application.

I agree that you should prep for and try the ACT, because the English sections are easier on it than they are on the SAT, so you have a chance of getting a better English score on it. But you absolutely have to prep for it, because the science section isn’t about science - it’s about data interpretation, and it helps tremendously to have seen all the ways that they present the data beforehand. You prep by getting a copy of The Official Guide to the ACT (it has about 5 tests in it, and slightly out of date copies are fine), or by simply downloading legally in the public domain old ACTs from Reddit - look under the ACT thread.

You’re going to have a tough time with admissions to tippy-top schools because there are many students like you applying - Asians with very high achievement. But you absolutely have a shot at second tier schools, like RPI and many other private colleges with acceptance rates above 40%, who will roll out the red carpet for an applicant like you at full pay rates. As a foreign student studying in the US, do you get any kind of in-state advantage for Texas? If yes, then UT Austin is a great choice for you, because it’s a large flagship research institution. You’d be able to zoom ahead in math and science there.

At this late point, summer before senior year, and with your strengths and weaknesses, I’d say your energy is best spent on an impressive achievement in higher level math and Physics summer classes at a rigorous university like UT Austin, or U Houston for convenience, or if money is no object, at an Ivy or MIT or Stanford. Honestly, I don’t know how much difference the ACT would make for you, unless you got a perfect 36 across the board on it. You’re from China, you’re not planning on being an English professor. The 690 on the English is fine for a non-native speaker, and you got an 800 on the math - nothing you do regarding math on the ACT can top that. Even if you were to get a perfect 36 on the ACT, all it shows is that the ACT is easier than the SAT in English - and everyone already knows that, it’s why applicants from China take the ACT.

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