Should I Give Up Ivy Dreams and get more realistic? Chance Me Please! (Rising Junior)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Background Info:
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian American
Grade: Sophomore
Financial Aid: No Clue Yet
College Major: Undecided
Class Rank: 2/490-ish</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<p>FRESHMAN
PAP: English I, Geometry, World Geography, Biology, Spanish II
Honors: Academic Decathlon
Regular: Symphonic Band (Highest Band At the Time)
Received All A’s</p>

<p>Summer: 1 of 75 students selected to attend the Honors Summer Math Camp at Texas State University</p>

<p>SOPHOMORE:
PAP: English II, Algebra II, Chemistry, Computer Science, Spanish III
AP: World History
Regular: Honors Band
Not Sure But Pretty Sure All A’s (Not Finalized)
PSAT: 195 (Did not study but I took a Prep Class since then so I think my score has improved… hopefully…)</p>

<p>Summer: Go back to Math Camp but to do research with a mentor/professor hopefully in financial mathematics</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:</p>

<p>Honors/Marching Band: 9th, 10th (Drum Major)
Business Professionals of America: 10th (Co-Founder/Co-President)
Student Council: 10th (Treasurer)
Spanish Club: 9th (Secretary), 10th
NHS: 10th
Future Problem Solvers (5th-10th)
Interact: 9th, 10th (Treasurer)
Robotics: 10th
UIL Academics (Ready Writing): 10th
Academic Decathlon: 9th</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Kumon: (March 2009-Present)- 5-10 hrs/week
Independent Educational Consultant (Euphemism for FPS Evaluator): 10th</p>

<p>Community Service:
VITA Certified Tax Volunteer (Help Low Income Families File Tax Returns)-10th
Hua Xia Chinese School Library Assistant-10th
100+ hours from Various Volunteer Work
Started a Book Drive that Raised over 700 Books to Students in Uganda through Interact-9th/10th</p>

<p>Awards:
Got an article published in Chinese Newspaper-8th
Region Band: 10th
Solo and Ensemble: (9th, 10th) First Division Ratings Both Years
United States Academic Achievement Scholar in English (One of those yearbook organizations, but I didn’t have to pay for anything so I signed up anyway:))-10th
All A’s Award (9th Grade, Projected to have it in 10th Grade)
Advanced to State Every Year for FPS Since 5th Grade
~~5th Place /62 Teams at FPS State Bowl (9th Grade)
5th Place at UIL Academic District Meet in Ready Writing (Placed higher in a bunch of invitational’s though)
1st Place Area for Robotics (Advanced to State)</p>

<p>Next Year Stuff:</p>

<p>Debate (Either LD or Original Oratory)
BPA Competitions
Spanish National Honor Society (Hopefully)
Spanish Competitions?</p>

<p>Interested Colleges:</p>

<p>UT Austin (Safety, a Very Good Safety with Strong Business&Engineering)
UPenn (Dream)
MIT (Not Mathy Enough so Dream)
UC Berkeley (Reach)
HYP (Dreams)</p>

<p>I only have one safety because Texas has the top 10% rule and so I think I'll still stay in the top 10% hopefully and get into UT automatically and both Cockrell and McCombs are excellent schools</p>

<p>What are my chances?</p>

2

<p>Why not add Stanford, Northwestern and Cornell to your list? All are similar to the types of schools your looking at and NW and Cornell may be less of a reach (though still are none the less).</p>

<p>You could probably get significant merit aid at schools like UMich</p>

3

<p>You have an excellent shot. Just raise that PSAT/SAT score and you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>It’s 4:14 am on the east coast, so I’ll ta-ta for now, but I’ll try to get back to this tomorrow.</p>

4

<p>I think this is a great example of doing TOO many EC’s. While having all these things look great on a college application, WHERE’S THE PASSION? Where’s the drive to do something that you care about. It may just be me, but it doesnt seem as if you are doing anything because you truley love doing. If you are, then be sure–when the time arrives–to say so in your application. Other than that you are looking in great shape (You would be a good candidate for HYP).</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>supersizeme</p>

5

<p>To supersizeme:</p>

<p>Yeah, I’ve been having that problem for some reason it’s just that I don’t know which organizations to quit. Most of the clubs I’m in are very low maintenance so I keep them in because at most I just have to attend the twice a month meetings and do my share of officer work which can easily get done within 2 weeks if I divide it out evenly.</p>

<p>I think I am doing all these things to try and find what I really like because I currently have no idea and I honestly enjoy everything I’m doing because I’m involved in all of them (except the competition based clubs such as FPS of which you just kind of go to the meetings to get research information)…</p>

6

<p>Oh and I took some practice exams (more than 5) and my highest so far has been a 2230… but it will probably be lower (though I hope not) when I go take my SAT in June…</p>

7

<p>I mean I certainly don’t think you should knock any of these schools off of your list, but I do think you should ADD safeties to it. If you can get scores above a 2200 you really will be competitive however there honestly is no way of knowing what HYP is looking for so just to be safe I would add some more top U’s that are less competitive. Like maybe some schools from the top 10-20 (Vanderbilt, Duke, etc.), and some from the top 20-30 range (Emory, Rice, NYU etc.).</p>

8

<p>Hmmm, that’s a good idea, I should consider other safeties. I heard Rice and Vanderbilt were pretty good in engineering/business as well… :)</p>

9

<p>Yeah, no offense but it looks like your ECs are a laundry list just for college-app purposes. I totally respect that you enjoy all of your clubs and I don’t think that you should quit any just to LOOK more focused… but once it comes time (in a YEAR AND A HALF lol) to fill out your apps, you should definitely kind of drive your app in one direction rather than filling out everything to look “well-rounded” or super busy all the time (which, clearly, you are). That being said… it’s really hard to chance sophomores who haven’t taken the SAT and who only have one year’s worth of finalized grades under their belt. Try to stop worrying about college and enjoy high school while it lasts! You’re definitely on the right track for all the colleges you listed.</p>

10

<p>To jamiroquai:</p>

<p>I totally agree I just don’t know which direction drive at it. I mean it’s just that most of these organizations, (NHS, FPS, Student Council) are very low maintenance and easy to manage so I still am in them and my school is not that competitive (I mean they do have smart people) so I have time to do all of these and still keep up with my schoolwork (for the most part… o.o). </p>

<p>I’m interested in business/engineering so perhaps I should get more focused on BPA and maybe start a JETS… hmmm…</p>

11

<p>bump :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDd</p>

12

<p>Hmmm. I was accepted this year at UPenn and Princeton but chose Berkeley. So I can advise you on three of the schools you want to attend. However, you must take into account that for Berkeley, I was an instate student, therefore, it was much, much easier for me to get into Berkeley than for you. </p>

<p>I too am Asian, though I’m an immigrant. I don’t know if that makes any difference. But I will offer you some suggestions. </p>

<p>Right now, it’s truly too early to decide. What I would suggest (that is, if you are sure that you will go into business) is look into internship. I know that Wharton (if you apply there–I applied to College of Arts and Science) internship is very important along with leadership skills, which you seem to lack. If I were you, I would really try to find something you are truly passionate about and try to obtain some form of leadership position, preferably presidency (I noticed that a lot of your ECs are scattered. It’s okay if you are truly passionate about them, but there is a thin line in college adcoms eyes between well balanced individual and the notorious EC hoarder). I for one had only 4 important ECs (Best Buddies, Art, Speech and Debate, along with Academic Decathlon). I only had 2 internships (CA assemblyman’s intern, and UCSD lab assistant) so I know for sure that you do not need to crowd your resume with pages and pages of ECs. But I cannot stress enough how important PASSION is. Colleges don’t want one dimensional students, especially one dimensional Asian students (there are so many of us out there that are qualified that you really have to stand out somehow). So really have something, anything, that you are passionate about and stick to it. It doesn’t even matter if it is not academic related. </p>

<p>Another trend I noticed is that most people tend to think that perfect, or nearly perfect SAT scores are the gateway to the Ivies and other prestigious universities. I can tell you that this is not the case. Class rank, ECs, essay and recommendations are all more important. That is not to say that you should blow off your SAT. If you get into the range of 2250 and above, you should be fine. I had a 2260 on my SAT and my school’s salutarian had something like 2370 on his. Not to sound arrogant but rather to give you a personal example of this, while I got into all my schools except for Columbia (I was waitlisted), he did not get into any ivies he applied to. </p>

<p>Also, you need to start considering who will write your letter of rec for you. This is really important. I started this step rather late, but I was lucky enough to have two teachers who genuinely liked me as an individual and a student. You need to start finding two or three teachers how will write such an astounding letter that it would blow the adcoms away. It is best to look for teachers who know you well (so you might have to take some initiative to know some of your favorite teachers more), who are good writers (this is really important because they will have to have the ABILITY to communicate to the teachers how absolutely wonderful you are), and who also like you as an individual and respect you as a student. </p>

<p>Your essay is truly important. You can be as amazing as you can be with your scores, your achievement and your rank. But if you came out as boring, arrogant, insecure, whiny, or all of the above, you have no shot. Essays are CRUCIAL. </p>

<p>As for now, you are doing a good job. explore the ecs and find a few that you love and stick with them. Do well in some form of competition (although this is not always necessary), and do something meaningful over the summer (and I don’t mean the cliched “life changin trips to africa”). </p>

<p>Good luck in a couple years ! :)</p>

13

<p>UCs aren’t good choices for out of staters. UCB is expensive and as hard to get into as an Ivy. I’d recommend eliminating it unless you have money to burn. (I’m assuming you’re a Texas resident).</p>

14

<p>the thing is, the top 20ish schools all have roughly the same education, so when you reach a point, you’re paying for the brand name. When you walk into an interview, you’re able to say you went to an ivy league school. think of it as the most expensive toilet paper you will ever buy. If you have the money, great, if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world.</p>

15

<p>I think that you’re on the same boat as most other Asian applicants (sorry), so you need to stand out and shine through unique ECs and essays, plus a small bump in an SAT score can never hurt. You’re class rank is excellent, and I wish you the best of luck! :)</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/699897-am-i-track-ivies-duke-wake-vanderbilt-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/699897-am-i-track-ivies-duke-wake-vanderbilt-3.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>To KitKatz:</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your awesome advice! However, I don’t think I lack that much leadership as you have stated because I am an active officer in 5 organizations of our school. I am very good at recruiting members and advertising. However I do realize that perhaps I should focus in on a few things but it’s just hard for me to choose. I believe I can still continue on with some of these activities, I just won’t put them into my college application if I have better credentials with another organization. :)</p>

<p>To big dreamer:</p>

<p>I don’t think it’s correct in saying that I’m just like every other Asian person out there. I know plenty of Asian people who aren’t as “competitive” as people stereotypically think most if not all Asians are. However, I do appreciate your advice about shining out and I think I have achieved a little bit of that ( I hope) because of three things:</p>

<p>Our high school was brand new (inaugural year) when I arrived there as a freshmen:</p>

<p>As secretary for the Spanish Club (9th grade), I did most of the work (my sponsor realized that) and successfuly managed to get over 50 members (of which 350-ish are fully active) involved in numerous projects such as reading to the ESL kids in elementary schools.</p>

<p>Since I was an officer for Student Council and Interact, and a member of FPS: I was able to create along with a lot friends, a program that aimed at making sure 4th graders passed the Math TAKS (standardized state test) by looking at how they did on the 3rd grade TAKS and making sure that the students who failed or were on borderline recieve extra, fun tutoring so they could develop a strong foundation in math. I was able to get a lot of people involved in this through these 3 organizations and our Future Problem Solvers also has Community Service competition part to as well so we will turn in our projects for competition next year.</p>

<p>I was also one of three drum majors selected (people that conduct during marching shows) out of an organization of over 150 people and effectively helped keep the morale of the band and raise their dedication levels during the fall semester of this year.</p>

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<p>Oh and I’m sorry I didn’t put what I just said above on the Original post because I just basically used the collegeconfidential statprofile creator and then I just kinda copied and pasted. On the statprofile I just listed out everything but I’ll be sure to add details when I do this again hopefully in my junior year again. :)</p>

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<p>I don’t think you should give up on your Ivy Dreams, but I think you should also get more realistic. Here, again, is your list:
UT Austin (Safety, a Very Good Safety with Strong Business&Engineering)
UPenn (Dream)
MIT (Not Mathy Enough so Dream)
UC Berkeley (Reach)
HYP (Dreams)</p>

<p>I think what is wrong with this list is the lack of match schools. There is nothing wrong with including as many reaches as you want, and the strategy of using UT as a safe school makes a lot of sense. However, there are a lot of excellent schools in between Penn and UT, and you should be thinking about some of them. Places like Vanderbilt, Emory, Tufts, perhaps some LACs. Get a book like the 368 Best Colleges and read it.</p>

<p>Oh, and if you’re in Texas, you really have to consider Rice!</p>

19

<p>I agree on adding some matches.</p>

<p>

You are right. But you can’t argue against higher SAT = better. Simply put, if you’re Asian, requirements will be higher. A 2200 SAT will be below average, and you don’t want to be fighting an uphill battle trying to convince adcoms.</p>

<p>

I somewhat disagree. UCB is very numbers oriented, so if you have good stats (SATs + GPA + ranking etc.) it is much easier than an Ivy. I’m international (so around 2-3% admit rate for Berkeley) and got in off high SATs and grades. Not to diminish the importance of essays, but Berkeley seems to value numbers more than private schools.</p>

<p>And like others have said, there doesn’t seem to be much focus/passion in your app. It’s still early, but you should start thinking about leadership positions, and dedicating more time to a couple ECs.</p>

20

<p>When I said that you “are in the same boat as most other Asian applicants” I poorly stated that you gus have it a bit tougher when it comes to Ivies because the Asian population has the stereotype of being more naturally gifted (and rightfully so) when it comes to academics. The Asian applicant pool seems so cutthroat and uber-competitive that it’s immensely difficult to really stand out.</p>

<p>I really hope that you can get into an Ivy-type school, as I share similar collegiate :)dreams as you (Brown’s my favorite college!).</p>