Sophomore's Chances at Ivy Leagues

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello! I just joined College Confidential and I just want a few questions answered. </p>

<p>I have been in US since 7th grade, and I am now a Sophomore in West Lafayette Junior/Senior High School, IN. My high school is a public school--right beside Purdue University, ranked #19 best STEM school and #2 Indiana Schools according to US News. So, pretty big competition/quite a lot of difficult courses in our school.</p>

<p>I have always been wondering if I could try for some good engineering schools, or just science related (preferably medical or biochemistry) in general, perhaps a higher tier or two than Purdue University.</p>

<p>Here is some of the things I do, I really hope someone can provide some assistance, thanks!</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Student Recognition Award
4.0 GPA (As or A+s)
Honors English, Honors Geometry, Honors Biology
German II, Speech, Intro to 2D Art, PE I && II, World History</p>

<p>Science Fair: 1st College of Science Dean's Award in Life Science
Bronze in Biochemistry category</p>

<p>German: AATG 97% percentile, several awards in local contests</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
4.0 GPA
Honors English, Honors Algebra II/Precalculus, Honors Chemistry, Computer Science AP
German III, Photo I && II, Health, Etymology</p>

<p>Student Council Secretary (Rep for three years.) ~40 hours volunteer
WeSSO--volunteer organization in school ~15 hours volunteer</p>

<p>NCWIT Runner up in Indiana Affliate</p>

<p>Mu Alpha Theta</p>

<p>Junior Year: (next year's schedule)
Calculus AB/BC AP, Biology AP, Chemistry AP, German AP, Physics Honors
World History, Debate, English Literature B</p>

<p>EXTRA CURRICULAR:
Fencing (2 Years)
Tennis (2 Years, Varsity next year)
FIRST Robotics Team 461 (We've won a few chairmans, I'd say we are pretty good.)
RESEARCH (over 160 hours) from June to October for Purdue University iGEM Team 2012 on water quality and biofilms. Qualified for MIT finals.</p>

<p>Piano (more than one decade)
Has won several first places in State competitions</p>

<p>Art
Favorite hobby of all time. I paint, draw, do photography, etc. But I only participated in very few contests, in which I won most of them. (local ones.)</p>

<p>WORK:
I sell handmade artwork on Etsy for over a year--and I have generated over 2000 dollars in profit for my college fund.</p>

<p>One of my goals is to publish my completed manuscript for a novel before senior year.</p>

<hr>

<p>I know I have not completed many things other than academics related competitions, so I am trying to find out what else I could do to make the best of my high school years.
Getting into an Ivy League college would be one of my goals, but I don't want to build my life around that either--I want to try everything and learn everything, but of course, there isn't anyone with time like that.
I am wondering--what could I do to maximize my chances? Of course, I'd want to try and get one of the prestigious prizes such as Intel or Scholastic Gold Keys, but I don't have time to manage everything. What would you recommend?</p>

<p>I love art--and I would love to make something out of that too. Should I start an art portfolio, would colleges like the fact that I am very passionate about something that I would enjoy, although my intended major/field will have nothing to do about it?</p>

<p>Currently, I am trying my best to aim for MIT, HARVARD, JOHNS HOPKINS, PRINCETON, Cal-Tech and a few others. I know it is doable--about 10-20% of the kids in my school get in them annually. I am of the top percentage, but of course, I want to try and attempt to be the best, too.</p>

<p>Thank you for your time--it is very appreciated. I am the first child of the family/extended family in United States and I have no idea what I should do.</p>

2

<p>MIT, JHU and Caltech look at research and GPA/test scores a little more. </p>

<p>Harvard and Pton are much more erratic. </p>

<p>If you keep up the good work, MIT, Caltech, and JHU should be high matches/low reaches.
Harvard and Pton are reaches for almost everyone.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your reply!
I am currently looking for some summer opportunities–but most great programs only offer research summer camps for juniors and seniors in high school.</p>

<p>I think MIT would definitely be my dream choice–although my parents are big fans of Harvard. I just have to work very hard for SAT scores–from the few practice tests I took, it seems like everything is out of reach.</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

4

<p>MIT, in my opinion, probably looks the least at test scores/GPA. Their average “accepted” GPA was around 3.87 a couple years ago, which is quite a bit below the others you mentioned (except maybe Johns Hopkins). Also, they specifically mentioned on their mitadmissions website (which is awesome to read through when/if you have any free time) that they literally only glance through metrics such as test scores and class rank. </p>

<p>However, they weigh research and extracurriculars very highly in their process. In my opinion (again), this makes a lot of sense. There’s tons and tons of people with 35-36 ACTs and 4.0 GPAs, but, there’s far fewer people who are able to produce meaningful research and actually have a passion in a particular area that they would like to develop. Your research experience for iGEM will not go wasted.</p>

5

<p>That makes sense, seeing how MIT prizes research experiences and results above a lot of the other criteria for admissions. In my opinino, the time I spent in iGEM is definitely something new, awesome, and I learnt so many, many things from the particular experience. Will getting a paid job as an intern in Purdue University facilities help? I was only fifteen the previous summer, so even if they offered me pay, I was unable to accept due to state laws.</p>

<p>Thank you for your opinions and tips! (PS: Do you recommend doing anything special for the coming summer? I plan to attend Harvard SSP if I get in, or perhaps one in Johns Hopkins or University of Chicago.</p>

6

<p>too much identifying info here - adcoms read these posts, and down the line you may not wish to be so clearly identified on the internet for numerous reasons.</p>