TAMS Chances: Advice also needed!

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

Ever since my elementary school days, I have always dreamed of being a part of the TAMS program. The prestigious residential program has a curriculum that places heavy emphasis on STEM subjects. Alumni, parents, and representatives from academia and from scientific, mathematical, and engineering professions comprise the selections committee.

As an incoming sophomore, I am planning to apply for the program in the upcoming school year. Any advice concerning the admissions process or responses concerning my admissions chances would be greatly appreciated. Finally, I am not entirely sure if TAMS is a great fit for me.

As previously stated, I am about to enter the 10th grade. I am an Asian male (not sure if that will affect my admissions chances in any way). I attend a small charter school in the DFW area (North Hills Preparatory). The school places heavy emphasis on the IB (International Baccalaureate) program. Students from my current school are required to take a language course, and we have very little courses to choose from. My school is highly competitive.
Class Size: Around 150 students

My grades and test scores:
Grades
6th grade:
Algebra 1: 99
7th grade:
Geometry Honors: 99
8th grade:
Algebra 2 Honors: 98
9th grade (I just completed this year, and I will only mention core subjects for this year+Spanish)
English 1 MYP (No honors courses available): 95
Biology Honors MYP (AP Bio not available for 9th graders): 98
AP Human Geography: 96
Pre-AP Pre-Calculus: 100
MYP Spanish 2B (the bane of my existence): 93
Weighted GPA: 4.23 out of a possible 4.25
Unweighted GPA: 3.98 out of a possible 4.0
Class rank: Ranks are released at the end of the sophomore year, but I think I am in the top 10 in my school

Test Scores:
AP Human Geography: 5
Old SAT (taken in 7th grade, so not the best score out there): I think the score was in the mid-1700s. I will take the new SAT this year.
2018 PSAT/NSMQT: 1430; 750 in math and 680 in reading/writing
Pre ACT (taken twice): Received a 32 both times

Academic awards:
Honorable mention at the Beal Bank Science Fair in 2017 and 2018
Duke Tip

Clubs:
Junior World Affairs Council (JWAC): Freshmen year
Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA): Freshman year

Extracurriculars:
Fencing: Nationally ranked and top 10 in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, and Oklahoma for both U17 and U20.
Viola: Play for the Sinfionetta Ensemble of GDYO, 2nd chair all-region orchestra for 2 consecutive years (8th and 9th)
Cross Country

So, based on the aforementioned stats, do you think I have a decent chance of being accepted into TAMS? If not, what can I do to bolster my application? I still have my sophomore year to improve my application, so any feedback would be helpful.

2

your grades look…amazing. like awesome. your SAT scores are what they’re looking for. you said about being an asian male possibly affecting your chances but i’m sure the school wants to look diverse so it might increase your chances. i might want to mention that i’m also an incoming freshman so i don’t have direct experience, but i’ve talked to a black girl who got in and i think she has the same-ish stuff on her application as you. you’re doing like REAALLLLY good so i’d be surprised if you didn’t get in. just make sure you make good relationships with your teachers. i have to do that since i unfortunately didn’t make much of a good impression on my teachers during my freshman year

3

Will I have to ask my freshmen teachers for recommendations, or my teachers in my sophomore year for recommendations?

4

Hi I’m also going to apply to TAMS this upcoming school year. For the question above, I think they want you to get your recommendations from whichever teachers know you best, so it can be either freshman or sophomore teachers.