UC Irvine, Berkeley, Hopkins, HYPS Chance ME!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Gender: M
Ethnicity: Asian
Location: California
College Class Year: 2013
High School: Public</p>

<p>Academics:
My school blocks the gpa at 4.32, but if i were to continue augmenting it, I would have around a 4.92
Class Rank: 1/554
Course selection:
Freshman Year:
AP Human Geography 5
Alg II, Physics, Spanish III</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
AP European History 5
AP Spanish Language 4
AP Biology 4
Trig/Precalc Honors</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Calc AB 5
AP Music Theory 3
AP US History 5
AP Spanish Literature 3 (Independent Study) (I actually had a class period for this, but I was the only student and it was me independently reading the required readings)
AP Chemistry 3 :(
AP English Language 4</p>

<p>Then I also independently studied AP Art History 3 :( and AP World History 5(very similar to AP Euro) and took both of those exams too</p>

<p>Next Year (Senior Year):
Possibly
AP Calc BC
AP Enviro Science
AP Eng. Lit
AP Gov (Both comparative and US)
AP Physics C (although i will independently study for 'B' too and take all 3 exams)
AP Statistics
AP Computer Science AB (or A if AB is discontinued)</p>

<p>..i might also consider independently studying ap psychology and/or ap economics over the summer and take those exams</p>

<p>Scores:
SAT total 2110 (Will retake)
ACT -32
SAT II
Math II: 780
US History: 740
Biology Molecular: 730
Chemistry: 710</p>

<p>ECs
-Math Team captain 4 years
-Middle Eastern Indian Club Leader for 2 years
--Science Olympiad Chairperson and placed 1st-2nd in regional and state events (9th-12th grades)
-MUN Secretary general for my school and participation for 4 years
-Piano for 10 years
-Tennis all 4 years of highschool
-i'm doing a research internship at UCSF this summer
- have 12 credits (units) at community college for classes i took last summer
-Relay for life club -4 years American Cancer Society
-150 volunteer hours at hospital</p>

<p>Recs
-I have 2 great teachers who'll write me recommendations</p>

<p>Question
-Senior year, should I participate in the Academic Decathlon (my school usually wins 3rd-4th at the state competition) and cut down on my AP classes or should I not do Academic Decathlon and have a large number of AP classes. I might get the AP State Scholar award for most AP exams taken.</p>

<p>Colleges of interest
Harvard
Stanford
Princeton
Brown
John Hopkins
UC Berkeley
UC Irvine</p>

<p>I'm planning on majoring in Bio/PreMed, Political Science or maybe even History</p>

<p>so where do i have the greatest chance? thanks</p>

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<p>I don't think that as an ORM with only good test scores you will get into HYPS. With those it's always about the story you tell, but there doesn't seem to be that with the ECs you list. </p>

<p>I don't know enough about the UC system to talk about Berkeley.</p>

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<p>bump bump bump</p>

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<p>Don't start academic decathlon senior year...it's a waste of time, for one thing, and it's best to do something all four years of high school</p>

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<p>Harvard - high reach
Stanford - reach
Princeton - high reach
Brown - low reach
John Hopkins - IN
UC Berkeley - low reach
UC Irvine - IN</p>

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<p>bump bump bump</p>

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<p>Fastfood - you're right about test scores. For entry into top colleges, its almost required to have good test scores as an ORM, and then some. </p>

<p>But umar, your test scores are not good compared to the people youll be up against. 2100 on the SAT/32 on the ACT is usually the bare minimum for most URMs. I'd say the unwritten cutoff is about 2250 for unhooked applicants, and since you're ORM, bump that up to 2300.</p>

<p>Also, I'm confused about your AcDec conflict with APs. Have you already taken enough APs to be competitive for the AP State Scholar award? Because if you take a bunch senior year, they would have to wait until your scores are out aka. you've already committed to a college. The award would come wayyyy too late for college admissions.</p>

<p>Your chances to the ivies are very low, and not sure about UCs. I guess UC Irvine is your safety?</p>

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<p>bump bump bump</p>

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<p>ehh..pre-med and poli sci are two completely different branches of studies. How about you apply as "undecided"?</p>

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<p>Harvard-high reach
Stanford-high reach
Princeton-high reach
Brown-reach
Johns Hopkins-reach
UC Berkeley-match if you are in state(reach if you are not)
UC Irvine-safety</p>

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<p>I think you are are a highly accomplished student who is, academically, a fit at every one of those schools, and yet you cannot count on entrance to any of them. Your SAT scores do need to be higher for Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton. Your resume shows you are a high achiever; your application must show you are motivated by a love of learning, or a strong and genuine desire to achieve something beyond admission to HYPS (cure cancer, save the rainforest, etc.). I would recommend you do something as a senior that really interests you...something that you can write about passionately. Science, Math, Piano and Tennis are all long-term committments for you; use your skills at one of them to do something that excites you. I have a feeling you might want to think about omitting "Pres. of ...Indian Club". Exclusivity of that sort will probably not help an ORM.</p>

<p>Also, you need to round out that list to include some excellent schools outside of the tippity top ones (in the top 20-50 range) and apply to at least five UC's. It is of great comfort to seniors to have acceptances in hand before winter break. In your case you may even have a stellar aid package from a very respectable private school to buoy you until the responses to the UC's and the HYPSish schools are out.</p>

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<p>thank you Schmoomcgoo, urs is probably the only honest opinion i've heard on this site, highly appreciated!</p>

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<p>I would apply to UCSD (i would say matchish) and another UC, maybe UCSB (safety)? Your class rank is awesome, but your test scores aren't the best when comparing to schools like Harvard and Stanford. Even Brown will be a pretty big stretch. In recent years, Brown has gotten a lot more exclusive and trying to market itself as in the same league as Harvard (one of the better Ivies). I wouldn't bother applying to Harvard and such. You <em>are</em> a great student (remind me a lot of myself) and I'm sure you will enjoy success in whatever college you chose to go to, but I can almost guarantee you that you won't be accepted to Harvard and the other uber-elite schools. Cal is definitely possible, and I think you will have a great experience in the UCs.</p>

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<p>if i was able to boost my SAT score to around 2300, then would i have a much greater shot at these schools?</p>

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<p>Since you are '09, I would say don't take a bunch of tests to try to get your SAT score up. Its hard to bump it up at the higher levels, unless you are an intelligent underachiever. With your rank and such it seems you are already operating at near the highest level you can. What concerns me is your extremely high rank yet your mediocre (for your rank, don't worry, most people don't even approach 4s for AP, 700+ for SAT IIs, and etc) test scores. If you take two more tests and you get 2300 superscored, it won't look <em>that</em> much better because colleges will just think that you did some intense test prep and it doesn't show much. I mean if you think you can do significantly better for sure, then go for it, but I am wary to recommend someone take a 3+ hour test and only raise their scores by 50 points and look like a obsessive grade grubber. Truthfully, you rank already shows your academic merit. I would concentrate on crafting your applications well with what you have now and getting all As in your senior classes.</p>

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<p>bump bump bump</p>

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<p>bump bump bump</p>

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<p>OK, I'll give it a try.</p>

<p>You are very good at taking tough classes and getting As. That is commendable. You have taken the very toughest load available. But.... be careful what you wish for. Your test scores indicate, as the poster above noted, that you are operating at peak capacity already. What will happen if you get into a Top 10 school, where your fellow students are mostly 2300 - 2400 SAT and all 5s in AP exams, and you've got nothing extra to give? There aren't any more hours in the day! You could *easily get a bunch of Bs and a C or two and realize that others with much faster clock speed than you can work just as hard as you do... that is frustrating. Your disparate performance in GPA and testing makes me wonder whether you attend a lousy high school. It also makes me wonder whether you are the classic GRINDER.</p>

<p>GPA: check plus
Test scores: check minus
ECs: check</p>

<p>I'm afraid for the most selective schools check plus in all three categories is fairly standard, absent a really compelling story about adversity overcome. Remember, there are 27,000 Valedictorians in the US, and probably more like 40,000 considering so many schools put up multiple Vals. there are less than half that many spots at Top 10 freshman classes, and I don't think that many are under 2250 in the SAT or 34 on the ACT.</p>

<p>colleges don't give a wit about "AP Scholar", or whether you've taken a record number of APs... they might wonder whether you have a social life though... AP scholar award is kind of irrelevant and redundant in the same way that belonging to your school's Honor Society is irrelevant to the top schools.</p>

<p>Having said all that, I think you are a match/reach for Northwestern, Wash U, Hopkins, Vandy, ... basically the 10-20 schools. You are a match to both Berkeley and UCLA. UCSB, UCI, UCSD and UCB are all match/safeties for you.</p>

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<p>i don't know...your test scores are all over the place, esp. your APs. you do have a very wide breadth though. i'd say probably in at berkeley, and ivies are all reaches. did youw in a lot of awards for MUN?</p>

<p>chance me back- <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/572875-ivies-ucs.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/572875-ivies-ucs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>P.S. Why UCB and UCI, but not UCSD -- especially considering your interest in pre-med?</p>