Unsure of my chances...please give some advice

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I've started working on my applications and I need to know whether I have a chance at all, so here it goes:</p>

<p>Location: International (country undisclosed for anonymity)</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 (25 on a 25 point scale) and 4.8 Weighted
Class rank: 1 out of 280
I go to an extremely, extremely competitive school with many freakish people.</p>

<p>SAT I:
Reading 800, Math 800, Writing 800, Essay 12 (first-time)</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
Chemistry 800
Math IIC 800
Physics 800</p>

<p>APs:
Calculus BC 5
Statistics 5
Latin 5
Chemistry 5
Physics B 5
World History 5
(NB. I self-studied those APs in a period of basically 2 months since my school doesn't offer any.)</p>

<p>ECs:
-Concertmaster of State Youth Orchestra (144 members) which toured Europe in May and school symphony orchestra (quite dodgy and sounding less-than-average).
-Performed in massive concert in June, 25-min recital which I will submit as a CD (btw, I own a $250,000 violin, sounds awesome)
-Soloist at recent statewide strings festival (with hand-picked ensemble) playing Vivaldi's well-known Four Seasons
-Will perform Mendelssohn Violin Concerto at a famous performance venue later this year with my school orchestra
-Completed national music syllabus grades at the age of 14
-Achieved Associate Musicianship with Honours (this is an extremely highly regarded award in my country, and also means that I can attach the suffix AMus (Hon.) to my name)
-Competed in National Youth Concerto Competition 2007, which aired on radio
-Will get an arts supplement letter of evaluation from my violin teacher, an eminent musician and pedagogue known internationally</p>

<p>-Captained my school's premier debating team, 12(1), runner-up in inter-school trophy competition (our school is exceptionally strong at debating)
-Coached and mentored junior teams (significant involvement, requiring me to attend their debates and basically babysit them)</p>

<p>-Team leader for Maths Teams Challenge (came 2nd and 3rd this year), participated since grade 9.</p>

<p>-Assistant coach for a grade 10 Bball team (and I can also play Bball myself quite well)</p>

<p>-Working as a clerk under work experience at a law firm (16 hours a week)
-Ambassador for Royal Hospital (requires me to escort dignitaries as well as families of patients)
-Infrequently performs as an "Entertainer" sick children at that hospital
-Participated as a volunteer for local multicultural festival (about 24,000 people attended)
-Member of United Nations Youth council in my region, delivered a 15min speech about human rights abuses in China
-Organiser for our school's Open Day, designed the public ads and posters
-Fundraised $500 for 40 Hour Famine
-Member of school Community Service club, went to homeless shelter in afternoons; cooked BBQ for a fundraiser for African schools
-Tutored some indigenous kids at our school under a government scheme (5 hours a week)
-Academic Support Committee member</p>

<p>Leadership roles:
-Prefect, meaning I have to regularly visit a year 8 class and act as a <em>mostly</em> friendly role-model sort of guy (also involves wearing a flashy badge and different tie)
-Student Representative Council, Vice-President
-Invited to attend nationwide leadership conference/summit 2008, as well as other training opportunities
-Captain of my debate team (season is over)
-Concertmaster of my school orchestra
-Informally recognized "Motivational" speaker for senior group
-I actually taught my Chem class for 4 weeks whilst my teacher was away somewhere in Africa!</p>

<p>Other stuff:
-Editor of my school’s annual literary magazine
-Winner of gold medal for the Dux of the school
-Won the Sports Essay, Mathematics, Physics prizes 2007
-Numerous trophies for school music competitions, notably Open Concerto competition, which I have won for the last 5 years
-Had numerous pieces of written work published in the literary magazine (incl. sports essay)
-High Distinction in Science competition held nationwide (top 1 percentile)
-Won top prize ($75 cheque) in national mathematics competition
-Hosted a billet from overseas on an school exchange program
-I have visited Germany, Austria, Singapore, UK, US, France with my school on holiday tours</p>

<p>I have absolutely no clue as to whether I can get into any of these top tier schools:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
MIT
Brown
UPenn
Columbia</p>

<p>As you can see I am aiming quite high. Please be honest in your evaluations. Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>you're in to all of them.</p>

<p>harvard really likes foreign students</p>

3

<p>that's good news. and there aren't any international quotas?</p>

4

<p>I don't think any of these schools are a certainty for anyone. As I've often pointed out, Brown, for example, is very different from Penn (by the way, they like to be called Penn, not UPenn) -- what they all share is a high prestige factor. Because they are not a certainty, and because there are a great many schools that might serve you as well or perhaps better, depending on your interests, learning style, etc., you should determine which of these schools actually appeals to you and then broaden your list to include other similar schools.</p>

5

<p>btw, i heard that they are all need-blind. this means that they don't consider whether your need financial aid right? </p>

<p>more comments please!</p>

6

<p>c'mon bump</p>

7

<p>bump again</p>

8

<p>There really isn't much to say. You look like a solid candidate.</p>

<p>Harvard: Accept/Waitlist
Yale: Accept/Waitlist
Princeton: Accept/Waitlist
MIT: Waitlist/Reject
Brown: Accept
UPenn: Accept
Columbia: Accept</p>

9

<p>In addendum:</p>

<p>There is a limited amount of space on the common application for you to list your extracurricular activities and awards. You also have a limited amount of space to elaborate on your most meaningful activity. Some schools have strict word limits in regard to personal statements, so be wary of those.</p>

<p>Unless you write dreadful essays, you have a great chance at all of these schools.</p>

10

<p>There is always a reach for ivies.
But your amazing.</p>

11

<p>What kwu said is right - there's a limited amount of space, so you should probably choose areas that you're most passionate about/best at (violin especially seems to stand out) and focus on those.</p>

<p>Also, I'm pretty sure those schools aren't need-blind for international applicants. Most schools are only need-blind for Americans - you might want to look up individual schools' policies. But that shouldn't deter you from applying!</p>

12

<p>You have a $250k violin and you're worried about financial aid..?</p>

<p>You have an excellent chance at all of those colleges, daaaang.</p>

13

<p>Thanks guys, for the encouraging news. </p>

<p>@briefingsworth: I realize that on the Activities list (Common App) there are only 4 or 5 spaces. But if you had more, I though you could put them on the Additional Information page?</p>

14

<p>Holy ****</p>

<p><em>staggers back</em></p>

15

<p>wow, perfectionist :/</p>

16

<p>It amazes me when people are smart enough to have an application like OP's, yet still can't work out that they probably have a decent shot at any school.</p>

17

<p>Well, as an international unsure of the competition to the top US colleges, I've gotta judge my chances, test the waters, so to speak, before I decide to apply.</p>

18

<p>You have a very good chance at any of the top schools, though your nationality might slightly affect your chances depending if you are an ORM. I'm guessing that you live in the British commonwealth with your proficiency in English and the presence of a Royal Hospital? I am curious about that national mathematics competition you spoke of in which you received first place but only $75 prize money. I wouldn't assign a monetary value to your achievement in this case. It gives the impression it was a fairly small scale competition regardless of whether other students elsewhere in the nation took part or otherwise.</p>

19

<p>Thanks for chancing me! Knowing my stats now, I would like to tell you that a current student at Stanford told me that, "not to get your hopes up, but if you don't screw up now, there is no reason why you should not get into Stanford or any other of these reach schools - there are other places to stand out in - character, teacher recs, essays " because i told him my ECs were ordinary and i have not won anything prestigious ever. I think you know you are a stellar student, but his advice goes for you too. Blow them away with an honest, heart-felt essay, and you're in for sure. You know you are qualified, now just make sure the adcoms see it too (i don't mean just the numbers)</p>

20

<p>yeap, thanks for the helpful advice.</p>