Updated Senior Chance Me for Stanford, Ivies, Berkeley, T10s!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone, I’m a senior who made a chance me a few months ago, but I’ve got a few updates to the app and wanted to see where I am now. I’m submitting Stanford REA in a few days, so this is basically the finale! Thanks for any feedback :slight_smile:

Schools: Stanford (REA), Harvard, UPenn LSM (dual degree)/Wharton, Oxford (UK), MIT, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, UChicago, Brown, Duke, NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, WashU St. Louis, Drexel

General Stats: Missouri, Large Public High School (2400-2500 people), South Asian (Indian), Male, Rank top 1%

Test Scores:

GPA: 4.0 UW/4.67 W
ACT: 35 (E 36/M 36/R 33/S 35) w/ Writing 10
SAT: 1560 (M 800/RW 760) w/ Writing 17 (yikes)
PSAT/NMSQT: 1500
SAT II: World History 800, Math II 800, Chemistry 800, Physics 800, Spanish 730
APs: Calc BC (5), World History (5), Physics 1 (5), Comp Sci A (5), Chemistry (5), English Lang and Comp (5), Stats (5), Spanish Lang (5), Physics 2 (5)
Senior Year Courseload: AP (Bio, Econ [Macro+Micro], Psych, Capstone [Seminar+Research], French), non-AP (Organic Chem, English), Dual Enrollment (Calc III)

Major Awards (With Level of Recognition):

  1. Intel ISEF Finalist 2019 and ISEF Special Award Winner -- INTL
  2. Second author on academic paper in NeuroImage (IF ~5.5), flagship journal of my field of research -- INTL
  3. Invited Oral Presenter alongside PhDs and professors at 2019 International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology in Seoul, South Korea, w/ abstract published in peer-reviewed journal (IF ~2.5) -- INTL
  4. Princeton Creative Arts and Humanities Symposium National Delegate (<100 HS seniors nominated and chosen nationwide to attend fully-funded humanities symposium at Princeton) -- NATL
  5. Invited Oral Presenter at 2019 International Young Researchers' Conference in Tokyo (online submission, paper in conference proceedings) -- INTL Intel Excellence in Comp Sci Award -- NATL
  6. Missouri JSHS Finalist and Regional Science Fair Winner -- STATE
  7. Kukkiwon-certified 4th Dan Black Belt/Master of Taekwondo -- INTL
  8. 2018 TKD Gold Medalist/State Champ at MO State and IL State and 2018 TKD KS State Silver Medalist -- STATE
  9. 2018 MO SIFMA Stock Market Game Winner -- STATE
  10. National Merit Semifinalist -- NATL
  11. National AP Scholar (lol ig it means something???) -- NATL

Extracurriculars (Leadership in Parentheses):

  1. Student researcher for 3 years in neuroimaging lab at WashU St. Louis
  2. Summer 2019 visiting student researcher at Oxford University (UK) John Radcliffe Hospital
  3. Global entrepreneurship firm (Founder and CEO) – work with 20 HS/College students internationally to promote young entrepreneurs in emerging market countries w/ web-dev/media. Worked with 10 entrepreneurs to date in Africa, SE Asia, and Latin America.
  4. Model UN (Regional Undersecretary General & School President)
  5. Taekwondo athlete ~10 years (Instructor/Coach)
  6. Investment and Economics Club (Founder & President)
  7. 2018 independent summer researcher at UPenn Med School
  8. TED style Local Interdisciplinary Science Conference (Founder and Organizer)
  9. Education access nonprofit (Regional coordinator) – no longer w/ them

LORs:

  1. Science Research Teacher (had every year of HS, offered to write LOR, wrote a lot about my academic interests and how I want to make my scientific research translational to address social issues)
  2. AP Spanish Teacher (fav teacher, very good relationship with her and we chat outside of class/school in both Spanish and French, only writes ~2 recs a year bc most of her AP students are seniors, wrote mainly about my interest in global affairs and language ability [speaking 6 languages fluently and self learning French+Portuguese and now Mandarin+Korean] and desire to use language to impact my communities)
  3. Oxford Professor (possibly most valuable, amazed by my work and asked me to write a draft rec for him that he would revise/modify bc he's unfamiliar with both American and undergrad LORs, wrote about my intellectual ability and curiosity and potential to propel academia and society forward as a leader)
  4. College Counselor (she's new, but her rec got me into the Princeton symposium and I really had her emphasize how I'm connecting my academic, social, and extracurricular life into one big picture. Since I made the symposium, I'm guessing the rec is good)

Intended Majors: Cognitive Science/Psych, Linguistics, and International Relations

Intended Career Interests (which most applications are based on): Studying psycholinguistic basis of behavior to understand mental health and implications of global policy on issues of suicide, depression, anxiety, EDs

Essays:

Common App: A spin on Oreos (yes, the cookie) that exemplifies my academic interests and desire for diverse learning by reflecting on food’s connection to language and culture, mental health issues, eating disorders, and the concept of simply eating an Oreo.

Supplementals: Really emphasized my desire to study everything in a more globalized context—especially as someone coming from a somewhat homogenous region of the Midwest. Used examples from global research, entrepreneurship, and language learning to drill this idea home. They speak to my personality and interests too, so they’re quite unique and doubt any of these same ideas would show up too often.

2

Some additions, sorry I missed them:

I’m also currently dual enrolled in Calc III at CC.

My 4th rec is my college counselor, who’s new to my school this year, but her rec got me into the Princeton symposium and I really had her emphasize how I’m connecting my academic, social, and extracurricular life into one big picture. Since I made the symposium, I’m guessing the rec is good.

Lastly, I’d like to say the “uniqueness” of my supplementals is probably only applicable to Stanford because those are a bit quirkier. I should’ve specified that by Supplementals, I was mostly addressing Stanford’s.

3

I don’t know why you are asking. You have near perfect scores across the board and amazing accomplishments. Nobody is a lock at these schools but obviously you have as good a shot as anyone.

4

You are in at Missouri.

Great resume.

5

@Greymeer thanks! but what do you mean by “in at Missouri”?

6

Congratulations on your achievements…you will be competitive at many of the schools on your list. Drexel is a match/highly likely, the rest are reaches. Are you applying to more match schools? A safety? Any budget constraints?

Based on your college list it looks like you are chasing prestige…some of the schools on your list are So. Very. Different. it is difficult to imagine they appeal to the same student, and that said student would be able to write compelling ‘Why Us?’ essays.

With that said, good luck this admissions season, I expect you will have some very good options.

7

@Mwfan1921 Thank you! Drexel is my safety, as I already have the full tuition scholarship from ISEF. I’d say UCLA and NYU are closer to “match” schools.

Regarding school differences, I’ve already writing all my Why School essays, and I’ve actually narrowed this list down and know what I like in each school :slight_smile:

8

Any school with under 20% acceptance rate is a reach for all applicants. I don’t know what major you would be applying to at UCLA, but certain majors have single digit acceptance rates.

Good to know, but remember admissions are based on how a school perceives the applicant’s potential fit rather than what the applicant likes/perceives of their own fit.

9

It’s an aggressive resume. Now, do you understand the softer elements that play an important role? Not aggressive, alone. Not all Mr Go-Getter?

Don’t make their eyes glaze over. Understand what the writing is meant to convey. Show your match to what they look for, in holistic. And for those majors, a humanities core LoR would have more weight than Spanish.

10

And ps. Re the comment that it’s Missouri, as if that’s an underrepresented state among applicants, it’s not. Many fine candidates.

11

Your stats are good, but your chances are lousy, because these are hyper-selective schools. My advice, don’t choose a school based on rankings. They’re pretty much useless. A school choice really should be based on affordability and fit for you, which means you have to really spend time researching. Have you thought about scholarships?

12

All the objectives are there, including top recognition. Can’t see you not making the first cut at any of these schools. Suspect you will make it to the final table at most if not all of them (if you make it that far, chances are numerically >33%±, at least that is what it would be for Yale). Then it will become much more subjective as the AO’s try to build their class, and it becomes a question of how you fit. The LoR’s and essays (and maybe interviews) now play a more significant role as the AO’s try to figure out who you are and how you would fit. The only apparent question mark I have is your essay based on the Oreo. It sounds like it could be fun and quirky in a good way, but it might come off as quirky and contrived in a bad way. Has an unbiased adult reviewed it? If you get into or even deferred to Stanford, it should be safe to use. If you are rejected, based on your stellar objectives, I might want to reconsider your essays.

13

Are the UCs affordable? No financial/merit aid for OOS students.

The general rule of thumb for college recommendations is 2 teachers and the counselor recommendation. The teachers should be ones from core classes, so I would not go with the Oxford recommendation unless that’s a supplemental one.

14

@BKSquared Thank you for the feedback! The plan with my common app essay sounds really smart, thanks for that!!

@Hamurtle FinAid won’t be a major issue. And yup, the Oxford professor is a supplemental recommendation!

15

Congratulations…OP…this maybe one of the best resumes I have seen for the class of 2024. Stats, International awards, published papers, different types of EC’s, not from a uber competitive state, and not going for a uber competitive major. All columns check. I can also sense that you can afford most universities (this is a pure guess… honestly people who get that kind of research opportunities in hs are generally from high income bracket) - just make sure this is true. You should be able to get into most - if there are doubts it would be around lower rated universities that are conscious of yield rate. well done and good luck.

About the fit, I get that, its all about fit and Univ care about admitting the students who can fit. But what better fit than academic readiness and chances of doing well academically? - this should be top most on most if not all Univ and that is the reason we generally see top students getting admission at multiple places.

16

“what better fit than academic readiness and chances of doing well academically?”

Aha! See, that’s the rub. They’re building communities, not looking for just best at this or high award in that. Far from just academic abilities. A difference many Chance Me kids miss

They get thousands of top performer apps with good ECs. The right rounding and personal traits matter very much.

I’m not sure about the essay, either.

17

WE love that you added CAHS in there already (; ayee #cahscrackheads <3
also I need to change my username so I’m anonymous ■■■■

18

I agree with @hs2020dad - probably the strongest stats I’ve seen in a while. You’re competitive at all the schools you listed. If your Stanford supplemental essays paint a picture of a student with intellectual curiosity that they value you should have a good chance. Hope you spent some time on them :wink:

19

You have as much chance as anybody else out there, meaning - not much. For all of your excellent accomplishments, there is a good chance that you will be rejected from all of your reaches. You are great, but these colleges reject many more great applicants than they accept.

You REALLY either need some matches, or be absolutely OK with attending Drexel.

UCLA’s acceptance rate last year was 12%, and NYU’s was 16%. This year I wouldn’t be surprised if this year UCLA’s will drop to 10% or lower, and NYU’s will almost certainly be below 15%. Neither is a “match” for anybody, even somebody with your profile.

Good luck, but you may be setting yourself up for severe disappointment.

20

You check all the boxes. I’d be surprised if you weren’t accepted at Stanford. Post here if you do. Best of luck!