What Are My Chances at Stanford, UPenn, UFMichigan, etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, this fall I am looking to apply to the schools listed below. I really want to attend, as many of them are quality schools with good chem departments. I am looking to major in chemistry or biochemistry, or something similar. Not sure how good my chances are, though, and I want to get you guys’ opinions.

Gender: Female
Ethnicity: East Asian

GPA: 3.93/4.0 (weighted)

-AP Chem: 5 (avg. grade: A-)
-AP Bio: 4 (avg. grade: A)
-AP BC Calc: 5 (avg. grade: A-)
-Total AP classes: 11 (will be taking Stats, Physics C, English Lit, and Spanish in senior year)
-ACT: 34
-SAT Reasoning score: 1540 (reading/writing: 760 | math: 780)
-SAT Subject Math II: 780
-SAT Subject Chem: 780
-SAT Subject Bio M: 740
-Class rank: School doesn’t rank

(extracurriculars)
-Red Cross Club chapter board member
-High school symphony orchestra (nationally acclaimed and recognized)
-High school varsity tennis
-Summer camp at CDC
-Research experience at university hospital lab
-Volunteer/event leader at local Sunday school
-Hospital volunteer
-National Honor Society & community volunteer
-Personal interest: writing (got a memoir published in a magazine, won some minor awards)

(other)
-Not sure if this’ll give me some kind of boost, but my personal motivation for studying bio/chem is because I had cancer in the past, and I want to do my own cancer research in the future to develop new treatments. Would provide more of a closing on the door on my own battle against the illness. I plan to somehow incorporate this into my essays.

What I’m mainly worried about is my SAT subject scores, and that my EC activities don’t seem significant. I’m thinking of taking the SAT math II again, but I don’t know if I should put more time into polishing my essays. Right now, a lot of these schools are huge reaches for me (like Stanford), I think.

Applying to:
-Stanford
-John Hopkins
-UC Berkeley
-UPenn
-UChicago
-Northwestern
-University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
-University of Texas, Austin

If you have any other school suggestions, please let me know! Thanks for your inputs.

2

In your essays, you should talk about overcoming the cancer that you had. It shows perserverance and must’ve taught you some things as well.

3

Your scores are great dont worry about them. Your grades are also good. ECs are not weak at all maybe not spectacular but theyre very good. Generally your stats are veey strong but I think that you will win them with your essay, if you write about how your experience with cancer manifested your passion for bio/chem! Definately all these schools are difficult to get accepted to, but I would be very surprised if you didnt make it in at least one of them! Generally I think you are very conpetitive and definately have a chance! Maybe chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20781932#Comment_20781932

4

Your stats are fantastic, but your ECs seem average. The science students who get accepted to multiple selective institutions have accolades such as Intel winners, Chemistry Olympiad finalists, or state science fair winners. I say that you apply early to a place like Penn, where applying early helps more than applying early to Stanford. You will have pretty good chances if you write some amazing essays

5

Thank you all for your input!

6

Tufts?
Boston University?
University of Southern California? I know a student with a similar background and goals who was offered a full-tuition scholarship at USC. They don’t have ED/EA, but if you apply by Dec 1st you are considered for merit scholarships and will be notified early if you are nominated.

Also, do you feel like you have enough safety and target schools? All the schools you have listed are reaches even for highly accomplished students.

7

Your personal experience as a cancer survivor provides a powerful backstory that will probably trump any supposed weakness in your ECs. (Actually, I think your ECs look fine; there are tens of thousands of freshmen slots each year at elite universities and the US, and there is no way that each of these slots is taken by someone who has won some prestigious national award.) You should make your own cancer story central to your application essay, explaining how you overcame the challenge, how you learned/grew from the experience, and how it shaped your future plans for study and work.

School-wise, I have two suggestions. First, take at look at Rice. It is strong in biochemistry, and it is located across the street from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the leading research and treatment facilities in the world. Rice provides a great platform for research and internship opportunities in this field. Second, if you are considering UCB, you might also want to look at UCSD. I know a young woman who is very pleased with her experience pursuing a PhD in biochemistry there. Her focus is on cancer research, and she was inspired by the fact that her father succumbed to cancer when she was in high school.

8

Firstly, thank you for your response.

It depends on what happens during my Early Actions. If I happen to get into my choice schools, then I won’t have to bother anymore. But if I don’t, then I may apply to a couple more schools for Regular Decision. That’s my plan so far.

9

UMich is a low reach for you.