<p>Swimmer, I don’t know any more than the other “facts” thrown at you on a board where posters may or may not be trying to help you.</p>
<p>Here is what I do know: you’re comitted to swimmming for a good portion of your life; you are an Intel finalist. For those who don’t know what that is (and its a lot more then a “project”), in our area there are roughly 100,000 high school students who could compete for ISEF finalist. Of that 100k total pool, roughly 400 actually spent time to do a project whose goal was ISEF, and of that a whopping 4 made it. It’s actually easier to make a 2300 SAT then make it to Pittsburgh. Moreover, to the few who posters who denigrated or ignored the ISEF honor, they either do not understand the committment or are trolls. To become an ISEF finalist is the crowning achievment and requires a huge amount of work in a very narrow creative area for a year or more and then presenting the results of the experiment to actual scientists who decide you should be awarded as a finalist. Moreover, all colleges recognize that the endeavor also forced the student to become an expert in several different areas at the college level (or beyond) (stats, bio, Chem, etc.)</p>
<p>I view the college selection process very cynically. So much scrambling around to add weight to the scale which results in the scale tipping in your favor. Most of the applicants are gathering grains of sand; some are gathering pebbles; others , rocks; some get lucky enough to find a boulder. You need lots of grains of sand to equal a pebble, several pebbles equal a rock, etc. From what I have seen from personal observation, becoming an ISEF finalist is a rock (a mammoth offensive lineman is a boulder), so are great scores, so are great grades. Great ECs are pebbles or even grains of sand as are the countless other things (working, internships, building houses, etc). With your grades and ISEf, you have some great rocks. The scores (and I would suggest trying the ACT) haven’t yet reached that same stature.</p>
<p>FWIW, the ISEF finalists I know and who are now seniors or beyond (three are juniors or younger), one is heading to wash U, one is at Princeton, one is deciding between Stanford, Columbia and Yale, one is deciding between MIT and Cal Tech. The one who is deciding about Stanford was actually approached by Stanford BECAUSE of his ISEF status). You are is some rare company. Congrats and don’t let your insecurity about your chances allow you to believe what is thrown at you on this board!</p>
<p>Congratulations on ISEF! It is NOT irrelevant to the application! This is fantastic. Look, you are asking for crystal ball predictions. No one can give you one and any poster who says he or she can IS LYING!!! Now it is really all up to you to put together the most fantastic set of applications you can and just apply. See what happens. No one can predict. So just do it. Have faith in yourself that this is worth a shot. But go into it KNOWING that there is NO guarantee. You may get in. You may not. That is what EVERY SINGLE APPLICANT should presume. So, at this point, it really does NOT matter what some anonymous posters on this website tell you, it is what you tell YOURSELF!!! You want to go to Stanford, so apply. You don’t need OUR permission to pursue your dream. Pursue it!!!</p>
<p>However, one BIG word of advice! Stanford may or may not happen. It is best to assume that it won’t because the odds are against you, NO MATTER HOW QUALIFIED AN APPLICANT YOU ARE! So…what’s the back-up plan? Where is the list of reaches, matches, and safeties (both admissions and financial safeties)? You seem too smart to have put all your admissions eggs in one basket (Stanford), or maybe you have. If so, NOT SMART! Work on a rounded list of schools and if you get into your first choice…Hooray. If not…don’t you want to go to college?</p>
<p>What award did you win? Did you place? Being an ISEF finalist by itself isn’t a big deal (to colleges) because science fair is regionally judged, so judges might not always nominate the best project, and there are so many regions where it is just not that competitive. However, winning an award at ISEF is great and will add to your application.</p>
<p>What’s most important, though, is Siemens. Make sure to enter Siemens next year and spend a lot of time on your paper. If you can become a regional finalist for Siemens, you would have an extremely good shot at Stanford. Work on your college essays in the summer, too.</p>
<p>Your GPA is great but your SAT scores don’t seem to match it (?) Definitely try taking the SAT again. Anything before 9th grade usually will not count unless you were a spelling bee winner or YSC winner etc., </p>
<p>Try for good recommendation letters, essays and hope for a Semifinalist in Intel. That will, I think get you in. Almost all semifinalists go to a top tier college.</p>
<p>Don’t worry much about your SAT scores. Focus on your projects, a couple hundred hours of community service, and keeping a high GPA. Also just as important as doing a bunch of activities is being able to focus on a handful and explain their impact on you, your community, and future. I got accepted to Stanford with lower test scores than that so you should be fine.</p>
<p>In answers I questions, I received an $8000 award for original research at ISEF, I’m continuing on my project, and working on getting my research published this fall. </p>
<p>As for other colleges, what do you think my chances are at some of my other top choices:
uc Berkley
University of Chicago
Vanderbilt
Princeton
Brown
Cornell
UCLA</p>
<p>I lock some of the other UCs, but I won’t get enough financial aide in order to go…</p>
<p>Your list contains NO real safety schools. It is a list weighted toward the reach end of the spectrum. You NEED a list of schools that includes those that you absolutely can get into, no question. Pursue more research on the UC system. Which of those schools could be a LOCK for you? </p>
<p>Also, are you familiar with Harvey Mudd College? It is a superb science-oriented school that is part of the five-college Claremont Consortium. It isn’t a safety, by any means, but it is a school that should be on your radar. Unless you hate Minnesota, another superb LAC is Carleton College. It has superb science programs, and great offerings across the board. Self-selection in applications, so fewer apply, but its admit rate is around 25%. Check your stats against Carleton’s. It may be close to a match. It is always ranked in the top ten of LACS, and is only pooh-poohed by some because it is in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Again, you need a list that has safeties (financial and admissions-difficulty), matches, and reaches. You have the higher end, now start working on the lower end, of safety schools YOU WOULD ATTEND and could afford to attend!</p>
<p>Will you be entering the next Intel science talent search and or Siemens? Placing in those competitions are what gets you into schools like MIT and Stanford (among other things of course)</p>
<p>Northeastern is a safety and you will definitely get into UCLa. Also look into USC- they offer some very substantial merit scholarship. Rice University too.</p>
<p>Look at all five colleges of the Claremont Consortium, in Claremont, CA. Occidental, in LA, is another good LAC. Definitely USC, as it has some very good science programs. I have suggested Carleton in Northfield, MN, truly excellent LAC with good FA. With Intel, you could have a real chance at Carleton. But Carleton likes applicants interested in the school. So research it! You should consider University of Chicago, though I have a caution here. Chicago has over-enrolled its freshman class for two years running (big stink on UChicago forum) and acceptance rates may really drop next year to compensate. I got my BA from Chicago and LOVED the school. Used to be that Chicago was more “quirky” in its acceptances, really going for offbeat, intellectual kids who “got” the school. Now it may be more “stats” hungry. I still say, look at Chicago seriously. U of Illinois Urbana is an excellent school. So are Michigan and Wisconsin; problem is aid for an OOS applicant.</p>
<p>You should work to raise that SAT if possible, though I get that your research is more important. And I think your research is a key to your getting acceptances to excellent schools. The project actually sounds fascinating to me. Make sure you are applying to some schools that will accept a science supplement. And really play this up, along with the swimming. These are two very strong EC components to your application. There should be some fantastic recs along these lines from your teachers, I assume.</p>
<p>As suggested above, Rice U. is a very good option. Another good, very intellectual LAC, is Reed College. Carnegie Mellon is worth looking into.</p>
<p>Your list should include the obligatory reaches, matches, and safeties, but it should also include universities and some range of LACs as well. I think you have some REAL options here. Stanford MAY be one of them. But let’s plan this smartly, OK. Think you are starting to get on track with what you need to do. So…continue researching and report back!!!</p>
<p>Right now after Stanford, the college I really love is UC Berkeley.
It would be the only UC that’s possibly affordable. By their price estimation calculator its about $8,000/year over budget, but it would be $6,000 over with my scholarship.
I’m hoping local scholarships and such could make up the difference.
I really loved it when I visited and could definitely see myself living there.</p>
<p>As for standardized testing, I’m planning on taking subject tests in June, ACT in September, and perhaps SAT again in October depending on my ACT score.
The only thing I’d really like to change is my math score, because I feel it should be higher since next year will be my third year of calculus… ):</p>
<p>Letters of Rec:
2 teachers-Chem and probably APUSH
My research professor-a department leader
Should I include a letter from one of the people at my job at the beach who saw me work super hard and greatly improve my lifeguarding and leadership skills and could explain the difficulty of getting to the position? </p>
<p>And finally, looking at SAT stats and such, I think I have a great chance at UCB, but what do you all think?</p>