What do you think?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>(Hi Qoburn if you're reading this...)
(I posted this before, but it did not contain my SAT2 scores.) </p>

<p>I'm an American-born Asian male and currently a junior. I know my stats are not the best, but what are my chances at these schools? Feel free to give your honest opinion. Any suggestions for improvement in areas that I lack in will also be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>

<p>MIT
CalTech
Harvard
Columbia
Princeton
Stanford</p>

<p>Cornell
Berkeley
UPenn</p>

<p>U Chicago
CMU
Brandeis</p>

<p>Numbers:
Weighted GPA: 7.8/8.3 (A 8.3 is an A+ in a honors/AP class and a 8.0 is an A in a honors/AP class)
Unweighted GPA: 3.93/4
Class Rank: 2/3 out of ~250 students
PSAT Junior: Math: 73 V: 61 W: 54 Total: 188
SAT Junior: Math: 780 Verbal: 640 Writing: 580 Total: 2000.
-Retaking it in October (hoping for 2100-2200+...or should I aim higher?)
SATII Junior: Math 2C: 800, Physics: 690 (retaking...I didn't get to 9 problems because of timing...), USH: 750</p>

<p>AP Classes:
APUSH this year (hoping 4-5)
AP PhysicsB, APChem, APCalcAB, APWorld Lit next year
These are all the AP's I could have fitted into my school's trimester system and I have taken all honors classes in everything else. The only B's I've had so far are in Freshman Honors English (B) and one in Gym (B+).</p>

<p>EC's:
Math Team (2002/9 - Present) (co-capt next year);
-3rd Highest Scoring Freshman (2003);
-4th Highest Scoring Sophomore (2004);
-8th Highest Scoring Junior (2005);
Project Search, (2004/9 - Present)
National Honor Society, (2004/11 - Present)
Tech Crew for Theater Productions, (2004/11 - Present)
Co-Webmaster School Website, (2005/5 - Present)
Astronomy Club, (2004/10 - Present)</p>

<p>Awards & Recognition:
National Honor Society Inductee;
Tri-State Math League Award, 9, 10, 11;
NHTM State Mathematics Contest;
-Algebra 1 Perfect Score, 9, 10;
ACL NJCL National Latin Exam;
-Outstanding Achievement, Intro To Latin Exam, 9;
-Gold Summa cum Laude, Latin One Exam, 10;
National Medusa Mythology Exam;
-Silver Medal, 10;
High Honor Roll (2002/9 - Present)</p>

<p>Summer:
Harvard SSP (this summer):
-Laboratory Electronics: Analog & Digital Circuit Design</p>

<p>Community Service:
-Various fundraising activities locally, and for technical crew for school plays.
-Around 100+ hours overall.</p>

<p>I'm expecting great recommendations from teachers. I'm retaking the SATI, SATII Physics again next year and AMC12 for the first time next year.</p>

2

<p>Just look at scattergrams for the schools that interest you. Do we really have to tell you that your scores are VERY low for your reaches? If someone here says good chance, will you believe them?</p>

3

<p>Gee, what's with all the hostility Suze...this time and last...</p>

4

<p>if i were you, i'd take the ACT and see if you'd get a higher score on that. with all the AP science and math classes you're taking, it might be easier.</p>

<p>my friend got a 1370 on the old SAT and a 33 on the ACT and got accepted into MIT. he sounds a lot like you, and the ACT math goes all the way up to trig, which is what made it easier for him.</p>

<p>(but he was hispanic, which probably played a role in the decision making, just to forewarn you.)</p>

5

<p>oh, but he got rejected from Harvard</p>

<p>(he didn't have too many EC's-- only president of the Spanish NHS and member of, like, two other clubs)</p>

6

<p>No hostility, but I admit this kind of post frustrates me. If you look at any book, look at the school's average and scattergrams, ask a decent counselor, you will know that you have almost no chance with currrent scores at your reaches. In fact, your scores a a problem for every one of your schools. You have no unusual ECs and are spending the summer at an expensive, not too selective summer program that screams mom and dad have paid for any education money can buy!!!!! They expect white/Asians with those advantages to have 2300s.</p>

<p>Yet a bunch of kids will come on and say, great chance because colleges really don't care about scores!! Don't worry, they'll see how great you are and disregard all else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Then some poor kids will happen on to this site, do a quick read and start applying to ivies. That's how they get to reject 9 out of 10. It's just plain harmful to read some of these threads.</p>

<p>So I guess I just don't understand what someone as intelligent as you is trying to achieve by posting here. It's not too hard to get a much more reliable read on what it takes for someone with your grades, scores, ethnicity, etc. to get into these schools.</p>

7

<p>I'm going to consider taking the ACT. I just have to find a test date now that works...</p>

8

<p>I admit my SAT scores are low for the schools that I am applying to. I swear that I will improve on them, that is all I can say for that.</p>

<p>As for the kind of post, I did not mean for the post to discourage others from applying to these schools. It was never my intention to do that. I apologize if my post frustrated you. My only intention was to get honest opinions from other people experienced in the college application process for the schools I plan to apply to.</p>

9

<p>Gra, you did notninh wrong. My question is a sincere one. What do you expect people to say? An Asian applicant, born here with a writing score in the 500s has a chance? 690 on physics at MIT and Caltech? Maybe if you were a poor URM from an inner city school. I just really don't understand why there are so many silmilar posts when so much info is out there to give the answer to this type of query.</p>

<p>It just makes me wonder if the only reason for posting is to find a miracle story to cling to. When I posted a joke saying I got into Harvard and Princeton with an 11 something, I got PMs thanking me for telling them my story. I really never thought anyone would believe it for a moment.</p>

<p>I suppose everyone needs to find reality in their own way, by Gra, you really would be best off choosing realistic school and thinking about how to get into those. I know there's a push for a lot of Asian kids from parents to only look at big name schools. There are tons of great schools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

10

<p>although i think what suze is saying is for the most part true, its important to mention a few things here: </p>

<p>She's worried about getting into dartmouth with a 2360, top 5% rank.</p>

<p>Oh, not to mention she's bi-racial and has a double legacy there. :)</p>

11

<p>Thanks for the input Big. I was also browsing her previous posts as well, and read those...that is not to say her post was wrong though. :-)</p>

<p>And as for my Physics score...I thought the test was easy, it was just that I didn't have time to answer like the last 9 questions. I'm sure I can get around a 750 next time.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

12

<p>Thanks BigE for your vote that I'm a shoe in. I certainly hope you're right. I'm a little less stressed with the new SAT, but still, look at the fact. Double legacy is no better than single (except for the emotional vote) according to Michele Hernandez. Mixed race, yes, but an affluent only half black dweller at one of the Country's most elite high schools is not diversity in the eyes of many schools nor do I meet the descriprion of the type of blacks they're trying to help.. I have no excuse for not having very high stats. I also have not had to overcome much in life.</p>

<p>So I'm hoping there's enough for Dartmouth even with several other high scoring legacies in my class. Harvard or Princeton, those of you who would tell me I have a great shot are just wrong. It's probably below 50/50. </p>

<p>I'm not being modest, I've studied scattergrams. Has everyone read about Andi's son on the parent's board? Ivy shoe in (according to many here) and rejected from EVERY school he applied to including Oberlin!!!</p>

13

<p>everyones 50/50, at best, at Harvard or Princeton... theres just no way around that no matter how stacked your application is. but come on suze: if your stats don't get you into Dartmouth then who's will?</p>

<p>Believe it or not, there are some upper class white kids who go to ivy league schools.</p>

14

<p>No BigE, MOST have less than a 10% chance at Harvard. Someone with my stats has 50/50. As for Dartmouth, I get your point certainly, it just seems verry arrogant and foolish to believe you're a shoe in for any top 10 college. I might rub some adcom the wrong way! Andi's son?</p>

15

<p>QUOTE:</p>

<p>"but he was hispanic, which probably played a role in the decision making"</p>

<p>Well, then the poster may also have a chance being asian, wouldn't he?</p>

16

<p>don't see the above, I thought that it was the same for all minorities, sorry</p>