Which school should I apply to by Early Action?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I am currently a junior and I am thinking about applying to an Ivy league through the SCEA plan. By looking at my stats, which of the following(if any) would I have the best chance at/would best fit me? Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale (all reach schools, I know:), but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take...)</p>

<p>Scores:
SAT: 2300
Intended SAT II: 750+ for Chem and Math II (and more for the regular decision round)
GPA: unweighted=4.00 current weighted: 4.48 by graduation weighted(hopefully, again)= 4.53
rank: 5/460+
AP tests: 4-Statistics 5-Biology 5(hopefully)-US history. English, Spanish, and Chem= pending
Senior course load: 6/8= AP courses; one course at the local university
Ethnicity: white
Gender: F</p>

<p>I. JOBS/TEACHING
- Researcher (Unpaid internship): State University's laboratory. January 2011- Present
(I have started an innovative research project--groundbreaking results, maybe?-- and will continue with it this summer)
- Biology Tutor (paid): September-December 2010
- Spanish Tutor(volunteer): Spring 2011
- Mathematics Tutor(volunteer): Fall 2009- Spring 2010</p>

<p>III. LEADERSHIP
- Co-founder of a summer camp established to teach and inform kids from foreign countries about their ethnic cultures
- Founder of the my school's chapter of Science National Honors Society chamber<br>
-Chairperson for my school's “Pi Day” celebration
- Member of the Organizing Committee for the University's [ethnicity] Culture Association
-Senior Class president<br>
- Student Government Association Representative for the Class of 2012 since sophomore year
- Vice President of National Honors Society
- Secretary & president of Mu Alpha Theta
- Mentor for my high school's Freshmen and New Students (FANS), 20
- State representative at the National Leadership Conference at Orlando, Florida
- First Chair for the my High School's second violins (sectional leader)
IV. AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
- Many High School Distinguished Honor Rolls and Community Service awards
- Outstanding Academic Achiever- University of ______ Alumni Association,
- State-level Science Bowl, Third place
- Pre-calculus competition at the Annual Math Teachers’ Association competition, Fourth place
- Science Olympiad awards at regionals and state
- Engineers' Quiz Bowl-state, Third place
- The 2010 HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) National Leadership Conference, SECOND PLACE, June- July 2010
- The 2010 HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) Tennessee State Competition, Third Place, February 2010
- State Association of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), 2010 Regional Competition, First Place
- Statistics competition at the Math Teachers’ Association competition, Fifth Place
- High School Academic Excellence in Mathematics Award
- Algebra competition at the Math Teachers’ Association competition, Tenth place
- The 2009 Association of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) Regional competition, First Place- , March 2009
- The 2009 HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) State Competition- Fifth Place- February 2009
- Winner of the “Published writer: Creative Communication’s Poets Contest”-
Published writer in A Celebration of Poets- Summer of 2009
- Tennessee Music Educators’ State Festival- First place (for violin performance)
- President’s Education Awards Program: Outstanding Academic Excellence
- West Valley Middle School Mathematics Award
V: VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE (Summer 2009- Spring 2011)
-approx. 250 hours over the summer & with NHS, HOSA, and SGA
VI: EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
- Health Occupation Students of America
- National Junior Honors Society
- National Honors Society
- Mu Alpha Theta
- Science Club
- Farragut High School Science Bowl Team,
- Farragut High School Science Olympiad Team
- Engineers’ Day Quiz Bowl High School Team
- Student Government Association
- Spanish Club
- [ethnicity] Culture & Language School
- Islamic Religion School
- [ethnicity] Cultural Association, 2006 (The University chapter)<br>
- Research intern at the University
- summer camp for those interested in learning about different ethnicities, 2011
- Current Member of the following academic societies: Science Academy, Mathematics Academy, and World Languages Academy
- Orchestra- Four years
- Sports: Dance, Gymnastics, and Tennis</p>

<p>In addition...sports aren't too great, unfortunately.<br>
This summer, I plan on picking up tennis again, continuing my research project, volunteering at Goodwill and other places, teaching myself to play the piano(or maybe taking lessons), studying physics independently to skip a level at school, working with kids at my summer camp, and attending a summer program for science
-I plan on majoring in either biochemistry or neuroscience and minoring in international studies )or spanish)
-I plan on starting World Cultures Club at my school this upcoming year</p>

<p>ANY help/advice would be greeeatly appreciated, especially from alumni/those who have applied in the past. Thank you so much for your time!</p>

2

<p>Can anyone help? Is it safe to apply early or should I wait until the regular decision round?</p>

3

<p>Honestly, your stats doesn’t really tell me anything about which college would suit you. Instead, tell us about your prospective major, what kind of environment you’d want to live in, the things you want to pursue in college, any quirks/interesting/random things about you - I feel like it’s usually those things that help match a student to a college.</p>

4

<p>Thank you for replying.
By posting stats, I hoped to narrow the choices based on the usual accepted averages at the schools(even though I understand they are not absolute). Harvard is currently my first choice, but I am worried about how qualified I am in their eyes based on the information I provided.</p>

<p>Also(as I mentioned at the very bottom of the thread), I plan on majoring either in neuroscience or biochemistry and minoring in international studies/ Spanish.</p>

5

<p>Does Harvard emphasize sports involvement? …because that’s definitely a weakness for me</p>

6

<p>Universitat de Barcelona = Spanish
University of Cambridge = International Relations</p>

7

<p>Harvard= Best Poli Sci Department in the world
Yale= Best Music, History, Drama
Princeton= Best Journalism/Literature</p>

8

<p>Harvard has been “recommending” that applications be complete by Dec 1 anyway, so it’s not as big of a deal to have it completed by Nov 1. </p>

<p>That’s as good of a criteria as any to choose which one to apply by SCEA. </p>

<p>Frankly though, I dislike SCEA because a) the schools are all reaches for everyone, so it’s not likely to bear fruit, b) it does not give you an admissions boost, and c) it prevents you from applying EA to places where you have a greater chance of getting in, such as Chicago, Georgetown, Michigan, BC, Tulane, so it most likely will do nothing to ease the process and give you a safety while you wait on the results of the most difficult applications. </p>

<p>Yale’s SCEA is very restrictive, see
[Frequently</a> Asked Questions - Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/faq/single-choice-early-action]Frequently”>Single-Choice Early Action | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions).</p>

<p>For example, you cannot apply to Michigan EA, but for a public like Michigan, applying EA does give appear to give you an admissions boost. </p>

<p>I’m not sure about how restrictive the other SCEA are.</p>

9

<p>Are you a legacy at any of the schools that you are considering for early applications?</p>

10

<p>Thank you for the helpful replies! @siliconvalleymom, no I am not; both of my parents attended college outside the U.S. I know it helps to be a legacy, but it shouldn’t hurt if you’re not, right?
Also, since I am planning on a major in the sciences, would Harvard be the best route for that? I am strongly considering that one over all the others right now.
Do I seem like another boring applicant who is likely to be rejected? I was hoping the fact that I have followed my passion for the sciences and international studies (as evident by my exctracurriculars) would help, especially since I placed at a national-level competition for Health Science.<br>
One last question: how many essays does Harvard require? The prompt(s) won’t be up until July, but does anyone have previous experience with the application process who could help?</p>

11

<p>Ivies are a crapshoot. You only get one SCEA so apply to one you like best as opposed saying should I go here or there since there is very little chance of you getting in. It is the same problem for everyone else too.</p>

12

<p>SCEA applicants do get a small boost (12% Acceptance rate vs. 8%) so take note of that. What do you want to major in?</p>

13

<p>It is a bit of myth about higher acceptance rate. A major percentage of those seats are given to athletes, legacies and top URMs.</p>

14

<p>(top urms?!) I guess that makes my chances of getting in better when I apply to Yale SCEA (:</p>

15

<p>Yes if you are a female URM in top 2-3% of your class with a 2300+, you are pobably in.</p>

<p>Forgot one other category - questbridge match (YPS).</p>

16

<p>^ I thought male urms had higher acceptance rates? I know I won’t be in the top 3%(maybe top 7%) and a 35 is possible (:</p>

17

<p>howd u do all that stuff?? do ever sleep lol. hopefully u spent a lot of hours/weeks in a few activities because then u start to differ from every other applicant. I saw screw scea, and apply ea to a lot of good schools like uva, u chicago, unc, mit, or wateve ur interested in. Just my two cents.</p>

18

<p>@OP, r u a unrepresented minority? (i.e. hispanic, african american, or native american)</p>

19

<p>Higher acceptance rates for male URMs in comparison to what? You have to remember that male URM admission numbers may be filled up easily with star athletes. So the need is to lock in academically superior female URMs who in many cases might also be good academically, like the Ogwumike sisters on Stanford basketball team.</p>

<p>[Ogwumike</a> has 24 points, 25 boards in Cy-Fair win](<a href=“http://www.statesman.com/sports/highschool/ogwumike-has-24-points-25-boards-in-cy-325669.html?printArticle=y]Ogwumike”>http://www.statesman.com/sports/highschool/ogwumike-has-24-points-25-boards-in-cy-325669.html?printArticle=y)</p>

20

<p>I want to major in Neuroscience or Biochemistry; I also want to minor in international studies and, more specifically, Spanish. Harvard is definitely my number one choice. Chances for Harvard SCEA? </p>

<p>No, I am not an under-represented minority. I’m middle Eastern.</p>