Will I get accepted with my tough classes and awards for research?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
1

<p>Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Residence: Minnesota
HS Class: 2012</p>

<p>GPA: 3.74 Weighted
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
ACT: 22 </p>

<p>AP Biology - (Testing Senior Year)
AP Psychology - 4
AP Spanish - (Testing Senior Year)
AP Chemistry - (Testing Senior Year)</p>

<p>IB History of the Americas HL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB English HL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB Chemistry HL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB Spanish SL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB Psychology SL - 5
IB Math Studies SL - 6 </p>

<p>University of Minnesota- Twin Cities CIS Principles of Microeconomics</p>

<p>IB Creative Action Service (CAS)</p>

<p>C - Science Fair
A - Triathlons
S - Volunteer in Ask An Expert Forum on Science Buddies .org</p>

<p>Member of Cogito.org - John's Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth </p>

<p>Awards and Experience</p>

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<p>Work Experience - Caribou Coffee Team Member since August 2010</p>

<p>Lab Assistant
August 2010 – February 2010 University of Minnesota: Twin Cities – Graduate Department of Neuroscience; Neurochemistry , Minneapolis MN</p>

<p>Lab Assistant
September 2009 – May 2010 University of Minnesota: Twin Cities – Graduate Department of Psychology</p>

<hr>

<p>Student of the Month - Chemistry
Student of the Month - Health</p>

<hr>

<p>Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)</p>

<p>Grand Award: Third Place in the world for Behavioral and Social Sciences presented by Intel and Society for Science and the Public $1,000 (2011)
First place award of $1,500 for "Excellence in Behavioral and Social Sciences" from the College of Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) (2011)
$60,000 Tuition Scholarship to IIT for Outstanding Excellence in Behavioral and Social Science Research. (2011)
$50,000 Tuition Scholarship to Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada (2009, 2010, and 2011)
Intel ISEF Finalist 2009, 2010, and 2011 </p>

<hr>

<p>Minnesota Academy of Science: Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair</p>

<p>Recipient of Gold Medal (2009, 2011) – Awarded to top 5% of projects
Wolfram Award, Best in Category for Behavioral and Social Sciences and License to Wolfram Mathematica Software (2011)
Secondary Teachers of the American Psychological Association - Outstanding Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences and Best in Category for Behavioral and Social Sciences: (2009)
JMP Division of SAS Institute, Data Discovery Award – Best Data Visualization, Statistical Analysis, and Mathematics – 5 Year Personal Access to JMP Computing Software (2011)
Seagate Rising Star Award for Top 40 First Year Projects (2009)</p>

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<p>Minnesota Academy of Science: Tri-State Junior Humanities and Science Symposium</p>

<p>Callback Finalist – Top 9 Research Papers and Presentations in the Symposium: Recipient in 2011
Outstanding Achievement in Tri-State Junior Humanities and Science Symposium and Monetary Award: Recipient in 2011</p>

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<p>St. Cloud State University – David F. Grether Central Minnesota Regional Science and Engineering Fair</p>

<p>Secondary Teachers of the American Psychological Association - Outstanding Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences (2010)
Outstanding Achievement in Regional Research Paper Competition and Research Symposium – Advancement to Tri-State Junior Humanities and Science Symposium (2011)
Best of Fair and Advancement to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (2009, 2010, and 2011)
Premium Award and Advancement to the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair (2009, 2010, and 2011)
United States Air force Outstanding Achievement Award (2010)</p>

<h2>David F. Grether Memorial Scholarship $1000 (2009, 2010, and 2011)</h2>

<p>Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition</p>

<p>YES Semi-Finalist in Public Health Research Paper Competition sponsored by Collegeboard and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $1000 (2011)</p>

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<p>Anoka-Hennepin District ISD#11 District STEM Fair</p>

<p>1st Place and Outstanding Achievement (2009 and 2011)
United States Navy Award for Outstanding Research (2009)</p>

2

<p>Were you high when taking the ACT?</p>

3

<p>The ACT is not my thing. What do you think?</p>

4

<p>Try the SAT?</p>

<p>Sent from my iPhone 4 using CC app</p>

5

<p>Standardized Tests are driving me insane. I am considering taking the SAT. I have kinda lost hope in them. Other that my standardized tests score what do you think? Will they look past my test scores?</p>

6

<p>Even with your awards and all that, the 22 will ruin your chances. </p>

<p>Also, your classes are not all that tough.</p>

<p>Sorry to be so blunt. You can get in if you get a 30 or more on the ACT or above a 2000 on the SAT. In those cases your awards and ECs will get you through.</p>

<p>Good Luck.</p>

7

<p>Not a chance… I’d honestly thought your finger slipped and hit the 2 instead of the 3. I really did, the rest of your application was so impressive. My ideas are as follows:
1- Try the SAT, if you do better, study your butt of for it. If you don’t do better, study your butt off for the ACT. It’s crucial, unfortunately.
2- Apply to test-optional schools. Wake Forest is the only one I can think of off the top of my head, and the most highly-ranked.
Good luck!(:</p>

8

<p>I’d say it’s 50/50.</p>

<p>Are there testing sessions of the SAT nearby? I know the Midwest likes its ACT, but the ACT doesn’t seem to like you. </p>

<p>Try a practice SAT online at collegeboard.org and see if that might be any better for you. My concern is that your low test score is coupled with what is considered slightly below average (54% of JHU students had a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher). </p>

<p>Study and either retake the ACT or try out the SAT to increase your chances. Also, SAT Subject Tests are “recommended,” so maybe you could take those instead to redeem your average ACT.</p>

<p>…I wish my IB school would let us do things on our own like triathlons for Action hours… everything has to be supervised.</p>

9

<p>I know my ACT score is pathetic and I would do anything to change that. It’s stupid how one high-stakes test determines everything. </p>

<p>@moonman676 - How are my classes not that tough?! I am a diploma candidiate and I take AP and CIS classes?</p>

10

<p>Unfortunately, regardless of how many flashy extracurricular activities you have, admission is still mostly based on GPA and standardized test scores. In your case, both are way too low. Also your schedule difficulty is not impressive at all, I took 16 AP classes during high school.</p>

11

<p>Woah! Wait wait wait…! Go to one of the schools that’re cheaper where you’ve already earned a Porsche’s-worth of scholarship just from competitions!</p>

12

<p>Besides ACT score too low, and no SAT, or SAT SUbject Scores, you also have very few AP or IB scores.Too few. You are not giving your Adcomm person much to go on that shows you can test.</p>

<p>Do you have a documented learning disability? If so, include this in your essays. Your grades are OK, and your awards are fantastic. If you are some kind of specialized genius, that gets awards and does great papers but suffers from some form of dyslexia or anxiety, you have to let your admissions person know that. Even if you are not sure, you might want to speak to a learning specialist, and show them your scores and discuss your learning style. Obviously, you have a lot to be proud of, and a lot of accomplishments, so something is definately off track if you are scoring in the 20’s on the ACt, and have a resistance to taking the SAT’s. Discuss it with a Psychologist or Psychomotrist. This might not be your ‘fault’. You could have a reasoning disorder. Was one part of your ACT significantly higher than another part?</p>

<p>Something to consider.</p>

13

<p>/stalks the hell out of the OP with info on his awards</p>

14

<p>Try the SAT?</p>

<p>Sent from my iPhone 4 using CC app</p>

15

<p>The Standardized tests roughly give an estimate on how well you take tests. Normally they aren’t that important to a school since they usually are within a range similar to your GPA. However, in your case, it would look like you’re a smart kid who cannot take tests. You would not get accepted because the admissions officers would doubt for ability to succeed in a school like Hopkins where most of your grades are determined through tests.</p>

16

<p>Definitely take the SAT, and prep hard. Do timed practice tests and figure out why you aren’t doing well. Find friends who are doing well and ask for their advice.</p>