YACT (Yet Another Chances Thread)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Colleges of choice:
UC Berkeley (CA resident), Stanford (preferred), MIT, Caltech, UCLA?
Major: EECS or chemical engineering
Here're my stats:</p>

<p>•Academic Record
GPA
unweighted (all classes, all years) = 4.00
academic weighted (10th and 11th grade, no PE) = 4.46</p>

<p>•Classes</p>

<p>9th grade
Literature/Writing
Geometry Enriched
Biology
Electronics
Art I
French 2
PE 9</p>

<p>10th grade
World Lit/Writ
Algebra II/Trig
Chemistry Honors
World History
Java Programming
French 3
PE 10</p>

<p>11th grade
American Lit/Writ
Pre-Calculus Honors
AP Chemistry
US History
AP Computer Science
French 4 Honors
Japanese 4 Honors</p>

<p>12th grade [prospective]
British Lit
AP Calculus BC
Physics Honors
AP Gov't one semester/Economics one semester
AP French
AP Japanese</p>

<p>•Standardized Tests</p>

<p>SAT Reasoning
2220
2360 [780V 790M 790W]</p>

<p>SAT Subject Chemistry
750
800</p>

<p>SAT Subject Math Level 2
800</p>

<p>AP Tests
Chemistry 5
APCS AB 5</p>

<p>•Extracurricular Activities [When I say the summer of 9th grade, I mean after 9th grade has finished, between 9 and 10]</p>

<p>9th grade
Soccer
Worked at a restaurant over the summer including both restaurant work and accounting</p>

<p>10th grade
Worked as a web page designer over the summer.
Helped set up medical clinic network in Japan during the summer.
Configured the computer system for a restaurant during the summer
Worked on a game over the summer.</p>

<p>11th grade
volunteered 6 hours at middle school, 3~4 hours at Salvation Army.
Secretary of computer club at school.
Programmed a full game and several small apps during the school year.
Working as a web page designer in the summer.
Passed the Sun Certified Java Programmer exam.
Set up computer networks and did accounting work
--not yet, in progress--
Volunteer as a server programmer for an international networked medical consultation system. <-- hoping to get in 100+ hours, also write a paper on the system's role and how it helps the medical community
Working on personal website for a video game programming community</p>

<p>As you can see, I don't have a lot of volunteer hours, but my hobbies and work experience have to do with a single field (computers) which should show my focus. </p>

<p>What are my chances?</p>

2

<p>I should also mention that my school does not rank; however I got a letter saying that I <em>may</em> be "eligible in the local context" for UCs which means I would be in the top 5~7% of my class.</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian/Caucasian</p>

3

<p>vgcoder:</p>

<p>UCB/UCLA: Match (Engineering)</p>

4

<p>Your stats look excellent, getting in to the UCs shouldn't be a problem, but EECS at the other schools will be a crapshoot; make sure to work hard on the essays and recs.</p>

<p>PS do you by any chance go to Monta Vista?</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the replies. I know that my GPA is kinda low (*** @ 4.7+), but the only ways that it could have been raised are:
My not taking Java (non-AP course, thus lowers GPA)
Taking APUSH
Skipping Geometry and taking Pre-calc H in 10th grade and Calc in 11th
...and my GPA would then be 4.66 assuming that I would have gotten the same grades.</p>

<p>Two more small things I can add to my list:
Participated in a DestinationImagination team in 10th grade, won at county (meh at state though).
Went to COSMOS (UC summer camp) in summer before 9th grade <--good for UCs supposedly. Would anyone happen to know the UCB average GPA/SAT for 2006? I heard that it went down from last year, and I'm hoping that it's true.</p>

<p>I think that I can get quite a good rec from my math teacher, but I'm still wondering who to go to for humanities. I don't know what I'll do for the counselor rec (I guess I can just show them that I've focused a lot on computer-related activites). Do you think that my chances would improve if I went with ED? I don't want to get into any binding situations because I'd like to compare financial aid packages and all that.</p>

<p>Oh, and I go to Lynbrook, which any MV-goer would know of.</p>

6

<p>Oh, and if possible, can you tell me the degree of safety/match/reach? Like would UCB be a strong match, or slight safety?</p>

7

<p>I would say that by looking hollistically at your app info, you seem very intelligent. The problem is your lack of ECs! You are very safe with grades and test scores if that 4.0 is the best you can do. From the information provided here is my opinion:</p>

<p>UC Berkeley- More Match than a safety, it helps that your a CA resident or you probably wouldn't have as good a chance
Stanford- Reach, highly unlikely
MIT-Reach, highly unlikely
Caltech- Reach, better chance than Stanford or MIT
UCLA- Pretty good chance, I'd say you have the best chance at this school</p>

<p>The point is, most college applicants have your standard of grades and test scores, especially at the schools you have listed. The important aspects of the application are the ECs and the essays because those are what make you different. I have a tough time seeing how you are going to sell yourself to these schools. I commend you for your outstanding SAT scores because I couldn't even come close, but if you're serious about some of those heavy hitters, sit down and crank out a good essay or three and explain to them what it is that makes you so unique.</p>

8

<p>What's my chance at Berkeley? (numerical percentage range preferred) I'm kinda giving up on Stanford a bit now.</p>

<p>For Stanford and the like though, since you only have so many spots to fill in for EC's, aren't the essays where you elaborate on EC's? Thus, shouldn't I be able to really make my EC;s sound wonderful (while still sticking to the truth).</p>

<p>Writing about how my experience with learning a programming language taught me that learning can be fun (as proven by the $250 of my own money that I shelled out for the exam + study guide).
Or how my time in a medical clinic in Japan showed me how things I found to be simple (setting up a network) could be greatly appreciated by others (the nurse), and how that showed me that I could do use my talents to do what I love as well as help others at the same time.
Or how being the "lead programmer and architect" for a server to be used for lowering medical costs on a global scale will give (by the time I write the essay, make that a "gave") me experience in a professional workforce. I don't know how it will change me though.</p>

<p>I wish I could write an essay about how I love video games. My first SAT essay was on Nintendo :)</p>

9

<p>The second two essay ideas are the better of the three, stick with those
As for UC Berkeley- 75-80%</p>

10

<p>Oh, absolutely wonderful. I just got my next year's schedule in the mail and it's crap. Instead of Brit Lit and Japanese AP, I got Contemp Lit (easier, but isn't it frowned upon for that reason?) and nothing. So now I look like a slacker with only five classes. Perhaps I should go take enterprise programming at the community college (De Anza, top in the state).</p>

<p>I better get a better schedule, I wanted Japanese AP...</p>

11

<p>A few more questions:</p>

<p>Heh, I was thinking, do you think I should send a portfolio of programming projects on a CD and some links to websites I've done with my application? Also, would really elaborating on a few extracurriculars and emphasizing interest in a specific field make up for lack of other EC's?
Is Brit Lit really seen as a more challenging class than Contemp Lit?
And lastly, what are some other schools that I would have a good chance of getting in? (although I'm not one to complain about UCB at all either)</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

12

<p>you have a much better chance at all the colleges you have listed than anyone has told you so far</p>

13

<p>It's always a good idea to send in any supplamentary materials like CD's or artwork, or whatever it is that makes you special (sorry if that sounds corny). Anyway, to draw away from a not-so-hot list of EC's, you need smashing essays. You could compare computer programing to something else and make it humerous. Comparison essays always are entertaining and enlightening. I'm not sure about the Brit vs Contemporary Lit question because my school only has English AP for seniors, but I would go with the more difficult one if available. Finally some other good engineering schools include:
Purdue
Carneige Mellon
Georgia Institiue Tech.
University of Michigan
These are solid engineering schools that I think you deffinately would be competitive at (if you don't mind venturing off the West Coast).</p>