<p>Okay, So I'm going to be submitting my application today and I was really getting nervous and anxious about waiting till April for a decision, so hopefully you guys can give me some honest feedback on what my chances would be like. Be as cruel and harsh as you can, I'm not looking for compliments, just raw, unbiased opinions on what my chances are like.</p>
<p>Ethnicity: Chinese Male
SAT's: 2330 (one sitting; math 800, writing 750 11 essay, cr; 780) *note I did get a 780 on a writing section a couple months ago but i did not choose to send it because even though I aced the multiple choice section, I received an 8 on the essay
Subject Tests: Math Level II: 800
Biology E: 800
U.S. History: 730 (debating on whether or not to send this...)</p>
<p>GPA unweighted: 3.83 (My weakest part of my application, can't believe I was so stupid back in sophomore year...)
Rank: top 10%</p>
<p>APs: AP Calc AB(only calc course availabe at my school)-5
AP U.S. History - 5
AP U.S. Government - 5
AP Biology - 4
AP Microeconomics - 3</p>
<p>Awards:</p>
<p>National Merit Semifinalist?
AP Scholar with Distinction</p>
<p>EC's:</p>
<p>Piano for 11 years: MMTA state piano competition winner
Science Olympiad: bronze in state
Physics Bowl: Co-captain and 2nd place in state
SDSU Math contest: 2nd place state
Chinese Study: Chinese essay award, been studying ever since I moved to the U.S.
National Honor Society
1st chair french horn in freshmen year (only year in high school in band)
auditioned for and qualified for the selective East Men choral group</p>
<p>Recommendations are good i suppose, i waived rights....</p>
<p>Essays: one was about how my grandpa passing away and living in rural China for 6 year has influenced me, other was about how multiple relocations have affected me, short answer was on piano.</p>
<p>Scores look standard… GPA slightly low… that 3 in microeconomics couldve been better but it hardly matters… I’d say your ECs are good, but nothing mindblowing… Your essays make or break it I’d say… depends how well you can project yourself.</p>
<p>Yeah I was thinking that the essays probably would make the majority of the difference for me since there probably are thousands of people with the same qualifications as I have.</p>
<p>I’ve been staying up till like 2 am the past week just re-reading my essays, could of sent out the application like 2 weeks ago, just too “submit-button” paranoid…</p>
<p>Hey Piano,
Your stats are great, which would make you “qualified for admission”.
Great awards as well. However, I didn’t really see any “leadership” in “ECs” (the traditional stuffz)</p>
<p>I think your essay may just be the tipping factor, so make sure those are perfect.</p>
<p>Other than that, there’s really not much more for you to do other than keep up (improve maybe) your GPA.</p>
<p>I’m not going to comment anything besides this:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Under normal circumstances, would you “debate” swallowing cyanide to see if you possessed some magical tolerance? Be smart, as your scores indicate, and don’t send it in.</p>
<p>Both my essays are longer than usual, my common app one is 1450 words and the optional essay was 1100 words.</p>
<p>The thing is, I’ve tried to cut down on the wordiness, but everytime I did so, I felt like I lost that crucial personalized “feel” to the essay. My essay consisted of like bland, fact statements and the more flowery “meat” sentences.</p>
<p>Since the only part I could cut down on was the flowery sentences, my essay just sounds like a scientific report afterwards…</p>
<p>Do you guys think I should cut it down or stick with what I have?</p>
<p>I had the same problem with my essays. I know exactly what you mean, but I’ve been told time and again, the adcoms don’t like reading anything two long. They’re not gonna count words but nothing more than 1.5 pages in decent font. I cut down 1200 to a 700, and let me tell you… it was difficult as hell and I felt like I lost out on a lot of the personal feel but it’s either that or risk your essay being too long and boring to be read at all. No matter how amazing you might find it, a 1450 word essay for a Havard adcom would probably make him groan and probably not even read it to the core.</p>
<p>For your essay, I’d suggest to only focus on one or two key things you want to convey. Highlighting one trait successfully is better than talking about everything that’s good about yourself blandly.</p>