you, yes you. you want to chance me right? i want to chance you back.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>hey guys, i'm a sophomore (soon to be junior; summer, here i come!), and i live in northern virginia. unfortunately, i live relatively close to thomas jefferson high school and now feel obligated to somehow keep up with their crazy schedules at my school haha. oh well. </p>

<p>please chance me for:</p>

<p>MIT (1st choice)
Stanford (2nd choice)
Caltech (3rd choice)
UC Berkeley (4th choice)</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon University
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Michigan at Ann-Arbor
Purdue University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Virginia Polytechnic University
University of Virginia
University of Maryland- College Park
University of Texas- Austin
Princeton University
Cornell University</p>

<p>and add any colleges you think i may have missed! thanks so much!</p>

<p>my stats are as follows:</p>

<p>Male
East Asian (sigh..)
4.35 GPA (weighted); projected 4.61 (weighted)
4.00 GPA (unweighted)
Rank 1/745
206 PSAT
~2020 SAT (670-680-670)</p>

<p>SAT II: took it today lol
expecting low - mid 700s on chem
mid - high 700s on math ii
mid - high 700s on world history</p>

<p>ECs:
Marching band, percussion (#1 in state, I believe, although I can't find an official source saying this)
Robotics team (FRC); won engineering inspiration at two regional competitions, ended up 1st and 2nd at each competition; went to worlds in st louis; placed 20th or so out of 88.
Youth Orchestra, Wind Symphony (first chair oboe)
Youth Orchestra, Concert Orchestra (first chair oboe)
Youth Orchestra, NCFC (church) (first chair oboe)
Piano (privately studied, 10+ years)
Boy Scout, Life Scout, Order of the Arrow (hoping to finish up Eagle soon); 25+ merit badges completed
Math Honor Society
Math Club
Academic Team (captain)
Interact Club
Key Club (treasurer)
Biology Olympiad
Physics Olympiad (founder, prez)
Chemistry Olympiad (founder, prez)
MCC (math competitions; ie preparation and taking amc, usamo, aime, etc)
SCA (class delegate; not sure if this one really fits in with all the other math/science ECs)
National Honor Society
(hoping to get into all the other honor societies next year-- science, Spanish, English, national, etc.)
Virginia Summer Residential Governor's School for Math, Science, and Technology</p>

<p>schedule:</p>

<p>freshman: </p>

<p>pre ap english 9
advanced spanish 2
pre ap algebra ii/trig
advanced computer math
pre ap biology
pre ap world history ii
intermediate band
marching band</p>

<p>sophomore: </p>

<p>functions/analyt (precalc)
pre ap English 10
pre ap Spanish 3
web technology
ap computer science a
ap world history
ap statistics
marching band</p>

<p>ap environmental science
ap chemistry</p>

<p>junior:
ap calculus BC
computer Science AB
ap physics C
advanced band
it Advanced Web Technology
it database Design
challenges of engineering II/robotics
marching band</p>

<p>ap us history
ap english 11
ap spanish
ap physics b</p>

<p>senior:
ap music theory
advanced band
advanced database
ap psychology
challenges of engineering ii/robotics
advanced computer studies
ap government
marching band</p>

<p>ap chinese
ap biology
ap microeconomics
ap macroeconomics
ap comparative government (or euro, haven't decided yet)
ap english 12</p>

<p>community college: linear algebra, diff eq</p>

<p>(i ran out of STEM aps to take for senior year, so i kinda filled it with any other aps my school offered LOL; not sure if this is a good idea though)</p>

<p>on the side, i'm learning mandarin chinese (seeing as i am chinese, i kind of feel obligated to do this haha)</p>

<p>Anyways, thanks again!</p>

<p>oh yeah haha. i almost forgot. if you're all the way down here, make sure to post a link to your chancing thread and i'll chance you back. :)</p>

2

<p>I have a question- How are you taking so many ap classes?! Or is there a reason there is a space in between the groups of classes? Because it looks like you are taking 14 classes senior year? </p>

<p>For MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Stanford and a few of your other schools, I think you definitely have to get a high Math II score, and increase your SAT score. </p>

<p>If you continue to maintain high grades and show your passion for science/math, which you clearly are through all of your extra curricular activities (How much commitment do these activities take because it might appear you are spreading yourself too thin), then I project:</p>

<p>High Reach: MIT, Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley, Princeton University, Cornell University</p>

<p>Reach: Carnegie Mellon University, University of Michigan at Ann-Arbor,University of Virginia</p>

<p>Likely: Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Purdue University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Virginia Polytechnic University, University of Maryland- College Park, University of Texas- Austin</p>

<p>Chance me? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1157813-please-chance-me-just-general-feedback.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1157813-please-chance-me-just-general-feedback.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>The only negative i can see here is your SAT score being low, but then i realized you’re only a rising junior and have plenty of oppurtunities to do well on the SAT. For your top 4 choices, aim for a 2200.</p>

<p>Your EC’s are intimidating. But when it comes application time, any passions that you may have for some of your ECs will be insignificant next to the huge mass of application fillers. Colleges like to see diversity, but they like seeing passions and consistent interest even more. You might actually benefit from cutting out some of your more random EC’s from your application and instead highlighting a few you were committed to. I would definitely include your music EC’s; an artistic side would balance beautifully with your academic ability and music is also reflected in your class schedules thus making it seem all the more an important aspect of your life. The other thing that really sets you apart is the tri-lingual aspect. I would definitely recommend pursuing an education in Mandarin and then taking an SAT II (if there is one for Mandarin) to display your ability.</p>

<p>That many AP classes is just ridiculous. Get 5’s on all of them and all else becomes irrelevant. Harvard law would accept you from high school.</p>

<p>I’m going to judge your chances based on my assumption that your subsequent SAT scores will reflect your academic performance and goals.</p>

<p>MIT: high match
Stanford: high match
Caltech: match/low reach
UC Berkeley: high match/safety</p>

<p>Basically, if you do well on the SAT then the only negative of your application will be “asian male”.</p>

4

<p>cal tech is an automatic no with your SAT1 math…</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>the classes after the space are taken online, so I can take more than the 8 allowed in school haha.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>yeah, i hope i can get all fives; at the very least, i hope that i can get a healthy mix of more fives than fours.</p>

<p>and i am retaking the SAT this fall; in october, so hopefully it’ll go up.</p>

6

<p>thanks for responding everyone! i’m still chancing back if you guys want to post a link to your threads.</p>

7

<p>Get your SATs higher. ATM, you’re an auto-reject from Stanford, Caltech, MIT, Princeton and UCB.</p>

<p>You’re ECs are…well, you have lots of ECs but nothing actually useful for top colleges. Finally, your rigor looks good but the problem is is that there is no way you can take 9 APs senior year alongside 2 CC classes and your other regular classes…</p>

<p>If you want to get into your top choices, you need to raise your SAT to atleast 2200, preferably higher. Your predicted SAT IIs are also too low, tbh. </p>

<p>Finally, you need to do ECs that give you tangible things to talk about/awards to show.</p>

<p>MIT (1st choice): High Reach
Stanford (2nd choice): High Reach
Caltech (3rd choice): High Reach
UC Berkeley (4th choice): Reach</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon University: Low Reach
Georgia Institute of Technology: High Match
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Match
University of Michigan at Ann-Arbor: Low Reach
Purdue University: Low Match
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Low Match
Virginia Polytechnic University: Safety
University of Virginia: Low Match (Instate)
University of Maryland- College Park: Safety
University of Texas- Austin: High Match
Princeton University: High Reach
Cornell University: Low Reach</p>

8

<p>I had a friend who, based on her stats/ECs/GPA/accomplishments, I thought would be a shoe in to pretty much any school. That friend got rejected from almost everywhere they applied, among them many of the schools you listed.</p>

<p>There’s no such thing as an auto reject or auto admit at the level of a reasonable applicant to those schools, which you already are even with those SAT scores.</p>

<p>Get them up and it will increase your chances. You will be a strong candidate for any school if, as people have said, you raise your SAT to 2150-2200, higher if possible.</p>

<p>Also, someone else mentioned passion and consistency for ECs, thats important I believe, as is trying to do/participate in/accomplish something extraordinary, sending a letter of continued interest, having a great essay, and good recs.</p>

<p>Thats my opinion.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the input!
I know the standardized testing scores need to go up, so that’s what I’m focusing on now. </p>

<p>Other than that, I’ll try entering some music or academic competitions. Are there any you might recommend?</p>

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<p>okay, so i just wanted to tell you how AWESOME it is that you play the oboe. I also play the oboe and the english horn, and you’re like the only other person i’ve seen on CC who does too.
because the oboe is so unique, you need to make sure that you really show how committed you are to it on your app. also, get your scores up and you’ll have a solid application!</p>

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<p>thanks so much! yeah haha, not many people play the oboe, but all the better for me right? i’ve been playing for 3 1/2 years now, so i’m pretty sure i’m going to be continuing it at least through the rest of high school. </p>

<p>i’ve also noticed that it’s really hard to find teachers haha. my current one is 45 minutes away…</p>

<p>do you by any chance know of any competitions that i could enter (per a previous poster’s suggestion)?</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

12

<p>OP, would you mind giving me some feedback?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1157975-chances-being-admitted-uc-berkeley.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1157975-chances-being-admitted-uc-berkeley.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

13

<p>I agree! A good teacher is really hard to find nowadays.
I know of some competitions on the west coast (san fran, sacramento, etc) but I don’t really know of any on the east coast. You can probably find them online though. I’m guessing there are a lot of opportunities (especially for the oboe) in places like new york and dc.</p>

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<p>yeah, i live pretty close to DC so i’ll do a little research there. thanks! how long have you played for?</p>

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</p>

<p>i’ve responded! thanks for chancing me!</p>

15

<p>you put “sigh” after you said you were asian? lol</p>

16

<p>Well…affirmative action isn’t exactly favorable towards us Asians haha.</p>

17

<p>^I agree, I can’t tell you how many <em>sigh</em>s I’ve seen on CC for Asian ethnicity, haha.</p>

<p>My thoughts:
You are the typical Asian candidate for most of the top 25s (orchestra & stem), since you still have 1.5 years until application time, try developing one of your passions a lot so that you gain some high recognition (in addition to the state level for percussion?). Many super-smart applicants have awards for math/science and get rejected regularly, so try something much more unique, imo.</p>

<p>Now, chances at UCB are higher because of financial problems; they want OOS and international students so that they can pay their own tuition starting this year (u rich?) </p>

<p>Don’t worry about the test scores, b/c your scores will raise a lot by the end of junior year for sats just through experience in your classes and through studying as well.</p>

<p>I would say find an internship/job/nonprofit org and dedicate yourself to them ASAP so that your commitment shows and so that you have something to write passionately about. Try to get some perfect scores in STEM on all the SATs for MIT & Caltech b/c boy are the applicants for those schools perfect.</p>

<p>Try to keep up that 4.0 UW if possible, and find a passion! Be president/VP of clubs for UCB because those positions are all they care about -.- Show that you can contribute to the university’s campus through your intellectual uniqueness and vitality, your diversity, your passions, and your commitment.</p>

<p>BTW, don’t take that many classes -_- To me that shows resume building, instead of a passion for learning. You need time to sleep, eat, and to fulfill your other interests.</p>

<p>If you find a unique niche, I would you say you have a good shot at all except for the top 15 schools you mentioned (all those are unpredictable - 2400 SAT-receivers, 4.5 gpa, and club presidents get rejected all the time, while a 3.5 gpa might get in, it all depends)</p>

<p>I would recommend submitting your application earlier to raise your chances b/c some universities read applications in the other that they were received - the first 250 essays are more interesting than the last 250 essays.</p>

<p>Chance me (even though you’re just a sophomore, haha)! <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1157803-you-yes-you-you-want-chance-me-right-i-want-chance-you-back-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1157803-you-yes-you-you-want-chance-me-right-i-want-chance-you-back-2.html&lt;/a&gt; Thanks!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1158539-chance-class-2016er-gt-princeton-stanford-public-ivys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1158539-chance-class-2016er-gt-princeton-stanford-public-ivys.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>YOUR AMOUNT OF CLASSES AND EC’S ARE RIDICULOUS! Congrats? I think? I hope you have at least enjoyed some of your high school career.
MIT (1st choice): Roulette (anyone’s guess)
Stanford (2nd choice): roulette
Caltech (3rd choice): roulette
UC Berkeley (4th choice): low reach</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon University: low reach
Georgia Institute of Technology: match
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: match
University of Michigan at Ann-Arbor: low reach
Purdue University: match
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: match
Virginia Polytechnic University: safety
University of Virginia: match with caution
University of Maryland- College Park: match
University of Texas- Austin: match
Princeton University: roulette
Cornell University: reach</p>

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<p>isn’t this a link back to this thread? haha.</p>

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<p>i’ve chanced you back! thanks for chancing me too!</p>

20

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<p>um…i don’t foresee applying for need-based aid. i was going to apply for some merit based scholarships, but if they’re really as strapped for cash as you say, i might not haha.</p>