siri4fun

I am a high school senior in a very competitive school in California. I am American-Asian (Indian) and moved to America at the age of 8. I am planning to apply to Notre Dame Early Action.

Academics:
My gpa is about 4.0 Weighted (and about 3.5 uw- a little on the low side)
I only took the SAT's once and received a 2260:
Math- 800
CR- 670
Writing- 790
Total- 2260

I have taken and am taking many honors/AP courses.

EC's:
Co-founded and was VP of the chess club in freshman year and am President this year.
3 years of Spanish club
Played two years of tennis for the school team.
I have played chess competitively since sixth grade and have received many awards. Some of them include:
1st place K-8 in NorCal 8th grade
Tied for 11th in World Open in 2006 and for 14th in 2007 in Philadelphia, PA.
I am currently ranked among the top 50 players for my age in the country.

Community Service and Work Experience:
Last summer, I when I visited India, I volunteered in an orphanage for a week, teaching children and playing with them. I also donated food, clothes, and toys, as well as as $200 of my chess earnings from tournaments.I lived with the kids there for a week and helped teach the children, play with them, and spend quality time with them. It was one of the most enriching experiences of my life (about 120 hours). I'm also writing my essay about this.

Helped teach kids in summer school in 2005. (80 hours)
Have taught chess (as a part-time job)
Currently have a job as a tutor at "Mathnasium." (10 hours a week)
Active volunteer in my local community for the city (40-50 hours).

I am leaning towards the business side, mostly finance and economics.

What do you think of my chances at (please tell me if the school is a reach, a 50-50 shot, in my range, or a safety):

1) Notre Dame (Early Action)
2) Either UPenn or Washington University in St. Louis (Early Decision)
3)Babson (Early Action)
4)University of Virginia
5)NYU
6)USC
7)UC Berkeley
8) UCLA
9)UCSD
10)UC Davis
11)Carnegie Mellon
12) Santa Clara University (as a safety)

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate the time and help.

ColdWind

Your numbers are fine for all of your schools. Notre Dame may--I really don't know for certain--want more substantial ECs. Penn's Wharton School of Business is a reach. Penn's arts & sciences is likely if you apply ED/EA. Univ. of Virginia is 50/50 since you are out-of-state. You are likely to be admitted to all of your other schools.

robbins01

What's your UC Gpa?
Coming from a fellow student, I don't want to make any unwarranted suggestions, but I do know that you're pretty much a shoo-in at Santa Clara ... I know someone who got rejected from UC Riverside, but got accepted into Santa Clara (he was considered to be a minority, as well) ...

coexist

A Notre Dame Counselor came to my school in California and said they wanted people in the top 1-2% of their class (so the valedictorians...). Your stats are good but your class rank will be the deciding factor about Early Action vs. Regular Decision. Good luck.

siri4fun

My UC GPA is like a 3.9. And I know for sure I can get into Santa Clara, I'm applying there as a safety. Although my gpa is a little low for most of these schools, I'm banking on my SATs and extracurriculars and my essay to help me.

Also, anyone have an idea about my chances of getting into Washington University ED?

And also, I don't know about NYU because I would be applying to Stern, which is a tough school. Any ideas on that?

Thanks a lot everyone.