Lower-Middle Class Asian Male, California, Mid-Competitive High School
US Citizen
California
High School Student
Asian Male
Athlete, Potentially Walk-onable
Political Science, Business, Theology
3.98 UW/4.4 W
Class Rank: No Class Ranking System
ACT/SAT Scores: 1540
School has no AP courses, only offers “Advanced Courses”, took 12 Advanced Courses by graduation, reached Calc1/2, reached Spanish 4+Advanced Spanish Courses for 2+ years after Spanish 4
Harvard Summer School 4 Week College Credit Program, SMCC College Credit Spanish 2 Class.
Awards
(Have many, just not listed as I have not completed my list)
Extracurriculars (Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
Student Council (4 Years, Senior Year as Stuco Lead)
School Zine Literary Magazine Photo Editor
School Yearbook Photo Editor In Chief
Varsity Basketball 3 years(Captain), JV Basketball 1 year(Captain),Varsity Track 1 Year
School Community Outreach Lead(Vice President)
APIDA(ASU) Member
CPR Certified
4th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo
USATKD certified Taekwondo Referee, Level C
Taekwondo Competition Team Co-Captain
Youth Group Church Praise Team Leader
Para Los Ninos Youth Advisory Council
YMCA Model Legislature and Court Delegate
Research done at USC, helped publish a paper
Harvard University 4 week College Credit Program
SMCC Spanish 2 College Credit
President and Founder of Non-Profit(4 years and running)
Church Missions Team
School Selected Admissions Ambassador
Peer Tutor
Commencement Speaker
Library Teen Librarian Council
USATKD All Academic Gold Team Award.
~300 Volunteer Hours, little less
If you are a 2026 graduate, that means you just finished your sophomore year. So how much of this is real and how much is wishful thinking? Do you already have that SAT score? Have you had all those leadership positions already? Commencement speaker? How can you know that?
Thank you for the response, everything is quite real, I do have that SAT score, and I do have all those leadership positions already secured as I have solidified myself as one of the top in my small class of 100 students(little less).
My suggestion - go visit some schools near home. I’m less concerned with the name. Walk the campus. Get an idea - do you like small, medium or large. City, suburban or country.
Are you looking for someone to let you know what your chances are or are you looking for suggestions on what you can do to make yourself a better candidate?
LOL no, I just have not put them into this half assed application, like I mentioned, I just have not put the list together for such things like awards, I have it written down, just not all together.
Can you share more about your interests? What do you do in your free time? What motivates you to learn and what do you enjoy learning about? What are you doing this summer?
Your application won’t be just a list of activities and titles. It also includes a personal statement. Think about what motivates you and why you became involved in these different activities. Is there a way to tie them together?
Look at the supplemental essays of the colleges you are interested in. Many schools have a question that is basically “why me?” How would you answer that? Why do you want to attend Dartmouth vs Columbia?
Let’s start with your college budget, how much can your family contribute per year to college? Run the net price calculators at some of the schools on your list to get cost estimates…start with schools with generous aid so we can get a sense of the level of need based aid you will likely receive (try Harvard, Princeton if you don’t have a list yet). Note that NPCs may not be accurate if your parents are divorced, own a business and/or real estate beyond a primary home.
What does this mean? Are you listed as one of the authors?
Is this in baseball? Will you pursue recruiting? Are you playing on a top travel team this summer, eg Wilson Premier, etc?
If you are lower middle class and especially if family has assets that would decrease the fin aid award, you need to chase money. That is your highest priority. If you self prep enough to score very high on the psat, it buys you a full ride to some schools, and free tuition at others. Also, for CA publics, it turns your high test score into an award which you can put on your applications.
You will get the most fin aid from Ivies and well endowed top LACs. It may be cheaper for you at Harvard or Amherst than at UCLA, for example. Right now, you look like average excellent, which means you are a great student overall, but nothing stands out above all the other great students in the nation.
I would recommend self prepping like mad this summer for the PSAT in the fall, to get national merit and a free ride to a few schools, as your financial safeties. Also, think about what your favorite one or two ECs are, and take them much farther, to a level outside of the school, the kind of achievement that might be recognized on the state or national level, that sets you above all the other excelkent students. Research and publications? Anything you really love, are passionate about, that you could take much farther? Right now, you are doing tons of common activities, spread very thin.
A profile like this will definitely get you into T50 schools, but your family may not be able to pay what is expected. But if you can max your test score and intensify one or two favorite ECs to an exceptional level, that might get you into a T20 level school.
Of course, being a recruited athlete would open up many doors, but from what you listed that does not seem to be an option for you
California offers excellent need-based aid for middle-class families, including Cal grant (which would include many classified as on the lower end of middle class) and the Middle Class Scholarship (for low to mid middle class). The only ones who do not qualify tend to be on the higher end of middle class and the wealthy. Just FYI. California is one of the more generous states. I would classify my family as low to mid middle class and we recieve both the Cal grant and the Middle Class Scholarship each year. You just need to check the income guidelines.