A quick chance me by a junior

Chance Me / Match Me
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1

Asian male at a good school - undecided stem (but not cs) major and math minor

GPA: A (top 20 or 30 decile at least)
High rigor: 8 honors (english, multivar math, spanish, etc). 10 APs (chem/calc/bio/phys/csa/econ/spanish)

SAT: low 1500s (retake during dsat for 1570+ score)

ec’s (am i on the right track / how can i improve?):

8 seasons of a year round sport in high school (only jv since i do it for fun), 3 seasons back in 8th grade too… i could do senior year and get varsity but don’t want to, since too much work and that’s after college apps

2 years stem club, leadership 2nd year (no description since wanna be vague)

2 years performance arts club, leadership 2nd year (no description since wanna be vague)

volunteer tutoring 2 years (hundreds of volunteer hours, but fraction was actual spent tutoring), taught a ton of students 1:1, all subjects, might ask for higher responsibilities within the organization

online study: university moocs: coding + machine learning, and biology type stuff, and (maybe) additional coding exercises through a website… even less likely: in future some small science projects or online comps too along with this but idk since busy?

probably will start soon: currently have an offer to be a coding intern at local startup

applying to some prestigious summer research programs so i can do some science stuff, wasn’t old enough for anything free last summer :frowning: … (still padding up my resume tho before applying)

regular member of random service clubs all 4 years, barely any effort, idk if i’ll try for leadership (but competition is high and lots of work)

idk how to say this and idk if i’ll include it - 3 years (only 1 in high school) - language/mythology stuff and a virtual play i edited for a religious place… also a volunteer social media project for them too

awards:

collegeboard National recognition. honor roll every semester. nmsqt commended. pvsa gold. ap scholar + distinction. trying to win some essay scholarships. state’s seal of biliteracy (idk if this comes in time for college apps tho).

not worried about safeties/targets, but please give help on how i can improve to get into these reaches and please don’t be negative and say i have no chance: gatech, umich, jhu, princeton, nyu (hard target), ut austin, tufts, vanderbilt, duke, upenn (btw i’m not gonna apply to all of these)

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Your ECs are very good. Nothing to do here that will move the needle. Maybe a part time job but honestly they are fine. .

Get good grades. Take rigorous classes. Get a better test score although 1500 is outstanding.

Write great essays. Hope your LORs are good.

I wouldn’t worry about awards nor chase them. It’s what you do to earn them that matters - not the award itself - in most cases.

Depending on the Stem major, where you go may matter little. Engineering as an example.

If you get into one on your list - great. If not, the world isn’t over.

My concern - have you been to these schools or rather why these - besides the pedigree / name?

Ps you say your gpa is top 20/30 decile ? To have a realistic chance at any of these from a public school, it’ll need to be top 10%.

If you’re at a private, then talk to your counselor and see where kids like you get in.

But you can’t do other things to cover up your gpa and rank etc

Good luck

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I have two primary comments.

First of all, you are doing very well.

Secondly, do not do anything to “pad your resume”.

Instead, participate in the ECs that make sense for you. Do what is right for you. Whatever you do, do it well. Remember that “leadership” is not about getting your way. Leadership is instead about helping other people, and making the activity better for everyone (or nearly everyone) who participates in that activity. Leadership requires listening, gathering consensus, and doing the right thing, whatever that is.

Similarly, take the classes that make sense for you.

Then make sure that you apply to at least one and preferably two safeties, and look for schools that are a good fit for you. Also have faith that this will work out well.

While you are at it you might want to read the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web page. The same “do what is right for you, and do it well” approached has helped people I know get into multiple very good universities, and not just MIT.

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Duplicate account. Poster is welcome to post with their original account and bump up their old thread.