Am I being overly ambitious?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hello, I’m a senior applying to multiple competitive and/or T20 schools (Ivies, Vandy, JHU, etc.), with an REA to a HYP school. I’m wondering if my profile is competitive for these schools because I don’t know many people who actually get into them.

Demographics: Connecticut resident, Female, biracial, family income >100k, public school
Main interests: archery and molecular biology (I’ve taken biology classes every year)
Career Goal: research (not in the medical field)
Stats: ACT 36, SAT Math II 800, SAT Bio-M 800, AP Bio 5, AP Chem 5, AP English Lang 5; top 3% of class
Senior Year courseload: AP Lit, AP Gov, AP French, AP Calc AB, Physics Honors, Orchestra (just for fun), Independent Study Research (research is going to be published with me as a co-author)
Awards: nothing special

Archery: Junior Olympic Archery Development top 3 awards in state (1st) and new england regional competitions (3rd), I compete nationally as well. Started an archery club at my school freshman year and I spent the summer starting a countywide program to teach archery to kids with disabilities with a non-profit organization. For this program I recruited people from CT archery schools and the club I started at school to teach the kids.

Biology: selected as the leader/TA of Molecular Bioinformatics Research class junior year. In the class I studied a protein that has the potential to alleviate world hunger, but researchers don’t have enough information about its assembly pathway to properly engineer it for optimal efficiency. I proposed a solution to this issue and spent the summer before senior year helping to develop technology that would make my proposal happen, I’ve paused this work for now but will continue second semeter. senior year I’m doing unrelated genetics research through independent study, and I will be published as co-author of a paper in a peer-reviewed journal and will be the only high school student presenting at a University research symposium (2 presentations: 1 poster symposium style and 1 oral presentation in front of a large audience of researchers, students, and faculty). Student at Columbia Science Honors Program.

Other: President of Key Club, Math Club (did not list because I had no room), VP of French Honor Society.
Family Responsibilities: Assistant Director at my mom’s company, so I am the director of the company when she goes on vacations or is sick. Sometimes I take over for an entire month.

Essays: common app is a very original (not related to archery or biology) topic that has made people both laugh and cry so I think its good lol
Recs: Molecular Bioinformatics teacher says I’m one of the best students she’s ever had, History teacher likes me because she was my mentor for an independent history research project last year, Guidance counselor loves me too. I made sure that each of them had something tangible to say about me rather than general descriptions like “hard worker and a nice kid”

I know that admissions to these schools are difficult. I’m just asking if this is a profile that is on par with others who apply. I’m not posting this with the intention of bragging, because I honestly dont know where I stand since there are so many crazy qualified people on CC. Thanks to anyone who reads this. Dont sugar coat but also please don’t be too mean or else I will be sad lol.

2

No, you are a great candidate. Also, try not to compare yourself with all the other people on CC. I’m guilty of it as well, but all it does is destroy your self-esteem and confidence. Plus, there are people who lie (shocker) here, so not everyone is that perfect student who took a trip to Nigeria and cured AIDs. Bottom line is that you’re an exceptional student and candidate for these schools. There’s obviously no guaranteed admission, but I’d be surprised if you didn’t get into one of the Top 20s.Good luck.

3

Never choose a college based on rankings. Rankings are not reliable. The biggest problem is not getting rejected. It’s getting accepted and finding out you can’t afford to go there. Or finding out that the school culture is a poor fit. Do some research and shop around. Private schools are notorious for giving lowball financial aid packages at the last minute. You want to make sure that the school you choose is a good fit for you and you can afford it.

4

Have you even visited any of those schools?
Don’t apply to schools because it’s the competitive “thing” to do at your school.

Every school is VERY, VERY different and you may not feel the “fit”.
You must visit, ask questions, and take some time walking the departments.

5

Yes, you look to be a competitive candidate. But that gets you past the first cut. Things we can’t see like your essays, LORs, how your application happens to strike an admissions officer etc. will also come into play for these very competitive colleges. As I tell everyone, be sure you have a well balanced application list that also includes match and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.

6

I have visited nearly every school I am applying to. If I was not able to visit I attended an info session. I’m not exactly sure what kind of school I want so that’s why I applying to a variety. There’s a mix of safeties and targets on my list as well.

7

@sh.elite I think it’s good that you have been proactive and sought out the opportunities you needed to make an informed decision on your college list. Great job on keeping a balance between targets, reaches, and safeties. At the moment, you are doing a lot better than most students around the country and having fallbacks if your dream school doesn’t work out. I wish you the best of luck!

8

I think you have a solid shot at these schools. That said, get ready for a rather harsh critique that I welcome a response to in the hopes of being proven too quick to judge–

The one red flag that came up for me as I was reading your post is the following section: “Assistant Director at my mom’s company, so I am the director of the company when she goes on vacations or is sick. Sometimes I take over for an entire month.”

To be blunt, reading just what you’ve communicated here, I’d be rather skeptical about the responsibilities of your involvement at your mom’s company --if you’re saying you have regularly run it for a month while being a full time high school student. What type of business is this? I’m also confused why your mom would go on vacations to leave you in charge?

The whole thing reads very bizarrely to me, and depending on how you frame it, you might be better served not including it. It makes me wonder what else is prone to hyperbole in your application!

9

Hi @hgrad2010 thank you for your opinion. Its a business that operates by appointment only, but i understand your skepticism. I will reword this / rethink it. I don’t think it was a harsh critique at all, but rather very helpful.

10

@hgrad2010 it’s also not like a huge corporation, but rather a local business. My mom doesn’t trust other people to do the job and her role as the owner is pretty much administrative work (scheduling meetings, speaking with clients, writing paychecks to employees). I used the word “vacation” as a generalization for times that she goes to visit her family (in a foreign country) or when she gets sick.

11

Got it thanks for the clarification—I think framed in the way you phrased your last post it makes much more sense to me, and is indeed an impressive extracurricular activity.

12

You seem to be a very strong applicant. I recently submitted an application to an HYP school. It’ll be awesome to keep up with you :slight_smile:

13

I’d love to read your essay as another white female from CT.