I’m a rising Junior who goes to a smallish high school in Massachusetts (150 per grade), not very competitive, only 1-2 go to T20 schools per year.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Chance for Berkeley, UCLA, Ivy’s, UMich, Northwestern,
Race/Gender: White male
Prospective Major: Physics/Science
UW GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: around a 4.6
Rank: Top 5% (of 150)
SAT: Plan to take this year, but I got a 1490 on the PSAT without studying, so I think I could get a 1500+
SAT II: Math 2- 800, US History - 740, Biology M - 770.
AP: APUSH-5, Biology - Predicted 4, AP Calculus BC - Predicted 5
I plan to take 4 AP’s (including physics) next year and 4-5 senior year. I also will be doing multivariable calculus as a junior through Stanford’s program. Don’t know what I’m doing senior year.
Awards: Very weak
Science fair, 1st place award, as well as a special physics award
Just school stuff, departmental awards in Bio, Chem, and AP Calc (first sophomore ever to get this)
Some student leader helper thing, idrk
EC’s (weak, I know), planned years are included:
Soccer, JV/ Varsity: 9-12
Club Soccer: 9-12 (We’re pretty good, made won our league every year and made the state tournament)
School Play: 9-12, lead in 10, maybe 11-12
Jazz Band (9-12), played saxophone since 4th grade. Might send in some music with my application
All-male a capella group (actually a lot of time): 9-12
Started a band and we perform at school events and by ourselves (profit goes to charity, around $1000 right now): 10-12
Chess club: 10-12
Student Government: 11-12
Looking to start at least one Science Club (don’t know what yet) because my school has basically none. It might be a science Olympiad team. 11-12
-Sometimes I volunteer at a local food shelter
I might make an album
Summer:
Junior Councilor at a Children’s summer camp: 9-11/12 (30 hrs/week) for the whole summer 9th grade, but only part of the summer the rest of the years.
Internship at an arboretum, but I help teach kids about Environmental problems 10-12
Internship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (they just found 17 billion dollars worth of gold at the bottom of the ocean). Working for the nuclear physics department where they carbon-date samples. (one of 10 labs in the US): 10-12
Jobs:
Mow Lawns: 9-12
Youth soccer referee (U18): 9-12
Hooks: Legacy at UMich, and grandparents went to Harvard/Yale, but that’s about it.
I know my awards aren’t great, so I am hoping to start an Olympiad team next year. I also don’t have enough EC’s that involve science, and a lot that involve music. What other EC’s should I get involved in, there aren’t a ton of options at my school.
Very strong overall application but the schools you have listed are all fairly competitive most of them should be classified as reaches and stretches. Apart from UMich as you have legacy.
Given your grades, plus being in-state, I believe that this is probably a safety and a very affordable one. It is also a very good university. We hire tons of graduates from there (literally, since a ton of engineers would be very roughly 13 or 14 engineers, a bit more if they are small).
I think that you also have a chance at the other schools on your list, assuming that your SAT is as expected.
(Also a rising junior, so feel free to take my comments with a grain of salt)
I agree with the idea of your EC’s not being weak. You surely are involved and committed to what you do, however, I thought you were a music major when I initially skimmed the list. Secondly, if your school doesn’t provide much science EC opportunities, starting your own would convey leadership and initiative on your application (berry goode). Olympiads are the way to go, but if you want to go hardcore, ISEF is pretty cool.
USC could be particularly good for this - look into their music minors, including Jazz Studies, that are open to students in any major. Michigan is great for music too, of course. If I were you, I wouldn’t choose a UC over UMich for undergrad unless I had a Regents offer (registration priority and research opportunities being even more important than the associated $). You might get Regents with your stats, though. Also, since you’re looking at UC’s, you might want to check out the College for Creative Studies at UCSB, which is a small and highly-competitive school-within-a-school with a separate additional application.
Other schools that are strong in both music and physical sciences are Northwestern, JHU, and University of Rochester. (Rochester could be a great low-match/safety for you, as it’s a little less competitive to get in, but not at all lacking in the advanced coursework you’ll be looking for - STEM is extremely strong there. If you think you’re bound for grad school, it could be a stronger choice than Northeastern.)
Are you considering applying to MIT? If you have strong references from Woods Hole you might be able to make that happen. Caltech and Harvey Mudd are worth looking at too. You seem ideally suited to Mudd’s broad and deep STEM core; and the a cappella scene at the Claremont Consortium is vibrant and fun (one group went to ICCA finals this year). I think Mudd might see a great fit in you, and vice versa. Stanford could be a possibility as well.
Honestly, I missed on the first reading that you were a rising junior, and your qualifications looked pretty great even for the end of junior year. With two years of high school left to go, you have potential to be an extremely strong applicant. I don’t think your EC’s are weak at all - your internships are science EC’s. Keep doing what you love and you will be fine!
Before you get too carried away with the college list, you need to make sure you can afford it. Private and OOS schools cost triple what you pay for in-state. Have you considered scholarships? If not, you really should. It’s basically free money. If someone offers you a free Honda Accord, would you turn it down so you can pay $80k for a BMW you can’t really afford anyway? It doesn’t matter how posh the BMW is, you’re going to be ahead financially taking the Honda.
@coolguy40 You are totally right, I would definitely consider applying for scholarships, especially for OOS schools. Does that influence the application in any other way? Or is it just free money
@Jedelm23 It’s just a separate application to fill out. It’s just a matter of applying for the scholarship when you do your application. Be sure scholarship applications are just as polished as a Harvard application. For competitive scholarships you need to impress them. Right now, I can already name a list of schools off the top of my head that would offer a full tuition scholarship if you can get above a 1500 on your SAT. TCU (full tuition). Baylor(full tuition), Alabama and Auburn (near full tuition). Mississippi State(near full tuition). You’re also highly competitive for a President’s scholarship at SMU.