Demographics: Indian International, Private school CBSE need financial aid for T20 universities.
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Indian
Residence: India
Income Bracket: Need aid for T20 universities
Type of School: Private
Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
Intended Major(s): Physics/ Astrophysics
Academics: 9th- 92%, 10th- 97%, 11th- 84% (Explained my dip in 11th that I had a serious viral infection and also due to the rigorous evaluation in my school.) 12th (predicted)- 95%
Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.
SAT I: 1520 ( EBRW 740, MATH 780)
Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.
Research 11, 12 Break 25 hr/wk, 10 wk/yr Continue Member/Junior fellow of a research institute, Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) which is funded by the State Government. Attended workshops & residential camps by professors in STEM & performed research projects. Received a scholarship over two years for the research.
Science/Math 9, 10, 11, 12 School 10 hr/wk, 30 wk/yr Continue President of Math Club for 2 consecutive years, Held regular math competitions and advanced problem-solving sessions for my juniors & peers. Guided 25+ students to clear the regional Math Olympiad.
Community Service (Volunteer) 9, 10, 11 School 5 hr/wk, 20 wk/yr Continue Partnered with a restaurant; led free food drives with a popular chain of restaurants. In the pandemic I helped 1000+ deprived children & their families in by distributing free groceries & mid-day meals in government schools.
Research 9 School 15 hr/wk, 5 wk/yr Continue Finalist & presented research paper at IIT Bombay, SOF IIT Bombay Techfest (The biggest tech event in Asia) Self-authored a research paper on how an innovative dustbin can combat the problem of medical waste management. Published it in a scientific journal.
Student Govt./Politics 9, 10, 11 School 10 hr/wk, 40 wk/yr Continue (1 of 12) members selected from over 900 students, School Student Council Helped organize 50+ school & inter-school events. Supervised 900+ students. Ran regular meetings and assisted my teachers in administrative duties.
Academic 11, 12 Year 15 hr/wk, 25 wk/yr Continue Enrollment in College level Online Courses, Edx /Coursera /Harvard CS50/ Stanford Online/MIT OpenCourseWare Took courses on quantum mechanics & high-energy astrophysics. Self-taught advanced math. Currently working on a research paper on micro black holes.
Debate/Speech 11, 12 School 5 hr/wk, 30 wk/yr Continue Executive Member & Mentor, School Debate and Interact Club Represented school in 15+ competitions; presided mock debates & inter-house competitions; Mentored 250+ students in improving public speaking skills.
Environmental 11, 12 Break 20 hr/wk, 5 wk/yr Continue Part of “Save a Tiger” initiative; Member of NGO for saving the lives of tigers in India. Visited forests in Sundarbans (WB) every winter; created awareness of tiger conservation among villagers & received recognition from forest dept.
Athletics: Club 9, 10, 11, 12 Year 10 hr/wk, 30 wk/yr Continue Tennis, Member/Coach of club Tennis Team , Enjoyed playing doubles & singles tennis regularly at a reputed club in my city. Participated in 25+ inter-club competitions. Took classes for younger children.
Other Club/Activity 9, 10, 11, 12 Year 2 hr/wk, 50 wk/yr Continue Diecast Scale Model Car collector Collecting mini car models with my father since age 5. Have 250+ rare car models ranging from 1/64-1/18 scale. Member of a collector group in my city.
Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.
Qualified National Junior Science Olympiad (NSEJS) conducted by HBCSE, (Acceptance rate <1%) National 9
Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) fellowship 200 selected from 11000+ applicants.
State/Regional 11, 1211, 12Intl. & National medals in SOF Sci, Math and Eng. Olympiads. Top 10 intl. rank in Eng. Olympiad. State/Regional, National, International 9, 10, 11, 12.
State rank 6 (out of 1000+ students) in KAMP NASTA exam conducted by CSIR gov. of India. 9
State/Regional 8-time Scholar Badge (awarded by DPS society) for securing an aggregate of over 90% in school exams. School 9, 10
Letters of Recommendation
(8/10) Got one from counselor, Math teacher and English teacher each. Pretty good as I have known all the teachers for a long time.
Interviews
None
Essays
Really proud of my essays. (9/10) In my common app essay I used black holes as an extended metaphor to show my personality and character. I very much enjoyed writing my Caltech essays and felt I was effectively able to show my passion for STEM.
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:
Purdue (EA)
UIUC (EA)
University of Arizona (Astronomy major with 19K scholarship)
UChicago (Deferred)
Rejections:
Cornell (ED) Caltech (RD)
Pending- NYU RD (I qualify for NYU Promise), Rice RD, Northwestern RD, WashU RD, University of Rochester (RD). Please chance me for these too.