Chance an unoptimistic Junior

Calcruzer
Thu, 14 May 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Okay, first let’s get real–you’ve got a lot of things going for you:

You said you expect to rank #1 in your school out of 972 students–quite impressive.

You speak three different languages.

You are of an unusual ethnic background.

Now let’s talk about what works against you:

The ECs are not that hot (and I’m a ranked chess player, too–but honestly, this isn’t really helpful as an EC)
Junior Statesmen is good and so is your volunteer service–but only 40 hours–and at a cafeteria, when you plan to apply to one of the top medical schools in the country in John Hopkins?

You should be looking for volunteer work that will excite you, like a medical volunteer job or something that allows you to use your linquistic skills to help others. (My former wife, who was Brazilian, and spoke five languages, volunteered in a lot of different ways, including for the Olympics when they were in LA back in 1984–which is where we lived then).

The other thing that works against you a bit is the 2080 SAT score. This and your GPA will get you into UC Berkeley or UCLA, and possibly John Hopkins and Cornell, but is what will keep you from getting into a school like Princeton. I guess the question is "Do you want to make the extra effort to try and get into Princeton?–and that will ensure you getting into John Hopkins? Or are you okay with UCLA or UC Berkeley? These last two are both great schools as well (trust me, my MBA is from UCLA), but the question is, do you want to do the work to get into the absolute best or not? Only you can answer this.

Albert Einstein said that “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.” If you want to get into Princeton, you have to set the example that will show others you are worthy of it.

Good luck with your decision–and with the effort.