Chance for HYPSM and UPenn LSM (ed) [NJ resident, 4.0 UW, 36 ACT, NMSF, for BME]

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • State/Location of residency: new jersey
  • Type of high school: competitive public
  • Other special factors: none

Cost Constraints / Budget: none

Intended Major(s): bme

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.76 (A+ = 4.3)
  • Class Rank: top 1%
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 36

List your HS coursework:

Completed: ap bio (5), ap chem (5), ap calc bc (5), ap cs a (5), apwh (5), ap micro/macro (5), ap lang (5)

Senior year: multivariable calc, ap physics c, ap gov, ap stats, ap lit

Awards:

  1. usa biology olympiad semifinalist
  2. 3x champion - nationā€™s largest open bioinformatics hackathon
  3. tsa state champion and national finalist - data science & analytics
  4. aime qualifier
  5. tournament of champions qualifier
  6. national merit semifinalist (predicted based on index)
  7. some scholarships hopefully

Extracurriculars

  1. computational biology research at t20 university: working on manuscript for bioinformatics journal
  2. research at t10 and local uni: conducted research in chemical engineering (t10) and ecological modeling (local uni) - trying to publish at least one in hs journal
  3. dod research internship: applied machine learning to ecological datasets, received ts-sci clearance
  4. biotech startup (llc): filing for provisional patent - partnered with a bunch of local schools and several organizations and am trying to get some vc funding
  5. swe intern at openai-backed startup: developed features and conducted user testing
  6. biology olympiad club president: led team, personally placed top 80 nationally out of 15,000+
  7. science olympiad team president: managed team and medaled several times at regional, state, and national tourneys/invitationals
  8. debate team captain: qualified for toc in public forum
  9. stem education: intern/volunteer at science center (pvsa gold)
  10. stem gov school w/ <5% acceptance rate

Essays/LORs/Other: essays and lors will be strong

Schools

  • upenn lsm (ed)
  • hypes
2

Iā€™m also applying to several less competitive schools, but Iā€™m most interested in understanding my chances at the schools listed above. I should also clarify that I mistyped ā€˜hypesā€™ and was referring to the hypsm schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT). Could you please provide a chancing for them instead?

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You have a strong profile, so your chances are better than the published average acceptance rates at these schools. However, as you know, their admission decisions are unpredictable, making them reaches for almost everyone.

In the worst case - if you donā€™t get accepted to any of these schools (which unfortunately happens to some top students every year) - do you have a ā€œsure thingā€ school you would be happy to attend?

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Congrats on your excellent achievements.

I think you know the answer. You are a strong candidate for any university. However, it is impossible to chance applicants for schools/programs with such low acceptance rates.

Please work to create a well balanced application list with reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.

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Please read the thread Iā€™m linking. Itā€™s older, but admissions have only become MORE competitive. The student in the thread was a top student, just like you. Excellent SAT, GPA, NMF, class Val, great LOR and essays, great ECs. No one expected him to be rejected from all schools the first time he applied but that is what happened. He really didnā€™t have a sure thing on his list at all.

He did land well on his feet after a well thought out gap year, but the end of his senior year in high school was not a happy one.

Please read this whole thread. You donā€™t want this to be you.

6

UPenn LSM is not bioengineering or biomedical engineering (it is a dual degree program in life sciences and business).

You can major in bioengineering at UPenn. If you also want to do business with bioengineering, they have the M&T program for that (different from LSM).

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What have you done in terms of non-native language studies?

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Iā€™ve taken Latin for three years but havenā€™t done much beyond that.

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Thank you so much for the advice - I really appreciate it! I would genuinely enjoy studying pure biology through LSM (via the school of Arts and Sciences). Iā€™ve spent time researching both LSM and M&T, and LSM truly resonates with me more, which is why Iā€™m excited to apply there.

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Thanks for the congratulations and the reality check. You make a good point about having a balanced list. Iā€™m actually applying to UMich, Georgia Tech, UVA, WashU, Pitt, VTech, Purdue, and UIUC as well. Theyā€™re all schools Iā€™d be happy at. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

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Iā€™m also applying to UMich, Georgia Tech, UVA, WashU, Pitt, VTech, Purdue, and UIUC as well. Theyā€™re all schools Iā€™d genuinely be happy at. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

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Apply through rolling/non-binding EA programs wherever possible.

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Thatā€™s good to hear.
But please keep in mind that UMich, GT and UIUC are reaches as well. For example, there are kids who are accepted by MIT but rejected by GT.

I believe youā€™ll be accepted by Pitt, VaTech and Purdue, and likely Wash U (with demonstrated interest), and UVa (although, thatā€™s a little less predictable for OOS students).

14

If that was in HS, that definitely counts. Are you not taking it as a senior?