Chance for Rice and Emory!

pink_kleenex
Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:56:30 +0000

Hey guys! As you all probably know, I am currently a rising senior who would love some input from you guys regarding my chances at Rice and Emory, because I am currently struggling to decide which to apply to for Early Decision (ED). Both schools are great, and I really am torn between which to decide; so, forgive me for saying this, but any input on which school I’d have a better chance at would be very, very much appreciated! :)

Age: 17
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian
Location: California
School: Public-- around 480 students in grade
Rank: Around top 11% (I barely make 10% with 9th grade grades, but for 10th and up, I’m just barely off. :(

Unweighted GPA: Around 3.8666
Weighted GPA: Around 4.0666 (actually, it might be a little higher, as I don’t know if community college courses are equivalent to AP classes, so I didn’t use the AP boost on them)
SAT: 2220 (CR 750, Math 760, Writing 710) (took only once, but have no more time to retake it)
SAT II: Bio E: 780, US History: 740 (I know, really bad… but I will be taking English Lit and Math II in October!)
ACT: 33 (Essay: 11)

APs Taken: English Language (5), US History (5), Biology (5)
Courseload for senior year: AP Chem, AP Economics, Government Honors, AP Calculus AB, AP English Lit
Community College Classes: 3 taken so far (all A’s); taking two as of now for a total of 5.

Extracurriculars
-National Honor Society (NHS) member from 10th and up; NHS Secretary for senior year
-Cofounder and secretary of a cancer club at school
-Volunteer leader for non profit organization dealing with economically disadvantaged families and children-- tenth grade and up
-Associated Student Body (Student government): 9th, 10th; Freshman class Secretary
-Speech and Debate: 9th and up
-Going to a Native American reservation during the summer to help out and volunteer: 7th- 11th grade; did some research there on garlic-- didn’t publish it or put it into a science fair or anything, so I don’t really know if it counts.
-Peer tutor at high school and at local elementary school: 11th grade, 25+ hours
-Participated in Red Cross Blood Drive 9th- 11th
-Helped lead fundraiser that raised over $8,000 for cancer patients at school
-Helped lead fundraiser that raised over 3,000 pounds of canned food for the economically disadvantaged at school
-Helped out at multiple homeless shelters from 2005 to 2009
-Part of school welcoming committee for freshman: 11th and soon 12th
-Over 150+ hours community service

-Nationally ranked 13th speaker at Policy Debate Tournament
-Octofinals at same tournament.

-Internship over summer 2009 with alternative energy company
-Job working as cashier at fast food restaurant during summers and partly through year (10th grade through 11th grade summer)

As for my major, I want to go into pre- med with a focus on neuroscience (it’s freakishly fascinating!), but I guess because my activities don’t really show a huge “passion” for pre- med or neuroscience, I guess I’m going to choose something along the lines of alternative energy as my major (alternative energy is actually pretty interesting, so I have some credibility there haha) and then switch to pre- med. I know, I know, don’t judge me! Who knows, I just might forego pre- med for alternative energy later on! :)

Or maybe I’ll put undecided? Does it matter what major you choose for privates?

Any honest input on which university would be more reachable and best for me would be extremely valuable! Please help, as I am stuck in a rut, as these are really great colleges. I was also thinking about universities like Washington University in St. Louis, but I figure it’s a bit too far out of my range. :(

If you guys also have any additional information on these universities, your information would be priceless.

Other universities that you think would be a good match for me (preferably within top 20 schools?(according to USNews heh.)) would be wonderful as well to keep into consideration. If I don’t get into these schools (knock on wood!) I was thinknig of applying to UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD for publics.

Thank you guys so much!
(PS If you guys want, I can chance you back too)