Chance me, average SAT scores, Great ECs

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Student:
Asian, no legacy, no athletic committment to college</p>

<p>Freshman</p>

<p>Honors English 9
Honors Science 9
Honors Biology
Honors World Studies
Honors Geometry
Spanish II
Business/Management Introduction
Health</p>

<p>Sophomore</p>

<p>Sophomore
Honors English 10
Honors Algebra II
Honors Chemistry
AP American History
Science Research I and II
Honors Spanish III
Journalism design and Writing</p>

<p>Junior</p>

<p>Honors American Literature
Honors PreCalc
AP Psychology
AP Chemistry
Honors Spanish IV
Journalism II
Sciences Research III</p>

<p>Senior (Projection)</p>

<p>Honors Physics
AP Literature and Composition
AP Government
AP Spanish
AP Calculus
Science Research IV
Journalism (Ed in Chief)</p>

<p>Gender: M
College Class Year: 2012
High School: Public
High School Type: sends some grads to top schools</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 4.60
GPA - Weighted: 0.00
Class Rank: 6
Class Size: 336</p>

<p>Scores:
*I took another SAT today but I am not sure if I necessarily did better. I am trying to boost my writing score.
SAT I Math: 720
SAT I Critical Reading: 710
SAT I Writing: 650
SAT II U.S. History: 780</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Debate, Speech, Mock Trial, School newspaper, scientific research, Class Government, Student senate (school government), Science Olympiad, Spanish Club, Piano (12 yrs, I quit this year…no more time)</p>

<p>Leadership positions: Editor in Chief of newspaper, President of Freshman class, Senate positions: Treasurer (Soph), President elect (Jr.), President (Sr.), Vice President of Spanish Club, Finance Committee Chairperson for Dance for a Chance</p>

<p>Athletic Status - list sport and your level: Tennis (earned Varsity Junior year)</p>

<p>Volunteer/Service Work: Volunteer Club…various community work, nothing extraordinary.
Children’s Hospital Philanthropy Council, for another hospital I pushed patients in rehab in wheelchairs, hall monitor on an off period</p>

<p>Honors and Awards: qualified for National debate championships this year, quarterfinalist in impromptu speaking at states, semifinalist in debate at states (among these a hodgepodge of other debate awards at individual tourneys)</p>

<p>Summer: Attended U of Iowa debate camp and U of Michigan debate camp. I am working in Taiwan this summer for an internship at a candy corporation. Will be exploring multiple aspects of business…selling at counter, working in office, factory office work, etc.</p>

<p>Colleges of Interest:</p>

<p>Brown University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Emory University
Harvard University
Northwestern University
Princeton University
Rice University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University</p>

<p>**please tell me what I should take notice…what is good and what am I lacking that I can improve on this year. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>bump bump bump. i am going to change the title of this thread to make it more exciting.</p>

3

<p>Do you really think a 2080 is an average SAT score?</p>

4

<p>as good as that transcript looks (iwould kill for it) does it really have any substance? it seems as if you just work your butt off 24/7 with the sole goal of college (not being racist but it kind of eggs on the asian stereotype). do u have anything UNIQUE? mock trial and debate club dont count, but something with real substance, something you really enjoy doing that youre not juts doing for college</p>

<p>edit: for that reason alone i think stanford is a longshot, stanford in particular wants people who are unique, not robots. a few friends of mine (im not smart enough) all had a transcript similar to yours (pointless clubs which are obvious that you’re doing only for the sake of college) and they got rejected from stanford, princeton, and harvard (1 got into yale but he was in crew (rowing)).
try to stand out, they (the top top top colleges) get lots of applications like urs (straight As, 5000 clubs) but the few that actually bring something else to the table get in.</p>

5

<p>I would have to agree to an extent with the poster above me. There seems to be no central focus or anything that really stands out other than your debate. Your college list also doesn’t provide any perspective- it just seems like a xerox copy of the top twenty list of colleges. While many high achieving students do aim for the same colleges, it is usually easier to discern where their passions are directed or the motivations behind a particular college,etc. Your list just seems to be quite generic and resembles that of, I am sure, 20,000 other aspiring students.</p>

6

<p>My sister got accepted into Stanford even though she had like 3 ECs. 2 were NHS and Beta Club, the other was theater, but boy was she dedicated. She would stay afterschool practically every day, produced practically every play, etc.</p>

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<p>I think youre class of 2013 for college…and I agree with above posters. Your list of possible colleges is large and generic. Your ECs are great, but not so much when compared against the other great applicants you’ll be up against, let alone ORM applicants…</p>

<p>The leadership positions are good, but thats basically all there is to that. Have you done anything meaningful with those leadership positions other than go through the motions and attain the title?</p>

<p>Many of your other activities are just lists - there really isnt many awards to legitimize your participation. I see science research but then no science fairs etc. Mock trial, but the team didnt win anything? You did well in debate…but so many qualify for the “national debate championships.” Was this the TOC or NFL? Either way, lots qualify for both. Now if you won the TOC/NFL…thats a different story. </p>

<p>I think you’re going to have a hard time getting into the Ivys/comparables. You don’t stand out enough, especially considering youre an ORM.</p>

8

<p>You’ll definitely be competitive for Tier 1 and 2 schools.</p>

9

<p>“GPA - Unweighted: 4.60
GPA - Weighted: 0.00”
What on earth is going on here?
Also, not a ton of APs…</p>

10

<p>you look like you have a decent chance at most places. now narrow down your schools list by looking to see which ones you actually want to attend, based on what you want to study, location, campus atmosphere, etc. those are nice names, but where do you actually want to live and study?</p>

<p>also, if you haven’t been accepted for next fall, you’re definitely class of 2013.</p>

11

<p>I didn’t realize it but my post got cut off multiple times…heres some corrections.</p>

<p>Yeah, made an error with the graduating class. 2013.</p>

<p>APUSH: 5, pending APCHEM</p>

<p>It seems that my honors and awards got cut off wheni copied and pasted this.</p>

<p>Regarding Mock Trial I’ve won about 6-7 Outstanding Attorney awards in Regionals…yet to win it at states. Our team was semifinalists in Ohio state tourney this year.</p>

<p>I am NFL qualifier for debates, not TOC. Our team has no funding for that sadly.</p>

<p>I won Superior ratings at State Science Day (thats the highest mark). The US army also sponsored the Ohio Junior Science Sympoium (statewide) and I won 2nd alternate for my research on an environmental analysis of my school.</p>

<p>I just was nominated to be Treasurer of NHS.</p>

<p>I know my college list is just a copy of top 15…that was the intention, if I already knew what I wanted it wouldn’t do much to ask. I want to know what I’m safe for and what I’m reaching for. This will give me perspective.</p>

<p>Hopefully, let me know what you think of my record after I listed those last few awards. I think my dedication level is high in everything that I do…there is little ticky tacky stuff I do just to make it load my resume. Success can only come with hard work. BUT I’d like to hear if you do still think that I don’t seem dedicated because what you see here is what is likely to appear in a typical application. I really appreciate all your honest opinions.</p>

<p>Also, I don’t know how to unweigh my GPA. It’s on a scale of 5.0 for honors students.</p>

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<p>Added comment: I spend every summer volunteering my time for a program called the Taiwanese American Foundation. it’s a week long camp for TAs to learn about leadership, ethics/values, communication and TA identity. I’ve taken various leardership positions to serve here. </p>

<p>If you are interested in what I will emphasize the most in my application or in an interview…it would have to my involvement in TAF and my dedication to debate. This is where my passions lie the most and where I spend my most time.</p>

13

<p>I would say improve your SAT scores. Around 2200? 2080 is average for those scores, but not average in general. 2080 might even be at the low end for the schools that you’ve posted. And yes I agree with everyone else. Def. have a focus. I’m a mock trial/speech nat. qualifier too, and I’ve placed. What specifically have you garnered from those events? You don’t need to show that you’re involved in everything. But you need to show an immense amount of passion for something.</p>

14

<p>Your ECs seem a bit scattered…</p>