Bump?
@shaash feel free to pm me for advice
Update, I got 4’s and 5’s on this year’s AP tests… but I got a 3 in Gov. Does it matter since I don’t plan to do anything in government and all of my ECs and essays point to technology and business? Also, if I don’t send that score, would they think that I got a 1 or 2? Is it worth sending?
Your Ap: scores mostly demonstrates the rigor of your curriculum and impacts your AP credits you receive. A 3 won’t earn you a credit and I don’t see a reason to send it. It won’t harm you if you do. 1400 in PSAT is not a bad score, but based on the speculated trend, you may not qualify for NMS
@Wisdom2share I heard NMS doesn’t matter that much if you do better on the actual SAT or ACT. Is that true? There were some special circumstances on my PSAT day that hampered my performance, but obviously that won’t matter to colleges.
@sneharams : you are right, NMS is definitely not a must, it is just another accomplishment that is common to high achievers like you. But you are strong in every other way you will be okay.
^^ is right about MIT, they love those portfolios 
@10s4life Thanks so much for the reply! That’s the most thorough response I’ve ever gotten! I never really thought about UCLA, but I’ll definitely look into it! I’m not really sure about UPenn either. I’m only going to apply because my brother went there for undergrad, and he is in their medical school now.
@Wisdom2share At first I was considering applying SCEA to Stanford, even though I would like to get in only a little more than MIT. Also looking at my lack of hooks, I think that early action wouldn’t even help me much there. Do you think that due to my portfolio work, I should apply early action to MIT instead?
You’ll get into all but Stanford IMO. (no one gets into Stanford 
J/K. You are a very competitive candidate. Good luck.
@sunnyschool thanks!
Can someone describe more the portfolios that MIT is looking for? Other schools as well?
@sunnyschool by portfolio I think they just mean accomplishments in a certain field like technology and engineering in my case
Hi - overall you’ve got an incredible academic record. I think you’ve got a great chance at all of the schools. You will certainly meet the requirements for grades and standardized test scores. A composite ACT score of 34 is perfectly fine. Going for a 35 or 36 won’t really help that much.
Here are a list of your strengths: strong class rank, GPA and standardized test scores. Female interested in engineering is also a plus. Good demonstrated interest in computer science, and shows dedication.
Downsides: The EC list that you provide is quite lengthy and rambling. There are several ECs, which appear to be to be listed just for the sake of length. For example bharathanathyam, tennis, orchestra, drawing, painting, photography, volunteering in a hospital. Why did you do these extra activities? Because your parents forced you? Or you thought it would look good on a college application?
Another downside: you are applying as a desi into computer science, which is overloaded with applicants from India and NRIs. Schools crave diversity and you might get unfairly labelled.
Be wary of overwhelming the reader. Keep in mind that the reader will make up their mind about you within the first 30-60 seconds. Providing a huge laundry list of accomplishments is not necessarily the best approach.
For schools like Stanford, if you are unhooked, you really need to have some type of award or recognition of international or national significance to get serious interest. I see a bunch of state level things, but nothing that completely wows me. To be honest I have never heard of any of the awards that you list. Its too late to come up with something now, but just try your best to portray these awards as being of national level caliber.
Here is my advice:
Apply to all the schools on your list. If you can afford to, apply to one of your top choices ED (your best shot will be at Penn given your brother went there). Then work on trimming your list of accomplishments and awards into the most meaningful. You might benefit from seeing a college counsellor to package your application together. They can help you create a cohesive story. The essay you write needs to show another side of you (apart from computer science or engineering), especially your human side. This is not easy to do. Again I suggest to seek the services of a professional college counsellor.
Good luck. Post here once you get your results, I’d be curious as to see where you end up.
@sgopal2 my list is rambling because it’s college confidential haha, but I agree. I won’t make a list like this to give to colleges or anything. Not to sound like I think highly of my accomplishments or anything but I think some of the awards might seem obscure because they are in very specific fields. They’re definitely not as impressive as Siemens or something like that. And those extra extracurriculars aren’t just for my resume. I also have a very high interests in the arts. It looks like I don’t because I don’t really enter competitions or anything. Maybe a couple for art. Also playing well enough to letter 4 years in varsity tennis isn’t possible without dedication for just a resume. I’ve won more tennis tournaments since this post btw. Sorry if I sound defensive. I’m really not. I appreciate the feedback and I’m only saying this because the focus on my essays won’t just be in technology but in the arts. Also I’m creating an arts portfolio to send to colleges so that will tie together the arts side of me to show that it’s not just talk.
@10s4life Yes I’ve won some USTA tournaments But I don’t think I’m good enough to play D3 nor would I want to. I only want to play club in college because it’s more relaxed.
@sneharams : Depends, for a candidate with your resume, it would definitely help to apply early. On the flip side, they are known to defer a 60+% of applicants to regular. If that happens it could prevent you from applying to any other ED on your list. If you have schools that you prefer to ED then applying EA to MIT could be a mistake. It comes down to how badly do you want to be at MIT. If you don’t have any other schools you are crazy about and want to commit to, then apply EA to MIT
@Wisdom2share The only other school I’m crazy about is Stanford, which is my dilema. Many of the schools I’m applying to don’t even have EA and I wouldn’t do ED for them anyways.
@sneharams, you should apply ED to the one school you want to attend above all others. If you can’t choose such a school, then no ED anywhere, use EA or RD. Is this your thinking?
@vonlost I want to apply EA to either Stanford or MIT, but I don’t know where it’ll help more due to my lack of hooks. I’d have a maker portfolio of MIT though which might improve my chances there. I also have an arts supplement for both schools, but I feel like Stanford would consider that more.
And Stanford’s is REA so you can’t do both. Tough decision!