Chance me for my reaches: OR Resident, 3.94 UW, 1480 SAT; for BME [<$30k, 60k SAI, NPCs saying $40-75k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US Citizen
  • Oregon Resident
  • Public Low-Income Early College High School
  • Second-gen college, first-gen immigrant, upper-middle income
  • (Edit: Thought we weren’t supposed to say, but I’ve seen other people do it anyways and I think it’s important for context: I am Black/African American fyi, ignore some of those redacted)

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • SAI: ~60k
  • Parents said realistically they can afford 30k + outside scholarships/my savings (10-20k)
  • My estimated COAs: 40-60k, USC unofficial estimate (already got in with merit): 75k

Intended Major(s)
Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering/Biomechanical Engineering

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.94
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.14
  • College GPA: 3.83
  • Rank: 3/52
  • SAT: 1480 (EBRW: 730; Math:750)

List your HS coursework

(School does not offer AP/IB because community college classes are taken full-time junior-senior year; will refer to community college classes as ‘CC’)

  • English: English 9/10 Honors, Creative Writing; CC: College Writing, Technical Writing
  • Math: Honors Algebra 1, Honors Geometry, Algebra 2; CC: Pre-Calc, Trigonometry, Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, Financial Accounting
  • Science: Honors Physics (very surface level though), Honors Biology; CC: Gen Science Chem, Cell Biology for Allied Health
  • History and social studies: World History, 20th Century U.S. History; CC: History of Ancient Civilizations, 19th Century U.S. History
  • Language other than English: Spanish 1 & 2; CC: Japanese First-Year series, Japanese Second-Year 1st term
  • Literally almost got my associates LMAO, I would only have to take a few art classes and a science class over the summer

Awards & Honors
National [redacted cuz race blind] Recognition Program
STEM design club 1st place regionals
STEM design club 2nd place states
Mosque Youth of the Year
STEM design club promotional video with University starring myself and a teammate

Extracurriculars
7 years, Club Captain, STEM design club, Captained school chapter of 30 members, addressed impactful community issues through team engineering & design, won 2 awards at state level

2 years, Student Researcher, Oregon Medical school, Selected as 1 of 50 among 230+ applicants, composed 2 research papers on diabetes, teamed with OHSU faculty/peers, contributed to work in remote lab

5 years, Youth Coordinator, Islamic Center, Orchestrated 20+ events for Muslim community, raised $500k, wrote/performed speeches for dinners of 100+, collaborated w/ community leaders

2 years, Volunteer Shift Leader, Hospitals & Clinics, Directed communication among 45 volunteers/ hospital staff, trained 6 new students, completed surgery prep/patient wellbeing tasks, job shadowing

4 years, Chapter President/Event Chair/Coordinator, National Honor Society/Student Council/American Red Cross, Elected president among 60 NHS members, Organized 15+ events, 8+ fundraisers, 2 committees, weekly meetings, coordinated 3 blood drives

2 years, Library Aide, City Public Library, Organized 1k+ books & library materials, utilized databases to locate missing books, assisted 250+ patrons, memorized Dewey Decimal system

3 years, Cafe Manager/Barista, School Cafe, Directed cafe marketing & stock, worked as barista, invented 30+ menu items, entrusted with finance management, awarded Professional of the Month

1 year, Student Intern/Teacher, University 4-H Extension, Organized 7 field trips, created 25+ activities for middle school environmental clubs, orchestrated & volunteered @ 3 educational community events

2 years, Tutor, Self-employed/Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID)/ Community College, Tutored 100+ students ages 6+ in K-12 and college subjects using various curriculums & strategies, certified by 50+ hours of training

1 year, Moderator/Web Developer, [redacted] Online Community, Moderated Discord w/ 1k+ members, coded website w/ 8k+ active users globally, managed data & info in Excel

Essays/LORs/Other

  • History Teacher: 9/10 (One of my favorites, did good in his class, we keep in touch)
  • Geometry/Algebra 2 Teacher: 11/10 (This man loves me and is literally my #1 glazer; I’ve accidentally seen one of his letters for me and it made me seem like Einstein)
  • STEM design club parent organization Executive Director: 9.5/10 (She also loves me and we’ve been in contact for a couple years now)

Common App Essay: Connected my Minecraft obsession with my desire for real-world innovation, slowly falling in love with it through STEM design engineering club; I think it’s decent, I’ve only gotten good feedback. I’d say solid 8.5/10 personally

(Supplemental essays removed by moderator)

Schools
Stanford: 4%
Duke: 6%
Northwestern: 7%
USC (already accepted): 8%
Rice: 9%
Georgia Tech (deferred EA2): 20%

At the end of the day, I’m even just ecstatic to be accepted into USC with merit even if I can’t go. GT deferral OOS ain’t too shabby either. I have Oregon State and FSU as backups anyways (really good scholarships from them) and both are good schools.

Only doing this to ease myself and stay rational. My head has been hella clouded with decision anxiety and an honest evaluation from unbiased parties (people who don’t know me) would be helpful.

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Going to be very tough but if you are first gen (can’t tell) and african american, you never know.

They cannot use race from a box check saying your race but if they infer it from your essay, etc. they can. I mention this because you highlight it as you are unsure if this can be used - and for no other reason. I’m commenting to your comment. So the answer is yes, it can be used. Will it be the reason for an acceptance vs. other reasons? No one here can say - but if you are accepted, it will be because they see you and value you as part of their community.

Have you run the net price calculator for each to ensure affordability?

I don’t think Ga Tech would be affordable.

Have you been to FSU? You might like it’s combo program is joint with Florida A&M (an HBCU). You might not like that the program is a few miles off the FSU campus - so getting there will be a bit more work than walking across campus.

Stanford, of course, is Stanford and a top notch school if you get in. Just as an fyi though, and I have no doubt you’d have a great career from there, but it’s the one school on your list that is not accredited by ABET and there are many jobs out there that require ABET accreditation. They are only ABET for MechE and Civil.

Best of luck.

If you end up taking Oregon State for the win, I think you’ve done extremely well!!

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OP, you are an excellent candidate but some of your scores are at the lower end of these super elites. Go into it with eyes wide open and you appear to have a plan. I am optimistic and hopeful for you.

If you are accepted at any of these schools it will not simply be a function of your race. It will be the admissions office perception that the “whole” you brings value to the schools community.

Good luck and please share your results.

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I’m not able to weigh in on your actual “chances”, but just wanted to say that I love what you’re bringing to the application committees, I think you did a really good job picking reaches (love that Rice is on there, and agree with @tsbna44 about Oregon State being an absolutely excellent option to already have in your pocket), and I’m hopeful that things will go well for you this spring.

I know how nerve-wracking this waiting period is, and I’m sorry I can’t help with giving a sense as to how the committees will review your application, but you’ve done an excellent job as a high school student, and these colleges would be lucky to have you join them. Your school cafe manager job stands out especially to me, and your youth coordinator work with the Islamic Center. The research work is impressive, of course, but I feel like a lot of applicants with research experience forget the “normal” parts of high school life, and I love that you have the deep community engagement and the responsibilities of the cafe job as well.

Echoing @Catcherinthetoast, please post a follow-up as the season progresses; I’m hopeful for you, and would love to know how things go.

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No, I meant mentioning my race was relevant in terms of ECs. Yes, I am aware for the FAMU-FSU. I applied to both schools and got in with scholarships (FSU more). I grew up in Tallahassee and my mom went to FAMU. I’m aware GTech wouldn’t be affordable but it’s like the closest thing I have to a “dream school”, so I’m kinda just riding it out. Thank you for you comment, I will update!

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Thank you, I am aware about my test scores but I thought it wouldn’t kill, you know? I will definitely update you guys soon.

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I know right? The cafe was a really fun job, it’s a shame I’m employed now (as an paid intern at a tech company though so more than fair exchange). Thank you for your kind words and yes, I will let you guys know where I get in!

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More specifically, the court decision says that race/ethnicity alone cannot be used, but race/ethnicity as a factor in your individual experiences and such can be used.

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Ahh, okay that explains pretty much lines up with what I thought. I honestly wasn’t hoping or riding on that, I just thought it would be useful to know in context of my post so my experience and extracurriculars maybe made more sense.

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Meaning that FSU’s net price is the lower of the two? Good job using the arbitrage opportunity.

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Additionally, I think my balance of things like research and then things like the cafe is mostly in thanks I was honestly just doing what I wanted do. I wasn’t trying to make a good resume for college, I was just genuinely exploring my interests and pursuing what I cared about. I wasn’t even planning on applying to any big school until a few months before the school year started.

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Yes, exactly! I really like FSU and it would be really fun to be going to uni with my friends from elementary school (who somehow still remember me). I also have family there who would help me out a lot which I’m grateful for.

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These are indeed both very good universities. Congratulations! Being affordable is critically important. It looks to me as if you are on track to do very well at either of these very good universities.

You also are a competitive applicant to your reach schools. One problem is that they get a lot of qualified applicants – way more than they have places to put incoming students. Another issue is that it looks like they are unlikely to be affordable.

Regardless you are already in at two very good and affordable schools. I think that you are going to do very well. Congratulations and best wishes!

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Thank you! This means a lot

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Update for anyone who is interested along with
@Catcherinthetoast @LionsTigersAndBears
Was waitlisted from Northwestern today!!!
And…
ACCEPETED INTO RICE???
My fin aid checklist had something added last minute (literally yesterday) so I haven’t seen my aid butttt if I get rejected from Stanford on Friday, I think I’m committing…

I also got an invite to their VISION program for admits on a full travel grant!!!

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Heyyyy!!! Congrats! That’s so great to hear! Good luck with the financial aid, but regardless, I’m so glad for you, and for Rice that they might have you joining them!

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Thank youuu!!! Yours and the others advice really helped calm my nerves so I appreciate it!

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That is great news and a great opportunity, congratulations!! Rice is an outstanding school and Houston’s museum district offers a lot of other fun cultural opportunities and experiences.

Wishing you all the best!

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Congrats!!! I have a Rice grad!! He loved his years there!

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Congrats! I have a Rice BME grad. She LOVED her experience there (she going down to meet with friends at Beer Bike next weekend) and the BME department is fabulous!

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