Chance me for Top 20s, Rice, UT Austin, UCLA, UC Berkeley

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Asian Male

GPA: 3.75UW 4.35W (Upward trend, 4.0 Junior year)
ACT: 36
APs: 12 (5s) and 3 (4s)
Rank: 11%
Major: Bio

Extracurriculars:

Debate President (Qualified to Tournament of Champions in LD Debate and Domestic Extemp, Top 50 at Nationals).
Published independent research paper
Intern at local university for summer, working on research
Interned at local hospital last summer, helped doctors prep for minor procedures
Write for a specialized medical news site about clinical trials with millions of readers per month

Awards:
Probably National Merit Semifinalist
National AP Scholar
Academic All American by National Speech and Debate Association
Degree of Outstanding Distinction by National Speech and Debate Association

As an additional question, what EC should I focus on for the supplemental essay about expanding on one of your ECs?

2

Are you a Texas or California resident? If so, it will affect your chances at some of the schools you list.

3

Rice may be your strongest chance for admission–although your state of residence is important for the other listed schools.

4

I’m from Texas

5

Outside of the automatic admission range (top 6% rank for Texas residents), UT Austin should be considered a reach.

UCB and UCLA should be considered a reach for someone with a 3.75 unweighted GPA (probably 4.0-4.1 UC weighted-capped recalculated GPA). Also, no need-based financial aid for non-California residents, so if you cannot afford list price, you need to aim for super-reach merit scholarships, not just admission.