Yes, I know these are all reaches for everyone! And I know that I should also pick some safeties! With that being said, how “reachy” are these reaches?
Grades:
SAT: 1540
SATII: 770 Math 2, 770 French
Courseload: IB Program, scores pending (very rigorous I think)
4.00 UW GPA
4.5 ish W GPA
AP scores: 4 in Chem, 5 in Stat
Background:
Middle Eastern, Male (escaped to US at age 12 bc gov’t came after me and family, might write about this)
Income: Middle Class, rather not specify
CA student
EC:
-On state executive team at an NPO with 700k annual funding (lots of writing and editing involved here, manage seven people)
-Board Member on school’s advisory board, also student member on SSC and youth commission (there are no chairs or anything)
-Worked with other high schoolers to pass legislation in my city, I organized the canvassing events (head canvasser)
-Lobbyist Chairperson at YG, won statewide lobbyist of the year award
-Student Advisor to State Board of Education (charter proposals and present)
-Varsity Debate, will be captain senior year, won various awards (our team is top 10 in nation)
-Run a music production club with 14 active members, raised 3k for instruments and DAWs
-Writer for HS Dems and school newspaper
Summer:
-Interned at a Persian culture center
-Interned for a congressperson in their state office
-All expenses paid trip to D.C. as a lobbyist on behalf of a big Educational Org
Awards:
Medium sized debate stuff, regional public speaking awards, and the statewide YG one
So, given all of the above, where do I stand?
Like you said, all of these schools are reaches. Although you have the entire package, you can still get rejected or waitlisted if you don’t fit in the school, if there are better applicants applying with the same major as you, etc. Nonetheless, you have impressive stats and ECs and I would expect you to do fine in the college process. The HYPS schools are all crapshoot business, nobody knows for sure if they are getting in. As for the others, they are a bit more predictable but still you really don’t know.
As a rising senior myself, I am not completely sure how helpful or accurate my advice will be, but I can tell you from what I’ve seen on this website that your credentials are very competitive for the schools you have listed. I would say that it would be optimal if you could somehow raise your SAT score maybe by a little bit to be >1550, but with the rest of your profile, it seems very impressive as it is. I definitely think you have a very good shot at getting into these schools, but like many have said before, admissions into these top schools can be a crapshoot. That said, you should definitely apply, but also have some safeties in mind.
@tripledouble2000 I’m actually a rising junior, but thanks! As for the SAT, I think it’s good as is, but you never know lol. What concerns me more right now is my AP scores and extracurricular quality. I would consider my ecs unusual, but I don’t know if that can become a bad thing. For example, I doubt any of my awards will be on their list of prestigious awards. Any thoughts?
I agree that your SAT score is fine as it is. Your ECs are really good but you could use your time to try to add depth related to your major. From what you listed I have no clue what your intended major is. The subject tests and APs suggest STEM but the ECs suggest social science. Your main focus, I think, should be your APs. Colleges want to see you challenging yourself. What APs do you plan to take? All in all, I think you are a strong applicant and definitely should apply to all these schools.
Also just to make sure you’re aware of this but UPenn is ED, not EA.
I agree with @TheGr8Gatsby that your ECs are very good, but they could be a little more concentrated in the area that you are interested in. As for awards, I would in fact suggest that you achieve something that is recognized nationally and internationally. Of course, it does not have to be any of the typical awards that they have listed as prestigious. Try to find a national or international competition of some sort in your area of interest and enter it. This will definitely boost your profile.
@tripledouble2000 @TheGr8Gatsby You guys probably don’t know my intended major because it’s a little bit vague here. Generally, I’m into politics, specifically education policy. I’ll make a point of making this clearer in my app lol
Your stats look really great! and if you present your story in your essays very well. I think you will be a great candidate for most of the colleges. But the thing is, if you are not a citizen or a green card holder, it could affect your chances of getting federal scholarships! But man, I think your stats are really Impressive!
Actually I am a green card holder at the moment. Working on getting a citizenship, though!
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