<p>Princeton EA + Middlebury RD, both undecided</p>
<p>SAT Score 2220 (CR 800, WR 720, M 700). I took the test twice and scored higher on all three categories, so no superscore for me. </p>
<p>SAT II:
Math I 730
Chem 750</p>
<p>GPA & Rank:
School doesn’t use GPA. But my most recent average is 93/100. My sophomore year and freshman year grades aren’t that great (borderline 89 and 90), but there is a clear upward trend, and I expect to achieve a 94/100 in my senior year.
Rank is definitely top 5%.</p>
<p>AP, IB, or honour courses:
No AP or IB at my school, but took “enriched” courses (the Canadian equivalent of honour courses?) in math, science, history, etc.
Took AP environmental science in sophomore year (4/5). I took it because the environmental club at my school needed someone to speak on their awareness classes. As the committee chair I volunteered for the job. </p>
<p>Awards:
Nothing major. Some Waterloo math contest distinction awards, 1st place in McMaster engineering competition, silver standard in Toronto science fair, Chemical institute of Canada award, etc. Also won a few Toronto music competitions (gold/silver standard) with my school bands. </p>
<p>Essays:
I completed two so far and I would give them a solid 9/10. I got a few people to read it and they liked it. One talked about my passion for woodworking and another one talked about how I respond to different advice from different people. Both pieces are written in a light-hearted, humorous manner. </p>
<p>ECs:
- Teaching assistant at a local public school’s international language program (taught mandarin classes). (I can speak, read and write fluently in both English and Chinese. In particular, I wrote competitively in Chinese and had my pieces featured in creative writing books)
- Swim instructor for children with disabilities at a rehab hospital
- Emergency unit attendant/receptionist at a major hospital
- Founding member and designer for a clothing company. Yearly revenue is around $8K~. Partnered with an aboriginal charity (most proceeds are donated).
- Developed free apps to reduce drunk driving (I won’t get into the details of how they work) on iPhone and Android. 1000+ downloads in first week. Partnership with organizations against impaired driving.
- Did an independent research project on road salts and their alternatives (not related to school). Presented research at a government conference (first HS student ever invited) and received recognition from government researchers, etc.
- Debate club vice president
- Environment club head
- Model UN
- Shad Valley Entrepreneurship Program
- Certified lifeguard, etc
- Percussionist at school stage band/ concert band/ jazz band for 3 years. Some awards.
- DEEP Summer Academy at U of T
- Founder of Bridge Club at school (no, not building bridges, I’m talking about the card game)
- That’s the major ones I can think of off the top of my head. There’s probably a few more but realistically, I can only fit 10 activities on the common app anyways. </p>
<p>School Profile:
Large public school in middle-class neighborhood. Each year there are around 2~3 ivies in a class of 700 people. </p>
<p>Applicant Profile:
Asian, middle-class, both parents with masters degrees. Immigrated to North America in grade 7 with very limited English. Seeking financial aid at both colleges. </p>
<p>Wow, sorry for such a long post, I wanted to be as informative as possible. I still have a few months left in my senior year before I need to submit my apps, and I want to know what areas I need the most improvement in (for example, should I retake SAT’s or add more EC or focus on my grades?)</p>
<p>As a side note, my other school options are Amherst, Duke, Hamilton, Brown, Chicago, and Northwestern. </p>