Chance me: Stanford (deferred from REA), UC Berkeley, UChicago, Notre Dame, UMichigan

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi guys! I am a senior and want to know what my chances are to get into the above schools. Thanks so much!
A bit of context: I am an Asian male, and moved to Hong Kong when I was in 4th grade.

ACT: 33/36
School ranking: Top 2% in my form for the past 6 years (I go to a top local Hong Kong school)
APs: MicroEcon (5), MacroEcon (4), Chinese (5), Physics AB (4) (I take the local curriculum, and only took APs as a way to place out of classes)

Extra-Curricular Activities

  1. Debate
  • Was captain in my junior year
  • Champion of multiple regional public speaking and debate tournaments
  1. Chairman of an interschool debating organization
  • Organized a 2-day city-wide competition for the underrepresented students in the debate circuit
  1. Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper:
  • Changed the paid magazine into a free newspaper and the design of the publication
  • Focused articles on the typically unheard voices in the school (eg Canteen workers) to increase understanding within the school
  1. Softball:
  • Have been playing for 6 years
  • In the year I was captain, the school became a championship contender for the first time in 10 years.
  • Joined the Hong Kong team, have represented Hong Kong at the highest level across Asia as part of the starting lineup

Family:

  • Both parents and brother went to UChicago
  • Father went to Stanford for a graduate degree

Essays and branding:
Most of my college essays followed the same story:

  1. First moved to Hong Kong, had to learn the local language and culture to assimilate into the community
  • Did this through watching local TV shows with English subtitles, learned Chinese through listening and mimicking
  • Tried out and made HK u19s, trained in Chinese-dominated environment, broke into first team and became the designated communicator on the pitch
  1. After assimilating, I actively improved the community
  • I brought in many ethnic minorities in my school onto the softball team Increased interaction between EMs and local students, breaking stereotypes
  • Cooperated with underrepresented stakeholders in the community by giving them a say in the elitist debate circuit and in school through a debate competition and the school newspaper respectively
    CommonApp essay:
  • Talked about the discrimination I face, being a male playing softball
  • Gave my thoughts on gender roles, and how I was able to not only sympathize with people affected by gender role expectations, but empathize
  • Elaborated on the effects these expectations have on society

Sorry for writing so much! I really appreciate your help, thanks!

2

Hey dude!
I am surprised you got deferred from Standford. You seriously have everything that a top college requires.
The scores are clean and excellent. A 33 in ACT is more than enough for all the colleges you applied. On top that your GPA/transcript is fantastic. The APs are a nice addition too. Boy, you got some fantastic ECAs. You excel in whatever you take up. You seem to be a perfect all-rounder. Your essays were probably the major reason behind your deferral but I am sure they were written well.
All the best

3

You count as an international applicant, correct?

4

You have a great profile. UChicago might waitlist you because they want to gauge your level of interest. They might think you are only applying because you have legacy there. If your essays are great, you could get into any of these schools. Besides UChicago and Stanford you have a very competitive profile for all of those schools

5

@GreenPoison Yes, that is correct

6

You need a few safeties.

Being an international student, your chances are much, much lower than any domestic applicant.

Also, application into some of these schools heavily depends on your major.

7

ACT 33 is just around the admission average of thess top schools where they reject 80-95% of applicants each year, even many have near perfect stat and excellent EC.