Chance me to Ivy League/Top Colleges (Is it worth it for me to apply to these colleges?)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Asian, Male, International

Intended major: EECS/EE

Planning to apply:
UCLA
UCBerkeley
MIT
Princeton
Stanford
Cornell
(Safety: University of Sydney/UNSW in Australia, also planning to apply to UCL, KCL, Imperial in UK)

Tests
New SAT: 800M 710CRW Essay:7/5/7 (First time) (Weak CRW?) (Too busy to retake)
TOEFL: 115
SAT II: 800PHY 800MathII

Education:
Currently taking the second half of Cambridge International A-Level courses, (Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry)

Grades for Advanced Subsidiary Level (first half of the course):

  • Mathematics: A (99th percentile)
  • Chemistry: A (94th percentile)
  • Physics: A (93rd percentile)
    (Further Mathematics is only available in one sitting at the end of the course)
    (Top average percentiles in my school)

First year school-internal final exam:

  • Mathematics: 96/100
  • Chemistry: 91/100
  • Physics: 98/100
    (My school does not rank, but this should place me 1st out of around 100 students)

SPM (GCE O-Level equivalent)
8A+, 1A, 1A-

(These grades should place me at 4.0+ on a 5.0 GPA scale I reckon)

Honors/Extracurriculars/etc:

  • Concertmaster and President of my high school orchestra (Numerous national and international awards for my school)
  • Won the Curtin University Photo Awards competition
  • State representative (as 1st violinist) in the National Music Camp
  • Committee member and participant of my high school’s Australian exchange program (Malaysian representative)
  • Distinction certificates in the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music in Music Theory and Violin
  • Self taught violinist, pianist, and composer (composed high school graduation song, arranged for numerous local orchestras and university-orchestras) (planning to submit arts supplements for violin & composition)
  • Self taught photography/videography hobbyist (Side income, travel photography etc. Photoshop/Lightroom etc. skills at hand, official high school photographer (my photograph of the school is on the front cover of every school workbook))
  • Drum Major and President of my primary school band (irrelevant I guess?)
  • Tennis and Basketball (weakness here, have not participated in competitions, just as hobbies)
  • Catechism teacher (volunteer) and scripture reader (volunteer) at my church
  • Volunteered at a retirement home once (violin performance & social services)
  • Worked at my mother’s clinic
  • Class monitor for two years in my high school
  • Speak, read, and write: Chinese, English, Malay

I understand that the ‘chance’ thingy is not very plausible for admissions, but I want to know if these colleges are worth an application (they don’t come cheap!and they’re generally very stressful + time-consuming). Please also help me expand my list of universities if possible. Do point out my weaknesses & attributes that I could put effort to improve in (e.g. lack of academic awards). Thank you!

(I posted this before a while ago but received no replies)

2

Where are the rest of your humanities classes? GPA is based on complete coursework, not just what you select. The UCs require coursework in several categories name their A-G requirements. That’s the GPA you need to submit.

Neither will the cost of the colleges listed. Check the NPC for each schools affordability.
The UC’s do not provide any scholarship aid for non-residents.

Don’t list EC’s that you have only done one time with minimal participation; it looks like you are resume padding.

3

@“aunt bea” thank you very much for your reply!

In the British A-Level system, academic A-Level subjects usually consist of pure science/pure art subjects only. (If you checked the UC requirements, they actually only require 3 academic subjects).
In my SPM (GCE-O Level equivalent), I have taken three language subjects (Chinese, English, Malay), three science subjects (Bio, Chem, Phy), History, Moral Studies, and two Mathematics subjects(pure and additional).

Affordability is not a huge issue, it is just that I do not want to waste my money on an application that I have little chances in.

Forgive my extraneous ECs, I just kind of brainstormed and listed them out (they are all true by the way). I will take that in note and produce a much more concise one. (I also want to know which are extraneous/useless, so I’d be glad to know which are worth noting down on my apps)

Once again, Thank you!

4

@Aovnick your academics seem good, but I agree with @“aunt bea” on listing only major ECs.

That said, an Asian male EE with overloaded music ECs is kind of a trope in elite admissions. I suggest, rather than only highlighting tons of music ECs (which are very impressive, you have accomplished much!), be sure to surface your study abroad and photography work too, they round you out / make your more interesting. Writing a creative essay - that isn’t based on music - will be challenging, but something you might consider as well.

Good luck!

5

@psywar thank you very much for your reply!

Fun fact: considered music degrees before, but preferred math and physics.
Thank you for your feedback! I’ll take notes on what to highlight on my ECs.