Chance me?

miiles0820
Fri, 22 Nov 2013 21:12:39 +0000

I applied ED to UPenn and I wanted to know my prospects of applying RD to USC, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, UCLA, UMich, and Duke. I also wanted to know how much good AP scores will carry in a decision.

Major: Biomedical Engineering
HS: Large school in middle-class CT suburb
Rank: school doesn’t rank, but I’m in the top 10 (top bracket of GPA histogram) of ~550 students in my class

GPA: 3.89 uw, 4.76 w (brought GPA up with soph and jr years)
SAT Is: 770 CR, 750 M, 670 WR
SAT IIs: 780 CHEM, 800 US, 800 M2
APs: Bio, Chem, US, Eng Lang, Calc AB (All 5s)

Honors: AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended Scholar, Gettysburg Book Award for American History recipient at my school,

ECs: Swimming- high school: 2-year captain, qualify for states; club: year-round, 6 days a week, CT Swimming Top 16 and Scholar Athlete (I did not actively pursue recruitment opportunities, but this is my greatest time commitment)
Yearbook- editor, our yearbook is very highly ranked
Academic Decathlon- Co-president, won two state titles
We the People- Constitutional law competition, program has 16 state titles

Once again, swimming is definitely my biggest commitment-I’ve done it since 7th grade and it really has shaped me as a person (I used the pool I first swam in and how I’ve grown there as the topic for my CA essay). I spend my summers swimming and working a small job at the lake near my house. I don’t have laboratory experience, but my experience from Bio and Chem (and some research) helped me make the decision to pursue Biomed because I find it very interesting.

I guess that sums me up :)

Also, I have a strong connection to California because I was born and raised for some time there and my mom’s alma mater is UCLA (even though they don’t really look at legacy).