Chance this asian girl for Princeton UPenn, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Harvard, and UVA

Chance Me / Match Me
1

SAT: Im predicting between a 1450-1500
SAT Subject: Took Bio, chem, and Math 2 --> pretty sure I got high on chem and math 2, not so sure i did well on bio
GPA: 3.7-3.8
Ethnicity: Korean
Sex: Female

i LIVE IN CALIFORNIA BAY AREA

SCHOOL:
Private indépendant school
Ranked in the top 25 in the nation for best private high schools (very competitive admission into school and more than 50% of class get accepted to and enroll in ivy’s)
my school is also tiny with a total of 80 students per grade from 9-12
there are around 320 students

Courses
All Currently Enrolled Classes: European II Literature Honors, American Literature V: Composing Honors, World Literature III Honors, Latin III, United States History Honors, Pre-calculus Honors, Biology, AP Chemistry
Previously Enrolled Classes: English I, English II, Geometry Honors, Algebra II Honors, Latin I, Latin II, Physics, Chemistry, Roots of Civilization Honors, Modern Word History Honors, Beginning Acting, and Intermediate Acting
EXTRA: Took a Global Online Academy Medical Problem Solving I and II course for a year in sophomore year
SENIOR COURSELOAD: AP Calc BC, AP Stat, AP Physics 2 (only one offered at my tiny af school), Biotech, Latin IV Honors, English elective honors (I basically dropped history and loaded up on math and science)

Extracurriculars:
Best Buddies (President/Founder)
Student Diversity Leadership Conference Attendee (chosen by school to represent my school)
Admission Office Intern
Asian Student Alliance (Leader)
Asian Affinity Group (Founder/Leader/President)
Sustainable Seas
Investment Club
Body-Positive (Leader)
Ted-Ed Club (Leader)
Alumni office intern
Pennies for Patients Fundraiser (Leader)
Head Advisory Council (students chosen to work with head to make school better)
Medical Club (leader)
Blood Drive (founder/president)

Summer Experience:
Harvard Pre-college epigenetic camp (received full scholarship from Harvard)
Stanford Clinical Summer Internship (received full scholarship from Stanford)
Westpoint Summer Leadership Experience
Will be BOARDING at an orphanage in Ilsan, Korea (with the International organization HOLT)

Awards (my school never gives out awards):
2017 Annual Science Scholarship/Fellowship Recipient
Tri-start varsity athlete award

Sports:
V Soccer
V Sailing
V Lacrosse
V Golf

Languages:
Speak fluent korean
Learning Japanese
Fluent in Latin (ik its a dead language)

Hooks (I believe this is the strongest part of my application?):
Since my freshman year, I have lives alone in a studio and basically raised my sister since i was in 6th grade. My dad is also a crazy drug-addict and messed up my childhood (i had to mature and see/learn things I should have never learned at that young age). My family also experience immense financial hardship… My single-mother needed to go back to Korea to support us as a family, and my sister went off to boarding school. That left me alone. Through this experience, I was able to learn independence, responsibility, and have just been supporting myself. It was hard. Kind of hard to describe here in a short paragraph… Basically i worked my ass off everyday
Im also like really not the typical asian --> nothing in my life was ever set up for me, i had to work extremely hard and find my own passions

Weaknesses: I have a B+ in AP chemistry… (I actually had an A+ in the class but my grade went down for another reason). I am also an asian girl LOL

MY DREAM SCHOOLS ARE PRINCETON (FIRST CHOICE), UPENN, DUKE, AND JOHNS HOPKINS
Do I have a chance?

2

Get that SAT to a 1550 and you are solid.

3

I think that your academic credentials combined with your family history/background deems you a very competitive applicant for these schools. I would say you definitely have a very good chance of getting into UVA, and UPenn and Princeton may also be low reaches for you because they are more test score-dependent than the other schools which look at GPA more. Your GPA is a bit on the low end for the schools you are interested in but I think your ECs will make up for that. Hopefully these schools will recognize your high school as a competitive one, and will assess you more leniently with that fact in mind. Your test scores are also pretty competitive, but I would aim for at least 1550 if I were you in order to be more fit for the Ivies. Your ECs are very solid and pretty centralized around your area of interest (which I assume is medicine). You are very heavily involved in clubs which is very good because I see you have a lot of leadership positions as well. Your internships/camps are pretty impressive but I am not sure how much colleges consider that stuff; some have told me doing pre-college internships and camps shows demonstrated interest while others have told me it has no weight whatsoever and is just a way for colleges to get money from students (which I doubt is true). Either way, the fact that you got into these programs is very impressive, but I would suggest you (and this is not even necessary given your amazing academic qualifications) get involved in some hospital volunteering/internships and perhaps find some research opportunities at a local university. Maybe you could even shadow a few doctors. That being said, with your academic profile the way it is now, I would say you definitely have a very good shot at getting into most of these schools. Good luck! :slight_smile:

Please chance me back here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1995754-chance-me-low-gpa-rank-cornell-rice-wash-u-ucla-etc.html#latest

4

your B+ won’t do anything to your chances lol.

5

why are all your schools you mention all CAPS? lol

6

I’m really surprised you’re all saying she’s solid for these schools. Usually all everyone here says (to 4.0/1550+ kids) is those schools a reach for everybody, with their less than 10% acceptance rates.

I would think her GPA is a little low, and the SAT is not locked in.

Being Asian will hurt, the family situation may help some.

I think when kids ask they sometimes get a softer approach than if the parents ask.

To the OP: keep on working hard! But find some safeties and matches, don’t get too hung up on the top tier schools.

You also need to consider the financial aspects of college.

P.S. How do you go from Honors Pre-Calc to AP Calculus BC?

7

Thank you sm! Yes- I am pretty aware that my GPA are a little on the low side. I am trying to get involved with my local medical community, but with all my other activities/sports/classes, its kind of difficult to get that in as well! Again- thanks and ill chance you too :slight_smile:

8

Thank you for the candid advice!! I agree with you completely, I don’t think that saying I have a good “chance” at these schools are completely accurate. I know that these schools are beyond just competitive, but I want to just see if I could even be considered as a good candidate.

Regarding your question about my math class, I am taking the most advanced/highest tier math track available at my school, which is:

Geometry Honors, Algebra II Honors, Pre-Calc Honors, and then AP Calc BC

My school’s math program is known to be intensely rigorous and heavy, and I am aware that the title of the class doesn’t really convey the rigor of the course (which I am a little frustrated by).

9

Because I think there is major significance in the name of the schools I want to be chanced for in this situation. Without emphasizing the context of what I want people to compare me too, it’s kind of hard to notice it within the huge chunk of information i put on lol.

10

GPA and SAT scores are a little low, but they’re not that bad that you don’t qualify. However, you want to be a little more locked in, retake the SAT and aim for at least a 1540. EC’s are great, but like a lot of profiles I’ve seen, they’re essentially ubiquitous. However, what makes you stand out (in my opinion), is your personal story. If you’re comfortable with sharing it, I suggest you bring it up in your personal essay.

You’re definitely qualified for the schools you just listed. However, applying to these schools is like a mixed bag. My sister got accepted into UPenn with only 1 AP and a 2100 SAT (this was about 6 years ago) while my cousin got denied from there even though she had higher test scores and more AP’s under her belt.

In addition to the schools you’ve listed, apply to some state schools as well so that you have a plan B in case if you don’t get into the ones you wanted. You could also qualify for some nice scholarships for these schools.

I’m sorry if I couldn’t give a better analysis, but I think you have what it takes to qualify. Hope this helped and best of luck!

11

How have you lived by yourself since freshman year? Didn’t people know? Were you officially emancipated?

12

I suppose the question should be 1) Why those schools in particular? 2) What do you bring to the table for the admissions office to give a look? 3) How does your activities, passion, align with the kind of schools you are applying? 4) Your hook will be less than you think, I know plenty of kids with challenging families and raising siblings, not to diminish that particular angle, BUT… it comes with a big asterisk… 4) Do you have jobs to maintain a living while dealing with the academic schedule, if yes, that could be something even more worthwhile to mention… 5) scores and GPA are not be all and end all… I have a Hispanic student (yeah I know) with ACT 31 and 3.8 uw/4.2 w got into UPenn this yr (and the student was accepted by JHU, NWU, Rice, Cornell etc etc…)… 6) Being Asian and doing pre-med is gonna strike against you with the Ivies regardless what you think (fair or not fair, you are different vs not different)…and 7) You get scholarships for those summer programs, what did you have on those applications to get you the money… maybe there is something there for you to rediscover. You can’t fix #6 - focus on things you can fix… life could be just as rewarding w/o the Ivies. Just a reminder of that fact… JMHO

13

Your stats and EC’s definitely qualify you for those schools, and your childhood will make for a powerful, powerful essay.

The B+ won’t hurt you at all!

One thing- It’s clear that you worked very hard and committed to an incredible amount of EC’s. However, I worry about the focus of your EC’s. If you’re focusing them to back you up on a major choice, it’s not clear. If you’re not sure about major choice yet, then don’t worry and disregard me!

14

I have a master’s degree in Classics and I can count on one hand the number of people I know who are fluent in Latin. With fingers left over. Either you are truly a one of a kind applicant or you are overstating that qualification a hair. :slight_smile:

What is your safety?

15

I have been speaking Latin since I was in the 6th grade!! I truly love latin, except Latin was a new course/track added to my school when I started as a freshman so the highest level class I could enter was Latin I in freshman year. I consider myself fluent and won 1st place in the national latin exam for the past 3 years. I see how being fluent in latin may seem “unlikely”, but I worked hard enough to get to the level I am! :slight_smile:

For my safeties I am considering: Tulane, Emory, Case Western, BU, U Oregon, U Michigan, Wake Forest, etc. (this is a very rough list)

16

Thank you so much for your advice!! I am definitely trying to refine my EC list to further explicate my passion and interest for medicine/health policy/service.

Is it better to have a small list of EC’s that are specific to my intended major? Or is it better to have a longer list that shows more well roundedness?

17

I technically did have a guardian like 2 houses down the street from me (so it could still legally be ok). But yes I did live alone (did everything on my own: food, grocery shopping, laundry, bills, etc.).

18

Are you applying through Questbridge or some other feeder route to the ivies and other elite colleges?

19

It is far more important to have a smaller, more concrete list of strong ECs that are tied together than a list that hits 5 different areas. Your stats are a little on the low side and being asian from the Bay Area will not help. You need to make those essays amazing

20

You’re ECs do need some tightening up, focus on the ones related to your major and interests, and any where you were elected (that carries more weight than appointed). Getting a scholarship to a summer program esp for Stanford (which I’m a little familiar with) is impressive, these programs usually accept most people who apply and give no financial aid. As someone posted above, if you can explain that or add it to your app, it would be very good. If you’re raising your sister by yourself and keeping the grades you are in a competitive high school in the bay area, you’re a very unique applicant, Asian or not lol. Apply to Princeton and one of your public safeties - UVA or UM early and based on that figure out where to apply RD. If by chance Penn or Hopkins becomes your first choice, then apply there ED. However, you’re a strong applicant and I wouldn’t apply anywhere ED to keep your options open. Not sure on Princeton’s interview policy but try and get an in so you can explain your circumstances. Your test scores are going to be tricky, as you don’t want to be low enough that they just put it in the reject pile, so aim for the average or middle of the 25-75 percentile range.

This would be the one concern for me - how are you affording a private school in the bay area given your family circumstances, unless you’re getting financial aid?