Chances and college suggestions for well-rounded senior?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Hello! I’m looking to study neuroscience as an undergrad. I want to end up in a place where I can still pursue rock climbing and music fervently. So far, my list consists of:</p>

<p>Stanford
Amherst
Columbia
Brown
Penn
Pitt (Safety)</p>

<p>Chances? Any suggestions? Particularly, I’m in need of decent matches.</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (750 CR, 800 M, 700 W)
ACT: 34 (36 M, 35 E, 36 R, 31 S, 11 Essay)
SAT II: 730 Biology (Molecular), 800 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (doesn’t rank, but I’m 1/26)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Music Theory (5), AB Calculus (5, self-study)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Diploma Candidate (HL’s: Music, Mathematics, Biology, and English; SL’s: ab initio Spanish, History)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, National Hispanic Scholar, Rotary Club Award</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Fund-raised/Organized humanitarian work in Malawi, Africa (spent three weeks in Malawi executing projects; raised money to send 24 Malawian girls to secondary school)
-Math Club (Founder and President; organized peer tutoring and competitions)
-Rock Climbing (Student Leader of two-week long outings, led rock climbing sport 4 days/week)
-Music (studied jazz saxophone for 9 years, but I now play mainly guitar and piano. I spend most of my time composing)
some others, but nothing outstanding.</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Composed, performed and recorded with an emerging artist. Traveled around the desert southwest on a climbing trip.
Essays: Incomplete. Personal statement might be about the difficulties of my parents’ respective drug habits and their consequent absence from my childhood from age 12 on. (Any thoughts on this? I don’t want to seem as if I’m asking for pity, as I’m quite grateful for my life’s adversities)</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendations: Both said it was the best of their careers.
Counselor Rec: Tear-jerking. Spent 3 weeks in Africa with her, connected really well.
Additional Rec: None.</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small Private
Ethnicity: Hispanic (Panamanian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <60k</p>

2

<p>bump? please?</p>

3

<p>Your stats and ECs are good, and your experiences are unique. However, with nothing especially outstanding compared to the other applicants, most of those schools would be low reaches, although you have a shot at all of them. You need to write some very good essays on how well you did in the African program, and how you’ve matured and developed as a person. I personally think you’ll be accepted to at least one or two of reaches you have listed.</p>

<p>Assuming your essays are good, rather than excellent</p>

<p>Stanford - Medium Reach
Amherst - Low Reach
Columbia - Low Reach
Brown - High Match
Penn - High Match / Low Reach
Pitt - Safety</p>

4

<p>The three no’s in essay topics are drugs, death, and sex. I’m sorry, but it’s just best to avoid the subject in it’s entirety. Otherwise, you have solid stats, so I’m sure you’ll be happy with your admissions results.</p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-I500 using CC</p>

5

<p>Thank you both for your responses.</p>

<p>Pattyrick–I’m having trouble finding anything else to write about. My current essay topic speaks to who I am pretty strongly, and it only alludes to drug use as the reason that my parents left. I’ll look for another topic, as I do agree with you that it’s best to avoid the subject.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I get what you’re saying. Asking your guidance counselor about this subject could help bring about more ideas. If you are set on doing your initial idea, I’d say try to find a unique angle, and don’t make it focus solely on the drugs and your parents. It’d not bad to get creative, yknow.</p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-I500 using CC</p>

7

<p>@Bubbles: Isn’t it a pretty well known rule to not write about 3rd world country experiences as college essays? I’m using the “elaborate on one of your activities” common app essay to talk about Malawi, but do you think I need to write about it more than that?</p>

8

<p>…shameless bump…</p>