Chances at USMA, USNA, and Case Western?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Top Choices

  1. United States Military Academy at West Point
  2. United States Naval Academy
  3. Case Western Reserve University (sister received acceptance letter 3 days ago from this school</p>

<p>Here are my statistics:</p>

<p>Background Information
-Asian male (specifically, Korean)
-PA resident
-Attends a public school
-First generation college student </p>

<p>GPA and SAT/ACT scores
ACT: Have taken (but did not like the score); if you need test scores to evaluate my chances, then sorry
HS cumulative GPA: 3.5 (Freshman GPA was low because of depression, finding out who I was at the time–will emphasize on this in college essay; upwards trend since then and have maintained; taken leadership in school)
-Sophomore: 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9; Honors English
-Junior (this year): 3.81, 3.86; AP Euro, AP English, Honors Spanish, Honors Chemistry
3rd MP at this time, I’m not doing so well in AP English.
-Senior: To be determined the next year… </p>

<p>School Activities

  1. Tennis (on high school team since 9th grade; captain of JV squad in 10h). Did tryout this year, but I recently told the coach that I have other things that I need to focus on at this time.
  2. Key Club (one of the officers)
  3. Student Council
  4. Tech Crew
  5. Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
  6. Played ice hockey on HS team (2 years)</p>

<p>Volunteer Work

  1. Hospital Teen Volunteer (my passion lies here; I currently have ~225 hours and 450 hours is to be eligible for the scholarship that I believe is around $2,000)
    <em>I will be sure to emphasize on the lessons that I have learned from volunteering at my hospital. The people that I have met; the things that I have seen; the lessons that I have learned all contributes to molding me from my “past life” (depressed, inactive, etc.) to an individual who takes active role and determined. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t like this in grade school and grades before coming to 9th grade. Everything was just hitting me in 9th grade due to personal issues</em></p>

<p>Special Nominations/Programs or Awards

  1. Won two consecutive “Most Improved Awards” on my HS ice hockey team
  2. Tennis award in sophomore year for “Most outstanding doubles player”
    <em>I can discuss these in college essay to show that it is never too late to start anything and show that I am a hard working, dedicated individual; potential</em></p>

<p>Additional Notes
-Freshmen Year was not as strong as it could have been; faced depression and many other issues
-Intrapersonal individual for the most part
-Interested in Biology and/or Business field (Possibly do Biology then MBA); uncertain about Chemistry now (for pharmacy)
-Diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder)–will emphasize on this and discuss how I overcame this, including many other issues
-May take duel enrollment classes next year as senior (which are after school and meet once a week; options are mandarin chinese or philosophy for me-- these gives college credits in state of PA and HS credit)–shows that I mean “business” when it comes to dedication
-Somewhat interested in what my uncle does, in which he advertises medication for Johnson and Johnson, Inc.; or Biochemistry (scientist) in the United States Marine Corps or miitary
-Hard-working parents and I would consider my family to be lower middle-class citizens in terms of income. Both of my parents have only achieved a high school diploma in South Korea and when coming to the U.S., they did not have many options. My mother was forced to work with parents in laundry business, while other sisters and brother went off to college (Two UPenn grads, a Drexel grad, and a Temple grad–simultaneously). A year or so after I was born, my parents bought off a store from the original owner of a store in North Philadelphia; people all around know of my parents and appreciate them because they are the only convenience store around and is a heart-warming place to be because my mother and father influenced their lives (Will discuss these in college essay)</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

2

<p>Emphasize your ability to work hard, and other such USM ethics.
They are hard to get into, I don’t think you’ll have trouble with Case Western, but the others are pretty solid chances. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Elaborate/details would be nice…</p>

<p>I’ll add that over the summer, I will be doing more volunteer hours and if I can possibly find a job. As well, I’ll be doing a lot of ACT prep on my own over the summer because I had trouble fitting it into my schedule this year.</p>

<p>I’m assuming that I will be putting a heavy emphasis on hard work and extracurriculars, especially for Case Western. The legacy thing (since I’m sure my sister will be going there) will help some. Our family will be going to the invitational for admitted students and families early April, so perhaps I can introduce myself there and use that as a way for me to get more familiarized with the school.</p>

4

<p>How realistic do the schools look for me, guys?</p>

5

<p>Definitely familiarize yourself. Every time you get in touch with a school they note it. I didn’t say much because it seems you are a pretty good candidate. You need to keep it up, and also find something that you like to do (volunteer abroad perhaps?) that shows your compassion for hard work and helping your fellow man.</p>

6

<p>And that is regardless of my GPA, right? My GPA is low because 9th grade, etc. personal issues. My sister was deferred at first with a ~3.7 GPA, 24 ACT, but decent EC. She’s a hard worker when she gets into it. Also, she went on an interview with an alumni from the school and it went well. Since a majority of the things that my sister had were what Case Western was looking for, she was admitted into their nursing program. I’m possibly pursuing a somewhat similar path, emphasizing on that you can overcome anything (in my case, ADD-- still have problems, but better then before) and work hard to help not only yourself, but society around. How strong does that look for me, despite my GPA, etc.?</p>

7

<p>At large: you’ve brought up your GPA to a level near that of a very strong candidate. Your hardships are something you need to highlight in your application. You should raise scores as much as possible whenever you can, but otherwise you are on the A-track to getting admission to these schools.</p>

8

<p>It’s reassuring to hear that from a peer. I believe I can bring my test score up, since I’ll be taking a lot time doing prep work over the summer.</p>

<p>I’m thinking about going on a missionary trip with my church. I believe the trip is a week long and our church goes to places like Africa. I’m thinking about doing missionary work over the summer where we go to a different country to help out (volunteer work).</p>

9

<p>Oh, do it! Thats the best thing I think you can do for a MA, because they need to know you can handle it. Any idea what countries you might be going to other than an African one?</p>

10

<p>Actually, I think our church goes to Mexico. It’s not Africa or any of that sort.</p>

11

<p>Would love feedback.</p>

12

<p>bump
10charc</p>

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<p>bump
10char</p>

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<p>bump
10charc</p>

<p>This is old, haha.</p>

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<p>bump10char</p>

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<p>bump10char</p>

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<p>bump 10char</p>