Chances for an Indian female in architecture? [IL resident, 4.0 GPA, 1530 SAT, separated parents]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics: Female, indian, illinois, upper middle class, first gen, separated parents, rising senior

(Did freshman year in a Cambridge intl private school, and the rest at my current highschool)

Intended Major(s): architecture

SAT: 1530 ( 770 M/ 760 R)

UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.0 UW/ 4.6 W(I moved school freshman year, my class rank then was 1 but now my current highschool doesn’t offer class rank)

Coursework: 13 APs, 4 dual enrollment, 5 honors

Awards:

Award 1- olympiads
Internationally ranked 9th in international English olympiad, regional ranked 9th, zonal 5th, district/school 1st(2)
International Math Olympiad and Science Olympiad ranked 3rd in the district

Award 2- French
Placed silver in national French Concours competition(4)
Received Sugarman Award( school award) for outstanding performance in language(French)

Award 3- NMSQT
national merit semi-finalist

Award 4- Art
Finalist for International Art Collide competition

Award 5- Art
Finalist for National Celebrating Art’s contest, artwork was published in spring entry

(Also AP Scholar w distinction)

Extracurriculars:

Activity 1- Research
Researched photovoltaic cell induction usage in rehabilitation centers and its effect on environmental sustainability and patient health with a rice PhD graduate; published in Young Scientist Journal

Activity 2- Work in architecture

  • Job shadowed at Gensler Architecture Firm Chicago( top architecture firm in the US) with a commercial architecture team and actively contributed to the team’s projects by creating palette boards
  • New York Times Summer Academy: City As A Muse
  • Internship at local architecture firm

Activity 3- Leadership
-Vhgive student leader for (wellness and distress prevention committee) exec board senior year
-Co-president of French club

  • Student council for 3 years

Activity 4- Web development

  • Web-developed a clothing store and apparel line using a global multiplayer online platform which received 100+ views and a 100% satisfaction rating, created over $1K in revenue

Activity 5- Graphic design

  • Unpaid internship through a youth non-profit organization for design and development(2024)(6)
  • BPA- qualified for state 2nd place in graphic design promotion

Activity 6- Volunteering
-Volunteered for 7 years in FMSC as a food packer
-Tutored students in mathematics, English, standardized testing, social studies, and science for 3 years(3)
-Served local library for 3 years as a document transcriber
-Won national presidential volunteer service award for 75+ hours of service

Activity 7- Cultural identity
-Asian American Pacific Islander student ambassador
-Collaborated with a university-led study by Purdue about cultural identity and the impact of music

Activity 8- Part time paid work
Work part-time at chick fil a

Activity 9- Non-profit initiative
Started a non-profit organization to adress the importance of biophilic architecture design in third world countries

Activity 10- Guitar
Played guitar for 7 years and performed at the Adler festival of arts twice, performing a dual piece with a globally known guitarist

Dream school is Cornell or any Ivy in general​:sob::sob: am I cooked or nah? Pls give feedback!!

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Oh LORs too!

From my AP phy teacher, AP lang, the owner of my part time job location, and my research mentor!!

Please give me positive criticism I need it!!

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Criticism about what.

If you want to study architecture, you will.

Your record is great.

Cooked - no - but if you want to study architecture, I’m not sure Ivy is best.

Good luck.

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You have the stats. Portfolio?

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Cornell architecture used to be recognized as the best in the usa, especially their 5 yr program. I presume it still is.

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Be aware of the financial aid implications of this. Cornell and many other prestige private colleges want both parents’ financials for financial aid.

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It is, but it’s the only program in the Ivy League that is. None of the rest offer BArch. It would be silly to apply to any other Ivy League schools if that’s what the OP is after.

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Note that most colleges only want 2 letters of recommendation (from teachers) plus a counselor recommendation. You might be be able to use the mentor letter as well, but I doubt that they’ll want/read/accept a letter from a boss at a part-time job. Also: you say first-gen; do you mean that neither of your parents went to college in any country (which is how this phrase is used in the college context)?

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Okay I’ll keep that in mind!! I have a counselor rec too I totally forgot about that lol, and I guess I’m not first gen I was a little confused about the implications of it but neither of ky parents have studied in the US but yes they have received education elsewhere.

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https://aap.cornell.edu/admissions/undergraduate/architecture#:~:text=The%20portfolio%20should%20contain%20several,passion%20are%20expressed%20most%20strongly.

I suspect that the portfolio is crucial.

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Yes I have an almost ready portfolio! I’ve taken architecture and engineering CAD classes and advanced technical drawing, so my portfolio has architectural renderings, general art and mixed media! Is there any advice you could give on that? It’s not finished but I hope to be done by this month!

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Yes noted! I’m honestly counting on any merit scholarships because even my singular parents income surpasses many financial aid criteria’s,

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Yeah true! Cornell is definitely my main goal in the ivies, but I’m also looking at UCs, USC, and of course safeties for good arch undergrad programs! Do you think I have a shot at those?

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Yes I have an almost ready portfolio! I’ve taken architecture and engineering CAD classes and advanced technical drawing, so my portfolio has architectural renderings, general art and mixed media! Is there any advice you could give on that? It’s not finished but I hope to be done by this month!
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Cornell does not offer any merit scholarships, and UCs give very few merit scholarships (and out of state tuition is ~$80K/year). You should talk to your parents(s) about budget asap.

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Your stats meet the bar anywhere. The issue i think will be the portfolio. Can you get feedback from any architects where you worked?

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I figured as much. My parents don’t have a budget and I’m extremely grateful that we’re not in a financial situation where they need to stress on that. So budget shouldn’t be an issue!

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I have! At gensler I got a few critics from interns and the management team with I worked on and my current internship I hope to ask for advice soon!

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That’s great news for you; I thought your reference to merit scholarships (always nice to have!) was a need not just a hope. Best of luck.

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Thank you so much :heavy_heart_exclamation: