Chances for Purdue, UMich, UPenn, Carnegie Mellon, MIT+?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

SAT: 2210; 740 CR, 760 M, 710 W
SAT II: 670 Chem, 640 MathII, 600 Phys

Half-Japanese/Half-New Zealander
Male
Born/Lives in Japan

Income: Definitely not need based; high.

ECs:
• Job as a freelance Web Designer, building responsive portfolio websites.
• Bass guitarist for a band, played a few small gigs.
• Karate student for about a year, skipped 2 grades due to skill. Train 3-4 times a week for 2 hours at dojo, plus 1 hour everyday by myself.
• Kobudo (traditional Okinawan weapons martial arts) student, train 2-3 hours once a week, plus 1 hour 5 times a week by myself. My dojo also participates in local festivals by doing a demonstration/show.
• Writer+Illustrator of online manga/comic. Will be published next year as a volume. In Japanese, then translated into English + 3 more languages (see below) by yours truly ^^
• Fluent in 5 languages: English, Japanese, Russian, German, and French. I.e. reading, writing, speaking. Haven’t taken any tests for them (no time…) but (as proof??) have translated webcomic into these languages (see above).
• Programmed+did graphics for an Android game. Around Mario-level complexity though shorter (coins, points, lives, levels, etc.)

Prospective Major(s):
• Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Mother got Associates Degree, Father dropped out of High School.

Schools:
• Carnegie Mellon
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• MIT
• Purdue University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Michigan
• University of Pennysylvania

Extra:
I’m 15, going to be 16 when I start University. I’m homeschooled, so my transcripts are non-existant and my recommendations are just from various sports clubs I’m in. (Still trying to figure this out…)
Dropped out?/left school at ~13. Previous school was Japanese public school.

As I’m both a homeschooler and an international student I’m very unsure of my chances. However, I’m dead-set on going to University next year, so I want to be able to be sure of my admissions to some schools.

Thanks!

2

Your ECs are definitely interesting and your SAT 1 score is good enough for most of the colleges on your list. Since you’re applying for engineering, you should definitely retake the SAT 2s. You need not have 3 STEM subjects, so it would be better if you retake Math L2, one of P and C and you can take another test in one of the languages that you’re proficient in to add diversity to your application.

MIT, CMU and UPenn are really tough calls for almost everybody. You’re applying for engineering, so why not apply to Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley, UCLA and Harvey Mudd too? They’re amazing schools for Engineering.

Definitely retake the SAT 2s and write good essays. Best of luck!

3

I mostly took those STEMs for supplemental ‘homeschooling’ area, since I don’t have transcripts from courses instead.
I don’t have enough time to take anymore tests, but thank you for the recommendation. I’ll be away for most of December and some of January, unfortunately, so I have to quickly apply before I leave.

Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley, etc., were on my list but…I know that MIT, etc. are reaches, and I’m applying to Harvard as well (at the curiosity of someone else…). But myself I don’t see the good point in applying to Stanford, Harvard, etc., as I likely will not be accepted. Like “if I don’t get into MIT, I will likely not be accepted into Ivy Leagues”.

Thank you for your reply!

4

definitely apply to Berkeley, if not EECS (you say biomedical) then your chances are about 3x that of when you apply to MIT. Berkeley is public FYI and has more spots.

pretty sure Umich and Purdue should be near safety /mat ch, especially since you don’t need money.

the others are reaches. MIT would be hardest to get in IMO

also your subject tests are somewhat low compared to your reaches, so maybe research if you have to send or not. I’m guessing you’ll have to though, so just hope holistic review overturns those scores

5

For Home-Schoolers the role of standardized tests (SATs, AP scores…) become even more crucial in the absence of usual school indicators for the applicant competitiveness. Unless you have very high scores your chances would be slim for elit schools.

6

@andyis
Yeah, Rochester, Illinois, and Purdue are my safetys.

Ah, EECS = Engineering, I put in “biomedical” because it’s a much more specific field, and some universities don’t have it.

You think I have a shot at Berkeley? I’ll probably apply there as well then.

I definitely know that MIT requires the SATIIs, unfortunately. I’ll check for the other schools, but I’ll likely have to send in the SATIIs as I’m a homeschooled student.

Thanks for the reply!

@uclaparent9
Yes, that’s what I myself think, and wrote here:
“Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley, etc., were on my list but…I know that MIT, etc. are reaches, and I’m applying to Harvard as well (at the curiosity of someone else…). But myself I don’t see the good point in applying to Stanford, Harvard, etc., as I likely will not be accepted. Like “if I don’t get into MIT, I will likely not be accepted into Ivy Leagues”.”

Thank you for your reply!

7

Can anyone tell me what they think of my chance to get into Rochester, Illinois, Purdue?
I want to definitely get into at least one of my schools, worst case scenario is that I don’t get into any, so I want to get some near definite-admissions for some.

If those 3 schools aren’t considered safetys, I want to be sure to add more almost guaranteed admissions…

I’ve checked the average SAT scores and admissions rates, but my age+international+homeschooling makes my case a little different, enough so that they might reject me, I’m thinking.

8

If you apply to Purdue right now, I’m pretty sure you’ll get in. Purdue has rolling admissions, so the quicker you apply, the better your chances are of an acceptance.

9

@anotherdude
I’m getting my Purdue app ready now, sorting out my homeschooling transcript. Thanks for the info

10

I think you have a lot of interesting strengths but without a formal transcript and with those SAT2 scores, I think you may have a hard time, especially as an engineering applicant. You are very young and I think you would benefit a lot from waiting a year, strengthening your STEM credentials with more coursework (how about some APs?), getting those SAT2 test scores up (take SAT2s for those languages you are fluent in!), and finding an adult who can write your recommendations. Most schools will want recommendations from people familiar with your academic performance.

You haven’t explained why you are in such a hurry to matriculate. If you really want to apply, go ahead, but I feel you are short-changing yourself and will likely only get in to one or two of the schools on your list, not because you aren’t talented, but because you are rushing things. And once you get to college, I think you would have a much better experience if you were a little older and had a more extensive academic background.

11

Your SAT1 is in the middle 50th percentile range for Illinois, your math SAT2 score is low for engineers, and you are out of state. I’m wondering why you think this is a safety?