Change Me/Match Me Wisconsin Senior in suburbs [3.98 GPA, 36 ACT, business?]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Intended Major(s): Business Major/Entrepreneurship, issue: ECs dont really match with traditional business major, pretty undecided so feel free to lost some major ideas based off my ECs

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.98 (1 B in college level class, not core and unrelated to major)
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.793
  • Class Rank: N/A, school only tells us top 5 percent and I made it
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 36, 1570

List your HS coursework

19 APs with average AP Score of 4.8

  • English: AP Sem, AP Research, AP Lang, English 101
  • Math: BC, Multivariable CALC, Linear Algebra, now taking DiffEq
  • Science: AP Chem, AP bio, AP Physics 1
  • History and social studies: AP Euro, APUSH AP Gov AP World
  • Language other than English: AP Spanish
  • Visual or performing arts: AP Art History
  • Other academic courses: AP CSP, AP CSA, AP Psych, AP Micro/AP Macro, Self studied AP Stats

Demographics:

Asian Girl

Semi-Competitive-Competitive HS: Not Bay Area/NY Level

Awards:

State Debate EC, HOSA State Ranks, SciO State Ranks, PVSA. National Merit, AP Scholar w/ Distinction

Extracurriculars

Founder and President,Founded an international student-led initiative transforming rural education in India, including schools for children with special needs. Partnered with administrators in schools across rural India to identify challenges and co-create solutions. Sponsored the building of 23 new classrooms, 7 science labs, and a devotional arts program, and funded teacher salaries. Raised $3,000 and secured an additional $2,000 in sponsorships. Partnered with U.S. House candidate to launch a micro-grant program supporting underserved schools in and fellowships programs for two other politicians. Established chapters/branches across 6 states and 3 countries. Working to launch a national network with former CEO of 7/11.

Board Member & Student Lead, UPchieve
Serve as the first student under 18 on the leaders of a Forbes- and Time-recognized ed-tech nonprofit. Collaborate with executives to guide organizational strategy and student outreach. Led the launch of the first Society, mobilizing student volunteers and chapters nationwide and launching 50+ chapters in 42 states. Represent the student perspective in board discussions, bridging youth insights with decision-making.

T20 Paid Internship, Dept. of Chemical & Biological Engineering
May 2025 - August 2025

Conducted research on hydrogen fuel transport and utilization with zirconium–copper catalysts under mentorship from a PhD candidate and faculty advisor. Presented findings at a symposium. Extended the internship to conduct an independent research project on an Economic Assessment of hydrogen fuel adoption versus industry standards under mentorship of the Department Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (LOR).

Chief Operating Officer, April 2024 - Present

Oversaw operations for an international nonprofit providing free online classes to thousands of youth across 20+ countries and 40 states. Directed key departments, Finance, Marketing, Social Media, and Data Management, coordinating 100+ volunteer instructors. Launched 17 chapters internationally to expand reach and strengthen community engagement.

Captain, Science Olympiad Team
May 2024 - Present

Led to highest state placements (7th in Wisconsin).

Captain, Speech and Debate Team

Outreach Manager, Nonprofit
August 2023 - Present

Planned and executed fundraising events at businesses…partnerships with 10+ businesses and public officials…Helped raise over $10,000

President of Youth Volunteer Board, Cultural Association

January 2023 - January 2024

Organized six annual cultural events celebrating heritage. Arranged fundraisers raising over $6,000 for charities. Planned monthly volunteer excursions, including park clean-ups, coordinating 80+ youth volunteers to engage in community service.

Business internship

June 2024 - August 2024

Attended 6 week internship, gaining first-hand experience understanding the business process, entrepreneurship…. Selected to renew internship as one of 50 campus managers nationwide and selected to lead the sponsorship committee (youngest lead appointed). Procured $3k+ in sales

Essays/LORs/Other
EC LOR from debate coach (strong) and Department Chair of ChemE at T20 Internship (will connect Chem to my interest in Econ/business)

Schools

Northwestern

UPenn Wharton

NYU Stern

Yale

Brown

Dartmouth

UT Austin

UNC Chapel Hill

WashU

Stanford

Harvard

USC

Maybe MIT?

Have some safeties and targets but mainly reach because I just want to shoot my shot.

Questions:

Where should I ED to maximize my chances of getting into top college? I want to ED to Wharton or Stern but realistically, I don’t really know if I have a shot of getting in because of my ECs (kind of entrepreneurship but not very business) and I have 1 B in junior year. I don’t want to waste my ED so should I just ED to Northwestern (getting into RD at Northwestern is way harder)?

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Have you used the NPCs for these schools, and are they affordable?

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Yes. I have also worked really hard on scholarships so I have a pretty solid base to work with.

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Was your debate coach also one of your teachers? Did you take a class with the Depart Chair? The reason I ask is that many colleges either require or strongly prefer recommendations from teachers, rather than people from your ECs, so make sure these are both people you have taken classes with and who can talk about you as a student.

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I am also getting a LOR from my teachers but some colleges ask for an optional one from someone who knows you outside the school setting!

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This has little relevance.

Your ED question is the wrong to ask btw. You don’t need to maximize chances to get into a top college. You’ll get into many very good colleges - top I don’t know but very good - yes. You need to find the college that is right for you - fit and affordability (most importantly). Do you have $400k to spend ? What’s a solid base which is what you defined.

Do you have four years of English ? Not every college will take AP Seminar and Research as English so school dependent, if you don’t have four years, that will be an issue.

NU doesn’t have an undergrad business degree. Nor does Yale or Stanford. so why have them other than they are big names ? UNC has secondary admissions meaning you have to apply for business after you’re already a student.

U Wisc And UMN should absolutely be on your list. They are top b schools. And research Babson - it’s one of the top B schools in the country and it’s #1 for entrepreneurship many years running. yesterday, the Wall Street Journal put out its ranking of top colleges - it went 1. Stanford. 2. Babson 3. Yale.

The ECs are of no concern. Ensuring you have 4 years of English is so hopefully you do outside of Seminar and Research. Affordability is a huge concern - you need an annual budget - I have a good base isn’t enough.

These are all reaches but why not you ? But I gave you three back ups - two safe and Babson I’d call a match.

Good luck

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Are the scholarships for all 4 years? Without FA you may be looking at $90,000 + a year. I will not say more and will focus on your question.

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Thank you for the advice!

For English, I took Freshman Honors (9th), AP Seminar (10th), AP Language (11th) and AP Research (12th) and English 101 (12th). I’d say that’s pretty normal at my school.

For Yale, I am applying as an ethics,politics, and economics major (which was the EC issue).

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I would only ED if you have a clear first choice school and it is affordable.

I think you are an outstanding student and have wonderful ECs- congrats! Given you have safeties and targets, you are free to apply to all of these schools- but understand that they are all reaches and it is not possible to chance you.

UNC has a secondary admission to their business school, but there are students who are accepted right away. It is a reach due to OOS caps. Pay attention to the essays and what you would contribute to the school and community.

Good luck!

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My concern is that some colleges will not accept Seminar and Research as English. So it might be standard for your HS but the colleges may only credit you for 3, not four years, and dismiss your app for that.

You need to research college by college. Some may see you as only having 3 years of English. Some may say 4 (counting Seminar but not research) and others 5.

It will be a college by college determinant.

You have great ECs - they’re no issue. Some are in band or play sports or walk dogs at the shelter or scoop ice cream (part time job) - all are great ECs. That’s what I mean by not relevant.

Your ECs are fine for any major at Yale and elsewhere.

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You may want to look at your school profile to see if they note that it’s normal to do that there. If not, then you can ask your counselor to include that information in their counselor letter and/or you can note it in the additional information section.

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Your ECs do not need to match your intended major. In fact to me your ECs look pretty good for a business major. However, they do not need to.

Let’s look at some of your ECs. You started a non-profit company. What could be better for a person interested in majoring in business with an eye towards entrepreneurship? Debate is another EC. The ability to present well is a very important skill for a business major.

Once again, your ECs do not need to match your major. The point is to do what is right for you, do it well, and treat people well and show that you can get along with people. This sounds like what you have done.

Also, some of your reach schools do not consider your major when deciding whether you will be admitted. As one example, at MIT they use your intended major to match you with a freshman year advisor. That is it. That is all that they use it for. Then at the end of your freshman year you get to pick any major that you want (assuming that it exists at MIT). My understanding is that some of your other reach schools are similar.

I think that you should put down whatever major you want to pursue. I would not play games with this. This does bring up another point: For your reach schools, your applications should be genuine. Be yourself. Picking the major that is right for you is just one example of being genuine.

Make sure that you are happy with your safeties. Reach schools are called “reach” for a reason. Safeties are important.

In terms of reaches, you have a lot of them. For each school, think about why it is or isn’t a good fit for you. Then apply to the reach schools that are the best fit. If for each school you can explain why that school is a good fit for you, that is likely to come through in your application one way or another. Trimming your list and focusing on the schools that are the best fit for you is likely to be a good plan.

One thing to consider for each university is what major they have that matches your preference. For example some of the schools on your list do not have an undergraduate business major. Look at what they have instead, and what the required courses are for that major. Also look at the general requirements to graduate from each school. Then consider how many of the courses that you are going to be required to take are ones that you actually want to take. Also consider where the school is, how large it is, how academically demanding it is, and other aspects that might make you comfortable or not. Do you want to be in a big city? Do you want to be in a small town in a rural area? Do you like real / cold winters or would you prefer very mild “winters”?

Don’t worry about it. You do not need to be perfect. I have known lots of people who attended famous and highly ranked schools. They aren’t perfect either. No one is.

You do not need to apply ED at all. Highly ranked universities are looking for students who are a good fit for them. They get it right quite often. There is a good chance they will get it right in your case also.

If you do apply ED anywhere, then apply ED to the school that you feel is the number 1 best fit for you, but only if you are either fine being full pay or the NPC shows it as being affordable.

My understanding is that recruited athletes apply ED. This skews the ED acceptance stats. Legacy students also sometimes apply ED. For the rest of us the bump is not as large as the stats would make it seem.

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If Wharton is your top choice, I would ED there. Also check out the Huntsman program: https://huntsman.upenn.edu/

What do you want to do after graduation? How did you find your research experience?

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