Background:
GPA: 4.5 weighted
UWGPA: 3.8 (kind of low for my school)
ACT: 34
STEM Extra-Cirriculars:
-Physics internship at Univ of MD- with my professor we derived mathematical formulas to analyze the pull of gravity on different points on the earth.
-Bio internship at USUHS (Studying effects of Zika Virus on ferrets- preparing brain samples, as well as extrapolating 3d computer models of Zika virus effects on ferret skull-2 years
-Participated in Chemistry Olympiad- Sophomore and Senior year.
Photography Extra-Cirriculars:
-I started a photoshop club at my school (3 years), and we frequently organize trips to go and take photos at surrounding -nature areas.
-I have been selling stock photos to Shutterstock for profit.
-I started my own website selling my photos online.
-At Indian functions, I sell my prints in person.
Other Stuff:
-Due to own interest self-studied BC Calc while taking pre-calc, took BC (without taking any Calc class) exam(got a 5), skipped to MultiVariable/ODE and Linear Algebra /Complex Analysis
-Every year open an ice cream stall at several Indian functions and make $2000 profit total (for 5 years).
Demographics: Asian Indian with income bracket of 200K+ in a wealthy area
Actual Question: In 9th grade, I learned that you should have a few deeply developed interests, and I hope I expressed that in STEM and photography. think a few unique things about my app, is that I independently self-studied BC Calc from scratch while taking pre-calc, did an internship studying Zika Virus, and my photography. I am hoping to apply to extremely competitive schools and get in and was wondering what more I could to increase my chances. I understand that my competition will have done things way more than this, so I was just looking for suggestions.
What do you want to major in? What are your career goals? Have you visited any schools, and what did you think of them? Do you have a size or geography preference? Why are you focused on “extremely competitive” schools? You need to start with finding matches & safeties you would be happy to attend. Then put some competitive schools in the mix. But reaches are really easy to find. The elbow grease comes from finding some schools you are more sure you can get into that you want to attend.
For shools with, generally, a strong undergraduate focus, you could search for “15 Best Value Small Colleges for a Chemistry Degree.” Included schools such as Caltech, Swarthmore, Hamilton, Union, Bowdoin and Wooster would offer you a range of options to research further.
After reading your post more closely, it seems as if you should explore some selective universities. From these, you will have many realistic choices. As one factor, I believe you would benefit from a few carefully selected SAT subject tests.
What year are you in? Are you a junior in high school?
What state are you in?
Given a 3.8 unweighted GPA, and being ORM, to me Princeton looks like a reach. It is probably worth applying. However, you definitely need safeties, and might want matches. I think that finding appropriate safeties is likely to be more difficult than finding reaches.
Given your work at UMD, I am wondering if you are Maryland. If so, then UMD would be a possible safety or low match. McGill occurs to me as another, since admissions is more predictable outside of the US, and your post makes it look as if you might be looking for a challenge.
You have nice credentials. You and most applicants are unlikely to be admitted to most schools. What do you want to study and look at schools with programs that you want. Where, different, from your current state where you might enjoy living. The elite colleges will sound good right after graduation, but that won’t be your calling card forever. It is speculative to think that your education depends on the rank of the school you attend. Expand your horizons beyond the Ivies. There are many great schools and universities out there.
“I am hoping to apply to extremely competitive schools”
Make sure you have a balanced list of colleges across the spectrum of selectivity so that you have some matches/possibles and some safeties/likelies. If you look at results from this year you’ll see how crazy competitive it is.
Instead of just focusing on “extremely competitive schools” you should work to create a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be happy to attend. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on a group of hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. There are more exceedingly well qualified candidates then there is space available. Cast a wide net and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
I agree with @happy1…it is fine to apply to reach schools (these are reaches for everyone.) but spend more time finding match/safety schools that you would be delighted to attend.