Elite University Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Hello CC, this is my first ever post!!!</p>

<p>I am a sophmore in a large California high school and I aspire to go to an elite university (MIT, Harvard etc…). I have compiled a list of relevant credentials below. Please read through them and tell me whether or not I would be a strong applicant. Answer honestly. I’m looking for real feedback here, not encouragement.</p>

<p>Academic:
-2350 on SAT as sophmore
-145 AMC 10 as freshman (I haven’t seen my scores yet for this years AMC)
-8 on AIME (didn’t get much sleep night before, oh well)
-Valedictorian in class of 689 students
-2nd place in scientific research paper contest
-Highest school grade in Chemistry, English, and Physics
-taking pre-calculus and physics this year as a sophmore.
-took an accelerated foreign language program at my school and I am nearly fluent in German.
-1st place in district annual robotics competition
-several other awards for various other academic contests
-I plan on taking many AP classes next year</p>

<p>Non Academic
-1st place at district track meet
-Vice president of school class
-100 hours of community service
-Player on JV football team
-Organized school fund raiser.</p>

<p>Thanks for your time, now chance me!!</p>

2

<p>It’s really just a bit early to chance you. </p>

<p>Your GPA and list of AP, Honors, Pre-AP, or GT classes (both taken and projected) would be a bit helpful for us to chance you. Considering you’re the Valedictorian, your GPA is probably very high, but some schools don’t weight GPA for purposes of class ranking. At some schools, taking a few AP classes is great because there just aren’t many offerings, but in schools with many offerings, the picture is a bit different. Your SAT score is AMAZING. </p>

<p>Your academic record thus far looks very good, but you might want to work on your ECs. If you continue with track and football (and who knows, maybe you can make varisty), and continue with community service, that would be great. Being class vice president is definitely a plus, especially in such a large school. </p>

<p>And naturally, if you can STAY Valedictorian or at least in the top handful of students in your class, that’s a great thing. </p>

<p>You might want to consider getting further involved in academic competitions, science fair, academic teams, clubs, et cetera. You have done some competitions and the scientific research paper is a plus for you, but it will be helpful for you if you can get far into competitions, i.e. – going to state-level competitions, et cetera. For example, maybe your school has an Academic Decathlon team or another academic team. Maybe you could join the chess club, get on the Math team, or found a club your school is lacking. Or maybe you could create an outside organization or charity. Oh, and internships are great if you can swing them. </p>

<p>I think that the robotics competition is definitely something interesting, though I wonder if it was for your school district or the larger district based on zoning legislation. If your school has a FIRST or Zero Robotics team, you might want to consider that. </p>

<p>I’m not saying these things are necessary, this is just me trying to help brainstorm. </p>

<p>Like I said, right now, doing what you’re doing now, it’s looking pretty good, but you do need to keep up your good work and continue to build your resume. </p>

<p>And don’t forget to take some SAT IIs. Many of the schools you’re considering shall want you to take SAT Subject Tests to prove your proficiency in actual subjects rather than just your basic reasoning skills. </p>

<p>If your school doesn’t offer a certain AP course you want to take, there is the option of self-studying.</p>

3

<p>You are academically sounded. I assume your GPA to be near 4.0. If that is the case, you do need to enrich your EC. The good thing is that time is still on your side. Nevertheless, even you have all these stat, the competition at these schools are still high. You should always include at least a couple safety schools on your list. Now you need to find out what you want to study in college. That may be even more important that choosing a school. Once you decided, you will have a better idea on what EC you should do and show passion in. Also, that would determine what classes and which tests you will need to strengthen your application.</p>

4

<p>That is definitely true. These schools are difficult for just about anyone to get into, so you should have multiple safeties. </p>

<p>Sometimes the make-or-break factors aren’t things you would probably consider. Just present the best face you can, and make sure that you have a healthy balance between great academics and great extracurriculars.</p>