Hello, I’m currently a junior in high school, and I’m trying to find out ways that I can work to strengthen my college applications in the future.
For context, I am a 16 year old Indian American from Denver, Colorado. I go to a suburban, moderately competitive high school that always sends a few kids to the Ivys.
I feel like I’m on a good track academically. My current unweighted GPA is a 3.98 and I would have completed 11 AP Classes by the end of my junior year. I rank 5/511 in my grade. I have not taken the SAT or ACT yet and I understand that this is extremely important.
However, I’m not sure about my extracurricular activities.
- HOSA. I am currently the president of my school’s HOSA Chapter. Next year, I hope to be on the HOSA State Executive Council. I also have placed first place in State for Medical Terminology and Nutrition and have placed 3rd at the International Leadership Conference.
- American Red Cross: I am the founder of the American Red Cross Club at my high school and plan activities each month related to this. I also am the Co-President of my local Youth Services team for the American Red Cross.
- I have founded the Science Olympiad at my high school with one of my friends. We hope to place in the national competition.
- Speech and Debate: Debate Team Captain, Mentored Freshman Debaters, won awards at the regional and state level, received a Tournament of Champions bid.
- Tennis Club Founder.
- Research Lab: Worked as a research assistant to identify a family with variants in ANKLE2 and severe primary microcephaly.
- Did an internship at my local history museum where we engage museum guests and the public in interactive learning experiences.
- Volunteered 100+ hours at my local library, did an internship with my local library to develop the summer reading program and encourage participation in the community.
- Did the EMT course and will take the national certification.
- Passion Project: Did presentations for hundreds of kids at my local library and community center related to neuroscience. Led a team of five girls. Created an instagram account and website.
Really? What colleges do I have a chance to get into?
Any but it requires more than academics and ECs.
You’re great and hopefully you’ll find the right home - both academically and affordability wise.
Lots of great schools. They’re not just great because they share a sports conference - The Ivy League.
They are different - size, environment, curriculum and more.
You want to find the place you’d enjoy spending four years, day after day after day, Ivy or otherwise. Kids like you are at Ivy but also at flagships like CU.
Good luck.
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Your ECs are fine.
Have you discussed a budget? Do you have a preference such as size, etc?
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I honestly would prefer a bigger school. And as for budget, I’ve won a couple of outside scholarships already, and my parents have been saving since I was born haha. I’d say my budget is about 50,000 dollars per year. Just like tuition and fees.
I would discuss a specific budget with your parents and use the NPCs to get an idea about costs and possible FA (if you qualify). Many schools are more than $50,000 a year.
If that is your budget and you do not qualify for FA, you will have to craft a list with that in mind. Your state schools will likely be in budget, and you can research schools that provide merit (there are many).
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Have your family fill these out and see what they say - and if they’re in budget.
Just like vacations and restaurants, you can desire anything but not everyone can afford everything. A school like Brown is over half the students full pay - and this year that’s $89k. Plus books, transportation, Ubers etc
The Ivies all meet need so the NPC will give you an idea of what you’re expected to pay. For those who are determined to have need, the schools are very generous.
It’s nice to say - these are famous schools so I’m aiming for them but step one is actually determining if they should even be on your list. If your parents say no way, there’s many a school to exclude. If they say we got it, then great !!
Every school has an NPC. And not to worry - a student like you could get a full ride somewhere or after you have an SAT, you may qualify for fantastic scholarships and be able to choose great schools between $20k and up.
If the Ivies work financially, then it’s great and you develop targets and safeties that are less selective to complement them.
How do you define big ? Even the largest Ivy by population (Cornell) will be a fraction of the size of many flagships, like CU.
Hope this helps.
https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/cornell
https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/brown
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Sorry OP that your thread now seems focused on finances when you were so clear in what you wanted to discuss.
As several others have posted your ECs in my opinion are strong enough to be competitive for all schools including T-20s. It will however be important that you tie them together into a cohesive narrative with your academic ambitions and the specifics of the school.
Stay confident.
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I think your academics and activities seem on track to be competitive anywhere.
My suggestion, therefore, is to reflect a bit on the third major component of holistic review, personal/fit factors. Some of the more common personal traits US colleges might be looking for include intellectual curiosity, niceness, creativity, risk-taking, being a good collaborative team member, being a good collaborative team leader, being social, fun, friendly, and caring, and so on. Obvious not everyone is everything, and colleges are looking for a mix of different people, but often when making final admit decisions, the most selective colleges are looking for applicants who really stand out in one or more of these ways from other smart, ambitious, active kids.
Sometimes these traits can be evidenced by things like activities, and things like your museum and library activities might be particularly relevant. But I think ideally you really want to think about how to practice such traits in all aspects of your life. And then this can filter into things like recommendations, your essays, possibly an interview, and so on.
As a final thought, this is really just good life advice as well. High school is a critical time for developing traits like these, and while you will not be a finished product, establishing a habit of deliberate practice in areas like these can serve you well for a long time.
Keep on doing what you are already doing…it’s fine!
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In my opinion you are a competitive applicant to any school. None of us can chance you for schools with incredibly low acceptance rates- apply and see! Just be sure to have a few likely and target schools in the mix.
You mentioned that you have not yet taken the SAT/ACT. I would do that during the current school year. I would also continue to do the activities you enjoy, go out with friends, etc.
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My main comment on your ECs is that they are very good, but there are a lot of them. How much time and energy can you put into each of them?
You also might want to read the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site. As I understand it, the point is to do what is right for you, and whatever you do, do it very well. This approach has worked for us at other schools and not just for MIT.
I agree with other answers that you are a very competitive applicant at any university in the USA, and probably for any university anywhere in the world that teaches in a language that you speak. You should look for schools that are a good fit for you, keep your budget in mind, and visit a few schools to get a better sense of what makes sense for you. Also, make sure that you apply to safeties.
Finally, I see that you have a few ECs that might be medical or biotech related. If you are considering medical school, then you should keep in mind that there are a huge number of colleges and universities that are very good for premed students, and that can prepare you very well for medical school, or for an alternate career in the very likely case that you change your mind for one reason or another. For premed students once again finding a good fit is key and paying attention to the budget are important.
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I think you have a great profile. EC shows good width and depth. Perhaps think about how to tell your story down the road. Think about impact beyond numbers too. How do you talk about how you’ve impacted lives/your community/the world?
I really think you have what it takes to get into a top school, but just understand that with these extremely competitive schools, it’s a game of chance. Despite how much this is frustrating, there are things beyond our control. (I’m mostly talking about institutional priorities here…)
So try your best, enjoy your life, and don’t stress out too much. Apply to a few to maximize your chances of one, if not a few, of the ivies putting your file into the Admit pile!