Guru Will Chance You for Top Tier Schools

python38 · July 11, 2009, 10:58pm

Homeschooled student
International

SAT I: 2340 (800 Math, 740 CR, 800 Writing, 10 essay).
SAT II: Planning to take Math II, Lit, Bio, Chem, and WH this autumn
Other Qualifications: Maths, Further Maths, and Physics A-levels (all As) + 2 Open University courses in cosmology and genetics

Courseload and ECs: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/722292-applying-harvard-how-good-my-courseload.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/722292-applying-harvard-how-good-my-courseload.html</a> (I’m also taking APs in US History, Chinese, and English Language next year, btw)

Chance me for Harvard, MIT, and Princeton?

Thanks :).

elytron · July 11, 2009, 11:05pm

i’m afraid being international, you have twice as much competition and limited spaces at those 3 schools. not going to school means that you dont have access to the ecs that everyone else has, no volunteering, team sports, community service, and only a few academic ec’s. even if you get 800s on all of your subject tests and do everything perfectly, those 3 schools really wont be realistic. that is not to say that you are not a highly qualified applicant, but you really should consider smaller schools that do not receive as many international applicants. even though you would certainly flourish anywhere, huge famous american schools receive thousands of applications from internationals that get especially scrutinized, and the system is really going to work against you. hope for the best, and start exploring some other options, which frequently are just as high quality as HMP

python38 · July 11, 2009, 11:45pm

I’m applying to other colleges (ranging from Williams to Grinnell) as well; I just thought that I’d list three of the top colleges on my list.

Should I try to find opportunities to volunteer/do community service/exhibit “leadership” or something in my area? It’s not impossible to do stuff like that without going to school; which one of them would you say is the most important?

Thanks for your advice, btw :).

P.S. Good luck with your college chances! Where/when are you applying?

big_dreamer · July 12, 2009, 12:48am

Great thread, here goes nothing! Thanks for doing this! :)

–Rising junior in NC
–3.9 GPA
–Rank Top3 in class (not much to differentiate yet, althogh I’ll take more APs)
–11/14 APs by graduation

ECs: --Science Olympiad (2 2nd place medals at regionals past year; 19th/45 at state w/ broken catapult)
–Debate Team (some regional awards so far)
–Spanish Culture Bee (tied 1st at X State University Competition)
–2-time Basketball Captain + MVP
– 7 years of Clarinet by graduation
–Will have 3 years on students government
–Church Volunteer Service Leader for 2 years/4 years of total service
–Med Club Founder/Pres (club to raise funds for free clinic/draw in volunteers)
–No SAT/ACT score yet…sorry (really hoping for 2250+ by self-study–naturally good test taker)
–Aspiring Inventor/Car designer (have car designs & looking to patent several products)
–Won Scholastic Gold Key Award

Schools: Brown (legacy), Yale, MIT

KRNpro · July 12, 2009, 1:55am

Thank you for doing this! :D

Senior

3.95/4.5 GPA
SAT: 2290 <a href=“I%20am%20retaking%20in%20October%20to%20improve%20my%20W”>800M, 800R, 690W</a>
SAT IIs: 800 Math II, 750 Biology, 760 US
ACT: 35

AP Tests: Seven 5s, One 4

Main ECs:
Volunteer @ Hospital
3 Years of Track
Church Youth Group
Art [I photograph]
Full Year Internship @ Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center as a Photographer

Will submit art work

Schools: Harvard, UPenn, Cornell, Washington U. in St. Louis

Thank you again !

collegereally · July 12, 2009, 3:54am

A rising Korean senior going to an international school in Beijing

SAT: 780math 710writing 700reading T2190 (studying sat this summer to take it again on october, aiming for 2250 which is reasonable considering my prep course and test scores)

SATII: 800MathIIC 800Chinese 630Chem (studying this too, aiming for 750, also reasonable)

GPA: 3.12 weighted (very low because i didnt do any studying until last year)

Courses:
(2 year courses)
IB English A2 HL
IB MANDARIN B HL
IB ECONOMICS HL
IB MATH HL
IB CHEM SL
IB PHYSICS SL

NOT A DIPLOMA CANDIDATE

ECs:

Performing Arts (2 years): band member, first chair, first chair in “international band competition among asian international schools”, jazz band first chair

Model UN (4 years): delegates in various conferences, some very hard, looking to be a chair next year

Habitat for Humanity, Campus chapter (4 years): 2 years as regular member, junior year as executive board member, senior year nothing

Prevent-AIDS-club (no name) (3 years): co-founder in sophomore year

Soccer Team (3 years): 2 years in JV, not sure about next year though

Intern (2+ years): Market research in China for a tiny Korean company

Major: business/management/marketing OR industrial engineering

OTHERS:

very fluent in Chinese, (had the HSK of level 7 when i was in seventh grade, going to take it again next year for level 10, 11 highest)

essay incorporates the three cultures and my passion to find more about the market and it’s very well written

Any chance? [Georgia Tech(Early), UIUC, UWisconsin-Madison, Penn State, U of Washington-Seattle, HKUST]

PS: Any suggestions on colleges that are appropriate to my profile?

elytron · July 12, 2009, 9:38am

big dreamer (aren’t we all):
-based on the assumption that you do break 2250, i do think you will get into brown
-otherwise ECs courseload rank etc are all satisfactory
-use the summer to concoct some interesting ideas for an essay that will really be different and set you apart from the masses

Yale will be a bit trick as they get so may superb applicants, if you can get above 2350 i might consider it plausible, but I would put your chances at less than or equal to 10%
Same goes for MIT, but if you do manage to get some of that car stuff patented or published your chances might go up, extra points for any addition engineering stuff you end up doing next year

elytron · July 12, 2009, 9:43am

KNPro:
-you seem to be one of the rare breeds that can dominate both the SAT and ACT, if you do not get your SAT above 2340 (the corollary to a 35), I would not both submitting them.

definitely apply for a few photograph related awards and scholarships, those will give you a bit more street cred for you art supplement
with all that, WashUStl Cornell and UPenn should be Ins, Harvard is a crapshoot as usual but i would say that for you it is not that high of a reach as everyone else, because usually artists dont have such good grades

elytron · July 12, 2009, 9:50am

collegereally?:

i’m glad to see that you are not joining the HYMPS or die train that most internationals bank their self-esteem on
the schools you are applying to are a bit below your level, and i think you would be easily in to all of them
that said, you might consider aiming a bit higher into the tier 2 schools and some LACs
such as: NYU Stern, UCLA Anderson, Notre Dame Mendoza, Villanova, Carnegie Mellon (Teper), or Emory Goizueta

all of which are in the businessweek top 20 business school list
<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?;

Dcu · July 12, 2009, 11:01am

School: Private (very good school…everyone goes to college, many to ivies)

Classes: I take almost all of the most rigorous classes at my school

GPA: 3.72 UW, 4.5 W (1 extra point for Honors/AP classes)

Test Scores: ACT 33, Math 2 SAT II 770, World History SAT II 790.

Extracurriculars: On the board of my temple, president of youth group chapter, soccer (JV 2 years and Varsity for 2 years), Award-Winning Spanish Literary Magazine, Math Team, Debate Team, accepted to several photography competitions, Summer Internship at the National Institute of Health (NIH), 80+ hours community service.

Please chance me at…Amherst, Brown, Cornell, Penn, Northwestern, Rochester, and Haverford.

Thanks so much :)

belly · July 12, 2009, 12:20pm

guru? 10 char

elytron · July 12, 2009, 3:33pm

dcu:
-you seem to be a good test taker, so you might consider retaking the ACT, because a 33 is sort of middle-of-the-road and doesn’t help or hurt you, but if you get it up a bit higher it will help
-go for soccer and debate captains for some more leadership positions
that said, you should be in at rochester, low reach at cornell, northwestern, and haverford, and then amherst penn and brown are regular reaches.

misterg · July 12, 2009, 3:53pm

International (Canada) needing aid. Sigh.

SAT: 2260 (CR 740, M 770, W 750); taking subject tests in October, scores should be in 700s.
Grades: ~3.7 GPA (90.4 overall avg), no weighting or ranking, no APs or IB offered in board; most rigorous schedule possible though.

ECs: professional actor with supporting role in cartoon, lots of auditioning from 9-10 but business slowed (9-12), play french horn (1st chair in 12) (9-12), founded school newspaper and became editor-in-chief (11-12), founder and leader of writer’s guild (12), grade 9: rep/grade 12: student body president of student council (9, 11-12), volunteered for kids help phone (11-12), political studies camp this summer through Georgetown/UVA

Chance me for political science at U Chicago, Columbia, and hey, why not, Harvard? Thanks man. Chanced you on your thread!

elytron · July 12, 2009, 3:57pm

misterg:

move to the U.S.
ecs and scores are solid
try and get some interviews in those three schools when youre touring or visiting the US
solely because you are an international and face steeper competition, i would give you 20-30% at Uchicago, 10-15% at Columbia, and <5% at Harvard. there are a lot of great schools in this country that would take you. if not theres always mcgill

misterg · July 12, 2009, 4:00pm

yeah, I’m applying to McGill. and a bunch of other american schools. and lol at move to the US. oh, and fortunately, the interviewers are available in this part of the country (Ontario). thanks man!

rajraj · July 12, 2009, 4:08pm

Hi!
Right now I’m thinking of applying ED to Rice. If I get denied, then I’m applying ED II to Emory. I’m also applying to Vanderbilt, Davidson, Pepperdine, Baylor, Oxford at Emory, and Trinity (in San Antonio). What do you think my chances are?

ACT: 33
I plan on taking SAT Subject tests in October.

I’ve taken all honors/AP courses and have a strong curriculum, but my GPA isn’t that great.
It’s a 3.99 weighted.

EC’s:

theater for all four years. I’ve been a costume manager for three productions and a stage manager/director for three productions. I was also nominated for a stage managing award.
community service at my school for all four years and have been a Project Officer for three years. I’ve arranged over 15 different service projects totaling 50+ hours.
Some of the above projects include volunteering at: Special Olympics, Children’s Museum, Race for the Cure, Angel Tree Project, Center for Hearing and Speech, Memorial Assistance Ministries, Catholic Charities, and Carnival for a Cause
Yearbook staff junior and senior year and have been nominated for a yearbook award.
Leadership Class (a select group of student leaders at our school) for all four years.
published in the school’s literary magazine three years in a row.
member of National Honor Society both junior and senior year. I’m a NHS officer as well.
Sophomore year I attended Close Up-in washington DC, to learn about government and politics.
I received the Vanderbilt Book Award my junior year.
I’ve volunteered at my church for 192+ hours.
attended a Duke TIP scholar weekend.
attended two medical mission trips in India.
held a mission trip fundraiser and raised over 2,650 dollars for children at a mission hospital in India.
have two poems published in a the 2008 and 2009 Anthology of Teen Poetry.
volunteered for 100+ hours at MD Anderson Cancer Hospital.
attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, a 10 day program to learn about medicine, last summer.
visited an orphanage in India and distributed dental supplies, toys, school supplies, and pajamas to the children. I also visited the War Widow Association of India and helped provide a lunch for them.
attended a 10 day Yearbook Workshop this summer and am going to my church’s youth camp.

Sorry this is so long. I may have forgotten some things, or included useless things, this is just off the top of my head. Thanks so much and please reply!

Oh and I did take the SAT but my scores weren’t as good as my ACT score.

Thanks!!!

elytron · July 12, 2009, 4:27pm

Rajraj:

perhaps a few more academically oriented ec’s, such as debate or quizbowl or math team
if you’re grades in physics/math are good enough i think you can get into rice ED, you are just below the 75th percentile for their act (34)
solid test scores ECs and awards, you could get into any of your backup schools with relative ease

25or6to4 · July 12, 2009, 4:30pm

State: PA
Gender: Male
College class: 2014

Possible college majors: Bio, Econ, pre-med track.

Stats:
SAT: 2200 (760 math, 730 CR, 710 Writing)
SAT 2: Math 2 770, Bio M 790
Rank: 20/556
GPA: 97.81
APs: Junior: bio, psych
Senior: Physics C, Calc AB, English

Distinctions:
possible national merit semi-finalist (i am right at the cutoff) (definitely commended, though)

EC’s:
Bio/Chem tutor
Bio summer program
Summer Job- 30 hours/week. 8 weeks. every summer.
NHS
Academic Team
Model UN
150 Hours of hospital volunteering
Shadowing doctor and dentist during summer

Schools:
Boston College (early action)
Brandeis
Brown
Dickinson College
Emory
Haverford College
Johns Hopkins
UPenn
University of Pittsburgh
Villanova (EA)

elytron · July 12, 2009, 4:37pm

25or6to4:

i have never heard of anyone who was interested in both haverford and BC, they are polar opposites
go for some leadership positions in your clubs

Boston College (early action)- IN
Brandeis -IN
Brown-reach
Dickinson College-Match
Emory-match
Haverford College- high match
Johns Hopkins-low reach
UPenn-reach
University of Pittsburgh -IN
Villanova (EA) - IN

25or6to4 · July 12, 2009, 4:52pm

thanks elytron!
oh, about haverford and BC. haverford is a bit of an outlier on my list and a large reason it is on to begin with is because it is so close to my home (i wanted to have a couple schools near home on my list). And really they’re not all that opposite. A large part of my search has been based on location and i like how both of those schools are in affluent suburbs within the reach of a city. Also, both are top notch in what i want to study. The student body ethos and size discrepencies (in which they are polar opposites) were more general guideline in my search; no overbearing fraternity life or rampant conservativism (except for maybe villanova, but it’s close to home and has other positives) and less than 12k students (except for pitt, my safety).

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