Junior
ACT : Just took 31
SAT II: Bio 800, French 800, Math 2
GPA: 3.9
Weighted 4.4 :
Major Awards: DNA Day essay, , President Service Award, National Park Service Award, allowed to give my own ecology talk (approved by US gov), 3-4 awards from my school
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): over
Head of Marin chapter of SHE ++
-SHE ++ include fellowship
-Muir Woods (National Park) Volunteer Ranger
-Worked as a translator at large company ( French, Chinese and English0
-forestry intern at an environmental consulting firm
-Teach middle schoolers to code (coderdojo)
Volunteer/Community service:1000+ hours
-Taught Syrian Refugees French with Amnesty I started
-Teach Young Girls to Code (via Girls who code)
-Muir Woods (National Park) Volunteer Ranger
-Ecology speaker ( Muir Woods)
-Koho salmon repopulation project
-Nike Cold War Missile site give tours and talks about cold war
-Forestry volunteering
Other: struggle from PTSD ( went through a rape trial at 14)
Intended Major: Computational Biology
I think that you need to either do more ACT preparation and try to get that score up, or do SAT preparation and see if you can do better on the SAT than the ACT.
If you get your ACT score up quite a bit, then I would put Brown as a low reach and Harvard and Princeton as reaches. Other than ACT/SAT, to me your stats look like the students that get accepted at these schools, and also look like the students who get rejected from these schools.
Geographic diversity might be a significant advantage for you. I doubt that these schools get a lot of applicants from Montana.
As others have mentioned, your ACT is on low end for your target schools. But your excellent scores on SAT subject tests shows some aptitude for test-taking, so you might be able to raise your ACT substantially with some specific prep.
I’ll definitely keep taking it, I might apply for a girls in engineering job at UC Berkely do you think it would be worth the effot @BKSquared@oldschooldad
On the ACT, there are good strategies to improve your score. Some basics:
Are there sections where you had a lower score, e.g. Science 3 points lower than Reading. If so spend more time practicing those sections.
Are there subsections within sections that you have more difficulty with (you can see this in the detailed breakdown of your score report). Again spend some focus there.
Did you have a time issue with any parts of the test?
Was fatigue a factor?
Are you making “silly” mistakes on easy questions or is there substance issues on harder questions?
Whether you self study or retain a tutor, the first thing to do is to analyze where your greatest weaknesses are and approach your practices methodically to address those weaknesses. Practices should consist of both section practices where you immediately go through and understand why you made your errors and whole test practices. In all cases, you have to limit your time to match the time allotted by the ACT.
Separately, you might want to take a practice SAT test to see if SAT’s are better suited for you. The tests used to be very different, but they are converging.
Since you are only a junior and already have stellar SAT 2 tests (did you also make 800 on the Math 2?) you are done and in great position there. If you have time to practice the ACT between now and the June or July test dates, I’d schedule yourself to take one of those depending on your AP testing schedule. That gives you some fall testing options if necessary. IMO, if you score 34 or higher, you’re done and should focus on your app’s the balance of the summer and fall. If you’d rather spend the summer preparing, you can schedule to take the September test, but remember fall senior year can be pretty hectic with school and college applications.
Going into the STEM field will be a difficult task, especially with the competition so staunch nowadays.
Do you have any programming/biology competitions that you could enter right now to further display your interest in those fields? I know USABO just passed, so if you took that, and win semifinalist, it will be a major boost…
You appear to be on your way to an excellent school, @alexandra00, maybe one of the three you listed, or perhaps another.
As you expand your list, note that computational biology/bioinformatics tends to be available through course elements across the science curriculum at a range of schools. I’d recommend, therefore, that you do not limit your college choices to those with a computational biology major.
@alexandra00 Do you think you did well on it? Hopefully if you did, then you’ll be well on your way to a top school imo… Also, maybe boost your math 2 score to an 800 if possible, since over 20% of kids taking it to get an 800.
With regards to your DNA Day Essay, did you place? Honorable Mention?
scared @penn95 @DadTwoGirls @anonpenn2022 @merc81@BKSquared I also just got my test results back from the February 10th with a 35 ACT and 12 on writing. What are your views on top-tier non-ivies (MIT,Cal-Tech,Duke, and Stanford)
@alexandra00 Congrats! a 35 is obviously really good, you do not need to worry about standardized testing anymore. Stanford is as tough to get in as it gets (along with Harvard) so it is a complete crapshoot for students with your profile. MIT is also pretty much up there. Duke is also reach of course but more attainable than the other two. you have good chances for all of them really but of course like any other candidate your chances at better at Duke or Brown than Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Princeton.
I’d say biology, @alexandra00. Strong biology programs will include bioinformatics modules in their curricula beginning with the introductory course sequence. This is not to say, however, that strong biology and CS programs cannot coexist.
