How are my chances for a top STEM program

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hey There! This is a Junior in a California High School (C/o 2019). I have completed a lot of Community College classes my Junior year and some in Sophomore, which includes AP Calculus (5 on AP; it was taken in a high school, but a college level course still), Multivariable Calculus (5 semester units, A), Physics with Calculus I (covers classical mechanics, some fluid mechanics and relativity; 4 semester units, A), Physics with Calculus II (covers E&M; 4 semester units, A), Physics with Calculus III (covers heat, optics & modern physics; 4 semester units, A-), Linear Algebra and Differential Equation (5 semester unit, A); and I am currently taking Discrete Math (currently 99.01%, 4 semester units, should be an A), Circuit and Device (contains Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equation, 4 semester units, should be an A), Material Science (calculus based, 4 semester units, very good chance for an A), General Chemistry II (2nd to 3rd highest score in the class on both mid term, 5 semester units, should be an A). For the rest of my courseworks, I have half As and half Bs in History and English (my current school is a middle college program (basically a high school inside of a community college) doesn’t offer APs nor IBs), and I received a 90 on AMC 10 and 91.5 on AMC 12 (don’t know if they will help), 800 on SAT Math II and plan to take SAT Subject Physics and Chem. I hope to get around 1520 on SAT (currently sitting at 1450-ish based on practice test), This incoming summer, I would take a Physics class at UC Berkeley (their Physics 137A, which is an upper division Quantum Mechanics class). Do you guys think I have a good chance in getting into a top STEM program? Do you think my upper division Quantum Mechanics class will boost my chance (if I can get an A) or it’s not worth it?

Thanks

2

Pretty good but if you mean hpys Chicago Berkeley caltrch level it’s really hard for everyone. And it depends on other things than pure grades. Are you an underrepresented minority or female ? A legacy or athlete ? These factors can give you a hook or modest advantage.

The next tier in terms of unique global brands and no means lesser quality like nw Cornell ut Duke other ucs. Sure you could get in but by no means is anyone a shoe in. And the math excellence will help. If math vs engineering or physics will differ by school.

But keep up the great work and keep a realistic outlook. You’re great at math so look at the percentages and keep it in mind without it getting you down.

3

@privatebanker I am sadly asian male (my top choice is Berkeley, CalTech, MIT and Stanford, luckly the first 2 hardly consider race), but do you think that Upper Div. Physics class would push me over the top (be the difference maker during admission) or the admission officer will just see it as an random class? And are the several Bs receive in SS and English going to hurt my chance in STEM program or it is minor?

4

Well they really do dig deep into each candidate and if your school is on the radar. It helps. They are very thorough. Every little thing adds up to a mosaic.

First cut is can you hack it there The high end math certainly shows that you can

Then comes the rest where all the high achievers are now compared to each other.

Do well on sat and the 800 math subject test plus the physics subject test with a great score will help.

I don’t know how they view non math at the top stem focused schools. I would think Stanford surely will. And the b’s won’t help but if there’s progression and you seem like a potential math star. It’s fine.

As an over represented minority it does get a little more difficult. But not for the cal schools.

Really important that you intertwine your strengths, your ecs and volunteerism into an interesting picture of yourself. Aside from perhaps mit and cal tech where science chops may win the day, at most super selective schools everything is important. Essays, supplements, recs and your unique story. But they can usually smell insincerity and a sales job a mile away. Be yourself

I think there are a dozens of great alternatives that you should consider.

But to guide you let me give you an example of how tough it is to guess. and to make sure you spread your options across a wide spectrum of schools by relative selectivity.

As an example in real life.

This is my first hand experience this year with d in stem

She is on a Biochem premed track. She attends a us top 40 public and the number one in our northeastern state. Stats were 4.0 uw valedictorian. 35 act 1540 sat. 13 aps all 5s but for two 4s. 4 year varsity athlete two years as captain. Pres of Spanish club only female on academic decathlon. Regional science fair winner pres of beta club and volunteered at hospital for four straight years every week, summer camp counselor at an ivy related camp and attended a pre college program at her favorite ivy for medicine excellent recs. The teachers loved her and they let her read them. gc only wrote individualized ones for the top ten in her class.

And a nice and supportive kid.

Her experience this year

Rejected Harvard and brown
Accepted Georgetown Boston college usc Bowdoin
UF honors UNC OOS

Applied to all for premed which is super competitive. Her college counselor suggested slightly less competitive major She said no because she was more concerned with major and a good school but name brand not important to her

The number two kid and number three kid who are real stars both got into ivies One was an Islamic male frotm Pakistan and the other was first gen latinx. So that’s the only obvious difference between these three. And obviously don’t know Their essays etc

I’m only illustrating a point. As talented as you are. Don’t despair. Be smart. Look at UWash UM UVA GTech RPI UIUC VATech WPI Urochester Rice all UCs CSUs UF UT which are all top 50. Then look at 50 to 100 school with high end math and sci nice reps Rutgers UMass Amherst Clemson Pitt for safeties.

5

You may want to improve your English writing skills.

A college application essay that is one huge wall-of-text paragraph like in post #0 can be hard to read and may not be seen favorably by admission readers at super-selective colleges where essays and such are crucial in distinguishing between many applicants with top-end academic credentials.

6

^^^ what he said. Actually he can help you s lot more than I can about stem especially west coast

7

@ucbalumnus I am not too worry about that; even though I can’t get straight As, it is mainly due to my English teacher holding us to really high standard (people who took AP English told me that his class is as intensive/tough as an AP English class). I don’t think I will have too much trouble writing my college essay; I can get people to help. Do you know if STEM orientated program would be okay with having a few Bs in SS and English (I have plenty of As too)? Is that going to be a big deal or they should be fine with that?

8

I dont know how qualified I am to talk about this since I am a high school junior (who is currently in the Bay Area), but here goes.

It seems like you are an amazing student. You are taking classes way beyond the level that most if not all high schoolers get to. Even here, we would jokingly call you a computer because of your genius haha

Im not so sure how much a B in history or literature would be stacked against you. Lots of Asians can get As in those classes and at the AP level too, but at the same time you show a huge passion for what you want to do in college through your coursework.a

I would focus on getting your SAT score to around 1550+ for the schools you are looking at since that is one thing a lot of qualified applicants have. What is your unweighted GPA? Do you have any extracurriculars? Leadership in clubs or demonstrated leadership outside of school? Do you play a sport? All of these things are also important to consider.

Overall you look like an amazing applicant and you will definitely be accepted to a great school, even if it is not one of these. Once again I am a junior too so I am not a very accurate gauge

9

Definitely look into UIUC. It’s an amazing school and is easily top 5 in the nation for engineering and computer science. The campus is really nice, and although the weather isn’t as nice as Cal and it’s sort of in the middle of nowhere, if you get into the eng/cs programs, you are bound to have many opportunities. Also, it’s a few hours away from Chicago, which is such a nice busy city with a lot of tech companies.

10

It is not about your grades. It is about the fact that your huge single paragraph in post #0 of this thread is not that easy to read.

If your college application essay is as hard to read as your post #0 in this thread, then your essay will cause the admission reader to downgrade how s/he rates or scores your application.

11

@ucbalumnus thanks for the clarification, I would definitely improve on that (I am not to used to writing forums too).