<p>Hello! I need some help from experienced people on whether my reach-match-safety list looks realistic. Thanks very much in advance :D</p>
<p>Reach: Dartmouth (1st choice school), Brown, Vassar
Match: UC Berkeley, William and Mary, Tufts
Safety: Smith, Oberlin –> hoping to get financial aid from these schools as well</p>
<p>Singapore, female, Chinese
Ivy league feeder school, A level curriculum
Grades & percentiles: Maths C 71%, Biology B 85%, Chemistry E 37%, Literature B 80%, General Paper A 99%
[Dean’s list (top 5%) for every general paper exam]
SAT I: 2300 (CR 800 Maths 800 Writing 700)
Haven’t taken SAT II but planning on doing maths + biology or chemistry in October. Aiming for 800s.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
Drama club president
Vice-captain of house (haha yeah we have a house system!)
Peer support leader (3 years)
Won a national filmmaking competition
Rhythmic gymnastics school team for 2 years, 3rd & 4th placing at national inter-schools</p>
<p>Awards
Outstanding service for house
Merit service for drama and peer support board
Recipient of evergreen leadership development scholarship
Recipient of 6-year government scholarship for top 3% (or is it 5%?) students in Singapore</p>
<p>Work experience
Uhhh admittedly rather paltry compared to all you experienced people
Assisted a local children’s book author for about half a year, helped her prepare presentations for Singapore Writer’s Festival and promote her television series</p>
<p>Plan
Planning on taking a gap year to go work/volunteer at national agencies before entering college. I’m interested in taking a career in environmental studies but due to my limited experience in this field it seems wise to take some time off the figure out if this is what I’d like to do.</p>
<p>Well since the veterans here appeared to be busy, I shall take the chance for a quick word here. </p>
<p>Sch choice: UCB as a match is a big no-no and vassar is not that hard. Swap the postition of these 2. </p>
<p>Personal hard stat (ie, results): That chem grade will hurt! (even if you argue that the whole cohort did badly, an E still looks glaring). Dean List is rather low on the recognition from the admission-committee(adcom) perspective. Kudos for excellent SAT I though. </p>
<p>Personal soft stat (CCA/etc): There is quite a big range of activities. Hence adcom may feel that you do not have a clear focus. (IE, you do some for resume-boosting instead of genuine feeling) You awards, well still good, are not that particularly strong.</p>
<p>Misc: Are you in need of FA? Are you from Bishan-JC? You need to realize that by applying to Dart/UCB, you are up against academic behemoths in the league of internationally recognized ppl. Be it ASEAN game or even Asian game athletes, Int’l math/phy/bio/chem/com Olympiad participants, musicians that played in concerts overseas. So you need to have something to make yourself stand out amongst these adversaries 1 way or another.</p>
<p>UCB really isn’t particularly difficult to get into (probably comparable to Vassar, but don’t quote me on this). I think she’s right in saying it’s a match. </p>
<p>I do think you’ve a good enough shot at the schools you’re applying to. You seem to have done your research, at least. Your profile is good enough to stand a chance, not good enough to say for sure, really (bar your safeties), the same for many applicants I think. The viccisitudes of this college application process I don’t think I need to impress upon you. You probably came here for comforting words but the truth is we can’t say anything for sure (no ****, right?). </p>
<p>I think you should definitely take any chancing thing with a huge grain of salt. Really though, none of the top colleges are shoo-ins and it’s really important to know that. </p>
<p>The forums may be (slightly) useful, but expert advice is definitely way more important (I’m talking about the admissions counselling thing if you’re in RJ). Also, essays are another make-or-break part of the admissions process that no one can see here! Check out unicq.net/blog-list.php </p>
<p>I’ve been through the process and a year of college. Trust me, it looks way different from the other side of the bridge (better, I must add).</p>
<p>Sorry for not responding earlier but thank you for all your very helpful responses!
Yes, I am from Bishan JC (<em>crack of thunder</em>) and have been to the college counsellor; he pretty much said the same thing, that I stand a reasonable chance as anyone but I’d better do something about that chem grade for my prelims.
Just a small clarification, I meant I’m looking to get financial aid from Smith if NEA/PUB/NParks don’t like me enough to offer me a scholarship. My parents are supporting five girls, two are already in local universities, so it’d be good to help them out yep.</p>
<p>I guess I was mainly here to check how realistic my list looks but yeeeah nothing’s really predictable when it comes to US universities. Still, thanks again :)</p>
