<p>It’s not an either/or. He’s taken 13 APs and has gotten a gold medal in the International Biology Olympiad (the article does not mention the Siemens-Westinghouse competition, which is different from the Siemens award).</p>
<p>I heard Lin got in both MIT and CIT already.</p>
<p>the Siemens AP Award comes automatically from having scored fives on the most number of AP science and math exams in your state. the most in the country (which will usually mean every math and science exam covered) will get you the award that Lin got.</p>
<p>now, the gold medal in the IBO is definitely something extremely impressive. why didn’t anyone mention that before?</p>
<p>many people have gotten into MIT and CIT already. both are non-single choice early action schools, so many people apply and get into both.</p>
<p>The newspaper probably does not know how prestigious Olympiads are so pretty much buried the info in the body of the text.</p>
<p>I did not realize this thread was about Allen Lin until I saw “gold medal at IBO” and put two and two together upon spotting his last name being mentioned in these posts!! WOW! I was not able to access the article at home, so now that I’ve actually read it and am no longer in the darkness as to the identity of the individual everyone is talking about… WOW AGAIN! :D</p>
<p>Allen Lin is a friend of mine (and, to my knowledge, a friend of at least 3 other CC users), and he -is- brilliant. He’s taken 13 APs because he has the brains and motivation for possibly all subjects. Not only is an IBO gold medallist, he placed 1st in his region for Physics Bowl last year, which helps to explain why it is no surprising feat for him to win Siemens AP Award, either.</p>
<p>Kryptsonsa:</p>
<p>I hope you can reassure some posters here that your friend Allen Lin has a life like other students who do not achieve as high as he does. If he has at least 3 friends on CC, he can’t be spending all his time alone.</p>
<p>Yes, I can. :)</p>
<p>I haven’t looked through this entire thread yet, but if my suspicions serve me correctly, people are likely arguing that he is unsociable, a perpetual bookworm, unable to enjoy a good game of Ultrimate Frisbee…</p>
<p>All of which are completely untrue.</p>
<p>I had no idea he did EA to MIT. I’ll have to convince him to come there with me so I can ask for his help when I’m having trouble with physics. :p</p>
<p>Obviously I have a different opinion than many on this thread. But this comment is one that is just plain wrong:
Are you saying that you are incapable of getting As in math/science courses at colleges simply because you prefer humanities? I’ve never taken APs, but my first degree was in English Lit. I have since taken many math & science courses and earned As in every one. If colleges still reguire a core for degree requirements, I imagine most humanities types need a year of math and science. I highly doubt these kids never earn As.</p>
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<p>I have looked through the whole thread, and I certainly see people ASSUMING such things about your friend. They ought to learn not to give in to invidious prejudice.</p>
<p>oops sorry. I thought siemens was separate from AP tests. My bad. I was probably mixing it up with the Intel or other competitions.</p>
<p>I never assumed that Allen Lin was a one-dimensional, anti-social grind, I’m sorry if I gave that impression. My point was that his peers might see it that way, but since a friend of his has posted his/her perspective I guess that’s not what’s happening. He’ll probably do great things in his lifetime. The AP test thing just brought up some mixed feelings.</p>
<p>I know this guy. In fact I see him 5 days a week during the school year because I have a couple classes with him. I’m surprised at the vagueness of this article because, as people had speculated, there’s much more about his personality than just AP tests and drawing/painting. He’s competitive but extremely modest, and he’s well-liked because he’s kind and sociable. He’s not one of those hugely popular guys in the school, but it’s not like everyone hates him either. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I know he’s gonna hate me for even posting this because he hates it whenever people talk about his achievements. Yeah, he works hard, and he studied on his own for half the AP tests he took. But that’s because he likes to. And I would agree that his motivation is probably similar to the mountain climber’s; because the tests are there, he might as well ace it. The article doesn’t tell you that he’s won several art competitions either, and was one of the best cross country runners in our school as a freshman. He heads several clubs and plays the saxophone. He’s just somebody who likes to try his best at everything. Sure, there are some people who think he has no life participating in so many academic competitions and taking all those tests, but most people think he’s a cool guy in general.</p>
<p>Funny thing is that he’s not even valedictorian. Our school is pretty academically crazy, but I don’t necessarily believe it’s really that healthy because it causes so many of the students who take all the AP classes to feel so much social pressure to do well (because all their friends are getting As). And sometimes there’s resentment towards Allen who always does his homework the most thoroughly out of everyone else. But after awhile everyone appreciates his effort.</p>
<p>I bet he’s reading this thread and laughing his ass off.</p>
<p>Thanks, Zoming, for putting all Allen Lin’s achievements in context. He sounds like a well-adjusted and pretty well-rounded student.</p>
<p>And if he reads this thread, he has every reason to laugh at people who, without knowing him, cast aspersions on his character and his achievements as well as his prospects.</p>
<p>so oldolddad was right from the beginning</p>
<p>Allen also likes to eat mushroom pizza in his free time.</p>
<p>And paint acrylic landscapes.</p>
<p>How’s that for a sense of normalcy?</p>
<p>
Good for him. That still doesn’t change the fact that his drive to take so many APs will not be universally hailed by all who evaluate his admissions folder.</p>
<p>Stickershock:</p>
<p>You don’t give up, do you? Listen, he’s already been admitted to MIT and Caltech. Two out of three so far. Can’t you find it in you to praise a young man’s achievements? What’s eating you up?</p>
<p>marite, You don’t give up either. I did state that the 13 perfect scores was an achievement. I still question why a kid would want to seek an AP record. I see it as a bizarre interpretation of the purpose of the AP program & a questionable use of a teen’s time. It is the very mindset that leads to disappointed, even incredulous kids complaining about their rejections from colleges despite [fill in whatever list of stats & achievements you wish.] “Suzie only took 5 APs and I took 15! It’s not fair!”</p>
<p>Read zoming’s post. Some in Holmdel feel Lin has no life. Zoming speaks of intense AP pressure at his school. Also resentment. It’s not a real healthy environment, it seems. Almost anti-intellectual, I’d suggest. You are free to feel differently.</p>
<p>
Apparently you belong to the category of “some people” and I am with the “most people.”
I did not read that Allen Lin tried to set an AP record. He is far from it. He just set out to do as many as he could, and studied on his own for many of them. He has time for a variety of extra-curricular activities. He seems to me a high-achieving, level-headed and well-rounded young man. What else could one want?
I want to praise young people’s achievements because they are so little valued in too many quarters in this country. The US is losing ground to other countries in math and science, but no matter, little Johnny and Julie need to have their self-esteem bolstered. Often, it comes at the expense of belittling those who have truly achieved high by suggesting that there must be something wrong with their lives or their personalities or that they’re bound to be seen as one-dimensional by adcoms.
MIT and Caltech seem to agree with me and with “most people.” So much for your prognosis about how his dossier will be evaluated.</p>
<p>Stickershock: I looked up where all of oup top AP kids go onto (those who began early and took a large number). Guess what? They did get into HYPSMCD. If you do not think an adcom is going to look at this in the context of other kids in the school and other achievements and characteristics of the individual you are wrong. There may be some kids who only take AP’s just like there are kids who only get 2400 on SAT and who have nothing else to offer and who think they are entitled to get into Harvard. But the majority are doing great things across the board. By the way, the AP Siemans Awards have been out there for a long time. Do you think that kids are not going to try to win them? Do you think it is bad for a kids or a team to try to get the most medals at the Science Olympiad, to try to win the Physics bowl , perhaps in 10th grader instead of 11th, or to try to learn the Rach 3 at a young age? </p>
<p>This kid got into Cal Tech and MIT, just like my kid, who also took a bunch of these tests begining in 8th grade. I do not think they viewed it as a negative trait.</p>
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<p>It’s not clear that he did seek an AP record as such. He simply studied subjects he was interested in, and took AP tests to check his understanding of those interesting subjects. To me that sounds exactly like the kind of self-motivated curiosity that parents and admission officers should praise, not something to decry.</p>