Places for a person with great numbers, and not much else

College Search & Lists
1

<p>OK, my situation is this: I do really well in school and standardized tests, but I’ve done nothing AMAZING outside of school, I’m not close with my teachers, meaning impersonal recs, and my essays will be good, but not great. As I’ve been told repeatedly on these boards in the past, these things probably lock me out of HYPMS. With this in mind, I was wondering where would be a good place for me to apply. </p>

<p>I’m looking for a school that’s fairly well rounded, or at least strong in the natural sciences, engineering, and maybe economics (I’ve realized I honestly don’t know what I want to major in, but I am leaning towards math-based, but not math major). Small is better (~3-8k students), but I still want to be able to do research.</p>

<p>I’d like to think Rice is within reach, and UT’s a given, being a texas resident (although way, way bigger than I’d like). Where else do y’all suggest?</p>

<p>My stats:
Texas resident
Indian
SAT: 2400 superscore (11 on essay), 2290 single (6 on essay)
SAT IIs: 800 Chem, 800 Math II, 800 US Hist
Rank: 1st Freshman, 3rd Sophmore, transferred to science magnet that doesn’t rank for last two years (4.0 UW GPA, though)</p>

<p>Big ECs:
3 summers of research on 3 different topics, am getting a publication based on this summer’s work
1st at State Science Fair, Team Physical
Patent on invention stemming from Science Fair project
NSB top 16 finisher
150 hrs as a counselor at a camp for disabled individuals (adding 120 more this coming semester)
80+ hrs working with disabled youth
70 hrs hospital volunteering</p>

2

<p>Wow. Congrats on your SAT scores! Someone told me that at Wash U in St. Louis, you don’t have to pick between engineering and liberal arts right away (or atleast it is easy to switch between the two), so you might want to look into that (i’m in the same situation…want a math based major, like economics or engineering, but not actual math. My SATs, however, are nowhere near as good as yours). So you might want to look into that.</p>

<p>And I would say that all your volunteer hours which involve working with the disabled show you are selfless, caring, and humble…all things which colleges want to see. I would consider these activities to be pretty amazing.</p>

3

<p>Your research and your patent is pretty amazing. Being published is nothing to sneeze at, and getting a patent takes a lot of hard work. I think you have a shot at HYPSM</p>

4

<p>Check out CalTech and see if they have economics. You sound similar to some kids I know there.</p>

5

<p>You might want to check out the Claremont Colleges. Harvey Mudd for engineering, and Pomona for its presence as a well-rounded powerhouse (not unlike yourself)</p>

6

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<p>Hahaha. Uh, yes, they definitely have economics. Very good economics.</p>

7

<p>You should definitely check out Caltech. They don’t just care about numbers by any means, but you have some very good qualifications besides your SAT scores.</p>

8

<p>Those numbers are incredible. Even if your EC’s arent stellar and the recs might not be great, you have a fair shot at ANY school you apply to, even HYPSM.</p>