Please Chance Me for HYPS, Columbia, UChicago, Northwestern and Cornell?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi guys! I’m a Chinese citizen going to a Chinese high school under the AP curriculum. Could you please chance me for the schools mentioned? I know HYPS are reaches for anybody, but I still kind of want to know if the chances are decent for me.

SCORES
GPA: 3.93/4.0 UW; 4.21 W
SAT I: 2360 M800 R800 W760-E12
SAT II: Math II 800, Physics 780
AP: Calc 5 Lang 5 Phy2 4 PhyCMechanics 4 USH 4 CompSci 3 (I know, this is bad…)

P.S. China only has three years of high school. So in my situation, I’m only allowed to take APs in my second year.

Courses:
AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP CompSci, AP USH, AP Lang & Comp

ECs:

  • Elected as president of student council
  • Elected as co-chair of a transnational organization associated with a Harvard organization (Personally I can’t provide details on this one, as it would easily allow me to be searched out); became one of the 12 people chosen out of 1000+
  • Member of school basketball team
  • Founded community service club at school to allocate charity resources and be an umbrella organization for existing service projects at school
  • Volunteered at local migrant workers' children school for two years (150+ hours) and am currently administrating the project; added innovative features to the program
  • Currently making an iOS app with peers in the school IT club
  • Conducted research on the Chinese Cultural Revolution via the method of oral history in China Thinks Big competition 2014
  • Participated in innovative program using floor navigation to improve treatment experience in China's top-tier hospitals in China Thinks Big competition 2015
  • Participated in HSYLC (Harvard Summit for Young Leaders in China) and graduated with honors
  • Participated in H-Week program and was the only one elected from school to participate
  • Am currently participating in Yale Young Global Scholars SPI session

Awards:

  • National Junior Mathematics Competition 1st prize (2012)
  • AMC10 top 5% (2013 2014); AMC12 qualified for AIME (2015)
  • China Thinks Big Outstanding Academic Research Award 2014 (National Top60)
  • China Thinks Big Outstanding Oral Defense Award 2015 (National Top10)
  • World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions Individual Writing 14th Place
  • World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions Team Writing 4th Place
  • World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions Team 32nd Place Global Ranking
  • World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions Individual 55th Place Global Ranking

As for the essays and interviews, I am very confident that I’m a good writer and would be more than able to convey my intellectual interests, unique characteristics, and philosophies that make me who I am.

I have lived in the US for four years and has since kept myself connected to the American culture through various means, so I think I have a significant edge over my peers in China in terms of comprehension of American culture, communicating and adapting to college life.

My currently plan to apply undecided, but might pursue majors in applied maths, CS, finance, or engineering (well yes that would throw UChi out of the picture but again, I’m not bond to a ).

If any more info is needed, I would be more than happy to provide them! Criticism is welcomed, and suggestions on schools are even more welcomed!

Thank you again!

2

HYPS: Reach
Columbia: Moderate reach
UChicago: Low reach/high match (if you can write their essays)
Northwestern: High match
Cornell High match

3

Thank you chopin1810! Could you possibly further elaborate on that please?

Also, what would be match or low match schools for me? Safe?

4

All of the schools you listed are very difficult for foreign applicants, as there is a limited number of students by country; China has many hyper-competitive applicants (like you), so they become reaches for everyone.

Matches: UC Davis, UC Irvine, Georgia Tech
Safeties: Santa Clara U., UCSC, Case Western, RPI

5

Yeah try to make your essays unique so you don’t just look like all of the other applicants.

6

Wouldn’t UC Davis/Irvine be more of a safety choice?

7

Help? Guys? Thanks :frowning:

8

@chopin1810 Wouldn’t UC Davis/Irvine be more of a safety choice? Or am I badly mistaken…

9

Yeah…a very low match/high safety; I’m just saying match because of being a foreign applicant from a competitive country.

10

For these schools that I want to apply to and considering my overall profile, how much would the 3 on APCS hurt?

11

Did you self-study it or did you take AP CS in school?

12

I took it in school. @chopin1810

13

Your grade in the class may, perhaps, slightly lower your chances; the ‘3’ in AP CS will play a minor role in admission. Don’t worry about the class.

14

@ycshen You have a very strong record. Try calculating your College Admissions Index to get an understanding of your probability of admission at the colleges you mentioned. http://www.princetoncollegeconsulting.net/Admissions-Calculator.aspx

15

Help? Guys?