Reverse Chance Me? (First-Gen)

College Search & Lists
1

I’ve been researching colleges to apply to, but I genuinely have no idea what schools I’d be competitive for. I’m a first-gen, and I’m kinda on my own for this whole application process. My stats seem somewhat competitive, but my extracurriculars/awards and honors/letters of rec. are probably weak. I’m here because I could really use some advice. Thank you, I appreciate any help.

Demographic:

  1. Asian/Upper-middle class male from a weird/small state…

Stats:

  1. Currently tied for 1/400ish
  2. Unweighted GPA: 4.40 (coming into senior year)
  3. Weighted GPA: 4.0 (coming into senior year)

APs/IBs Taken:

  1. AP World History, US History, Calculus AB/BC (school does not offer AP sciences or language arts)
  2. IB Literature HL, Spanish (SL), Chemistry HL, Physics HL

Standardized Testing Scores:

  1. SAT I: 1560 (R770/M790)
  2. SAT II: 800 WH, waiting on Math 2/USH + planning on taking either physics or chemistry
  3. ACT: 36 (W36/M35/R35/S36)
  4. AP: Calculus AB 5, World History 5, waiting on US History + Calculus BC
  5. IB: planning on taking at the end of my senior year (most classes are HL so did not take tests junior year)

Major Applying For:
Probably economics or for an undergraduate business program

Extracurricular Activities:

  1. Key Club: president for 2 years + grew club from about 15-20 members to 50+ within one year, active projects throughout our school and community + weekly meetings
  2. State Mock Trial Competition: team organizer in school club/team + placed 2nd overall in state
  3. Local Tutoring Academy: helped edit newspaper advertisements + student aid/tutor in helping with chemistry, calculus, SAT/ACT
  4. Personal Tutoring Business: founder and tutor teaching primarily SAT/ACT/AP Calculus to lower-income students in my school and community, both in-person tutoring classes and online teaching (about 15 students)
  5. Youth Multimedia Collective/Business: co-founder of multimedia business (music, social media, photography/filmmaking, apparel) working with local artists + promoting youth talent
  6. Youth Court System: volunteering as a bailiff/clerk/attorney in cases involving real juveniles
  7. Family’s Small Business: helped parents w/ managing social media and website + also answer all customer inquiries (email) and respond to online reviews
  8. JV/Varsity Bowling Team (at School): may or may not include this
  9. others that I will probably not include (NHS member, tennis for 2 years, DDF for 1 year)

Awards:

  1. Statewide Language Competition: 1st Place in Spanish 4/5/AP category for impromptu speaking
  2. School’s Symphonic Orchestra: Varsity Letter
  3. May or may not include: team member awards for 3rd Place Bowling (District) + 2nd Place Mock Trial (State)
  4. Possible: AP Scholar (will know whether or not soon)

Summer Activities
Nothing major unfortunately, just continuing with my other extracurriculars above.

Senior Courseload:

  1. IB Literature HL, IB Physics HL, AP Gov/Macro, AP Stats, debating on whether to take IB Chem or AP Micro/Comp Sci (one class v. two others)

Letter of Recs:

  1. US History Teacher: probably 7/10
  2. Other Teacher: unknown at the moment
    Essays:
    I’ll be working hard on these, hopefully good!
2

Penn, Cornell, NYU, UMichigan and Boston College might be examples of schools to look into among those that offer both economics and business programs.

If you would enjoy an economics major, you would seem to be able to choose from many of the most highly selective LACs. Or you could look into one such as URichmond that offers a business program.

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.usecondept.html

https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html

3

You should compile your list based on your family budget

4

When you say you are first gen, do you mean the first gen to ever attend college or university at all, or simply the first gen to do so in the US?

Sit down with your parents, and run the Net Price Calculators at the websites of your own home-state public university and two or three other places that you are currently thinking of. Have soft tissues and adult beverages handy in case there are tears. Your stats are excellent which means you are a viable applicant just about anywhere. However, where you can attend will depend not simply on where you are admitted, but also on what you can afford to pay. Some Asian parents are willing to go into massive amounts of debt for what they perceive to be a “better” institution. Please try to keep your parents from going down that path. Where you end up in life will depend much more on your own personal drive than it will on the name of the college or university on your undergraduate diploma.