ACT: 33 composite (E:34 M:33 R:32 S:33) 34 super scored (E:34 M:34 R:32 S:34) -planning to take again in October, looking to get 35+
SAT!: 2010 super score (CR:650 M:770 W:620) 1940 highest single sitting -I’m hoping that admissions look past this one
SAT II: 800 in chem, hoping for an 800 on Math II taken last saturday (It felt pretty good, definitely 750+ ), 650 on both Math 1 and 2 previously
AP’s: Taken two so far, AP Chemistry (5) and AP English Lang (3)
GPA: 4.00 UW, 4.09 W
Rank: top 10%
ECs: Several clubs/teams- NHS, LEO, Oahu Math League, Science Bowl, History Bowl, Science Olympiad- never held an officer/captain position, volunteered at a hospital, junior leader at YMCA summer youth program, lead singer at a church, youth leader at the same church, tutored middle schoolers through a school program, various other volunteering opportunities
Senior Classes: AP Bio, AP Physics 1, AP Calc, AP English Lit, STEM Capstone
Family income: <20,000
Sex: Male
3 AP Classes I did not take:
AP USH - I did not know what AP classes were (sophomore year) -I didn’t know schools had college classes
AP Macro - I did not have my pre-reqs ready before my junior year, (because it is a senior course anyway) and I felt my senior load was already a huge jump as it is
AP Chinese - I don’t have an excuse for this one
Awards: Nothing notable/nothing that makes me unique (like honor roll, Principal’s list)
From Hawaii, public school, Asian (Japanese and Korean), first generation to college
No legacy anywhere (sorry, I know its obvious)
Possibly a finalist for Quest bridge, but I can’t say for sure
Our school does not give additional grade points for Honors
Our school does not offer IB classes
Did not start on the essays. Reflecting on life at this very moment. My main focus at this point should be the essays
Will not include clubs/teams
Will not mention excuses about my (non-maxed) semi-rigorous course load
My questions are:
My advantages/disadvantages?
Am I shooting too high? Realistic? Could I possibly include safety schools or get any suggestions on them?
Early decision to Penn school of nursing? Thoughts?
Hi, I don’t have a lot of good advice, but wanted to chime in because we are on Oahu too. First, be sure to do whatever is required for Questbridge; this is your best bet for a great school you and your family can afford. As for the schools you listed, public schools (specfically UCs) will not offer you the financial aid you need. Also, it is stressed on this forum a lot, run the net price calculators on the college’s websites. That will make the financial picture much more clear for you.
You are a superstar, and I know how hard you have had to work as a public school student in Hawaii to achieve so much. You are not shooting to high, you just have to be aware of what colleges will meet 100% of financial need.
Thank you for your input, palm! I will definitely use the calculators.
As for the UCs, I have included them because for a while now, they have been my aspirations for a great college. I didn’t know much about them, but from what I’ve heard, they were really great. Now that I am older, I know a lot better than before, but since I have always looked up to colleges like them, I figured that I can honor my dreams by at least applying for them. Haha, sorry, this might seem strange.
I will put lots of thought into it, but really, thank you for all the nice things you’ve said!
Low Reach for the 2 Cali schools (not rigrious coursework, few APs, and borderline ACT). Raise your ACT to 34+, then you may have a chance. High Match for V and GT. Reach for the rest.
Don’t do ED to Penn Nursing. You don’t present any background that would make you competitive for it. You are shooting a bit too high (just a tad in in my opinion) in general. Your disadvantages appear to be you don’t have a demanding courseload, which colleges don’t like to see. No leadership, and sort of random ec’s. You are an Asian STEM applicant, which is a bad demographic.
Overall:
UCB - Waitlist then Reject
UCLA - Accept/Waitlist/Reject (could go any way in my opinion)
Georgia Tech - Waitlist then Reject
Northwestern - Reject
UMichigan - Waitlist/Accept
Rice - Waitlist (don’t know what will happen then)
UPenn - Reject
Vanderbilt - Accept/Waitlist/Reject (could go any way in my opinion)
For UMich nursing, I think it would be a match for you while LSA would be a low reach. Your ACT 33 should be slightly above the 75th percentile for nursing school but below the 75th percentile for LSA. UMich does not superscore. I don’t have the exact numbers for nursing school but I know it is a bit less competitive than LSA in general. In addition, male student applying to nursing school would be treated like a hook. For your family income level (if you did not miss a zero), you should receive very generous aids from UMich even from OOS. Check their NPC.
So, I may be naive, but some of the posters putting down your ACT, number of APs, and lack of leadership are just plain narrow minded. And in the case of, “oh, you’re Asian,” racist. Grrrrr
A 33 is 99th percentile. You took or are taking all but three of the APs offered at your school. And you know what shows leadership? A first generation, low income student who puts in the work to get a perfect GPA and great standardized test scores, while attending a school with a culture that probably does not foster either. Not everyone is blessed with a top-of-the-line high school and parents who can afford test prep and other extras to improve their academic trajectory. Going to a public school in Hawaii means NOT getting molded from day one to get accepted to a top 50 school. I think it’s great your ECs are volunteering, church, and things that interest you, not “leadership” for the sake of college applications.
Yes, you need to find one financial and academic safety, but otherwise I hope you shoot for the stars.
@palm715, I wish the adcoms had the knowlage of all the socioeconomics constraints which each applicant faces in life. But they are often ignorant of those realities …and even worse… they do not have enough time to analyze them (less that 10 mins on each application).
Note that ACT 33 is a good score and is near the bottom of top 1%. While many of these schools are among the top 0.5% in the country. In addition, there is oos disadvantage for some schools.
@jarrett211 Asian male in STEM is not a weakness. If you’re doing stereotypical ECs that other Asians do, then maybe. Many private schools do not judge by major or admit by them either.
The UCs are public schools funded by the California taxpayers. This means that OOS students pay full fees of $55K per year. There are no scholarships/grants for OOS students. Why would you apply to a school you cannot afford? You’ll be paying fees for the application.
Find schools that like your stats. Some of those state schools will be extremely expensive. Use the NPC’s on each college’s website to estimate your costs.
Thank you all for your valuable inputs! I definitely learned many things today, and appreciate the good, as well as the critical comments. Everything has been helpful so far!
I don’t think you will be accepted to Vanderbilt. They look very highly at test scores- your SAT score is definitely below the bar, and your ACT score is barely up there. You haven’t taken a rigorous enough course load, and you’ve never been a team captain/club officer (I’m a freshman at Vandy and 100% of the accepted class “held significant leadership positions”).
