Hello all! I am currently a sophomore at a brand new (2019-20 is its first year) high school, and I was wondering what my chances look like/how I can continue to improve them for an Ivy League/Stanford/MIT school. I was previously at an IB school before I was transferred by the district to this new school. I list my classes/test scores/EC’s below:
9th grade:
Honors Chemistry: A/A
AP Calculus AB (sem 1 only): A/–
AP Calculus BC (sem 2 only): --/A
Honors World History: A/A
Honors English 9: A/A
IB Spanish 4 SL: A/A
Wind Ensemble: A/A
10th grade (classes I’m currently taking):
AP Physics 1 (our school doesn’t offer Physics C)
AP Computer Science Principles (no Comp Sci A either)
Honors History 3 (sem 2 only)
Honors English 10
AP Spanish 5 Lang & Culture
Health (sem 1 only)
Wind Ensemble
Jazz Band
Calculus 3, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra at a local college
Test Scores:
ACT (8th grade): 29 Reading, 30 Science, 32 English, 33 Math (31 Composite)
AP Calculus BC (9th grade): 5, AB subscore: 5
AP Spanish Lang & Culture (planned 10th grade)
AP Physics C: Mech (planned 10th grade)
AP Comp Sci Principles (planned 10th grade)
Extra Curriculars:
Involved in ASB (which is currently called “student design team”)
Avid member of local iGEM team, likely meeting Gold medal reqs
Made #1 doubles JV tennis 9th grade, 10th grade tryouts haven’t happened yet
Thank you all so much in advance for your time and input. I look forward to hearing back from you!
There’s no magic bullet that can increase your odds of getting into these schools. At best you’re looking at an acceptance rate of around 3% to 4%. It’s nothing to stress over. Just get the best grades you can and give the schools what you have. That’s all you can do. Apply to a variety of schools that fit your budget. There’s plenty of great options out there.
I agree with both @coolguy40 and @lookingforward. There is not much that you can do other than (i) Take a rigorous class load which is a good fit for you; (ii) Do very well in your classes; (iii) Treat everyone with respect (this is likely to help your references); (iv) Participate in the ECs that you want to participate in, and do well in your ECs.
You have to be you. Then you find a school that is a good fit for what you have done. I have seen this work to get students into a “Ivy League / Stanford / MIT” type school.
It also helps if you know a lot about the schools that you are applying to. For example, if I see someone who says that they want to go to “an Ivy League school” then I think that they don’t know what they are looking for. If I see someone who wants to go to one particular school that happens to be in the Ivy League, and if they know why they want to attend that particular school, then I think that their chances are probably a bit better (although still in the “less than 5%” range).
To me it sounds like you are doing very well. Continue to do what is right for you. Keep an open mind when it comes time to look at universities. There are a lot of very good ones. Also, pay attention to your budget. It rarely makes sense to take on debt for a bachelor’s degree unless (i) You don’t have any choice, and (ii) You have a very realistic plan regarding how you are going to pay back the loan.
Agree with what has been written above, but would add a few tips. It seems like you are very interested in STEM. Consider a rigorous, proof based math class at the college where you are taking math classes. Try to get involved in research, working in a lab, or with a professor on a project with the goal of entering one of the major science fairs. Apply for RSI (they’re quite fond of accepting students with a strong interest and some experience in Math research). Get involved in the math (AIME, etc.) and science competitions (USAPHO, etc.)