Demographics:
Male
Asian (Chinese)
Charter School
Middle Class
Intended Majors:
Engineering
Environmental Science
Environmental Engineering
Academics:
ACT: Composite - 35, Writing - 36
GPA: 3.9 Weighted out of 4
APs: AP Chinese - 5, AP Bio - 4, AP Lang - 5, APUSH - 5, APES - 4, AP Calc AB - 2
Coursework: All honors and AP except for Spanish
Awards:
AP Scholar with Distinction, National Honor Society
ECs:
Bank of America Student Leaders Program: Working with the United Way this summer on a learning loss prevention program in Summer Camps.
DreamCatchers Club - President: One chapter out of a nationwide organization, devoted to granting the last dreams and wishes of patients in Hospice Care.
Sustainability Club - President
Honor Council - Class Representative
Local Chinese Community: Am the leader of student volunteers at the local Chinese Festival (over 3,000 in attendance over 3 days), received the “Outstanding Student Volunteer Award” last year.
State Envirothon Competition: 6th in the State, 1st in Oral Presentation Category
Science Fair Project - Degraded rust with metal-respiring bacteria: 2nd in School Category, 1st in State Category w/ 1 Industry Award, Honorable Mention (4th) in Regional Category w/ 1 Industry Award.
Orchestra: School Orchestra - 1st Chair, All State - 6th and 5th Chair
Rec Fencing
I honestly don’t know what schools I’m competitive for, and what majors my resume gravitates towards. I realize my academics aren’t that great, so how much do my ECs help? I also think my essays will be pretty good, as I have a lot of resources on hand to craft them.
Your academics aren’t that great? With a 35 ACT? And all honors/AP?
What’s your UW GPA? This is just as important as your ACT.
A 35 ACT and that list of ECs makes you more than competitive for pretty much your choice of Top 20s. However keep in mind that they reject even “perfect” applications for no reason.
I’m not sure, but I have mostly Bs and a few Cs on my transcript. I also have that 2 on AP Calc.
What region are u thinking of?
If northeast:
Tufts, Northeastern, BC, BU
Midwest/South
Michigan, Northwestern, WashU, VA tech
West coast
UWashington, UCLA, UCSB
Your academics are amazing! Please realize that a 35 ACT is very, very rare in the real world.
What’s your budget, and what are your size/geographic preferences?
Honestly, with your ACT and GPA, you’re competitive anywhere. I would look for schools with a good environmental engineering program in particular if that’s what you’re looking into. A quick Google search will give you a list to start from.
Folks…the student is referring to his GRADES! Those are an issue. His UW GPA is much lower.
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but I have mostly Bs and a few Cs on my transcript. I also have that 2 on AP Calc.
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His UW could be 3.5ish…or worse… Since he’s taken 6 AP’s and his weighted is only 3.9
If so, he’s not competitive for many of the schools that have been mentioned.
Yes, he has a top ACT score but top schools will look at his grades and think, “smart kid who isn’t living up to his potential. Maybe doesn’t do assignments.”
What are your parents saying? How much will your parents pay each year? Ask them, please don’t guess. We see later posts from a lot of disappointed students who thought their parents would pay more.
My parents are pretty serious about my education (even if I haven’t been in the past few years…) so they’ll be willing to pay for whatever college I choose, especially if I got into a good school. Do you have any recommendations?