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imthiskid2
Here is a rough resume:
New Jersey
Male
White
GPA: 3.97 unweighted, 4.98 weighted GPA (Unfortunately I got one B+ my Junior year, will that hurt?)
Class Rank: 3
SAT: 2340
AP Human Geography 5, AP World History 5, AP Calculus AB 5, Environmental Science 5, Spanish Language 5, English Language 4, Biology 5, US History 5
National AP Scholar
Math SAT II (Only one taken so far): 760
National Merit Semifinalist
NJ Governors School in the Sciences at Drew
Internship at Cold Spring Harbor for Research
Founded domestic service organization
President of Service Education in School and presiding over all student service organizations
over 100 hours of service
Raised over $50,000 dollars through fundraisers for school
Had student body complete over 10,000 hours of service collectively
Volunteer at Hospital and Day Care Center
Baritone Saxophone, Alto Sax, Piano, Voice
Jazz Band, A Cappella Chorus, Music Ministry, Brass and Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Diocesan Band
Involved heavily in Theater: 8 productions in highschool, plays and musicals with leads
Peer Leader for Freshmen and run Freshman homeroom
Knight of Setonia
Antioch Team Leader
National, Math, and Spanish Honor Society
Tutor in Algebra II, Physics, and Spanish
SAT Tutor
Honorable mention in Toshiba ExploraVision Competition for design of a solar-powered device using steam and a turbogenerator efficiently to heat homes
2 Sessions at Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth: Studied cognitive psychology and quantum cryptography
Of course, I can't write all this down in an application. Any ideas for which of these I should really try to highlight in my application so that the reviewers get a better insight into my passions and interests as a whole?
My primary interests are Harvard, Penn, and Columbia. I'm also interested in Duke, Georgetown, and Boston College most likely. I understand my odds since a lot of brilliant kids apply, I just want to know if I'd even make the cut for consideration beyond the first few waves of applications. And don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people whose life would be over if I were rejected, and realistically I understand that's a definite possibility with the quality of applicants they get in addition to issues with minority recruiting etc. Whatever your response, please just be kind with your answers!!! Thanks a bunch :D
Answer
With two more Sat Subject Exams commensurate with the first, you should be very competitive at any ivy league. The only weakness in the courses is AP Env Sci instead of AP Chem/Physics. A regular/honors version of Chem/Physics should be taken. The AP versions of those 2 classes are meant to follow the regular/honors version of the class. Also should be taking AP Govt/AP Macro-Econ senior year.
http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index.htm
See Harvard's advice on course selection:
http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html
As far as the EC's to highlight; the ones that required the most time. Probably Band/Theater related. And all the awards: National AP Scholar; National Merit Semi Finalist; National, Math, Spanish Honor Society. It also depends on the school and major. There should be an attempt to make a compelling story for the readers of the application considering they only spend a limited amount of time on every application. Try and weave together the classes taken, planned course of study, extracurricular activities, education beyond the BA degree and plans for life beyond graduate school into an organic whole, as if everything has a purpose and is working towards an ultimate goal. Hope that made sense.
Suggest thinking beyond US News list of what are purportedly the top schools. US News does not directly consider the quality of the faculty in the undergrad rankings, the most important factor, and their selection criteria are highly biased to favor private universities. Outside the US, all the world's great universities are public and low cost for the countries citizens. US News considers the quality of the faculty in their grad school rankings which are helpful since at most universities the same faculty teach undergraduate and graduate students. If financing the degree is not a consideration, with 700+ Sat scores and more than 3 "5" on AP Exams, you are competitive for admission at Cambridge and Oxford, but the system is completely different, just studying one or two subjects for three or four years. The level of knowledge in a subject represented by a Cambridge or Oxford BA is the same as a US MA.
Scroll down:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/courses_and_entrance_requirements/
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/international_students/index.html
Alternative Rankings:
http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2010.jsp
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/reputation-rankings.html
If you are interested in pursuing a Math degree, might want to consider Berkeley, again, as at Oxbridge, assuming financing is not an issue, since public and out of state. Considered the #1 or #2 Department in the world, undergrads at Berkeley can take graduate level classes. True for most departments at Berkeley, not so at many universities.
http://math.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/majoring-mathematics
Good Luck!
With two more Sat Subject Exams commensurate with the first, you should be very competitive at any ivy league. The only weakness in the courses is AP Env Sci instead of AP Chem/Physics. A regular/honors version of Chem/Physics should be taken. The AP versions of those 2 classes are meant to follow the regular/honors version of the class. Also should be taking AP Govt/AP Macro-Econ senior year.
http://www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index.htm
See Harvard's advice on course selection:
http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html
As far as the EC's to highlight; the ones that required the most time. Probably Band/Theater related. And all the awards: National AP Scholar; National Merit Semi Finalist; National, Math, Spanish Honor Society. It also depends on the school and major. There should be an attempt to make a compelling story for the readers of the application considering they only spend a limited amount of time on every application. Try and weave together the classes taken, planned course of study, extracurricular activities, education beyond the BA degree and plans for life beyond graduate school into an organic whole, as if everything has a purpose and is working towards an ultimate goal. Hope that made sense.
Suggest thinking beyond US News list of what are purportedly the top schools. US News does not directly consider the quality of the faculty in the undergrad rankings, the most important factor, and their selection criteria are highly biased to favor private universities. Outside the US, all the world's great universities are public and low cost for the countries citizens. US News considers the quality of the faculty in their grad school rankings which are helpful since at most universities the same faculty teach undergraduate and graduate students. If financing the degree is not a consideration, with 700+ Sat scores and more than 3 "5" on AP Exams, you are competitive for admission at Cambridge and Oxford, but the system is completely different, just studying one or two subjects for three or four years. The level of knowledge in a subject represented by a Cambridge or Oxford BA is the same as a US MA.
Scroll down:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/courses/courses_and_entrance_requirements/
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/international_students/index.html
Alternative Rankings:
http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2010.jsp
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/reputation-rankings.html
If you are interested in pursuing a Math degree, might want to consider Berkeley, again, as at Oxbridge, assuming financing is not an issue, since public and out of state. Considered the #1 or #2 Department in the world, undergrads at Berkeley can take graduate level classes. True for most departments at Berkeley, not so at many universities.
http://math.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/majoring-mathematics
Good Luck!
Chances at an Ivy League School?
Steve
Here is a rough resume:
New Jersey
Male
White
GPA: 3.97 unweighted, 4.98 weighted GPA (Unfortunately I got one B+ my Junior year, will that hurt?)
Class Rank: 3 of 250
SAT: 2340
AP Human Geography 5, AP World History 5, AP Calculus AB 5, Environmental Science 5, Spanish Language 5, English Language 4, Biology 5, US History 5
National AP Scholar
Math SAT II: 760; United States History: 780
National Merit Semifinalist
NJ Governors School in the Sciences at Drew
Internship at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for Research
Founded domestic service organization
President of Service Education in School and presiding over all student service organizations
over 100 hours of service
Raised over $50,000 dollars through fundraisers for school
Had student body complete over 10,000 hours of service collectively
Volunteer at Hospital and Day Care Center
Baritone Saxophone, Alto Sax, Piano, Voice
Jazz Band, A Cappella Chorus, Music Ministry, Brass and Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Diocesan Band
Involved heavily in Theater: 8 productions in highschool, plays and musicals with leads
Chosen to sing in Region I Concert last January
Featured Member of North Jersey Young Men's Ensemble
Peer Leader for Freshmen and run Freshman homeroom
Knight of Setonia
Antioch Team Leader
National, Math, and Spanish Honor Society
Tutor in Algebra II, Physics, and Spanish
SAT Tutor
Honorable mention in Toshiba ExploraVision Competition for design of a solar-powered device using steam and a turbogenerator efficiently to heat homes
2 Sessions at Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth: Studied cognitive psychology and quantum cryptography
I plan on submitting a paper I wrote during my own research called "Computational Modeling of Varying Nucleophile Activity on the RNA Cleavage Transition State"- Should I just submit the whole thing or just the abstract?
Of course, I can't write all this down in an application. Any ideas for which of these I should really try to highlight in my application so that the reviewers get a better insight into my passions and interests as a whole?
My primary interests are Harvard, Penn, and Columbia. I'm also interested in Duke, Georgetown, and Boston College most likely. Could anyone also recommend any good middle ground schools for me? I'm looking to study premed but I want to go to a liberal arts college. I understand my odds since a lot of brilliant kids apply, I just want to know if I'd even make the cut for consideration beyond the first few waves of applications. And don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people whose life would be over if I were rejected, and realistically I understand that's a definite possibility with the quality of applicants they get in addition to issues with minority recruiting etc. Whatever your response, please just be kind with your answers!!! Thanks a bunch :D
Answer
Holy cow that's a LONG and impressive resume...it's clear that you're a very talented and hardworking kid, and it's good that you realize putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea :) I'd visit campuses and apply to as many schools as you can afford to, so you can compare scholarship and financial aid offers, and also have a higher chance at being accepted into one of your top choices. The only recommendation I have is to chop down that resume into what's the MOST important. It seems far too list-y and it would be better to have high involvement and passion for a couple activities than 15 different things. Leave off the SAT scores, GPA, class rank, and high school course info because all of that will appear on your transcripts and you don't want to be redundant
Also, just curious...did you go to a public or private high school?
As for highlighting your passions and interests, that's what the application essay is for! I suggest beginning it the summer before your senior year so you have ample time for revision and polishing before applications are due. I would forget submitting the paper...colleges want a creative essay to get an idea of you as a person, not an analytical or research-based one
Holy cow that's a LONG and impressive resume...it's clear that you're a very talented and hardworking kid, and it's good that you realize putting all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea :) I'd visit campuses and apply to as many schools as you can afford to, so you can compare scholarship and financial aid offers, and also have a higher chance at being accepted into one of your top choices. The only recommendation I have is to chop down that resume into what's the MOST important. It seems far too list-y and it would be better to have high involvement and passion for a couple activities than 15 different things. Leave off the SAT scores, GPA, class rank, and high school course info because all of that will appear on your transcripts and you don't want to be redundant
Also, just curious...did you go to a public or private high school?
As for highlighting your passions and interests, that's what the application essay is for! I suggest beginning it the summer before your senior year so you have ample time for revision and polishing before applications are due. I would forget submitting the paper...colleges want a creative essay to get an idea of you as a person, not an analytical or research-based one
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