Dear u/keithberman, u/BoredPineapple12, and u/Brother_Ma_Education, and whoever else may give me a realistic standpoint, please chance me for these schools! I want to know where I stand and how i can make my app better
i’m an intl student, and i do need aid so i want to know what else i can do while i still have the time to do so i can improve; also, the schools im applying to in the us are all reaches as my safety schools are those in my country
Gender: female
Race/Ethnicity: Asian
Region: currently in south asia
Income Bracket: low-middle, will need aid
Type of School: public school, one of the top/competitive public high schools in my country
Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): none
Intended Major(s): applied math and economics
Academics
GPA (UW/W): dont know how to describe it as it’s completely different
Rank (or percentile): school provides rank when asked; ranked 1,2, or 3/230 students
# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.:
aps: 5 (including this coming year and next year)
Senior Year Course Load: phys c mech, stats, calc bc, micro/macro econ
Standardized Testing
Havent taken the SAT yet, taking it this june aiming for 1550+
Extracurriculars/Activities
(9–12) patent-pending low-cost material project using recycled materials. built/iterated prototypes optimizing cost vs physical performance, presented at national science events + got some innovation awards; got support of national science agency
math modeling (transport), built queueing models from real-world footage, estimated arrival/service rates + analyzed congestion/wait times. currently trying to make this more rigorous w/ real data + validation with a professor to present to local government sectors for policy improvements
led 50 ppl team creating STEM curriculum for underserved students ( reaching ~3000 students), focused more on quantitative understanding
student gov (9–12), handled school budget (~$XXk equiv) + worked on allocation/transparency
math modeling comps team, national-level recognition
mun, led trainings for 40+ + helped run a ~100 person conference
proof-based math summer program in a program with 5-10% acceptance rate
math decathlon (9–12), competed + helped organize/write for a local comp (~150+ participants)
science decathlon, competed + helped organize competition locally
Awards/Honors
National physics and math olympiad qualifier (top1-3%) in country
Aime qualifier
Math modeling comps, awards+national team
Top 1% in prestigious essay competition, super well known
Schools: HYPSM, ivies, t20s, and some asian schools
Essay: will come from this one gadget i liked when i was a kid, how it relates to my childhood, and how it led to my interest in major im chasing
LORs: 9+/10, will pick teachers close to me where i did well in + summer program experience
Strat: i want to REA Princeton though I’m not so sure if that’s the right strategy as of right now; does it make more sense to go RD with schools like UPenn/Columbia?
also am i actually competitive for top schools or more like strong but not enough? where do i realistically land (HYPSM vs T10 vs T20)?