I know this sub is mostly for chancing, but I figured some of you are deep in app season and dreading the essay part.

>

I looked at the BU Common Data Set and chances are super low. But any advice to increase my chances? I do have acceptances in the business programs of some state schools (significantly less expensive).

Demographics: Asian male, public Title I school, Florida, Class of 2027

Height: 5ft 11.449 inches with shoes 6ft 1

Average screentime: 7.3 hours

Hook: Diagnosed with cancer as a teen. (still have it). lowkey the best thing happened to me. pushed me to be better. first gen. 240k

Stats:

SAT: 1540 (800M, 740RW) maybe retkae for 1570+ or act idk will see

PSAT: 1500, possibly National Merit (prob)

Rank: 5/800 ( might be val or like top 3 senior year)

GPA: 4.7 weighted/4.0 uw

AP s: 8 completed, 18+ projected

5s all so far + 1 four (ap human, took test test after my first chemo 😭)

Awards:

aime qual

usnco natioanl

gold usmdo

pvsa gold

National math competition top 100

ECs:

Independent research one published n manuscript under peer review (find a cure for my cancer) potential

Two research labs this summer (one medical school, one university) cool wetlab :) 1 cold email and 1 summer program

Founded an tuff little nonprofit, featured by a national news outlet

Patent filed for a medical device

HOSA ilc qual

Published author (small book wrote it for fun)

150+ hours shadowing

200+ hours volunteering at a major hospital

Presidential Service Award

National conference presenter (x2) (biggest conference in my study of matter)

How I did this with cancer?

Im bored mostly. a little nerfed tho cuz fatigue all the time but

“We struggle more in imagination than in reality.”

NEVER GIVE UP AHHHH

target: t10s/t20s BSMD

i feel really behind right now and idk if my stats are good enough for ivies/top 20– if anything what should i do enhance them??

planned major: poli sci/ communications

- uw gpa: 4.0

- w gpa: 4.67

- class rank: 16/455

- in ymca’s model legislature and court, is next year’s secretary of delegation

- model united nations secretariat, helps run ymca’s program for middle schoolers

- executive social media manager for growing youth organization, reached 17 countries and 20k viewership in 6 months

- starting editing account, tiktok/film edits made on after effects

- co-president of MUN chapter at school (starting next year)

- co-president of film club (starting next year?)

- 6 years of violin, in school’s highest level orchestra as 4th chair

- skilled at photography and cinematography— planningto make short film over summer

Hey guys, please be honest. I'm obviously stressed and I really just want an honest breakdown of possible choices for me.

*Current Junior*

Stats:

1540 SAT

Unweighted GPA - 4.0

No class rankings at my school, but definitely at the top of my class

Asian male

Intended major: something pre-med, probably chem, bio, or biochem -- I would like to minor in German

AP's:

*My school doesn't let underclassmen take AP's, hence my not so great list*

Also haven't taken any exams yet, but I'm gonna assume I get all 4's and 5's here.

AP German, AP Chem, AP physics mechanics, AP precalc, AP Calc AB, Ap calc BC, AP stats, AP lit

Extracurriculars (not in any order)

• Varsity Baseball 4 years + Captain
• Varsity Esports 4 years + Captain
• Varsity Indoor Track 4 years + Captain
• Varsity soccer 2 years
• President of club that assists refugees, we organized many drives, 5ks, and other events to support refugees
• President of Sports Marketing club - grew the club from only 10 ish active members (at meetings and events) to over 50+ active members which is huge bc my school only has around 500 students.
• President of HOSA - haven't had much impact yet as I just got it
• Dialogue Facilitator leader/trainer - been doing since freshman year. We essentially lead hard conversations (political conversations, abortion, after someone in the community passes away) and I train the new facilitators (over 80 of them) to lead these conversations.
• Was Troop guide (mentor younger boy scouts), Den Chief (mentor cub scouts) , and Assistant senior patrol leader of my Boy Scout troop (pretty much vice president of the troop, did tons of planning and work)
• Run a meme account on Instagram and YouTube with over 15k followers (Insta) and over 100M views. (this ones kinda stupid ik but it doesn't hurt)
• Publishing research with a Cancer Biologist expert over the summer - this one can be strong I think, but I'm still developing it currently
• Did a medical (paid) program for two weeks at Brown, this is what sparked my interest

Awards & Honors

BSA Eagle Scout

Congressional Award Gold Medalist

Honor roll every semester

National German exam 3x Gold Medal recipient, 1x Silver medal

HOSA State winner

All Conference Baseball

Volunteering:

100+ hours tutoring underprivileged children online, ranging from subjects of elementary science all the way to Precalc

30-40 hours of Miracle League, an organization that helps disabled kids play baseball and fosters a sense of community

80 hours of Boy Scout service hours, these are from various activities

List:

Safety - UNC Wilmington or UNC Charlotte

* I honestly don't know what schools are reaches and which are targets because I haven't spoken much about it to my college counselor *

Others:

UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, NC State, Duke, Columbia, BU, Yale, UPenn, Rice, Cornell, Georgetown, Brown, Notre Dame

D3 Baseball schools - I haven't touched on this yet, but I am a baseball player and I want to play in college. I'm not good enough to play D1 or D2, but I have a good shot at playing at d3 schools. The schools that I have reached out to regarding playing there are: Johns Hopkins, MIT, CalTech, WashU, Emory, Tufts, Uchicago, NYU. Playing in college is really a dream of mine, as I've been playing baseball forever. However, if I got into one of the non d3 schools that is significantly a better school, I would probably go with that one.

Please, just be honest with me, I'm confident that I am a qualified individual, but I know that some of the colleges I am applying to are incredibly difficult to get into. If you have any recommendations for other schools to apply to, feel free.

Programs:

MITES

SIMR

SSP (in lottery)

FSU Young Scholars Program

CNI-X Stanford Neuroscience

Eugene and Ruth Roberts Summer Student Academy

Harvard SRI 

Harris Stanford Semester Program

First Generation, upper class, Hispanic and arabic female.

GPA: 3.97 UW, 4.5 W

8 Total AP Classes: AP Bio 4, AP World 5, AP Precalculus 5, APUSH, AP Calc, AP Chem, AP Spanish Lit, AP lang

ECs:

NeuroDiversity Alliance: Founded school’s first alliance supporting students with neurological differences, organized initiatives like the Purple Pumpkin Project to raise awareness and advocate for epilepsy.
Varsity soccer player: 2x State Champion
AP Biology Tutor: 2 hrs a week
You're Not Alone Student Ambassador: Student Mental Health certified ambassador and leader.

Awards:

- Florida Society of Neurology 1st Place Abstract - l was awarded 1st place for my clinical research abstract presentation in my division of high school and undergraduate students from all over the country.

- Society of Academic Emergency Medicine 2nd Place Abstract - Was awarded 2nd place for my clinical research abstract presentation among 35 selected, high-achieving high school students from all over the country.

- Lumiere Scholar Essay Honorable Mention - Selected 1 of 52 students from over 2,000+ applicants across 111 countries; awarded $1,000 scholarship for research essay.

Society of Academic Emergency Medicine "Outstanding Researcher Award" - Recognized for my depth of analysis and creativity in my research abstract presentation among 35 selected, high-achieving high school students from all over the country.

summer programs:

Future Physicians of America (FPA) Summer Program & Winter Medical Publishing Program	June – July 2025; Jan 2026 (Winter, online)	20-40	Completed intensive clinical courses in neurology, trauma, cardiology, psychiatry, dermatology, and women’s health, gaining hands-on experience and medical simulation practice. Participated in Clinical Research and Medical Writing & Publishing courses, resulting in four first-author PubMed-indexed publications (including a systematic review, bibliometric analysis, NSQIP study, and case report).
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth	July 2024	20	Attended advanced coursework and enrichment in STEM, enhancing research and analytical skills.

volunteer/internships:

U.S. Clinical Internship at DocJ's Advanced Neurology	November 2025 - Present	8 (During school week), 40 (during holiday breaks)	Assisted in patient care, performed EEGs, reviewed MRI/CT scans, completed documentation, and attended lectures. Also, observed complex clinical procedures and patient interactions to gain insight into neurology practice.
Epilepsy Freedom Center Volunteer	November 2025 - Present	8 (once per month)	One Saturday per month, I assist with community outreach and patient care at a clinic serving individuals without medical insurance, educating the public about epilepsy and supporting the mission to improve care and outcomes for people with neurological disorders.

Essay Summary:

Growing up with my sister’s epilepsy and experiencing my own anxiety sparked my interest in neuroscience and mental health. These experiences pushed me to explore the brain through research, volunteering at an epilepsy center, and co-leading the Neurodiversity Alliance while serving as a Youth Mental Health Ambassador. I’m also developing a mental health app to help people track moods and access support. Overall, I’m interested in combining neuroscience, technology, and empathy to better understand and support people facing neurological and mental health challenges.

Rec Letters: AP Precalc teacher and AP world (letters should be good since I was very close with both teachers and grew a lot under them.)

Background:

International student (India)

Entering Grade 11 in the International Baccalaureate (IBDP)

Academics:

Grade 9: ~62%

Grade 10: ~85% (improvement trend)

Transitioning from CBSE to IB

Planning rigorous subjects (Math, CS, Sciences)

Standardized Tests (planned):

SAT: aiming 1500+

IELTS/TOEFL if required

Extracurriculars:

Founder of an early-stage startup focused on restaurant technology (QR-based ordering system)

Building real product with potential real users (in progress)

Learning cybersecurity and ethical hacking (courses + practical exposure)

Worked with/under trained paramilitary personnel on technical exposure (generalized for privacy)

Developing multiple software projects (web apps, experimental builds)

Strong interest in AI, aerospace, and deep tech

Projects:

Startup product under development (aiming for real-world deployment)

Independent coding and product-building projects

Exploring AI-based applications

Leadership & Initiative:

Self-initiated startup

Independent learning in tech beyond school curriculum

Taking initiative to build real-world solutions

Awards/Honors:

None significant yet (planning to build this area)

Intended Major:

Computer Science (AI / entrepreneurship focus)

Additional Info:

Long-term goal: build impactful tech companies

Highly motivated toward real-world problem solving and innovation

Concerns:

Lower Grade 9 marks

No major awards yet

Still building depth in extracurriculars

What I’m Looking For:

Honest evaluation for top CS schools (Harvard, MIT, Stanford)

Key weaknesses in my profile

What I should prioritize in the next 1–2 years to maximize chances

Appreciate direct and honest feedback.

Middle Class, First Gen

Public Health/Biophysics

CA

ACT: 35
GPA: 3.9/4.6

21 AP By Senior Year

Extracurriculars:

1. County Health Department Board Member — Served on a government advisory board overseeing behavioral health services for a large county (~500k residents); reviewed policies and evaluated local health organizations. (11–12)
2. Asian American Cultural Nonprofit — Helped raise $20k for the organization, coordinated 10+ cultural events, and recruited 50+ volunteers across the city. (10–11)
3. Summer Research Program (incoming, 12th)
4. Medical Education App — Built a health/science education app to 5k downloads
5. AP Study Community Founder — Created and ran a 500+ member Discord server offering free daily academic help; personally tutored 5 students 100+ hours total → 10 fives, 3 fours. (9–12)
6. University Wet Lab Research Assistant — In-person lab research at a CSU. (12)
7. City Commission Member — Co-organized civic events with local government. (11–12)
8. Stanford Virtual Genetic Engineering Research Program (11)
9. Virtual Health Disparity Research Internship (10)
10. Family Business — 20–25 hrs/week throughout high school. (9–12)

Awards:

1. Mayor’s Award — Recognized for community leadership through a local asian cultural contributions (Regional, 11)
2. Peer-Reviewed Research Publication — Co-authored paper on health disparities; DOI available (International, 11)
3. NASA Genetics Research Conference Invitee — Selected as 1 of ~1,000 participants (International, 12)
4. Academic Math Competition — 1st place team, 2nd place individual (Regional, 9)
5. National Judo Camp Tournament — 1st place in weight class and open division (10)

Colleges I'm shallow and genuinely like the prestige of Duke, JHU, Stanford, Harvard, etc.

Hi I'm a current sophomore who would like to hear feedback on my current ECs, and I also want to hear your suggestions on what I should do for Junior and Senior year. I'm going to be majoring in either Econ or History at all of my schools, and I think most of my ECs should be applicable to both. I am interested in trying to get into T20 schools.

SAT: Studying for May 2nd, fingers crossed
GPA: Predicted 3.90-3.95 unweighted by end of senior year, weighted idk but max or near-max rigor

ECs:

-Marching Band: French Horn + Mellophone Section Leader(significant time commitment for comps on weekends)

-Member of highest Honor Band at my school

-Member of State Honors Ensemble

-Violin - for many years, hoping to get into a state orchestra too

Blog where I write essays about various history topics that interest me, mostly argumentative about historic political issues(think writing about genocides, etc)

-Volunteer at cultural organization to host events based on my language, etc

Awards/Honors:

-DECA Principles of Finance State Finalist(CA): Top ten in state, but did not go to ICDC, trying and likely for next year

-Band awards? My marching band and concert band have won many state awards but idk if it counts since it wasnt just me

-Accepted into State-level ensemble for Horn

Prospective ECs:

-Gonna cold-email a bunch of professors for history research this summer, should work out? if anyone can give me tips on this it would be appreciated

-Internship at budgeting department of local government

-Want to launch an initiative about using AI repsonibly in schools for students, and educating teachers to be better with AI policies and making sure students dont cheat to get ahead with it(this should show my passion?)

-Want to start a 'historical society' club where we discuss issues, etc.

-Maybe a regular job?

Prospective Awards:

-Heavily preparing to participate in International Economics Olympiad, National Economics Challenge, and some esssay competitions

If anyone can pitch in to evaluate my application, what am I doing wrong, what should i start doing and if any history/econ majors can elaborate on what they did it would be really helpful. Just feeling like I haven't done anything so far.

SAT - 1570

GPA - Little low which is stressing me out 3.78 W 4.2/4.3

APs-12 in total

Major - Economics and public policy

really competitive hs but not for my major

Awards

1st place at ICDC

2x State champion

Undergrad Law Essay Comp winner (for 3 diff ivy schools on international relations and constitutional law)

give me more ideas for awards I can try for please!

ECs:

Marketing Lead for robotics (hosted + organized events that connected the team with the community, led 3 fundraisers and spoke publicly at 2 of them)

Board - Ent Club (connected students with professionals by inviting them to talk to students and tell them about their entrepreneurship journey) (have done 2 events so far)

Deca state officer candidate (big part of app since I didn't end up winning and I want to talk about how it shaped me) (selected from delegation of 180 and beat out >39 people from all over my state at screening for the candidacy)

Nonprofit on improving literacy and donating books to underprivileged schools treasurer (just started so not a ton to talk about)

district magazine + nonprofit internship where I write piece about local events like sports and community stuff (reaches over 2,000 people) and work with the nonprofit to apply ofr grants and connect over 200+ students with scholarships and free prom dresses

City Council Rep on election commission (just started)

Voter Drive Board for youth voters (organize voter drives all over my state in different schools) (have done >3 and 500 students registered to vote)

consulting club project manager for local business and helped establihs community based marketing + programs that connect them with 50+ volunteers/ fashion students (might get eboard next year but theres some weird politics so idk)

Henna artist w/ business (made some money but only a couple hundred dollars, 500 followers on instagram and 10k+ views on Pinterest)

Intern in local state senators campaign (just started also)

+ some summer programs this year

Looking for constructive criticism and any help anyone may have. I realize my GPA is a bit low but its because of familial circumstances and I plan to have my counselor vouch for me and explain it. If anyone has more ideas for summer programs or anything else i would love to hear ive been super stressed since penn has been my dream school for a while.

Hi! Im a junior with lowk mid ECs and gpa and I'd really just love to go to UT, but my dream school is Stanford (unrealistic ik)

Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race / Ethnicity: Asian
• Residence: Texas
• Income Bracket: Full Pay
• Type of School: Competitive Public

Intended Major:

• Applying to most schools as marketing, others as communications

Academics

• GPA: 4.86 / 4.0 UW, 5.4 / 5.00 W
• Rank: idk, not top 10%
• Number of Honors / AP: All honors, 15 APs by senior year, 5 yrs of Spanish
• Taking 3 APs (macro, environmental science, and gov) through UT high school online

Standardized Testing

• SAT: 1580
• AP: 5s on CSP, Human Geography, World History (all ive taken so far)

Extracurriculars / Activities

1. School's Broadcast Journalism Program, 3 years, Social Media Director (junior year), Senior Producer (next year), produced segments in English in Spanish regarding issues facing the local community, won a couple awards, led social era crew and managed instagram posts gaining 360k+ views
2. Scouting, Eagle Scout, 7 years, Several years of leadership but recently served as Senior Patrol Leader: Led a troop of 30 girls, raised 1k to renovate local church's prayer spiral, Order of the Arrow, Theodore Roosevelt conservation award, other awards i'm forgetting
3. DECA, 3 years, (hopefully VP next year): Marketing communications, ICDC qualifier, the usual deca blurb
4. Starting photography business this summer
5. Self-started initiative working with local nonprofits to make them advertisements for free
6. Varsity Lacrosse, 4 years, Social Chair, team ambassador for national mental health nonprofit, State finalist
7. Job as a receptionist @ local tutoring center
8. Summer programs: IU Kelley Women's Leadership Institute (11th), John Hopkins global health leaders' conference (10th) (I used to want to go into biomed)
9. Clubs in school: Spanish Honor Society, National Honor Society, rocketry (will prob not include these on app)

Awards

1. Journalism awards: produced a segment in Spanish for a show that won National Scholastic Press Association Innovation Pacemaker, State Award for best feature story
2. Silver Congressional Medal for 200+ hrs service, 50+ hours development, and more (11)
3. National Merit Semifinalist
4. Spanish Seal of Biliteracy
5. AP scholar w/ distinction

(Eagle Scout and ICDC qual mentioned in extracurriculars)

Letters of Rec

idk I lowkey do not talk to my teachers because I tend to be super quiet at school but my outside one will be good bc its by my scoutmaster

Essays

Prompt: one hobby your application wouldn't be complete without

How changing my perspective allowed me to go from getting into gardening as a way to make my family appear 'whiter' (guys I can't make this up I was such an embarrassing kid) to viewing it as a way to connect to my dad and give back to the community (I've grown and donated over 400 pounds of produce to a local food pantry) and how that now inspires me to get into marketing and communication because the way people perceive things/how they're presented can help spark change and I want to inspire action :)

poorly worded cause its super late at night but I hope that makes sense!

Ik its kind of chopped pls tell me what my best bets for college are 🙏

Demographics: Male, Asian, High Income, ( I came to the US alone when I was 16, started freshmen right away living with host parents (Maybe a hook)

I'm applying to all T20 schools except cornell and dartmouth, and UCs. ED to UPenn CAS.

Large Public High School in a Texas Suburb

Intended Major: Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry

SAT: 1550(760RW/790M) (took 4 times, not a superscore, planning to take again in may for superscore)

UW/W GPA: Weighted GPA 5.4/6 UW: 4.0 (End of Sophomore year) Rank 7/554

Coursework until Graduation

(9th)AP Human (5), CSP(4)

(10th): Seminar(4), Physics(Didn't take exam), Precalc (5), WH (5), Stats (4)

(11th): Calc AB, Chem, USH, Research, Psychology

(12th): Calc BC, Bio, Gov, Lit, Env Sci

Yeah so about ~17 APs and 2-3 Dual Credits (Medical terminology, English)

Awards

Anatomy & Physiology Student of the Year (1 out of ~200) (10th) - School

National Merit Semi/Finalist (TBD) - National

KIYO( Korean International Youth Olympiad) Silver Award (11th) for app development idea - Int

Hong Kong Special award. - From that. KIYO award (11th) - International

Samsung Solve For Tomorrow - Promising STEM innovation award ($1000) - National

International History Bowl Qualifier (10th) - International

Harvard Global Crimson Bowl Merit Recipient (11th) - International

ECs

Personal Project - Customizable back reinforcement using ML and 3D printing: Created 2nd prototype, planning to distribute to elementary school teachers. (Might add research with Northwestern professor if I don't get in SSP)

Founder of Chemistry Club (40 members) (11th~): Won 1000$ for idea, Grew to 40+ members, planning on science fair for middle schoolers

Founder - The Young Press: Managed 20+ writers globally, published 1 article weekly

Independent research on publication on history of pandemics, literature review (11th): (prepping to publish)

President Mu Alpha Theta ( Math Honor Society) (10th representative, 11-12 President) (preparing to do SAT peer tutoring service initiative, yearly pi day)

Secretary for Rho Kappa (National History Honor Society) (11th~) (Holds yearly fairs)

Volunteered at Samsung Seoul Hospital (Summer 10th~12th)

Volunteer at Carrollton Health Rehab

Whizz Science - Youtube/Instagram shortform content for younger children

Maybe SSP if I get in for the random pool

(Prob not putting in)

Harvard Summer (Online) - Biostatistics and Epidemiology

UMich - Scripps Summer (Online) - Introduction to Epidemiology

Essays: (Junior so didn't write one yet, but I think I have a pretty good story moving alone from Korea, and I really wasn't a good student back then, but solitude taught me to keep pushing forward.)

What could I improve to further my chances for Penn? When stating any advice, plz state why/how ur credible (ik reddit isn't but from current seniors or Penn admits I would really appreciate it. I also do have a private counselor so maybe things I can talk about with him as well

I have the grades and academics as a sophomore (will complete all undergrad math classes by senior year)

But I only really have one good EC which is I’ve made around 100k usd so far from making Roblox games (I own some, did all the scripting / was a cowner for some, also commissions) is this enough for an extracurricular I have some others like usaco silver, doing a research program but nothing crazy is that one enough to carry me ?

Also I will not disclose anything about my games etc you can believe me or just thinking I’m lying

Demographics: female, asian, NJ, VERY competitive public (~600+ kids), no hooks

Intended Major(s): Marketing

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1500 SAT (770 Math, 730 English) --> will be retaking this summer

UW/W GPA and Rank: currently ~3.8UW (?) and maybe a 4.2W

Coursework: All highest honor/AP classes available. Will take APs (APUSH, Micro, Macro) in May.

Awards:

• DECA state award (qualified for ICDC)
• Odyssey of the Mind state awards (qualified for Worlds)

Extracurriculars: 

Current:

• TikTok Account: I create Pinterest moodboards + add music over them to target the tastes of specific audiences; Over 2.5M views, 500k likes, 1.5k+ followers --> eligible for Tiktok shop Affiliate Marketing, which I'm going to start over the summer. (started this in january)
• Small Cookie Business: Bake, reach out to different clubs at school, manage social media(insta); 45k+ views
• DECA: Collaborated with partner + placed in Entrepreneurship decision making events; qualified for ICDC
• Odyssey of the Mind: Worked with a team, wrote scripts, made sets, designed costumes; qualified for Worlds
• Library Volunteer: just started this, but I genuinely love volunteering here and will do it as much as I can
• MUN: also just started this, I kind of hate it and love it at the same time, the board seems to like me though and they said I was really good for my first time --> will continue and hopefully get onto national teams next year

Summer Plans:

• Manage social media for 10 small businesses, get them over 100k+ views
• Enter Writing competitions
• Get a j*b

Essays/LORs/Other: Not exactly sure how all the different essays work, but I want to link my love for learning people's stories and sharing them, to marketing, and how NYU's open campus allows for me to not miss out on any of these stories. I also believe that NYU has a lot of entrepreneurial minds, and as an aspiring entrepreneur myself, I'd benefit the community by starting my own marketing agency and working alongside my peers to get their ideas out into the world.

Something I'm nervous about is my math grades. My school is really competitive, and I'm probably going to end with a B in Precalc and go to Calc AB instead of BC.

Please just give tips and advice on EC's, GPA, APs. I'm kind of lost since my school is really big and so there's not a lot of time to give to individual students. Thank you!

Demographics:

-Male

-White

-Public highschool in NJ

-Middle class

-Likely majoring political science/government/prelaw

Academics:

-95.9 UW GPA, don't know the exact amount on 4.0 scale, but I have only gotten two Bs throughout high school

-1490 SAT (will be retaking)

-Maximum course rigor, planning to take around 11 APs total

Current Extracurriculars:

• Co-founder of politics related nonprofit (10-12)
  • No major accomplishments yet
• Spanish Honor Society (10-12)
  • Planning to seek an officer position or presidency
• Rotary Club (9-12)
  • Officer position
  • Will likely become president
• Mock Trial (10-12)
  • Will likely become lawyer/team captain
• Math League (10-12)
  • Recieved highest score out of school on AMC 10A test
  • Will likely become a captain next year
• Science League (10-12)
  • Recieved highest score on team in forensics category and currently in the top 10 in state
• Model UN (10-12)
  • No awards yet
• Online Tutoring (9-12)
  • Currently 20 volunteer hours, planning to get at least 100
• Part time job (10-12)

Planned Extracurriculars:

• Founding a nonprofit (no specific ideas yet)
• Law or business Internship (11-12)
• DECA (11-12)
  • Make it to ICDC
• History Honor Society (11-12)
  • Plan to apply for officer/president position

Awards:

• Only honor roll so far

Gender: Male

Race/Ethnicity: Asian

Residence: cali

Income Bracket: high

Type of School: large public - avg sat: 1290

Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): none

Intended Major(s): idk

Academics

GPA (UW/W): 3.93/4.71 -- might get a b this semester so lowk could drop to a 3.91

Rank (or percentile): school doesnt rank

# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: aps: 15

Senior Year Course Load: ap physics c, multivar, ap gov/econ, ap lit, ap psych, ap stats, ap bio, linear algebra

Standardized Testing

List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

SAT I: 1560

ACT: 36

AP/IB:15 aps, all 5's, except 1 4

Extracurriculars/Activities

List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

research internship worked with a PhD - where i got most of my papers

another research internship with another PhD

president of an nonprofit managing 200+ youth volunteers and reaching over 10,000 students, over 1M+ raised

founded a bioinformatics camp that has raised over 50,000, and reached over 1k+ students

president of a nonprofit that raised over 20k for instrument makers

more experiences, but trying not to dox myself, and i dont think those were too impactful

Awards/Honors

List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

ICLR workshop acceptance

ICML workshop acceptance

Neurips workshop - expected

EMNLP main accpetd

USACO plat

aime qual

2nd internationally for an instrument

pvsa lifetime

all the ap awards or whatever

this is my app right now. what im worried about is i might not js get 1b, posisbly even 2b's ngl thats the absolute MAX. prolly even 0 b's if i lock in but calc bc and chem are touching me rn. that would bring uw down to a 3.90 flat. the schools im aiming for are like stanford/mit/caltech tier. is there any school that i can ed to, which i would be guaranteed at? i still really want to rea stanford but ik its very unlikely ofc. something like a brown ed, or something idk

Hi guys...lmk what I need to do more of bc highkey feel like I'm not doing enough and my gpa is lower than most of my peers -- has been crazy admission cycle for a lot of my friends in higher grades

Demographics: Female, South Asian, NY, High income (both parents r doctors), somewhat competitive large public school where most students go to SUNYs

Intended Major: Poli Sci/ Government

SAT: haven't taken yet but hoping for 1500+ in first few tries

Coursework: 8th grade did advanced track for science and math, Freshman year all honors, sophomore year all honors + the one AP offered to me (APWH),

UW/W GPA: 95/97 on a 100 scale (not including sophomore grades)

Awards:

Gold on National Latin Exam, High Honor Roll every semester, Award from NYS Attorney General, MUN award at prestigious college run conference

ECs:

Involved in a local summer youth coalition that presents to community leaders on social justice issues, has been recognized by NYS and a local university, probably 200+ hrs

MUN, multiple local awards, chaired at my school's conference that had like 800+ attendees and had a committee of about 90 people, was one of the only people in my grade that got to chair, raised ~8000 for charity

Mock Trial, one of 6 attorneys that got on the team, will hopefully be lead attorney by sr year

School newspaper, section editor and aiming for editor in chief sr year

AAPI Club

Diversity Club

Like 30 volunteer hours at a local refugee center

This summer trying to volunteer on a local politician's campaign or possibly in my town mayor's office

So yeah, idk I feel like my ecs are kinda basic and I'm not really doing anything super interesting... I also wonder if my grades r a little bit too low because in some classes I had like low 90s whereas my peers had high 90s. lmk what I should try doing and if you guys have any advice

Hi i've been looking through all these crazy profiles on this sub and i refuse to believe that these aren't the cream of the crop type applicants to t20 schools. i wanted to know if these stats + ecs are what a normal t20 applicant has, and if i need to beef it up further. appreciate any feedback 🙏

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Asian
• State: Arizona
• School Type: Public High School
• Income: Middle / Upper-Middle Class

Intended Major: Finance/Economics

Academics

GPA:

• 3.85 UW / ~4.5 W

Class Rank:

• NA

Test Scores:

• 1510 SAT 740 RW 770 M (retaking in June/August)

Awards

• AP Scholar with Distinction
• National Speech & Debate Association seals

(No major national awards, i think this is the biggest hole in my app)

Coursework:

• Maxed out APs and honors classes

Extracurriculars

1. Founder & Co-President — AI in STEM (Phoenix Chapter)

• Co-founded the Phoenix chapter of an international student-led AI initiative
• Led 10+ workshops and community events introducing Artificial Intelligence concepts to hundreds of students and the public

2. Vice President - Speech and Debate Club

• Helped double the club membership
• One of the first debaters at my school to break multiple rounds
• Seal of Distinction member

3. Data Science / Machine Learning Intern — Drippy AI

• Worked with startup team on ML/data science tasks
• Built data analysis tools and helped develop OCR technology, which eventually ended up in production
• Youngest member in the cohort

4. AI Tool Development for Tutoring Company

• Built and maintained a tutoring company website
• Used AI tools to generate SAT/ACT-style practice questions
• Helped automate content generation

5. Personal Investment Portfolio

• Earned money through various side hustles and invested
• Beat the S&P 500 for 4 years in a row by an average of 20%
• Worth around ~2K

6. Investment Club Founder + President

• Started the school's first investment club
• Grew total membership to 50+ students
• Ran an investment challenge between the students

7. Personal Finance / AI Project

• Built a dashboard for financial research and uploaded as open source project and app
• Website traffic and research runs reached 500+ users at peak

8. NHS

• Nothing major, just volunteered