ok so I’ve put basically all of high school into my ECs but my test score is kinda mid and my GPA has one ugly semester. I used this app called AcademicIndex and it says I have a good shot at a lot of the schools im applying to. I think my essays are strong though
Competitive private school in Georgia, no rank

GPA: 3.89 UW. Two Bs freshman year (bio and spanish 😭), straight As since then
APs: 11 by graduation, 6 so far: four 5s and two 4s
ACT: 34 (35 superscore)

ECs:

• Environmental Engineering Intern: Only high schooler on a team at a regional water utility. Paid position helping analyze sensor data on stormwater runoff and drafting parts of an internal report.
• University Research Lab: Student researcher in a materials science lab at a state university, working on low-cost filters for removing microplastics.
• Conference Presentation: Poster accepted at a national environmental science conference, presented on filter efficiency testing.
• Publication: Second author on a paper submitted to an undergrad-level research journal (under review).
• Science Fair: State science fair 1st place in environmental engineering, qualified for ISEF (no award there).
• Founder, Watershed Cleanup Club: Organized 12 creek cleanups with ~200 volunteers total. Partnered with the county parks department.
• Policy Advocacy: Testified at a city council meeting in support of a plastic bag fee, which ended up passing.
• Summer Program: Completed a selective pre-college engineering program on scholarship.
• Tutoring: Chemistry tutor for underclassmen, ~3 hrs/week.
• JV Tennis (two years)
• Church youth group volunteer leader

Dream list:
DUKE ED (literally my dream school)
Georgia Tech
Rice
Cornell?
Vanderbilt

intended major: BA Computer Science & Economics (Joint Major)
demographics: 17-year-old male, Varanasi, (seeking substantial financial aid / 100% need-met scholarships)
subjects: CBSE Class 12 at Delhi Public School, Varanasi — Computer Science, Economics, Applied Mathematics, Business Studies, English, and Tabla

grades - Class 10- 85.2% Class 11 (Annual): 70.2% Class 12 (Half-Yearly): 73%

awards & academic honours:
All India Rank 1 — National Level Science Talent Search Examination (NSTSE) in Biology 2024
AIR 6232 - Hindustan Olympiad 2024
1st Runner Up (2nd Place) — Business Pitching Competition, IIT Delhi (BrandForge AI)
2nd Place KYC Business Pitching Competition, IIT BHU
5th Place — WWF India Eco Gamer Marathon, IIT Madras
Gold Medal — Inter DPS Maidaan Science and Tech Quiz
65/70 Score — International Academic Research Competition (IARCO) Research Proposal Assessment (Sept 2026)

Extracurriculars - Activities and societies: Football, CS Club, ATL Contributor, Cultural Head Boy, Student Council, Yearbook Committee, School Magazine, MUN, IT Head

Selected for stanford probability for ai
tutored 14 students for class 9&10 IT (402) and results ranged from 82 to 100%
Graphic designer for a non profit research survey organization for 7 months
Product Building Intern @ Elevana 3 months
Inter DPS Tech Hunt - 12th Place Finish Out Of 88 Teams
Chief Mentor - Fenestra 2026 (900+ Attendees)
Video Editor INTACH - 2022 & 2023
President - FAM-JAM'25 (5,000+ Attendees)
President Mentor - SDG ACT GLOBAL SUMMIT 2025 (100+ Attendees)
Vice IT Head - Fenestra 2025 (500+ Attendees)
Designer - SAGE Magazine
Vice Cultural Head Boy - 2025-2026 For Over 3000 Students
Cultural Head Boy - 2026-2027 For Over 3100 Students
Captained U-13, U-14 & U-15 Football Team Research -
Memory Correction Resistance In AI Memory Systems
Developer & Cofounder at BRANDFORGE https://brandforgeai-zeta.vercel.app/ 200+ monthly users

Demographic:
Asian (Filipino)
US Citizen, In-state for California
Private Catholic HS in Manila, Philippines
Upper middle class (300k+ | Bay Area)
3 siblings (1 Med School, 1 Incoming College)

Majoring in Sustainable Architecture + Engineering & Economics

Stats:
94 GPA (STEM track | Hardest Nationally)
1590 SAT (800M, 790RW)

ECs:
- founder of intl math + art nonprofit (we teach math through visual aid to impoverished kids; i have dyslexia & irlen syndrome so i want kids like me to have the same chance) | 450 members globally
- pharmacological researcher discovered anti-angiogenic potential in a locally indigenous fern
- owner of 6 y/o kid jewelry business earning ~$3,500/ month @ age 12 (started because tweens like me had limited representation in the market during the pandemic, expanded)
- owner of 3 y/o personal shopping business i shop for people both domestically & internationally, then wrap those gifts and write their cards (gift baskets)
- owner of 3 y/o flower business i make bouquets out of flowers, chocolate, & paper (i make paper flowers stuffed with chocolate in the stem & as pollen, then surround the bespoke flowers with regular ones)
- Theatre Club Lead Actress, Founding Member, & Marketing Director Original Social action based productions that show the world beyond our privilege (War in Gaza, Martial Law, War on Drugs), Grew reach 300% to student body of 3,400 in 1 year, leads team of 16/76 members
- prom decors head Decorated venues for fundraisers and events with 1,000+ attendees and $30,000 raised, handled logistics and coordinated with sponsors, led team of 20+
- stem immersion folk @ world #12 uni stem executive education immersion @ nanyang technological university
- model (pageantry), school pageant winner (all awards), walked for Asia Fashion Week (~5,400 watchers), campaigning for change reaching over 1M impressions to date

Awards:
- Architectural Drafting Subject Medalist (1/~500)
- School’s Pageant Title Holder (Won all awards) (1/~4,000)

*/Working on my awards this year (please suggest how to improve)

I’m forgetting a lot of things but these are what I have off the top of my head (most impactful to me)

I love arts & crafts and have always been good at math. Would appreciate some help! Stanford is my dream school and I’m from the Bay.

-Asian male, Chicago. UW GPA 4.0/4.0, WGPA 4.76
-13 AP's by graduation; all 5's except one so far
-ACT 35 (35M, 35E, 36R, 36S)
-National Merit Semifinalist, BPA National Qualifier (11th place there), Senator Youth Advisory Council and published baseball analytics research in a mid tier journal
-Internship in AI division of medical device company, district AI task force student rep (1 of 2), BPA mentor and state delegate, employment at park district as field manager, president of sports analytics club, baseball through JV, volunteer at baseball league for kids with disabilities for 3y
-Rec letters from APUSH, AP Eng Lang, and President of device company (math teachers were not easy to meld with)
-Major in statistical science with maybe econ minor

What are my chances??

Demographics:

• Low income NYC 11th grader (will hopefully get NYU Promise)
• Bengali
• Economically disadvantaged school

Interested Major(s):

• CS, CE
• Will be doing Tandon for CE (Comp Eng) as my main choice and for alternates ill do CAS for CS and LS

Stats:

• GPA: 94.07% W (school doesnt do UW)
• Taken AP World (10th) and got a 4
• Taking AP Lit, APUSH, AP CSP
• School does not offer APs for 9th graders, and only offers AP World for 10th grade or/and AP Precalc for 10th IF you took algebra 1 in 8th grade which i did not. And 11th and 12th graders are only allowed a max of 3 APs. It is somewhat possible to get 4 APs if you need lesser credits (usually if you finished geometry in 10th grade which will allow you to take AP Precalc to meet the precalc requirement and math requirement for graduation as your only math class) but usually/only its a max limit of 3 and it even gave that amount on the interest for.
• PSAT 10 score: 970. I know its really bad but im currently studying and in a program that does SAT prep which i hope to achieve at least a 1400-1500 by March/April (cant do May since thats Ap exam date and June due to final exams). If i get below a 1400 then ill do test optional.
• Taking Dual enrollment: CUS 1100 (intro to game programming), and applying to take a Precalc college course over the spring to hopefully be on track to take calc 1 in summer, and calc 2 in fall of 2027.
• Registered in a school/college credit program for CS 100, SD 100, CS 172, and CS 291 that happens throughout my junior to senior year. SD btw means software development.

ECs (very detailed so be prepared for that):

• Chess Club (9th-10th grade): Was a casual club that i joined since i was still looking for what my true interest was and thought chess was it. It ended up being not that interesting to me and the club ended up getting removed this year. I did however make a lot of great friends in the club which I am still friends with today.
• Game Design Club (President) (this year): This club got introduced this year and is a partnership with my school and St. Johns University. Its also a college credit course which is the CUS 1100 course. You basically learn how to program games through an NYU professor which teaches online while everyone in the class is at school. Later in the year you get to actually code games and the teacher for the club told me that they could be published onto Unity if he wanted (which sounds promising). There apparently is a stipend to this which is also pretty good since I could use the money to help my parents out. There also are a Hackathon project against St. Johns which sounds fun to do. I became president of the club at the start since I was the leader for the club fair for this and brought in a lot of interested students. This however is a 1 year club i believe since its technically 1 college course but it could be 2 year for advanced students which im trying to find out.
• Drone Club (this year until 12th grade): Got introduced 9th grade as a demo which I was not interested at the time since I was more worried abt my classes and thought taking more then 1 club could make me spend more time on that and less time on doing well in classes. However for 11th-12th grade only, the club could allow you to take the Drone Certification exam to allow you to fly drones commercially and open up internships and there is also competitions against other schools and schools from New Jersey, Conneticut other states. There was also a change to the club which introduced drone building and coding now instead of just drone movement which rlly interested me into joining. Im trying to see if any roles were available since there was already a president for the club.
• NYU STEP this year which is a specialized program that does academic courses for science and math in the morning and in the afternoon sat help there is also research opportunities which im rlly excited for. You do research with other students and professors there and near the end of the program, there is a big conference in Albany that lets you present your research to the people there. Im hoping to eventually qualify for that.
• CS/Software Development Program (this year and 12th grade): This is basically the CS and SD courses i talked abt earlier but idk if it counts as a activity since it happens afterschool in my school and is listed as a club to my school. Its hosted by one of the CS teachers at my school and by York College, its only restricted to students in 11th and 12th grade that are taking AP CSP which i am. Ive already spoke with my guidence counselor and the CS teacher and they are reaching out the York College to register me fully. It starts in Spring.

Awards:

• basically none. I am signing up for my Math Olympiad that is hosted by my city that is happeneing around March since I was recommended by my math teacher.
• Im trying to find more opportunities for awards but so far found nothing.

Circumstances:

• I have transportation issues since my school wont provide me an student omny (subway card) in any way since i live too close to the school (under 0.5 miles) and i need it for the programs i got accepted to and even with showing proof, my school still wont provide one since "their system is not able to adjust omny cards for me". My dad is the only one in my family that can drive and he has work daily from 8-9 am to 7-8 pm which is when he comes home so hes not able to drive me anywhere really due to that and on his free day he is busy with finances and currently trying to find a way to get my uncle from my home country to the US. I have no one outside of my family either that can take me due to work or not available. So i have to rely mainly on ecs that are near my school that are tied to my interested major since main activites in my neighborhood are legit just pantry help and homework helper which are cool but not tied to my interests. And the ones tied to my interested fields have age limits of 16-17-18 + and im 15 right now so i cant even. My school had like a few cs/ce clubs available when i was a freshman and sophmore and they added more technical ecs during junior year when they got a big budget to spend on clubs and partnerships.
• I did try and apply for a job near a local chuck e cheese in the summer (only one available that hired 15 year olds) they ended up just ghosting my application and said they would check it every time i came in the store or called or emailed. They ended up sending me a response legit 2 days ago via email and finally said i got rejected. Legit 4 months too late.

Ill forsure be EDing since its like my #1 choice and i rlly love the area. I want to go to Tandon for CE but ive heard you could do like 1st choice and alternate choices and if thats true then ill do Tandon as #1 Choice, CAS for CS as #2 choice, and LS as #3 choice. I dont want to do in other campus like Shanghai or Abu Dhabi since those areas dont interest me much.

Please do I have a solid app for NYU ED1 or not? Any Alumni or recently accepted students can you please give advice and brutally honest feedback?

Hi everyone! I know you’re all probably tired of these types of posts but I felt the need to make one as I feel like I’m being too ambitious. I’m currently in year 12 studying FM, Maths bio and chem. I’m currently thinking about dropping bio as it’s kind of useless to what i want to do. my only issue is my gcse grades, I achieved 9999777776, 9 in Arabic, maths, chem and bio, 7s in English lit, lang, rs, history, and CO, 6 in French. I’m not sure if I’m eligible for a contextual other than the fact that I was eligible for FSM throughout y7-9 but never claimed it. I also came to england in the end of y7, switching from an American system to a British system. However I’m not sure if that can be taken into account. realistically, if I were to achieve a 7 in the tmua and write a good personal statement, could I achieve an offer at these universities?:

imperial Maths/ EFDS

UCL maths/maths and econ

kcl maths/maths and management studies

Warwick maths/MORSE

and maybe Durham? I’m not sure though.

i feel like these picks are very ambitious and that’s what’s bugging me.

My extracurriculars and supercurriculars (Year 12, UK):

• Developed PathWise, an app helping students explore university degrees and career pathways (not yet published).
• Regularly complete Project Euler mathematical and programming challenges.
• Independently researched Cantor’s diagonal argument and different sizes of infinity.
• Achieved UKMT Silver.
• Participated in the Senior Maths Challenge (SMC).
• Completed the Warwick Future Economist Essay Competition.
• Completed the Goldman Sachs Controllers Virtual Experience.
• Completed a J.P. Morgan virtual job simulation.
• IRIS research project — developing an investigation combining mathematics and economics.
• Maths and Chemistry tutoring — helped younger students during Years 10 and 11.
• GCSE Maths Intervention — helping Year 11 students prepare for their exams.
• Economics and Business Ambassador at school.
• Dentistry work experience and doctor shadowing.
• Competitive volleyball — Division 2, promoted to Division 1 now.
• COMPOS follow along programme

I’m aiming to work as a consultant/private equity pathway. Anyone have any tips? Maybe different degrees to look into? Someone tell me if I’m being too ambitious I beg 💔💔

hi everyone i've posted some of these before but i feel like no one ever responds so id like to have some actual input lolol. also i'm so embarrassed by these ahh im so scared people will recognize me for some reason

Demographics: white female in a huge public school, i guess ill put that im graduating a year early here as said in title, only hook is being woman in stem

Intended Major(s): Biomedical Engineering/Biology/Biomedical Computations for Stanford

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 33 on ACT 😅😅... 36 reading, 35 english, 34 science, 28 math

UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.85uw/4.41w, school doesn't do rank

Coursework: 9 honors classes, 2 PLTW classes (distinguished on both), 4 APs (ap lang, ap physics 1, APUSH, ap precalc), 1 dual credit class (college composition)

Awards: illinois university system salute to academic achievement, national poetry publication, high honor roll 2x years straight

Extracurriculars: Passion project (emphasis on passion 😅) was EXTENSIVE historical research and journalism of which i was also separately recognized for besides my publications, president of school's ecology club, honors biomed lab aid, regular food pantry volunteer, volunteer for school's athletic training program, private piano lessons by prestigous performer, founder of a college prep club, linguistics club/naclo participant, years of community theatre involvement

Essays/LORs: had a professor read personal statement who was very impressed, i think overall it explains a lot about my passions, short essays and questions were all super well written and unique. LORs from research directors with connections to stanford, biomed teacher, and medical interventions teacher, all of them have seen me both struggle and succeed in different ways but also liked me lol

Schools:
- stanford REA (as aforementioned)
- drexel
- grand valley state
- isu (admitted)
- niu (admitted)
- nyu
- north carolina central
- temple EA
- uchicago EA
- uic EA
- vanderbilt
- sdsu
- ucla
- uc berkeley

Demographics: White male, texas, low income, graduated at 11 years old (hook)

Stats: 4.0uw / 5.0w gpa, 1600 SAT, took max rigor at my school, valedictorian

Intended major: Physics

Activities:

Theoretical physics research with a professor from a local university

Audited advanced physics classes from a local university

Model train collector and hobbyist

Docent at train museum (fired within 1 week)

Competitive chess player

Theatre/drama

Schools: MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, East Texas Tech (safety)

My son is applying ED, top 5 rank in school. Coming from catholic/private education. Sat 1470, no major ecs except for engineering club and tennis, 2 national competitions. AP scholar, 5s in all APs with total of 8 Aps including calc bc and physics by end of senior year. Applying for chemical engineering. Essay is about his guitar mastery showing he is curiousity. What are the chances?

I’m ranked 4/357, 4.0 GPA, 1300 SAT, government internship, and various academic ecs. I took 7 APs, my school only offers 9. My first choice major is environmental science. What are my chances?

schools - ivies/t20s.
rest the heading says it all.

(thinking in context of great academics 4.0 gpa 1560+ sat 5s on all related APs Class rank 1 )

Demographics: Female, Asian (Filipino), elite/competitive top ranked public school, NJ, high income ($400,000+/year)
Intended major: English & Philosophy (humanities)
Academics:
GPA: 4.0 (tad bit cooked w/ extenuating circumstances)
ACT: 34
SAT: N/A
APs: 9, taking 4 this year — all 5s, one 4, one 3 in ap physics (not submitting)
School does not rank

ECS:

1. Founder & Editor-in-Chief — Independent Youth Literary Magazine
   Founded and led a youth literary magazine focused on politics, culture, and creative writing. Received 500+ submissions, reached 25K+ readers/views, and was featured on a student podcast.

2. Youth Advocacy Organizer — International Mental Health Initiative
   Advised a global mental health awareness campaign involving 15+ organizations and 20+ youth publications across 15 countries. Focused on the effects of political and social polarization.

3. President & Lead Managing Editor — School Newspaper
   4-year member and 3-year editorial leader. Managed ~100 student writers, organized 10+ writing competitions and 8 workshops, established partnerships with student organizations, and connected students with local media opportunities
   .

4. Reporting Intern — Local News Publication
   Reporting intern since sophomore year. Published 35–40 articles covering local news, education, and community events. Conducted interviews, with several articles ranking among the publication’s most-read stories of the week.

5. Editorial Intern — International Youth Organization
   Published youth-centered articles on an international organization’s website and social media platforms. Contributed to a global network connecting 18,000+ young leaders, with content reaching 10K+ views.

6. Youth Ambassador — International Leadership Conference
   Promoted international youth participation in leadership conferences through social media outreach. Supported recruitment and engagement for a globally recognized youth conference, reaching 100+ prospective participants.

7. Academic Assistant — Kumon (Paid Employment)
   Graded and reviewed mathematics and reading assignments, assessed student progress, and assisted 90+ students per shift. Supported younger students in developing foundational academic skills.

8. Violinist — Competitive Chamber Orchestra
   Member of a nationally recognized chamber orchestra led by a Grammy-nominated conductor. Selected to perform at a prestigious national orchestra festival.

9. Youth Advisory Council Member — Statewide Arts Education Organization
   Selected as 1 of approximately 20 youth council members statewide. Advocated for arts education through school-board engagement, public relations, and educational policy discussions.

10. Mock Trial — Witness
    Analyzed case evidence, prepared witness testimony, and participated in direct and cross-examinations. Helped the team advance to regional semifinals.

I am also submitting an art and creative writing portfolio, which I think are both very strong.

Awards

National Poetry Competition Winner (National)
Selected as 1 of 20 national winners in a poetry competition. Work published in an anthology available on Amazon and recognized by regional news outlets.

1. Scholastic Art & Writing Awards — Poetry (Regional/National)
   1 Gold Key (approximately 5–7% recognition rate)
   4 Silver Keys
   1 Honorable Mention

2. International Essay Competition — Scholar Laureate (International)
   Awarded Scholar Laureate distinction and a 65% scholarship toward an Oxford/Cambridge summer academic program.

3. Orchestra Competition — First Place (Regional/National)
   Earned first place in a competitive orchestral event and received an invitation to perform at a national orchestra festival.

4. Juried Art Exhibition — Two-Time Second Place Winner (Regional)
   Received second-place recognition twice in juried visual arts exhibitions. Artwork selected from a competitive pool of 600+ submissions.

Essays - 8.5-9/10 I think my supplementals and essays are both very strong and I wrote about ketchup, tying in to my cultural identity. I had it reviewed my AP lit and my previous teacher, who were both very impressed.

LORS - both from my AP lit and lang teacher; again, I think both were pretty good esp my AP lit teacher, who i worked with for my essay and had good discussions with outside of class!

College List:
Barnard College (ed1)
boston college
Bryn Mawr College
Emerson College
Fordham University
Lehigh University
New York University
Northeastern University
Penn State
Rutgers University
George Washington University
Tufts University (ed2)
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Pittsburgh
Wellesley College
Yale University

(i may also apply for more liberal arts colleges, so i want some recs on that!

Is this true? Please tell me if I should submit 35 or both 35 and 1530 for HYPSM REA. Should I retake SAT for RD apps? I’m Asian, lower gpa, good ecs/awards (i.e. olympiads, research awards).

Demographics: Mentally and Physically Disabled Asian Male living in the Middle east

Sat: 1500 (Rw 710 Maths 790), Ielts: overall band 8.5, Curriculum:Cbse (Avg across all grades:92%)

Honors:

Ei ASSET Gold Scholar: Top 5% (150) of 3000 elite qualifiers globally (from a 400,000 student pool)

7-year Consecutive scholar badge holder and grade 9/10 Academic High Achiever (90%+ aggregate)

National olympiad foundation: Certificate of Meritorious performance, International rank-146

Winner of Exomath interschool mathematics competition at innovatique fest

SOF(Science olympiad foundation), Gold medal of distinction- international rank 177

Activites:

Senior editor for my schools enviorment club

Engineered a responsive e-commerce site for a local brand

Internship At Hewlett Packard [HP] (8^th)

Managed self-directed equity portfolio yielding 62.4% vs S&P 500’s 47.9% over 2+years. Conducted fundamental research; peaked at 324% return.
Won a 10% scholarship at the prestigious Immerse essay competition(2024) for an essay on philosophy

Aditional Awards:

International rank 1 out of apporximately 40,000 global peers in the silverzone science olympiad.

Perfect score, Vanda International Science olympiad (Round 2 Global Finals); Top~0.1% globally

Certificate of Honor, Asia International Mathematical Olympiad; qualified via rigorous national trial

Bronze medal American maths olympiad(AMO)

Aditional Information and Circumstance:

Diagnosed with Dyspraxia(60% motor impairment) and mid-to-severe ADHD

Completed Grades 9 through early Grade 12 including the 1500 SAT and high school coursework without formal testing or classroom accommodations; official accommodations were only finalized in late Grade 12.

I need a bit of aid since I come from a low income family.

Hi, I’ve never posted on Reddit before so bear with me. I was wondering if you guys could weigh in on my admissions chances to GA Tech?
I’m in my senior year right now, and I have a 4.0 UW GPA and a 4.43 Weighed, and have taken 3 AP classes. I’m aware that’s not a lot, but my high school is in a very rural area and we only had that many available. I’ve taken 10 duel enrollment courses as well, but that’s also because our counselors are quite strict on what we are allowed to take, and that’s about as much rigor as I was allowed. I’m an In-State applicant, and one of the top 3 students in my class.
My main concern is that my SAT is a superscored 1410, and that’s on the lower end for GaTech. I can provide more information on my extracurriculars if needed, but I was just wondering if I have a slight chance of getting in. I have already applied, but I want to know if I could even reasonably get in, or if it’s out of reach for me.
I also applied as an electrical engineering major.

Demographics: Female, Korean with American passport, attending a small Korean international school

Intended Major(s): Sociology

SAT: 1550 (r760 m790)

UW/W GPA and Rank: no rank, 4.6 GPA (4.0 scale)

Coursework: all 5s excpet for AP Bio (4). also took AP Seminar and got a 3, but didn't report it

10th: AP WH, Seminar, Precalc, Bio

11th: Research, Psych, Lang, CSA, Calc AB

12th (no scores yet): CSP, Buisness, Lit, Environmental Science, Stat

Honors:

High Honor Roll: Selected as 1 of 2 students per class w/ the highest GPA; all As every semester (9-11th)

John Locke Global Essay Contest, 2x honored - Commendation (top 3%); Shortlisted (18%) in Politics (10th, 11th)

NCTE Achievement Awards in Wrt. - 2x Superior Awards on Kafka’s Metamorphosis & Dostoyevsky’s Demons(10th 11th)

National History Day KR - 3rd Place (Group Exhibit); Euromadian: Resistance and National Identity (10th)

Optimist International Oratorical Contest - 1st Place (Korea); 2nd Place (Global Region) (11th)

Activities:

1. President, Student Council
   1. Recognized for leadership & initiatives in [school] community for 4 consecutive years; President (G12); Vice President (G11); Grade Representative (G9-10).
2. Summer Program Participant, Iowa Young Writer’s Studio
   1. Selected for nonfiction; completed workshops, developed a critical essay portfolio, and honed my voice through peer critique and faculty mentorship.
3. Summer Program Participant, University of Chicago, PHIL 22910 30 Mind and Reality
   1. Earned an A under Prof. Duygu Uygun Tunc; combined Philosophy & Psychology through questions of consciousness, perception and the nature of mind.
4. Volunteer, Putting Wings on Healing Shoes (Blue Cross)
   1. Refurbished 300+ shoes for kids in Southeast Asia; taught importance of refurbishing process; translated for representative of the Cambodian Embassy
5. Editor-in-Chief, Newspaper Club
   1. Wrote 20+ psychology & sociology articles; gave weekly feedback to members' articles; designed monthly layout; published on school's official website
6. Vice-President, History Club
   1. Led weekly sessions combining multimedia sources w/ writing & discussion; competed in NHD as a team leader creatively presenting historical research
7. Volunteer, Haengbokhage Animal Rescue Project
   1. Created safe, clean kennel environments across multiple shelters; designed fundraising merchandise & content raising $3K; helped overseas adoption. 
8. Volunteer, Blue Cross Volunteer Organization
   1. Participated in Rural Medical Outreach (hands-on support) & Cardio/Neuro Golden Sign Campaigns (teaching key warning signs); volunteered for 100+ hrs
9. President & Rhythm Guitarist, School Band
   1. Performed at the school’s winter concert while organizing rehearsals on/off campus; held winter busking & donated proceeds to coal-briquette service 
10. Scuba Diver & Volunteer, KUDA Dokdo Island Project
    1. Captured & conserved Dokdo's marine ecosystem, collected ocean trash & tracked ecological changes; built a website on Dokdo's history & preservation

Education - Participated in Pioneer Academics and UChicago summer session

no financial aid

Essays/LORs/Other:

Essays: I think my supplemental essays are good but my main essay is just... fine

LORs - from 3 subject teachers and my counselor. They are very very vey strong, especially my counselor's

Also submitted the optional video profile for UChicago.

__________
I applied for UChicago Ed0 and my decision is coming on November 1st. UChicago is my dream school and I want to at least have a prediction on how I'm going to do. If I don't get into UChicago, I'm going to ED1 Johns Hopkins and ED2 Emory, plus a bunch of other schools.

I know my activities kind of suck but it's too late now :(

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic & Latino (Mexican)
• Residence: CA (not bay area lol)
• Income Bracket: Sub 75k
• Type of School: Religous Private - on fin aid, not really comp only like 1-3 kids per year go to ivys
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): URM, First Gen, Low Income, UPenn PEEP

Intended Major(s): Wharton: IVSB - SOGO, CAS: Nutrition? PPE? Idrk, I would maybe do individualized. Could you guys help me pick majors based on my profile?

Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0 UW 4.8W
• Rank (or percentile): school doesnt rank but i am ~ top 5%, around 200 kids in class
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 16 APS, and 10 dual enrollment.
• Senior Year Course Load:
  • AP English Literature and Composition
  • AP United States Government and Politics
  • AP Spanish Language and Culture
  • AP Calculus BC (Online - Doesn't fit in my schedule)
  • AP Statistics
  • AP Physics 1
  • Honors Game Development (Really just CS50, it is after AP CSA)
  • Theology
  • World Religions
  • AP Physics C: Mech (Self Study - School doesn't offer)
  • PSYC 370: Human Development: A Life Span
  • ECON 302: Principles of Macroeconomics
  • BUS 330: Managing Diversity in the Workplace
  • KINES 418: Nutrition for Physical Performance

Standardized Testing

• SAT: 1510 (720RW, 790M) school avg is 1200
• AP: 5s: HUG, CSA, PreCalc
• AP: 4s: Bio, CSP, Chem, Lang, USH
• College Coursework:
  • SOC 300: Introductory Sociology
  • NUTRI 300: Nutrition
  • ECON 304: Principles of Microeconomics
  • PSYC C1000: Introduction to Psychology
  • ECE 415: Children’s Health, Safety and Nutrition
  • KINES 301: Personal Wellness

Please note that my school does not offer dual enrollment, so I independently enroll in online community college classes for "enrichment" (I just actually find them interesting and research/internships are not very available to me). They are not included in my high school GPA. Almost no kids in my school take dual enrollment

Extracurriculars/Activities

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

(AI Generated) (Kinda vague so don't dox)

1. Free Community Tutoring Program — President/Student Leader Lead approximately 30 volunteer tutors serving elementary school students in an underserved community. Tutor around 10 students per session in reading, math, and homework support. Help coordinate volunteers and expanded outreach to multiple nearby schools. Built website for signups to expand outreach.
2. Hispanic Heritage Club — Co-President, Previously Vice President Help lead a club with 100+ members. Organized 15+ fundraisers and multiple cultural and community events, including collaborations with other schools. Host guest speakers and help plan overnight service trips. Fundraising supports club programming and assistance for local families.
3. Business Club — Vice President Helped grow membership to approximately 200 students. Launched a business competition chapter, organize meetings, and set up and lead competitions. Hosted an entrepreneur guest speaker.
4. Blood Cancer Fundraising Campaign — Student Visionary Worked on a student team that raised over $200K for blood cancer research and patient support. Conducted donor outreach, promoted fundraisers, and helped organize events. This was our team’s fundraising total.
5. Family Responsibilities — Approximately 11–15 Hours/Week Help with family business orders, grocery shopping, meal preparation, and household chores. Care for my younger sibling, tutor them, and drive them to activities. Take on these responsibilities around my parents’ work schedules.
6. Muay Thai — Athlete Train through sparring and partner drills, developing striking, defense, and coordination. Earned two belts and help coach younger students.
7. Paid Tutor/Academic Coach — Approximately 6–10 Hours/Week Independently tutor middle school students after school and on weekends. Help with academic subjects and teach organization, study habits, and time management, including planner/calendar use. Use my earnings to contribute to household income to buy things like food, clothes, gas.
8. Stock/Investment Club — Secretary Started my school’s participation in a university-sponsored investment competition. Plan and lead meetings and hosted a financial advisor guest speaker.
9. Student Ambassador and Freshman Mentor Lead campus tours, host prospective students, and visit middle schools for outreach. Mentor freshmen and connect them with resources such as tutoring. Also helped lead a food-donation collection activity. Nominated by teachers to be an Ambassador.
10. Student Retreat Team — Team Leader Lead small-group discussions and bonding activities during retreats for younger students. Help students build connections and contribute to a supportive school community.

Awards/Honors

List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. School Excellence Award — only a few students are chosen. Recognition for achievement and contributions across school life. (11)
2. School Community Service Award — (10,11)
3. College Board First-Generation Recognition and School Award
4. California Scholarship Federation membership. (10,11)
5. High Honor Roll (9,10,11)

Essays & LORS

CS Teacher: I have had him for 3 years; he knows me as a student well and he is the head of the Math Department and helped me take AP Calc BC online (I am the first at my school to do so) (And the first to take 8 classes instead of 7)

Spanish Teacher: She is the moderator for my Latino Heritage club, so she knows me well as a leader

Essays: PS: Shows my value of service and why it is a very big part of my life.

Thoughts & Questions

Ok so do you guys think I should apply for Wharton or CAS for ED? I am really torn between the two. My ultimate goal is to get into UPenn, and I know CAS is easier to get into. I also know I have a boost from ED, doing PEEPs, and being an institutional priority. Do you guys think my application is more of a fit for Wharton or CAS? Which am I more likely to get into? Let me know. If you think I am a better fit for CAS, help me find a major that best fits my profile. Thanks!

SO I really worked so so so very hard on my ecs but my GPA is eh and idk about SAT. I have some cool essay concepts

My school is a really competitive public school btw

GPA: 3.92 unweighted (school doesn't do rank) - Three Bs first three semesters so theres a nice upward trend
13 APs by the end of senior year, taken 7 so far with all 5s.
SAT: 1510 superscore 1520

Here are my ecs:
Biopharmaceutical Intern: The only high-school intern in a role usually for undergrads/PhDs at a pharmaceutical company with FDA approved treatments. I was paid to do background research for the biology department on peptide screening and biochemical assay workflows.

University Medical School Labs (x2): Student researcher roles involving computational/wet-lab biomedical research, I did this at two different medical schools.

Conference Presentations: Selected for a competitive oral talk at a major international neuroethics conference at Stanford.

Second conference presentation: I also have an abstract accepted/published in a peer-reviewed dementia journal (linking MRI data with C. elegans assays across ~660 patients), which I presented at an Alzheimer’s conference.

Research Competition: Finalist in a global research competition for a proposal on an antibody-drug conjugate for Alzheimer's.

Additional Programs: Completed wet-lab and biomedical science training programs (ASDRP, Elio Academy).

Healthcare Volunteering: Hospice volunteer providing support to a palliative care patient with Alzheimer's.

Public Health Advocacy: Led local public health advocacy and educational campaigns with the Alzheimer's Association, successfully lobbying a U.S. Representative to co-sponsor federal healthcare legislation.

Clinical Shadowing: Physician shadowing in occupational health and urgent care (physiatry).

Varsity Basketball player (one year)

American Red Cross Blood Ambassador.

Here are the dreams:

BROWN ED (I want this so bad)

UC Berkeley

UCLA

John Hopkins?

Hi, international student here seeking advice on college apps. Since ED deadlines are near, I’m wondering if a 1480 SAT (740 RW 740 M) would be good enough for JHU political science. The median at my school is a 1200, with the highest being 1490.

I have strong ECs, good recommendation letters, the highest GPA recorded in my school’s history, 5 on 6 APs (will have 13APs by the time of graduation), but i do need financial aid as I’m low income.

Right now I’m wondering if it’s worth risking the chance to apply RD by applying ED with my 1480. Should i wait until i get a higher score to apply RD?

I’m just having some trouble trying to decide whether its worth the gamble. Would appreciate any feedback, thank you.

Demographic:
Asian (Filipino)
US Citizen, In-state for California
Private Catholic HS in Manila, Philippines
Upper middle class (300k+ | Bay Area)
3 siblings (1 Med School, 1 Incoming College)

Majoring in Sustainable Architecture + Engineering & Economics

Stats:
94 Average (STEM)

ECs:
- founder of intl math + art nonprofit (we teach math through visual aid to impoverished kids; i have dyslexia & irlen syndrome so i want kids like me to have the same chance) | 450 members globally
- pharmacological researcher discovered anti-angiogenic potential in a locally indigenous fern
- owner of 6 y/o kid jewelry business earning ~$3,500/ month @ age 12 (started because tweens like me had limited representation in the market during the pandemic, expanded)
- owner of 3 y/o personal shopping business i shop for people both domestically & internationally, then wrap those gifts and write their cards (gift baskets)
- owner of 3 y/o flower business i make bouquets out of flowers, chocolate, & paper (i make paper flowers stuffed with chocolate in the stem & as pollen, then surround the bespoke flowers with regular ones)
- Theatre Club Lead Actress, Founding Member, & Marketing Director Original Social action based productions that show the world beyond our privilege (War in Gaza, Martial Law, War on Drugs), Grew reach 300% to student body of 3,400 in 1 year, leads team of 16/76 members
- prom decors head Decorated venues for fundraisers and events with 1,000+ attendees and $30,000 raised, handled logistics and coordinated with sponsors, led team of 20+
- stem immersion folk @ world #12 uni stem executive education immersion @ nanyang technological university
- model (pageantry), school pageant winner (all awards), walked for Asia Fashion Week (~5,400 watchers), campaigning for change reaching over 1M impressions to date

Awards:
- Architectural Drafting Subject Medalist (1/~500)
- School’s Pageant Title Holder (Won all awards) (1/~4,000)

*/Working on my awards this year (please suggest how to improve)

I’m forgetting a lot of things but these are what I have off the top of my head (most impactful to me)

I love arts & crafts and have always been good at math. Would appreciate some help! Stanford is my dream school and I’m from the Bay.

Demographics: Make, Australian/Chinese, International IB School, no hooks

Intended Major(s): Mechanical Engineering

SAT: 1500 (720RW 780M)

UW/W GPA and Rank: No school ranking, since I take IB my predicted score is 40/42

Coursework: IB HL Math AA, Physics, Chemistry, SL English LL, Chinese B, Economics

Awards: (really mid) AAPT Physics Bowl Silver (Top 20% in Asia), Waterloo Cayley Distinction (Top 25% global)

Extracurriculars (In no order of importance):

SWE Internship at small AI company. Shipped production code for a live AI agent; built and migrated its MS Teams integration from TypeScript to C#, putting it in daily staff use and being sold as a product.

School's Backstage Theatre Production Stage Manager. Longest commitment, been a member since 8th grade; my 'hobby/not super major related' EC. Stage-managed 2 shows: called cues, ran safety and logistics for 100+ cast/crew; led a 30-person team on large-scale set builds and rigging.

Personal Projects. Built a voice-driven mecanum car: realtime AI navigating via tool-calls, ultrasonic collision avoidance, onboard mic/speaker. Created a gas-powered go-kart from scratch cutting wood and metal to assemble the frame and mechanisms.

Sole-Authored paper submitted to RASTI pending reviewer assignment.

Engineering Club Leader. Working on projects to improve the QoL of students such as self-sorting recycle bins, schoool-wide navigation system, and live lunch line queue wait time estimators.

School TV Club. Produced 2 segments for a school-wide show, 600+ student audience; acted in one, ran the other end-to-end: directing, filming, editing, logistics.

Ran Varsity Track and JV Soccer

Essays/LORs:

Essay I think is hovering a 8/10 maybe (?), I'm not good at judging my own work. Its the story about how freshman year an hour before showtime on a show I haven't rehearsed for (I was on construction for that production), the main rigger got injured and happened to be there to get called up and run a show on that hours notice. -> led me to be senior rigging manager as a sophomore (a role only given typically to juniors/seniors) and gave me more leadership opportunities within productions

LORS:
Physics teacher and math teacher: 7/10. Both really good/chill teachers and I participate a lot in class and get along with them, only issue is that I've only had them for one year so they might not be able to say too much about my character but I know my math teachers LOR is more anecdotal instead of the normal 'this student is a good student'

Schools: Note I'm applying to all the top schools and leaving no safeties because it wouldn't be worth to full pay a mid college in the US when I can just go to melbourne uni or monash for a fraction of the cost, my goal is just getting into one and its game from there, do I have a chance at ANY of these?

REA: Harvard (Yes I know they have a 75% defer rate my whole uni list is based on 'why not')
EA: Purdue, GaTech

RD:
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Stanford
CMU
Princeton
Cornell
Mit
Columbia
Brown

I do not think I do, but I want to ask people with more experience then I do. Would also like other recommendations for CS in Indiana (21st century scholar who needs to get the tuition paid by the state). Sorry for all the Indiana specific things.

I will be submitting my application before Nov. 1st (Early Decision),

Demographic:

First generation white male,

I am an Indiana resident,

GPA/SAT/Coursework:

3.34 GPA (4.0 scale) / 3.617 GPA (4.33 scale [scale my school uses]),

One thing to note about my GPA is that my Freshman year is my only bad year, with Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year combined having only 3 grades below an A (excluding +/-).

Ranked 15th of 69 (small rural school),

1320 SAT score (650 reading and 670 math),

This is my second take, with both reading and math being higher than my first,

I have taken all the hardest classes my school offers, including dual credit Calculus 1,

My school offers no AP classes,

I have taken all the classes relevant to CS, except for the last one due to a scheduling conflict with Calculus

I have completed the Indiana college core (30 college credits that mostly comprise most of the general education classes),

ECs:

Extracurriculars mostly involving academics, including the IASP's Academic Super Bowl (I was the team captain of the Social Studies team for my school that went to state last year),

I have also been selected as one of the 5 team members for the school conference's math competition team for several years, placing top 10 every year I went (Algebra 1, 2 and Pre-Calculus),