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Posted in Harvard and Columbia. Let's see the response over here:

Here goes:

Asian student from NJ

Go to the 3rd or 4th worst high school in the whole state. Here's an idea of how bad it is:

25% of students go onto a 4-year college
5% of students take the SATs
Average SAT Score- 809
Will this be of any help?

My STATs

GPA- 4.4896
Rank- 1/1035

SAT- 1380 (660V, 720m), hoping to get 1500+

Sat II- 790 Chem, 800 Math 2C, 720 Writing

APs- Chemistry-5 (only in whole school)
US History-5 (only one in whole school)

ECs- Red Cross- Blood Draw Certification
Science Club President(12), VP (11)
Pre-Med Program- CPR certified, experienced almost every part of the hospital
Key Club- no position, but a dedicated member
Peer Tutoring- around 200 hrs in every subject
Interfaith Discussion- inspired by 9/11, I started these discussions and have held them many times to promote the acceptance of all faiths
Local Newspaper Writer- Started a Science/Tech column
Mosque Volunteer and Teacher- count me as the Youth Director
Science Leaugue- Highest scorer in Chemistry
Math League- President and founder, we participate in competitions and teahc the usefulness of math
Write for an international newspaper

Summer-Mainly teaching and tutoring. Last summer I
went to a third world country and helped build houses, volunteer at a hospital, tutor kids, and write

Awards-
Model UN Runner Up
Superintendent Scholar
Top scorer in Union County Chemistry League (January and February)

Chances at Harvard,Yale, Duke, Columbia, Rutgers 7 year med, Northwestern 7 year med

By Cleveland (Cleveland) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 07:21 pm: Edit

You need to improve your SAT scores (verbal especially) and your SAT II Writing score. Are you taking more AP courses this year? If you go to a "bad high school", are the guidance counselors able and willing to work with you towards getting you into Yale?

By Akx (Akx) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 03:35 am: Edit

i dont mean to put it bluntly but...

harvard- slim to none
yale- slim to none
duke- if u can get those sat scores up, maybe, but still a longshot
columbia- slim to none
rutgers 7 year med- not sure
northwestern 7 year med- this ones on par or harder to get into out of state than hyp

heres the problem. ur a smart asian male from new jersey. the world already has too many of these. to get in as an asian male, u have to do more than the average kid... coming from a bad school, u have to do way more than just be the smartest. if ur in a bad school, u prolly have a ton of free time, so colleges are gonna expect u to be prez of everything, play an instrument, play sports, etc. challenge urself a lot outside the school curriculum by taking college classes helps too. basically, unless ur getting the affirmative action advantage, to come to hyp from a crappy school u gotta do way more than just be the smartest person in ur school. while at a good school being top ranked really proves that ur pretty smart, at a poor school being top ranked really doesnt mean as much. colleges dont really get a good idea of ur abilities. thus test scores are the only standardized gauge of ur abilities and become that much more important. o yea, if uve had to overcome any major obstacles, that'll help ur case too.


in any case, just try to do stuff outside school. really, do as much stuff as u can. and try to improve ur test scores. honestly, getting into hyp is overrated if ur gonna do medicine.

By Glas989 (Glas989) on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 03:12 am: Edit

Could you list 6-7 schools good for medicine then?

By Beechbum114 (Beechbum114) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 08:33 pm: Edit

I dont think Akx is completely right. I dont come from a very good high school, and my grades are like yours. Im basically in the same situation. I dont agree with Akx because it's the stupid kids in your school that drag down your schools reputation. Your teachers may be teaching you everything you need to know, yet the kids you go to school with are just complete losers. If you want to get in to a good school, sell yourself using your personality and characteristics. I met a man at Yale who was in the same situation, and he worked hard to prove he could get into a good college. Don't let the lazy students keep you from getting into the college of your dreams. I go to school in Florida and the reason my school is not great is because kids who dont speak english cant pass the freakin FCAT, but my teachers are teaching at a level equivalent to a school in a better state.

By Choudhryon (Choudhryon) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 11:11 pm: Edit

Correction- Our school is the worst in our county and maybe the 9-10 worst, city-wise, in our state.