Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

asking the experts....

I'm chinese male, lived in Canada for 5 yrs, enrolled in a pretty good public school. Applying to Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Cornell.
Please rate me and tell me what kind of schools should i be looking at.

Stats:

GPA: 96%, so 3.9 in american
Enriched courses, i think they count same as AP?

verbal : 660, math 800
math IIC: 800, physics, 790, writing 660 =(
TOEFL: 240 - 297, essay not marked yet, but i did ok

Awards:
- 4th in intel ISEF (international science and engineering fair)
- gold medalist in region fair, invited to ISEF and another international fair in Russia. (lots of awards came with it, like the Yale innonvatoin award, intel youth innovation etc)
- 4th in Canada on CCC (canadian computing contest)
- math contests: 2nd in canada in grade 9, slipped lately, but still well within top 50 in canada on all the major math contests, including many with the top 10. Invited to Canadian mathematics olympia, asian-pacific math olympia, etc
-american math awards: top 200 in AMC 12 and AIME for 2 yrs, 11th and 13th in the ARML (american regional math league) in past 2 yrs
-bronze medalist in FIRST robotics canadian division
-comp sci student of the yr

ECs:
-sr basketball team (10+ hr/week) (currently)
-sr volleyball team (10+) (season ended, 3rd in city, gold medalist in some tourny)
-cross country team (10+, last yr)
-lots of clubs, such as environment clubs, world affair clubs, math clubs, comp sci clubs, robotics clubs), around 10+ hrs a week i would say
-research at the local university (6-7 hrs/week)
-special math classes: 5 hrs/week

ok, so i SUCK at english, but ok in math and sciences, what r my chances and what other schools should i be looking at? Thank you for any comment!

By Zzii (Zzii) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 08:29 pm: Edit

Although English seems to be your specific weakness (understandably so, if it is not your first language), your strong points are MANY and VERY strong. This will definately go in your favor. Your Math SAT I, Math and Physics SAT IIS, Intel, FIRST, CCC, and special classes are top-notch. Research, clubs, and sports are all there as well.

I hope you get in at MIT. I applied there with almost exactly the same scores in math and higher in verbal/writing but I still think you have a much better chance than I do. Your extracurriculars are MUCH better than mine. I really hope you get in! Good luck!

By Mehere (Mehere) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 09:25 pm: Edit

hm. im from Canada too. what city are you from?

By Canadian_Idol (Canadian_Idol) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 09:53 pm: Edit

hey mehere did u apply any early decisions? If so, how did it go?

By Tout (Tout) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 11:04 pm: Edit

Hey, if that grade 9 math thing was the Canadian Mathematics Competition - Pascal Contest, then I was a Gold Medallist along with you!

You should definitely be looking at all the schools on your list, you deserve to go there with your accomplishments. Leave your safeties for some Canadian universities, that's what I'm doing.

A warning though, the verbal and writing scores are going to be a minor blemish on your otherwise outstanding application. I know a very amazing math / physics guy who got deferred from Harvard because his Anchilles heel was English. MIT, being a technology school, might look more favourably on the not-too-amazing verbal scores.

Anyway, the chances are decent that you'll get into at least one of the places you're applying too.

By Peacemakeriv (Peacemakeriv) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 11:35 pm: Edit

hey guys, thx for replying to me

i'm from windsor ontario, and yes, i was 2nd on the pascal, some guy from vancouver got perfect....grrrr, lol

anyhow, i really hope i get in, but i didnt do ED, i didnt think i was going to the states until now, and i am going to be sending my app in the last day, lol.

What schools r u guys applying to?

Rui Ma

By Penguin (Penguin) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 12:07 am: Edit

I'm right on board with Zzii's assessment (BIG thumbs up for ECs), although it would be nice to know more about your high school curriculum, as well as your class rank. Also, do US schools consider 51st-staters (no offense if you're of Canadian nationalist sentiments ) as part of their international pool? If so, that will make things more difficult for you in terms of admissions and financial aid at MIT at least.

By Peacemakeriv (Peacemakeriv) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 12:15 am: Edit

hahahahah
yeah, we're internationals, but they offer lots of financial aid tho, so i am ok on that

my school doesnt do rankings, and our courses are different from AP in the states, BUT we lean almost the same thing.

our school is good, last yr we had 2 to MIT and 1 to harvard, we had 1 to MIT the yr before that, and we always rank top 2 in canadian math competitions. I'd same we r the best public HS in canada right now.

Anyhow, i am still chinese citizen, getting my canadian citizenship in feburary, too late =(
Think that'll affect my chances?

Rui Ma

By Peacemakeriv (Peacemakeriv) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 01:42 pm: Edit

any other opinions?

By Peacemakeriv (Peacemakeriv) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 12:27 am: Edit

okie, guess not?

By Peacemakeriv (Peacemakeriv) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 02:51 am: Edit

bump

By Peacemakeriv (Peacemakeriv) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 08:43 pm: Edit

bump