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Hey guys, I've been looking at these boards for about a year now, and I finally got signed up after creating an email account just for CC. I'm class of '05 and applying to Harvard, Stanford (EA i think), Pton, MIT, U of Chicago, UIUC and UMich in the fall. I plan on going into applied mathematics, maybe minors or double major in stats or econ.

White male from good public school in IL.
SAT I: 1490 (780 M, 710 V). That was my first time, i plan on retaking just because i can't stand that 780 M. I got perfects on every Reals test, and then came the question that was worded terribly on the real one....
SAT II: 800 IIc, 800 physics, 750 Writing. (should i retake writing?)
ACT: 32 (im too slow to do well on that test).
PSAT: 225 (will be semifinalist)
GPA: 3.86 uw, 4.53 w. Rank: 7/692
(upward trend. I have gotten 6 B's in HS, 5 were freshman year, one was soph year. Straight A's junior year).
AP's taken w/ results:
Euro: 3 (i hated that class)
AP's taken awaiting results:
US History (4/5)
Calc BC (5)
Physics B (5)
AP's to be taken senior year:
Biology, Physics C-mechanics, Statistics, Spanish lang, English lang, English lit, Macroecon, Microecon, Psychology, American gov.
EC's:
National Honor Society
WYSE/JETS(TEAMS)Academic/engineering team captain
Lincoln-Douglas Debate team(captain since soph year)
Congressional debate team (captain junior and senior years)
Math team (will be oralist senior year)
Volunteering (~500 hours) with convalescent center, refugee ministry, Christian fishing camp for inner city kids in twin cities, and about 10 hours of tutoring per week.
Involved in a youth group for about 10 hrs/week.
Currently trying to get a mathematical theory published.

Awards:
Top 16 in state of IL in LD debate past 2 years.
Best presiding officer award in state student congress tournament twice(invitational chamber soph year and championship chamber junior year)
Top scorer on junior math team that placed 13th in state (by far the best in school history, we're not very known for our math team, but that's now changing).
Selected to write for school in NCTE national writing contest. (awaiting results)

I plan on getting decent recs, and I'm a pretty good writer, so the essays won't be too much of a problem. If you guys could evaluate my chances and suggest which school is the best EA choice, or any other feedback, that would be greatly appreciated.
-The Ninja

By Foreignboy (Foreignboy) on Monday, June 28, 2004 - 07:02 am: Edit

Hi, The Ninja.

Being perfectly honest, people like you *normally* get into one or more of the top schools. My personal opinion is that you should not apply early to your first choice school, unless it is Princeton ED, which would increase your chances. Many people manage to put together stronger applications for their RD schools and regret applying EA. If you can raise your Verbal Score, that would be good, but a 710 won't really kill your chances.

Anyway good luck. Everything looks good.

By Mathninja (Mathninja) on Monday, June 28, 2004 - 08:13 pm: Edit

thanks for the reply. Will i have a stronger app because of more time or because I will have accomplished more by that time senior year? Stanford EA doesn't really increase chances?

By Foreignboy (Foreignboy) on Monday, June 28, 2004 - 11:25 pm: Edit

No one really knows if applying EA really affects your chances. The answer given by colleges is 'no'. However, if you are deferred, your application does get a second look, so your file actually gets reviewed twice. Another possibility is that the RD pool is unusually strong for a particular year. In this case, EA would help, but there are lots of 'if's involved.

If you are deferred, which is likely for most people, you can still update colleges with recent test scores/grades/accomplishments. The essays though, cannot be changed. Many people end up writing brilliant pieces for RD and regret that they didn't use them for their main EA essay. (You can submit supplementary essays, but it's not really the same)

Also, the more applications you fill up, the more experienced you become and the less likely you are to make random mistakes. Plus, most applications ask generally the same questions, so you would have thought about them more and will be able to present answers that are more organized.

By Mathninja (Mathninja) on Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 12:06 pm: Edit

Thanks man, sounds to me like i'll just apply RD everywhere then because I'm definitely not fixed enough on Princeton to apply there ED. I wouldn't even consider it my first choice, though all the schools are kind of even right now. Anyone else want to evaluate my chances????? I really have no idea how competitive my stats are.

By Mathninja (Mathninja) on Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 04:30 pm: Edit

update/bump.
All the AP's previously unknown are 5's. Calc isn't officially in yet, but im pretty confident.

By Ohio_Mom (Ohio_Mom) on Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - 05:01 pm: Edit

MN is probably a good state to be from - good schools, not too, too many applicants to the top colleges. I think you're in good shape SAT-wise. One thing you could do is send your SAT's to all your schools before you retake. On the retake, don't send to any when you sign up - only send after you have gotten your scores if you have improved.

Try to visit all your colleges if you haven't done so already. Harvard and MIT are very different, for example.

By Mathninja (Mathninja) on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 12:02 am: Edit

I'm actually from IL, I just happened to be involved in a fishing camp in MN. Thanks for the advice on the SAT sending. I don't think I've sent to Stanford yet, so i have to get on that. I didn't want to go at the time i tested but these great CC boards converted me.

By Mathninja (Mathninja) on Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 01:30 am: Edit

let me see that buuuuuuuuuuuuuump. How come the thread that basically has the same title as mine but with the word "girl" in it gets more responses? At least foreignboy is my friend.....

By Ubercollegeman (Ubercollegeman) on Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 05:02 am: Edit

U of C, UIUC, and Michigan are all easy admits for you. I'd stretch and call them pseudo-safeties: they're not guaranteed, but you'd be damned surprised not to get admitted into all three.

HYPMS is a different story. You'll probably get into at least one of the five, in my opinion. To say which one is pretty tough.

Oh yeah, and "Biology, Physics C-mechanics, Statistics, Spanish lang, English lang, English lit, Macroecon, Microecon, Psychology, American gov. " all during one year? Good luck, sir.

By Mathninja (Mathninja) on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 12:10 am: Edit

Thanks for the good luck wish on my AP tests, i know its a ton...Only two of those (Microecon and Physics C) will be independent study though. I'm taking classes for the rest. And i figure i have the skills to do well on those subjects. I sure hope i get into one of those 5 HYPMS schools. Anyone else care to help me out?

By Mathninja (Mathninja) on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 07:11 pm: Edit

bump up the jam, bump it up.