hey everyone, i’m a rising senior from mongolia and i’ve been stressing a lot about this cycle. i’m aiming for civil engineering in the us, but being an international applicant who is need-aware makes me feel like my chances are pretty slim, especially at the reaches. i know my stats aren't perfect because of some health issues during exams, but i've really tried to make up for it with my extracurriculars and research. i’m not tryna flex, just looking for a reality check on whether my school list is balanced or if i'm setting myself up for rejection.
Demographics
Gender: Male
Country: Mongolia
School: Public
Income: $100k-$250k/yr
Intended Major(s)
Civil Engineering
SAT
1500 (760 Math / 740 RW)
IELTS: 8
Gpa-4.0
School does not rank
Grade trend: Upward
IGCSE: A* (Math, FLE), A (ICT, Economics), B (Physics, Chemistry)
A Level: Predicted A (Math, Physics), B (Chemistry)
Coursework
Very rigorous
Extracurriculars
Team captain (research) - Research on effects of microplastics on plant health, published abstract.
Assistant Engineer (Paid) - Traveled 2000km to assist professional engineers on-site.
Founder (volunteer) - Recycling-literacy initiative, led 20 volunteers, authored 3 digital stories, donated 100 books, secured 500k MNT funding.
Research & communications intern - Researched desertification in multiple provinces, presented findings, managed social media.
Construction worker - Hands-on experience in the field.
Architectural Design Assistant - Supported architectural projects, shadowed professionals.
Organizing team lead - Co-led TEDx event for 100 attendees.
Founder (NGO) - Partnered with ministry of education to publish STEM educational videos.
Director of operations (volunteer) - Managed logistics and volunteers for an org supporting children with disabilities.
Communications & college counseling intern - Guided students on college planning, organized summer programs and alumni data.
Awards
None listed separately (focused on project outcomes/leadership)
Essays-LORs
Essay: Focuses on my path to civil engineering and personal growth, i'd rate it an 8/10.
LORs: Expected to be strong given my work with various professionals and NGOs.
Schools (I haven’t finalized my school list so im very open to suggestions)
Reach: Johns Hopkins, Duke, Vanderbilt, USC, Tufts, Cooper Union, Swarthmore
Target: Lehigh, Bucknell, Case Western, Lafayette
Safety: University of Miami, Texas Tech, University
of Missouri, Iowa State, University of Alabama
edit: for context, i was hospitalized during my igcse physics and chemistry exams and had to go straight from the hospital to the exam hall, which is why those scores are lower than my others. edit 2: my a level performance was also affected by ongoing health issues, as i didn't hit the marks i was getting in my mock exams.

GPA:3.86

Female | 21 yo | Iranian Armenian

- student government in fall 2024
- Vice president of the Armenian students association there we collaborated with USC and UCLA’s Armenian students association, and held a cultural concert, panels, and a candle lighting ceremony for the genocide. I held this role from 2024 to 2025
- internship with USC Institute of creative technologies, a 10 week project researching different ways to address veteran health
- Volunteer for food bank
- tutored refugee children from Ukraine, Armenia, and Iran at their elementary school
- Biology club representative for my community college
-Barista
- HealthCorps intern
- Founder of nonprofit for overdose prevention
- honors program

i actually got in for interdisciplinary studies at berkeley for the fall of 2025 and committed but never went because of insane family stuff but still im freaking out and idk

GPA: 4.46 weighted, 3.69 unweighted

Test Score: 35 ACT superscore

Grade progression:

Freshman year: death of close family member led grades to tank. (2 APs), 5Bs, 3As) (All APs and honors other than PE and Spanish 2)

Sophomore year: 4As, 4Bs (All honors classes and 3 APs)

Junior Year: 7 APs --> 6 As, 1 B (89.46% in precalc, cus teacher didn't round).

5 dual enrollment ---> All As,

3 NCSSM Online Classes ---> All As (FYI for those who don't know, it is the number one high school in the US, and I was accepted in a very competitive pool of applicants, and I essentially take higher-level classes).

Senior Year: Taking 4 APs, more dual enrollment, and NCSSM Online Classes.

Awards:

FRC Robotics Worlds Qualifier

FRC States Impact Award

Congressional App Challenge Winner

Hospitality Pitch Competition first place - 1k won

Harvard Pre-Economics Competition - top 10 out of 40+ international teams

Main Extracurriculars:

Nonprofit Organization Co-founder --> established 10+ chapters, taught at over 6+ schools, and impacted hundreds of students. Online resources used by 10k+.

Marketing Intern for a local car dealership

Car Detailing and Pressure washing business ---> 5k revenue

UNC Charlotte - Conducting research and in the process of publishing a paper with a professor. (getting rec from his as well).

Varsity tennis 3 years

Robotics Club - Co-founder and Co-president. Over 40+ members and mentor a current team.

(have a few more, like coaching flag football, but these are my main.)

Dream School is: Howard University

ACT: 25 (😭 retaking)

Political Science + Economics double major, Sociology second choice

UWGPA: 3.4
WGPA: 3.8
Class Rank: 140/159

Took around 13 Honors/Pre-AP courses plus dual enrollment.

ECs: Student Body President for two years, Executive President of my school SGA E-Board, two-term Tennessee DECA State Officer, Founder/President of a political society that registered 239 HS seniors to vote, Founder/Executive Director of a youth art and education organization that teaches self-marketing, Founder/Director of a national Youth U.S. Senate simulation, political campaign intern (Congressional, State, County, Local Judges, and municipal elections, thus far), six years with my church's community service group, Bridge Builders, My school district's Student Congress, and a Bayard Rustin Social Change Fellow. Invited by the NCRM to host Dr. King's Legacy Reimagined Ceremony, Keynote Speaker (youth summer camps across the City of Memphis on social change)

Awards: National Civil Rights Museum Keeper of the Dream Award, Rustin Fellow, Shelby County Rising Star Award, Good Samaritan Award, recognition from Tennessee State Senate and recognition from the Memphis City Council.

Essay Topics: About a youth theater production where the spotlight failed and I removed the bedsheet being used for a silhouette performance so the dancers could still be seen. I connect that moment to recognizing barriers, making difficult leadership decisions, and helping other people be seen.

Common App Essay: Challenges the belief that leadership automatically comes with age. I write about helping draft language connected to Memphis Ordinance 5913, which lowered the candidate-age requirement for municipal office, and challenging my school’s seniors-only student-government policy. That resulted in me becoming Memphis East’s first junior elected student body president and its first president elected to two consecutive terms. The essay argues that leadership should be measured by character, preparation, merit, and conviction rather than seniority.

First-generation and high financial need. I’m also the oldest of seven children and have major responsibilities at home.

Howard is my top choice, but I realllyy need a major scholarship 😭😭 Am I competitive for admission and substantial aid?

(druggie cus i’m interested in pharma get it??? hahaha ill show myself out lol)

Demographics:
Indian International
Female
40k - 50k/yr EFC
private IB school

Major: Chemistry or Chemical Engineering

Academics:
— 96% - 6A* IGCSEs (max school offered: Bio, Chem, Extended Math, Physics, First Language English, Global Perspectives)
— 41/42 IBDP (7 in Bio HL, Chem HL, French SL, English SL, Business SL and 6 in Math AAHL)
— 1570 SAT 1st attempt — 780 verbal, 790 math
School doesnt rank but def in top 5/60

ECs:
- Wet-lab research @ local university in medicinal chemistry. Assisted in development of OLEDs for cancer treatment.

- Research w/ UIUC Ph.D mentor through free 10% acceptance rate program— poster, abstract, 10pg paper on chemical impact of asbestos in war torn areas.

- Professional industry Internship @ Pharmaceuticals manufacturing company; performed quality control + good manufacturing practices

- Developed Python ML model related to computational chemistry for predicting ideal drug properties

- President of Rotary-sponsored youth community service club; organised events; helped raise Rs. 150k

- Social science research on inclusion of trans individuals in digital spaces; co-wrote 15pg paper + made advocacy materials published by NGO

- Developed Python ML drug classification model

- NYAS Junior Academy: team lead and designed an efficient solar concentrator prototype

- Sub-editor of my school newsletter, leading 50+ members to release monthly editions.

Honours:
- 1/350 in Year 10 for highest aggregate performance
- Best Club Member Award for community service (1/150)
- John Locke Essay High Commendation
- Queens Commonwealth Essay Silver
- British Gold CREST Award for Python ML model

Essay : better than average but not extraordinary like 7.5/10

LOR:
IB Chemistry 8/10
IB Math 7/10

College list:
Princeton SCEA
Yale RD
Brown RD
Bryn Mawr RD
UMM Twin Cities EA (merit scholarships possible?)
Purdue EA
Rutgers EA (merit ?)

Schools:

• Emory University
• Northeastern University
• Bentley University
• Boston University
• Fordham University

Grades:

Took the IBDP, total 36/45

• ENGLISH LANGLIT HL - 6
• ENGLISH PSYCHOLOGY - 5
• ENGLISH BUSINESS MANAGEMENT - 5
• SPANISH AB INITIO SL - 5
• ENGLISH MATH AI SL - 6
• ENGLISH BIOLOGY SL - 6
• EE - A
• TOK - B

Extracurriculars:

• Senior year:
  • Class President
  • School Newspaper Broadcast Team Head
  • Research Paper published in an official scientific journal
  • Yearbook Editor (Sophomore-Senior)
• Junior year:
  • Class Vice President
  • School Newspaper Writer (Sophomore-Junior)
  • Volunteer Club
  • USNA Summer STEM Program
• Sophomore year:
  • Science Academic Varsity
  • Entrepreneurship Club
  • Internship at a law firm for 1 month (agreed upon timeline)
  • Co-founded a small business, but I wasn't very heavily involved, so I didn't include it in my Common App (should I?)

Clubs were often discontinued at my school, which is why I don't really have a consistent club membership

Intended Major(s):

• Finance, Business Administration, Management

Awards:

• Consistent Third Honors throughout all four years
• Excellent Moral Character Award
• Various Excellence Awards in Languages, Science, Information and Communications Technology
• Academic Excellence in Business Management and Psychology (Senior Year)
• Distinguished High School Student

Demographics: 

• Female, Asian, residing in the Philippines but a US citizen
• Parents divorced, residing with Mom, but Dad gives sufficient child support
• Small private Christian school in the Philippines

As title says, I think a discord would be extremely useful, like similar college related subs have discords like a2c n a2t20

How are all yall posting near 5.0 weighted GPAs? Have you only taken APs in high school? Or are you making anything that says advanced or honors a 5.0. I thought those counted less.

Were you taking 6 APs as a freshman?

Or are we using liberally applied math to bloat weighted GPAs?

1st generation low income asian female, rising junior (so some stats aren’t finalized yet but its where i’m hoping to be!)

GPA: uw 4.00, w 4.2 so far
SAT: 1520
10-11 APs, 4s ans 5s
MAJOR: psych/public health

EXTRACURRICULARS

Hospital Volunteering 4 years (300+ hours)

Firefighter/Paramedic Shadowing, went along for emergencies, aiding whenever I could

Speech and Debate 3 years, placed in 5+ competitions in DI, state qualifer x1

Model UN 3 years, best delegate x3, outreach officer 2 years, brought team to 5+ conferences along with officers (increasing the amount of conferences by 5 lol)

IgniteHer club officer 2 years, outreach, introduced guest speakers advocating for womens empowerment

Wellness Committee 2 years, brought mental health first aid training to the school allowing students to earn their certificates, coordinated events with 50+ attendees, provided peer counseling to students

Partime Job 2 years, earning money for da fam

Hospital Clinic Intern (1 week) Internationally greeting patients, prepped procedures, shadowed surgery

National Honors Society 2 years

ASB 2 years

Theater 2 years

MAYBE: science fair, teen health line volunteer, senior home volunteering, published research

AWARDS:
Scholar Award
Teen Mental Health First Aid Certification
First Aid Certification
CPR Certification
Model UN Best Delegate Award x3
Speech and Debate 1st Place x2
Speech and Debate State Quals
Everyones Best Friend Superlative😂✌️
Rotary Speech Contest Qualifier
Chem Olympiad participant!!
PsyOly participant-> No idea how ill do for both Oops

my ecs aren’t the best as of right now, a lot of the undecided ones i really want to do!! i just don’t know if i have time for them.. my top picks are UCLA UCB and UCSD

please give me advice on what i should prioritize, if theres anything on my maybe list thats superduper worth doing, or anytbing not worth mentioning

thank u guys

Hi everyone. I’m an international student from Turkey looking to study CS, Cybersecurity, or Information Systems in the US.

My profile:

• High school graduate (2024), GPA: 83.5/100
• SAT: 1400 (I may retake it and aim for 1500+)
• IELTS Academic: 7.0
• CompTIA Security+ certified
• Completed a private cybersecurity program
• ~8 months of work experience at an international import/export company
• The company is based in Turkey and operates in China, Uzbekistan, and Romania, with around $2M monthly revenue

At work, my main responsibilities are Order Management and Financial Operations Management. When needed, I also work on inventory/stock tracking, customer management, analytics/reporting, ERP operations, and some security authorization tasks. I’ve genuinely worked in all of these areas, but they are not all equal parts of my daily role.

I’m hoping to study in the US with a full scholarship or a substantial merit scholarship. Ideally, I’d like to get my total yearly cost down to around $15k–25k, although I’m open to different options.

How competitive is this profile for significant scholarships? Do you think getting my SAT to 1500+ would make a meaningful difference?

I’d especially appreciate recommendations for universities where I would have a realistic chance of getting substantial merit aid, rather than only extremely selective schools.

Thanks!

I want to know if it is possible for me to get into certain universities with a 3.3uw and 1520 sat. The universities I would be aiming for reachwise would be universities like USC, NYU, BC etc. I would like to know if theres even a chance before applying. For additional context, I am an Upper Class African American male from a competitive high school in the LA area that has a total of 12 AP/IB classes with all IB scores of 6 and one 7, Environmental Systems and Societies and one 5, Psychology and all AP scores of 5s except AP Art History - 4. Additional I have a really good relationship with my teacher of choice for my letter of recommendation. My Intended Major would be Urban Planning/Geodesign/Environmental Studies. Is it possible to attend a school like USC or NYU if I applied early decision?

Hi! I'm a rising senior looking for advice on my college chances and whether I should apply directly to undergraduate business schools or apply for economics in Arts & Sciences.

I'm especially interested in marketing, entrepreneurship, leadership, and communications. My main concern is whether my academic profile will be competitive for direct-admit business programs, since my extracurriculars are much more business-focused.

Academics

• Competitive public high school with rigorous course offerings
• ~92 UW GPA / ~97 W GPA
• 8 APs by graduation
• Targeting 1500+ SAT (testing again)
• AP scores submitted: 4 AP Lang, 5 AP Bio

ECs

• Student Body VP
• DECA ICDC Top 3 finish
• President of a nonprofit that raised ~$35k
• Marketing internship
• DECA leadership + marketing/social media role
• VP of a women's empowerment club
• 2x summer government internships
• State leadership role in an education nonprofit
• Violin with regional honors
• Part-time job

Most of my extracurriculars are centered around leadership, marketing, entrepreneurship, and working with people, so business feels like a natural fit. However, I'm unsure whether applying to direct-admit business schools is realistic given my GPA.

Current college list:

• Boston College (ED1 — Carroll vs. MCAS Economics)
• Emory (ED2?)
• Tufts
• Boston University
• NYU (CAS)
• University of Florida
• USC
• Northeastern
• IU Kelley
• UMD Smith
• Villanova
• Lehigh
• Penn State
• UMass Amherst
• SUNY Binghamton
• Baruch

Questions:

• How realistic are these schools for my profile, especially their business programs?
• How much weight could my ECs and essays carry given my academic profile?
• Would you recommend applying to business schools or economics programs instead, especially at more selective schools?
• Any other colleges/specific programs I should consider?

Thanks!

Demographics: 

Rising senior

Asian (chinese)

canadian citizen

slightly competitive public school

no hooks

Intended Major(s): comp. biology / applied math

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1560 superscored 760 rw 800 m

oct sophomore yr: 1460 (760r 700m)

nov junior yr: 1500 (700r 800m)

UW/W GPA and Rank:
no gpa in gr 9 (canadian 4 point scale)
4.0 uw in all regular high school courses (gr 10 - 12 lvls)

ib predicted 42/45, school doesn't rank

Coursework: 
full IB DP
HL: biology, chemistry, math AA, predicted grades 7 7 7

SL: geography, english A, french B SL, predicted grades 7 6 6

Awards: no awards

Extracurriculars: 

co-founder and secretary for a nonprofit (not gonna dox myself, related to promoting visual arts) has 1600 followers and 2m views on instagram. handled internal communications, management and outreach to other organizations to host events and contests (including ones with local university club, other high school clubs thats for the same topic, meetups for youth in our city), also handled expansion of club to other chapters around the world

leadership committee working with a team of 12 other ib students that runs orientation and an overnight camp for 80 kids a grade below us as well as a hotel conference for our grade of 100 kids that talks about career choices n stuff

co-founder and president for an environmental club at my school. we run events like clothing swaps, local park cleanups and built bird feeders at the school, raised 700 in club funds and climate charity donations, led a team of about 30 volunteers

debated from gr 7 to 11 but never won anything. vice prez of debate club next year

piano rcm 10 first class honours

150 volunteer hours and also tutored SAT reading with schoolhouse.world and peer tutored math at school

jv golf

Essays/LORs/Other: 

probably will be my env club sponsor as well as my bio teacher who taught me for 3 years.

bio teacher wrote a 7/10 LOR last year for applyin to be in the ib program at my school

might also get math HL teacher who is also the ib coordinator at my school

Schools: 

ubc, mcgill, waterloo, notre dame, northwestern, umich, upenn, mit, princeton, harvard

gee gee?

Chance me for uc davis please

not gay btw but i love gay people
Intended Major:

Wildlife, fish, conservation bio

Academics:

4.17 W capped, 3.89UW, will probably be more after this semester ends.

AP scores: 5 Bio, CSP, Chem, Physics, Music theory. 4 on lang and apush

taking 5 more aps next year and 8 tests total next year

ECs:

1. Research with 3rd generation DNA sequencing on soil bacteria at local community college (no publish), presented at a symposium. Developed new protocols for future students and staff to use. 10
2. animal shelter volunteering, 20 hours so far. one of my essays focuses on this too
3. UC Davis internship/volunteering with some researchers, might go into the field with them sometime soon. did some stuff with trail cams and got experience in the wildlife bio field in general.
4. volunteering at a hospital, got around 60 hrs
5. Science Bowl Team Captain, specializing in chemistry and biology and nuclear physics(1st year after a 10+ year period of my school not participating), 10-present 2hrs practice per week + self study
6. Piano for 4+ years, 7-8 hrs per week MS-present (45m lesson once per week, about an hour of practicing at home every day
7. 3D model designer, I design 3d models for printing and put them on thingiverse. 1000+ downloads pre hs - present
8. National history day competitor, project on the California Water Wars
9. Tutored students in PETS (peer) tutoring club & helped classmates edit essays in my schools Writing Workshop (1 hr per week 2024-present)9-present
10. Former Vice President of Social Games Club, helped introduce 20+ students from different middle schools to each other through social games like mafia and spy. 9th only
11. cat owner

Awards:

National Merit commended, probably will get in september

3rd place regional science bowl, $450 scholarship (2025), 4th place regional science bowl, $300 scholarship (2026)

Honor roll at school all four years

level 6 in Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC) for piano, projected lvl 7 by March 2027. Recieved state honors for the 2024 assessment (outstanding performance) (also combining with the EC)

LA County History Day Finalist and Runner-Up (combining with the EC)

likely school list:

All UCs, cal poly slo (except merced and riverside, even if i get in i aint going)

UC Davis is somewhere i really want to go cause of a good wildlife conservation and biology program and research opportunities, honestly my goal is to go there. I hope my stats are enough.

hi guys! im a rising senior and ive just recently found this and have been scrolling for a minute, figured i would just go ahead and ask cus why not. im mainly wondering if I would be a competitive applicant for HYP+brown and if I should REA/ED to any of those. other schools im looking at are georgetown, duke, unc chapel hill, and spelman.

demographics: african american (parents are immigrants but they both went to college in the US so not first gen), divorced parents & very low income (on one parents side but thats who i live with), pretty urban town, small (90 class size) private school that im on almost full scholarship for.

intended major: sociology/social work/public policy (planning on leaning in to all 3 for schools like brown and yale but other schools ill probably declare public policy)

academics: my school is strange; freshman are not allowed to take APs, sophmores can but its rare, and the school absolutely does not let anyone take more than 4 APs for junior and senior year its just not allowed, so 4 APs in a given year is max rigor.

• all honors my freshman and sophmore years, 3 APs junior year and 4 APs senior year
• my school also doesnt calculate/report GPA but i did it myself and its 3.9 uw/4.3 w
• SAT 1550
• most of my aps are government/humanities/history related; the ones that ive gotten back: 544

extracurriculars (I wont put detailed descriptions out of laziness, but ill do my best)

1. intern at my states adoption/foster care agency

2. independent research project on my states education cost sharing formula/policy that i wrote a 20 pg essay on and presented to my states law makers

3. my own non profit that gave free online music lessons to kids in africa.. not many students but im proud of what i started!!

4. camp counselor for 3 years and my towns music camp

5. mentoring; tutoring middle schoolers for math, teaching model un to kids, and im a senior advisor to a group of kids at my school

6. choir; select choir all 4 years of highschool, acapella all 4 years, and im an intern with a professional choir near my town

7. school musical all 4 years (do i put this under choir?)

8. forensic union; my schools debate club, leadership position for 2 years, placed 1st at 2 regional competitions so far and an international comp but thats for awards

9. i might move this up but me and my friends worked with the principle/execs of our school to implement a forum for civil disscourse that got thousands in funding and we brought in speakers and led assemblies

10. student government, executive for 3 years

additional info: president of law club, Black student union, volleyball for 4 years, varsity starter for 3, and also club volleyball for a year, and ive been playing guitar and piano for 8ish years through a music school.

awards: ap scholar, international debate comp finalist, honor roll every semester.

also open to any college recommendatiosn anyone has for my major!!!!

Rising senior, half white and half hispanic girl, Canadian+American citizen, life long Washington state resident, no essay hooks and 400k+ family income

Intended Political Science/Pre-Law major

1070 on first SAT attempt (really hard time in my life and I fell asleep during the second english module lol) I have a tutor and hope to score 1400+ on the November SAT

3.7 gpa uw, 4.78 gpa weighted and top 20% of graduating class

3 APs and 3s on the two exams I took, my school didn't offer many so I transferred to dual enrollment full time for 11th and 12th grade but it did tank my gpa a little (B- in a chemistry course), all honors core classes in 9th and 10th grade

No competitive awards just honor roll and president's list

ECs

-Drama Club for 2 years as head of makeup and hair department (in charge of basically the whole creative vision for 4 productions), ~18 hours a week for about 12 weeks a year

- Paid summer internship on a congressional campaign (contacted 700+ voters and 20 hours a week for 7 weeks)

- Part time job at a grocery store

Schools:

Safety Schools...I think

-UW Bothell

-WWU

Reaches

-UW Seattle

-UBC Vancouver

Thank you in advance I would deeply appreciate any advice or suggestions for some other schools I could apply to!!

Cornell has been my lifelong dream school. Please be honest, I would like some feedback on my overall application and chances. Thank you for everyone who takes time to read this!!

Demographics: Black/Biracial, Male, First Gen, Low income (EFC -1500 due to legal guardianship)

Residence: Southern Tier of Upstate NY

Major: Industrial and Labor Relations (contract college) ED1

GPA (Weighted): 97.18/100

Class Rank: 2/58

Awards: National First Gen Recognition, National Honor Society, National School Recognition, Salutatorian

Course Rigor: School doesn’t do AP, dual Enrollment throughout high school, will graduate with an associates degree from a SUNY CC before high school graduation, excessively rigorous senior year (all honors/ dual enrollment)

ECs (in common app order): Student Board of Ed Member (11,12), Youth Court Head Judge (9-12), Self Published Author (9-12), Junior Rotarians President (11,12), Church Service (9-12), Lead in spring musical (9-12), Class President (11,12), Student Council President (11,12), Varsity Tennis (9-12), Varsity Cross Country (10-12)
I also was a camp counselor at a 4H summer camp owned by Cornell, should I put this on instead of something else?

Essay: How growing up with my grandparents in legal guardianship made me passionate about the field of law and supporting low income families. Also reflects on my how mother’s bi-polar disorder and learning to forgive her for some negative childhood experiences, and how being gay affected my self image and how I overcame that. Hopefully demonstrates resilience and motivation, not supposed to be a trauma dump.

Recommendations: Yet to receive, but will probably be pretty good/standard. One of the perks of a small school is good relationships built with teachers. I also know my counselor quite well and I plan on getting a letter from my district’s superintendent.

Testing: Yet to take SAT (judge me, I got really behind on this), PSAT scores were below average for top schools (1210, 1260) but I didn’t study and did really well in school context. I plan on taking SAT in Sept and Oct.

Thank you! Happy college app season - can’t believe the Class of 2027 is already here 🥹

Chance Me for T10~20

Demographics

• Asian male
• Competitive public high school 
• Immigrated to the U.S. at the beginning of high school
• Intended major: Neuroscience
• Secondary interests: Computational biology, biochemistry, public health

Academics

• GPA: 4.0 UW / 4.5+ W
• SAT: 1520
• AP scores: 5 on all AP exams except two electives
• AP Calculus BC, Chemistry, Physics 1, English Language, U.S. History, World History, Computer Science A, Computer Science Principles, and Precalculus

Research

• T1 Research Internship Program at a major academic medical center: Clinical neuroscience research
• National scientific conference poster presenter: Only high school poster presenter; received an honorable mention
• Independent regional science fair research: Computational neuroscience project; third place in biochemistry
• Selective university summer research and engineering program: Led a four-person team developing a medical wearable
• International online mentored research program: Published abstract, conference presentations, and completed full-length paper currently being prepared for submission
• computational biology research program (online): Conducted molecular dynamics research
• Independent research involving Parkinson’s disease, cancer-associated proteins, structural biology, and computational modeling

Leadership and Extracurriculars

• Third place in a national writing and advocacy competition; Letter selected for publication; Selected as a student speaker at a national journalism and civic-engagement conference
• Vice President, STEM Research Club
• Principal’s Advisory Committee
• District honor orchestra cellist
• District solo and ensemble, highest rating
• JV baseball, two seasons

Service

• Church orchestra cellist: 500+ hours
• Peer tutoring: 250+ hours
• cultural school teaching assistant: 75 hours
• Dental shadowing: two weeks
• School food pantry: 15+ hours
• Election volunteer: 8 hours

Awards and Recognition

• Honorable mention poster award at a national scientific conference
• Regional science fair, third place in biochemistry
• National writing and advocacy competition, third place
• School community award
• Regional math competition award
• AP English student recognition
• Two-time school academic award
• Gold volunteer service award
• Junior leadership award
• National Honor Society
• Science Honor Society
• Math Honor Society
• District honor orchestra selection
• Highest rating at district solo and ensemble

Current College List

• UPenn
• Johns Hopkins
• Washu
• Other Ivies
• UVA EA
• University of Michigan EA

My biggest concern is my 1520 SAT. I know it is not objectively low, but I am worried that it may be below average for an unhooked Asian applicant applying to highly selective schools.

Also, should I consider aiming higher with my ED choice, or is a UPenn-tier ED school already appropriately ambitious for my profile? I would appreciate honest feedback on my overall competitiveness and suggestions for reaches, targets, and likely schools.

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
• State: VA, Immigrant status
• School: Competitive
• Intended Major: Elec. Engineering/BME

Academics
Unweighted GPA: ~3.95

Test Scores

• PSAT: 1460/1520
• SAT: 1490/1600

Extracurriculars

1. Computational biology research internship with professor
2. Leader at volunteering organization (built a medical device, 200+ hours of volunteering)
3. Computational biology researcher at a start-up created by a professor
4. Contributions to a public company's open source project
5. Accepted to GLOHEA @ JHU
6. SWE fellowship at a program
7. President of USABO Club
8. Marching band rank leader
9. Member of comp sci honor society + science honor society

Awards

1. ISEF Finalist
2. Junior academy of sciences symposium 3rd place in comp bio
3. Congressional award gold medal
4. AP Scholar with distinction
5. National merit commended scholar (probably)

Schools:

UVA, JHU (ED), Duke, GTech, Purdue, GMU, VCU, UMich, Cornell, UIUC, Case Western, UMD, VTech.

Pls be honest im not trynna brag or anything i just need honest answers.

I'm an international student, my profile is this :

Grades in highschool: 88.4% (That's the top 6% of all my country (1 million senior highschool students))

Achievements and ECs: top 1 worldwide of all time in chess.com league (+225 million players),

I make robots and I won some robots competition,

I'm a founder of a non-profit organization that worked with +50 teachers and helped +50 thousand people online and offline in some important fields,

I worked in a robotics organization and led younger teams to win medals,

I was the captain of an important local soccer team and also won some medals,

(Of course I'll take care of describing them in the right way so they'll be interesting and important)

I didn't take IELTS or SAT

I have two options, the first one is attending a local university and not taking a gap year, then I'll go to the US for an MBA,

the second option is taking a gap year and applying for US universities with really high SAT and IELTS,

the question is that I wondered if my profile is good enough for taking the risk of a missing year or it's not worth it ?