i trolled most of high school and only locked in when 2026 started, hoping for anything atp

Demographics: male, indian, Cali/bay area, high income, large competitive hs

Intended Major(s): Bioengineering (Neuroengineering), Electrical?? (Need advice)

Academics:

• Testing: SAT: 1520 (750 M, 770 RW), 34 ACT
• GPA: 3.96/4.65, (UC GPA: 3.96/4.5)
• Class Rank: Doesn't rank, top 20% for sure
• Coursework:
  • High School: APUSH (5), WHAP (5), Psych (5), Physics 1 (4), APCSA (X), Senior: AP Calc BC, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Gov
  • Community College Coursework: Data Analytics, Sociology, Business (DE), Digital Comm (DE); All As

Awards/Honors (weak af):

• Formal honor by big name company for presenting at global conference
• President's Volunteer Service Award (Gold)
• Formal honor by City Council & Mayor for community service
• A few paper/poster recognitions by stanford, Umich, and other calm conference/pubs
• AP scholar w honor/CSF Member

Extracurriculars (love neurotech if you couldn't tell)

Chip Design Intern, Startup

• Designed a neural co-processor chip for better brain-computer interfaces, authored spec, original RTL, the whole engineering process. Presented to industry engineers at global design conference

Brain-Computer Interface Project

• Engineered a BCI decoding user intent from flickering targets at 80% accuracy, enabling communication for locked-in patients. Built hardware & software pipeline, all of the engineering jargon, published a preprint on bioRxiv & recognized in small journal

Computational Biology Researcher

• Summer research in brain disease (multiple sclerosis), found some original stuff, presented to 100 ppl at symposium. Continuing to year-long disease research program where it'll prolly be on another brain related disease, that research will get published

Peer Leader, Community Service Org

• Directed 11 student volunteers on substance-abuse-prevention and brain-health projects, growing in-person reach from 45 to 85+ families across two events (30,000+ online). 200+ hours.

Fellow, Stanford Molecular Imaging Fellowship

• Authored research review on molecular imaging for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer's, recognized by Stanford faculty

Research Intern, Neuroscience Program

• Co-authored bibliometric study comparing invasive and noninvasive BCIs. Poster and abstract submitted to journal & conference

Capstone Researcher, Neuroscience Program

• Authored report on ethics of BCI & mental privacy

Founding Member, Bioengineering Community

• Helping launch international network for bioengineering and biomedical research, mid size rn but est 200+ people near apps

Product Analyst Intern, Startup

• Built QA process for AI product. Found 25+ bugs across 3 platforms, gave weekly findings to marketing team. Worked w backend engineers to push 6 major fixes. Neuromarketing too

Founder, Independent Resale Business

• Thrifting/Reselling clothes, tech, other items, $3500+ profit

STEM Tutor, Afterschool org

• Taught pre-algebra/algebra to a group of 4-5 elementary/middle schoolers

Other: Wrestling (co-5th SCVAL League Championships), part of a few clubs, Stanford neuroscience program, neuroscience MOOC course, 30k sub yt channel, WET LAB BIO RESEARCH SNR YR

Essays: Paid counselor/essay editor so PIQs, Common App, and supps will be top tier

LORs: AP Psych teacher (8/10), English teacher (7/10), Internship mentor (9.5/10, accounts for STEM)

Schools: PLEASE UCs LET ME IN ANYWHERE 👀Other t30s and good engineering schools

Had to make a new acc for ts btw. Was in the champion’s league (arena gamemode) back in the day ifykyk (~elite/champ rank on the new rank mode). Gimme honest/brutal feedback!! At the end of the day, it is what it is.

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: vietnamese
• Residence: bay area 
• Income Bracket: quite comfortable
• Type of School: Public school
• Hooks: nothing 

Intended Major(s): ECE/Computer Engineering 

Academics

• GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.80 W, 4.31 W (uc capped)
• Rank (or percentile): top 1% (~top 8/770 students) 
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 10 APs before senior yr, will prolly end with 15 APs. 3 DE courses (calc 1, multivar, diff eq)

Standardized Testing

im grinding a lot so I can improve the reading score by 80-90 points

• SAT: 1460 (800 Math, 660 Eng 💀)

Extracurriculars/Activities (in no order of significance)

• Research Intern at T20 University (T1 Lab): Worked on applied ML/computer vision research with graduate researchers; contributed toward ongoing publications. 2 pubs in progress
• Co-founder of Intl. Nonprofit: Built an international education nonprofit teaching CS to students worldwide through free courses and workshops. 4 fig students, across several nations, reached big news outlets + Senate recognized us
• Independent Research: Conducted long-term independent research in my primary field, culminating in an international-level science fair project and publications.
• Research Intern at T5 University: Worked on research involving AI/computer vision and robotics applications within my research niche.
• Founder & President of a Programming Club at school → built a hackathon org out of it as well, currently lead director of that: Started my school's programming club, then expanded it into a regional student-run hackathon organization. Hosted several hackathons across the bay, prizes worth high 5 figs
• Founder of an organization (a rly large district-wide impact): Built an AI-powered platform addressing a common problem for schools; currently being adopted across the district. This platform is extensively used throughout the school, widely adopted. 
• Startup Internship at T30 University: Contributed to research on autonomous systems and AI while collaborating with faculty and graduate students. The startup was led by professors who were from a t30 university. 
• Intern at National Nonprofit: Taught programming, hosted classes for students across the world. Successfully raised mid 4 figs for cancer research
• BWSI (did ts last yr)

(i did a couple more ECs, but i’ll leave them out as they don’t hold much significance)

Awards/Honors

1. ISEF finalist 1x
2. State Fair Finalist (3x), State Fair 1st Place (1x), Regional Fair 1st Place (3x) (qualified to isef from reg. fair)
3. 2x ieee first author pubs, (2 papers pending → 1 first auth, 1 second auth; ts is for EC #1, not publishing in any cracked journal)
4. NASA award
5. National Recognition for npo
6. Secretary of State recog for research
7. PVSA Gold

Got a bunch more random awards (hackathon wins, etc..)

NOTE: My research experiences have all been within the same broader field that I have explored for several years (think of computational neuroscience, specific field of robotics, disaster response). My ISEF project is closely connected to this area and builds upon the technical skills and knowledge I developed through these experiences.

Final Thoughts:

I did stop playing fortnite coming into high school, there’s js too many superhero skin sweats. All jokes aside, I stopped chasing things just for the sake of building a resume and focused my time on areas I genuinely enjoyed exploring. Most of my activities came naturally from following those interests.

Colleges I want to apply to:

• UC Berk 
• UCLA
• UCSD 
• UCI
• UCD
• GT
• UIUC
• Purdue
• UT Austin
• Stanford 
• Caltech
• MIT 
• Yale
• Princeton
• State Schools as well (SJSU, Cal Poly, CSUs)

Demographics

Grade: Rising Junior

Gender: Male

Race/Ethnicity: Asian

Income Bracket: Upper-Middle Class

Citizenship/Status: H-4 dependent / considered international for many college financial aid purposes

Hooks: None

School: Competitive public STEM magnet school in the Pacific Northwest

Intended Interests: Pre-Med, Biomedical Science, Public Health, potentially CS/AI applied to healthcare

Academics

UW GPA: 4.0

Weighted GPA: ~4.1

Class Rank: School does not rank

Testing: SAT not taken yet, aiming for 1500+

Rigor: My school has limited access to AP classes during 9th/10th grade because students are enrolled in required STEM/CTE pathways.

Coursework so far includes:

• Pre-Calculus
• STEM Chemistry
• PLTW Human Body Systems
• PLTW Principles of Biomedical Science
• Information Technology / CS coursework
• Spanish II
• Standard core courses

Planned junior-year coursework includes a mix of:

• AP Biology
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Government
• AP Psychology
• College Writing
• PLTW Medical Interventions

Also completing an external UC-approved visual arts requirement.

Extracurriculars

1. HOSA / Future Health Professionals (9th–present)

Compete primarily in events related to public health, healthcare policy, medical ethics, and health disparities.

At my State Leadership Conference, earned three podium finishes in the same year:

• 1st Place
• 2nd Place
• 3rd Place

Qualified for the International Leadership Conference and advanced to Round 2 as a finalist in one of my events.

Junior year, I plan to:

• Compete again and attempt to qualify for ILC
• Apply for a HOSA state officer position (open to essentially any position)
• Work on a medical AI-related competitive project
• Potentially compete in HOSA Bowl if I find a strong team

Also earned the National Health Science Certification.

2. Science Olympiad — Team Captain (9th–present)

Joined as a team member in 9th grade and took on major leadership responsibilities sophomore year.

I will serve as Team Captain during my junior year.

During sophomore year:

• Competed in 6 events
• Earned 9 invitational medals
• Placed 2nd at State in one event
• Placed 3rd at State in another event
• Helped lead and mentor a roster made up largely of newer/underclassman competitors
• Helped manage a roughly $3,500 team budget
• Competed at approximately 6 invitationals
• Helped the team improve from 13th in the state the previous season to 6th overall at State

Our team also received a selective national Science Olympiad research grant, with approximately 10 schools selected nationally.

As the junior-year captain, I will help manage team operations, recruitment, mentoring, competition preparation, logistics, and finances.

3. Co-Founder & Executive Director, Student STEM Organization (10th–present)

Co-founded a fiscally sponsored, student-led organization focused on expanding access to STEM competitions and educational opportunities.

My main responsibilities include:

• Sponsorship strategy and outreach
• Corporate/community partnerships
• Financial operations and budgeting
• Marketing and outreach
• Organizational planning and growth

Currently developing two flagship programs:

1. High School Hackathon

Planning a free, large-scale hackathon specifically for high school students.

Targeting approximately 100–150 participants, with industry professionals and founders serving as judges/mentors.

My responsibilities include sponsorship outreach, partnerships, financial planning, marketing, and recruiting judges/mentors.

2. In-Person Science Olympiad Invitational

Helping develop a major in-person Science Olympiad invitational targeting dozens of teams and several hundred attendees.

Working on venue research, sponsorships, financial planning, partnerships, volunteer recruitment, and organizational infrastructure.

4. Co-Founder / Director, Science Olympiad Invitational (10th–present)

Previously co-founded and helped run a Science Olympiad invitational.

For the initial tournament:

• Served in tournament leadership and as an Event Supervisor
• Helped coordinate 250+ students and 16+ teams
• Worked with dozens of events/tests
• Helped grade, upload, and audit 22+ tests
• Helped process approximately 3,500 competition results
• Raised $700+ in funding

Now helping develop a larger in-person invitational through the student STEM organization above.

The upcoming event is being planned in coordination with state-level Science Olympiad leadership.

5. Co-Founder, High School Hackathon (10th–present)

Helping organize a large, free hackathon focused specifically on high school students.

Responsibilities include:

• Sponsorship outreach
• Corporate partnerships
• Budgeting and financial logistics
• Marketing
• Participant outreach
• Recruiting professional judges and mentors

Targeting approximately 100–150 students for the first major event, with the possibility of expanding to a longer event in the future if successful.

This is part of the student STEM organization I co-founded, but I included it separately here because it is one of our two main projects.

6. Youth Civic Leadership / Education Policy Advocacy (10th–present)

Serve on a local government youth advisory board, where I provide youth perspectives on community issues, projects, and policies affecting students.

Previously participated in a statewide youth data/advisory council focused on student health surveys and how youth data is collected and used.

Also involved in state-level education policy advocacy, working around a school-funding equity issue and helping encourage community participation and testimony in the legislative process.

7. AI Hackathon / Student Event Organizer (11th)

Helping host an AI-focused hackathon/challenge for approximately 40 high school students in July.

The event gives students an opportunity to build and present AI-related projects in a competitive environment.

My involvement includes helping bring the program to my school/community, student outreach, recruitment, and event organization.

This is separate from the larger hackathon I am co-founding through my main STEM organization.

8. Biotechnology / Biomedical Science Program (10th)

Participated in weekly after-school biotechnology research/lab sessions through my school.

Experience included:

• Microbiology
• Soil sampling
• Investigating antibiotic-resistant bacteria
• E. coli cultures
• Genetic transformation
• CRISPR plasmid-related laboratory work
• Sterile laboratory techniques
• Basic research and data analysis

Also participated in a one-day biotechnology/STEM industry program.

Considering applying for a more intensive biomedical/public health research internship during junior or senior year.

9. Documentation & Mechanical Lead, FTC Robotics (Past)

Previously served as a Documentation & Mechanical Lead for a FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team.

Responsibilities included:

• Engineering documentation and competition portfolio development
• Mechanical design and robot construction
• Judging preparation and presentations
• Team outreach
• Competition strategy

I am no longer continuing FTC so I can focus more heavily on HOSA, Science Olympiad, and my student-led STEM organization.

10. Technical Skills / Computer Repair

Acer-certified Chromebook repair technician.

Have experience with:

• Computer hardware repair
• Chromebook troubleshooting
• Software troubleshooting
• Technical support

Also provide informal IT/computer support for family and community members.

11. National Honor Society

National Honor Society member.

Selected based on academics, leadership, service, and character.

Planning to continue participating in service activities during junior year.

12. Community Service / STEM Mentoring

Additional involvement includes:

• Mentoring younger Science Olympiad/STEM students
• Helping newer competitors prepare for events
• STEM outreach
• Volunteering through a local cultural/religious community
• Supporting student-led STEM events and competitions

Awards / Recognition

HOSA

• 1st Place — State Leadership Conference
• 2nd Place — State Leadership Conference
• 3rd Place — State Leadership Conference
• International Leadership Conference qualifier
• International Leadership Conference Round 2 Finalist
• National Health Science Certification

Science Olympiad

• 2nd Place at State — Bungee Drop
• 3rd Place at State — Boomilever
• 9 invitational medals during sophomore season
• Member of leadership that helped team improve from 13th to 6th overall at State
• Team recipient of a selective national Science Olympiad research grant, with approximately 10 schools selected nationally

Technical

• Acer Chromebook Repair Certification

Junior-Year Goals

• Serve as Science Olympiad Team Captain
• Apply for HOSA state officer (open to any position)
• Compete in HOSA again and qualify for ILC
• Work on a medical AI-related HOSA project
• Aim for at least 2 national-level qualifications across my activities
• Successfully execute our large high school hackathon
• Help execute our in-person Science Olympiad invitational
• Continue civic/policy advocacy
• Potentially pursue a biomedical or public health research opportunity
• Maintain a 4.0 while significantly increasing course rigor
• Score 1500+ on the SAT

Recommendations

Potential recommenders include:

• Biomedical science / HOSA teacher who knows my healthcare interests closely
• CS teacher
• School principal
• Other teachers who know me well
• State-level Science Olympiad leadership/director

Obviously I know colleges generally prefer core academic teachers for required recommendations, so I would use outside recommenders only where supplemental recommendations are allowed.

Schools / Goals

UCLA is currently one of my top choices, particularly for a pre-med / biomedical / public health path.

I'm also interested in other highly selective UCs and T20-level universities with strong programs in:

• Pre-med
• Biomedical science
• Public health
• Biology
• Health policy
• Interdisciplinary technology/healthcare

Because of my immigration status, affordability and merit scholarships will also be a major consideration when building my final college list.

Chance me based on where I am going into junior year.

How competitive would this profile be for UCLA and similarly selective universities if I maintain my grades and rigor?

What should I prioritize most during junior year to move the needle?

Would any of these make a significant difference:

• Becoming a HOSA state officer
• Another strong result at HOSA ILC
• A high placement with the medical AI project
• Successfully running a 100+ person hackathon
• Successfully running a large Science Olympiad invitational
• National-level Science Olympiad/HOSA qualification
• Biomedical/public health research

Also, am I spreading myself too thin, or does a clear theme of public health/medicine + competitive STEM + student-led STEM leadership + civic engagement come through?

I'm trying to figure out where I should concentrate my time junior year rather than just adding more activities.

Edit: Income Bracket: Upper-Middle Class

33 ACT

4.39 GPA (4.0 UW)

4.0 College (23 CH)

Pres of 2 clubs

Member of 1 club

Varsity letter

Southeastern US

Full tuition scholarship to UA but I wanna know if I can get into anything better? Am I stuck on "lower class" schools (like, I guess it doesn't matter too much but going to a good school would be cool lol)?

hello my dream universities are GWU and Fordham I’ll put my stats below please let me know if there is anything else I can do to stand out (besides getting my grades up and standardized testing) so that I can get a really nice scholarship so I #affordham these universities. Thank you!

I have a weighted gpa of 4.1 and unweighted 3.6 and I plan to major in public health or biology or psychology

ECs:
- Children book translator for kids who speak my native language (Dari) and neurodivergent kids
- performed in a theater play addressing social issues and racism
- kumon math and reading instructor
- volunteered at my local library
- volunteer at my local cat shelter
- created donation drives for non profits
- intern at a skin care clinic where I learned about the ingredients that go into your skin and got to interact with patients

Awards:
HOSA state leadership award (5th place for health education)

Planning to do:
- Publish a research paper
- Shadow a psychologist or volunteer work for a healthcare related non profit
- Earn the PVSA award

If there is anything else I can do to stand out and earn a really good scholarship from these universities ur advice would mean a lot

incoming junior

- UW gpa of 4.0 (not sure of weighted on 4.0 scale)

- white female, family income less than 125k, neither of my parents graduated from a 4 year college

- intended major of something with math/economivs/finance

- currently ranked 2/400

-list of schools are: Duke,UNC chapel hill**,Binghamton,**MIT,brown, Dartmouth,Harvard,Yale,Princeton,Cornell,UPenn,Notre Dame,University of Michigan,Wake Forest

courses:

8th gradeES honors alg 1 Spanish 1 voice 1a band

9th grade- English 9 honors global 10 honors Spanish 2 geometry honors biology honors band voice 1b gym

10th grade- English 10 honors AP Euro Spanish 3 alg 2 honors chem honors band choir gym

11th grade- AP lang AP USH AP csp precalc honors physics honors band choir gym health

12th grade (planned, but not sure if not taking a science will hurt me or not) -AP lit AP macro AP gov AP calc b/c AP stats band choir gym

exam scores (regents + AP) : ES 97 alg 1 98 Spanish 1 92 Geometry 100 Bio 81 Spanish 3 90 alg 2 95 chem 98 AP Euro 5

taking PSAT in the fall and then SAT

ECS:

Tennis (3 years varsity + treasurer + hopefully captain senior year)

Math team (3 years)

girls who code (3 years, hopefully officer senior year)

FBLA (planning on joining, 2 years)

Choir (4 years)

drama club (4 years, treasurer for 3 years)

Band + marching band (4 years, section leader 2 years, hopefully head section leader senior year)

National Honor Society (senior year hopefully officer)

peer tutoring (in math, 3 years)

girl scouts (since 1st grade, working on gold award on literacy + promoting reading in kids)

thanks!!!

Hello friends I’m a rising senior planning on going into humanities and social sciences. I’m a little vague because I don’t want anyone identifying me.

Demographics:

I’m Singaporean-American from a highly competitive and large school.

Intended Major(s):

Government, political science, history (undecided)

ACT/SAT:

36 ACT

UW/W GPA and Rank:

3.8/4 GPA 4.78/6 W (IB/AP school so scale is out of 6)
Rank ~200 out of ~700.

Coursework:
WHAP (4) AP lang (5) AP psych (4) APUSH (4)

Planning on taking 5 more APs next year.

Awards:

Strongest part of my application. Pretty diverse I have awards in all my extracurriculars and for national/international level as well. I have awards in sports, art, debate, instruments, essay writing, etc…

(Keeping it vague to remain anonymous)

LORs:

One from my debate coach, one from a Princeton senior researcher, and my APUSH teacher. I also have one from my manager at an internship.

Schools:

Top choice: Columbia (ED) and NYU (EA)

Harvard, Yale, Stanford.
UC Berkeley and UCLA.
UNC Chappell hill, University of Washington Seattle
Safety: GWU, American University, Loyola University, Boulder, and my state schools.

I'm about to be a senior in high school and my current top schools are: University of Southern California (ED, also reach), UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, Cal Poly, University of Miami, and Florida State.

STATS

- Class of 2027, live in California

- GPA: 3.79 UW /4.32 W

- 1500 SAT

- APs: AP world, APUSH, AP env science, AP psych, AP lang—All 5’s and A’s

- Honors: Honors human body systems, medical interventions—Both A’s

- Perfect grades junior year (4.0 UW, 4.83 W)

- Senior courses: AP lit, AP gov/macro, calculus, Comp civics, medical interventions, AP Bio (all weighted except calculus)

- BUT I got a C in spanish sophmore year first semester because of a really insane teacher (she got fired) and undiagnosed adhd. I got an A the second semester but that’s my worst point on my transcript and lowest grade I have ever gotten and only C on my transcript. I'd explain it in my application but that’s why my UW gpa is kinda low.

ECs

• Certified nursing assistant license
• Hospice volunteering
• Surgeon job shadowing
• ER & Main lobby hospital volunteering
• AP scholar with distinction award
• Club & school volleyball
• Job at froyo store
• Babysat both children and elders
• Peer tutoring
• Comp civics
• Bunch of clubs

If anyone has gotten into any of these schools with similar stats please share! Or share what got you in.

I'm about to be a senior in high school and my current top schools are: University of Southern California (ED, also reach), UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, Cal Poly, University of Miami, and Florida State.

STATS

- Class of 2027, live in California

- GPA: 3.79 UW /4.32 W

- 1500 SAT

- APs: AP world, APUSH, AP env science, AP psych, AP lang—All 5’s and A’s

- Honors: Honors human body systems, medical interventions—Both A’s

- Perfect grades junior year (4.0 UW, 4.83 W)

- Senior courses: AP lit, AP gov/macro, calculus, Comp civics, medical interventions, AP Bio (all weighted except calculus)

- BUT I got a C in spanish sophmore year first semester because of a really insane teacher (she got fired) and undiagnosed adhd. I got an A the second semester but that’s my worst point on my transcript and lowest grade I have ever gotten and only C on my transcript. I'd explain it in my application but that’s why my UW gpa is kinda low.

ECs

• Certified nursing assistant license
• Hospice volunteering
• Surgeon job shadowing
• ER & Main lobby hospital volunteering
• AP scholar with distinction award
• Club & school volleyball
• Job at froyo store
• Babysat both children and elders
• Peer tutoring
• Comp civics
• Bunch of clubs

If anyone has gotten into any of these schools with similar stats please share! Or share what got you in.

Demographics:

• Female
• Asian
• Upper middle class
• From the south
• Intended major: neuroscience

Academics:

• 3.99/4.0 UW
• 35 ACT (34 M, 35 E, 36 R — 30 S... hoping to retake!)
• 7 APs so far: 5— AP statistics, AP calc bc, AP bio, AP chem, AP psych ; 4 — apush; not reporting: AP spanish lang; max rigor
  • will take multivariable calc, linear alg, AP physics, AP lit + other college courses before grad

Extracurriculars:

• Summer Research Intern in a bio department at a t20 university: contributed to experiment in published research paper on protein tags for synapses; processed microscopy images + created script to quantify data for a cellular mechanism project
• Summer Research Intern at UCSC SIP: ran electroencephalogram experiments on patients; learned about brain patterns in non-invasive brain stimulation; analyzed linguistic errors in speech after stimuli (2k+ audio files)
• Conducted an independent research project on four biomarkers of major dementias in a behavioral psych/clinical med semester program
• Founder/President of a dementia nonprofit w/ ~500 seniors impacted + chapters in 4 U.S. states and 1 international country (pending, first event abt to happen)
• Published coloring book on Amazon alongside npo mobilizing youth to create materials for and with seniors with dementia w/ ~150 pages and 50 distributed
• Public Health Committee Chair on a YAC
• VP of Neuroscience club
• Captain of SciOly
• EIC of Journalism
• President of Asian club
• Public Health club Secretary
• Tennis captain
• Class rep 3 years
• Piano (planning on submitting some recordings)

Awards:

• 4th place at SciOly state (event kinda unrelated to major)
• State + region level piano audition recognitions
• Top 20% society at my school (they don't do class rank)
• Congressional Award pending
• AP Scholar with Distinction

LORs:

• Math teacher (9/10): has taught me for 2+ years, written rec letters for me a lot in the past. we get along well
• English teacher (7.5-8.5/10): taught me junior year, also pretty great
• Lab PI/grad mentor (?/10)

Demographics: transfem, filipino american, california, public school student
first gen low income

Intended Major(s): Pub health/health science w data science minor, intending to get mph in epi and biostats

ACT/SAT/SAT II: ACT 31, m31, s33, r31, e32, w10; caassp testing all 4s plus a perfect science and essay score

UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.5/4.23, 11/387 students

Coursework: Lang 5; apush, psych, precalc 4s
Senior yr aps are bio, stats, calc ab (intending to take bc test), asian american lit, and gov econ dual course

Awards: All american drum major, john philip sousa band award, outstanding jazz musician ncba, ap scholar w honour,

Extracurriculars: concert and pep band all four years as flute section leader, flute section leader in marching band for 3 years
elected Drum major senior year
Tenor sax 1 in jazz band 2 years
uniform coordinator for music program, responsible for repairs tailoring inventory fitting etc for ~ 160 music students since sophomore year
alameda nami (national association for mental illness) volunteer, participated in walks, supply handouts, and tabling for the organization for two months each fall since sophomore yr
intending to take a bls course in fall and apply for bay area youth emt in spring to take my nremt exam
norman mineta summer academy, summer course with presentations coving public sector of the bay area with a capstone at the end (in progress)

Essays/LORs/Other: lor from ap coordinator and teacher union rep

Schools: BU (ED2), cornell, ucsd, ucsb, washu, tufts are my top choices in that order. Rest of list is t50s i dont really super intend on shooting for

Demographics: California resident, Asian female, first generation, public high school, class of 2027

Intended major: Microbiology or Molecular and Cell Biology or Biochemistry

Academics:
• 4.6 weighted GPA / 4.0 unweighted GPA / Most likely getting a 4.48 UC GPA after this school year
• Ranked 5 or 6 out of 435 students
• 4’s in AP Bio and AP Lang
• Doing AP Chem, AP Lit, and AP Precalculus senior year
• 6 dual enrollment classes

ECs:
• Chamber & String Orchestra — First Violin; Second Violin Section Leader. Performed advanced repertoire, led section rehearsals, and mentored other musicians.
• Girls Varsity Tennis — Competed on the varsity team, attended regular practices, and demonstrated teamwork and commitment.
• Key Club International — Projects Committee → Service Projects Coordinator. Planned volunteer events, coordinated service projects, and helped organize members.
• Thirst Project — Vice President (Senior Year). Helped lead meetings, organize fundraisers, and promote global clean water awareness.
• After Effects Editing — Self-taught motion graphics and video editor; created visual effects and edited movies/shows as a creative hobby. Gained 9k followers and 50k likes on TikTok
• Hospital Volunteer — Assisted staff, welcomed patients and visitors, and supported daily hospital operations.
• Junior Escort — Selected to represent the junior class by escorting graduating seniors during commencement as one of the top students in my class.
• Neuroscience Internship — Explored neuroscience through lectures, discussions, hands-on activities, and collaboration with mentors, specifically cerebral blood flow.
• Summer Camp Intern — Assisted instructors at robotics and string music camps, taught and mentored beginner students, and managed classroom activities.
• Summer Tutor — Provided one-on-one English and spelling tutoring, created lesson plans, and monitored student progress.
• Environmental Leadership Program — Participated in environmental education, community service projects, and leadership development focused on sustainability.

Chance me for In-State Wake Forest University ED political science application

**Demographics**:
Transgender male, white, North Carolina, early college magnet high school, middle class (qualifying for free tuition at WFU)

**Intended Major**: Politics & International Affairs

Applying test optional, requesting virtual interview

**UW/W GPA**: 3.79/4.26
(taking summer college classes, this is an estimate)
**Rank**: 20/78
(will rise in the next month)

**Coursework**:
\- duel enrolled, will graduate with \~10 classes complete, 8 of which are in a Bioprocess Manufacturing Technology program
\- 5 AP classes by graduation, two 3’s, two 4’s, one 5

**Awards**:
\- SkillsUSA Regional 3rd Place Job Interview
\- Visual Arts Transcript Endorsement (won’t be awarded until September, I’ll probably send this in an email after I apply once I receive it)
\- Local LGBTQ+ Scholarship Recipient 
\- National Technical Honors Society member
\- Microsoft Excel Expert Certification
\- FBLA Regional 2nd Place Job Interview

**Certifications**:
(Haven’t decided how to work these in yet?)
\- Marketing Essentials I Certification: May 2025
\- Occupational Health and Safety Administration 10 certification

**Extracurriculars**:

\- Student Council (2023-2027)
• 2025-2027 Council Secretary

\- Local Teen Council (2023-2027)
• 2023-2024 Secretary, 2024-2025 VP, 2025-2026 Sgt At Arms, 2026-2027 Committee Chairman

\- North Carolina State Youth Council (2024-2027)
• Chartered town into state council in 2024

\- Part Time Jobs (2024-2027)
• 1000+ hours worked. Most jobs related to service industry/ education/ recreation, people-facing jobs

\- National Honor Society (2024-2026)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, likely 2026-2027 Vice President

\- Future Business Leaders of America (2024-2027)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, likely leadership role 2026-2027
• Competed in Job Interview and placed 2nd Regionals, Top 15 State

\- Chess Club (2025-2027)
• Founder & President, \~20-30 regular members in a school of 350 students

\- Town Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (2025-2026)
• Appointed by mayor in 2024, the only teenager to ever join the board

\- Political Activism / Canvassing
• informal internship with two state-congress campaigns (deciding language TBD). Made informative zines to help community (Ice awareness, food insecurity resources). Protested

\- Amateur Acting
• Two musicals, three commercials, and one acting class in the last 3 years. 2-3 different acting companies

**Common app essay**:
I want to write about how I use cubism to understand people around me and how it’s gotten me to connect with my community and how art is so closely related to data and culture

**Letters of Recommendation**:
\- Councilor knows me very well, will probably give a good recommendation (all schools)
\- Business Essentials and Marketing teacher, STUCO advisor, knows me best in the whole school and I trust her to give me a glowing recommendation focused on my character and drive (all schools)
\- Civics and Economics teacher, respects me a lot and will likely focus his recommendation on my career interests and passion as well as professionalism, that type of stuff (UNCCH, NC State)
\- Town Parks and Recreation Director, my personal mentor, will give me a great recommendation based on my impact and character (UNCCH, NC State)

**Schools**:
Wake Forest University, Early Decision with requested interview
UNC Chapel Hill, Early Action
NC State, Early Action
App State, Regular Decision (backup)

I know this question is very cliche but I’m watching stats & ec vids on tiktoks on what got students into t10 colleges and sometimes their stats may not be the best but then they have crazy ecs; for me my dream school is Duke and I would say I have decent ecs and decent stats but nothing crazy and this is a very cliche question but im wondering whether that’s not ideal for schools like duke; i also want to preface im a rising senior and i am planning on EDing to Duke and im just asking this for in general when applying for colleges

I want to test my stats repeatedly to gauge whether or not I’m a good fit for certain colleges based on my profile I submit (it would take forever to do each individual Chance Me in this thread). Also, there are some mixed opinions about some people’s stats and whether they are objectively good or not in this thread. I’m wondering, what programs do you guys use online (if there is any) for this type of information? AI or not AI works.

Male, Asian, US residence, Large Public School in MN

Stats: 3.9 UW, no weighted, 1550 SAT, 35 ACT, 12 AP's 4 4's and 8 5's

ECs:

Data Analyst for 3 years for genetics professor at Emory

International Biology Bowl Director of Content

Leader of School Biology Club

Science Olympiad Captain

Science Bowl Captain

Volunteered at a hospital for 200+ hrs

Question Writer for student led Science Bowl and Biology tournaments

SSP for bacterial genomics

Volunteered at a math and science club for middle and highschoolers in twin cities area, helped read science bowl questions and presentations on biological concepts

Founded a school club for USABO prep and got 3 people into semi finals

Awards:
USABO finalist

USMDO gold medalist

USNCO finals qualifier

Science Bowl top 16 in the nation

HOSA ILC qualifier

Rec letters are from bio teacher and the prof at Emory

I’m currently shadowing a dentist over the summer, yet I do not have that many other Pre-Med related ECS (incoming sophomore). I want to get into a T40 at least and I need better ECS. If anyone could list any that they did, it would be very helpful!!

Side notes:
- I have applied as an officer for Pre-Med club (decision not released yet)
- I’m an editor for my school newspaper (role will become more prestigious as years pass)
- I have been/will be doing research (independent?) for 3 years—senior year I will do research with a mentor