Male/Asian/100-150k/New York
Class Rank: School only ranks if top 10% or not, I'm probably around top 10-15% range, GPA upward trend
My grades are a bit on the low side (for selective colleges), and I've spoken with a friend who is in college right now who has nearly the same degree of disjointed family dynamics (Mom diagnosed with cancer, Dad with alcohol and gambling addiction) which I think brought down my grades, as I basically had to raise my brother by myself and handle certain family finances because my parents didn't do much. They told me that I should include this in the 'Additional Information' section, but I'm not exactly sure if this will mitigate anything.
SAT: 780 E 800 M
Subject Tests: Math II 800
AP Classes --
Sophomore Year: Calculus AB, Chemistry
Junior Year: Calculus BC, Economics, English, Physics C (both), Comp. Sci.,
Senior Year: Multivariable Calc. (not AP, but I thought it was important to include), Biology, Gov. Pol.
ECs
Science Olympiad Captain (2 yrs), did well at states/invitationals with awards
Director of my town's hackathon and SO competition, both with high attendance
School Soccer(Captain of Freshman, JV, not sure about this year on V though)
Club Soccer(Captain, 3 yrs)
Board Member of STEM Outreach program
NHS
Hospital Volunteer (3 hrs/week for a while now, not sure how many hours I have but I was told that the number didn't matter too much anyway)
Summer Things
Internship at local chemical company (sophomore summer)
Internship at national laboratory (junior summer)
Awards/Other Recognitions
PSAT Semifinalist, maybe finalist? My PSAT was 1500 but I don't know what the requirements are.
Some AP Award, forget what it was called, but nothing special at all.
2nd authorship (of 8) in a paper submitted to a peer-reviewed journal that I worked on at the lab (impact factor > 5)
Accepted into conference with the above paper
Essays:
Common App: Pretty good, STEM-relevant but doesn't conform to stereotypical Asian male applicant essay out there.
Why UChicago: Strongest out of all 3, very specific because of my previous involvement and communications with Argonne (another DOE lab that my lab worked with closely)
Writing Supplement: Probably decent, a different take on the "Tell about a time you got caught, or not, if that may be the case."
Supplemental Material: Submitted abstract of peer-reviewed publication
Recs --
Math Teacher: Good
English Teacher: Generic
Guidance Counselor: Probably will be pretty good, I'm meeting with her to talk about my family situation and I will probably be on her better side.
Supplemental Rec: From director of the lab, pretty good but I'm only submitting it to serve the purpose of showing that I actually contributed significantly to the paper.
I've been told that my ECs are pretty strong and that I should apply to selective schools despite my GPA, but I'm not sure. I plan on applying ED1 to UChicago.
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
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