2
3 years ago
Admissions Advice

Am I on the right track to get into UCLA or Harvard University?
Answered

Am I on the right track to get into UCLA or Harvard University?

Hello, I’m a rising sophomore. I was wondering if my current grades and extracurriculars are setting me on the right path to get into UCLA or Harvard University (I most likely want to major in either biochemistry, global health and policy or do pre-med):

My grades in my freshman classes overall were (I don’t live in the US):

English Language - A

English Literature - A

Maths - A

Science - A

Chinese - A

Psychology - B

History - B

Art - A

For my extracurricular activities:

Presented in an international conference

- Analysed data and wrote my original research paper, was chosen to present at the international conference on a health/medicine topic

- I’m also currently participating in their summer program

Became an international ambassador for a global health organisation

- Wrote for the publication

- Worked with experts and professors on a podcast and published it on Spotify

- Currently working on a curriculum for middle and high school students to implement global health education

A member of the wildlife club at my school

- Learnt about wildlife conservation and habitats

- Rewilding around our school area (bird boxes)

- The club was new this year but I’m aiming for a leadership role next year

I also completed an EdX course on surgical subspecialties.

I was also wondering if anyone could recommend any other extracurricular activities to expand on my interests in health/medicine and other STEM fields (I’m also interested in astrophysics and artificial intelligence), and if there’s anything I could do for my academics (e.g. start preparing for the SAT/ACT, etc.)

Thank you.

incomingsophomores
plans
10th
Admission
2
4
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Accepted Answer
3 years ago[edited]

First, let me say you have an impressive list of ECs for a 9th grader going into 10th. Second, I wouldn't conflate UCLA with Harvard because UCLA is a State public school which is 4 times easier to get into than Harvard at 3.43%.

A better way to group colleges would be:

Ivys (8 Ivys)

Elites (Stanford, UChicago, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke, JHU, MIT, Caltech)

Top Publics (UVA, UMichigan, UCLA, UCBerkeley, UNC, Georgia Tech, College of William & Mary)

Top Liberal Arts Colleges (Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Claremont, Colby, Bowdoin, Wellesley, Barnard, Middlebury, Hamilton, Colgate, Vassar, Carleton, Colorado College)

Near Elites (Tufts, Georgetown, Boston College, Boston University, U of NotreDame, NYU, Carnegie Mellon, NorthEastern, Rice)

And there are at least another 50-100 great colleges.

If you want to pursue health/medicine or STEM, you can do that any of these schools so my advice to you is to keep an open mind, don't focus on just global brands because if you want to be a Dr. or get a Ph.D. you'll have to go to grad school anyway and there are at least 100 schools that can prepare you for that.

As an Int'l student my top advice is the following:

-Start studying for either the SAT or ACT. Figure out which format suits you best and work very hard to get a 99% percentile score, 1520+ SAT, 34+ ACT

-Study very hard for the TOEFL, IELTS, or DuoLingo and get a one of the following respective scores, 105+, 7.5+ or 125+

-Dont get any more Bs. Top school's unweighted GPAs are between 3.90-4.00 so there is only room for 2-3 Bs during your 4 years of HS. It's good to take online courses etc but not if you are not getting straight As. Make sure your academics are solid and then fortify them. Don't be a dabbler.

-If you are planning on applying to Harvard make sure you have - 4 years of Math, 4 years of a Foreign Language (besides English and those spoken at home), 4 years of Science (including an advanced course with labs), 4 years of English, and 3 years of History (including US History and European History). I'm telling you this now because you just finished 9th grade, so plan your curriculum based on these HS requirements. And lastly, the new requirement is to have excellent expository writing skills.

-Course rigor is very important. So if you are at a school that offers APs or IBs, then take 7-11 of them during the next 3 years. If your school doesn't have access to either, then try to figure out if you can transfer to a school that does, or try to have your family agree to support additional learning outside of the classroom through online courses.

-I don't see any physical activity. So it is important to have the mind/body/emotional health connection. You should be doing some kind of sport which is great for building character, strength, teamwork, and leadership.

-Being someone that is charitable, kind, selfless, and concerned for the welfare of others and your community is very important to top colleges. So you should be doing some kinds of ECs that have to do with volunteerism, community service, and addressing global concerns. I'm not talking about clubs. I mean you should show some leadership and involvement outside of school.

-I can't tell what your spike is. So curate some sort of spike that explains why you do what you do. Something that some of your ECs support. It doesn't have to be health or medical-related.

It's clear you are a bright kid but understand that when admit rates are in the single digits, there are many many bright kids that don't have a chance of getting admitted. You have to entice the admissions officers into believing you are singularly a high quality, high caliber individual who has special abilities to make their campus better and the world a better place.

Good Luck with 10th grade. If you have to make adjustments do it now.

2
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Duke University
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UCLA
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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

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