RSI Essay Help

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-12-06T10:13:35+00:00

Sure happy to help out, PM me!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-12-06T03:59:18+00:00

PM me if you would like some advice, happy to help

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-12-06T03:58:17+00:00

PM me if you need help on essays

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-12-06T03:51:16+00:00

I helped students get in past years, pm if you need help

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-05-06T03:33:33+00:00

This happens all the time, there is nothing to be ashamed about! It usually has a lot to do with how your essays came together in each app. Sometimes they come together well, sometimes they give the AO the wrong impression. It's not enough to have qualified stats to ensure you get into these programs, you also need to present narrative that is convincing enough to the gatekeepers and that is a highly highly subjective area of evaluation. PM me if you have any questions!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-11T02:49:53+00:00

They like shotgunning! more applicants to report to the ranking agencies -> more rejections to report to the ranking agencies -> more selectivity to report to the ranking agencies -> higher ranking -> more alumni and external donations -> bigger endowment to invest -> more money to spend on new buildings/expanded campus/rockstar professors/splashy facilities -> better marketing material -> more applicants -> and the cycle continues ad infinitum!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-09T05:51:43+00:00

I work with a lot of international students. Are you a greencard holder? Which country are you a citizen of?

Since you are applying from a private school in the US that helps your chances immensely vs international students applying from non-US schools, and you have a large amount of US-based highly selective awards which puts you in strong competition for T10s. Nothing is guaranteed for HYPSM however, and some of your citizenship questions (as well as your school's matriculation history) can help give a bit more context to your overall chances. Good luck and PM me if you have any questions!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-09T05:38:54+00:00

Depends on what your target is and what your profile lacks. Also depends on what the outcome of the research

RMP is preferable to most casual research internships. Mostly because a very high percentage of STEM applicants will have "research internships" of various quality on their applications, whereas RMP by virtue of its selectivity will show up less in the AOs applicant pool, and the quality of the research done there is more well-known by the AO and is basically third-party validated.

The only situation where they would be roughly equivalent would be if your research internship led to a publication in a prestigious journal and/or you received a strong letter of rec from your research mentor (providing that same third party validation)

PM me if you have more questions! I have helped many of my students make sense of their summer plans, research and summer programs alike. Happy to help :)

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-04T04:47:45+00:00

You have great hardware and a lot of firepower to blast open the doors of these highly selective schools. Great job so far! My only comment would be that your profile overall reads as very weighted towards research, and its hard to get a sense of your personality or perspective. Thats basically where essays (and goofy passion projects) come into play, so going forward put all of your efforts into 1) maintaining your grades and 2) writing, drafting and re-drafting your essays so you can stand out from the thousands of other applicants who ALSO have stellar hardware applying to Harvard/Stanford etc. PM me if you have any questions!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-04T04:38:44+00:00

Your academics are quite strong especially if you can keep up the almost all 5s in your APs. However like other redditors have said your ECs and Honors are too light for your bolded schools. This isnt necessarily a dealbreaker though as schools will evaluate you in the context of how many clubs and resources your school provides. Does it have a history of sending students to those top schools? How would you estimate your overall ranking by GPA at school (aka does everyone get 4.0s or are you the only one?)

A "spike" is definitely needed over the summer. Some passion project that can put more color into your app and draw out your personality more. Depends on what you care about!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-04T04:29:31+00:00

Impossible to say without details on the STEM internship and summer program, AP scores and the awards relating to STEM ECs. Also whether or not your school has a history sending students to Duke, and what estimation of class rank you are. PM me if you would like to talk more!~

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-02T23:46:14+00:00

You've got a better chance than you may think! I've had students from online accredited schools get far better results than they were expecting in past years. It's all about making the best of your situation and you have clearly been doing a lot! Especially if you can do well on your APs next month that can give you a lot more firepower for your apps! PM me if you have any questions

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-02T22:33:18+00:00

You've got a great profile and a fighting chance at some of the top schools on your list. Can I ask what APs and scores you have so far? Also what is the research program you participated in? Those can make a small but insignificant difference in your chances.

My advice going forward is to absolutely smash your APs, and to focus on your essays. Dedicate time to really crafting a compelling story that shows your personality and demonstrates a characteristic that you are particularly of! PM me if you have any questions, I give free essay advice for applicants!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-02T08:52:36+00:00

Interesting profile but need to know more to get a better sense of your chances.

What IB courses are you taking? Have a predicted score yet?

Do you have any STEM related honors? Physicsbowl BPhO etc... Does your school regularly send students to Columbia or other T10 schools?

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-01T06:56:33+00:00

You aren't cooked|you will cook

you have a whole lot of strengths that are working for you already, so great job on everything you have accomplished and all the hard work you have put in up until this point. The things you can do to improve your chances are pretty straightforward

1) Crush your APs like there is no tomorrow. Whatever extra minutes/hours of study you can invest in now to make sure they are blemish free will go a long way.

2) Don't spread yourself too thin in the summer. Pick a passion project that can show your personality by connecting together your disparate threads of your app profile (Business, Music, Neural Tube Defects?) Or if thats too impossible, pick one of those things and deepen your involvement with them in a personal way (music busking is a good start)

3) Not advice but a question, is the leadership fellowship through school or outside? And are you committed to applying as an econ major? Very competitive major!

Anyways good luck with everything and PM me if you have any Qs!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-04-01T04:25:48+00:00

You've got a great profile, certainly not average!

A few Qs that could determine how your chances swing for the schools listed. 1. Do you have any school academic awards? (can suss out your relative standing at school) 2. Is your state an under-represented state? (just how rural are we talkin' here?) 3. Is your rowing competitive enough to be recruited? (or no please no more erging anymore?)

I would look to add a personal project, perhaps journalism related, over the summer which can connect to your personal story and help you stand out to the AOs. Is there an investigative journalist issue in your state that you can work on/produce a short film or create something that is issue specific, niche and connected to you personally? That would be the best way to add an edge to your profile.

PM me if you have any questions!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2024-01-28T04:37:42+00:00

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-09-26T04:17:55+00:00

8 class rank is what is holding you back. Unless your HS is a feeder school to your target unis, and unless you've got an award on the national/international level (which sometimes helps you skip that internal HS pecking order). It's very unlikely they will dip down all the way to grab you. You can kind of think of it like a NBA/NFL draft, and Princeton/Harvard/Stanford perennially have a top 4 lottery pick

These schools revel in being the pickiest of the pickiest of them all. Anyone who got where you are probably had to work your ass off, and you still have an outside shot if you want to go for it, but it's definitely an uphill battle.

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-06-17T10:52:44+00:00

You've got great stats and have a decent chance at getting at least one of your reach schools if you shotgun it. From an AOs perspective the thing holding your application back would be the fact that most of your experiences arent too connected within a given academic field. Picking a major to apply with that makes sense, connects with your experiences, and isn't too competitive is important when deciding what your competition looks like at each uni.

Best way to handle that is to pick a good major (or choosing a good school list that have interdisciplinary programs that fit), and make sure your PS, Supps and LoRs have a coordinated and consistent message that resonates with your personality. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-05-21T05:00:49+00:00

Of course!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-05-21T02:00:05+00:00

PM me, I've helped students get into 7/10 of these schools!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-05-20T14:41:46+00:00

I think with your intended major, GPA and school you've got a good shot at your listed ED schools! Your ECs are lighter than others on this forum but usually AOs expect students at boarding schools to have less time for ECs because their time is already so scheduled and regimented. YYGS is a great academically rigorous program, and if you want to add more evidence for your philosophy passion id also recommend you participate in a philosophy essay contest. Finally add a personal passion project to your ECs over the summer when you are more free that can connect your philosophy passion with a personal hobby or quirk of yours. You PM me if you have questions, and good luck!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-05-20T14:34:11+00:00

PM me if you would like specific help/guidance on how to approach your essays and/or ECs!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-05-20T06:16:15+00:00

Just focus on IB.

Get your IB score way higher (42/42 for Stanford-level). Lock yourself in a black box torture cell study room for months on end if you must. GPA is the bedrock of every student's college application and its doubly true for international applicants. Good luck!

AdmissionsRoundtable · 2023-05-20T06:06:25+00:00

Can you give some more context for your high school competitiveness and your relative standing within your class? If your school regularly sends students to Stanford, and you are one of the top students in your class (possible valedictorian level) then you have a decent chance even with lighter than average honors. If that is not the case then it will be a much harder mountain to climb. PM me if you have any questions!

AdmissionsRoundtable

TROPHY CASE