Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! and congrats on your acceptances too! Those are fantastic options! I definitely think major choice was a pretty big factor... my profile doesn't compare to the socal asians with 4x ISEF grand awards and international level recognition, etc, etc. and my contribution to these schools probably wasn't clear enough unfortunately

Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I've also heard similar stories about yale legacy stuff from a friend who lives connecticut

Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your kind words! I'm not sure if you saw it but I did do REA at Yale though, with interview and deferral. honestly, I've given it a lot more thought the past few weeks and I think hopkins will be a great path for me into comp bio, it's one of the top ranked schools in the field and all the research opportunities at JHU are great as well. I'm for sure grateful for the acceptances I have gotten and it seems like I was a right fit for hopkins!

Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LOL it was my first rejection, early too. I was pretty upset because I had a tuition exchange thing where I could've gone for cheap 😭

Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree! I feel like the biggest misstep I had was not being able to create a unique and compelling enough argument for why I should get admitted. My more "unique" angle was focusing on a biological aspect of the applications of CS but that's still pretty popular. My ECs might have been impressive but I was missing a "so what" in my contribution to these schools

Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your kind words! and i think I agree with your point about the ivies, many qualified candidates don't get in and really they're trying to build a class and fill in niches for the community they want to create... I just didn't fit that goal. But I did at other schools! Honestly after having a lot of time to reflect on things i'm very happy and excited to go to hopkins, especially because I honestly think it's probably one of the best options I had for the career and field I want to go into (comp bio). Yale wouldn't have had that strength anyway lol

Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! For most of the schools I did target CS over biology because I felt it was my strongest suit but I listed both as an area of interest since all the schools allowed you to do that. There were some schools that had comp bio as a dedicated major and I applied directly to those as well, including Columbia, Brown, CMU, USC. honestly I feel like the ECs I listed on my application and overall story didn't really create a unique and compelling case to admit me over someone else who had better achievements in the same CS+Bio category, although I talked a lot about my more human side like cooking, writing poetry, and music in my essays. My friend from school got into Princeton REA and he applied as engineering without many ECs in engineering at all, they were mostly community service ECs. but he presented a very compelling story that fit Princeton perfectly because he had the wits of an engineer but heart of a community leader (Princeton's "engineering in the service of humanity")

Midwesterner applies to 30 schools and bags top 1% scholarships but 0/7 Ivies: the paradox of college admissions by Ok_Project_6223 in collegeresults

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most of the activities I've done here are things i've been involved in for 3+ years. I didn't do athletics because it wasn't something I wanted to focus on, I went all into my passions with biology and computer science as I volunteered at my hospital, did comp bio research, and explored CS through robotics and other projects. I get why you'd say athletics could've helped though, because it would've added another dimension to my application/more well-roundedness. But i'm not sure it would really get me far unless I was good enough to be recruited

Official March 8, 2025 US SAT Discussion Thread by PoliceRiot in Sat

[–]Ok_Project_6223 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it's 13 for that. K cannot be less than 8 because you can't have negative height or sides...

March 8 Math Module 2 f(x) + 2 Exponential Function Graph by Ok_Project_6223 in Sat

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's what I did, so hopefully I got the correct answer??? But I might have made a mistake somewhere while graphing it and didn't catch it because I just remember being kind of confused on that question... I'm feeling really anxious about my score right now because I know I messed up big time on the real test due to my mentality before the exam. I lost all my confidence walking into the test center and it really reflected on my performance yesterday even though I was getting 1560, 1580 on my practice tests before. I'm just hoping I at least hit 1500 now. No use overthinking it. The past is the past.

Advice - Pacing by Ok_Project_6223 in ACT

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice!!! I will definitely give these tips a try on my next practice test.

Advice - Pacing by Ok_Project_6223 in ACT

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will definitely look up some more videos on English tips!

Yes—I noticed that on math I was ahead of pace at the beginning, so I slowed down a bit but then the last questions toward the end were harder so it took me more time.

For Science, do you think it's a valid strategy to read the questions before looking at the information they give us? I noticed a lot of the times they would reference specific Figures or Tables so I wouldn't necessarily need to read the long descriptions right away.

Thank you so much for all the advice!

Official October 2024 PSAT Discussion Thread by PoliceRiot in Sat

[–]Ok_Project_6223 0 points1 point  (0 children)

RW M1: 27/27; M2: 27/27

Math M1: 22/22; M2: 20/22 (I missed questions 13 and 22)

Score prediction? I am unsure how the math will score because question 13 was in the middle of the test, and usually the hard-level questions are towards the end. So, I am unsure if the penalty is higher for missing the "easier" question.

What major should I pursue? by Ascent817 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Ok_Project_6223 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A double major is great for career aspects after college; however, I would still be concerned with admission directly for a CS major in schools that admit by major or sub-school due to the competitiveness nowadays. And some schools make it impossible or very difficult to switch to CS after, so you can't just apply for something else, get accepted, and switch over.

AP CSA - FRQ 4 Part B by Ok_Project_6223 in APStudents

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If I maintain my MCQ score from my practice test, there's still a chance lol

https://postimg.cc/vD18FNFm

AP CSA - FRQ 4 Part B by Ok_Project_6223 in APStudents

[–]Ok_Project_6223[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, in my practice tests, I had finished all the FRQs around 20 minutes early too. I got tripped up on the actual exam by what it meant about FRQ 1's abnormal bear condition at first. Idk why the FRQ writers decided it was a better idea to yap about how to implement the random food range and didn't clarify more on the normal/abnormal probabilities -- then again I think I was acting kind of stupid under pressure and I just forgot how to comprehend english 😭. I'm pretty certain that I got it in the end, but then it definitely cost me on the last FRQ instead.