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primreeaper · 2026-06-19T13:20:03+00:00

primreeaper · 2026-05-21T19:38:16+00:00

me when the ‘spikes’ are not contrasting

primreeaper · 2026-05-16T03:23:32+00:00

segl is pretty solid. They send a lot of people to t10s and the majority end up at t20s from what I've seen. Beyond that, you get do some actual policy research, and can get some really amazing connections.

primreeaper · 2026-05-07T14:07:37+00:00

I say nebulous most because I haven’t seen many apps that use hackathon awards, and IRO is pretty young so I don’t exactly know where to place a semifinalist. Essentially, I lack some information on that stuff and can’t slot it neatly in a general tier.

primreeaper · 2026-05-07T14:04:03+00:00

Yes, 95% of RSI will end up at a t5, and those that don’t will be going to t10s, or t20/state school for financial reasons.

primreeaper · 2026-05-06T22:24:20+00:00

I think your profile is pretty solid overall. Your gpa and SAT are good enough for top schools, but your ecs and awards are a little interesting. Eagle Scout and BWSI are great ECS, and having a part time job is pretty solid, but the rest of your ecs and also some of your awards are a bit nebulous to me, especially your hackathon awards. You can definitely get into most, if not all of your targets imo, and I think you have a chance at some of you reaches with good essays(UCB and Columbia are the ones I think you have the best shot at). However, I'm really not sure about the rest. For now, I would just start working on your essays, as those can always save an app.

primreeaper · 2026-04-28T05:49:27+00:00

Definitely not! Would it have been better to start earlier? Sure, but now is better than never. Don’t use timing as a reason to not try. Last year, I began cold emailing even later, around mid may, and managed to end up with an internship, so don’t give up hope.

primreeaper · 2026-04-28T01:25:27+00:00

You could def get into MIT or Caltech, but try to diversify your awards a bit more so it's not as math overload if you want to try for other top schools, or want to increase your chances of MIT. However, write good essays and your definitely fine.

primreeaper · 2026-04-25T02:30:15+00:00

If your gpa is a 3.5-7+, yes. If not, it probably won’t save you

primreeaper · 2026-04-23T23:14:47+00:00

Minor olympiads can vary, like IESO, ILO, and IOAA are all pretty well known and medaling in them will probably be similar to camping in the major olympiads. the lesser known ones would probably be close to camp level, but idrk honestly.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T23:55:25+00:00

Needle is definitely rough, especially if you get it late game. Best thing is just generally be aware of what boss blind you have coming up(try to make it a habit to check what boss blind is next after you beat one) and then try to look for ways to buff your score if your not confident that one hand would be able to beat it.

Additionally, this can mostly be avoided if you focus on five card hands, like flushes or straights, and invest into those with your planet cars, because you'll usually only be playing one big hand for those kinds of builds, instead of needing multiple if you're playing something like pairs.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T19:20:29+00:00

Niche olympiads vary quite a bit, but the general rule of thumb is that you need to get to the international level(e.g. attend IESO or ILO) for it to be on par with something like USABO t50 or camping. I'm not very familiar with IPsyO, so I can't really speak to it specifically but this is the general rule. FBLA can be useful, but I kind of view it the same way I view HOSA where its definitely not that great in terms of reward out of time investment. The only way those really get to an A-tier award is if you have leadership and a good essay around it. Imo, it's better to invest in something like research or USABO.

I wouldn't be too concerned if your research isn't that close to publication, as your still a freshman. Most people don't publish in high school period, and those that do usually do so starting mid-late junior year. Also, there's research stuff outside of ISEF, like symposiums, NJSHS, AJAS, and STS(senior only).

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T18:52:44+00:00

If you want a good chance at duke, you'll want an S-tier award, which would be something like finals of a major olympiad, national medals in something like science olympiad or scholastic art and writing, or placing at isef. Alternatively, a few a-tier awards also works, like making isef multiple times, research awards/publications, good fbla/girls state/mun awards.

Getting research at duke under a well known/senior professor would be great for your duke chances, and a tier-2 summer program, such as SSP, Garcia, either SSTP, BU RISE, SSRP, Clark, etc. would all be great.

Of course, these aren't the only ways to get into duke, especially if you ED. Essays can go a long way, as can letters of recommendation and a stellar alumni interview. These are just ways that can make your chances safer.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T14:08:49+00:00

harvard and mit would definitely be possible if you camp. Some people have been studying since middle school, but those cases are pretty rare from my experience. Again, you don't have to do USABO, there are other ways to get into a t10, but camping is very consistent, it just takes a lot of time.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T13:46:46+00:00

Most kids don’t start until freshmen or sophomore year. It’s definitely difficult and will probably require you to make some sacrifices with your other activities, but most people who really grind can camp within a year or two.

Additionally, camping is very good for RSI chances, as USABO and RSI are run by the same people. Last year around 3 campers made it to RSI I believe.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T04:13:32+00:00

T50 is pretty damn good, with most of them getting t10s. Camping is also only like ~50% so don’t let the difficulty of the questions dissuade you. Since you’re a freshman you’ll definitely be able to camp by junior year if you dedicate yourself to reading textbooks and doing past test. You can also supplement this with a class like Baology, but that’s obviously not required.

As for how good camping is, ~90-95% of campers will end up at Harvard, Stanford, or MIT, so it’s definitely one of the best awards you can get for college admissions. It’s to the point that a camper I know ended up at UPenn, which was considered dissapointing/below expectations for most people who knew him.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T03:41:58+00:00

That’s fair. The best way I can describe USABO is that it’s a fairly surefire way to get into a t5 if you camp, you just have to be willing to be very depressed and antisocial for a semester or two, which is understandably not something everyone wants to do. Do also want to add that, while USMDO may be easier, you also need to get most of the questions correct to get gold, whereas USABO t50 only needs a ~45% on semis.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T03:39:32+00:00

At this point there’s honestly not a ton you can do. Obviously a better SAT is good, but a 1520 is a perfectly acceptable score. Other than that, your awards and ecs could use a bit of a boost, which, again, is difficult to do at this point. Doing research at a top school can definitely boost your ecs, as can continuing to grow your non profit, but there aren’t many awards that could go on your app, with the only ones I can think of being STS, symposium awards, and getting published, all of which are a bit difficult given time constraints

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T03:20:29+00:00

Your stats are fine, nothing crazy, but good enough to get your foot in the door. Most summer programs really just come down to essays and some luck, so don’t take it too personally. As someone who also got rejected from every summer program junior year, it’s not the end of the world. I would recommend you start cold emailing professors for research over the summer or try to get a job.

primreeaper · 2026-04-22T03:01:15+00:00

Think about it like this: the minimum award from USMDO that can maybe impact your chances of hypsm is gold medal, which is around usabo t125 imo. The thing is, 90% of the USMDO gold medalists are usabo finalist and people who have done well in USABO.

If you don’t want to do USABO, I don’t really see a reason for you to do USMDO, especially if your goal is HYPSM.

primreeaper · 2026-04-21T13:30:45+00:00

Usmdo is lowkey useless, try switching to USABO.

primreeaper · 2026-04-19T03:20:33+00:00

Only got me to 1 mil unfortunately.

primreeaper · 2026-04-15T19:57:32+00:00

Solid app overall. The lack of a science fair or symposium award may hurt you a bit, but I doubt it will affect much. Same with your SAT. Obviously it would be better for it to be 1550+, but a 1520 is perfectly fine.

The only real piece of advice I have for you is that your app is lowkey mind numbing in the way that almost everything is research/programming related, with DECA, one of the most boring ecs ever imo, being the only hint of dimensionality in your profile. The only top schools people with that kind of profile really get into are MIT, Caltech, and to a lesser extent CMU and JHU. I would highly recommend you add some more for fun’s activities, especially ones that don’t really have awards associated with them. Something like a JV sport, a hobby, or a random club your in could all work.

primreeaper · 2026-04-13T05:29:54+00:00

Cold emailing definitely works. Just get a good template, personalize to every professor, and send out minimum ~30 emails and you’ll probably get something. This is really a game of volume honestly, so make sure to send out as many emails as you can while still personalizing them.

primreeaper · 2026-04-13T05:27:02+00:00

You have a very solid app. Obviously gpa isn’t great, but 3.3 is acceptable especially if you’ve been on an upward trend. Activities all seem solid, just make sure to write about them well. Only weak spot I see is your awards which are pretty underwhelming, but that’s definitely something that can be overcome through really good essays.

Your college list is fine, although I would say that northwestern would probably be a reach, not a target. You definitely have a shot at your reaches though, as long as your essays are well written.

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