Answered by 黄 蓉
I had a classmate who attended Cornell. He got accepted on barely a 3.90 GPA upon graduation, but we, the top 10 rival group (competing against each other for fractions of our GPAs), suspected it was only because he was titled State Wrestling Champion two consecutive years (10th & 11th grades). I, too, am not a native English citizen (Chinese-Vietnamese) and I got into Princeton University on a 3.989 GPA, with almost similar academic credentials as your list, taking all AP classes during my last 2 years of high school. I had to forgo playing sports by senior year, limiting my activities to only Special Ed teaching and counseling, French Club leader, Peer Counseling, AP French and AP English all-state and national literature competitions, AP Calculus-Based Physics all-state engineering competitions, such as bridge-building project, Knowledge Bowl all-state competitions and leadership role in NHS (National Honor Society). Given your EXCELLENT academic curriculum, SAT score, and extracurricular activities, I would recommend that you apply anyway. Bust your rear end during senior year, but you might need to restrict your extracurricular activities to only those that you are truly passionate about, which WILL make you look BETTER on the application because your personality will SHINE THROUGH on your admissions essay as a strong candidate with a true sense of self. However, IF, for whatever reason, you get the initial “no” answer, DO NOT EVER GIVE UP. Here are 2 methods of my recommendation: 1.Depending upon how much Bush has cut public education fund, find out if your school offers any college level classes that you can take through it, for the PURPOSE of having your school PAY FOR THOSE CLASSES. If they do, then, instead of taking the AP classes, which you MUST PASS the AP exams first in order to get the college credits, you simply take those college level classes DIRECTLY at a local community college or state university. The rules change here, because you will GET THE COLLEGE CREDITS automatically as long as you pass the classes (a C or better). This is good because the ACTUAL college classes are much easier than those AP classes, which will boost your chances of nailing a 4.0 GPA. And you can save a hefty chunk of tuition money and shorten your college years this way. I told a good friend, who graduated 1 year after me, and she used this method and got ALL of her freshman credits done by high school graduation. 2.Now, IF the suggestion above does not work, due to your school policies, then HAVE AT LEAST ONE BACKUP SCHOOL. For the first 2 years of college, you can go to some highly competitive, non-Ivy-League school (to make you LOOK GREAT), such as Boston University or UCLA range, take ALL of the undergrad prerequisites (AT A LOWER TUITION COST), establish your GPA as close to 4.0 as possible, then reapply to an Ivy League school. What REALLY MATTERS is that your DIPLOMA will say you graduated from an Ivy League university. People won't see or care as much about where you went for your freshman and/or sophomore year(s) as they do about the school name on your diploma. 3.Regardless of which method you choose, be prepared with solid letters of recommendations from your teachers (either high school or college) as well as a KNOCKOUT personal essay. Remember, the higher the teacher's position (researchers or other VIP reputation they hold), especially if it's a renowned college professor, the better you will look compared to other candidates. Seriously, if I had discovered method #1 in time, it would have saved me so much tuition cost, sparing me from sleep deprivation during the last 2 high school years. Hope this helps to give you encouragement. Best wishes to your future educational endeavors in this new year ahead.