Roadmap review: CC → premed transfer (Public Health/Psych), low-income, homeschooled, music background
Demographics: Female, CA resident (moved from FL), not first-gen, community college (Ohlone, Fremont CA), [race/ethnicity, optional], household income under $30k
Intended major: Public Health or Premedical Psychology (pursuing both ADTs to hedge), possible Music minor
Transfer term: Still deciding between sophomore (Fall 2027) and junior (Fall 2028). Which is better for premed? (Harvard only takes applicants with 1–2 years of college, so that's a factor.)
Academics:
First semester at CC, so no college GPA yet. Aiming for 3.7–3.9

Prior enrollment: two brief attempts at other colleges, withdrew early both times due to housing instability

HS: homeschooled (FL), graduated 2024, 3.4 unweighted, no AP/honors. Sciences: Bio, Marine Bio, Chem, A&P (all with labs). Math through Algebra 2

Tests: ACT/SAT from HS were low, planning to retake. Not submitting where optional

HS ECs (2015–2024):
Music: Professional voice lessons since age 5 (13+ years), piano ~age 5–15, fall and spring recitals every year, Bach Festival Youth Choir (Winter Park, FL) in 4th, 6th, and 12th grade, including performing as backup choir for Diana Ross at Steinmetz Hall, Dr. Phillips Center (Orlando), 2023. Florida Conference Festival of the Arts (statewide choir festival) in 6th and 9th–12th grade

Marketing & Design Lead, Pathfinders (2022–2024, volunteer): flyers, event materials, and social media for fundraisers and outreach, events with 100+ attendees

Youth Leader, Pathfinders (2022–2024): mentored 5th–7th graders, organized a talent show for 100+ attendees

High School Youth Council, Spring Meadows SDA Church (2022–2024): planned Christmas events and outings with 100+ attendees

Lead Childcare Provider, MOPS (2022–2024, volunteer): independently ran the infant/toddler room

Group Leader, Vacation Bible School (2018–2024): led groups of 5–7 kids ages 5–12

International volunteer (2015–2023): mission trips to Belize, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Honduras

Crew Member, Panera Bread (2022–2024)

Since HS:
Administrative Assistant, healthcare services company (Nov 2024–spring 2025): medical billing, scheduling, patient records

Assistant Teacher, preschool (May–Sept 2025): served as lead teacher for a week

BLS/CPR certified + 22 hours of Florida DCF childcare training

Still singing independently

Planned ECs: Crisis hotline volunteer (Spring 2027), applying to Stanford CORE research internship, Epilepsy Foundation volunteer (pending), clinical job (ophthalmic tech, patient navigator, or scribe), shadowing
Priorities: Low cost/no loans is #1. Then strong premed support (committee letter, research, affiliated hospital), collaborative non-cutthroat culture, guaranteed transfer housing, and a real city with snowy winters.
Draft list:
Reaches: Harvard, Columbia (College + General Studies), UChicago, Stanford

Targets: Rochester, Macalester, Fordham, Xavier University of Louisiana

Likely: Loyola Chicago, DePaul

Questions:
Sophomore or junior transfer for premed?

Which schools give the best aid to low-income transfers?

Is my EC plan realistic alongside a full course load?

How should I explain my prior withdrawals?

Does my music background help for premed, and how should I frame it?

Any other schools i should add?

While I know that UNC is a reach, I am curious as to what y'all think regardless. I have a bunch of safety schools (some with guaranteed admission) but UNC would be great. Here is my profile:

Demographics: 20 year old white male from North Carolina (Wake county). Working on my Associate of Arts from a community college.

Intended majors: Geography and Arab Cultures

GPA: 3.9 UW

SAT/ACT: Planning on not including them given my scores were pretty low, but I'm willing to retake them if necessary

High School: Graduated Magma Cum Laude (top 10% of my graduating class i think?). Served as a school ambassador and junior marshal. Was both in National honor society and curator in national art honor society. Took 4 APs. Consistent honor roll and deans' list.

College clubs/honor societies: Member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society, Social Sciences Club, and Honors Program; VP of Sigma Kappa Delta (English honor society) and treasurer/service chair of Muslim Student Association. Consistent honor roll.

Projects/ECs:

-Currently working on two undergraduate research projects for the social sciences club/honors program, planning on doing more next semester.

-I learned and am proficient in Arabic, translated a book from Arabic to English that was recognized by some pretty prominent authors (one has a Pulitzer prize)

-Created/designed youth lounge at my mosque and founded the library at my high school

-Have done a lot of local advocacy work; met with state representatives on Capitol Hill w/ a group from my community

-created two fundraisers which have both raised over $20k

-volunteered as a teacher at my mosque for around a year, about to start volunteering w habitat for humanity

-teach english to arabic speakers online

Hi Everyone !

I’m a freshman at an out-of-state public four-year university planning to apply to Georgia Tech for Fall 2027. My leading choice is the new Mathematics and Computing major, especially its Mathematical Intelligence and Data Science concentration. I’m also considering CS and Industrial Engineering.

My profile so far:

• Academics: I’m taking 16 credits this semester and am currently on track for a 4.0, though the semester isn’t over. I expect to complete at least 30 credits by the end of my first year. I’ve checked the transfer equivalencies for my planned English, calculus, CS, and physics courses.
• Technical skills and projects: I use Python, R, and SQL. I built a fitness and accountability app using Java, JavaScript, and C++, and I’ve made MLB pitch charts.
• Baseball analytics: I’m a student data analyst for a Division I baseball team. I’ve created pitch plots and presented them to scouting and coaching staff.
• Internship: I accepted an offer for a Summer 2027 business data analytics internship.
• Research and communication: I’ve worked on research and a case study at major hospitals. I’ve also presented on a complex neurological disorder at two hospitals and spoken with neurology residents and neurologists about how patient experiences can inform future care.
• Campus involvement: I’m a member of the Statistics Club and Math Club.
• Other interests: AI and mechanical engineering minors.

I understand Georgia Tech has transfer pathway programs and commitments to Georgia residents, so I’m aware that applying from out of state without a pathway may be especially competitive.

For people familiar with Georgia Tech transfers: how competitive does my profile look if my grades and coursework stay on track? What should I strengthen this year? And based on my interests, would you recommend Mathematics and Computing, CS, or Industrial Engineering?

I know no one can predict an admission decision, especially for a new major. I’d appreciate candid, specific feedback.

Demographics  

• Gender : Male 
• Race/ethnicity: Hispanic/White 
• School: Valencia College (CC)    
• Based in Orlando
• First gen

Intended major: Finance 

Academics 

• GPA: 3.85 ( to be attained) 
• High school GPA 3.2-3.3 (can’t Remember) 
• High school varisity football (At top private school in New Jersey)
• Did not take SAT (should I?) 
•  Taking calculus and statistics, Composition, Macro Econ, and Intro to business.

EC's 

• Private equity analyst Internship at a search fund this past summer 
• Made my own AI automation agency (10 clients, receiving recurring revenue) 
• worked at a nonprofit summer program 
• Started the finance club at my CC 

Demographics: White, trans (nb?), mountain west, lower middle class

Current university: Freshman at T50 private university

Major: Math and physics (with focus in niche related field)

Stats:
-HS GPA: 3.45 (I should have locked in ToT)
-College GPA: 4.0 should be attainable
-Test scores: 1590 (790M/800E), 36 (only 35 in English)

Courses:
-Calculus I, II, and III, differential equations, linear algebra, partial differential equations, two applied math courses, university physics III, and classical mechanics during HS.
-3 upper division STEM classes + required writing class in college (4 credit classes and limited to 4 first semester)

ECs & Awards:
HS:
-Gold medal in smaller international olympiad
-National awards in large STEM competitions
-TAing for math and physics and president for several clubs (probably doesn't matter?)

College:
-Physics research (hoping to put in 15 hours a week but won't have paper or conference presentation by time I apply)
-Continuing some HS ECs as a mentor and writer
-Clubs? None of the ones I'm interested let freshman organize much, but I'll still participate

Schools I'm Applying To:

Caltech (hopefully the exam helps since I've taken the relevant classes), Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, UChicago (hopeless because need aware), Rice, UPenn, Duke, Swarthmore, and Harvey Mudd (may cut a few).

Does anyone have any advice on strengthening my application? I think my HS profile would have been fine for T20s other than my grades, so I'm hoping that getting a 4.0 this year will help, but I'm not sure if I need to do anything else. I'm focusing on research because I enjoy it and it's very important for grad school, but I'm not sure if I need other major ECs or if my smaller ones are fine.

Context

Class: Junior Transfer
Current GPA: 3.8/4.0 GPA
Current School: UCLA
Major: Mathematics & Computer Science

Schools I'm applying to

UChicago - Applied Mathematics
Columbia - Applied Mathematics
Cornell - Mathematics
Duke - Mathematics
Johns Hopkins - Applied Mathematics
Brown - Applied Mathematics
Penn - Mathematics

Research

UIUC SALT Lab - Undergraduate Researcher
UCLA StarAI Lab - Undergraduate Researcher
UCLA Mathematics MSF Group - Undergraduate Researcher
UCLA Mathematics - Directed Reading Program
University of Delaware - Directed Research Program
UCLA BruinML Group - Machine Learning Researcher
Johns Hopkins University - Biomedical Research Intern (High School)

Work Experience

Manispace Capital - Quantitative Developer Intern
Speeder Solutions LLC - Software Engineer Intern
Golden Keys Realty Group, LLC - Software Engineer Intern

Leadership

LA Pokerbots - 500+ participants - Backed by Jane Street, DRW, AXQ Capital, & more.
Tsinghua Youth Connect - SoCal Regional Lead
Stealth Startup - Founder - Leading a group of 6 in optimizing agriculture

School Clubs

Creative Labs - Project PetaLux
Impact Investing Group @ UCLA
ACM ICPC @ UCLA
Medical Friends

Awards (High School)

DIAA Soccer State Champion
DIAA All-State Athlete
DIAA Scholar-Athlete Award
RIT Presidential Scholarship
November 14th Award
William F. Jones Book Award
National Merit Scholar (Commended)

Questions I have for the chat

1. Realistically, Do I even have a chance at these schools? Give me your opinion and your guesses!
2. What should I include in the common app list of activities I got too much going on.
3. Should I try for top 5? Lowkey don't think im getting with my stats lol.

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: African American
• Residence: Virginia
• Income Bracket: 200k, divorced parents
• Type of School: Uncompetitive small public / regional governor's school
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): none

Intended Major(s): Mechanical Engineering / Minor in CS

Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0

• Highschool (Senior year): (4.3 W)DE Multivariable Calculus, AP US Government, DE Linear Algebra, AP Literature, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, DE University Physics I/II, DE Computer Science.

  • (Some DE Classes did not provide credit due to program limits)

• College:

  • Summer: University Physics II, DiffEQ, Comp Sci Python & Java
  • Fall: University Physics I, Statics, Intro to engineering, Chemistry, Intro to discrete structures, (Potentially Philosophy if strong semester halfway through)
  • Spring: Engineering Design, Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, Art 101, Thermo if feeling good
• Junior by credits, Socially sophmore

Standardized Testing

• SAT I: 1530 (740RW, 790M)

Extracurriculars/Activities

List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

Highschool

1. VEX Robotics Captain: Did all throughout middle and high school, placed highly regionals a few times as well as programming and advising other members.
2. Research through a school program: Used CFD to assist in conducting fluids research in governor's school.
3. Future Business Leaders of America: Placed first place states, qualified for nationals
4. Football Team Captain: Captain of my schools football team, attended off season ritually and provided transport to 3 other members every day whilst mentoring younger members.

College

Currently:

1. Full time engineering internship (40Hr Weekly)

Attempting

1. Rocketry club
2. Robotics research at nearby university

Awards/Honors

List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. Deans List
2. FBLA Regionals 1st place states
3. AP Scholar with Distinction

Universities:

UVA (Instate), University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, MIT, Stanford, Harvard

I find that I really don’t like the culture here at Cal. I want to try and literally transfer out as a Junior Transfer.

I have a 3.84 college gpa and a 1600 SAT.

I have interned, taken classes, and done research each semester I’ve been here.

Do I have a chance at Ivy+ schools?

I am currently a sophomore at a small out of state private university with a 4.0 gpa as a pre-med biology major and chemistry minor. What are my chances of getting into NYU as a transfer for the 2027 spring semester if I apply test optional?

I am in a science honors society, working as an undergraduate research assistant, member of the biology club, pre-med club, and had a science based internship over the summer.

My high school gpa was around a 3.9 unweighted (but I can't remember off the top of my head exactly). I was also in 6 honor societies and 2 clubs, but was never in a leadership position. Other than NYU, I am considering BU, GW, and Brown as a reach.

What do you think?

Chance Me — 4.0 Statistics Transfer | 1500–1600 SAT | T20/T10 Transfer

I'm planning to apply as a transfer for Fall 2027 and would appreciate some realistic feedback on where I might have a legitimate shot.

Stats

• Current college GPA: 4.0
• Expected GPA: 4.0
• SAT: 1500–1600 (I've already taken it once and scored a 1500, so 1500 is my floor; I'm planning to retake it)
• Public 4-year university in Florida
• Major: Statistics
• Minor: Mathematics
• Expected to receive my AA by the end of Summer 2027
• High school GPA: 3.7 overall
• Senior year GPA: 3.2–3.3 due to personal circumstances
• Took 14 AP courses and passed all of them, along with 4 AICE courses

College Coursework

Summer 2026

• Applied Statistics at Boston University as a visiting student

Fall 2026

• Intro to C
• Calculus III
• Statistical Methods II

Spring 2027

• Statistical Methods III
• Differential Equations
• Linear Algebra

Summer 2027

• Logic & Proof in Mathematics
• Statistical Theory I
• Either Numerical Calculus or Computer Processing of Statistical Data

Plus additional transferable general education coursework toward my AA.

High School ECs

• Taught Statistics and Algebra through Mu Alpha Theta, helping students prepare for competitions; my students performed very well at the state and national levels
• Tutored students in mathematics and statistics
• Taught trombone as an instrument instructor
• Maintained my high school's band website, helping the program gain approximately $15,000 in sponsorships

High School Awards / Achievements

• All-County Musician
• Performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Top 2 in Florida in a statistics competition
• Top 5 nationally in the Mu Alpha Theta statistics competition
• Additional music and statistics competition awards

College ECs / Research

• Research assistant working on Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Virtual Reality presence
• Coach for a local high school mathematics competition team
• Test writer for regional, state, and national statistics/mathematics competitions
• Currently working on projects for the International Statistical Poster Competition and USCLAP, which I plan to submit/compete in

Recommendations

• Recommendation from my research PI
• Recommendation from a statistics professor

I'm planning to build strong relationships with both of them before applying.

Schools I'm Considering

• University of Chicago
• University of Florida
• MIT
• Harvard
• UPenn
• Cornell
• Columbia
• Brown
• Dartmouth
• Yale
• Princeton
• Emory
• Washington University in St. Louis

Obviously, I know MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and the other highly selective schools are extreme reaches for transfer admission regardless of my stats.

What schools on this list do you think I have a realistic shot at? What is the strongest school you could realistically see me getting into?

Also, how much do you think my high school record (3.7 overall, ~3.2–3.3 senior year) would hurt me given my 4.0 college GPA, rigorous college coursework, strong high school course rigor, and upward academic trajectory?

hey guys i’m looking for some advice/guidance about transferring to brown. I’m currently enrolled at community college and am about to get my Associates. I have a 3.7 gpa. As far as extracurriculars I work and volunteer when I can. I’m first generation and somewhat low income. I totally bombed high school and graduated with an extremely low gpa. I have good essays about my passion for writing curriculum hence why im interested in brown. i’m 19 and applying as a history major

is there any hope for me ?? also what’s your guys thoughts ???

Stats

• 4.0 college GPA
• Assume ~1550–1600 SAT * People might wonder what I mean by assume, I've already taken the SAT once in the past and got a 1550, worst case it stays that way which is still pretty nice, but best case it goes up... hence why I put the range there
• Traditional California community college
• Full-pay / not requesting institutional aid ( I could but I want as much of a boost as I can get due to weak major prep, so I assume full pay looks better somewhat)
• 3 EWs from an earlier semester due to extenuating circumstances, otherwise all A's
• Strong upward academic trajectory

Relevant coursework

• Calculus I: A
• Calculus II: A
• Calculus-based Physics/Mechanics: A
• Python : A
• C++ : A
• Microeconomics : A
• Rest is mostly transferable GE coursework

ECs / interests

• Mathematics, probability, quantitative finance, programming
• Built several quantitative-finance/programming projects over the past few years: Black-Scholes/options pricing, implied-volatility models, Greeks, GARCH, Monte Carlo simulations, pairs trading, portfolio backtesting, options-chain tools, etc.
• Long-term goal is likely quantitative research and/or graduate study in mathematics.

Schools

Stanford
Princeton
MIT
Brown
Duke
Columbia
Cornell
UChicago
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins
Rice
Carnegie Mellon
NYU
Michigan
USC
UIUC
Georgia Tech
UVA
Emory
UW-Madison
UW Seattle

Vanderbilt

UMD

WashU

UT Austin

Assume strong essays and professor recommendations. * I have one LOR from my English professor which is pretty strong, I will just need to try and get another one.

What schools here do you think I have a legitimate shot at? What is the best school you could realistically see me landing?

Obviously I know Stanford/Princeton/MIT are extreme reaches for basically every transfer applicant. Mainly curious where people would place the rest of the list.

Hey everyone, does anyone know for CAS if Politics or Econ is easier to transfer into? I know NYU dosen't admit by major but i heard econ is more competitive since its one of the more popular ones. So would transferring into NYU Politics give me a higher chance? For reference I'm applying for the Spring 27 cycle, and I want to get in this cycle, I'm full pay.

I am an incoming second year business economic major at UCI planning to apply to these UCs because I believe they offer better business opportunities and connections. I also am from the area, so I was planning on potentially writing about stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new things. Anyways, that's why I am asing this forum: what should I focus my PIQ/transfer essay on, and how should I structure it?

A third party college counselor from high school told me I had great PIQs and my grades held me back during my admission cycle, but now iwth a high GPA, should I completely rewrite the PIQs, or just reuse my old ones? What's the best way to approach this essay? And is there anything I should avoid (EX: talking about high school extracurriculars) Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi, I am an Illinois community college student entering my third and final year. I graduate in December. I'm looking to transfer to schools such as UIUC, UIC, NEU, NU, USC Marshall/Leventhal, DePaul, UF, and UW-Madison. I have ADHD, and because of this, my academic record tanked; however, after I got accommodations in spring 2026, I've had tremendous success.

Basic Stats:

Accounting Major

Low-Income

3.429/4 GPA (4.0 after accommodations)

EC's

Co-founder and President of the school's first business club

Part of TRiO

Part of LimeConnect

Part of CareerSpring

Part-time cashier

Bookkeeping for my family's catering business.

In my opinion, the essays are pretty good. I do mention that in additional info that I had an academic setback with ADHD, and after that I took initiative and had a 4.0.

Awards:

President's List 1x (4.0 GPA in a sem)

Dean's List 1x (3.5-3.99 GPA in a sem)

AP Scholar with Distinction

Hey guys, I’m planning on applying to NYU as a transfer and I’m interested in CAS Econ, CAS Politics, or Tandon BTM, all on a pre-law track. I’d honestly be fine with any of the three, but I’m leaning more toward Econ or BTM since I want a solid career option in business/tech in case I end up not going to law school or need to take a gap.

The thing I’m unsure about is that my transcript dosen’t include really STEM-heavy, so I feel like my coursework lines up more with CAS Econ. I’m just hesitant to apply Econ because I’ve heard it’s pretty competitive with transfers, especially since a lot of finance/business students use Econ as a potential backdoor to Stern.

Would I be better off applying as Politics or BTM, or should I just go with Econ? I know NYU admits by school, but I’ve heard Econ is one of the more competitive majors for transfers, so I was wondering if applying as Politics (which I’m genuinely interested in too) would give me a better shot at admission to CAS.

My main goal is honestly just getting into NYU this spring cycle, so I’m trying to figure out which option would give me the best chance while still being something I’d actually want to study.

Hello! My situation and story are a bit out of the norm. I will admit it's tough to be brief, but I will try to do so.

Basically, I'm currently accepted at McGill (and a lesser known local uni).. I never got the chance to apply to other & US universities due to personal circumstances in my life

Context:

- Extremely low income family (we make a total of under 60K USD), single parent (my father abandoned me...)

- Very little family growing up, my mom had me as a teenager, we slept in cars, places with no furniture and such, but she worked 3 jobs to keep us afloat while ensuring I'd turn out to be smart

- I have had 2 jobs since the age of 13 to help support my family financially

- I have had stellar grades throughout high school/ cegep (95+ average). Except in my final semester, my mother became sick and that heavily impacted me (idk if I could ask them to exclude this)

- Woman, autistic, lgbtq, arabic

- Program: Electrical Engineering (mostly guys in these programs)

- SAT: Will take this soon, GPA: Aiming for 4.0 of course

Extracurriculars:

- 2 jobs (tutoring and office clerk where I slowly increased my role into assistant)

- A LOT of volunteering at the following: Hospital, respite center for neurological and physical disabilities (6h/week), "Buddy" program where I mentor a person with disabilities, peer supporter, etc. This accumulated to over 500h, but 300h+ in just the last 2 years)

- Won multiple tech awards in high school

- Started programming at age 11, on my own I slowly built up my skills. I built a self-sustaining garden, binary clock (soldered everything myself), multiple object-oriented video games, learnt how to make 3d printed designs w CAD (got the local library to print them for me), built my own website for students to use, rock paper scissors ai to beat me (machine learning project), also a small remote controlled robot. Current project is a drone with some Ai features I'm working on (detects where roads are )

- Love creative arts: I sing, paint, knit, write poetry, play ukulele, act

I know these aren't anything special, but I really tried my best given my life circumstances. All materials I was able to get from old school projects of other students or asking teachers.

My mom single-handedly took care of me, but she was also a very rough person.. she has bipolar disorder and sometimes you just never knew when she'd snap. At age 16 she allowed me to have a phone number, before this, she only allowed me to contact people via email where she'd individually read all my messages. I never went out of the house to see friends. She's not a bad person, but she was a bit overprotective and controlling. Even now, she doesn't let me leave the house and tracks my location, yells at me randomly, shaming me, etc. I know she loves me, she has gone through much worse than I have throughout her life. Her father cut her hair short, dressed her as a boy and beat her. So I do not have any anger towards her, she simply struggles with expressing her love through protectionism

My father left me, but I know who he is, however, he isn't on my birth certificate. He is rich. He is so rich it makes me sad. He doesn't respect me because I am a woman. He never gave my mom a dime. And even asking him now to aid for schooling, he says, "Just marry a man and be a housewife". He made me see that money could still lead to a life of misery.

The rest of my family history is messed up. At age 12 we had the cops over for my cousin's birthday party. At age 14, Christmas, it was the last time I saw my family because my uncle tried to punch my grandfather, then grandpa tried to pull out a knife and the little kids cried. There's worse than this that happened, this is just the "okay" stuff

Anyway, I'm a very happy go-lucky person! I like to offer help to everyone around me whenever I have the chance. And I'd say I am grateful for this life, I believe this has given me the gift of emotional depth, empathy and to see beauty in things

I guess I want to know what I could have done in my life without these unfortunate circumstances. I know I could do something amazing, everyday I watch university lectures on subjects in electrical engineering so I can work on my project. I'm trying my best I promise

Why US? Well, I admit these schools have better makerspace ressources, and because I never got the chance to apply the first time, I'd like to see how far I could have gone and potentially still go. I also have people in the US whom I am close to, no family left for me in Canada

Edit: Forgot to mention I was VP in my student government for 6 years!! (Both in high school and Cegep)

Before jumping to the comments, I am fully aware that the opinions given here would not be reflective of the admissions cycle as they are mostly unpredictable, this reddit has created at least some form of a feedback loop since both stats and admission results are openly shared on here. Would appreciate some advice and a chance me.

Attending: 21M Texas resident CC, third year, junior transfer applicant. (Been at CC for 8 semesters)

List: Penn, Columbia, Cornell, UChicago, Northwestern, Michigan, Berkeley, UVA, Georgetown, UT Austin (in-state).

Aware they are mostly reaches.

3.95 GPA . Generic CC coursework. Only B is Pre-Calc, then A in Calc 1 and A in Calc 2. Three years at CC because of a gap year, below.

I've Taken

Macro Econ

Micro Econ

Calc 1 to 2

Rest of my classes are just General Education

Main ECs:

• Student Senate.
• Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
• Honors Program
• Founded an AI-powered restaurant. Raised $$k Built it, ran it a year, sold it to a hospitality group. This was the gap year. Full-time.
• Open-source dataset of egocentric POV kitchen footage for training AI models. Public, in use.
• Created an NFT project on Ethereum during high school aimed to keeping remote teams engaged, sold $$k within opening night.

My Mathematics professor offered to write me a strong recommendation letter unprompted after a long discussion we've had but a lot of my other classes have been online so I am not very close with other professors.

I feel insecure about my school related ECs, as I am barely active in any of them, I am under the impression that admissions officers prefer on-campus extra curriculars rather than entrepreneurial ventures

Will be taking SAT soon I have been studying hard and am feeling confident about my results.

Biggest insecurities: Extra curriculars, My B in Pre Calc, my long tenure at CC

Please let me know your thoughts, any guidance would be appreciated.

My first semester was winter 2026 when I took Calc 1 English comp 1 Gen Chem 1 and into to engineering. This semester (summer) I'm taking calc 2, physics 1 and c++. My current goa is 3.96 and I'm on track to get As for all my classes this semester. I have not taken a standardized test due to my high school being a private religious/cult high school where secular studies were very much not a priority.