u/nutslinga

For context I would easily clear the academic bar for athletics, I am 6', 165 lbs, and decently athletic from playing hockey my entire life. I also have nothing but time and could train nonstop for the next few months, but I am a rising senior now.

Demographics: Male, white, Alaska, public school, not low income

Intended Major(s): Environmental Engineering

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 35 ACT (36M, 36R, 33E, 34 Science)

UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.3W, 4.0 UW

Coursework: APs: Precalc, Calc AB, Seminar, Environmental Science, World History, Microecon, Lang and comp, Chem, US History, Psychology

(5s: 2, 4s: 1, other results still coming)

Senior year courseload: DE at local university (Thermodynamics, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Calc II and III, Writing A111, Intro to computer science, calculus based physics) AP Gov online

Awards: weak ik

Rensselaer medalist

Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish)

AP Scholar with distinction

Hopefully Coke Semifinalist

Leadership positions:

Junior Year Class President

Varsity Hockey Assistant Captain

NHS Secretary

Extracurriculars: 

1: United States Senate Page

2: Founded an environmental sensor company that deploys sensors in rural Alaska. Partnered with multiple bush companies, UAA/UAF data sharing, and testimonial letters from users. 6 sensors deployed and 7k revenue.

3: Worked at a mechanic shop for 3 years as a mechanic's apprentice. About 5 hours per week.

4: Interviewed 2 Yale professors on STEM specific environmental problems/solutions in Alaska

5: Varsity Hockey, 2 time tier II state champion

6: 7 years of piano experience, I sometimes play at my church.

7: Model UN delegate

Essays/LORs/Other: Essays I think are pretty solid, definitely not a weak spot.
Recs are going to be mid, I only had most of my teachers for a semester

Schools: 

University of Southern California

United States Air Force Academy

Yale University

Northwestern University

University of Notre Dame

Johns Hopkins University

Harvard University

United States Naval Academy

Boston College

University of Michigan

Dartmouth College

Princeton University

Rutgers University

Cornell University

Duke University

University of Pennsylvania

Brown University

Rice University

University of Virginia

Stanford University

University of California-Berkeley

University of California-Davis

University of California-Irvine

University of California-Los Angeles

University of California-San Diego

University of California-Santa Barbara

Demographics: Male, white, Alaska, public school, not low income

Intended Major(s): Mechanical Engineering

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 35 ACT (36M, 36R, 33E, 34 Science)

UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.3W, 4.0 UW

Coursework: APs: Precalc, Calc AB, Seminar, Environmental Science, World History, Microecon, Lang and comp, Chem, US History, Psychology

Senior year courseload: DE at local university (Calc II and III, Writing A111, Intro to computer science, calculus based physics) AP Gov online

Awards: weak ik

Rensselaer medalist

Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish)

AP Scholar with distinction

Hopefully Coke Semifinalist

Leadership positions:

Junior Year Class President

Varsity Hockey Captain

NHS Secretary

Extracurriculars: 

1: United States Senate Page

2: Founded an environmental sensor company that deploys sensors in rural Alaska. Partnered with multiple bush companies, UAA/UAF data sharing, and testimonial letters from users. 17 sensors deployed and 7k revenue.

3: Worked at a mechanic shop for 3 years as a mechanic's apprentice. About 5 hours per week.

4: Interviewed 2 Yale professors on STEM specific environmental problems/solutions in Alaska

5: Varsity Hockey, 2 time tier II state champion

6: 7 years of piano experience, I sometimes play at my church.

7: Model UN delegate

Essays/LORs/Other: Essays I think are pretty solid, definitely not a weak spot.
Recs are going to be mid, I only had most of my teachers for a semester

Schools: 

University of Southern California

United States Air Force Academy

Yale University

Northwestern University

University of Notre Dame

Johns Hopkins University

Harvard University

United States Naval Academy

Boston College

University of Michigan

Dartmouth College

Princeton University

Rutgers University

Cornell University

Duke University

University of Pennsylvania

Brown University

Rice University

University of Virginia

Stanford University

University of California-Berkeley

University of California-Davis

University of California-Irvine

University of California-Los Angeles

University of California-San Diego

University of California-Santa Barbara

I know there were a ton of people that got the email saying it was going to be late.

Anyone else still have the long message?

How do we know paper ACT will release 23rd? What time?

Test didn't even feel bad so why did my score drop 90 points from the one I took sophomore year.

Demographics:

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: White
• Residence: Suburban
• Income Bracket: full pay
• Type of School: Public
• Hooks: Geographic region (Alaska)

Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering/Environmental Engineering

Academics:

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0, 4.33
• APs: 11 (World History (5), Seminar (3), Precalculus (5), US History (5), Calculus AB (5), Lang and Comp, Environmental Science (4), Psychology, Chemistry, Microecon, Gov) (Scores not listed were either not taken due to enrollment in Senate Page Program or are being taken summer of Junior year)
• Senior Year Courseload: Dual Enrollment at University of Anchorage Alaska (MATH A253 [Calc 2], PHIL A201 [Philosophy], PHYS A213 [Physics 1], CSCE A101 [Intro to computer science])
• SAT: 1520 (780 math, 740 reading writing)

Extracurriculars/Activities:

• United States Senate Semester Page: Selected by a U.S. Senator as the sole Senate Page from Alaska in a national group of about 30 high school juniors. I work 40–60 hours per week while also attending Page School. Duties include preparing the Senate chamber, supporting senators during daily sessions, assisting with floor operations, and getting firsthand exposure to the legislative process.
• Founder of NorthSTAR (Surface Telemetry and Reporting), an LLC where I prototyped, created, and deployed about 25 AWOS (automated weather observation systems) at airfields and lakes throughout the state. Provides real time weather data to pilots to reduce uncertainty in go/no go landing/takeoff decisions. I was inspired to do this after my neighbor died in a plane crash on a lake. Recieved funding from various bodies and the system is currently being used by one bush operator, encouraging results.
• Interviewed 3 Yale professors about climate specific topics, interviews lasted about 1 hour each
• Employment as auto mechanic for four years, low hours, maybe 5 per week, performed duties from preventative maintenance to full engine rebuilds. Conducted a tire swap fundraiser at my local church where I raised about $2,000 for a youth trip.
• Junior Class President: Revised fundraising strategies toward a more efficient model that generated meaningful benefit for the student body, rather than relying on low-yield, charitable efforts such as bake sales.
• Hockey: 2X state champions, assistant captain of my high school varsity hockey team
• NHS Secretary: did pretty generic stuff but I'll write something about it
• Piano: 7 years of practice, I provide piano accompaniment at my church occasionally

Awards/Honors: This is probably my worst section, hoping to get Coke Semifinalist or something in the fall to make this better

• Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish)
• Model UN Best Delegate (small regional conference)
• US Senate Page Sponsorship

Recommendations: These are going to be pretty bad likely, don't know many of my teachers well and I don't think they like me, but I also don't think they dislike me. Going to be super generic.

Personal Statement: Answering prompt 3, about how growing up in unpredictable Alaskan environments made me equate independence with total self-reliance and control. Through my experiences in school and building my aviation weather system, I came to redefine independence as accountability and ownership while still relying on others when needed.

I get a lot of questions on why I did so many humanities ECs when I am applying for STEM, I believe the issues I am interested are heavily involved in both STEM and policy solutions, so I have been interested in both sides of those issues. I think I do a decent job of demonstrating the intersection in my application.

One of my main worries is that my application is too scattered though

Other colleges I'm applying to:

• Air Force Academy
• Boston College
• Brown University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth College
• Duke University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Montana State University
• Northwestern University
• Princeton University
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Michigan
• University of Notre Dame
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Virginia
• Yale University
• Naval Academy
• All UC's

Main Question:
Can I REA Yale?

For context, I want to apply to a few T10s, mostly T20s, for MechE. I believe my application is otherwise competitive, but I want to spend some time (and money) my junior summer on a project car. My goal is to build a 500 wheel horsepower Saab 900. Is this a decent extracurricular in itself or will I just be doing this for fun?

Demographics:

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: White
• Residence: Suburban
• Income Bracket: full pay
• Type of School: Public
• Hooks: Geographic region (Alaska)

Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering/Environmental Engineering

Academics:

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0, 4.33
• APs: 11 (World History (5), Seminar (3), Precalculus (5), US History (5), Calculus AB (5), Lang and Comp, Environmental Science (4), Psychology, Chemistry, Microecon, Gov) (Scores not listed were either not taken due to enrollment in Senate Page Program or are being taken summer of Junior year)
• Senior Year Courseload: Dual Enrollment at University of Anchorage Alaska (MATH A253 [Calc 2], PHIL A201 [Philosophy], PHYS A213 [Physics 1], CSCE A101 [Intro to computer science])
• SAT: 1520 (780 math, 740 reading writing)

Extracurriculars/Activities:

• United States Senate Semester Page: Selected by a U.S. Senator as the sole Senate Page from Alaska in a national group of about 30 high school juniors. I work 40–60 hours per week while also attending Page School. Duties include preparing the Senate chamber, supporting senators during daily sessions, assisting with floor operations, and getting firsthand exposure to the legislative process.
• Founder of NorthSTAR (Surface Telemetry and Reporting), an LLC where I prototyped, created, and deployed about 25 AWOS (automated weather observation systems) at airfields and lakes throughout the state. Provides real time weather data to pilots to reduce uncertainty in go/no go landing/takeoff decisions. I was inspired to do this after my neighbor died in a plane crash on a lake. Recieved funding from various bodies and the system is currently being used by one bush operator, encouraging results.
• Interviewed 3 Yale professors about climate specific topics, interviews lasted about 1 hour each
• Employment as auto mechanic for four years, low hours, maybe 5 per week, performed duties from preventative maintenance to full engine rebuilds. Conducted a tire swap fundraiser at my local church where I raised about $2,000 for a youth trip.
• Junior Class President: Revised fundraising strategies toward a more efficient model that generated meaningful benefit for the student body, rather than relying on low-yield, charitable efforts such as bake sales.
• Hockey: 2X state champions, assistant captain of my high school varsity hockey team
• NHS Secretary: did pretty generic stuff but I'll write something about it
• Piano: 7 years of practice, I provide piano accompaniment at my church occasionally

Awards/Honors: This is probably my worst section, hoping to get Coke Semifinalist or something in the fall to make this better

• Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish)
• Model UN Best Delegate (small regional conference)
• US Senate Page Sponsorship

Recommendations: These are going to be pretty bad likely, don't know many of my teachers well and I don't think they like me, but I also don't think they dislike me. Going to be super generic.

Personal Statement: Answering prompt 3, about how growing up in unpredictable Alaskan environments made me equate independence with total self-reliance and control. Through my experiences in school and building my aviation weather system, I came to redefine independence as accountability and ownership while still relying on others when needed.

I get a lot of questions on why I did so many humanities ECs when I am applying for STEM, I believe the issues I am interested are heavily involved in both STEM and policy solutions, so I have been interested in both sides of those issues. I think I do a decent job of demonstrating the intersection in my application.

One of my main worries is that my application is too scattered though

Other colleges I'm applying to:

• Air Force Academy
• Boston College
• Brown University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth College
• Duke University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Montana State University
• Northwestern University
• Princeton University
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Michigan
• University of Notre Dame
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Virginia
• Yale University
• Naval Academy
• All UC's

Main Question:
Can I REA Yale?