[Ishcabible]

I'm pretty interested too. That deal never would have worked with me.

 

[Cakensaur]

I'm 18, just turned.
In Sixth form (UK equiv of a Senior in High School)
 
My gear:
Hd650
Q701
Dt770
Sr225i
Sr80i ( which i have modded )
Denon AHD-1100
 
Schiit modi, Little dot MK IV (with voshkod driver tubes), MK I+ (with MK IV stock tubes) and a Digizoid ZO2 and a nice set of bookshelf speakers.

 

[ledrummer]

14 years old
 
8th grade
 
Gear: Philips Ctisicape downtown, i´m trying to trade it because honestly, i wasn´t really impressed by the sound.

 

[Xinze]

Quote:

If you will indulge me, what University did you get accepted to, and with what GPA (weighted/unweighted) and SAT score (out of 2400)? Your post seems to be misleading, mainly because you say you had a low GPA, but as an Asian myself, I know that standards are completely different. Is your high school one of the top in the nation, do you have legacy/connections, or have you perhaps accomplished something extraordinary (Intel?). If you would be willing to explain a bit, please PM me, or respond to this post!

My high school is ranked 400th in the nation, it's also public so nothing spectacular. Best in where I live though. I had a 89% GPA with a few honors and only one AP (US History) until senior year. Class rank barely top 50%. Consistent mid-low 80s in math (non honors, one year ahead) and 80s in English (regular), padded by 90s in elective and science courses. I had an upward trend too, matters a bit. Went up 2 points a year starting at 86 in 8th grade HS courses to 92 JR year. Not saying much though, all I did was take more blow off courses like Humanities, Psychology, and other classes that gave you 100 for showing up. My transcript pretty much screamed "LAZY BUM".
 
Got into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (#41 overall, but it's an engineering-centered school, so it's ranked much higher among other engineering schools) for Mechanical Engineering, which is their highest rated and most competitive engineering program. Deferred from Case Western Reserve (Also in the high 30s, low 40s), but if I sent them my senior year midyear report, I would have definitely gotten in. 
 
1510 on the SAT (2200/2400, most colleges don't look at writing, so I didn't study at all for it), which is a chunk above both the schools 75th percentile. Without that I would have been hopeless applying and probably ended up going to my local SUNY (Not bad by any standards, but hey).
 
Zero legacy or legal connections, applied for financial aid, no "hooks" really, but my essay was really well written.
 
I would say that although GPA and class rank are usually the biggest "slice" of importance, a lot of people underestimate a high SAT/ACT score combined with a continuous upward trend. Add a well written essay, some good recommendations, and you're easily competitive for every college beneath top 20. It really makes up for lacking grades, even though they say it doesn't. Of course, this doesn't apply to the top 20s. For those places, it's a coin flip for even the best of candidates. 
 
It's unfair really, a single (or three) Saturday afternoons weighs just as much of 4 years of high school work. I literally did nothing in high school, my averages were all made up of 0s in homework and high 90s on tests. I know kids that worked five times as hard as I am but still couldn't get to their college of choice just because they didn't do as well on the SAT. 
 
To compare, the average kid at my future college has around 3-6 AP courses, an A- high school average, and SAT average of around 1400 . 70% was in the top 10% of their high school class. I have a friend there, and he says there are TONS of people who had top notch schools like MIT, CalT, and Stanford as their main goals, but got rejected and ended up here. I had lower grades than everyone in easier classes, and my class rank is on the bottom 10% of their accepted students. All I had extra in me was 110 points on the SAT. That's what... 8 more questions right than the standard kid attending kid?
 
 
Edited for grammar. I'm seriously awful at it.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Quote:

Just 18 here
 
High School Senior
 
Gear:
Beyer DT770 Pro - Soon to be sold
Hifiman He-400 - Soon to be sold
Westone 4 - Soon to be (unfortunately) sold
JDS Labs C421 - Soon to be sold
Asus Xonar STX - This thing's beautiful
ATH M50 - So overrated, soon to be sold
 
Selling all of my stuffs for a UM Miracle, knowing myself, I'll probably get them lost or stolen before Senior year ends.
 
To all those younger teenagers in the states wondering how to get the money without (really) working: Make a bet with your parents on your SAT score. Do a tiny bit of research and show them that score increases of 100 points (out of 1600) will entirely change the game and may get you accepted into that "good" college they always nag you about, fetch thousands $$s of scholarships, or both. Seriously, for 95% of colleges here in the states, all colleges look at is class rank, gpa, and SAT scores. That test which is dreaded by so many is your one chance to stand out and above the rest in just one afternoon's time. Anyone can get a fairly impressive 3.7+ GPA in high school depending on their classes, but if you get a 1400 on Math and Reading, almost guaranteed admission into most public universities out there, and will be in the lower range of the more competitive ones.
 
To parents wondering if I'm spoiled: No. Well, actually just a bit. It's a family tradition (more of an Asian tradition) to send their kid to the best college that they can get into. So naturally, they're willing to bribe me to do better. It's a double win, your kid gets cash and becomes a more competitive student for colleges, and you save more money in the long run, and can brag that your kid got X on the SAT or got into XX university. Offer your kid money to study for the SAT, and increasing amounts depending on how well he does.
 
Source: Never worked a day in my life. I earned around $1,000 from my parents for doing well on the SAT. Their investment paid off as I got into a top 50 with a seriously pathetic GPA, along with a massive scholarship. It can be mostly accredited to my SAT score, without it, I wouldn't even have been considered.

You sir, need a grammy....i'm glad you saw the light 

 

[jkxs]

My high school is ranked 400th in the nation, it's also public so nothing spectacular. Best in where I live though. I had a 89% GPA with a few honors and only one AP (US History) until senior year. Class rank barely top 50%. Consistent mid-low 80s in math (non honors, one year ahead) and 80s in English (regular), padded by 90s in elective and science courses. I had an upward trend too, matters a bit. Went up 2 points a year starting at 86 in 8th grade HS courses to 92 JR year. Not saying much though, all I did was take more blow off courses like Humanities, Psychology, and other classes that gave you 100 for showing up. My transcript pretty much screamed "LAZY BUM".

Got into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (#41 overall, but it's an engineering-centered school, so it's ranked much higher among other engineering schools) for Mechanical Engineering, which is their highest rated and most competitive engineering program. Deferred from Case Western Reserve (Also in the high 30s, low 40s), but if I sent them my senior year midyear report, I would have definitely gotten in. 

1510 on the SAT (2200/2400, most colleges don't look at writing, so I didn't study at all for it), which is a chunk above both the schools 75th percentile. Without that I would have been hopeless applying and probably ended up going to my local SUNY (Not bad by any standards, but hey).

Zero legacy or legal connections, applied for financial aid, no "hooks" really, but my essay was really well written.

I would say that although GPA and class rank are usually the biggest "slice" of importance, a lot of people underestimate a high SAT/ACT score combined with a continuous upward trend. Add a well written essay, some good recommendations, and you're easily competitive for every college beneath top 20. It really makes up for lacking grades, even though they say it doesn't. Of course, this doesn't apply to the top 20s. For those places, it's a coin flip for even the best of candidates. 


It's unfair really, a single (or three) Saturday afternoons weighs just as much of 4 years of high school work. I literally did nothing in high school, my averages were all made up of 0s in homework and high 90s on tests. I know kids that worked five times as hard as I am but still couldn't get to their college of choice just because they didn't do as well on the SAT. 


To compare, the average kid at my future college has around 3-6 AP courses, an A- high school average, and SAT average of around 1400 . 70% was in the top 10% of their high school class. I have a friend there, and he says there are TONS of people who had top notch schools like MIT, CalT, and Stanford as their main goals, but got rejected and ended up here. 
I had lower grades than everyone in easier classes, and my class rank is on the bottom 10% of their accepted students. All I had extra in me was 110 points on the SAT. That's what... 8 more questions right than the standard kid attending kid?



Edited for grammar. I'm seriously awful at it.

Thanks for your detailed reply. Did you take a look at college confidential before you applied? Real downer huh? Wondering because I'm in kind of the same boat as you - high SAT, low GPA. Sort of a late bloomer, but I've accepted that I can only try harder in the future, for what its worth.

 

[Ishcabible]

It should be a rule for high school juniors to never look at College Confidential. I assured myself I'd never get accepted anywhere when I looked at posts there.
 
Also, don't worry too much about a low GPA. I came into junior year with a 3.4ish GPA (unweighted), a 30 on the ACT (32 superscored) and 1960 on the SAT and still managed to get into Boston University's engineering program through early decision. You'd be surprised how nice colleges can be if your essays are fantastic. Just get your essays proofread by everyone you know.

 

[Xinze]

Quote:

It should be a rule for high school juniors to never look at College Confidential. I assured myself I'd never get accepted anywhere when I looked at posts there.
 
Also, don't worry too much about a low GPA. I came into junior year with a 3.4ish GPA (unweighted), a 30 on the ACT (32 superscored) and 1960 on the SAT and still managed to get into Boston University's engineering program through early decision. You'd be surprised how nice colleges can be if your essays are fantastic. Just get your essays proofread by everyone you know.

Actually, I spent quite a bit of time on CC. It's a nice reality check. Also, a 30 is 75th percentile, 32 beyond that for BU, so you're among the highest scorers there. I'd assume your GPA is from more science and math AP classes though.

 

[Ishcabible]

Nope; my school doesn't offer AP science/math classes before senior year. I just slacked, which is pretty bad, but eh I raised it by .2 during my junior year.

 

[fizzix]

Quote:

Just 18 here
 
High School Senior
 
Gear:
Beyer DT770 Pro - Soon to be sold
Hifiman He-400 - Soon to be sold
Westone 4 - Soon to be (unfortunately) sold
JDS Labs C421 - Soon to be sold
Asus Xonar STX - This thing's beautiful
ATH M50 - So overrated, soon to be sold
 
Selling all of my stuffs for a UM Miracle, knowing myself, I'll probably get them lost or stolen before Senior year ends.
 
To all those younger teenagers in the states wondering how to get the money without (really) working: Make a bet with your parents on your SAT score. Do a tiny bit of research and show them that score increases of 100 points (out of 1600) will entirely change the game and may get you accepted into that "good" college they always nag you about, fetch thousands $$s of scholarships, or both. Seriously, for 95% of colleges here in the states, all colleges look at is class rank, gpa, and SAT scores. That test which is dreaded by so many is your one chance to stand out and above the rest in just one afternoon's time. Anyone can get a fairly impressive 3.7+ GPA in high school depending on their classes, but if you get a 1400 on Math and Reading, almost guaranteed admission into most public universities out there, and will be in the lower range of the more competitive ones.
 
To parents wondering if I'm spoiled: No. Well, actually just a bit. It's a family tradition (more of an Asian tradition) to send their kid to the best college that they can get into. So naturally, they're willing to bribe me to do better. It's a double win, your kid gets cash and becomes a more competitive student for colleges, and you save more money in the long run, and can brag that your kid got X on the SAT or got into XX university. Offer your kid money to study for the SAT, and increasing amounts depending on how well he does.
 
Source: Never worked a day in my life. I earned around $1,000 from my parents for doing well on the SAT. Their investment paid off as I got into a top 50 with a seriously pathetic GPA, along with a massive scholarship. It can be mostly accredited to my SAT score, without it, I wouldn't even have been considered.

A kid needing monetary incentive for personal indulgence over academic excellence is much more than just a bit of spoiled. I guess the usual stereotypes of asian and asian families have changed a lot. I'm betting thermodynamics, electrostatics, and linear algebra will rock your world in a couple years.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

A kid needing monetary incentive for personal indulgence over academic excellence is much more than just a bit of spoiled. I guess the usual stereotypes of asian and asian families have changed a lot. I'm betting thermodynamics, electrostatics, and linear algebra will rock your world in a couple years.

Just him, perhaps? My parents never gave me anything except red bag money. They didn't mind paying for anything I could argue successfully for however, though that had nothing to do with academic excellence, which was expected to be achieved without question.

 

[Xinze]

Quote:

A kid needing monetary incentive for personal indulgence over academic excellence is much more than just a bit of spoiled. I guess the usual stereotypes of asian and asian families have changed a lot. I'm betting thermodynamics, electrostatics, and linear algebra will rock your world in a couple years.

 
Needing? I didn't actually need it at all. My parents more or less made it as a joke bet because I didn't study at all for my last SAT session, they tried to get me to do it by offering an incentive if I did well on it. 
 
Ended spending time on Chemistry rather than the SAT, there's just really nothing to study for besides grammar on that dang test.
 
On another note, who's to say my parents won't be offering me money incentives when I'm in college? They're paying $25k+ a year expenses, what's another $500 a year?
 
EDIT:
 
Asian stereotypes still hold true as always: Give your kid whatever advantage you can to put him/her a step above the rest. Some parents are tigers and do it with extreme discipline, some parents (like mine) just have a slightly looser wallet and rules. I'll be doing the same for my kid, shame for those parents that gets their kids everything when they're young- All the toys, the summer camps, the clubs, sports equipment... then backing out right when they need it the most.
 
And: Asians don't fail anything in science or math, it just doesn't happen.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

And: Asians don't fail anything in science or math, it just doesn't happen.

Only allowed to fail" religious studies. Which means <80%. Allowed to not do as well in, English, French(or whatever the language subject is), History, Geography. Which is <85%. Must excel on everything else. Woe betide you get 99/100 on an exam, as you'll get the inevitable, "Why didn't you get 100/100?".
 

 

[Xinze]

Quote:

A kid needing monetary incentive for personal indulgence over academic excellence is much more than just a bit of spoiled. I guess the usual stereotypes of asian and asian families have changed a lot. I'm betting thermodynamics, electrostatics, and linear algebra will rock your world in a couple years.

The more I look at what you said, the more angrier I get.
Just because money may be some crazily precious commodity in your house which you treat it as a forbidden fruit doesn't mean it has to be the same way for other families.
 
In fact, even if it was so precious, it still makes perfect sense to use it as an incentive, the more valuable it is, the better it works. I don't like the idea of relying on only your self determination for academic success, looking back at your life wondering why you went to XXXXX no name state school which lead you to work at XXXX no name company for some pathetic salary only because you could have worked a bit harder as a teenager makes no sense at all.
 
Spoiled means getting everything you want without being asked for anything in return. Obnoxious little brats with too many toys, no manners, and possibly overweight would come to mind for everyone. You should probably check on your English just a bit before you start judging, because a SMALL reward for achieving well really benefits both parents and child in the future. I'd call this a smart investment over being spoiled any day. What my parents have done is the reason why almost all Asian-Americans are upper-middle class and well educated, although their methods of getting me there is slightly different from the more common, stereotypical method.
 
 
EDIT: This is of course, assuming that parents will actually pay for their kids' education. If you don't for any reason other than serious financial incapability, you're an *******. Seriously. 
 
Reminds me, I should ask my parents for some red bag money now 

 Happy Chinese New Year all.

 

[fizzix]

Quote:

 
On another note, who's to say my parents won't be offering me money incentives when I'm in college? They're paying $25k+ a year expenses, what's another $500 a year?
 

Everything you need to know about your maturity or lack of is in this quote. You have no idea the meaning of spoiled because you are spoiled.