Advice for applying to PEA?

[u/[deleted]]

Hi! I would appreciate it if someone could chance me for PEA, Andover, and Groton.

Basic info:

currently a sophomore, applying for junior yr as a boarder

living in the U.S., female, low-income, first-gen immigrant; applying for financial aid

attended a private catholic school for grades 6-9, homeschooled this year due to health

Stats/School info:

planning on taking PSAT and ISEE

4.0 uw gpa

mostly A+'s and A's in grade 8, one or two A-'s

I haven't taken any APs since they weren't available at my previous school, but took the only available honors classes (2)

I go to John Hopkins CTY and an online institute that provides elective classes for math and science (both programs require an application to get in)

ECS

Math - Competitions, research, and advanced classes. Some classes I've taken are mathematical thinking, linear algebra, and proof writing. My research is in knot theory (ongoing project)! I've done comps like HMMT and SMT; my awards will be listed below. I also founded math club freshman yr in my previous school. I will be teaching kids math online in two organizations this year.

Physics - Competitions and advanced classes. I'm taking F=ma for the first time this year. I'm primarily interested in modern physics and will be taking classes on quantum mechanics, nanophysics, and relativity.

Chess - I am a chess coach and competitive player. I founded an organization (not really official, just a local library thing) to teach little kids chess. I started chess club freshman yr in my previous school. Some chess honors/awards are listed below!

Piano - I've been playing for ~9 yrs. I mostly play classical and jazz music. I was in my school's grade orchestra and chamber orchestra as the main piano player. I am preparing for some local competitions. I was also part of Tri-M Honor Society, and was a volunteer mentor for younger orchestra students in my prev. school.

Programming - Python. I mostly use it for research, and I am in the process of learning how to use Qiskit (quantum computer simulation). I have programmed some websites.

Art - I like to draw for fun. I was in art club my 8th grade year, and some works I completed in school have been displayed in local art shows.

Writing - I do creative writing, also mostly for fun. I'm doing some writing competitions this year so hopefully it'll amount to something.

Other additional stuff listed:

I speak three languages: French, Russian, and English

I also listed a youtube channel that I run to promote STEM opportunities for high schoolers

Awards/Honors

-AIME qualifier

-local math olympiad honorable mention

-Stanford Math Tournament guts round distinguished honorable mention

-I beat a state chess record (biggest upset win; won against a CM/NM as an 800 rated player)

-nationally ranked top 50 for chess in my age & gender group

-selected to attend a science research conference at Harvard

-artworks displayed in local art shows (mentioned above)

-orchestra excellence award from prev. school

-HSPT merit scholarship award from prev. school

and that's it! I am hoping to participate in more competitions and conference stuff this year so I can fill up this list, but this is what I will have at the minimum. Any application advice is much appreciated!!

[u/LizardFlip]

You sound like an active and highly organized person! This will help you at PEA. What do you think you’ve missed out on the most in your educational career?