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About the Team
Team Photo   Xinpeng Huang
Lexington High School, Lexington, MA


Hobbies
Badminton, Basketball, Biking, Frisbee, Playing the Piano, Reading, Running, Swimming, Tennis

Clubs
Chess Club, Poker Clubs

Experience
2003 U.S. Physics Team, American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), American Mathematics Contest (AMC), American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), Massachusetts Association of Mathematics Leagues (MAML) Olympiad, Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT)

Biography
I am currently a senior at Lexington High School, Massachusetts. Ever since I was little, I had been very curious about the world around me and had a great interest in math and science. Starting in sixth grade, I attended MIT’s HSSP program and took many interesting courses there, including Probability Theory, Advanced Math, Advanced Biology, Relativity, Java Programming, Computer Graphics for Video Games, Digital Electronics, and Reverse Engineering. I took my first real college course, in Astronomy, at Boston University (BU) when I was only 12 years old, right after seventh grade. That year, I participated in the Johns Hopkins University IAAY Talent Search, took the SAT I, and got a national award that was presented to students obtaining a very high score in math before age 13. Boston University also awarded me a 1-course (4-credit) scholarship. Although the university suggested that I take the college course using this scholarship after 11 grade, I decided to take an astronomy course immediately that summer. I liked the challenge and I was confident that I could do it well. As the only non-college student in a class with about twenty BU students, I finished top and got an A. This was an excellent experience that made me more confident when I faced other challenges later on. In the following year’s Talent Search, I got second place in Massachusetts and received another scholarship from BU. This time I took Calculus with college students and was the best student there as well, getting another A.
When I was in eighth grade, I exhausted the math curriculum at my middle school, so the school agreed to let me teach myself C++. When I entered high school, I skipped grades in both math and science and consistently took classes with people in higher grades. I was the only sophomore in five AP Chemistry classes full of juniors and the only junior in AP Physics classes full of seniors, and was one of the top students in both these classes. I have taken a total of eight AP Exams in Computer Science AB, Biology, Chemistry, World History, U.S. History, Physics B, Physics C, and BC Calculus, and received 5’s on all of them, thus making me a National AP Scholar. This year, I am taking another two AP Exams, Spanish Language and Statistics.
Aside from being one of the top students in my grade, I also participate in a wide range of math and science competitions. I am currently a captain of both the school’s Math and Science Olympiad teams, which are the best teams in Massachusetts. In my high school years, I have competed in a wide range of regional, state, and national math competitions, including the MAML Olympiad, ARML, HMMT, AMC, and AIME, and received a lot of awards. Yes, I have also received a lot of medals in state and national Science Olympiad competitions. Plus, in tenth grade, I was a semifinalist in the Ashdown Chemistry Competition, a qualifying test for the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad. Unfortunately, due to special circumstances, I could not participate in the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad at that time. Last year, I made the 2003 U.S. Physics Team and attended training camp. I must say that camp last year was a great 10 days – intellectually stimulating, enlightening, and fun! This year, I am once again a finalist for the International Physics Olympiad and a member of the 2004 U.S. Physics Team, and I am looking forward to camp!
I like research very much. For the past two years, I have been a winner of the School, Regional, and State Science Fairs. This year, I have already cleared the School and Regional Fairs and will compete in the Massachusetts State Science Fair the last day of April at MIT.
In my free time I play the piano and read books. I attend various clubs and activities in school, such as chess and poker. I also enjoy playing recreational sports, such as basketball, tennis, frisbee, and badminton with friends, and also love exercising by running, swimming, and biking.
I have applied to four colleges – MIT and Caltech Early Action and Harvard and Stanford Regular Action, and have been accepted at all of them. I will decide where to go soon.