<p>Okay, I got a little crazy and applied to seventeen colleges (University of the Pacific and Whitworth gave me their applications for free and accepted me, so I don't count those) because I thought chances of getting into one were very slim. I was correct. Despite some decent stats, the following colleges rejected me:
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UC San Diego
Harvard
Yale
Pennsylvania
Stanford
Princeton
Johns Hopkins
Duke
USC
Columbia</p>
<p>Here are my stats
Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] College/Major Applied To: Biology (of some sort...I'm using this for multiple colleges so I can't say the exact title)
[</em>] Fee Waiver Used?: No
[<em>] SAT I (by section): Critical Reading 680, Writing 750 (Essay 8, MC 78), Math 800
[</em>] SAT IIs: Math Level 2 750, Literature 700, Physics 570, Chemistry 530
[<em>] GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: UC Unweighted: 3.5ish, UC Weighted 3.65, Unweighted 3.65, Weighted 3.78 (difficult school with very few honors or AP classes)
[</em>] Rank: 7 of 38 (smart class too)
[<em>] ACT: 35
[</em>] APs (including this year's): Calculus AB: 3, I'm taking 8 tests this year thanks to independent study (I am the first at my school to do this), but I didn't know until my applications were in, so I was able to notify a few, but not all colleges
[<em>] IBs (including this year's: None
[</em>] Senior Yr Courseload: Heavy-the two other AP classes (English Lit and Physics) offered besides the one I have already taken, Speech, Apologetics, Government/Economics, Band, Spanish 3...at my school, that is a really heavy load
[<em>] Number of Apps from Your School: for all colleges I applied to except Davis (2 others), LA (1 other), Berkeley (1 other), and Pepperdine (1 other), there was no one else who applied. They are smart...but not very ambitious.
[</em>] Other stats (Awards, etc.): I've gotten a few minor awards, but nothing really worth mentioning. I guess I'll just list what I could get:
1st Place - Algebra II Math League - School
1st Chair - ACSI Honor Band - Regional
Nominee - Junior Homecoming Prince - School
Nominee - Senior Homecoming Prince - School
Nominee - Veterans for Foreign Wars Competition - School
Winner- Veterans for Foreign Wars Competition - Regional
Winner - Servant's Heart Award - School
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] ECs listed on app:
Honors Society - Participant - 10th-12th - 1hr</em>10 wks
Drama Productions - Actor - 9th-12th - 3hr<em>12 wks
Student Council - Sophomore Vice-President - 10th - 1hr</em>5 wks
Ministry Council - Participant - 9th-12th - 1 hr<em>8 wks
Band - 9th-10th, 12th - 5 hr</em>40 wks
Political Campaign Volunteer - 12th - 3 hr<em>5 wks
School Scoreboard Operator - 10th-11th - 6 hr * 8 wks
Honor Society Service Day - 11th-12th - 2hr</em>1 wk
Community Service Day - 9th-12th - 5hr<em>1 wk
California Forestry Improvement Volunteer - 11th-12th - 2hr</em>1wk
Yearbook Staff Member - 12th - 2 hr<em>15 wk
[</em>] Job/Work Experience:
After-School Care Assistant - 11th-12th - 12 hr<em>30 wk
[</em>] Essays (subject and responses): they were all pretty good. my teachers all liked them. I thought they were pretty original. I don't know what else to say...
[<em>] Hook (TASP, RSI, Research, etc.): N/A
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: California
[<em>] School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Parochial/Private. SAT Critical Reading Average 542, SAT Math Average 529, SAT Writing Average 552. Decent...
[</em>] Ethnicity: White. I mean Caucasian. Whatever. I wish I had gone undeclared.
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: 200,000+
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[</em>] Strengths: SAT scores, at least one essay on each application, interviews
[<em>] Weaknesses: SAT science scores (considering my science major), GPA
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/wait listed/denied: Sophomore and Junior year GPAs. They were lower compared to my 1st, 2nd, and 7th semesters: 4.0 weighted.
[/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: </p>
<p>THE ABSOLUTE WORST PART OF THIS ENTIRE PROCESS WAS WAITING FOR UC IRVINE FOR A MONTH JUST TO BE REJECTED (they had the shortest letter too...as well as the worst). Hehe. On the other hand, I gave UC San Diego a call and they gave me the exact reason I was rejected because they could pull up my file and look at it. It was GPA by the way. And yes, the "chart" of point distribution is valid.</p>
<p>Now, I do think despite setbacks such as GPA, I should have had a better shot at getting into some of these colleges. I mean, I live a half hour away from Davis. You may think there is something hidden...like maybe my teacher recommendations were terrible. I have seen most of the recommendations (or at least talked to the teacher) and they were excellent. I know for sure one teacher put me in the category of "one of the best in career" as an overall grade. I am not attempting to brag...I am merely providing explanation. I am also white and my family is well-educated and in one of the upper tiers financially. All of that puts me at more of a disadvantage. My essays were excellent. They had an error or two. Ultimately, that would not kill you, but it definitely does not look good.</p>
<p>Anyways, I have all my rejections in a special folder. That way I can make rejected people feel better next year by showing them all fourteen letters. Hehe.</p>
<p>So...ya I was disappointed by one or two of the colleges that I especially wanted to go to, but overall, I kept a good mindset and things went fine. I had each of my friends read an Ivy rejection letter when they came out yesterday before I heard it because I knew the answer already hehe. The key is knowing your true chances.</p>
<p>I wasn't hated by all, however. The University of Chicago, ranked 8 in USNWR, wait listed me. Only 1000 of the 9000 rejected people got this status. That was encouraging.</p>
<p>I got accepted by UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine. It's funny...Pepperdine was at the bottom of my list, but the more I hear about it, the more I am convinced that I will be moving there in the fall.</p>
<p>One more thing: This year it seemed schools had a much bigger focus on GPA than they did on SATs. So I would tell you to do well on your SATs, but they only support GPAs. It is better in many cases to have a good GPA and a okay SAT score.</p>
<p>PM me if you have any questions.</p>