2017-2018 Questbridge National College Match Finalists

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
81

I can’t believe this actually happened!!

Congratulations to other finalists, and for those who were rejected (though I might be in a bad position to say this), please don’t give up!! I’m quite positive that, even though this scholarship round might’ve not worked out, there will be lots of successes for you in the future with alternative scholarships and programs.

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 750 (Reading & Writing) 740 (Math) - 1490
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.37 (out of 5.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 22 out of 448
AP (place score in parenthesis):
Calculus AB, US Government and Politics (5)
Chemistry, English Language and Composition, Chinese (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Computer Science SL (3)
Senior Year Course Load: IB English 12, IB Mathematics Higher Level, IB Biology II, IB Chemistry Standard Level, IB 10th Century Topics, IB Spanish 5, IB Theory of Knowledge II, Economics and Personal Finance Online
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Yearbook, UNICEF, National Math Honor Society (Treasurer), National Spanish Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: Works full time (70 hours per week over break, 45 hours per week during school) as a waittress and delivery person at family-run restaurant
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteer for Chinese Summer Academy
Summer Activities: Occasionally volunteering, but mostly working
Essays (rating 1-10, details): My first essay began by introducing the struggles my family faced as low-income and immigrant, and then I focused in on one specific, very unfortunate incident that set us back financially and emotionally for a long, long time and how it changed my workload while also influencing my attitude and goals for the future. I was a bit rushed, since I only discovered QuestBridge a week before the deadline, but I feel I did a decent job with word choice… 7. My second essay was about Marie Antoinette (because I am absolutely in love with the Austrian dauphine) and the nature of knowledge (how factors such as time period affect what knowledge is accepted and denied…). With the word limit, I don’t think I said anything really great, so a 5.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I can’t say for sure because I waived my access… I was pretty well-behaved and succeeded in my classes, but I don’t particularly think I stood out as a student. Furthermore, there’s also the time crunch with a week-away deadline… still, the teachers I asked were very kind and willing to help me, so for teacher recommendations, I’d say 8 or 9, I think. As for my counselor, I don’t think I left a very good impression on her, so…

Other:

Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): Virginia
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public IB School
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <$25K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation

Reflection

Strengths: Likely strong essays and teacher recommendations, and a decent SAT score.
Weaknesses: When I snooped around previous QuestBridge threads… I realized how little leadership activities I had.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I think statistics and numbers aside, what really helped me become accepted would probably be the emotional aspect of my application materials. I was more comfortable with sharing my essay with friends for thoughts, and many said it was emotionally-moving. I also do think my teachers could easily understand that I was a pretty motivated student, so their recommendations likely helped me out a lot in the process. Also… I think taking the initiative to apply to an academy school rather than attend my zoned high school and challenging myself to take more intellectually-demanding classes despite a busy home life looked good.

82

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (760 math, 760 reading and writing) waiting on oct scores
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 33 out of 913
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (3), APUSH (3), Physics 1 (3), French (3), Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Bio, AP Gov, AP Microecon, Art and Design, Engineering Research and Development
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Golden Bear CTE (Top student in a CTE class, engineering), Dr. Mary Stauffer Scholar (a local scholarship), National Hispanic Recognition Program

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Femineers (female engineers club), French Club (vice)
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Impact club, where we helped recycle paper, Teen Connection, where we hung out with teenagers with special needs in order to make them feel included
Summer Activities: Volunteered at my local park two consecutive summers, where I helped with kids
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 6
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8

Teacher Rec #1: 9 I was there with my AP Lang teacher as she wrote it, she asked for my input and made sure to include as many details as possible in order to make me look like the best possible student
Teacher Rec #2:10 My engineering teacher wrote this one and although I did not read it, I trust that he did a good job. I have had him for 4 consecutive years and he has always considered me one of his best students.
Counselor Rec: 7 This is my first year with her as a counselor, but I’m assuming she did a good job?
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a

Other:

Intended Major: Civil Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: public
Ethnicity: hispanic
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 20,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation

Reflection

Strengths: essays
Weaknesses: extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Although my essays were rushed and unedited, I found a way to include my love for engineering in a lot of them. I’ve taken an engineering class every year of high school and I feel that shows my dedication to my future career.

83

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1350
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: Math Level II 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.976
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 15 out of 703
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography (5), AP World History (4), AP US History (4), AP English Language and Composition (3), AP Physic I (2), AP Spanish Language and Culture (2)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, Drawing and Painting I, AP Literature and Composition, AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge College Prep Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor, Georgia Certificate of Merit, A Honor Roll, Community Service Awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): International Club (Vice President), Spanish National Honor Society (Secretary), Let Girls Learn
Job/Work Experience: Elementary School Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: Math Tutor for many of my class mates, I also volunteer a lot for the elementary schools of my area, Beta Club and National Honor Society Member
Summer Activities: PreCalculus Tutoring
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, I worked really hard on biographical essay, it was very personal and sincere, and for my other essay I pour my heart out about my passion
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): ?/10, honestly I really have no idea what my teachers or counselor possiby said about me lol

Teacher Rec #1: didn’t read
Teacher Rec #2: didn’t read
Counselor Rec: didn’t read
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: no interview

Other:

Intended Major: Mathematics
State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Publice
Ethnicity: Afro-Arab
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <$37,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: I have a strong passion for writing, so I enjoyed writing my essays which ultimately helps. Also, I strangely enjoy the college appliction process??? I don’t know why though, but it helps if you like what you’re doing instead of treating it like a chore.
Weaknesses: I am a terrible standardized test taker, so my SAT scores are not to great
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: My essays I think made me stand out a lot, I talked about my struggles at home, but I also showed how I can move past that and pursue my passions

84

Wait how did you get rejected from the Gates scholarship? they haven’t announced semi-finalists yet

85

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500 (only took this for National Merit) 750 on each part.
ACT (breakdown): 35 Composite, 36 superscore
SAT II: 760 on Literature, 780 on US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography (5), AP US History (5), AP English 11 (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 1st Semester- Senior Transition, Environmental Science, AP European History, AP Calc AB. 2nd Semester- Latin III, AP Calc AB, AP English 12, Gov/Econ
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar, and a bunch of highest average in the class awards.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honors Society (Vice President), Greene County Youth Leadership, Greene County Youth Council, Scholar’s Bowl (Team Captain), Hiking, and Nature Photography.
Job/Work Experience: Summer before junior year I worked as a youth worker for the US Forest Service.
Volunteer/Community service: 65ish hours total, mostly at a local ministry that’s kind of like a food bank.
Summer Activities: The job before junior year, and before senior year I went to a Tennessee Governor’s School.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 1st Essay- Honestly, 10/10. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written, and I talked about Hiking, which is my absolute favorite thing to do and to which I devote at least 3 hours a week, and how what started as a childhood quest for adventure like the people in Lord of the Rings gave me a love for nature which inspired me to want to become an environmental lawyer. It sounds cheesy like that but I promise it isn’t lol
2nd Essay- 9/10, I think it could have been better written, but I basically talked about how I agonized over whether to come out as bisexual to people at my school given that I live in a very conservative area (East Tennessee), and how I ultimately decided to not let people’s prejudices dictate what I did and how I learned not to care what people thought.
SAs- 8/10, nothing special, but the things I said definitely tied into my love for the outdoors and stuff like that.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10, she let me read it and I almost cried. She was my AP English teacher (and before that she taught English at a nearby small liberal arts college) and she said things like "His writing would be impressive if he was one of my junior and senior English majors) and basically how I was incredibly intelligent and humble and that I got along well with everyone and what I joy I was to have in class. I couldn’t have asked for a better rec.
Teacher Rec #2: Maybe 9/10? She was my Honors Trig and Pre-Calc teacher and I did really well in her class and she really liked me. She was also incredibly honored that I asked her to write me a recommendation.
Counselor Rec: Probably 10/10, she loves me and she told me she was making it her mission to give me all the help she could to help me get into the schools I’m applying to (Princeton, Williams, Amherst, etc). The vast majority of people don’t get this kind of personal attention at my school because we have 3 counselors for about 800-1000 students. I’ve also been in her office a ton this year talking about college stuff with her, which has given her plenty of time to get to know me.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other:

Intended Major: N/A
State (if domestic applicant): Tennessee
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $33,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): LGBTQ, My parents are divorced, my dad is a paranoid schizophrenic and can’t hold a job because of it so his income is zero, my mom is a lawyer with her own solo practice making ~33K a year and trying to raise 4 kids and herself with that money. We have negligible assets.

Reflection

Strengths: My test scores and GPA, essays, recommendations, I think my financial/family situation definitely helped.
Weaknesses: White and male, not a lot of awards, but the main thing that had me worried was my lack of extracurriculars and volunteer work, BUT, I have hobbies (Hiking and Nature Photography) that I’m extremely passionate about and I used my larger essay to tie them in to what I want to do in life and all that probably made up for my lack of “real” ECs.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I had decent hooks and excellent scores, essays, and recs.

Congratulations to everyone else who is a finalist, and if you weren’t the road doesn’t end here, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t get into any of these schools with the Common App.

86

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II: Don’t know yet
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0, weighted: 4.47/5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/18
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World History (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: 1st Semester: Trig, Psychology, Discovering the Universe, Intro to Chem (all dual enrollment courses) 2nd Semester: Calculus 1, Economics (all dual enrollment - others TBD)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing that big, 6 state championships through FFA and Florida Sunshine State STEM Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Basketball, FFA, FBLA, SGA, Senior Beta
Job/Work Experience: I work at the local Marina, 22-24 hours a week. I tutor middle schoolers during and after school.
Volunteer/Community service: Food pantry donation, city sponsered art projects, highway cleanup. I only have about 150 total hours.
Summer Activities: Working, recently took an EF Tours Europe trip with my school
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 800 word: 9/10 500 word: 7/10 (I found out about QB very late in the game)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): both 9/10-10/10, great relationship with both teachers

Teacher Rec #1: Science 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: Comp 10/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: N/A but my one for the common app with definitely be 10/10
Interview: N/A

Other:

Intended Major: Engineering/Physics
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: very very very small public (pre-k-12th with only 260 students, less than 60 in high school)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 12,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen.

Reflection

Strengths: GPA I guess, but I’m probably a very average applicant.
Weaknesses: ACT score
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Financial situation was obviously a plus, and I made my essays fun and untraditional. I let my personality show. I live in an island town of about 800 people, the school doesn’t offer anything past core classes, so I had to make my own opportunities. I made the best of my situation, pretty much.

87

@celbauasch Of course! There’s so much more in life than this… it’s only the beginning! You don’t need to go to the best university to have a great life in the future. You should still apply to your dream school and also an in-state college as a safety. You got this!!

88

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1370, 680R, 690M
ACT (breakdown): Two tests- 33C, 34E, 28M, 34R, 34S, and 31C, 30E, 30M, 33R, 31S.
SAT II: 700 Chem, 670 Lit, 650 Math
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.1, hard to explain.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/22
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Full time dual enrollment. Fall semester: Chem Research, Classical Physics, Differential equations and linear algebra, Philosophy, Self defense. Spring semester: Chem research, classical physics, multivariable calculus, psych/international relations, ethics, ceramics.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB College Prep scholar, nothin else lool.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): MOSTEC, Girl Up (Teen Advisor), Newspaper, student gov, research, volunteering.
Job/Work Experience: Interning, restaurant, public library, Justice.
Volunteer/Community service: Ronald McDonald House + various nonprofits.
Summer Activities: MOSTEC, Girl Up, interning at newspaper, work.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Essay 1 is really really good, essay 2 not so much. 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: This teacher loves me, wrote me all my rec letters for programs. 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: This teacher hams it up a little, 8/10
Counselor Rec: I cried when he read it out to me. 9/10.
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other:

Intended Major: Public health/Politics
State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public charter
Ethnicity: African american
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Less than 10K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, super achieved.

Reflection

Strengths: Well, my essay 1 and my activities.
Weaknesses: I got a handful of Bs last semester.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I’m a really solid person to accept.

89

@GoddessOfTheMoon They sent out emails to people who didn’t pass phase 1, but they’re weren’t straightfoward about it. For everyone else, they sent emails saying to send in documents like couselor rec, school report, FAFSA, and etc.

90

Decision: Finalist!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1210 (670 english, 540 math)
ACT (breakdown): 29 single sitting, 30 superscore
SAT II: 800 spanish, 650 french
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (my school does GPA out of 5.0 for weighted, and for that I have a 5.055)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2 out of 276
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro 3
IB (place score in parenthesis): exams are at the end of this year for me
Senior Year Course Load: FULL IB DIPLOMA (English, History, Spanish, French, Environmental Studies, and Math)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): No major ones

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): French Club (president) NHS (secretary) NFHS (Vice President) Student Ambassadors (Vice President) We Are REAL (co-founder) Students in Action
Job/Work Experience: Cashier/bus girl at a local restaurant (since 2013)
Volunteer/Community service: Lots of it through CAS, NHS, NFHS, Students in Action
Summer Activities: work and went to Mexico
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Short Answers: 8-9 I spent a lot of time on these to make sure they showcased who I was as an individual
First Essay: 9, I spent months on this essay and one of the teachers who read this said it moved them to tears so I worked hard on this one, it was about my background and my recent struggles
Second Essay: 8/9 This one was really personal as well, about how I left the church but eventually found my way back
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I have really close relationships with the teachers and counselor that wrote my recs, but I waived my right to read them but I am sure they were all above an 8

Teacher Rec #1: read above
Teacher Rec #2: “”
Counselor Rec:""
Additional Rec:""
Interview: I did not do any interview

Other:

Intended Major: International Affairs, Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): SC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public charter
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: F
Income Bracket: > 26,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): My dad was deported, first generation college, my parents are immigrants

Reflection

Strengths: My essays and short answers for sure, I spent so much time on them and had someone edit them constantly, I worked hard. Also my story overall is kind of different to others.
Weaknesses: My test scores, for sure. Always those standardized test scores.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I think it came down to the way I showed who I am through my essays and short answer for sure :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

91

@myan22 I really shouldn’t have high hopes. If I can get rejected from a scholarship that has a 30% acceptance rate. How can I get accepted into my dream school (UChicago) with a rate less than 10%? It just is impossible. I am just a poor duck who wouldn’t go anywhere, there’s no point of trying because they will just spit on your face no matter how much you hustle in the last 4 years and get on your knees. They just don’t give a flying fork about 99% of us.

92

Oh wow I had no idea. I thought everyone moved on regardless. Good to know then…best of luck with the rest of your apps though!!!

93

@celbausch I am in the exact same boat as you. UChicago has been my dream for the past four years and I was hoping that I would be a QuestBridge finalist, but I wasn’t selected. I understand exactly what you’re going through and I just want to wish you luck with your college applications.

94

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): C34 / E36 / M31 / R36 / S33 / W10
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10 (students)
AP (place score in parenthesis): CompSci (5) / US History (4) / AB Cal (5) / Chem (4) / Eng Lang (5) / Euro (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics / AP Calculus BC / AP Gov / AP Econ / AP Physics / Creative Writing (hah) /
AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist / AP Scholar with Distinction / National Spanish Exam Gold / I’m really reaching here

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad (no awards) / Model UN (single event, not a team; verbal commendation)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: About five days total
Summer Activities: None
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biography (9): Honestly, this is the only portion of my application that I think stood out. Believe it or not, I kept it rather vague; alluding to my growth as a person throughout my academic career.
Area of Interest (6): Dull musings over my amateur interest in music.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I haven’t a clue about any of these; all my recs were anonymous.

Other:

Intended Major: STEM (specificity, am I right?)
State (if domestic applicant): Alabama
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None at all; my mother has a bachelor’s degree and my father has a master’s.

Reflection

Strengths: Indubitably my biographical essay, high test scores, and good grades.
Weaknesses: Laughable extracurricular activities. Seriously. Just look at them. All both of them.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Unless my recommenders worked witchcraft behind the scenes, it was almost certainly the first essay. I really “poured my heart into it” and tried to let my fundamental character show through.

I hope this goes to show that it’s possible to be accepted through sheer dumb luck…uh…I mean…perseverance or something…even if you aren’t even close to the platonic ideal of a candidate.

Hopefully I didn’t botch any of this.

95

You’re right that colleges probably don’t care about most of the applicants they reject, but why is it so important that they do? They don’t know you like the way you, your friends, and your family know you. There’s so many reasons behind a rejection, and you still have time to improve your application before the early action deadline. And honestly, there are so many colleges out there. It’s not the end of the world. Give yourself some time to rejuvenate!

96

I also applied to the gates scholarship but didn’t get either type of email. When did you get your email??

97

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1360 (700 on reading and writing, 660 on math, 18 on the essay)
ACT (breakdown): 30 (33 reading, 33 writing, 27 math, 28 science)
SAT II: 740 on World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8, 4.0 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t rank so probably top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (4), AP US (5), AP Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): My school doesn’t offer IB
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci Principles, Honors College English, AP Bio, AP Calc AB, AP US Gov, AP Spanish Language
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar (if it counts?),

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): XX Coders (Treasurer), Girls Learn International (Fundraising Coordinator), Step Team (Treasurer), African American Student Organization, National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: Tilly’s(October 2016-April 2017), Old Navy (May 2017-Present)
Volunteer/Community service: Youth Center (helping out other low-income kids with school, 8hr/week)
Summer Activities: XX Coders camp that I’m in held a non-profit camp teaching girls how to code (20 hr/week)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biographical: 7/10 (I didn’t like what I wrote because it was focused on negatives rather than positives), 500 word: 7/10 (I talked about climate change and how that related to what I wanted to do later in life)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 11th grade AP Lang 10/10, I waived my rights but I know that this is probably the rec that got me in because I worked my ass off in Lang and this teacher knows that.
Teacher Rec #2: 9th grade Bio teacher8/10, I waived my rights but I have no idea how this turned out because this teacher didn’t start the rec until two days before it was due.
Counselor Rec: 9/10, Honestly have no idea because I’m always emailing her questions so I guess that shows I’m dedicated ???
Additional Rec:
Interview: The only school I interviewed with was Hamilton through the Diversity Overnight

Other:

Intended Major: Biology/Pre-Med and Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American (Ghanaian)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $65,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation, LGBT

Reflection

Strengths: ACT score, recs
Weaknesses: I didn’t start the application until a week before the deadline
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Even though I feel like some things on my application seemed rushed, I think my essays and short answers really showed who I am as a person and what I’m passionate about.

98

Well what should be the next steps if I want to get into UChicago since I got rejected from QB… I can’t afford the fee waiver. I don’t even know if I can afford tuition

99

@celbauasch For UChicago specifically, they waive your application fee if you request financial aid on the Common App. They also meet most, if not 100% of students’ financial needs so if you get accepted, that shouldn’t be too much of a worry.

100

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (780M, 750RW)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36W, 35M, 33R, 36S)
SAT II: 780 Math II, 730 US History, 680 Biology E
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 93.3/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 46/538
AP (place score in parenthesis): 3 5’s and 3 4’s
IB (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load: College English, International Affairs, AP Physics 1, AP French, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, another college course I have not picked
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Gold in National French Exam, AP Scholar with DIstinction, 3rd Place in State Art Competition, Superior in State Solo & Ensemble, some minor science olympiad awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Social media marketing on Instagram with 140,000 followers
  • Small online jewelry business owner
  • Art for 10+ years
  • Orchestra (Concertmaster in 9th and quit after 10th grade)
  • French National Honors Society (Secretary)
  • French Club

Job/Work Experience: Social media marketing?

Volunteer/Community service: Didn’t include any on application

Summer Activities: Volunteered for 20 hours teaching Chinese college freshmen English but didn’t include

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biographical essay might’ve sounded a bit whiny and “poor me” but I liked writing it so 7/10; Community essay was a bit rushed and didn’t offer much insight about me personally but 7/10
Short answers 7/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: didn’t see
Teacher Rec #2: didn’t see
Counselor Rec: didn’t see

Intended Major: Undecided but leaning towards business
State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
School Type: VERY VERY competitive public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~24,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen in USA/immigrant

Reflection: I worked really hard on my application, but I guess I didn’t stand out with what I had. I’m very disappointed I wasn’t chosen as a finalist, but life goes on and hopefully I have better luck with the regular application process. Congratulations to all finalists and good luck!!!

Strengths: Test scores maybe?
Weaknesses: Class rank because my school is way too competitive, wasn’t really close with the teachers I asked recs from, extracurriculars, no community service, basically everything

Why you think you were rejected: I honestly don’t know.