red[/color]
blue[/color]
Decision: Matched
Match to: University of Chicago
Schools Ranked: University of Chicago, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Columbia, Stanford, Princeton, Brown, USC
Objective:
- [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1500, 19 essay, 740 reading, 760 math
[] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): N/A
[] SAT II (Type, Score): Biology 700, Spanish 720, Math I 600 (did not send)
[] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.81 out of 6.0
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 52 out of 656
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (2), Spanish Lang (4), Psychology (5), World History (3), Biology (4) Calc AB (4) US History (3) AP Lang (4) Macro (3) Micro (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Calc BC, AP Gov, AP Comp Gov, AP Chem, AP Physics C, AP Literature, AP Environmental
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, Questbridge Prep Scholar
Subjective:
[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Asian Student Association, Spanish Honor Society (Ambassador), English Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, Mock Trial (9th and 10th)
[] Job/Work Experience: Legal Internship (11th), Kumon Tutor (July 2017-Present)
[] Volunteer/Community service: 96 hours, Key Club, Internship
[] Summer Activities: Summer 2017 Kumon Job, Other summers in the Dominican Republic helping grandfather with medical distribution company
[] Essays: Common App about how my mother’s absence and reintroduction changed me as a person (10/10), Why Uchicago was about my experience at the fly in and how they redefined what I wanted in a school (9/10), Uncommon about what is not often talked about and I wrote about Asians underrepresented in the media industry (9/10)
[] Teacher Recommendations: AP Psychology teacher (10th Grade) 10/10, AP Bio teacher (9th and 11th) unread but at least 7/10
[li] Counselor Rec: Mediocre at best, not read[/li][/ul]
Other
[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Florida
[] School Type: Large public (just over 3,000 students)
[] Ethnicity: Afro-Caribbean descent
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 40-49,000
[] Assets: None that are valuable
[] Property: None
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Went to Fly-in (?)
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First generation[/li][/ul]
Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:
I honestly think this miracle happened because of my essays. My GPA and sat score aren’t stellar. My essays, however, I spent a lot of time on. I slaved over them and I think my personality came through as well as my desire to attend this school, proving it my number one choice.
Decision: Not Matched
Schools Ranked: Swartmore, Vassar, Carleton, Macalester
Objective:
SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1320 (19 Essay, 680 math, 640 English)
ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 29C (31E, 29M, 31R, 25S)
SAT II (Type, Score): N/A
Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.158 / 5
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 6%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 (AP Lang),
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Calculus AB, AP 2D Art, Intermediate Piano
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award, Lily Endowment Finalist, QuestBridge College Prep Scholar, Bronze Award, Gold Award, Indiana Rising Stars
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girl Scouts, Work, Random Acts of Kindness Club (founder and president)
Job/Work Experience: Barnes and Noble. Nursing Home. Clean Office Buildings. Pizza Place.
Volunteer/Community service: Routine volunteering for Girl Scouts and Church
Summer Activities: Camp Counselor
Essays:
Common App essay: didn’t submit for QB
QB essays: 8/10 I had my entire family read and edit them. They seemed to think that my best one was the one that sounded exactly like me and talked about cutting my hair from hip length to a buzz cut (it talked about how I viewed myself as a woman / activist and how others perceptions of me didn’t matter when I was confident etc.)
QB short answers: 8/10 I spend hours on these. Some of them felt really cheesy and I think they’ll look at my favorite books and movies and be really confused. They are all very different and weird.
Teacher Recommendations: Recommendation #1: 8/10. My English teacher in junior year (who has a wonderful writing style and saw me grow a lot as a person and writer) and my freshman/junior/senior year science teacher who I have known for years.
Counselor Rec: 9/10. I have a solid relationship with my counselor, so I’m positive she wrote a stellar recommendation.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Indiana
School Type: Noblesville High School.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: female.
Income: 21,000 for my mom, grandma, nephew, and I
Assets: None.
Property: None.
Extenuating Circumstances: I do not live with either of my parents because they both struggle with addiction and can’t afford to provide for me. I live with other family members that let me stay with them for a small fee.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): …?
Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: My SAT Score was TRASH
My sincerest congratulations to everyone who got matched. And to those who didn’t, best of luck to you in the RD round. You guys are among the most qualified and amazing people in the nation. Don’t forget that!!! Keep going!
I matched to Oberlin. Only 3 people matched to Oberlin.
Decision: Matched
Match to: Dartmouth
Schools Ranked: Dartmouth, UPenn, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Yale, Stanford, University of Virginia (in that order).
Objective:
SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): N/A
ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): N/A
SAT II (Reading, Math, Composite): 630, 720, 1350
Weighted GPA: 4.143
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/244
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Composition (3) (my school does not offer that many AP classes.)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP US History, AP Calculus, AP Biology, English 100, Psychology 100, Spanish 3A/3B (online), Botany.
Major Awards: Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Poem, Gear UP Scholarship, National Honor Society, Science, Math, Social Studies, and English District Award, Junior Tennis Champions Center Camp Award.
Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Tennis Team, National Honor Society, and DECA.
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Ululani Pharmacy (got a pre-internship with help of my counselor), Hilo Medical Center (radiology department), and also worked in a Doctor’s Office.
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Hilo Medical Center in the Progressive Care Unit as a volunteer, Salvation Army Thanksgiving Dinner for the Homeless.
[ *] Summer Activities: Above.
[ *] Essays: English is my second language and I moved here in eighth grade (five years ago). I did not speak English so I worked hard as you can tell. French is my first language and I kinda “mastered” English in a year (eighth grade). My essays were about overcoming the language barrier in such a short amount of time and my determination to achieve great academics. My supplemental essays were pretty good too I guess.
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: My AP English teacher wrote my first recommendation. 10/10 since she knows me well. She’s always supportive, and still can’t believe that I can speak english so fluently with no accent. My second recommendation was probably good but maybe a 7/10. The teacher knows me but you know.
[ *] Counselor Rec: Counselor recommendation was amazing and moving (I read it). She knows me well and was one of the first people to believe in me.
Other
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Hawai’i
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Black, African American
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: about $22,000
[ *] Assets: $0
[ *] Property: Rent
[ *] Extenuating Circumstances:
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Why you think you were matched general comments: My essays were really, really good. I’m not bragging but I was really happy with my essays. My SAT score is OK. My internships helped me I think and the fact that my dad makes about $22,000 annually is a bonus. Overall, I don’t know why Dartmouth accepted me but I am happppppy. Anything is possible. I have only been speaking english for five years, and I have accomplished so much. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you.
Decision: Matched
Match to: Stanford!
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Yale
Objective:
- [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 680, 690, 21
[] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 33C, 8ES, 34E, 28M, 34R, 34S
[] SAT II (Type, Score): Chem 700, Lit 670, math 2 650
[] Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.12
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): school doesn’t offer
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): school doesn’t offer
[] Senior Year Course Load: all dual enrollment courses: calc based physics, chem research, calculus 4, philosophy, self defense for fall. Spring is calc based physics 2, calc 3, ethics, ceramics, chem research, and international relations.
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, QB CPS
Subjective:
[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): State youth council, (policy committee chair), member on UN Foundation teen advisory board, research at a hospital, newspaper editor et cetera
[] Job/Work Experience: Restaurant server, Justice employee, tutor, library
[] Volunteer/Community service: Ronald McDonald Housewarmer
[] Summer Activities: MOSTEC, United Nations foundation summit, work, research, volunteering
[] Essays: essay 1 was much greater than essay 2, very personal and strong.
[] Teacher Recommendations: reallll good ones, my teachers only have great things to say about me and we have a healthy friendship. In fact, one called me to congratulate me!!
[li] Counselor Rec: he shared it with me after results came in and I cried. It was very deep and beautiful.[/li][/ul]
Other
[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MN
[] School Type: Public charter
[] Ethnicity: Black
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket: efc of 0
[] Extenuating Circumstances: the usual
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, lived in Africa for half of my life[/li][/ul]
Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I was blessed, also my essay was really good. My ECs are nice but I think it was the rec letters. They said some good stuff about me there and I’m mad grateful.
aspiringgirl, congrats! Best wishes for four wonderful years at Oberlin
[ size=6][ color=red][ b]Decision: Not Matched**[/color][/size]
Schools Ranked: Penn
[ *] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1260
ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 30
SAT II (Type, Score): 700 lit, 710 ush
Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.23 out of either a 4.5 or 5.0 not sure, my school doesn’t articulate what the scale is
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/122
AP (place score in parenthesis): Gov (5) Physics (1 yikes) (juniors can only take up to two APs)
IB (place score in parenthesis):n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Lit and Comp, APUSH, AP Psych, AP Stat, Hon Spanish IV, Theology IV
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Latin Scholar Magna Cum Laude, National Spanish Scholar, QB CPS, debate awards, won a writing competition,
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (Co-Captain, then Co-President), Junior Leadership, Student Council (commissioner), writer for school newspaper, National History Day, Spanish club, Catechist Aide, Book club (founder and president), there’s more but i’ll stop here
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Student Ambassador, United Way, Ronald McDonald House, various stuff around my school
Summer Activities: Upward bound six week summer program, college class, volunteering at local hospital,
Essays:
QB 1: 9/10- spent a lot of time on this, felt like it was uniquely me
QB 2: 8.5/10- was about my love of speechwriting, not too bad
Penn Supplement: 8.5/10- could have been more specific
Teacher Recommendations:
Honors Rhetoric, AP Gov, and AP Psych teacher: 10/10. She’s a goddess amongst mere mortals and told my parents at parents teacher conferences that I am the smartest kid she’s ever taught. I guess not smart enough to get into Penn.
History Teacher: 8/10: I had him for three years for three different levels of history because my high school kept switching up the curriculum. I was one of the only people who used to answer his questions in class. Probably not too shabby of a rec.
Counselor Rec: 8/10: He knows who I am I guess. I’ve talked to him a lot through the course of high school.
[ /list]
[ b]Other**
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
[ *] School Type: parochial,
Ethnicity: Afro-Caribbean
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: < $20,000
Assets: lol none
Property: two cars
Extenuating Circumstances: ehhh my dad was laid off like seven years ago? idk.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first-generation American, first-generation college
[ /list]
]Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:** I ONLY RANKED ONE SCHOOL. don’t do that. please please please rank more than one school, especially a non-binding school. My SAT score prolly. It’s so low. My AP Physics score. Maybe some of my junior year math and science grades. Maybe my Penn supplement wasn’t specific enough.
Congrats to everyone who did match! On to ED!
Match to: Vanderbilt
-Schools Ranked: Yale, Stanford, Brown, UPenn, Tufts, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth
Objective:
-SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1250, 18/24, 660 (reading), 590 (math)
-ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): didn’t take it
-SAT II (Type, Score): signed up to take Lit and US History in December, but got matched before then
-Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.4 out of 5.0
-Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
-Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 23/297
-AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology – 2 (yikes, I know right), AP US History – 4, AP Lang - 5
-IB (place score in parenthesis): my school didn’t offer them
-Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Physics 1, AP US Gov, AP Lit, AP Psych
-Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Chairwoman award for work in the NAACP, award from my state’s secretary of state for exemplary work in the NAACP, English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition (runner-up for my school)
Subjective:
-Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NAACP Youth Council & school branch (secretary), task force of students that assisted school department in implementing an ethnic studies course throughout the district (a position on the taskforce was a leadership position in itself), county-wide walkout organizer (co-organizer of walkout in which thousands of students walked out of school to a rally on the state house steps in protest of Trump’s inauguration), principal’s advisory committee (executive board of several students), summer enrichment program at a particular Ivy, youth action council member for a local social justice/community service organization for my state. there’s more but I’ll leave it at that lol
-Job/Work Experience: the task force I mentioned previously (got paid for it), I worked on a campaign with the mayor’s office (also got paid for it), Dunkin’ Donuts cashier, worked with my state’s board of canvassers as a poll supervisor for the 2016 election
-Volunteer/Community service: lots of community service work with the NAACP, peer tutor for at-risk middle schoolers (taught them English, math skills, and coding)
-Summer Activities: that enrichment program at that Ivy, NAACP work (traveling to national conventions), task force work (traveling to national conventions, sitting on panels, doing workshops, etc.), campaign work with the mayor, being a Dunkin’ Donuts cashier lmao
-Essays: 8/10 my essays were a bit last minute, but I’m an excellent writer that can do very well under pressure, so it didn’t hurt me much
-Teacher Recommendations: 6.5/10 I’m not the closest with my teacher recommenders (even though I did very well in their classes), so I feel like their recommendations were a bit lackluster
-Counselor Rec: 8/10 my guidance counselor specifically told me that my letter was the best he has ever written for a student, so I have a lot of faith in whatever he wrote for me lol
Other
- State (if domestic applicant): Rhode Island
- School Type: public magnet school (requires an entrance exam to get into, but still a public school)
- Ethnicity: black (Liberian) & white (Bulgarian)
- Gender: female
- Income Bracket: 18,000
- Assets: none
- Property: none
- Extenuating Circumstances: homeless for a bit, dad abandoned us and threatened mom with deportation? lol, single mom working 2 jobs, waaay beneath the poverty line
- Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first-generation college student and American
-Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I mean I can never know exactly for sure what Vanderbilt saw in me that the other schools didn’t, but I can say for sure that my interview went extremely well. My interviewer was very impressed with my experiences pertaining to politics and social justice
I would also say that my extracurriculars and work experiences were strongly relevant to my future field of study and my future career path. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with multiple organizations that hold the same ambitions as me, and through them I’ve actually been able to travel the country 
Oh yeah and my essays were pretty good too
I was also matched to Vanderbilt @mixedchick00. We should connect!
Decision: Matched
Match to: Yale
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Yale, Pomona College, Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College, University of Southern California, Tufts University, University of Chicago, Duke University, University of Virginia, Vassar College, Emory University
Objective:
- []SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1410, 780 V, 630 M, 16 essay
[]ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): never took it
[]SAT II (Type, Score): none
[]Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.968/5.0
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/560
[]AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (4), AP Government (5), AP US History (5), AP Biology (4), AP Language and Composition (5)
[]IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[]Senior Year Course Load: Theater Marketing, Advanced Drama III, IV, AP Psychology, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AV Film Tech Class, Dual Enroll Intro to Environmental Science, Dual Enroll Statistics, French II, AP Literature
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Alternate finalist of the NSLI-Y scholarship (never received scholarship)
Subjective:
[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 9-12th grade Theater (Secretary, 11th), (President, 12th). Our theater program is very big and functions as a professional theater, meaning, we make a TON of money from tickets, we self-fund, we have about 7 or 8 shows a season. I’ve poured countless hours into ensuring the success of the theater, and that’s why I’m the president of the drama club and patron-services management team (our drama club has around 80 members). 12th NHS (Secretary, Chaplin) 12th Live stream crew, a new program I helped pioneer, streams the ball games. 9-10th DECA (VP of PR), on track for state officer, had drop it because I couldn’t afford it
[]Job/Work Experience: none
[]Volunteer/Community service: around 150 hours in work, but I’m not sure if this was indicated really in my application
[]Summer Activities: helped my theater director set-up for the school year by cleaning shop/organizing the space, but that’s really it
[]Essays: Biography 9/10. 500 Word: 8/10. Short Answer 1: 10/10. Short Answer 2: 8/10 Additional Info: 8/10 just because it explained why I had to drop an extracurricular, opportunities denied to me because my school wouldn’t accommodate for my poorness and inability to travel, and my rescue cats
[]Teacher Recommendations: APUSH: 10/10, AP Lang: 9/10. Dual Enroll Environmental Science (STEM recommendation in Yale portal): 10/10. I know these teachers very well. The first mentored me through this whole process, has a friend at Stanford, and I knew she layered it on thick for the letter. The second is a hardass whom I love dearly, and my class was the favorite she had in years just for the class politics and personalities we all had. The third is my best friend and the first real science mentor I’ve ever had; he got to know me through my quirky participation in his class. He adores my personality and, when I told him of my plans in a STEM career relating to environmental studies, he implored that I do research with him. We do research on water-ways and management in the state of Georgia. We haven’t done much yet, but I know he talked up my ingenuity and work-drama-life balance. I made sure that the former two teachers got their hands on a copy of the Questbridge Recommender Questions sheet, with answers I filled out, and my professor got a long spiel from me about my balancing my STEM interests with my Theater studies.
[li]Counselor Rec: I have no idea, I didn’t realize counselors did a recommendation for QB, I thought they just did the school report. My counselor has seen me through some really dark periods of my life, so I feel like if anything, she spoke of my merits and my persistence in spite of my academic struggles.[/li][/lis]
Other
[list]
[]State (if domestic applicant): GA
[]School Type: Public high school
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: 15k
[]Assets: none
[]Property: we don’t own our house and are in fact about 100k in the hole because of it
[]Extenuating Circumstances: really friggin poor, Hurricane Irma
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college, STEM theater kid[/li][/ul]
Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I wholeheartedly believe in a holistic application process. I think Yale saw my unique story, my overcoming of obstacles and heartaches, and combined with the persistence I’ve shown in my studies, matched me. I’ve been told that my STEM and theater focus are major hooks as well. In the end, I don’t know if anybody really knows why they matched. I’m just so grateful!! The most important takeaway in this whole process is not just knowing your own story but also how to tell it. I feel as though if I hadn’t had the help editing my essays that I did, I wouldn’t have matched, simply because Yale wouldn’t have been able to understand my story.
@betts00 I matched to amherst too! We started a facebook group chat let me know if you want to join!
Match to:/b University of Pennsylvania (Rejected from the Huntsman Program)
bSchools Ranked:/b (in order) UPenn, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Stanford, Brown, Princeton, Yale
bObjective:/b
list
- SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): n/a
- ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 31, 9, 30, 28, 33, 32
- SAT II (Type, Score): n/a
- Weighted GPA (out of ??): n/a school only does unweighted
- Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
*Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/19 - AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
- IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
- Senior Year Course Load: Trigonometry, Modern History, English Composition and American Literature (dual credit through online community college class), Government, Senior Seminar, Chemistry, Pre-calculus, Metals and Manufacturing (welding)
*Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Academic All-State in Speech, 6th place in Extemporaneous Speaking, Nebraska Delagate at the HOBY World Leadership Congress, Student Council President, Girls State Delagate, CCC Actions Day 1st Biology 2nd Word Problems, Academic Decathalon 1st Economics 1st Literature, Honor Roll
/list
bSubjective:/b
list
- Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Golf, One-Act (state qualifier 10,12), Speech 3 time state qualifier, National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America(2 time state qualifier), Quiz Bowl (captain 12), Academic Decthalon (Captain 11,12 Founder), Choir, HOBY, Youth Engaged in Leading (insert county name), Summer Honors Program in Creative Writing
- Job/Work Experience: Babysitting, Firework Cashier in summer, Pizza Artist at Local Gas Station, Tutoring for elementary kids, Contributing Author for local paper
- Volunteer/Community service: various projects through HOBY and NHS including cleaning up Humbolt Park in Chicago and working at blood drives
- Summer Activities: Summer Honors Program, Visiting non custodial parent, various miscellaneous leadership events and camps
- Essays: QB Essay 7/10. I’m very critical of my own writing and was never happy with most of my essays I wrote. I compared myself to a caterpillar and ran some nice language sprinkled throughout. QB Supplement essay: 9/10 I wrote about CRISPR and Eugenics and the possible ethical dilemmas surrounding it. I also spoke about my sister who has a cleft palate and probably would not be born in a world with CRISPR in the future
Penn Supplement: 7/10 I spoke about my love of debate and how I want to explore Philadelphia history and that the most exciting history in Nebraska is the Kansas-Nebraska act which mostly happened in Kansas. I also walked about a travel abroad program they had that I wanted to go on.
Huntsman Program Essay: 9/10. I wrote about Bhutan and how they can use tourism in upscale eco hotels to introduce tourists to their country and highlight their unique isolated culture and major accomplishment of being the only carbon negative country
- Teacher Recommendations: 9/10 (almost made me cry) this was written by my English teacher of 3 years and my 4 year speech and drama coach. I spend my entire evenings in her classroom for all of winter to prep for speech season with her
8/10 didn’t read it. this was written by my science teacher of 6 years and my FFA Adviser. I was her only Physics student my junior year and she watched me teach myself physics in a lab based experiment class with no other classmates. She was also my quiz bowl coach in junior high - Counselor Recommendation: 9/10 didn’t ready it. She is the only counselor for k-12 and also my Spanish teacher. She is an incredibly nice lady who means well but often misses deadlines. Her son is in my class and I have spent a lot of time with her other the last few years. I’m sure she either wrote me a super nice recommendation or a really bad one (shes an all or nothing person)
/list
bOther/b
list
- State (if domestic applicant): Nebraska
- School Type: K-12 small public school 75 kids in entire high school
- Ethnicity: Hispanic/Caucasian
- Gender: Female
- Income Bracket: <29,000 for family of four with three children
- Assets: none
- Property: we rent
- Extenuating Circumstances: I live with a single father in a village, various substance abuse problems in the household and I practically raised my siblings
- Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen college student, Hispanic, geophaphic diversity, rural
/list
bWhy you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:/b I honestly think it was because of my hooks. My test scores aren’t great and I have no AP classes. Otherwise my essays also probably saved me and I put almost as much often if not more into my various short answer questions as I did my essays. It’s all about being creative and true to yourself.
Good luck to everyone else on their college admissions journey. Don’t get discouraged. I got kicked out of my ACT earlier this year and cried for a week thinking it was all over. It’s never over no matter what happens and with that attitude you will be okay
Decision: Matched
Match to: Swarthmore College
Schools Ranked: Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Yale, Dartmouth
Objective:
- [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1540, 18/24, 740 Eng, 800 Math
[] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): N/A
[] SAT II (Type, Score): Math 2- 790, Chem- 740
[] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.4 (out of 5.0)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/550
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (4), Biology (4), European History (4), Statistics (5), Calc AB (4), US History (5), English Language (5), World History (4).
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Econ, AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP Environmental Science, Ceramics
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB CPS, Finalist, National AP Scholar, National Merit
Subjective:
[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Academic Decathlon, Math Club (President), Immigration Rights activism (3rd party)
[] Job/Work Experience: Decathlon Math Coach ($10/hr)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Children’s Hospital, Public Libraries, Tutoring
[] Summer Activities: AcaDeca
[li] Essays: [/li]
Bio: 9.5/10, I wrote about my legal status and the fact that I couldn’t travel anywhere besides the city I grew up in. Also how my parents got separated because of mistakes in the immigration system and how my dad couldn’t visit his father’s funeral. Besides all that, I tried to make it more about how I overcame all those struggles and how they actually motivated me. I used a lot of metaphors and highlighted how some things were just out of my control and that it was simply my job to beat it, otherwise I would allow it to beat me. I was my only barrier to success, not my legal status. Wasn’t cliche and my tone was sincere and I really spoke from my heart. Not a perfect 10 because, looking back, I could have made it less sobby and more positive in certain aspects.
2nd: 8.5/10, The community essay, which was about my experiences volunteering in immigration offices. I wrote about how I related to many of the teens and parents there who were going through the same thing as I did. I made sure to relate it to how I understood my parents more as a result, and so I became more understanding of their decisions. I think it was alright, but kind of superficial and cliche at times.
[li] Teacher Recommendations:[/li]
1st: 10/10, AP Eng Lang Teacher and Deca coach who’s seen me grow and develop for all 4 years of high school. Attested to my dedication to the program and learning as a whole. Extremely appreciated by my high school for consistently writing great rec letters for the past decathletes. He told me he highlighted how I really struggled to keep up in sophomore year, yet didn’t give up and continued to pursue it through junior year.
2nd: 8/10, AP US history teacher. She is so kind and understanding and someone I vented too when immigration stuff was getting very worrisome for me (election time rip). So we had that personal connection. I know she highlighted my work ethic and resilience, but beyond that I’m not too sure.
[li] Counselor Rec: 8/10, I’m from a very large public school so she was very busy, but I did know her on a personal level. She probably mainly mentioned my class rank and how I really contributed to my school through community service and what not. [/li][/ul]
Other
[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] School Type: Large public School
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 25k
[] Assets: None
[] Property: None
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Immigration status, Dad was unemployed for a while, Mom was in a foreign country for a majority of my life.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college[/li][/ul]
Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:
i think I was matched because my stats were probably pretty good compared to most Finalists and for my financial and personal circumstances. Also, I believe my essays really shined in that they showed my life story while detailing how I never gave in. However, I no significant awards, no crazy Extracurriculars, and am an ORM. I seriously didn’t expect much, so I am still in shock! Also didn’t expect to match because my EFC was above 2k, but I guess that’s low enough?
Ultimately, it comes down to the essays though. ARE YOU BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF? You need to be genuine and sincere about what you write about. At first, I tried to force an essay that I thought would appeal to the admins, but it became so obvious I was being fake af.
but even if you don’t match, QB RD is really great anyway, just the supplements can become a pain.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOU FUTURE QB APPLICANTS!!! It’s definitely worth it in the end.
size=6 color=green b Decision: Matched/b/color/size
bMatch to: Columbia University! /b
bSchools Ranked: Yale, Columbia, Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst, Vassar, Dartmouth, Wesleyan/b
bObjective:/b
list
- SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1540, 760 R&W, 780 M
- ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): Didn’t take
- SAT II (Type, Score): Math II: 720, Literature 770
- Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.23
- Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.898
- Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/242
- AP (place score in parenthesis): None
- IB (place score in parenthesis): None
- Senior Year Course Load: (taken at community college) American History, Calculus II & III, Engineering Physics I & II & III, History of Civilizations, Macro Economics. (taken at high school) Spanish 2, A & B.
- Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None major, some local for Mock Trial, Model United Nations, and other academic groups. Also a Questbridge College Prep Scholar.
/list
bSubjective:/b
list
- Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial (President), Model United Nations (President), International Socialist Organization (Member), student run political journal (Contributing Editor), tutor in math and writing
- Job/Work Experience: Work for a criminal defense attorney
- Volunteer/Community service: none
- Summer Activities: Classes with Upward Bound, Math/Engineering Academy, more work with defense attorney.
- Essays: Great content, decent writing with some mistakes. 8/10, 8/10.
- Teacher Recommendations: Both excellent, plus a supplemental letter from lawyer-boss. 10/10 both teachers, 9/10 boss.
- Counselor Rec: 10/10.
/list
bOther/b
list
- State (if domestic applicant): Washington
- School Type: Large public (it sucks!)
- Ethnicity: White
- Gender: Male
- Income Bracket: > $30,000
- Assets: plz
- Property: i wish
- Extenuating Circumstances: My mother was schizophrenic, then passed away under my care.
- Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college
/list
bWhy you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:/b I took the easiest classes available freshman and sophomore years, and got Cs and Bs! It is never too late to turn things around. I matched because my application was consistent; my angry activism fit with my angry essay, both of which presented me as a moral and engaged person.
Matched: Grinnell
Ranked: Vassar, Swarthmore, Emory, USC, Rice, W&L, Scripps, Carleton, Colby, Haverford, Oberlin, Grinnell
SAT Composite: 1250 Reading: 680 Math:570
Weighted GPA: 4.6/5
Unweighted GPA: 3.8/4
Rank: 10.25%
AP Scores: Euro: 2, Calc AB: 3, Lang: 3, Psych: 3, APES: 3
Course load: 3 on campus, 2 college courses a semester dual enrolled
Extracurriculars: National Honor Society, French Honor Society (Vice President)
Job/work: two part time jobs
Volunteer: 40 hours last year from multiple events
Essays: background essay, ethicality essay
Teacher recommendations: 2
Counselor reccommendarion: yes
State: Florida
School type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income bracket: <20,000
Hooks: free reduced lunch
[ size=6][ color=green][ b]Decision: Matched**[/color][/size]
[ b]Match to:**
[ b]Schools Ranked:**
[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[ *] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW):
[ *] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci):
[ *] SAT II (Type, Score):
[ *] Weighted GPA (out of ??):
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[ /list]
[ b]Subjective:**
[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ *] Essays:
[ *] Teacher Recommendations:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ /list]
[ b]Other**
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Income Bracket:
[ *] Assets:
[ *] Property:
[ *] Extenuating Circumstances:
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[ /list]
[ b]Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:**
oops sorry didn’t mean to do that
Decision: Matched
Matched to: Rice University
Schools Ranked: (In order) Stanford, Rice, Pomona, Yale, Columbia, Brown, USC, Duke
Objective:
- SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M): 1310, Trash Essay score, 710, 630
- ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 31, 9, 35, 27, 34, 27
- SAT II (Type, Score): 710 - US History, 560 - Literature (Haha if you really think subject tests matter a lot: Don’t)
- Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.86
- Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
*Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 6% (idk why they were so specific) - AP (place score in parenthesis): US History - My fave ap ever (5), Human Geo (3), World History (2) - I suck at anything college board yikes
- AICE (Cambridge) (place score in parenthesis): General Paper (A), English Language ©, Environmental Management ©
*Senior Year Course Load: Dual Enrollment: English Language 2, College Algebra, Fundamentals of Speech and Communication, American Federal Gov’t, Basic Statistics, Basic Physics, Intro to Philosophy, Humanities - Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB CPS, Finalist, Gates Semi-Finalist (I should actually be doing those essays), Regional Medal, iPrep Student of the Year etc.
Subjective:
- Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Class of 2018 Student Council (VP, President’s Advisor - All 4 years), iPrep Student Council (President - 12th grade), SharkPAC Performing Arts (Dancer and Thespian), Bible Club (When I can make the available meetings), School Recruiter (Recruiting 8th graders to come to our school - Student Ambassador for my academy)
- Job/Work Experience: Janitor (actually not as bad a job as I thought) at my church on Sundays - about 12 hrs, Childcare worker at my church for about a year now - about 9 hours, Internship with the Town Manager of my town for about a year
- Volunteer/Community service: co-created Tutoring program at my school in freshman year (9th and 10th grade), Mentor at my church on Sundays (9th and 10th grade), Led a tent for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life (to raise money and awareness)
- Summer Activities: Work, Fly-ins, Sleep, took Dual Enrollment Classes
- Essays: QB Essay: 8/10 - I really thought it sucked but I think after reading it I can pick out the qualities I showed.
I wrote about how I struggled to find myself (it wasn’t basic I swear)
QB Supplements: 9/10 - I loved these even though I could never get a true grasp of what I wanted to write for them
Rice Supplement: 15/10 - I wrote about how much I fell in love with Rice during their fly-in and how much it felt like home. It was so genuine and I know for a fact this is what got me in. - Teacher Recommendations: Teacher 1: 11/10. She has taught me since 7th grade (my middle school transitioned into a high school and we both stayed) and she is my 2nd mom (or, as she calls it, my school mom). She probably wrote the best rec letter in existence.
Teacher 2: 10/10, taught me both Sophomore and Junior year, she has always thought favorably of me and writes a crap-ton of recommendations, so I know she is likely great at them. Not as close to me as Teacher 1 is. - Counselor Rec: 10/10 Most people don’t know their counselors well but my school is small so I do. She thinks highly of me and I’m sure it was a favorable rec.
Other
- State (if domestic applicant): Florida
- School Type: Public Magnet
- Ethnicity: African-American
- Gender: Male
- Income Bracket: A little high for the match, comes in at around 60k (for a family of 5)
- Assets: Home with a mortgage on it (AKA none)
- Property: Read the above
- Extenuating Circumstances: Besides debt??
- Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Gen
Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:
I think I was matched for my well-roundedness and the fact that I was so personally engaged in the school.
General Comments:
If you thought your app was trash, so did I. I didn’t trust my essays AT ALL. But let me tell you. You’re SO much better than you think you are and you need to trust yourself. I’m gonna try to do a college App series soon on my youtube Kingcase if you guys want help with that (I’ve spent a LOT of time with admissions officers), but if you have any questions feel free to ask.
anyone know why my post was deleted? Idk the rules here, but after editing it, it got flagged or “reviewed” for removal. Can the admin or someone please report it?