<p>Ivy League schools really, REALLY look for some non-academic ECs when considering admission, as I understand. Still, that's harsh =/</p>
<p>I don't see any weaknesses. What I'm wondering is whether he appeared to have blown off the essays or interviews. </p>
<p>When I've interviewed some students who were very strong on paper and probably applied to tons of college, some seemed bored with being interviewed and gave brief answers that sounded rote. My guess was that I might have been about their tenth interview and they simply were burned out or had gotten to the point that they assumed that their great stats and ECs would carry them, and the interview was simply a formality.</p>
<p>While my alma mater, H, doesn't take a student's perceived interest in H into account when it considers applicants, it still is very interested in how students present themselves on paper and in interviews. Students who rattle off one sentence pat answers, have no questions for the interviewer, seem to be in rush to leave the interview don't leave interviewers with the impression that the students would enrich the college's environment. One thing that H interviewers are supposed to consider is whether they would have wanted the applicant as a roommate. Interviewers won't give a resounding "yes" if the student seems disinterested in connecting during an interview.</p>
<p>I don't know how many colleges the OP applied to, but if he applied to 8 or more, he simply may not have had the time to put lots of thought into individualizing his essays and interviews. Considering his exceptionally strong SATs (which must have put him among the top 25-50 African Americans in the country) and demonstrated passion and talent for math (something few African Americans pursue), I don't think that his 3.5 unweighted caused his rejection. </p>
<p>When I have seen rejections like his, they have been due to problems with the interviews or essays. Essays that ended people's chances included essays that were homophobic, selfish (i.e. "My goal is to make lots of money because I deserve a life of luxury, and I am applying to your college because it would be my ticket to financial success) racist or that were so poorly done that the adcoms assumed that the student didn't give a darn about admissions or was so egotistical that the student assumed that s/he would be a a shoo-in.</p>
<p>And it's a fallacy that one needs a nonacademic EC to get into an Ivy. With rare exceptions, one needs some kind of strong EC, but that EC can be in any area.</p>
<p>This will read a bit like a story, so if you want to get to further discussion down the line, skip this post:</p>
<p>Hm, I applied to all of the standard "math" colleges; with someone very math or science oriented, you'll typically see a similar list.</p>
<p>In order of preference:</p>
<p>Harvard (alot of reasons, had alot of the superstars, classes like Math 25, 55 (55 being in my dreams), AMAZING resources)</p>
<p>MIT(alot of general math friends and people I know went there, amazing the freedom they let one have)</p>
<p>Princeton (no loans was particuarly appealing, as well as the rich tradition that pervades mathematics there...things like tea time in the colleges, and after reading A Beautiful Mind I really liked it)</p>
<p>Duke (strong Putnam showing, strong mathematical showing in general...generally thought of as "on the rise"; there's a caveat though, all the really strong, nay just strong math majors are ALL on scholarship (this is pervasive, I am not kidding you))</p>
<p>UChicago (unknown by most, but their strong students are very strong and draw in by the unassuming nature of the place; very anti-social however, bu they have a strong Analysis track that really encouraged me to apply) </p>
<p>Cornell (almost the same freedom as MIT, not the same superstar status....however, the area was desolate, and NOT Boston)</p>
<p>Stanford (contemplated applying, did not, however, just generally strong)</p>
<p>Columbia (CAS, they used to be quite strong mathematically, still pretty strong in economics, and I found out apparently Noam Elkies went there)</p>
<p>Yale (silly, I don't even know why I applied, the revealed preference rankings show that Yale's pretty low on that list...the humanist's haven in New Haven)</p>
<p>That is, like Northstarmom stipulated, 8 schools.<br>
Results:
UChicago (IN), Duke (IN, invitation to BSAI), Cornell (IN)
Rej: Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Yale
WL: Princeton </p>
<p>However, my essays were anything but blown off, and anything but formulaic. Initially, applying EA, I wrote about "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers" by Erdos, and my love of playing a guitar. That might have been a mistake, because reading afterward, by interest essay was...too mathematical, and my optional playing guitar essay was too...edgy. However, this was a problem for only two colleges: H and Y, which I submitted the same essay via Common App too (supplements were different).</p>
<p>For every college after that, I wrote a different, entirely separate essay for each blank provided. Each essay for a particular school was unique.</p>
<p>For example, for Princeton's supplement, I wrote about why I enjoy rap music, how it was both complex and the way I explored that complexity. For Columbia, I wrote about early days playing chess with my father, about how seeing the pieces evoked Christmas mornings and chocolate cookies. MiT, and UChicago's essays were the most inspired and dedicated, however: with MiT I wrote something about the personal relationship between my father and I, about the personal elegance of mathematics in general, other things. In particular, what I felt was I had somehow expunged a part of myself, managed to convey my intent across the paper, really communicated who I was and why I wanted to go there. It felt far less calculated (like Harvard's) and yet more polished than any of the previous essays. It still needed to be edited, and so edit it, I did.</p>
<p>MIT was the first college to send me a rejection, on a rainy March Monday.</p>
<p>And thus began that impeding downward spiral, something I felt twisting in my gut standing outside my mailbox reading the solitary, a-little-too-nice letter that just... snips dreams. Finally, on March 31st, it ended, and you have what you see here today.</p>
<p>However, I can't say I'm not thankful. Two weeks after the season ended, I sat back, researched a little, and saw a little of the reason why an admission committee could have potentially rejected me. There are studies, statistics, quotas and guidelines that I guess a bunch of men and women have to use dispassionately before selecting from that humanistic aspect who exactly belongs to the Class of 2009. I feel strongly, with almost all of the finality that a rejection letter conveys, that I passed that personality aspect. I put too much of me into those essays not to have. However, there must have been something very deep and pressing in that tangible material they had; could I succeed at college X? would I succeed? I suppose they concluded in the negative, and thus I found out my weaknesses too; instead of a warm loving Fed Ex package, one discovers stark reality on the doorstep. </p>
<p>But I'm thankful I'm going to Duke, and I'm all better now. =)</p>