I agree. Getting into schools is not an exact science. You never know what part of the application strikes admissions committee’s fancy. If you have chosen your school judiciously, you all will be OK. Good Luck to everyone.
@totallyspies1 Lots of students get deferred in the ED pool. If you didn’t get deferred, and got rejected, that’s not a good sign. I’m not making the claim that if you got rejected you automatically can’t get into other elite schools, but it might be wiser to aim lower. If my application struck the “admissions committee’s fancy” in a way to get rejected, and not deferred, I’d be worried about what in my application caused it.
Decision: Accepted ED
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (800 Reading/writing, 750 math)
SAT II: 800 in US History, 750 in literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): idk, we do letter grades (A)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): nope
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP English Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental, AP Euro, AP English Lit, AP Calc AB, French Seminars (highest level)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Yale Book Award (idk if this is really a “major” award)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Guitarist and drummer in a bunch of bands (one of which I started), selective photography club (president), I’m big on woodworking/lutherie, and I do bit a of ultimate frisbee.
Job/Work Experience: teaching sailing for three years, writing for a food magazine over the past summer
Volunteer/Community service: nope (I guess I’m a bad person?)
Summer Activities: Same as work experience section
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app (6/10), supplement option A (9/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Rec 1 (10/10), rec 2 (7/10), counselor (5/10)
Teacher Rec #1: I had this teacher for two years and we’re really close, so I know he wrote something nice
Teacher Rec #2: I wasn’t super close with this teacher, but I did really well in her class (AP English)
Counselor Rec: I received a new counselor at the beginning of senior year, so nothing special here
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: Something liberal artsy (maybe history)
State (if domestic applicant): New York
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White, jewish
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I think I might have had a legacy through my aunt who went to Amherst, but I’m not sure it counts.
Reflection:
Strengths: I’m kind of just your standard well-rounded high school student. I do well in all my classes, I have a variety of artistic extracurriculars, strong scores, and good essays.
Weaknesses: Sort of the same thing I wrote above: I’m just your standard well-rounded high-schooler
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My stats are just generally pretty good, but I think the fact that I got more into music junior/senior year really helped. That, combined with woodworking–which you don’t see super often–I think helped a lot.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: this is ED, so…
General Comments:
I’m just really, really happy to be going to Amherst. I have connections that probably could’ve gotten me in at Harvard or Williams, but to me, nothing beats Amherst. I’ve wanted to go here since I was sophomore, and I’m just glad that that dream has come true (and that I don’t have to write any other applications because I literally hadn’t started them).
congrats!! @colwein
Decision: Accepted ED
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1540 (770, 770)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: US History- 730, Math I- 740, Math II- 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 15/600
AP (place score in parenthesis): Not Reported
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Enviroment Science, AP Calc AB, College Marketing, AP Human Geography, AP English 12, German VI
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semi-Finalist
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 Year Varsity Swimming (Captain 11,12), 1 Year JV and 3 Year Varsity Water Polo (Captain 12), German Club (President 11,12), Local Leadership Program during junior year
Job/Work Experience: Part Time Job Junior Year Summer
Volunteer/Community service: not much
Summer Activities: none
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: didn’t read
Teacher Rec #2: didn’t read
Counselor Rec: didn’t read
Additional Rec: none
Other: I go to a large public school so recs are bound to be generic
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public (2600)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Recruited Athlete
Reflection:
Strengths: Test Scores, National Merit, Upward trend in grades
Weaknesses: Bad grades freshman year
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Coach’s support on my application
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Didn’t apply anywhere else
General Comments:
Thank you! @Tspice
Decision: Accepted ED
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500 Reading/Writing - 710 Math- 790
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: Bio - 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 93/100, School does not do 4.0 scale
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/52
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio - 4 U.S. Gov/Politics - 5
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Honors English, AP Calculus AB, Honors Constitutional Law, Honors Anatomy, Spanish IV
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Countless school-wide awards, National Honors Society.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field (MVP 9-11),
One of the top sprinters in New York State. Won several championships.
Young Doctor’s Club, Business Start-Up Club (Co-Founder and Co-Leader)
Job/Work Experience: Peer Tutor (9-12), Internship with energy company over summer of sophomore year.
Volunteer/Community service: Peer tutoring
Summer Activities: Various internships
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7-8
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: History teacher I had since 8th grade, he loves me and approached me with enthusiasm to write my recommendation. He’s known for writing outstanding letters of rec. 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: AP Bio teacher who thinks fondly of me, I don’t think i stood out much in her class but college guidance told me that she wrote me a solid rec. 8/10
Counselor Rec: I’m one of their top students, and they were really pushing for me to get into my top choice. 9/10
Additional Rec: None
Other: I was a heavily recruited athlete, they’re rebuilding the track and field program at Amherst, so recruiting was very heavy this year. The coach said I was one of his top recruits, and that he would support my application as much as it needed.
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: > $200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Recruited athlete and URM.
Reflection: Not really surprised, haha. The coach “It is against policy for me to guarantee acceptance, but the likelihood of you getting accepted is as high as I can possibly express with words.”
Strengths: Athletic recruitment.
Weaknesses: Low reading/writing score, lack of central theme in the application.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Top of coach’s list for a team that is being rebuilt.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Only did 1 app, this one lol.
General Comments: I can’t wait to get on campus next year! Congratulations to those who were accepted, and good luck to everyone else!
Decision: Accepted ED
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (760 R/W 790 M) and 7/7/7
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: 800 Math II / 800 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (96-97% average)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): not official but I was around 3-4/350 because #1 took easy courses to get a rlly high average
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Chemistry (5), Physics I (5), Psych (5), HUG (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: History, AP Euro, Biology, AP Bio, English, Socials, Peer Tutoring, taking a course at nearby university
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME qualifier in freshman year (LOL), ranked top 100 in a few Canadian math contests
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Level sport (champion for age twice), Student Council (President), Key Club (Co-President), more leadership positions in various service clubs
Job/Work Experience: tutoring here and there
Volunteer/Community service: coaching kids for sport, pharmacy volunteer, church music leader (piano)
Summer Activities: well known summer camps x2 (math, neuroscience), SHAD, 3rd world country volunteer trip
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I wrote about my sport for my common app and my volunteer trip for my Amherst essay
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 (they love me b/c I TA’ed their class last year)
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10 (writes great letters b/c they’re an amazing person)
Counselor Rec: 9/10 (they speak really highly of me often?)
Additional Rec: 7/10 (my #1 teacher rec almost didn’t finish on time so I asked one of my backup teachers for a recommendation)
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yessir
Intended Major: Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Canada
School Type: public (1350)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: poor enough to get the application waiver
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): ???
Reflection:
Strengths: my EC’s and teacher ref’s were good! Well rounded?
Weaknesses: Canadian?? I feel like I don’t really stand out
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have no idea, I was actually getting ready to apply to Canadian schools because I thought I wasn’t gonna get in.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A
General Comments: wooo this is really exciting for me & I’m really excited for next year !!
Decision: Accepted ED
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 35C (36E, 34M, 36R, 33S) - single seating
SAT II: Chem (800), Math II (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9W / 4.4W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank but probably top 2-3%
AP (place score in parenthesis): US history (4), Calc AB (5), Chem (5), Lang (5), Gov (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A bunch of music related awards. Moody’s math challenge. Book awards. Honor society stuff. Nothing too special.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of music related positions, awards, competitions. Toured Europe with orchestra. Played at Carnegie hall. Math team. Three years All State band/orchestra. 2nd degree black belt in Taekwondo.
Job/Work Experience: Waited tables. Tutored kids. Assistant coach at local Taekwondo place.
Volunteer/Community service: Certified EMT with plenty of ride time. Lots of hours at hospital. Founded charity organization etc.
Summer Activities: BUTI, Aria, a bunch of music masterclasses. Built bathrooms for schools in Guatemala.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Perhaps a 9 (10 if you squint).
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: No idea
Teacher Rec #2: No idea
Counselor Rec: No idea
Additional Rec: No other recs
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemistry or Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: highly ranked public school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Too high to get finaid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflection:
Strengths: An app that supported several ‘spikes’, but collectively told a singular holistic story
Weaknesses: No fancy internships or research experience.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Feels like someone who would fit right into Amherst
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Don’t know…withdrew everywhere
General Comments:
Does “deferred” from ED mean odds are very low for later acceptance during RD round at Amherst? I am hearing that your odds are better for straight RD than acceptance after being deferred from ED?
Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 (32 math, 35 science, 35 english, 36 reading)
SAT II: 790 U.S. history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
4.0 (4.81 cw)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): World history (5) Biology (5) English Lang (5) Calculus AB (5) US history (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Environmental Sys&Soc (7)
Senior Year Course Load: Biology HL2 IB, Spanish SL IB, Math Studies SL IB (lol), English HL2 IB, Economics SL IB, Philosophy HL2 IB, TOK IB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National merit commendation?
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Charity League (7-12th grade, Vice President), National Honor Society, competitive sport since forever (club team captain), Drowning Awareness/Prevention Club
Job/Work Experience: research assistant at local UC in Eco/Evo lab
Volunteer/Community service: Docent at local ocean museum/aquarium, National Charity League, volunteer coach
Summer Activities: my sport, the research position, took a science class through Brown online my sophomore year
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
I feel like writing is so subjective, not sure how to rate them- maybe 8/10 for all of them
Common app main: wrote about something my family experienced and the “storytelling” of it as I’ve grown up, reflected on how it’s impacted me
Common app supp: wrote about my backpack and compared it to myself
Amherst supp: translation prompt, wrote about climate change
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: my IB ESS teacher, also the one who helped me get the research position (and visited me over the summer while I was researching), got award for highest grade in class: ~10/10
Teacher Rec #2: AP/IB English teacher, didn’t talk much in his class but got the award for highest grade, he liked my writing, probably a generic letter ~7/10
Counselor Rec: counselor only has 40 students and had an interview before he wrote it, I think he wrote a lot about my extracurriculars ~9/10
Additional Rec: N/A
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private >1600
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Comfortable
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Recruited athlete
Reflection: So grateful and excited!!
Strengths: recruited athlete, good test scores and grades, still involved in community even though my sport takes up a lot of time
Weaknesses: pretty standard student, math ACT not so high
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: athleticsupport + good stats
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: rescinded all other apps
Whoever’s reading this in the future: don’t lose hope! fit is a thing. @CorryBernstein you don’t necessarily have to “aim lower”. I ended up getting into Harvard and Yale 