*** Amherst Class of 2019 RD Decisions ***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

Remove spaces in brackets before posting!!

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted **[/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected **[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT (breakdown):
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses):
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[ /list][ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ *] Essays:
[ *] Teacher Recommendation:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview:
[ *] Supplementary Material:

[ /list][ b]Other**
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?:
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

[ /list][ b]General Comments: **

2

**Decision: Waitlisted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (single sitting) (CR-800, M-700, W-710) ** But Amherst did not have these scores to consider because I messed up sending them. ***
ACT (breakdown): 32 (E 35, M 32, R 33, S 29, W 10)
SAT II: Math I 730, US History 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.25 (unweighted unknown)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/295
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB Subscore (5), BC (4), Eng Lang (4), Human Geography (5), US (5), World (5), AP Physics B and Chem did not report
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Environmental Science, AP Comparative Government, AP English Lit, AP US Government, Health&PE, ITE 119 dual enrolled, AP French, and AP Euro self-study
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Eagle Scout, Congressional Award Silver Medalist, Military Child of the Year 2014 Top-5 Finalist, Rock the Statue Green American-French Embassy Semi-Finalist, Gold Level Presidential Volunteer Service Award, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Commended, West Point Leadership Award, VA Boys State Lt. Governor Party Nomination Runner-Up, National Honor Society (Sec.), 2015 US Senate Youth Program Virginia Delegate
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Swim Team 10-12 (Captain, VHSL 3rd Place Boys Team)
Varsity Forensics 9-12 (Captain, VHSL 3rd Place Prose Interp)
Student Council Association 9-12 (9-Class Treasurer, 10-Class Rep, 11 School VP, 12- School Pres)
Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society 11-12 (Special Events Coordinator)
Boy Scouts 1-12 (Senior Patrol Leader among other things)
Model United Nations 10-12 (Research Chair, Best Delegate at Maggie Walker and William&Mary conferences)
Student2Student (transfer student group) 9-12 (Founder at new high school and President 10-12, Frances Hesselbein Student Leadership Program Participant)
EqualizeOurEarth Humanitarian Club 10-12
Société Honoraire de Français and French Club 9-12 (VP-12)
Freshmen Orientation Crew (freshmen mentoring) 11-12 (Captain-12)
VA Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar 10-12 (Ambassador-10, Junior Staff and Leadership4Service Keynote Speaker-11, Team Alumni-12, Alumni Association Public Relations and Recruitment Team Board Member 11,12)
Job/Work Experience:
Lifeguard at an indoor retirement community’s health club and spa’s pool year-round 10-12 (15-19 hrs/wk)
AidData Research Assistant at the College of William&Mary, mapping aid to developing countries, its implantation and effectiveness
School Division Honors Project, an oral history project of my town
Volunteer/Community service:
Probably near the thousands if I add up all four years. I did 350 hours junior year.
KidZone, elementary afterschool program 9
Missouri Special Olympics 9
Eagle Scout Service Project 9/10
Chemical Corps Regimental Association 9 (Volunteer of the Year 2012)
Freshmen O-Crew 11-12 (Captain)
Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center Weekly Volunteer 10-12
French, English and History Honor Society Tutor
National History Day Projects middle school mentor 11-12
Capernaum Special Needs Club Volunteer 10-12
Summer League Swim Team Volunteer Assistant Coach 11-12
Honors Project Community Service Element, introducing technology to the lives of aging adults 11-12
VA HOBY Alumni Association, VA HOBY Seminar Junior Staff
Summer Activities:
Lifeguarding Job
Virginia Boys State
Volunteering
Nicaraguan Mission Relief Trip
Stanford Online’s International Women’s Health and Human Rights for no credit

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App- 8/10 about growing up in a military family and overcoming my fear of the doorbell as a child.
Amherst Sup- 7/10 Honestly wasn’t bad in theory, but I found multiple mistakes after submission (my fault for only spending like 45 minutes on it)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: AP Human/APUSH teacher, swim coach, rho kappa and EqualizeOurEarth sponsor, Yale alumna- didn’t read, but assume 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: Student2Student sponsor and librarian who mentors my online classes (AP Environ, Comp Gov and World last year), knows me very well and was a military brat- didn’t read but assume 10/10
Counselor Rec: Knows me very well, work with him often, told me he spent over an hour writing and editing (which at a public school like mine is incredible)- didn’t read but assume it was also 10/10.
Additional Rec: Did not submit
Interview: Didn’t happen

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Econ/Poli Sci
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~115,000… maybe more.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not much, I just love people. Is that a hook?

Reflection:
Amherst was a last minute application for me to be honest. I’ve never visited, and I was by no means hell bent on attending. I’m content with the outcome, especially since they didn’t have my SAT scores to consider.

Strengths: ECs, Service, Awards, Recs
Weaknesses: Test Scores, Test Scores, Test Scores, essays and Bs in AP Physics B/Physics Lab and AB Calculus.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t even know!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Rejected Yale SCEA
Accepted UVA and Vanderbilt
Waitlist Duke and Amherst

General Comments:
Congratulations to all those admitted! Amherst is amazing, and I’m sure that makes you all special too. I decided to claim my position on the waitlist and see what happens. I wouldn’t want to close any doors prematurely.

3

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2290; 750 CR, 750 MA, 790 WR (Superscored)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: Math II 770, US history 730
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA : 4.38
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/233
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): US Hist (5), English Composition (4), French (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs (Eng Lit, Calc, Government, Music Theory)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Violin - Orchestra (“B” level at a conservatory), Swim Team
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: 100 hours total
[] Summer Activities: Violin
[] Essays: 8/10 (not amazing, but solid)
[] Teacher Recommendation: Excellent
[] Counselor Rec: Probably very good
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview: none
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Dual Major: Music + Undecided
[] State (if domestic applicant): ID
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: < 100,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA (unweighted), SAT scores, Recommendations
[] Weaknesses: Very few extracurricular activities, not much service, relatively few AP classes
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays communicated strength of character, solid SATs, solid
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected/waiting on: Accepted: Wesleyan, Middlebury, Amherst, Vassar, Whitman, Willamette, Bard Waitlisted: Bowdoin, Williams Waiting on: Harvard, Yale, Cornell
[/ul]General Comments: A bit surprised at acceptance after being waitlisted at Williams and Bowdin. More surprised at the financial package which was on par with Wesleyan and met all need (excluding EFC)…

4

**Decision: Accepted

Objective: [ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (690 writing, 720 CR, 800 math)
[] ACT (breakdown): 34 (35 sci, 36 writing, 35 reading, 30 math, 10 essay)
[] SAT II: 720 Bio, 740 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 83
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Biology (4), Calc AB, Government, Chemistry, English
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs, two fine arts and one language (only 6 APs offered in school)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presidential Scholar Nominee, National Merit Finalist, State Champion in Speech and Academic Olympics, etc.[/li]
[/ul]Subjective: [ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): 4-H (club/regional/county presidents), 2 Varsity Sports, Speech and Debate (captain), Robotics (president and founder/coach for youth club), Science Olympiad (captain), Academic Olympics (captain)
[] Job/Work Experience: Summer service job in construction rentals
[] Volunteer/Community service: ~750 hrs (4 year youth mentor, 4-H service, youth robotics coach, etc.)
[] Summer Activities: Work
[] Essays: Very Good
[] Teacher Recommendation:One incredible and one good (Spanish and math teachers, respectively)
[] Counselor Rec: He hardly knows me but I’m sure it was fine
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: N/A
[] Supplementary Material: N/A

[/ul]Other [ul]
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
[] State (if domestic applicant): Montana
Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): rural, legacy-ish [/li]
[/ul]Reflection [ul]
[] Strengths: Strong ECs with demonstrated commitments and tons of community service
[] Weaknesses: No fancy internships or company employments due to rural living, but it looks like they understood
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Check a lot of boxes
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Amherst, Davidson, Lewis and Clark, Columbia (likely letter)
Rejected: MIT

[/ul]**General Comments: ** I think I’m a pretty well-rounded candidate, which helps out a lot. Did the most with what I had and it paid off.

5

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 760 CR, 800 M, 780 W, composite 2340
[] ACT (breakdown): 31 M, 30 S, 35 W, 35 CR, composite 33
[] SAT II: did not submit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.09 (my class’s GPA is on a 4.3 scale, with an A+ counting as a 4.3 and an A- as a 3.7. So this equates to about 2/3 of my grades being A’s and 1/3 being A+'s)

[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
[] AP (place score in parentheses): not available at my school
[] IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: Advanced Math Seminar (A+), Advanced Chemistry (A), English 12 (A), 20th Century Social Movements (A), Spanish 7 (A), Art (A, doesn’t count towards GPA)
I’m taking the hardest classes I can take at my school. They do not offer APs or Honor Classes, but the advanced courses are awesome and stimulating.

[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
No major awards… But I won the highest academic award for my grade in 9th grade, and the highest award for the humanities department for my grade in 11th grade. I was also selected in 10th grade to represent my school at a senior leadership conference. Finally, I’m a national hispanic scholar.
[/list]Subjective:
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Honor Council (member), Peer Tutoring Center (leader), Middle School Mentor Program (leader), Varsity Soccer (4 years, captain last 2 years), Varsity Track (3 years, captain this year)[/li][] Job/Work Experience: internship at the Carnegie institute during 11th grade, internship with MathAction (writing a math curriculum incorporating social studies) summer before 12th grade.
[] Volunteer/Community service: 3 weeks of work mixing cement and digging holes in a rural Salvadorian village
[] Summer Activities: really not much other than mentioned above…
[] Essays: I know this is said a lot, but I really do think that my common app essay was good. My college counselor told me, after reading it, “you are a beautiful person.” Definitely a strange yet adorable thing to say… She is really great. :slight_smile: I wrote about how the rules of mathematics have helped me to shape my life.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I’m lucky enough to go to a small, cushy school, where I am an attentive student. Teachers know and like me.
[] Counselor Rec: :slight_smile:
[] Interview: so actually, even though Amherst doesn’t offer interviews, I was able to speak with the Dean of admissions for a few minutes and ask some questions when I visited. She seemed to like me. I don’t know if this affected my admissions decision… She probably doesn’t remember me. But you never know.
[li] Supplementary Material: nah[/li]
[/list]Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: yup!
[] State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: private
[] Ethnicity: hispanic
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): 100,000-150,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM[/li]
[/list]Reflection
[] Strengths: good test scores, essay, and probably recs
[] Weaknesses: I didn’t really do anything “amazing”-- and my school doesn’t offer AP courses, which I was afraid would make my application look bad.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I managed to demonstrate my passion for math (along with other subjects) through my essay and my ECs, I guess.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted: amherst, middlebury, bowdoin, colorado college (ea), haverford, kenyon (science scholarship)
Waitlisted: williams, swarthmore
Rejected: MIT :slight_smile:

I am attending the Diversity Day open house. Really hope to see some of you guys there!

6

Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT (breakdown): 32 (M: 28, Sci: 28, E: 32, R: 36, W: 33)
[] SAT II:
Math I: 600
Chemistry: 520
Biology: 540
(Dont judge lol)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.75
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 15%
[] AP (place score in parentheses):
AP World History(4)
AP Lang. and Comp.(4)
AP US History(4)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load:
Very Challenging
AP Physics I (2nd hardest class offered)
AP Chemistry 2 (1st hardest class offered)
AP Lit. and Comp.
AP Gov. and Pol.
Precalculus(HNR)
Advanced Philharmonic Orchestra(concert)
[***] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
AP Scholar
Presidential Scholar(nominee)
Several Orchestra group based awards
High school/college Book and Philosophy award
Several JROTC ribbons, advanced rank, and awards(freshman year)
Several Honor roll and Principles list award
Outstanding Ambassador2
Outstanding Justice(statewide mock government)
Outstanding Advocate(statewide mock government)[/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
JROTC(highest leadership position for freshman year achieved)
National Honor Society(Secretary)
Freshman Orchestra(Assistant Concert Master)
Philharmonic Orchestra(3rd Primary Violin)
Senior Class Officer(Sgt. - in - Arms)
Student Senate
Statewide mock government(Sectional team leader for school)
Statewide mock United Nations(Sectional team co-leader for school)
Beta club
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service:
Out of country volunteer trip
Home aide and translation with ESL parents
Hospital Volunteer
School activity volunteer
Orchestra volunteer
(very large amount of total hours over 4 years)
[] Summer Activities:
Summer volunteering trip
[] Essays:
Very strong and personal (wrote about hardships of growing up ESL and immigrant)
Wrote optional essay about why I am more than just
[] Teacher Recommendation:
AP Physics I teacher: Fairly weak, only knew me for one year and it was short and he even misspelled my
name
AP World History teacher: Very strong, knew me for long time and sponsor for clubs
[] Counselor Rec:
Very strong, knew me for a long time and everything was positive
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: N/A
[] Supplementary Material: N/A[/ul]

Other[ul]
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): KY
Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Public College Preparatory(very large and challenging compared to other schools)
[] Ethnicity: West Indian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $30,001 - $60,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/li]DIVOH, ESL, ESL parents, frequent mover, many family responsibilities, strong competitive school environment[/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:
Very strong essay, well rounded in all areas, many responsibilities and difficult classes in a difficult
school
[] Weaknesses: Weak test scores, lower level GPA, no interview, one weak recommendation
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Likely the fact that I was well rounded and had an engaging story and expressed that story in an engaging
and personal form. I also used many creative analogies to show my creativity.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Vanderbilt, Amherst
Waitlisted: N/A
Rejected: MIT, Yale-NUS, Northwestern, USC, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon
Waiting on: UPenn, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Brown, Columbia, Princeton.[/ul]

Goodluck everyone!

7

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
[] ACT (breakdown): 34
[] SAT II: 700 and 760
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 20%
[li] Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP’s [/li]
Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): I have a lot of extracurriculars that I’ve been doing for a long time. I also have a lot of leadership.
[] Job/Work Experience: I had one internship for like three days
[] Volunteer/Community service: I do a lot of volunteering too at an orphanage.
[] Summer Activities:
[] Essays:
[] Teacher Recommendation: I think both were good. I’ve had these teachers for two and three years. They both seem to really like me.
[] Counselor Rec: I think it was good. My counselor wrote a personal one for me (which is rare in my large public high school)
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview: Didn’t do one
[] Supplementary Material:

[/list]Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
[] State (if domestic applicant): Midwest
[] School Type: Large public high school
[] Ethnicity: Black
[li] Gender: Female [/li]
[/list]Reflection
[] Strengths: My extracurriculars
[] Weaknesses: My gap and class rank
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

[/list]**General Comments: **
[*] I did the DIVOH program in the fall (which accepts like 20% of applicants and the students that go have a 75% chance of admissions). I think this is why I was accepted.

8

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (790 CR, 770 M, 780 W)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 770 USH, 760 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/117
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH (5), English Language (5), Physics B (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Calc AB, AP Physics C, AP Euro, honors gov, other random classes (hardest course load available)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Connecticut Governor’s Scholar, Harvard Book Award?

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Team (captain), Political Science Club (founder and president), School Newspaper (editor)
•Job/Work Experience: Worked for the past four years at a local library
•Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer as a tech volunteer at a different local library, I ran a program over the summer that teaches middle school students debate techniques
•Personal Statement: Common app was good, I thought my supplement was excellent
Other
•Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
• Intended Major : I put computer science on the application
•State (if domestic applicant): CT
•Country (if international applicant):
•School Type: Small parochial
•Ethnicity: Whiter than Casper the Friendly Ghost
•Gender: Female
•Income Bracket: Don’t worry bout it
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Woman in computer science?

Reflection
•Strengths: SAT, GPA, essays (I thought), woman in STEM?
•Weaknesses: Very few real hooks, few major awards
•Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?
Accepted: Dartmouth, Duke, UVA, UNC-CH, Cornell, Georgetown, UConn
Waitlisted: Yale, Northwestern
Rejected: Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford
•Schools you are waiting for?
General Comments: Apply to as many schools as you can, the schools I got into versus the schools I got rejected from seem completely random to me

9

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I: 760 CR, 800 Math, 800 Writing
SAT II: 800s on Math II, Chem, USH
Unweighted GPAL 3.99 (A- in Algebra I and II from middle school)
Rank: top 10%
AP: 5s in Macro, Micro, Chem, USH, World, Euro, Calc BC (AB subscore 5), Lit
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, Orchestra, Independent Study in Performing Arts, AP Government, AP Statistics, Latin V, Advanced Composition (college credit course)
Major Awards: National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist, 2nd Place in National Econ Challenge, 1 Gold Key and 1 Silver Key in National Scholastic Writing Awards, 1st in Best Midwestern High School Contest, 1st in Brigham Young University Writing Contest, multiple orchestra awards (in contests)

Subjective
EC: Symphony Orchestra (Section Leader 11-12)
Orchestra Council (Treasurer 12; member 10-12; student council for orchestra)
Share the Music (Treasurer 11, VP 12; member 9-12; volunteer performance)
Martial arts (9-11)
Essay Workshop Club (President/Founder 12)
NHS
Econ Challenge Team (11)
Job/work: none
Volunteer: Share the Music,
NHS
Summer activities: Harvard SSP (2013)
Essays:
Common App–8/10
Supplement option B: 10/10 (won essay competitions with it)
Teacher Rec: both strong
Counselor Rec: idk
Additional Rec: generic, from orchestra teacher
Supplementary: Music supplement, good but probably not fantastic

Other
State: IN
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Hooks: none

Reflection
Strengths: Test scores, grades, writing ability, decent EC
Weaknesses: little work/volunteering, competitive senior class (2 people went to Nat’l Chem Olympiad team, 1 to nat’l physics Olympiad team)
Why accepted: well rounded applicant (minus absence of volunteering) but the main factor was my supplementary essay based on the fact that the content of my essay strongly matches the areas of interest of my Schupf Scholar mentor
Other admits: Rice, Emory, WashU
Waitlists: Williams, Princeton, Columbia, Northwestern
Rejects: Harvard, Yale