<p>I'm currently a senior in high school and recently, have heard back from two universities in particular: Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University. To my surprise, I was waitlisted at both of those universities. I understand why I was waitlisted at Northwestern; I wrote a horrible essay at the last minute that might have come off as apathetic and unenthusiastic about the school. However, I believe I wrote a fairly decent essay for Carnegie Mellon University yet I was waitlisted too. I don't want to sound like a pretentious egoist but I was adamant that I would be accepted to Carnegie Mellon for sure, especially the less-competitive arts and sciences college. To give you an idea of my stats here is a copy and pasted version of my "Chance Me" thread. </p>
<p>Information:</p>
<p>Pacific Asian; Average-income household; Competitive IB school in Western Canada</p>
<p>Stats: </p>
<p>SAT I: 2270
Reading:700
Writing: 770
Math: 800</p>
<p>SAT II:
Math II:800
Chemistry: 770
Korean with Listening: 800 </p>
<p>GPA/IB Scores:
Weighed:4.07 GPA Scale: 4.0 </p>
<p>Rank:
Top 1% in the district </p>
<p>IB Diploma Candidate:
IB Spanish SL (6) <-actual score (all other score are predicted marks)
IB English HL 6
IB Chemistry HL 6
IB History HL 6
IB Geography SL 6
IB Math SL 7
Predicted score: 40/45 </p>
<p>Significant ECs (ones that were mentioned on the Common Application): </p>
<p>Volunteer Supervisor/Liason/Trainer at Evergreen Senior Home (Gr.9-12)
- Created the "Highschool Volunteer Network" in order to recruit more volunteers and spread the idea of volunteering out of goodwill.
- Trained and supervised new or existing volunteers.
- Over 400 hours. </p>
<p>Solo Clarinetist / Performance Organizer of White Rock Community Orchestra (Gr.9-12)</p>
<p>Task Force Manager/Treasurer of Vancouver Youth Charity Society (VYCS) (Gr.9-12)
- Partook in an extensive project in which the members and I organized a large-scale golf tourament to fundraise money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.
- Raised over $40,000 with over 50 sponsors gathered. </p>
<p>Independent Researcher (11) Assistant Researcher (12)
- Independent research on the topic of ""Factors Affecting Mortality Rate in Kenya using Coefficient Degression" and won an award for it at an international conference where students from all over the world gather to present their research papers.
- Assistant researcher of an extensive project with Hankyong University on the topic of "Profit Maxmization for Local Farmers in the Gyonggi-Do Province." The project was requested by the province. </p>
<p>Member (9&10) Event Organizer (11&12) of the Globalizer Club
- Volunteered for school events and performances.
- Organized school fairs, and fundraising events.
- Volunteered weekly for environmental causes. Cleaning up the school, etc. </p>
<p>Camp Assistant (9 & 10) Camp Leader (11) of Regional Kids Spring Camp
-Led many organized activities, planned events, and in grade 12, operated the entire camp.</p>
<p>Vice President (11) President (12) of Basketball Club
-Played weekly with other members and helped host school basketball tournaments to fundraise money.</p>
<p>Member of Varsity Basketball Team (9,10) </p>
<p>Interan as Financial Analyst at Bank (11,12)</p>
<p>Life Guard and Swim Instructor at Local Pool (11,12)</p>
<p>*Also joined minor clubs and participated in minor activities. </p>
<p>Recs: </p>
<p>Teacher 1: Excellent
Teacher 2: Good
Counsellor: Good
Additional Rec: By research advisor, a professor at the university. Excellent. </p>
<p>Essays: </p>
<p>Common App: 8/10
Short Answer: 8/10
Supps:8/10</p>
<p>Are universities simply getting more competitive each year or is there a valid reason as to why I was waitlisted? I thank you all in advance for your valuable inputs for this has been on my mind lately.</p>