Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1450
ACT (breakdown): didn’t submit
SAT II: didn’t submit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.3
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): No APs
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus, English 12, Gov, Religion, Environmental Science, Psychology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Volunteer leader at special needs music academy (violin teacher), weekly volunteering
Job/Work Experience: swim instructor (2 years)
Volunteer/Community service: see above
Summer Activities: Summer internship in Engineering and Science
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App Essay: 8/10 . Pretty unique and special topic, but wasn’t masterfully written. I also did the additional info essay (10/10) on my untraditional high school experience (public school, to online school, to homeschool, to community college, to independent study while traveling the world)
Why Barnard: 9/10 .
Woman in History/Fiction: 9/10 . Fairly creative topic of choice! I decided to do a fictional character from one of my favorite TV shows (aka Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 8/10 .
Teacher Rec #2: 5/10? Only knew this person for a few months
Counselor Rec: 7/10 Probably pretty generic
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Environmental Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):US
School Type: Untraditional Schooling
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: n/a
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):none
Reflection: Didn’t expect to get in, so I was ecstatic about my results! Barnard was definitely my dream school.
Strengths: Uniqueness. I don’t think there was any other applicant who had exactly the same schooling experience as me.
Weaknesses: No SAT 2s, No AP tests OR courses, mediocre SAT (not impressive but decent), weak teacher recs b/c of untraditional schooling experience
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I was accepted due to my unique background with schooling. I talked a lot about how I can bring my new ideas and perceptions of education to the Barnard community and I emphasized my interest with connecting my Barnard education to resolving global issues.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Northeastern, Cal Poly SLO, Reed college, BU, Colorado college, Smith, Wellesley
Waitlisted: Wesleyan, Brown, Dartmouth
Rejected: Claremont Mckenna, Pomona college, UPenn, Bowdoin, Carleton, Boston College, Scripps College, Colby College, Bates College
General Comments: Don’t get discouraged by loads of rejections! I actually got rejected from 7 schools in a ROW before I got the Barnard acceptance. The entire application process is a LOT and no matter the result, just be proud of how far you’ve come and stay positive!