I made a cc account just so I could post this on this thread, bear with me
Rejected
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1210 (didn’t submit)
ACT (breakdown): 28 (already low for the school, I know)
SAT II subject tests: didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Music Theory 4, Environmental Science 3
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: British Literature, AP Stats, Choir, Music History Honors, Econ/AP Gov, Spanish 4 Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): designated California Art Scholar by Gov. Brown, Rotary Club Student of the Month (not really major but its what I put)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Leadership board for theatre company producing shows with a social justice emphasis, high school drama board, county outreach music organizing board, volunteering at science center, Best Buddies Club, local community theatre productions, internationally known choir
Job/Work Experience: my work running a kids theatre camp with my company (not paid)
Volunteer/Community service: also part of my extra curriculars
Summer Activities: Acting in productions, attending California State Summer School for the Arts (designated california art scholar), organizing and heading a theatre camp for five weeks the past three years
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App:
8-9, I wrote about my severely autistic younger brother and how it’s affected my personality and opportunities in life, incorporating compassion, independence, empathy, extreme maturity
Why Barnard?:
7-8, It was extremely well written and felt very true to me and my reasons why I wanted to go to the school which is all I can ask for in an essay, but didn’t speak specifically to the curriculum opportunities at the school, mostly just talked about the student body and feeling at home.
Woman in History:
9-10, Wrote about Sophie Scholl (look her up later, her story is incredible), a choice I’m really happy with and wouldn’t change any part of this essay. I made two people tear up when reading it, spoke about how her activism inspires me in my work through theatre, using theatre as a platform for social change.8-9, I wrote about my severely autistic younger brother and how it’s affected my personality and opportunities in life, incorporating compassion, independence, empathy, extreme maturity
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: English Teacher from sophmore and senior year, I didn’t get to see it obviously but this teacher has known me the best out of any teacher in high school and has seen my work and growth so it was definitely really good
Teacher Rec #2: Environmental Science teacher who also knows me through choir, spoke to my dedication and genuine love of learning he saw in the class, how I go above and beyond to learn material because I enjoy it so much, also the struggle’s I’ve overcome with my learning disabilities affecting my success.
Counselor Rec: No idea, my counselor doesn’t seem to like me that much (or she doesn’t know me, she has to write letters for 100+ people), but I asked her to further eloborate on the obstacles I’ve overcome with my multiple disabilities.
Additional Rec: Director I’ve worked with running the theatre program, definitely a good one, she’s known me since sophmore year.
Interview: Did an interview over skype with someone from Canada (which was super weird because I said I could travel to three major cities within two hours of me, and I didn’t hear from the admissions office until a week before the ED deadline), I did fine but my interviewer forgot that she was interviewing me that morning so asked not to show her face on skype so it was more of a phone call and was really unprepared in her questioning. I was really taken aback by her lack of interest and preparedness in the conversation, and many of my answers came off as less than intelligent because of this unfortunetly. I was really hoping this would be some sort of golden ticket because I think my personality is something I can’t accurately convey in written form, but it wasn’t to be I guess. Out of three interviews I did for colleges this was my worst interview by far.
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Music
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: middle middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not sure, do Tourette’s Syndrome and other learning disabilities count? probably not
Reflection: Honestly, I presented my best self in my Barnard application as everyone did, and going into it I knew that realistically my statistics for tests and grades aren’t the best, I didn’t take the heaviest course load, but also knew I would regret it deeply if I never applied at all. There are so many well qualified people who applied, that honestly admissions this round seems even more of a crapshoot than last year did. Am I disappointed that I didn’t get in? Of course. Barnard was the dream, and it’s always sad to have the dream end. But I also know that I’m going to end up where I’m supposed to be at the end of the day, and clearly it just wasn’t meant to be. I can be sad about it while also realizing this, and realizing the pain will go away soon.
Strengths: Extremely involved in my community, very kind genuine person with a true love for academia and wanting to change the world (I know, it’s cliche). I’ve proved myself to be resilient in the face of adversity, and am one of the strongest people you will ever meet. But, personality can only get you so far in college admissions.
Weaknesses: Test Scores, GPA, Extracurriculars, probably all of it. I haven’t had many opportunities in my life to expand myself past my small university town, but I’ve made the most of my situation and while that may put me at a disadvantage, I can’t change the circumstances I’ve been handed.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Other people with the same personality sets and interests with far better test scores and GPA’s and awards all applied, and at the end of the day those are the people colleges want at their school, not just some teenager who does theatre and isn’t on par on the objective levels.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere else yet (now just impatiently waiting for March to come).
General Comments: Congratulations to all of you amazing girls who got in, and congratulations to all of the amazing girls who were deferred or rejected. Obviously for any of us to have applied to Barnard we all in some aspect belong there and share similar goals and ambitions, so be proud of all that you have accomplished in your life. Allow yourself to be sad, and after some time fall in love with a new school. One school is not the make or break decision in your life and though it hurts and you’ve probably been told this too many times, everything happens for a reason and you will end up at the school that is perfect for you. To those who were accepted, that’s obviously Barnard, and those who were rejected it’s another school, but everything works out in the end. And to anyone reading this in the future applying, please don’t let yourself get discouraged by thinking you’re not good enough to apply or could never get in. I may not have been that one in a million but you might be, and you never know unless you try. College admissions is getting even crazier every year, and I wish you all the best of luck in the process in the coming months 
