BU Class of 2021 RD Decisions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston University
1

Hey - since decisions are in a few hours, thought I would start this thread.

Please state the following (if known) so that it may be of some use for future applicants (since there is usually a lot of speculation :slight_smile: ):[ul]
[li]Your stats, where youā€™re from and major (given below)[/li]
[li]Whether your BU portal had the words **ā€˜Our records indicateā€¦ā€™ **or ā€˜Thank youā€¦ā€™ before decision release[/li]
[li]Whether you were able to access the BU housing link before (and if you could access it, whether the words new student came or not) or the words ā€˜Access deniedā€™ appeared[/li]
[li]Whether you were able to access the BU Student Link prior to decision release.[/ul][/li]

Remove the letter ā€˜aā€™ in between the parenthesis [ and the letter B, size and color.

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**

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

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments :

Good luck :slight_smile:

2

Good Luck to all

:))

3

The BU portal had ā€œOur records indicateā€.
I was able to access the BU housing link. It even gave me a congratulations.
I was also able to access the BU Student Link.

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 33 (E34, R34, M29, S33)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8/3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: I took 11 exam courses, 3 more than avarage in my country.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mostly selfstudy and solo things, as my school offered absolutely zero. I did revive my schools Gay-Straight Club, becoming chairman. Selfstudied many languages and extra exams. Lot of international exchanges and experience.
Job/Work Experience: Work in a restaurant. Additionaly, I tutored kids.
Volunteer/Community service: A lot of volunteering.
Summer Activities: Studied abroad three summers learning different languages.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Everyone said they were good, but you never know what the admission officers might think.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: International Studies
Country (if international applicant): Netherlands
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female

Reflection

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I had strong stats? IDK, just really happy at the moment. Also I think my essays were good, but you never know,
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to: Northeastern, Dickinson, Earlham. Waitlisted: WUSTL, UChicago. Rejected: Columbia.

General Comments: Iā€™m really happy! But IDK yet if I can attend as it is quite expensive. Ahwell.

4

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 (750 CRW, 710 M)
ACT (breakdown): 33 (35 E, 34 M, 30 R, 33 SCI)
SAT II: 730 (Math II)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.62 (factoring in mid-year grades)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB tests are in May for us.
Senior Year Course Load: IB Biology HL Yr. 2, IB SL Mathematics Yr. 2, IB SL History Yr. 2, IB HL Psychology Yr. 2, IB Theory of Knowledge SL Yr. 2, Health and Medicine III, IB SL German Yr. 2, IB HL German Yr. 2, Symphony Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3rd Place at 2015 HOSA Regional Competition for Medical Photography, National Commended PSAT Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Political Club (position as club secretary), HOSA, Speech and Debate, Orchestra, Tennis (JV), Coding Club, Junior Achievement Program, Student Council General Assembly, NHS, Statistics Club
Job/Work Experience: Practicums at a biomedical engineering company and a software company, job at an SAT/ACT preparation place this past summer.
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club, school UNICEF chapter, hospital volunteering
Summer Activities: SAT/ACT job and hospital volunteering
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 (I had an advisor help me edit.)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: SL Math Teacher (9/10)
Teacher Rec #2: HL Biology Teacher (9/10)
Counselor Rec: I would say 7-8/10
Additional Rec: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public magnet
Ethnicity: Asian-Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: x > 100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, essays, recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA, ECs (lot of them were joined in my junior and senior years)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably essays, test scores, and recs outweighed my GPA.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

Accepted: Penn State University Park, Drexel University, University of Pittsburgh (Honors), Ohio State University - Columbus, University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign, North Carolina State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Maryland, Boston University

Rejected: UNC Chapel Hill, Georgia Tech, Northwestern

Waitlisted: RPI, Case Western

General Comments : Very pricy. Kind of surprised, also, that I got in.

5

Rejected. Also rejected yesterday at Colby. Admitted to UGA yesterday. Waitlisted yesterday at Grinnell and Pepperdine. We wanted a Boston option since my D boyfriend applied to Harvard/Boston Conservatory. I thoroughly believe everyone will find their spot! Best of luck to all of you.

6

Housing denied
ā€œThank youā€¦ā€
Student link not accessible.

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1490/1600, 720CR/W 770M
ACT (breakdown): 31 (did not submit)
SAT II: Chinese 800, Math II 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.33/4.00 (2.77 3.5 3.48 3.79)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP BC, AP Psych, AP Stats. French III
AP: Worlds (4), Econs (both 5)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar? lol

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Film Club (leader,) Forensics (team member,) student council.
Job/Work Experience: CEO of own e-Commerce (6k customers in 6 months,) Patent (cocreator)
Volunteer/Community service: Habitat, Service on Saturdays (leader) Interact (Art Dept Manager,) the first-aid responder,
Summer Activities: Little to none as League took away the first two LOL
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8, using skydive to represent the life of taking and conquering risks. (From mainland China to Hong Kong and from a local Cantonese school to a K-12 education)
Supplement was lit

Teacher Rec #1: 8-9/10, knew about my business
Teacher Rec #2: 8-9/10, creativity + hard work
Counselor Rec: 5/10, barely knew me

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Business
Country (if international applicant): Hong Kong
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male

Reflection

Strengths: Extracurriculars, SAT
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Extracurriculars & ability to adapt to new environment.

Comment: I guess this shows the benefits of an holistic review.

7

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 CR, 790 CW, 770 M)
SAT II: 790 (US History), 770 (Literature), 760 (Math II)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/210
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), World History (5), Statistics (5), English Language (5)
Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP courses, including AP Physics and BC Calculus, and one honors class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity softtball for three years, NHS, Student Ambassador, Debate Team, Mu Alpha Theta
Job/Work Experience: Worked at a local pizza restaurant through the summer and into my senior year
Volunteer/Community service: 300 hours, mostly at the local liberate since I was a freshman
Summer Activities: working
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, I think it was okay
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10, my US History teacher, everyone said it was good
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10, my Statistics teacher, Iā€™m just not sure how well he writes
Counselor Rec: 7/10, it was probably okay

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political science, pre-law
State (if domestic applicant): TX
School Type: Private, Catholic
Ethnicity: white
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Middle class

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores and my essays/supplemental
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars, especially not having a single leadership position
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Likely on the merit of my test scores and GPA
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted - USC, TCU (Honors), Maryland (Honors), Colby, Fordham, University of Texas
General Comments : Iā€™m very grateful that I got in. Best of luck to everybody else!

8

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1210 (not 100% about that, but I did not report it as it was so low)
ACT (breakdown): 30
SAT II: I took three subject tests- US History, math 1, and literature, but I donā€™t feel like looking up the scores and I donā€™t even remember if I sent them to BU but I know they werenā€™t great
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.55 W (my school only reports weighted on my transcript)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis):
-AP Euro (3)
-AP Environmental Science (4)
-AP US (4)
-AP Lit (currently taking)
Senior Year Course Load: Statistics, AP Lit, Advanced Gov (a class at my school where we read primary text instead of a textbook, not an AP but will take AP exam), Physics, Apologetics (I go to a religious school), Spanish 2 (already got my 3 year language requirement after sophomore year)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Schoolā€™s History Department Award, SAR Citizenship Award, Had story published in schoolā€™s literary magazine,

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girl Scouts (Vice President of troop), TA for history teacher, Writing tutor (counts as an internship credit at my school and is listed as a class with no grade), theatre, soccer (only 2 years), dance (only 2 years)
Job/Work Experience: Worked as a camp counselor
Volunteer/Community service: camp counselor, assist a first grade teacher, taught sunday school at church for 3 years, volunteered at a local historic site
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Everyone said they were well written; common app essay was about being a camp counselor (people told me this was a lame topic and it probably was but I got in so it canā€™t have been that lame); BU essay was about visiting campus and wanting to study ASL at BU and how I will use that as a teacher
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10 It was written by the teacher I TA for and heā€™s great so I think it was pretty good
Teacher Rec #2: n/a
Counselor Rec: not really sure since I donā€™t know her super well and I have no idea what she wrote but it had to be good enough
Additional Rec: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes (none received)
Intended Major: Education/History (accepted into SED/CAS dual enrollment), will probably minor in deaf studies
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: small, private Christian school
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: x > 100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): visited BU at fall visit day which they said helped in getting in

Reflection

Strengths: ACT score, essays, ECs, letters of rec
Weaknesses: GPA, course load
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably my essay, especially the BU one; I think my extra curriculars helped a bit even though there werenā€™t a ton of them; even though my gpa was low, it was on an upward trend (4.0 my junior year) which I think helped a lot
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
-Accepted: JMU, VCU, Miami of Ohio, Sewanee
-Deferred: W&M

General Comments : I love BU but because of no financial aid I probably wonā€™t go. Iā€™m honestly surprised I got in.

9

[acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [color]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 720 Math, 700 English
ACT (breakdown): Didnā€™t take it
SAT II: 750 Math II, 780 Spanish with Listening
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7/4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not available in our school, but Iā€™m assuming top 10%~15%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics 1 (3, messed up big time) Psychology (5). Currently taking Macroecon, French, Eng Lit, and Environmental science
IB (place score in parenthesis): -
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AASCA Knowledge bowl JV 3rd place, A national math tournament 4th place

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): High school band, NHS, Debate club, DELE C1, DELF B2 JLPT N2 (I donā€™t know if I should put these language profficiency tests in the award section or not, so Iā€™ll just put it here)
Job/Work Experience: Translating the lines of a game from Korean to Spanish and English
Volunteer/Community service: I was a treasurer of a community service club
Summer Activities: Nothing tbh, just studied for my SAT.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8~9. I put a lot of effort in it.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8~9
Teacher Rec #2: 8~9 They both loved me, so Iā€™d say 8~9
Counselor Rec: 7. In good terms with her, but I donā€™t know if she really liked me as my two teachers did.
Additional Rec: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Nicaragua
School Type: International School
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 90,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: To be honest, I donā€™t know. I donā€™t think my test scores were that good, they were average. My extracurriculars arenā€™t that good, Iā€™d say average or slightly above average. I think its divine intervention that I got in.
Weaknesses: My community service. I was only part of one club.

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Divine intervention
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Rejected from Northwestern and UChicago. Wasnā€™t expecting much anyways. I pushed my luck.

General Comments : Good luck to everyone you guys can all do it even if its not BU. Never forget that you guys are great for trying hard all the time.

10

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 32C, 35E, 33M, 29R, 30S
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.63
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 70/520 (top 15%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (4), AP Calc AB (5), AP Lang (3), AP Psych (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Enviro, AP Macro, Journalism, Regular English, Choir, Gym
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with honors

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-2 years school newspaper (Editor-in-Chief) (I won a lot of awards here and that helped, I think)
-3 years special needs choir
-4 years choir
-4 years speech/forensics team (Event Captain)
-4 years theare
-3 years radio station

Job/Work Experience:
-AMC movie theatre job
-Gift wrapping job
-Daily nanny

Volunteer/Community service:
-Spent two months on a campaign, about 80 service hours

Summer Activities:
-4 weeks at communications camp @ AU
-3 weeks creative writing camp @ NIU

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
-Common App Essay: 7.5/10, wrote about my community service, working on a campaign + how being comfortable around my peers affected it
-BU Essay: 6/10 IT WAS SO BAD at least I thought it was ā€¦ I am so bad at writing those ā€œWhy this collegeā€ essays lol.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Journalism teacher, 10/10, she loves me
Teacher Rec #2: Choir teacher, 8/10, (just because itā€™s from a choir teacher instead of a core teacher)
Counselor Rec: 9/10? I think she likes me? haha

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: Journalism
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
School Type: Public, large
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): extracurriculars?

Reflection

Strengths: ACT score, extracurriculars, recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA, supplements
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have no ******clue, I saw who was rejected and they had much higher stats than I. Maybe Iā€™m selling myself short on the supplement and it was better than I thought? I donā€™t know. I think my journalism background and awards helped me, and my journalism teacherā€™s rec was really good, soā€¦ ?
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: ASU (Barrett), Emerson, LMU
Waiting: USC, NYU, GWU, AU

General Comments : Iā€™m going to visit and see if I like it. :slight_smile: Good luck everyone!

11

Accepted!

Housing was saying ā€œaccess deniedā€ - so that theory can be put to bed for future.

12

I had the ā€œthank youā€ message
I couldnā€™t access the housing portal or student link, it said ā€œaccess deniedā€

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500, 770 R&W, 730 math
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: 720 US HISTORY, 720 math II, 730 English
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/210, top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): calc ab (4), Chem (5), English Lang (5), APUSH (5).
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP stats, AP psych, AP/ECE Euro, AP/ECE bio, ECE Latin IV, Choir, AP English lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national merit commended scholar but that probably doesnā€™t count for anything, national Latin exam gold award for Latin I, silver for Latin II

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): drama (stage management, ITS treasurer), dance club, dance lessons, science Olympiad, model UN, NHS, Latin honors society/NJCL (president for last two years), local theater group
Job/Work Experience: waitressing 16 hours a week since this summer
Volunteer/Community service: ~250-300 hours, 120 of them at a local summer camp for the disabled, 60 at a theater camp, various other small projects
Summer Activities: before junior year I spent the whole summer volunteering at that camp for disabled people, before senior year I volunteered at an arts camp and did plays with a local theater company, found a job
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
General: problem to solve, 8/10, body image and media, tied in play I wrote with drama club and my eating disorder. Passionate, powerful, maybe a lil disorganized.
Why BU: 7/10, started general, student involvement, tour I went on, used specifics.
Trustee essay 1: DNA. 6/10, scattered, medicine, designer babies, GATTACA.
Trustee 2: passion. Theater. Talked about a play I did, ā€œyou canā€™t take it with you,ā€ where I played Essie, hilarious character. 7/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 11th grade English teacher, 10/10, she loved me and she writes BOMB letters of rec
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10, from my Latin teacher/homeroom teacher Iā€™ve had for four years. She loves me and right before I asked her for a letter I dealt with this creepy kid asking me to prom in a way she thought was awesome so she probably wrote about my character, work ethic, and a bunch of other stuff
Counselor Rec: 5/10. Counselors at my school have 200 students each, they write generic recommendations and she doesnā€™t particularly like me. If anything her rec would have hurt my application.
Additional Rec: 10/10. This one I actually got to read, it was from my drama director, he said he was going to write something generic but it was not at all, super sweet, character, work ethic, etc.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Undeclared
State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public, 800 students
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: middle class, divorced parents
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: scores, recommendations
Weaknesses: probably my essays
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I fit the admitted student profile pretty well number-wise
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted to Fordham, Hofstra, UCONN (honors college), Northeastern, Emmanuel, Smith
Waitlisted at Colby
Early Evaluation ā€œpossibleā€ at Wellesley

General Comments: totally excited!! Got a pretty solid FA package too, not quite enough but pretty close.

13

Waitlisted. 32 ACT, 4.2/4.0 W. :frowning:

14

ACCEPTED TO JANUARY BOSTON/LONDON PROGRAM

Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 27 composite
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Senior Year Course Load: honors international relations, honors child development, stats reg, advanced moral reasoning, british literature reg, honors directed study in genocide/law, video production, advanced marine bio, AP euro, creative non fiction writing reg, honors womens studies, honors french cinema
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): manager of varsity football and boys varsity lacrosse
Job/Work Experience: worked during summer and school year at a school (paid)
Volunteer/Community service: multiple trips to africa
Summer Activities: working at a schools summer program, taking summer courses at BU
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9, about a mistake i made over social media
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, asked the very best teachers who i had a strong connection with, i believed they really helped me with college

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: psych
State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Prep school (top 5 in country)
Ethnicity: caucasian
Gender: female
Income Bracket: middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy and faculty child

Reflection

Strengths: recs, my writing
Weaknesses: got on probation my senior year
Why you think you were accepted: kept in contact with my reader constantly
Where else were you accepted: all scholarshipsā€“Ursinus College, UMass Amherst, Johnson & Wales, LIU Global, Stonehill, Trinity Collegeā€¦Rejected at Dartmouth and Colby College

15

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1310 (730R, 580M)
ACT (breakdown): 31 both times taken (32E, 27M, 35R, 30S, 28W) and (33E, 26M, 36R, 27S)
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I donā€™t know but my WGPA: 4.19
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20/602
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH, AP Lang (4), AP Enviro, AP Lit, AP Stat, AP Psych, AP Studio: Drawing, AP Latin; I didnā€™t take most of the AP tests for these classes because I was dual enrolled at UConn for all but AP Lang and AP Pysch
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, UConn Dual-Enrollment Oceanography, AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Latin 4, AP Studio Art Drawing
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): School Latin Excellence Award (10th, 11th), 2nd Place in regional gallery youth art show for 2-D

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Art Association (3 years, secretary senior year), Junior Classical League (2 years, secretary junior and senior year), Local Teen Leadership Training Program (1 year), National Honor Society (inducted junior year), National Latin Honor Society (inducted junior year), Yearbook Staff (2 years), Fine Arts Portfolio Program (3 years)
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: Helped start Youth/Teen Suicide Prevention Program (11th grade), Started a local initiative for promotion of global education standards
Summer Activities: n/a
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App Essay: 8/10, revised this so many times oh my god, used a story about a piece I made in sophomore year and how it helped me discover my own strengths and weaknesses, it was better than it sounds haha
ā€œWhy BUā€: 6/10, well written but probably pretty generic stuff
I applied for the Trustee Scholarship but didnā€™t get it
Trustee 1: art essay, 8.5/10 I really liked this prompt, thought my essay was pretty good too
Trustee 2: ā€œnot on the resumeā€, 6.5/10, talked about the 100+ yr old fine arts program at my school, I accidentally wrote a lot about art on this app, idk why because I didnā€™t apply to the fine arts major at BU?

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Latin teacher of three years, went on an overseas trip together, talked about my leadership in class and in clubs, 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: AP Lang teacher, almost every one of his AP Lang students asks him for a letter at the end of the year because he writes amazing rec letters, 10/10
Counselor Rec: My old counselor retired before my senior year so I didnā€™t know her that well but she seemed like she would write me a good letter 7/10

Additional Rec: n/a

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Linguistics
State (if domestic applicant): Connecticut
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public School
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation

Reflection

Strengths: rec letters, essays, ecs?, gpa+rank,
Weaknesses: sat score, math and science scores on my ACT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Iā€™m really not sure, Iā€™m definitely happy that I got accepted though!!!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Simmons, University of Vermont, UConn
Havenā€™t heard from most of my reaches/top choices yet: Wesleyan, George Washington, Brown, Tufts

16

**Decision: Accepted **

College of Arts and Sciences
Kilachand Honorā€™s College
Presidential Scholarship

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT: 34 (35 M, 35 E, 34 R, 33 S), 35 superscored
SAT II: 800 Math II, 720 US History (didnā€™t send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (school ranks by deciles)
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), US History (5), Lit + Comp (5), Art History (5), Chemistry (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Government + (H) Econ, AP Lang + Comp, (H) Molecular Genetics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, CSF Outstanding Pretrial Lawyer, Certificate of Merit - Levels 6-9

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (9-12; Secretary - 10, VP - 11, President - 12), Model UN (Founder + Co-Pres: 11-12), STEM Academy (10-12), Schoolā€™s Business Academy (10-12), Piano (2-12), Mock Trial (12), Freshman Counselor (11-12), Tutor at Schoolā€™s Writing Center (11-12)
Job/Work Experience: Internship with large nutrition bar company over 11th grade summer. Intern at the Democratic Party of Orange County. Intern at my auntā€™s law firm.
Volunteer/Community service: Work regularly with the OC Court System through Peer Court. Local volunteering with my church.
Summer Activities: Internships mentioned above, classes, UCLA summer Mock Trial camp.
Essays: 8/10. I thought the essay was good enough, but was not amazing.
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10. English teacher - we got along really well and I was one of her favorite students, according to her.
Counselor Rec: 9/10. She knows me well from dealing with personal situations, so I think that may have helped.
Additional Rec: 9/10. AP Chemistry teacher. Not my best class, but he saw me try as hard as I could and I think that reflected in his recommendation.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): US
Intended major(s): International Relations
School Type: Parochial
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Test Scores, Letters of Recommendation
Weaknesses: GPA (had a drop second semester of sophomore year)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See above
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: UChicago, WUSTL, UC Irvine, William & Mary, Fordham
Waitlisted: UCSD, Northwestern, Swarthmore
Rejected: UCLA
Deferred: Brown ED

General Comments:
Iā€™m so excited!

17

The BU portal had ā€œOur records indicateā€.
I was NOT able to access the BU housing link. It said ā€œaccess deniedā€

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1450 - 760 Math 690 English
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): around 3.8 converted from IB
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): 39/45
Senior Year Course Load: HL English, HL Economics, HL History, SL Spanish Ab, SL Math, SL Chemistry
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Head of group combating modern slavery, deputy head of school fashion show, 4 years of MUN and awards, World Scholars Cup, School yearbook committee, raised money for underprivileged children in rural China
Job/Work Experience: 2 weeks work experience at a law firm
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered for 4 years to re distribute sanitation products to under developed countries
Summer Activities: n/a
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App 9/10 Why BU 7/10 (pretty generic)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1:9/10
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10
Counselor Rec:10/10

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Hong Kong
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Good range of extracurriculars, decent SAT, great recommendations
Weaknesses: No SAT II, Supplement essay
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Scores were in the range and recommendations were good
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to UCL, Warwick, Exeter and Kings in the UK and Fordham in the US. Still waiting for NYU and USC.

18

[size=4][color=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/][/]**

Major - Mechanical Engineering (Aerospace Concentration)

Objective
SAT (new) - 1290
SAT II - physics 680, math II 580 (Was going through family stuff but still pretty low I know)
GPA W - 3.84
GPA UW - 4.69
CR - 40/500
AP Tests - AP Calc AB 4
Awards - School Recognition for academic Perseverance (not really significant)

Subjective
EC - National science (treasurer)/math/regular honor society, school tutor, and Nigerian association.
EC that I think won them over - Started an Indiegogo kick starter for a wind powered power bank. Wrote and own a provisional patent. Raised $500+ (One donation of 50 from family).
Sports: 2 yrs JV soccer and 2 yrs Varsity Soccer, and 3 yrs varsity track.
Essay - I donā€™t really know how to rate my own essay but I showed it to my english teacher and she proof read it and liked it so I would give it a 6 or 7 out of 10. It could have definitely been better.
Supplement Essay - I actually liked this essay better than the commonapp essay. I just talked about how I loved the location of Boston and how it influenced my childhood.

Recs
AP Physics and Calc teachers. I feel like these donā€™t make an application at all though, and as long as you get people who like you to write them youā€™ll be fine.

Other
Ethnicity - African American
Gender - Male
State - New Hampshire
School - Public

The BU portal stated ā€œThank youā€¦ā€.

19

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2120 (old)- 770M. 640R, 710 W
ACT (breakdown): 32C- 35M, 33E, 34R, 27S
SAT II: Did not Submit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81
Weighted GPA: 4.23
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 AP lit, 4 APUSH, 3 AP Euro
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:Calculus, AP American Gov, Video Production, Anatomy, Economics, English 12
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar Award, Nor Cal DECA Conference first place in BOR, National Merit Scholar Commended.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of 2 Community Service Clubs. Site Council Member (2 years). On varsity Badminton and Track (4 years). Vice President of Software Engineering Club. Student Council Member
Job/Work Experience:CEO of a student run tutoring company that grossed over $5000 in its first two months of operation.
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at local Buddhist Temple and joined community service groups at school.
Summer Activities:Worked as an intern at a tech company to code and help market an educational app.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9

Teacher Rec #1 10/10:
Teacher Rec #2:N/A
Counselor Rec: 7/10
Additional Rec: 10/10 ( From the CEO of the company I interned at)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection

Strengths: Good essay and extracurriculars.
Weaknesses:Not as high test score. 32 ACT and 2120 SAT kind of low for a school with a 29% acceptance rate.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was accepted because of my additional rec letter and essay.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted at Purdue, UMD, Florida University, RPI, UCSC, University of Washington.
Rejected at UCD, UCSD, JHU, UT Austin, Georgia Tech
Waitlisted at Cal Poly SLO

General Comments : Was surprised really. I didnā€™t think I could get in since I got rejected from my top UCā€™s which had higher acceptance rates than Boston University.

20

[asize=4]Decision: Accepted [/size]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2050 (did not send)
ACT (breakdown): 33 (35R 34W 31M 30S)
SAT II: none
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/101
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 AP Lang, 4 APUSH, 1 AP Physics
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Euro, AP Chem, French IV, Community Service
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Track and Field (captain), Book Club (member)
Job/Work Experience: Sales associate
Volunteer/Community service: Cat shelter every other Sunday
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 Common App - wrote about my identity crisis with being a different ethnicity than my whole family and town
8/10 Why BU?
9/10 Honors College - wrote heavily on things that I am very passionate about
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 French teacher - had for three years and saw me grow
9/10 English teacher - my writing really improved with her class and we talked much through the year
8/10 Counselor - new counselor, but really liked my drive for school

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Small, Catholic High School
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 70000-80000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Strengths: Scores, rank, maybe URM status
Weaknesses: ECs, GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I was accepted because of my background (common app essay) and my scores honestly
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: LMU, Fordham, BC, UMass Amherst

General Comments : really happy to have been accepted to honors college! I really think it was my essay that helped me. I hope anybody in the future gets in the school they want!!