BU Class of 2021 RD Decisions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston University
21

Decision: Accepted
My applicant link said “Thank you” and I had access to the housing portal and was listed as new student and could sign up for summer session
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2000 710 WR 700 RD 590 Math
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 770 Biology E, 700 US History, 760 Spanish Speaking
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75 UW 4.1 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 15%
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), European history, Biology, English Literature, Psychology
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:H/AP Psychology, Pre Calculus, H/AP European History, H/AP Advance Biology. H/AP English Literature, Peer Counseling
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, NHS, Spanish National Honors Society Community service awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Relay For Life Acton 2015 (Leadership Committee)
Youth Ministry (Leadership Group)
Salvation Army High School Outreach Committee (Leadership)
Peer Counseling
Peer Mentoring
Club Member (Student leader and founder)
Job/Work Experience:
Babysitting
Varsity Swim and Dive team freshman and sophomore year
Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteer at Childrens Museum
Volunteering throughout community through various organizations including relay for life, elementary schools, and various clubs
Presidents Volunteer Community Service Awards every year of high school
Summer Activities:
Lots of Job shadowing at various hospitals and clinical facilities in both U.S. and outside country
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10 Very strong essay
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10 very strong recommendations

Teacher Rec #1: Junior Year history teacher- very strong recommendation
Teacher Rec #2: Junior year English teacher- very strong recommendation
Counselor Rec: very strong
Additional Rec:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:$100k >
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: Kept in touch with admissions advisor, showed a lot of interest, attended tours and open houses and events at my school, wrote very strong essays for both trustee and honors college applications. Showed interest in my intended major. I recieved the Presidential scholarship of $20k
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments :

22

Waitlisted as well. 30 ACT and 4.25 GPA. A little bitter because it was a viable but already got into Michigan and Tulane (half scholarship).

23

Waitlisted 1330 sat 3.59 uw 4.81 w
I was accepted to uva and bc so i’m alittle suprized but can’t change anything now so congrats to everyone who got in

24

All you can do now is wait.

25

Accepted, and accepted to honors college. 32 ACT, basically straight A’s, 7 AP’s, top 7% of high school class

26

The BU portal had “Our records indicate”.
I was not able to access the BU housing link. Access Denied
I was also not able to access the BU Student Link.

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

International - UK

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Take
ACT (breakdown): 34 (36 E, 34M, 31R, 35S, 8 (out of 12)W
SAT II: 720 Bio M, 760 math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/50
AP (place score in parenthesis):N/A
As-Levels: AAAA (Highest grade, Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology)
IB (place score in parenthesis):N/A
Senior Year Course Load: A level Maths, Biology and Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): UKMT Junior Gold

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Owner of Fansite for a game, Moderator for a forum,Student Librarian and Event Organiser for LGBT Club
Job/Work Experience: Bakery for 6 months and currently working at a Grocery Store. 2 week internship at a disease/vaccine research lab
Volunteer/Community service: Library
Summer Activities: Work, Internship
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8, fairly revised by my school and teachers. Wrote really honestly and whole heartedly
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9, my teacher have done it before

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: N/A
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): UK
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: British
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 90000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Unique EC and Grades + Most rigorous subjects for A-Levels)

Reflection

Strengths: Grades/Essays
Weaknesses: SAT 2 score and maybe Lack of substansial ECs, not sure?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Waitlisted at Bates, waiting to hear from occidental, amherst and a few Ivys

General Comments : Got the presidential scholarship, but the 50k/year is impossible for my family :///

27

Decision: Accepted
Questrom School of Business

Objective:
SAT : 800M, 760W, 650R (2210)
SAT2: 800 Math Level 2; 750 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.82UW, 4.16W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 30% I think
Senior Year Course Load:AP Economics (Micro and Macro), AP Physics C (Mechanics and E&M), AP BC Calculus, AP Spanish Lit

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Varsity Baseball (lettered last year), Civil Air Patrol Cadet Commander/Officer, Student Pilot, DECA, Many other business/finance related ECs that can’t be explained.
Job/Work Experience: Was a Finance Intern at a major Tech Company in Silicon Valley.
Volunteer/Community service: 400+ hours volunteering with the United States Air Force.
Summer Activities: Work/Baseball

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Pretty good (8.5-9). Thought my Trustee essays were way better, but I didn’t get the scholarship.

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Finance
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male

Reflection

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I had solid stats for the school in general, but my GPA was a bit low I thought. My extracurriculars is what set me part I think, and my dedication and expertise on Finance. I was extremely happy to get this acceptance.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted to: University of San Francisco
Waitlisted at : UCSD
Rejected at : Wharton, NYU Stern, UCLA

Waiting to hear back from a boatload more of colleges.

General Comments: Pretty stoked and extremely grateful to have received this acceptance. Boston University Admissions are one of the few that actually were frank and direct with me when I met them at my school/my city. They were clear and concise of what they expect. No wishy washy language. My local representative was a really nice guy, so thank you BU!

28

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 33 composite (33 English, 35 Math, 31 Reading, 34 Science, 10 Writing)
SAT II: 740 Math II, 650 Physics (not my best, definitely could’ve done better)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7045 UW/4.045 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 43/524 (91.79%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calculus AB (4), APUSH (5), AP Lang (4), AP Calculus BC (5), AP Physics (5), AP Lit (in progress), AP Chem (in progress)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Dual Enrollment Calc 3 (CU Denver), AP Chem, Weight Training 2, Drawing & Painting 2, AP Lit, Photography
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FIRST Robotics (captain), NHS, Class Leadership, Basketball Manager, Race Engineer Intern for Flying Lizard Motorsports, Engineering Intern at Ball Aerospace, Guitar
Job/Work Experience: Host/Trainer/Server/Supervisor at California Pizza Kitchen; Network Engineer at Xcelitek, LLC
Volunteer/Community service: Teen Ambassador for International Hoofstock Awareness Association, Volunteer Supervisor for Denver Film Society
Summer Activities: mostly just working
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 5 (These were easily the worst essays I wrote for a college, I even told myself I wouldn’t get in for this very reason. I guess they saw something in them, lol)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10 (my favorite teacher that absolutely adores me. We’ve kept in touch and he wrote me the greatest teacher rec I’ve ever seen)
Teacher Rec #2: 9 (also a teacher that knew me very very well. She had me for three classes total and definitely gave a good personal insight into me)
Counselor Rec: ? (I go to a large public school so my counselor doesn’t even know me personally. Never read the letter)
Additional Rec: 8 (From my manager who was very complimentary of me. I’ve been promoted four times at my work, and she wrote about that. I would rank it higher, but she didn’t include very many personal details about me)

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~60-70k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope, I wish

Reflection

Strengths: Definitely my test scores, teacher recs, and extracurriculars. My internships and work experiences definitely helped push me
Weaknesses: Grades. Although they are very good, I had a rough patch second semester junior year. Thankfully, I think my test scores and teacher recs brought me up
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: If only I knew
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

Accepted: University of Colorado Boulder, California Polytechnic State University
Denied: Stanford University, Georgia Institute of Technology
Waitlisted: Purdue University
Haven’t Heard From: Colorado School of Mines, University of Southern California

General Comments:
Congratulations to everyone who got in! If you didn’t, have no fear. You will be successful no matter where you end up going :slight_smile:

29

Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 800 Reading + Writing, 770 Math (1770)

ACT: 35 (36 English, 12 Writing, 36 Reading, 34 Science, 35 Math)

SAT II: 800 - Literature, 770 - World History, 760 - Math Level 1, 750 - US History, 750 - French

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank

AP (place score in parenthesis): - World History - 5 , Lang + Comp - 5, US History - 5 ,European History - 4

IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: High Honors English, History, and French that qualify me to take the AP tests for Lit, French, and Gov, AP Physics, AP Calc AB, Broadcasting
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, Illinois State Scholar.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

-Writer at moderately well known online magazine, have an editorial position on there - 4 Years

  • School Newspaper - 3 Years - Editor in Chief this year
  • School Broadcasting Team - 4 Years - Co station manager this year, have had own radio show for 3 years
  • Speech Team - 3 Years - Chair of Prose Reading this year, made it to nationals three years in a row
  • GSA - 4 Years - Board Member
  • Feminism Club - 4 Years - Board Member
  • Key Club - 4 Years - VP
  • Literary Magazines - 4 Years - Editor in Chief for upperclassmen one this year
  • Thespians - 2 years, been in some school productions.
  • Member of National Honor Society and World Languages Honor Society.

Job/Work Experience:

  • Job in retail for two years

Volunteer/Community service:

  • Volunteering through Key Club, the public library, and other organizations, about 300 hours total.

Summer Activities:

  • Northwestern Cherubs Journalism Program and Northwestern Summer Screenwriting Program

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 10/10, i went for the basic “tell us about your background” story - my experiences as a middle class white passing lesbian in a very rich + conservative suburban town, my awful relationship with my immigrant parents and the pressures i faced as a first gen college student etc and how writing + journalism and a passion for social issues managed to save my life through the years.

Why “BU”: 9/10, I talked about Boston and my visit to the campus and how it had pretty much everything I’d dreamed of as a kid in relation to the theme of feeling like an outcast all the time growing

Teacher Recommendation:

  • 1: 10/10, the sponsor for the Newspaper at my school, he loves me a lot and this rec letter almost made me cry
  • 2: 10/10, my current history teacher, runs the advanced humanities program at my school,. knows me + my aspirations well lmao

Counselor Rec:

  • 8/10, I wasn’t close with her until junior year, which I regret. but i think she liked me well enough.

Additional Rec:

  • 10/10, My speech sponsor, who’s also co sponsor of the gsa, and one of my favorite teachers i’ve ever had

Interview: 9/10, i tend to give decent interviews and this went very well

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Ilinois
Country (if international applicant): United States
Intended major(s): Journalism
School Type: Public, Large
Ethnicity: Mixed (South Asian/White)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 80k - 90k a year
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college student,

Reflection

Strengths: Test Scores and GPA high for BU, EC showing interest in major, recs

Weaknesses: not many APs?

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Scores and Essay

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at Northwestern, waiting on the rest, esp Emerson

General Comments: Do not underestimate the importance of recs and showing strong interest in an intended major through ECs and Essays

30

Accepted to College of Engineering!!

31

ACCEPTED
College of Communication
Richard Cohen Scholarship

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
Weighted GPA- 4.43
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 6%
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5) US History (4) Euro (3) Bio (2)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP US Government, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Physics, Foods and Nutrition
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholars Award, CSF, Altius Volans Award, City Recognition

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Gay-Straight Alliance three years (President Senior Year), Creative Writing Club (3 Years), Link Crew (2 years), Peer Resource Mentor (2 years)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: HARRT three years, Haven Women’s Center three years, Camp Counrselor Senior year
Summer Activities: None
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App- I would say 10/10 I chose the what I would do to help an issue prompt. I talked about how I have been engaged with activist organizations in order to educate my community. I also mentioned how I travelled to my state Capitol to speak to legislators to spur social change.

BU- I would say 8/10 because I feel like talking about its diversity was a little generic but I was revealed that I never really travelled and going to the east coast for college would be An amazing opportunity for me.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 I made a strong bond with this teacher and he helped me develop my writing skills.
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10 I’ve known her since sophomore year.
Counselor Rec: (6/10) I didn’t know my counselor but this was required.
Additional Rec:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undeclared
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 50-75K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I am a passionate activist that has spurred change in my state. I am first generation and Hispanic.

Reflection

Strengths: Unique EC’s
Weaknesses: GPA and not as much community service as other applicants.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think my unique activist qualities really shined through to BU.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted- UCI CHP, UC Davis, Long Beach State
Waitlisted- UCSD, UCLA
Rejected- None

Congratulations everyone!

32

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

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):1510 (780 CR, 730 M)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (36 R, 35 E, 34 S, 31 M)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP GOV (5), AP Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP World History, Spanish 4, Yearbook
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Yearbook for two years (editor-in-chief one year), Varsity Lacrosse 3 years, JV lacrosse one year (Varsity Co-Captain one year), member of National Honor Society, VP of a school specific club two years and president one year
Job/Work Experience: Work for a retail store that employs adults with developmental disabilities and my job was to assist them.
Volunteer/Community service: nothing very impressive
Summer Activities: Work, Club lacrosse
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 8/10 I really like it Why BU: 5/10 very subpar
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: didn’t read but probably 7 or 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: probably around 8/10
Counselor Rec: he doesn’t know me really well at all so maybe like 6/10
Additional Rec: probably 10/10 she knows me so well

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political science
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:<40000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):none

Reflection

Strengths: Scores, decent leadership positions
Weaknesses: I didn’t take like 15 AP classes, my extracurriculars aren’t anything particularly out of the ordinary
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: overall decent, relatively well rounded application
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: UMich, Michigan State University, Boston College, University of Oklahoma
Rejected: Vanderbilt ED2 and Northwestern

General Comments : I wasn’t offered any merit scholarships and I was offered around 20,000 in financial aid but unfortunately that’s not really enough so I will not be attending. Glad to have an acceptance from such a good school though

33

Decision: guaranteed transfer admittance fall 2018

Objective:
SAT (breakdown): 730 math, 710 reading/english
ACT (breakdown):31 (only took it once, liked SAT better)
SAT Subject Tests: 750 Bio M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 UW, 4.37 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (3), US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Spanish SL (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB diploma candidate, will be taking 5 IB tests and 1 AP in the spring
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Majors program, CSF, NHS, MVP of varsity cross country team

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): VP of literary magazine
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: 200+ volunteer hours at local hospital
Summer Activities: camp counselor
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8ish, didn’t spend a ton of time on it
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity:White
Gender: Female

Comments: didn’t do very well my junior year, honestly I wish I could redo it. Considering this opportunity and may end up coming to BU in a year. Congrats to those who were accepted!

34

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (730 Math 730 Reading 640 Writing)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (34 E, 32 M, 35 R, 34 SCI)
SAT II: 790 (Math II) 770 (Chemistry)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
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: (All of these are IB subjects) HL Economics, Chemistry, Physics; SL Math, English, Spanish; Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay in chemistry

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Piano for 5 years along with certificates for ABRSM exams, awards at multiple MUNs, school badminton team
Job/Work Experience: Internship at a venture capitalist firm
Volunteer/Community service: (not much) volunteered at multiple libraries in Singapore throughout 11th grade
Summer Activities:none lol
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8.5/10 (I had an advisor help me edit.)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: HL Chemistry Teacher (8/10)
Teacher Rec #2: HL Economics Teacher (10/10)
Counselor Rec: 7/10 (our counsellor was new to the school
Additional Rec: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): India
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: x > 100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, essays, recommendations
Weaknesses: ECs and work experience
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted probably because of test scores and academics
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

Accepted: UCLA, UCSD, Northeastern, UMass Boston, BU
Rejected: Georgia Tech, Northwestern

(Still waiting on Columbia, NYU, UCB and NUS and NTU in Singapore)

General Comments : BU is pretty expensive so I probably won’t be going there

35

Rejected

New Sat: 1390
Act: 28

GPA: 3.87
Weighted GPA: 4.26
Class rank: top 30%, but very competitive class

There are no ap courses at my school, just duel enrollment courses.

I have taken a total of 5 college classes.

Clubs: I have done all of these for 4 or more years

Thespian Society- 5 star member
NHS
Key Club- Vp (junior), Secretary (Senior)
Plant Based Diet Club- founder and President
Recycling Club- founder and President
Student Ambassador- Appointed President
Student life assistant- like an RA or dorm counselor helper
Varsity swim team
Computer Science Club: president and founder

Awards:
Community Service Award
May 2016 Grade 11
recognized for my community service work and award was presented by The Habersham Chamber of Commerce.

Outstanding Performance
May 2016 Grade 11
recognized for my acting excellence
Student of the Semester
December 2015 Grade 11
acknowledged as the best boarding student in the Boy’s Dorm for the first semester
President’s Commendation
Grades 9,10,11
presented to students that receive no demerits throughout the school year. I have been award this every year that I have attended
Tallulah Falls School.
Presidential Scholar
Grades 8,9,10,11
recognized for having higher than a 4.0 and no demerits or missed homework throughout the school year.
Student of the Month
Grades 9,10,11
given to a student that excels in the dormitories. I have received this award every year that I have attended this school.

I got into UMass Amherst and Waitlisted for Boston College… I am a quest bridge finalist.

I am also half Indian.

36

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1320 (didn’t submit though)
ACT (breakdown): 31 (34 E, 33 R, 30 S, 28 M)
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): (4) English Lang and Comp
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 1st sem: Zoology, Calc 2, Physics 2, Western Civ, World Lit, Span IV, Robotics Engineering
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none that major
Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Research in Rehabilitative Sciences, student at a Pre-Engineering Academy sophomore year, FTC Robotics, Soccer, Cross Country, Academic Team, Bible Study, Choir, Piano
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: mostly 50+ hours at the regional foodbank, some other random places
Summer Activities: Discover Architecture Camp, Investigative Research Scholars Program
Essays (rating 1-10, details): about 8-9, I struggled with elaborating on my opinion for the “power or powerlessness” prompt; otherwise, I made sure to include details about what attracted me to BU to show that I had done research about the school
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I only asked teachers that I knew liked me a lot or knew that I was a hard worker (i.e. I was always in their offices talking to them)
Teacher Rec #1: Physics (8-9)
Teacher Rec #2: Literature (7-8)
Counselor Rec: 6-7
Additional Rec: Mentor (9-10)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yup
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Oklahoma
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Boarding School
Ethnicity: Black/African
Gender: female
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m a black female pursuing STEM

Reflection

Strengths: decent ACT composite, I’m a minority, I’ve had a lot of engineering experience, took a lot of advanced classes
Weaknesses: ACT math, I had a couple of transcript Cs my junior year
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Don’t know, I guess my app. was really competitive for their engineering school
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: OU, TU, West Point; Rejected: WUSTL

General Comments: It sucks to be rejected, but don’t feel dejected even if your top schools don’t accept you. Someone will find value in you and you will get into a good school :slight_smile:

37

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Old SAT, 800 CR, 800 M, 760 W
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Bio, 760 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 161/1441
AP (place score in parenthesis): HGAP (5), WHAP (5), EHAP (4), Bio (4), Eng Lang (4), Calc BC (3), APUSH (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, Newspaper, AP Gov/AP Macroeconomics, AP Eng Lit, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing of that scale, but National Merit Finalist, US Presidential Scholar Candidate (both off of test scores), few assorted regional math and HOSA awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Texas HOSA (Area President, Chapter Co-President 12th, Junior Officer 11th, Chapter President 10th), NHS (Community Outreach/Donations 12th), humans of _____ (founder and principal photographer, 11th and 12th), Mu Alpha Theta (Vice President 12th), school newspaper (sports/social media/managing editor 12th), Photography Club (Co-founder and VP 12th),
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: tutor local community college kids (12th)
Summer Activities: nothing notable
Essays (rating 1-10, details): had to go back to look at them lol, better than I thought! CA essay was written like an entry in a journal, detailing an experience in Clinical Rotations and what I learned from it. BU supplement (didn’t apply to Kilachand, now kinda regretting it) was decent, wrote about how my first impression of BU was meh but after doing research I realized I was wrong). Overall essays probably 9/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Bio teacher that I got really close to AFTER I had her, probably 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: brilliant English teacher I was always close to, probably 10/10
Counselor Rec: the best counselor at our school, probably also 10/10
Additional Rec: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes, got an okay-ish amount (a little over 30K a year, still costs about 36K+ to attend/year)
Intended Major: Biochemistry
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public School, LARGE
Ethnicity: Asian-American
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 30K-40K (parents retired)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection

Strengths: ECs–huge variety of interests and a struggle juggling all of them at times, but I think they really showcased me as a person, SAT was solid
Weaknesses: grades, just an A/B student, no special awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: super-involved on campus, maintained okay grades while balancing ECs, upwards climb from year to year
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted UT, Texas A&M, rejected UChicago, UNC, WashU, Northwestern, UCLA

General Comments: Happy I made it!

38

ACCEPTED WITH FULL RIDE!!

ACT: 34
SAT II: 710 Math 2, 710 Bio, 710 U.S. history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89/ 4.2 w
Rank: 14/380
AP: 5 U.S. History, 4 Lang, 4 Bio
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Gov., APES, AP Lit, Geography, Economics
Major Awards: many prestigious music awards internationally and state wide

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Flute playing/ many competitions/ performed in Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic/ invited to perform at Carnegie Hall/ Orchestra, marching band, concert band experience
  • Local choir for 10 years/ All Southern California and All state honor choir
  • Basketball team for 2 years
    Volunteer/Community service:
  • Set up camp teaching children with autism how to play piano
  • Coordinated concerts to raise money to buy pianos for nursing homes
  • VP of club that performed in nursing homes
  • Key club publicity
  • Created group that uprooted invasive species at local mountains
    Summer Activities:
  • went to state sponsored summer camp for the arts
  • Boston University’s Summer Challenge Program for economics and business
  • Went to UCLA’s basketball camp 2 summers

Essays:

  • I wrote my common app essay on Squidward’s (yep, the one from Spongebob Squarepants) influence on me LOL (7.5/10)
    Teacher Recommendation:
  • AP Bio (8/10) I didn’t read it but I was one of the 3 people to get an A in his class and we always enjoyed talking to each other.
  • APUSH (7/10) She really liked me but her writing skills are not superb.
    Counselor Rec:
  • I have no idea. She’s really busy so I am not sure what the quality of the letter was.
    Additional Rec:
  • Flute teacher: (10/10) He outlined my community service events with music and my personality.

State: CA
Country : USA
Intended major(s): Environmental Science
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Gen.

Strengths: ECs all the way
Weaknesses: Test scores and GPA

Accepted: Berkeley regents invitation, Northwestern, UCSD, UCSB honors college, UCI honors program, BU full ride, Boston College, University of Washington
Waitlisted: UCLA, Barnard
Rejected: none yet :,)
Waiting on: Dartmouth and NYU

39

Accepted
GPA: 6.87/6.0 weighted (my school is weird)
SAT: 1460 (800 math, 660 r+w)
SAT II: Math II 750, Math I 770, Physics 650
Rank: 5/850
AP Classes: Physics I, Physics C, Calculus BC, Econ, Govt, Literature,Bio, Chemistry, French 4
The rest are honors classes

President of Key Club (member 10-12)
Secretary of NHS
SAT tutor
Senior Ballerina for non profit ballet company
officer for school literary magazine

Attended LEAD Summer Business Institute
National hispanic scholar

first generation american
first generation college student
female
hispanic
texas

national hispanic scholar, ap scholar, honor roll, UPENN business plan competition

over 400 hours in community service

40

Decision: ACCEPTED

Race - Asian
Citizenship: Pakistani

GPA- 3.84/4 UW
ACT- 30
SAT- 1470( 720 Maths and 750 English)
Class rank- 8/450
SAT 2: Maths level 2: 740, English Literature:720
A Levels: Maths A, History C, Economics A*

Senior Course load: Not as rigorous as others I’ve seen, but I’d still say quite challenging

Honors/Awards:
Will receive a silver medal for my A Levels Grades, although I did not report that.
Received a certificate for my essay on Women’s Empowerment organized by the Harvard Alumni for Global Women’s Empowerment

Extracurriculars:
Interned at WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and led a small cleanup drive.
Volunteered at Lettucebee Kids and taught underprivileged kids the basics of arithmetic operations.
Interned at the Career Advisers’ office.
Part-time teacher at a local school.
Organizing member of the Gaming Society at my school and successfully arranged chess and console gaming competitions.
Participated in a summer camp at USEFP which involved partaking in mentorship sessions and team-building activities.

Recommendation Letters: I would give both teachers an 8-9/10 on the recommendation letters and around 7/10 to my friend who wrote one for me (the recommendation wasn’t written very well but the material included was top-notch)

Essays- decent essays - main essay 8.5-9/10 really showcased my personality - I used one of my hobbies as an analogy sort of; My BU supplement was probably an 8/10

Interview- no interview

Extra- I’m bilingual (Urdu and English)

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Economics or IR
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Pakistani
School Type: Private - highly rated and one of the most competitive in the country
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): no hooks whatsoever

Strengths: probably my SAT score, my essays, and my recommendation letters
Weaknesses: quite a few people with higher SAT scores, in my school alone, and GPAs, more rigorous course load

Other decisions: Accepted: UC Davis, Uni of St Andrews (Scotland - applied through Commonapp), Carleton College
Waitlisted-
Rejected: Middlebury, Boston College ( Recently found out they rarely admit Pakistanis - no Pakistani was admitted last year and I don’t think there was any this year either), UCLA, Uchicago, Upenn, Emory, Yale-NUS