Seeing these stats it really does appear as if people (in general - yes I’m sure there are some exceptions) who scored above 1500 on SAT and above 33 on ACT are at a severe disadvantage here. We have been told by numerous college consultants that schools do not like being someone’s second choice and last year Emory only took in 26% of their accepted students. I think if they perceive a student is going to an ivy and using Emory as a safety they will waitlist, which is too bad for the kids who actually wanted Emory as their first choice even though the CAN compete at an ivy. I know my DD was thinking of being close to the CDC for example, and because of s health problem needs a warm weather college. Just because she could get into Dartmouth and co. doesn’t mean she wanted to. She’s been waitlisted at Emory after getting honors at UVA and BC. Her essay is being used by teachers to instruct kids how to write a college essay, 12APs, national leader in her club. It makes no sense other than those at the tippy top are being cut off because they “might” go elsewhere.
Emory’s loss.
Don’t take it too hard, kids.
Accepted into Questrom with a 1300 and a 3.6W
**Decision: Accepted **
Presidential Scholarship
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (750 eng, 800 math)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 eng, 35 math, 34 reading, 36 science)
SAT II: Math 2 (800), Chinese (780)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): probably around top 15/500
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology, Psychology, Chem, US History, English, Chinese (all 4s/5s)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Calc AB, AP Physics 1, AP Compsci A, English, Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching band, various music ensembles, cultural club
Job/Work Experience: No “official” job
Volunteer/Community service: Lots of tutoring/teaching
Summer Activities: did berkeley summer session before
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app essay like 6 and supplemental like 5…i would reject my own essays after rereading them just now…
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9, I had her for 2 yrs & she really liked me. she’s an eng teacher so good at writing?
Teacher Rec #2: didn’t submit
Counselor Rec: Probably a 6 (I go to a pretty large school so counselors don’t really know us)
Additional Rec: didn’t submit
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Operations & Technology management
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Pretty high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflection
Strengths: My test scores, basically
Weaknesses: My essays are literally the worst thing I’ve ever read…
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my test scores and gpa LOL
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, UCD, UCI and haven’t heard back from USC, UC Berkeley, and UPenn yet
General Comments: Good luck everyone. Make sure you ask your friends to read your essays for you to make sure they’re good
Decision:Accepted
Presidential Scholarship
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1370 (did not send)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (superscore), 32 (best composite) (30M, 34CR, 31E, 34S)
SAT II: 750 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), Lang & Comp. (5), Latin (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Biology, AP Literature & Composition, Honors History Electives, Global Issues, Latin Independent Study
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Honor Society, NHIAA Scholar Athlete, AP Scholar (don’t think these are “major,” but that’s what I have for recognition).
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School Newspaper (Management Editor), Mock Trial (Attorney), Varsity Baseball (4 Years), Varsity Swim (2 Years), Peer Awareness Community Team, JV Basketball, JV Golf, Weight Training
Job/Work Experience: Worked at Amusement Park in the Summer (Nominated for several awards)
Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for Humanity Trip to Winston-Salem, NC for a week
Summer Activities: Job 30+ hrs/week (mentioned above)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 - Wrote about my passion for rapping and its influence on me as a person and tied the use of wordplay, language, and diction to my love for Latin
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9 (English teacher wrote about a particular video I created and research paper I wrote, she is very fond of me).
Teacher Rec #2: 10 (History teacher wrote about my leadership, care, and respect in class. Discussed my ability to take initiative and drive to learn).
Counselor Rec: 9 (He wrote about my influence on the school and discussed my character).
Additional Rec: 9 (Science teacher discussed my leadership and focus in class, driving my peers to follow the example I set as a student and classmate).
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Communication (Film & Television w/focus on television), Minor in Marketing
State (if domestic applicant): New Hampshire
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Independent Day School (College Preparatory)
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy
Reflection
Strengths: My test scores and grades are above average for admission at BU, so I felt that those stats alone would give me what I needed to be admitted. Furthermore, my essay (and supplementals) were very well-written and truly showed who I am as a person.
Weaknesses: Course load could have been stronger (more APs in my junior year). Also, my ECs definitely did not hurt me, but I could have invested more time into more major roles in clubs and activities.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Overall, I think my stats and well-rounded picture (along with showing interest in the school through various conversations with admission officers) made me appealing as an applicant.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, Ithaca
Rejected: Northwestern
Waiting On: Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley
General Comments: Very happy with the acceptance to BU, and I wish the best for everyone – excited to (most likely) start there in the fall!
**Decision: Rejected **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t submit
ACT (breakdown): 34C 35E 30M 34R 36S
SAT II: Didn’t submit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6 (weighted: 5.2)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): No APs (fully dual-enrolled)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: S1: Comparative Politics, French V, Religions and World Politics, Cultural Sociology, Government S2: Global Development, Comparative European Politics, World Literature, French VI, Sociology of Happiness
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): US State Department International Cultural Exchange Alumna, National Merit Commended
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Anti-xenophobia project (founder), International Club (founder & president), National Honor Society, Feminist Club, Females in STEM club, GSA club, Asian Culture Club.
Job/Work Experience: Administrative assistant at apparel company for three months
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at a temple every week for 3 years
Summer Activities: Fellowship sponsored by the US Department of State, work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8/10
Teacher Rec #1: 7/10 I guess, I didn’t see it
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10 I didn’t see it
Counselor Rec: 9/10
Additional Rec: 9/10, director of the school
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: International Affairs
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Full dual-enrollment school (taking only college classes since 10th grade)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: $70k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: ACT, course load
Weaknesses: GPA, leadership, awards, community service
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: GPA, leadership, awards, community service
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: FSU, UF, Tulane, Northeastern, Tufts
Waitlisted: GWU
Rejected: Georgetown, Northwestern, Brown, Johns Hopkins
General Comments: I don’t get why I was rejected if I got into Tulane and Northeastern (who have similar acceptance rates) with scholarships…
“wanted Emory as their first choice even though the CAN compete at an ivy.”
why didn’t apply ED1 or ED2?