@andover101 Colleges definitely look at freshman grades as they are 1/4th of your all of your highschool grades and part of your GPA. If its any consolation, showing improvement from freshman year to senior year is better than getting worse even with the same overall GPA.
@andover101 some of them don’t, like Stanford looks only your 11th and 12th grades.
@ComradeStalin Where did you end up attending?
I am applying to school. Will somebody look over my essay and give me your thoughts? It would be appreciated. Thank you
High School c/o 2015
Waitlisted: UCD (denied), UCLA (accepted)
Rejected: Cal Poly Slo, UCB, UCD (after waitlist)
Accepted: SDSU (full ride w/ stipend and housing), UCSD, UCI, UCLA (after waitlist)
Interesting Note: When I applied for colleges I was unsure if I wanted to do engineering or Poli Sci in undergrad. I knew that I ultimately wanted to end up in law school, but was worried about maintaining a good GPA as an engineer. I ended up applying to some colleges as engineering and some as Poli Sci - which I realize is important information - so I will specify the major that I applied to each college as.
UCD: Mech Eng
Cal Poly Slo: Mech Eng
UCI: Mech Eng
SDSU: Mech Eng
UCLA: Poli Sci
UCB: B.A Comp Sci (School of L&S, not Engineering)
UCSD: Poli Sci
School Type: Public
Location: California
Race/Gender: Caucasian
Prospective Major: Poli Sci/Mech Eng
Unweighted GPA: 3.86
Weighted GPA: 4.59
Class rank: ~top 5% (I am ELC too)
SAT I Scores (2110)
SAT I Math: 690
SAT I Critical Reading: 750
SAT I Writing: 670
SAT II Scores
SAT II Chemistry: 630
SAT II Math Level 2: 730
Extracurricular Info
*President of Cycling Club (1 Year)
*President of Photography Club (3 Years)
*High School Soccer JV (10th and 11th Grade)
*More Cycling stuff
Also:
*Volunteered as a camp counselor for two weeks.
*Volunteered at a hospital
*Volunteered at a muscular dystrophy camp
*Some other stuff too that supports my interest in photography
(had max hours)
Work Experience
*None
Awards:
*AP Scholar
*Rotary Youth Leadership Award
*Defensive Player of the Year (high school soccer award)
*Honor Roll & CSF
Reflections: I took the SAT one time my senior year after studying for it during the summer. I probably should have taken it again to get a higher writing and math score, but at the time I compared my stats to acceptance history for UC schools and my stats were above the averages. To this day I am still confused why I was waitlisted by Davis and then rejected, but it all worked out in the end anyway. I wish everyone applying the best of luck with their applications and hope that they will add to this awesome forum too!
School Type: Public
Location: Minnesota
Race/Gender: White/Female
ACT: 33 (8 on writing)
GPA: 3.72UW, 3.79 W
Rank: Top 10% (42 out of 445)
AP Classes: English 12 (current), Psychology (4), Statistics (current), I passed the English 11 exam but didn’t take the class (3)
Honors (unweighted at my school): English 10, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Pre-Calculus
ECs:
I have two jobs, I’m a barista and a PCA
Math League
Green Club
Student Ambassador
AFR (healthy choice promotion student group)
Black Belt in Taekwondo
I play 3 instruments
Awards
Student of the Trimester
Star Student (County Award)
Accepted: Roosevelt (top scholarship), Loyola, Saint Xavier (top scholarship)
Waiting to hear from: UChicago, DePaul
Accepted: Dartmouth (likely letter), Bowdoin (Faculty Scholar), University of Michigan, half-tuition scholarship to state flagship
Waitlisted: Stanford, Williams (deferred ED), UChicago, Claremont McKenna, Cornell
Rejected: Yale, Princeton, Wharton, Columbia
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (800M, 800CR, 750W, single sitting)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 780 Math II, 780 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~11/300 (school is unranked)
AP (place score in parentheses):
AP Calc AB (5)
AP English Language (5)
AP Psych (5)
AP U.S. History (5)
AP Bio (4)
AP Chinese (4 lol)
AP Music Theory (3 lolol)
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Macro
AP Micro
AP Calc BC
AP Stats
AP Lit
AP World History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): State Finalist for United States Senate Youth Program, U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalist (not at the time when I applied), National Merit Finalist, 3rd in state for Knowledge Master’s Open, Voice of Democracy awards, various essay contests
Extracurriculars: Really heavily involved in state education reform (involved with State Board of Education, State Department of Education, guest panelist for statewide education convention),
Varsity Crew team (bronze medal at state championships, 4 varsity letters, MVP award junior year)
Club rowing for 6 seasons (competed at Canadian Henley),
Co-head Delegate for Model Congress
Coursera classes at Yale and UMich
Board of Trustees member with voting privileges of town public library
NHS
Varsity Wrestling junior year
Job/Work Experience: Town tax collector 35 hrs/week for 8 weeks, tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: ~100 hours various activities
Summer Activities: West Point SLE, Boys State (bunch of positions), club rowing, EDM concerts
Essays: Common App was really really good. My first one I submitted to my ED school was horrible, but my I was really proud of my second one. I didn’t spend as much time on the supplements tho, but my app for Stanford was by far my best overall
Teacher Recommendations: History and English were waived, but should have been stellar
Counselor Rec: pretty good I’m assuming
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes (Dartmouth and Bowdoin gave me enough financial aid that it’s the same cost per year as my state flagship)
State (if domestic applicant): New England
School Type: public, top 10-15 in state, top 250 in nation
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): lol
Strengths: test scores, rigor (13 APs + college courses), solid EC’s, common app essay, teacher recs, peer rec (written by the best writer I know)
Weaknesses: some of the supplements, not top 10 in the class (although school does not rank), no 4.0, no science senior year, only two years of foreign language, no instrument, no legacy, 3.7 first semester senior year (although my cumulative 3.93 was unchanged), and Asian male from New England
Reflection:
After getting waitlisted at Stanford and receiving a likely letter from Dartmouth, I had my hopes raised for Ivy Day. Then I checked all of my decisions around 5:10 PM and got rekt. It’s a rigged crapshoot favoring those who play sports at a high level, legacies, and prep school students, but it is what it is. The top two kids at my school did not get into any Ivy school, despite having ridiculous unweighted GPAs. I did what I liked throughout high school and still had time for fun, so I guess it worked out for me. I am very happy where I ended up.
3.2 UC gpa
1750 SAT
Both Essays geared toward theatre
Buttload of Theatre related extra curricular
Tons of performance awards (even national)
4 year Speech and Debate competitively.
Theatre major. Chance me plzzzz
[color=green]Decision: Accepted at Tulane thus far[/color=green]
School/major: Undecided
Objective:
[ul]
[]ACT : Composite: 29
English: 31
Math: 24
Reading: 35
Science: 25
Writing: haven’t taken yet but will on the 5th
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.2
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Microeconomics, and the works
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Honor Society, Phi Theta Kappa[/li][/ul]
Subjective:
[ul]
[]Volunteer/Community Service: 100
[]Summer Activities: classes at local community college
[li]Essays: ok at the moment[/li][/ul]
Other:
- []State: Louisiana
[]School Type: Online public
[]Ethnicity: African American
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: 0-34,999
[]Hooks: graduating from high school at 15 and I have 22 college hours
Reflection:
[ul]
[]Strengths: math and science
[]Weaknesses: reading and social sciences
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: age, scores, and a Louisiana resident
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Duke, Amerian
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: don’t stress about it[/li][/ul]
ACCEPTED AT DUKE AND UT AUSTIN
GPA: UW-3.95 W-5.75 (top 6.7%)
SAT: 1 time-2370 (770 reading)
Math II-800 Biology M-780 E-770 World History-710 (didn’t submit world history)
AP’s: WHAP (5) APUSH (5) Biology (4) Chem (4) Environmental Science (4) English Language/Composition (4)
I got 3’s on calc ab, psych, physics 1 (gg not submitting)
ECs
- Student Council (District Officer, Student Body Exec Board Advisor, 2 time delegate to state convention): lead a food drive that raised 5500 cans, raised $1500 through selling shirts, planned/led leadership summit with 400+ attendees, clothing drives, teacher appreciation projects, started tutoring program for school, organize mass volunteer events
- Debate (Co-captain/Workshop Instructor): 2 time state qualifier in Public Forum Debate-ranked top 35 last year, PF Regional Champion, attended Stanford National Institute for Forensics during summer, many local tournament awards
- Mayor’s Student Advisory Board (Chairsman): recognized before city council, led student-mayor discussions, mock decorums
- Tennis:Varsity for 3 years,UIL district champion in doubles, PCA Scholarship Finalist, USTA Championship ranking, many local tournament awards
- Job Related Club: (President/Founder), donated over 200 books/500 cards to local hospital/send weekly volunteers, held arts and crafts seminar for young patients
Service
- Head Intern for State Representative’s Mayoral Campaign-160 hours; train volunteers, blockwalk/canvass, participated in LGBTQ caucus, data entry, phoning/email station
- City’s Finance Department-70 hours; file receipts, data entry on excel, draft typing
- City Library-50 hours; arts and crafts for children, shelve books, assist patrons
- Summer Math Camp TA-50 hours, assisted teacher in helping kids with work
- Biology Tutor-50 hours: through student council tutoring program
-Paid work: local restaurant
Awards
PSAT Semifinalist, AP Scholar With Distinction, District Academic Excellence, George Eastman Young Leaders Award, UVa Jefferson’s Scholar Nominee, WashU Danforth Scholars Nomination, PCA Scholarship Finalist, USTA Championship Level Certification, NSDA Special Distinction Award, Recognition of Outstanding Service Award from Student Council State Board, SNHS, NHS, local awards for debate/tennis
Essays+Recs
I consider myself a pretty strong writer. My common app essay was really unique and unexpected according to my counselor. Supplements are solid as well.
Rec Letters-One from english teacher, one from world history: both should be solid: additional rec from Mayor
Accepted: Haverford College, ED
Stats:
I’m biracial, half black half white.
Essays: I personally think were very well written, really heartfelt and genuine. I wrote score l about being biracial and my growth from being scared to speak up about racism to proudly defending equality.
GPA- 3.84 unweighted, 4.11 weighted
School- Very rigorous public school, nationally known for difficulty
ACT- 33, 35 English and reading, 31 math and science. Writing score is 12. Only took once
SAT Subject Tests:
US History- 760
Literature- 730
World History-720
AP’s
US History- 5
Language and Comp.- 4
World History- 3
Ap Physics 1- 2
currently taking AP Literature and Comp., AP Gov Pol, AP Bio, and AP Calc AB, Public Speaking ( 1st semester), Drama Seminar, Economics (2nd semester), Spanish 4, Gym (lolol)
Honors:
AP scholar
National Merit Commended
Extracurriculars:
Piano lessons for 9 years.
Junior statesman of America (10-12),
Model UN (11-12)
VP of Poetry club (11-12)
A copy editor of school newspaper (11-12)
Fencing (11-12).
Copy editor of school literary and visual arts magazine, an officer position (12),
Volunteer with the kids at my nondenominational Christian church (11-12)
Church Youth group (10-12).
Taken Drama 1, 2, and highest level Drama seminar. Perform plays each year that require out of school rehearsal time. 10-12)
Was legal intern government telecommunications company as rising junior and senior for three weeks in the summer.
Law and advocacy program at American university for National Student Leadership Conference, got 2 college credits (rising junior)
Cornell Summer college (Foundations of American Law and Freedom and Justice courses), GPA 4.0. (rising senior)
College recommendations:
Very strong. From AP world, AP Lang., and Pre-Calc teachers. Also a supplemental from my professor at Cornell Law School and one from my supervisor in the summer internship.
Reflection:
Strengths: History, English, really good writer, especially creative, and very hard worker
Weaknesses: Math and Physics
Why think accepted: Strong stats, recs, and passionate essays. Also visited twice and interviewed and no financial aid
Tips: Don’t apply for rank and visit the schools! I originally thought I wanted a big school, but that changed as soon as I visited one. I was going to apply ED to an Ivy and had a ton of Ivies on my list, and I thought if needed to I would go to the city (which I hate) for the rank of a school. But that wasn’t true! After visiting multiple times, I changed my ED a week before the deadline and it was the best choice I even made! I picked the place I’d be happiest while and help me the most with my goals. Now I’m a proud member of Haverford Class of 2020!
@luisarose What do you think you did differently from other applicants that got you in to MIT and Carnegie Mellon? Unlike many on CC, you didn’t have a 36 ACT or 2400 SAT…is there anything you might recommend a current high-schooler persue to obtain the same success without “perfect” test scores?
@andrewhab This person hasn’t been on CC since October of 2013. If anything, she probably had a hook and/or wrote excellent memorable essays.
@TrackBabi17 just wondering, how’d you get into cornell with a 27 ACT??!
can someone help me out here, THANKS!!!: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1840553-what-are-my-chances-at-usc-viterbi.html?new=1
I have been looking forward to posting on here since I joined a few years ago. Time does go by fast.
Accepted: Claremont McKenna College (ED) and Northeastern (EA)
Rejected: Nowhere 
Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (800M 760CR 750W)
[] SAT II: 800Math IIc 730Physics (did not submit physics, and now I realize that test was completely useless thanks to being accepted ED)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): About 3.85
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Macroeconomics (5), Microeconomics (5), Chinese (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Calculus BC (5), Statistics (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: College Math, AP Chemistry, AP English Literature, Japanese 4 H + electives
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None lol I used to get so scared because of this category.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mainly MUN (Secretary), Yearbook (Editor in Chief), and a service music group (Founder and President)
[] Job/Work Experience: Internships at a financial firm and a non-profit
[] Volunteer/Community service: Mainly through the service music group.
[] Summer Activities: HOBY, FEE, Carleton SQRI, orchestra tour
[] Essays: 9/10
[] Teacher Recommendation: 9/10
[] Counselor Rec: 9/10
[] Additional Rec: NA
[] Interview: 7/10
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[] Intended Major: Economics (maybe with Accounting or PPE)
[] State (if domestic applicant): HS in California
[] Country (if international applicant): Not saying for privacy
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: Upper middle class.
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Well-rounded, leadership, focus, and enthusiasm. I found some stuff I liked in music, sports, and academics and I focused on those. I did have a bunch of useless clubs and leadership, but I don’t talk about them. I spend my energy on three main ECs, and I have leadership in all three. Finally, I loved CMC from the moment I found out about it, and my enthusiasm has only grown over about 2.5 years. I researched and researched, and I’m just really excited to experience everything I read about. SAT also a bonus, probably.
[] Weaknesses: Ran out of time for video, not amazing interview, not exactly the CMC stereotype, and grades may not be top notch. I was most worried about not having shown lots of enthusiasm for the history and social sciences in my coursework. Regretted not taking APUSH and having worse grades in history and English classes in general.
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: In my essay, I related what I had done to what I loved about CMC. My focused leadership probably also helped.
[/ul]General Comments:
People on here say to not fall in love with anywhere. I agree to a point. I fell in love, but I also recognized weak points in CMC and strong points elsewhere that made me confident I could take a rejection. (And I did expect one in the weeks leading up to it, especially after my interview). Know your schools, know your skills and limits, and find a school that fits you. Becoming obsessed is fine, as long as you can recognize all the facts and accept that you may be rejected. Good luck to everyone else in regular round and future years!
Decision: Accepted - ED Scripps College
Decision: Accepted - EA Santa Clara University
Decision: Deferred - EA UMich
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2240 superscore (690CR/800M/750W/11E)
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 highest sitting (680CR/800M/730W/10E) for UMich only
ACT (breakdown): 33C (35E/35M/28R/32S/31W)
SAT II: 770 Math 2, Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75 (9-11, basically what I applied with; going to lower after first sem senior lol)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not “rank”, but technically top 40% based on UW GPA
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s Chem, Chinese, APUSH, 4 AP Lang (without the class); this is a good amount for someone at my school.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Physics 1
AP Lit
AP Calc BC
AP Gov
AP Econ
Lab Assistant
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
AP Scholar with Honor
Multiple high level SciOly Awards
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Science Olympiad (Team Captain, Events VP, semi Event Captain)
Chemistry Club (Activities Manager, Tutor, Co-“founder”)
DECA- awards winner, states competitior
Music- 10 years, three instruments
JV Tennis, Track, XC
Job/Work Experience: nada
Volunteer/Community service:
Around 100ish hours at multiple organizations
Summer Activities:
UC Berkeley, Stanford summer camps
Enrichment courses at local CC
Family trips
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: Well written and touching, apparently (9/10)
Scripps (2 essays): probably 7/10 average
Santa Clara (3 essays): probably 8/10 average
UMich (3 essays): 9/10, very good in my opinion
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
AP Chem teacher: best student in her class, currently her Lab Assistant, excellent relationship (11/10) (Scripps and UMich, but UMich was late)
Freshman Lit/Honors Lit teacher: appreciates my growth, got all A’s in her classes (clutched an A- first semester junior though lol), probably very good (9/10) (Scripps and Santa Clara)
Recs:
Counselor- probably generic, but ok (6/10)
Interview: Nah didn’t interview for these schools
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): good ol’ US of A
School Type: Competitive Public (look at my rank lol)
Ethnicity: Of the Asian Persuasion
Gender: Nothing but X chromosomes
Income Bracket: I think it’s $280k (on CA), but my parents say apparently ~$330k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): lal I wish. I have legacy at USC, but I have to withdraw anyway.
Reflection:
Strengths: Test scores (for these schools at least), awards kinda, passion for my major, recs.
Weaknesses: GPA, Class rank, reading scores, and the 4 I got in Lang (WHAT ARE THOOOOSEEEE) granted, I had personal problems in sophomore year which were explained in my app.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Good god, I don’t know. I guess someone was looking out for me in the application room. Thank god for second chances.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: see above. Withdrawing USC, UCB, UCLA, UCSB, UCD, UCI, UCSC, UCSD, Rice.
General Comments:
I thought I messed up so badly in sophomore year (I have 10 B’s on my transcript, 7 of them are from sophomore, and the other three are from first semester junior and freshman year) that I wouldn’t get in anywhere. I have concentration and timing problems LIKE CRAZY when it comes to anything English related on standardized testing (take a nice long look tbh). But to future classes, remain calm. everything works out in the end.
Scripps here I come!
Accepted: NYU (social work), Belmont University (nursing) (half tuition)
Declined: Vanderbilt (social work)
Asian Female
3 Different High Schools
HS GPA: 3.3
ACT: 30
EC:
4 yrs wrestling manager
1 yr rock climbing team
1 yr tennis team
church volunteer
2 yr HOSA
1 excellent rec , 2 recs in total
2 APS
4 Youth Options courses (college courses taken during hs)
1 suspension with supplemental explanation
fairly strong essay
[color=green]Accepted:[/color=green] Vanderbilt ED, Tulane EA (Honors Program & Presidential Scholarship)
[color=red]Rejected:[/color=red] Nowhere!
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2320 - 800 M 720 CR 800 W (single sitting - 2280)
ACT: 35 - 36 R 36 M 35 S 34 W 9 Essay
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Bio M, 710 Chem (didn’t send chem)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Bio (5), APES (5), AP Calc AB (5), AP Chem (4), AP Lit (4), APUSH (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Lang, AP Psych, Contemporary World Problems (required), AP Calc BC
Awards/Achievements: All-National/State/District Honor Choirs, qualified for nationals in a singing competition, FBLA national qualifier 3x, several regional FBLA awards, HOSA national qualifier 2x, 3rd place in state science competition (SMART category), National Merit Semi-Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, named my school (I didn’t mention this but I think my counselor did)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
International Jewish youth program - 9-12 (Regional Communications VP (11), Regional Programming VP (12))
Research Internship in an HIV lab: 12
Choir: 10-12 (President (12)) Soloist, competed in state and national competitions, did state and national choirs)
HOSA: 11-12 (State secretary (12))
School ASB: 9 and 12 (9th grade president, senior committee)
Theatre: Since I was 5 - 1-2 shows per year in addition to selective training programs and 3 professional shows
FBLA: 9-10,12 7 Awards total - Qualified for nationals 3x in Business Law and Intro to Business
NHS: 9-12 (Didn’t report)
Job/Work Experience:
Music teacher (10) and TA (11-12) at temple sunday school
Counselor at summer camp (8-11)
Research intern at biomedical research center (Summer before 12, same one I’m interning at now)
Professional theatre
Volunteer/Community service:
Jewish service learning program: (Summers 11-12)
Worked with kids on the autism spectrum at summer camp to help them have a fun camp experience (11)
Worked at a soup kitchen and as a counselor for an inner city camp for underprivileged children (12)
Tutoring physics and bio: 10-11
Youth Grantmaking Board: 11 Board of 15 teens that had $20,000 to make grants for nonprofit organizations
Summer Activities: Various combinations of the above (theatre, community service, camps, interning)
Essays: I think they were good but who am I to say? I guess they were good enough haha
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read, probably good but generic
Counselor Rec: See above
Additional Rec: Mentor at summer research internship - probably good
Interview (Vanderbilt): Good! My interviewer was really nice and we had a comfortable conversation
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Somewhere west
Country (if international applicant): N/A
Intended major(s): Molecular and Cellular Biology
School Type: Small, science-focused, public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: High enough that I got 0 need-based aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.: Naw
Reflection
Strengths: Scores, GPA, Leadership
Weaknesses: Recommendations probably generic, essays good but probably not incredible
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Vandy likes high scores. Also, it was a really good fit. For Tulane, my scores were high and I was really proud of my Why Tulane essay.
General Comments:
Go with your gut. Seriously. I was planning to apply to Brown ED until October when I realized I needed to visit Vanderbilt to be sure of my decision. That visit convinced me to apply early to Vanderbilt, and I’m so incredibly happy I did. I can’t wait to start my college career in Nashville. Anchor down!
I don’t even get anymore. did the entire top 2 percentile for the SAT’s come to cc ???
it makes me feel so mediocre even though my SAT is 93rd percentile