Can more graduated seniors do "actual results" threads?

Chance Me / Match Me!
2081

Attending: Boston College!

Accepted: UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Boston w/Chancellor’s Scholarship, WPI, Boston University, Boston College, Holy Cross, MCPHS

Waitlisted: Northeastern, and I still have no idea why.

Rejected: Harvard, Tufts, Amherst College, and the one that stung the most…Brown.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2080 (CR: 580 M: 700, W: 800)
ACT (breakdown): 31C (36E, 33M, 28R, 27S, 35W)
SAT II: Math I: 630, Biology M: 680
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.776; W: 4.012
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%; 3/65
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5), Biology (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
-AP Chemistry
-AP Calculus AB
-AP Spanish Language
-AP Psychology
-AP English Lit
-Ancient History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A. Awards were mainly local/regional.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Hymns lead teacher
-Main facilitator of NHS tutoring at school
-Hospital volunteer, nurse assistant
-Member of GreenSchools society; local cleanups, raising environmental awareness through speeches, and other things

Job/Work Experience: Own my own online store on eBay, with excellent customer satisfaction.
Volunteer/Community service: Avid volunteer at my local hospital, wrote my main commonapp essay on an experience that touched me, as well as an earlier medical experience.
Summer Activities: Hardcore SAT prep + volunteering. Not to mention AP summer work! (fun…)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, thought it was really well-written and from the heart.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10, teacher I had for 3 years straight, knows my work ethic really well. Didn’t see the letter though.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10, AP Lang teacher knows I am a hard-worker, as I got a 5 on the exam.
Counselor Rec: 10/10, We’re like best friends. Since I go to a really small school, the counselor knows everyone personally, so a recommendation from her was bound to be great.
Additional Rec: Nope

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Oh yeah, got lots of it too thank God
Intended Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pre-Med
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Charter
Ethnicity: White, Middle Eastern (Egyptian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$70,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

Reflection

Strengths: Definitely my essays, GPA, and recommendations. Very strong courseload
Weaknesses: Standardized test scores… Tried a lot to study for them, would have liked higher scores, but oh well. ECs were a bit lacking as well.

Final Comments: Please, please find a passion in whatever you do. I believe that was the single factor that screwed me over in this entire application process. I am not entirely happy with where I am going and am planning to re-apply to Brown and some other schools as a transfer, so don’t do my mistake. I am thankful, don’t get me wrong, but I still want Brown…human nature I suppose.

-Start and FINISH your standardized tests EARLY. October of senior year at the latest. My last test was in February, and it was the ACT. Study hard and well for them, you cannot just go and take then, and expect to score well.

-ESSAYS. So important. The supplements, especially. I pretty much aced all of mine, and that’s truly what got me into BC and BU, because I expressed to them my fit and gave admissions a chance to picture me there. BC didn’t explicitly ask in a “why BC” format like Brown and the others, but I worked that into the prompt. Northeastern didn’t have a supplement, but had it did, I would have undoubtedly gotten in. Still flabbergasted over the waitlist, considering its acceptance rate is similar to BC’s and BU’s. Write about something that perhaps affected you in the past, and will continue to do so in the future at college. Give admissions a chance to see who you are.

-ECs are way more important than you think. Find something unique, related to your future career. Have that burning passion inside of you, make it the cornerstone of your application. My ECs were generic and not too special. My numbers were there, but I certainly didn’t have admissions officers at ultra-selective schools jump-up and say they want to admit me, because of my ECs. Planning to do a major overhaul to make my transfer app amazing. Get it right the first time.

-Interviews are fairly important for the more selective schools (Brown and Tufts for me, didn’t get one from Harvard.) Express your genuine interest in the school and be polite in the interview. However, if your interviewer happens to say you’ll be a good fit at the school, or you have a great chance, don’t cling to that too much. I had a false sense of hope when my Brown interviewer told me I was an excellent fit there.

Well, that’s my journey.

2082

I hope someone on here finds this useful!
Accepted: Dartmouth, Duke, WashU,USC,UNC-Chapel Hill (Chancellor’s Science Scholarship),UT (Plan 2 Honors), UTD (full ride+ 1,000), Tulane Deferred-> Accepted (Presidential Scholarship)
Rejected: Harvard, UPenn
Waitlisted: Nowhere

Attending: Dartmouth College!

Objective:
ACT: 34
SAT: 2170 (710 CR/740 M/720W)
SAT II: 710 USH, 650 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.7 (school doesn’t calculate)
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.28
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 6%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang (5), APUSH (4), AP Human Geo (4), AP Spanish Lang (4), AP Euro (5), AP Psych (4), AP World (4)
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Gov, AP Bio, AP Literature, AP Calc BC, AP Macroeconomics, Orchestra
Orchestra/Chorus
Major Awards: National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with distinction, regional and state History Fair awards, Orchestra UIL awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
History Club (Secretary), Orchestra, 9th Grade Basketball(Captain), NHS

Job/Work Experience: Working in a beauty supply

Volunteer/Community service: Various activities through NHS

Summer Activities:
-Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar
-NIDA Intern
-Volunteered with organization that builds waterwells in East Africa
-Dartmouth Bound

Essays:
Common App- I thought my final draft was pretty good. It was really personal and about my work experience.
Supplements - I’ll just go down the list. Dartmouth- I thought it was really good, it was about my name. Duke- It was short but really honest and about conflicting identity. Penn- It was probably my worst one looking back. I tried to be specific but I’m really bad at Why X essays. Harvard- It was probably kind of controversial and I knew it could have either been a hit or miss. Tulane- I’m pretty sure I was origins deferred because my Why X essay. UNC- Chapel Hill- I really liked my supplement and it was about my intellectual growth.

Other:
Intended Major: Neuroscience
School Type: Public
Location: TX
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Fluctuates in the 60,000-80,000 range
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection:
The admissions process is crazy and there were days in school when nobody would talk about anything but college admissions. At that time, it’ll seem like getting into the best college is what matters most but trust me when I say that feeling blows over quickly. When I started off this whole process, Duke was my dream. When I got in with a likely, I was super excited. But, then I visited the school, I realized that I didn’t fit. I kept comparing it to Dartmouth. The financial aid package at Duke was nearly half of that everywhere else. I know how lucky I am to be able to go to Dartmouth but a lot of people didn’t understand my choice probably because Dartmouth is not very popular in my area. But, I happy knowing that I made the right choice and that’s all that should matter to you too.
Also- please don’t act/ feel superior if you are going to attend a “better” school. I see it happening in my school and it’s actually so disgusting. Your school doesn’t define you.

2083

@mg29409
"Northeastern- Still flabbergasted over the waitlist, considering its acceptance rate is similar to BC’s and BU’s. "

“Weaknesses: Standardized test scores”

Northeastern admitted freshman class profile:

GPA - 3.9 - 4.3
ACT- 31-34

SAT Triscore - 2070-2230

You were bottom 25% in all 3 of the above. That’s likely why you were waitlisted.

2084

@mg29409 while I don’t necessiarly disagree with @suzyQ7 conclusion re: the waitlist at Northeastern. I can see why is might seem strange given several of your other acceptances. I know my D16 was accepted at Pitt, Purdue and Wooster with stats in the 25% range. Who knows sometime!

2085

@suzyQ7 I know but… I showed interest and everything. Lol whatever

@labegg It certainly is strange! I also just discovered a few days ago that they are need-aware…so they might have seen my low income and decided not to admit me. That could have contributed to the decision anyway. But I’m thankful with where I’m going.

2086

.

2087

Really? That’s it?

2088

@mg29409

Wow, two Egyptians in one forum lol!

2089

@java23 Haha, what a coincidence! Where are you going to school next year? Are you from Egypt originally?

2090

@mg29409
Ya me and my brother are both born in Egypt. I am going to be a senior next year in high school, and my brother is going to Harvard for Computer Science

2091

@java23 Wow good for him, mabrook.

Would this happen to be him by any chance? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/profile/comments/100463578/CuriousSam

2092

@mg29409 No this is him

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/profile/CS%20Wiz

2093

hi, just wondering… what grade did u start your ping pong team? and what season was it? (fall, winter spring?)

2094

@“CS Wiz” ^^^^^^

2095

@artist03 Oh sorry for taking too long, I haven’t been on in a while. I started my school table tennis team junior year. I kind of got the idea because we all used to play competitive table tennis at other organizations, but we never had a school team. Because other local schools didn’t have teams, we ended up going taking our top 10 players to tournaments around 3 times a month year round. We ended up doing very well, and winning the Illinois State Championship.

2096

Accepted: Davidson, UVA, William and Mary
Waitlisted: Wake Forest
Rejected: Stanford, Pomona

School details: Private, very rigorous boarding school that is well known in the South. Does not rank.
GPA: 3.9 unweighted, 4.6 weighted
SAT: 2050 (750 CR, 630 M, 670 W)
Subject Tests: 750 Lit, 700 American History, 610 Math 1, 690 World History
AP Scores: Literature, World History: 5. American History, German Lang, American Government: 4. Statistics, Environmental Science: 3

Extracurriculars:

  1. School Newspaper: Staff Writer as a freshman, Head Writer as a sophomore, Co-Editor-in-Chief as a junior (the seniors were not happy…), Editor-in-Chief as a senior
  2. Cross-Country: JV as a freshman and sophomore, Varsity as a junior* and senior (I got sidelined for most of my junior year bc of a medical issue)
  3. Literary Magazine: Writer for all four years
  4. Art Club: Member for all four years
    I also have done a variety of writing and art related volunteering

Essay: I wrote for the Common App about my meaningful experiences with art; it was at least “good”. I also really made sure to have unique, interesting supplements.

References: They were really good; I had one from my English teacher who also was my academic advisor AND sponsored the school newspaper, so she knew me really well. My other reference was from my Chem teacher-- Chemistry was super hard for me, but the teacher for some reason really liked me; she thought I was incredibly hard-working so she wrote about that.

2097

Posting two results for two different friends. Please click on the links to see profiles:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1802858-chance-my-friend-mechanical-engineering-p2.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1802675-chance-my-friend-northwestern-medill-u-maryland-syracuse-newhouse-american.html#latest

Hope this helps!

2098

@jeremyj did you apply early anywhere?

2099

This thread was a great help to me while I was a senior, and I hope that others in the future will find it useful, too!

Attending: University of Pennsylvania
Accepted: UVA (Echols), USC (Presidential), Caltech, Johns Hopkins (Bloomberg), Cornell (LL - Traditions Fellow), Duke, Swarthmore (LL), Brown, Penn
Waitlisted: Dartmouth
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia (ED, deferred to rejected)

Objective
SAT 1: 2380 (800 R, 800 M, 780 W)
SAT 2: 800 Math II, 800 Chemistry, 790 Bio-M, 790 US History
ACT: N/A
UW GPA: 4.0
APs: 5s on AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP English Language, AP US History, and AP Biology
Rank: School does not rank
Senior Year Load: AP Environmental Science, AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP Statistics

Subjective
Major ECs:
Work – one of my main ECs, work about 5-10 hours/week during the school year and 20 hours/week during breaks at both a restaurant and a tutoring center
Science Competition – won 1st place in a statewide competition (being vague for confidentiality reasons)
Orchestra (Section Leader)
Environmental Club
Key Club (Public Relations)
Literary Magazine
Hospital Volunteer

Essays: Although I do admit to procrastinating, I tried to stay true to myself and write honest essays. It’s fine to let others read over your essays, but don’t feel as though you have to take every one of their suggestions and make changes. My family actually hated my Common App essay, but my teachers/counselors liked it. I didn’t change anything, and I guess it turned out well for me. Make sure to do a lot of research on the specific programs you are applying for when writing the “Why ____” essays! On some of the more open-ended essays, I tried to make my personality and humor show.

Other
Intended major: Engineering
Indicated career interest: Engineering and/or finance(?)
Race: Asian
Gender: Female
Income bracket: Low enough to receive significant financial aid from institutions
Hooks: No significant ones

Reflection
Strengths – Test scores/grades, essays, work experience
Weaknesses – Not many leadership positions or awards, no amazing ECs

I was really surprised by my results; I thought I’d only be able to get into at most one of these top schools with my credentials. I had really good grades and test scores, but nearly everyone who applies to these schools does, too. I think my essays were what tilted my admissions results in my favor. However, it really is a crapshoot. I got into a lot of schools that I thought I would never get into, but I know that there were just as many qualified applicants that got waitlisted and rejected.

Feel free to reach out to me through PM if you have any questions/want more information! I should still hop on here occasionally during college.

2100

Attending: SUNY Binghamton

Acceptances: Rutgers University, Northeastern University, SUNY Binghamton, The College of New Jersey, University of Miami, Boston University
Waitlist: Carnegie Mellon University
Rejections: Cornell University, Tufts University, University of Virginia

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2160: 730 CR, 720 M, 710 W
ACT (breakdown): Did not Report
SAT II: Math II: 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.49
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (My school does not rank)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (5) Literature (5) Macro (5) Statistics (5) APUSH (4) English Language (3)
Micro (3 Self Study)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Stats, AP English Literature, AP Macro, Honors Computer Science, Honors Spanish

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
2012-Present: DECA (President) - Was state finalist in accounting last year
2014- Present: Odessey of the Mind
2013- Present: Interact
Library Reconstruction
2012- 2013: Euro Challenge
2015-2016: Fed Challenge
2013- Present: History Quiz Bowl (Co- President)
2012- Present: Basketball

Job/Work Experience:
Worked at local accounting firm for 4 years accumulated over 800 hours of experience
Volunteer/Community service: about 100 hours of miscellaneous volunteer work

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: (10/10)- wrote about how I my job affected my identity.
Cornell Supplement (8/10)
Tufts Supplements (7/10)
Carnegie Mellon Supplements (8/10)
Virginia Supplements (7/10)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10- English teacher loved me and I consistently received A’s in the class
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10- Club adviser for DECA we are very close
Teacher Rec #3: 10/10- Accounting teacher who I developed a good relationship with
Counselor Rec: I don’t see why it would be lower than an 8/10

Other

Intended Major: Finance and Statistics
Applied for Financial Aid?: no
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 90k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy at Cornell (Mother)

Reflection: I feel like I got kinda wrecked in this process to be completely truthful. Although I knew it would be difficult to be accepted to high prestige institution, I figured I would be accepted to one of the four schools I really wanted to attend: Cornell, UVA, CMU, and Tufts. When I was rejected from each of these schools with the exception of one waitlist I was devastated to say the least. I thought my scores were decent enough 98th percentile and my GPA was certainly high enough. Also, I thought that my job experience would show some commitment to a field I was interested in. Maybe I was just overestimating myself? I chose SUNY Binghamton because they provided a rather substantial scholarship in addition to the PWC scholars program. In any case if you have any questions about the college process feel free to message me!