Can more graduated seniors do "actual results" threads?

Chance Me / Match Me!
2141

@flravvv

Probably the essays. My test scores and extracurricular activities were definitely really good, but my essays were kind of average. I answered the questions and definitely showed my creativity and sense of humor, but it was nothing that would have blown them away. Writing essays isn’t really my strong suit. But what I would recommend is start writing your essays the summer after junior year. I started in August or September, but starting earlier would definitely help.

The other reason I think I was deferred is because I don’t fit the mold they are looking for. A school like UChicago wants a very diverse group of applicants, not just a bunch of students with perfect test scores. These schools have plenty of overqualified applicants, so I would recommend applying to multiple other schools to increase your odds.

2142

@OneTimeOnly1

Yeah I agree with you mostly. I’m just saying that if you are Asian or White, you are in a group that is at a disadvantage in terms of acceptance to very selective colleges. Even if their test scores and grades are above average and they are very involved in their communities, they should apply to multiple schools, because acceptance is definitely not a guarantee. Schools have to fill their quotas.

2143

@cdhxyx I see your point (after all I am half white/half chinese), but there are more important things you should spend your time thinking about. Instead of worrying about URMs, why not go out and work on improving your ECs? Everyone should apply to a wide range of schools regardless of race.

Additionally, saying that whites and asians are “at a disadvantage” is disingenuous–What about all the other advantages that white and asian people have? In the grand scheme of things, whites and asians are generally more privileged than black people.

Side note: there aren’t rigid quotas at top schools

2144

@cdhxyx Being white or Asian is not a disadvantage in the admissions process. I agree wholeheartedly with @RustandStardst . Statistically, you’re more likely to attend college in the US (more so if it’s an elite university) if you’re white and/or Asian than if you are black or latino because the representation is so high; probably because the (general) culture surrounding going to college for the latter is not (generally) seen as an expectation. Whites and asians do not (generally) experience the same systematic disadvantages that blacks and latinos (generally) do.

Conversely, blacks and latinos don’t get into college because of their ethnicity. In fact, it could be argued that their ethnicity (generally) puts them at a disadvantage. Less blacks and Latinos apply to elite schools in the first place

2145

@patriotsfan1 hi, u mentioned that u were waitlisted at northeastern and I was wondering if u eventually got accepted?

2146

Hi @kyliexrae NEU and NYU are amongst my top choices. I was wondering if u got deferred from NEU bc that happened to me and I have lower test scores than you. I’m trying to find a trend in deferrals so I can enjoy most of my spring break without worrying too much bc the wait for results is just way to agonizing. I’d really appreciate it if u could tell me what u think about my stats and chance for NEU based on your experience. Thanks!
Sat: 1910/2400 on old (each component around 630 but I don’t remember exactly) 1390/1600 on new
Act: 28 but didn’t send
AP: hgap 3, whap 4, us history 3, Chinese 5, bio 4
Gpa: 3.8 uw
Ec: 200 hours volunteering through key club and interact club. Placed 2nd and 3rd at Future Business Leaders of America regional level competition for jr and sr year. In a small cultures club at school, choir for freshman year
Work: 3 years as a restaurant hostess, 8 months as sales for retail
Other: first generation, Chinese female, interesting childhood environment (grew up in a family restaurant, almost literally), my senior year is a downhill (taking way too many chill classes and a free period to go home early), applied international business

2147

High School Class of 2016:
Accepted: Yale (QuestBridge College Match), Harvard (RD), Princeton (RD)
Rejected: Stanford (RD)

Major: Probably economics or stats

GPA: 3.98/4.00 Unweighted, 4.66/4.00 Weighted
SAT: 2380 (800 CR, 800 MA, 780 WR)
SAT II: American History 800, Math Level II 800, Literature 770
ACT: 36
AP: US History, Lang, Lit, Stats, Gov, Chem, Micro & Macro, BC Calc, Spanish (all 5’s)

Major Awards:
NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles Orchestra (senior)
All-State Honors Orchestra (junior)
National Orchestra Award (senior)
Quiz bowl All-State (junior & senior)
Soccer All-State All-Academic (senior)

Other Awards:
National Merit Scholarship Finalist
QuestBridge NCM Finalist & College Prep Scholar
School Concerto Competition 1st Place
Minor Math competition awards
Minor Quiz bowl awards

Other stuff:
Co-wrote two books on topics related to the Korean Peninsula with other Korean-American students

2148

Accepted: Minerva Schools at KGI, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley w/ Regents, UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara w/ Regents, UC San Diego, George Mason w/ Scholars Full Ride
Waitlisted: Washington University in St. Louis, Colby (both need-aware)
Rejected: None yet
Still waiting: Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Brown, University of Pennsylvania Huntsman, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, Claremont McKenna, Cornell College of Art and Sciences, Brandeis, Vanderbilt, American, Yale/National University of Singapore

Major: Undeclared Social Sciences

White, Male, California, Low-Income (basically the definition of un-hooked)

GPA: 3.8/4 UW 4.28/4 W 4.38/4 UC Capped
SAT: 2330 (800CR 780M 750W) - didn’t send to most
ACT: 36
SAT II: Math II 800, Spanish Reading 750, Spanish Listening 740, Literature 730
AP: Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Calculus AB, Statistics, Human Geography, English Language (all 5s)

Awards:
Speech and Debate Nationals - 2nd
International Speech and Debate Tournament - 2nd
Robotics World Championship - 1st
California Boys State Competitions - 1st

Extracurriculars:
Debate - Finalist for the US national team
Entrepreneurship - Worked w/ various startups, started consulting agency working with large companies
Homeless Shelter - 9 years volunteering, on board of directors overseeing 2,000 volunteers

  • many others I wont list

Thoughts so far on the application process:
Everyone told me that college admissions was an exceedingly random process and that you just need to get high enough numbers and toss your hat in the ring. My guidance counselor even told me to shoot lower with my school choices because my GPA wasn’t good enough. So much of this advice comes from people that look at a blurb like this, see a few numbers and 5 word descriptions of activities and make a judgement on how that will be perceived by colleges. If a blurb of this size can represent your application, then you’re doing it wrong. What takes the “randomness” out of admissions is rising above the generic approach that everyone takes with applications. Take a risk, show your actual personality, and spend high school doing what you love and jumping down rabbit holes instead of chasing test scores and joining honor societies. Colleges just want to see that you’re willing to take that jump, regardless of where it leads. I don’t pretend to be a good writer, but if people are curious I’m happy to share some parts of my applications.

Will update in April with full results. Best of luck to everyone!

2149

High School Class of 2017

White, Female
IR or Bio major
Small, private school

Accepted: UVM, MU, and Tufts (edII)
Rejected: Brown (edI)
Withdrawn: WashU, Emory, BU, Northwestern, Carleton

ACT: 32 (33 ss)
R: 36
M: 29
S: 33
E: 34

Gpa Weighted: 4.61/4 (like 3.7 ish unweighted)
Probably graduating with honors
No ranking @ my school

IB diploma candidate
HL bio, english, and history
SL Global politics, math, and french

Activities:
Theater 10 years
JV tennis 4 years (captain)
Volunteering kinda
Tutor

Hooks: none! just lucky I guess. Still sorta wish I’d gotten into Brown though :confused:

2150

Accepted:
UF, FSU, Johns Hopkins, Cornell (regular decision), Emory
Rejected/Waitlisted:
None
Still Waiting For Results:
Harvard (EA deferred) and Brown

Objective:
SAT I-1380 out of 1600 (700 M, 680 R/W)
ACT-N/A
SAT II’s: 650 (Biology M) and 680 (math 1)
Unweighted GPA: 3.87
Weighted: 4.84 out of 6.00
Rank: top 8% out of class of 653 students
AP’s taken: World History (4), European History (4), Art History (5), Biology (3), English Lang (4), US History (4)
Senior Courses- AP Gov, AP Econ, AP Calc AB, AP Psychology, AP Literature, Career Research, Health Sciences 3.
Major Awards (USAMO, intel, etc…): no major awards just AP Scholar, AP Scholar w/Distinction, Chatham Book Award, some Varsity Letters, and some school awards.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (Leadership in parentheses)
Varsity Cross country: (Captain for 3 years, been running for 7 years), Made it to States for the first time in 20 years!
Varsity Track & Field: (Captain for 3 years, been running for 5 years), Ran 4x8 relay, 800 m, 4x4 relay, and 1600 m.
H.O.S.A: 9th
Pink Ribbon Club: 11th
Intermediate Orchestra: (First Violin, third chair) 9th, Raised $720 through “Violin Caroling” at Christmas Tree Drive
No Place For Hate: 10th

Job Experience: None
Volunteering: Couple hours here and there, spent entire summer 2016 volunteering as receptionist/principal’s aide at local K-8 school
Summer Activities: Online courses and one People to People trip to Spain/Portugal 2015
Essays:
Pretty Good. Common app was about one time I got lost during a cross country practice and my other essays were based on my experience w/ PIHP and how it inspired me to become a doctor.

Teacher Recommendations: One said I was one of the best students she ever had. I have no idea what the other one wrote.
Extra Recs: My coach for Cross-country/Track, Good but not amazing.
Counselor Rec: No idea
Interviews: Haven’t had any

Other:
State: FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Afro-Caribbean (Black)
Sex: Female
Income Bracket: around 150,000
Hooks: URM?

2151

Accepted:
Reed College, St. John’s College (MD), Georgia Tech, New College of Florida, and Georgia Southern University

Waitlisted:
UChicago (soft rejection really; it was a long shot anyways).

Objective:
SAT I-1320 out of 1600 (650 M, 670 R/W)
ACT-30 (31 super scored)
Unweighted GPA: 3.85
Rank: top 120 out of class of 984 students

AP’s taken: World History (4), Biology (3), English Lang (5),US History (4)
Senior Courses- AP Calc AB, AP Lit, AP Spanish Lang, AP Euro, Microbiology, chorus
Major Awards (USAMO, intel, etc…): nothing special here.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (Leadership in parentheses)

Show Choir: 11th, 12th
Choral Council: 12th
Color Guard: 9th

Job Experience: None
Volunteering: Mostly freshman mentoring and tutoring in biology. Some other volunteer work here and there.
Summer Activities: 11th–helped tutor elementary students; 12th–summer school for gov and Econ (because I really wanted to take AP Euro)
Essays:

I’m not really good at judging my writing abilities (I’m either too critical or full of myself), but I let other people read my Common App essay and they seemed to enjoy it. I think it really showed my personality, and I even got a compliment from one of the admissions counselors. My supplements were about the same, I guess. I got compliments on them from one of the admissions counselors, so I guess it was pretty good.

The only thing I regret is doing the essay last minute. I feel like if I gave myself enough time to fully develop my supplements for UChicago, I may have gotten in (they were definitely on the weak side).

Teacher Recommendations: I have honestly no idea what they wrote since I’m really introverted, but they like me as a student so I’m sure it was fine.
Extra Recs: None although I wish I got one.
Counselor Rec: I’ve been in contact a lot with my counselor through the whole college process ,and I made sure to fill out my brag sheet out really detailed.
Interviews: Reed interview with admissions counselor went really well; I think that’s the main reason why I got into the school.

Other:
State: GA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Black
Sex: Female
Income Bracket: About 50000
Hooks: URM

Final thoughts:

Honestly if your reading this thread, the main thing to put in mind is to let high school be high school and not a stepping stone towards college. I’m glad I decided to not follow the crowd in my school that only did things because “it looks good on college applications” as in the end I got into really great schools doing things I love without having a million leadership positions or helping curing cancer.

The whole college admissions process is honestly getting ridiculous, and I feel like there’s too much pressure for kids to get into the so called top schools in the rankings. There is a school for everyone out their and just because a school is high in rankings doesn’t mean that it is a great fit for you. Don’t kill yourself by trying to do the things that you think colleges will like because in the end, you can do everything that you think is “right” and end up rejected at your top school.

The most important thing is to be passionate! It doesn’t matter if you’re terrible at it as if as long as you enjoy it, it’s a worthwhile thing to do. Passion is more than just knowing what you want to do with your life and driving your ECs I’m that particular direction, it’s the enthusiasm and pride that you show in the things you do. This can be shown in a variety of ways (relations with others, personal statements, work ethic) and there’s no need for a set formula.

In the end by the time you graduate high school, make sure you make the most of it and have no (or very little) regrets. You are not a file or stas, so don’t try to become one by aiming for perfection. You are an unique individual and there’s sure someplace out there that will love you for you.

2152

Accepted:
Lehigh, Villanova, Providence (30k scholarship), Binghamton, Albany, UHart(full tuition scholarship)
Rejected/Waitlisted:
Northeastern
Still Waiting For Results:
Lafayette

Objective:
SAT I-1410 out of 1600 (710 M, 700 R/W)
ACT-N/A
SAT II’s:N/A
GPA: 4.0
Rank: top 10% out of class of 250 students
AP’s taken: World History (3), US History (3), Calculus AB (5), Biology (4)
Senior Courses- AP Calculus BC, AP Environmental Science, AP Statistics, Marist English, Government, Criminal Justice
Major Awards (USAMO, intel, etc…): AP Scholar but no real major awards
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (Leadership in parentheses)
Marching Band 4 years(color guard captain 2 years)
dance 15 years
NHS 1 year
Students against cancer 4 years
Mu Alpha Theta math honor society 4 years (junior officer 1 year, vice president 1 year)
student government (vice president 1 year)

Job Experience: None
Volunteering: 2 hrs a week volunteering at local church for 4 years (teacher for 1 year)
summer intern 6 hrs a day
volunteer at local food banks
special olympics volunteer

Summer Activities: camp counselor and volunteer
participate in summer theatre production for 10 years

Essays:
I think mine were good. My common app essay was about my perfectionism and the supplements ranged based on the questions.

Teacher Recommendations: I only got one recommendation from my favorite teacher and I haven’t read it but I assume it was pretty good.

Extra Recs: N/A
Counselor Rec: I don’t know I never got to read it
Interviews: N/A

Other:
State: NY
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Sex: Female
Income Bracket: around $90,000

I hope that this can help anyone who is about to go through this process. I know that I am still stressed out over picking a college but hopefully it will all work out! I wish all of you the best of luck in the admissions process!

2153

Major: Undeclared

Accepted:
University of Massachusetts - Amherst ($10k chancellor’s award/year), University of Colorado - Boulder.

Rejected:
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, University of Washington, Northeastern University, Boston University, University of Virginia, George Washington University, New York University, Harvard College, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Columbia University (18 rejections hurt my soul).

Objective:
SAT I - 1330 out of 1600 (660 M, 670 R/W)
ACT - 29
SAT II’s: Chem 580, Math II 620
GPA: 3.49 UW, 3.66ish W
Rank: N/A
AP’s taken: AP US History (2), AP Chemistry (1)
Honor’s taken: Chemistry H, Physics H
College Courses taken: General Chemistry
Senior Courses- AP US Government & Politics, Economics, Contemporary Literature & Writing, Physics Honors, Chamber Choir, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, intel, etc…): N/A

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (Leadership in parentheses)

  • Dance Team, 2 years
  • Spirit Week Dance Team, 2 years (Coach)
  • Fitness Club, 1 year
  • Dance Classes, 2 years in high school but danced before
  • Studio Dance Company, 1 year
  • California Scholarship Federation, 1 year
  • Morning Announcements Reader, 1 year
  • Homeroom Legislative Representative, 2 year

Job Experience: Starbucks Barista, 1 year
Volunteering: Not a lot, some through Key Club and CSF
Summer Activities: Dance practices and dance camp. College course over the summer and working.

Essays: Looking back not very good, kinda cheesy and wrote them the day of (I know, not smart)

Teacher Recommendations: One from my junior english teacher and the other from my cc professor, never read
Extra Recs: N/A
Counselor Rec: never read
Interviews: Had them for Harvard, UPenn (phone), Brown, and Cornell. Cornell was badddd, Harvard was mehh, Brown was alright, and UPenn was really good.

Other:
State: CA
School Type: Competitive public school in the Silicon Valley
Ethnicity: Asian
Sex: Female
Income Bracket: low

Notes:
Looking back, my application was not competitive especially where I go to school. I got a D junior year second semester and lots of C’s which is what probably killed me since I had 3.8-4.0 my first two years of high school. Took on too many activities and procrastinated too much. If I did it again I would spend more time and have added more safeties. Get good grades future readers. Decided to attend community college b/c OOS is too expensive and not worth it b/c standard of living in the Bay Area is so high, so transferring is my best bet.

2154

Accepted:
University of Texas at Austin - CNS Scholarship
McMurry University
Rice University - Trustee Distinguished Scholarship
Boston University
Vassar College
NYU - Arch Scholarship

Rejected/Waitlisted:
(W) Notre Dame
(W) Emory
® Washington University in St. Louis
® Tulane

Still Waiting For Results:
n/a

Objective:
SAT I- 1480 / 1600 (math - 750, reading - 730)
ACT- 33 / 36
SAT II’s:N/A
GPA: 98.11
Rank: unranked
AP’s taken: none offered by school (college prep school)
Senior Courses- H Calculus, Government, Economics, H English IV, Exploring Medical Sciences, Bible IV, H Biology II
Major Awards (USAMO, intel, etc…): National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar, commended in the psat national merit program,
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (Leadership in parentheses)
Band (1st chair clarinet for 3 years)
Newspaper (received school journalism merit award in 10th grade)
Debate
NHS (treasurer)
Senior Class historian

Job Experience: hostess @ local steakhouse (approx. 20 hrs/wk)
Volunteering:
approx. 150 hrs volunteering at a local hospital over 3 summers
helped with local Adult Protective Services goods drive two years

Summer Activities:
volunteering @ local hospital
working
counselor at summer camp for kids

Essays:
I believe that my essays turned out pretty well despite how little time I put into them. I had my English teacher read over my UT Austin essays and she really liked them.

Teacher Recommendations: I did not read either of the two recommendations I used; however, I can assume that they were very good. Because my school is very small, I have a spectacular relationship with all of my teachers.
Extra Recs: n/a
Counselor Rec: I imagine that this was one was probably good but not as amazing as my teacher recs
Interviews: I interviewed at Rice University during its SOAR program. It was a really fun experience and I felt like I truly showed my love for Rice during it. I also opted to do a non-evaluative interview for Vassar but was unable to do one due to a lack of interviewers available.

Other:
State: TX
School Type: small private
Ethnicity: hispanic
Sex: Female
Income Bracket: around $70,000

This was a really stressful experience for me so I hope that this helps alleviate stress for someone out there. If you have any questions, feel free to message me :slight_smile:

P.S. Don’t procrastinate on writing essays until the day before they’re due like I did :confused:

2155

Accepted:
UC Irvine (with CHP)
Purdue (going here, Go Boilermakers!)
SJSU
Northeastern
Santa Clara

Waitlisted:
UC Davis

Denied:
Cal Poly SLO
MIT
Stanford
Cornell
CMU
UPenn
JHU
Berkeley

Major (for all schools)- CS, Applied Math for some
GPA- 4.17(W), 4.25 (UC/CSU), 4.0 (UW)
ACT Score- 32 (35E 31M 32R 30S 8E)
SAT Score NEW- 1340 (680 M 660 R/W)
SAT II: Math 2 (720), Physics (680)
AP: Calc AB (3), Lang (3)
School doesn’t rank but top 10%
Essays: Everyone says their’s turned out well, and that’s what I thought too until I read them again :))
EC’s: Girls Who Code at Intel, volunteered at library for two years, tech museum over summer, interact club, independent drawing and programming, internship at a small tech place
Senior Classes: most challenging offered, AP Stats, APES, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Spanish (taking test for first three)

Gender- F
Ethnicity: Filipino
State- CA
School Type: Public Charter
Income Bracket: ~$150,000

2156

Put a partial list earlier, here are my final results:

Accepted: Harvard, Minerva Schools at KGI, University of Chicago, Cornell College of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins, Claremont McKenna, UC Berkeley w/ Regents, UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara w/ Regents, UC San Diego, George Mason w/ Scholars Full Ride, Brandeis
Waitlisted: Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, American University, Washington University in St. Louis and Colby (both need-aware)
Rejected: University of Pennsylvania, Brown

Major: Undeclared Social Sciences

White, Male, California, Low-Income (basically the definition of un-hooked)

GPA: 3.8/4 UW 4.2/4 W 4.28/4 UC Capped
SAT: 2330 (800CR 780M 750W) - didn’t send
ACT: 36
SAT II: Math II 800, Spanish Reading 750, Spanish Listening 740, Literature 730
AP: Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Calculus AB, Statistics, Human Geography, English Language (all 5s)

Awards:
Speech and Debate Nationals - 2nd
International Speech and Debate Tournament - 2nd
Robotics World Championship - 1st
California Boys State Competitions - 1st

Extracurriculars:
Debate - Finalist for the US national team
Entrepreneurship - Worked w/ various startups, started consulting agency working with large companies
Homeless Shelter - 9 years volunteering, on board of directors overseeing 2,000 volunteers

  • many others I wont list

Thoughts on the application process:
Everyone told me that college admissions was an exceedingly random process and that you just need to get high enough numbers and toss your hat in the ring. My guidance counselor even told me to shoot lower with my school choices because my GPA wasn’t good enough. So much of this advice comes from people that look at a blurb like this, see a few numbers and 5 word descriptions of activities and make a judgement on how that will be perceived by colleges. If a blurb of this size can represent your application, then you’re doing it wrong. What takes the “randomness” out of admissions is rising above the generic approach that everyone takes with applications. Take a risk, show your actual personality, and spend high school doing what you love and jumping down rabbit holes instead of chasing test scores and joining honor societies. Colleges just want to see that you’re willing to take that jump, regardless of where it leads. I don’t pretend to be a good writer, but if people are curious I’m happy to share some parts of my applications.

Best of luck to everyone!

2157

Posting for Sister:
Accepted: MIT, CMU SCS, UIUC CS
Waitlisted: University of Chicago
Rejected: Princeton (SCEA Deferred)

Major: Computer Science
GPA: 4.0 UW 4.7/4.8 W
SAT: 1510 (710 V, 800 Math)
ACT: 35
SAT II: Math II 800, Chemistry 800
AP:
Sophomore Year: AP Physics 1, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A (5’s)
Junior Year: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP US, AP Statistics, AP Language (5’s except for USH which was a 3)
Senior Year: AP Physics C, MV Calculus, Linear Algebra, AP US Government, AP Macroeconomics, AP Literature, AP Psychology, other non-AP classes for leisure.

Awards:

  • High School Swimming All-American Athlete Consideration Award x 2
  • National Merit Finalist
  • National AP Scholar
  • A slew of school awards

Extracurriculars:
Varsity Swim + Club Swimming (90% of all extracurricular time was spent here)
National Honor Society
Physics Club
Swim jobs over the summer
Research, summer Junior year but not high-impact

Interviews:
Princeton: Said it was slightly awkward. Interviewer seemed WASPy, even though he was not white (hahaha).
MIT: Was decent, liked the interviewer. Nothing stellar.

Essays:
Princeton: Nothing amazing but pretty decent.
UIUC: Pretty good, by state school standards.
MIT: Straightforward, decent.
University of Chicago: Kind of a mess.
CMU: Straightforward, decent.
Common Application: Pretty good

Thoughts on the application process:
Here’s what got her in - recruited athlete at MIT, CMU, and Chicago, as well as one of the most rigorous course loads at her high school, as well as being a female in CS. Her AI on an index of 240 was a 235. What kept her out of Princeton was the lack of athletic support, as well as sparse EC’s and average writing skills (and the extremely high bar set by the 31,000 applicants who applied that year). It would have been interesting, however, to see how she would have fared with a shotgun application strategy - lots of kids from her HS this year fared very well without hooks (Yale, Penn, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, MIT took more than usual for the unhooked). Pending FA from CMU, she will likely join MIT’s class of 2021!

2158

I’m copying from a previous post I made

Accepted: Brown University, Pomona College, USC, Grinnell (early write), Fordham, Boston College, UT Plan II Honors, Southwestern (early write)
Waitlisted: Amherst, Colby, Gettysburg, Wesleyan
Rejected: Tons of schools including WashU, Yale (after deferral), Tufts (was my dream school rip), Swarthmore, Stanford, Vandy… But it’s okay because I could hardly see myself at most of these places :slight_smile:

Major: Political Science

OBJECTIVE:
SAT I: NEW 1300/1600 (650 Math, 650 Reading)
ACT: superscore 31 Composite (35E, 26M, 31R, 31S)
SAT II: didn’t take
UW GPA: (100-point scale) 95.6; (4.0 scale) 3.89
W GPA: (100-point scale) 99.15
Rank: 13/404

APs: 9 takwn (Four 3s, Three 4s, One 5)
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs (5 if you count gov one semster and econ the other), an honors class and DC class
Major Awards: uhhh none really unless you count QuestBridge Finalist & AP Scholar w/ Distinction

SUBJECTIVE:

Extracurriculars:
FCCLA (Texas officer and representative and voting elector at nationals),
Science Bowl (secretary),
TRiO Upward Bound,
NHS
Job/Work Experience: Intern at a cafe 10 hrs/week
Volunteer/Community service: Teen Court (bailiff and clerk)
Summer Activities: FCCLA Leadership Camp (for officers), Nationals at FCCLA last year, Teen Court when needed

Essays: Okay I thought these were pretty bad because they were so last minute but apparently not <3 I wrote about visiting my family and how that changed me in a narrative style with vivid detail.
Supplements: not gonna lie, I liked most of them and thought they were excellent and really showed who I was. I took some risks too and it worked out (used my three words for USC to profess my love for Naked’s Mighty Mango juice, talked about my love for dance even though I didn’t have an official EC for it).

Teacher Recommendation: Teacher 1- didn’t see but he’s written recs for people who’ve gotten into other top tier schools; Teacher 2- spoke a lot to my personality, very sweet
Counselor Rec: didn’t see
Interview: Yale was meh and Brown was 10/10

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: lol you better believe it
State: texas
School Type: Public “magnet” (but not rlly)
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: questbridge poor
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first-gen, low-income (screw you if you think that’s the only reason I got in)

Thoughts on the application process:
This process was pretty awful, gave me lots and lots of anxiety. I procrastinated a lot but I wouldn’t have done it any other way except perhaps narrowing down my list more so that I wouldn’t have spent all that money on CSS. I’m very happy with the results I got and have an extremely tough decision ahead. I had the privilege of being selected as a QuestBridge Finalist and networking with people I now consider really close friends. If I could leave one piece of advice, it’s that essays matter WAY more than you may think. So don’t skimp on them. Take the risk. Don’t tell them about your world, bring them into it. Make them fall in love with the idea of you not just studying at their campus, but adding personality to the community. If life plays out for you the same way it did with me, then you’re going to be accepted to places you never thought you would.

2159

I guess I will copy the format from the previous post.

Accepted: WashU, Boston College, UCLA, Northeastern

Waitlisted: Rice, George Town,

Rejected: Duke, Stanford, Yale, MIT, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Caltech, Brown (Dream school…Only one in my family that didn’t get accepted to Brown)

Major: Computer Science

OBJECTIVE:
ACT: 34 (Superscore:36)
ACT Writing: 9
UW GPA: 3.81
W GPA: My school doesn’t offer a weighted GPA

AP: USH(4), European History(5), AP Biology(4), Calculas AB(3), AP Lit(4)., Psychology(4), Gov(4)., Art History (Didn’t Take Test)
Senior Year: HL2 English Literature, HL2 European History, HL2 Biology, SL Economics, Further Math
Junior Year: SL French, AP Calc., HL1 English Lit., HL1 European History, HL1 Biology,
Sophomore Year: APUSH, IB Financial Lit., Pre-Calculas, H-English 10, H-Chemistry

Major Awards: National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, 2nd State 200 free, Silver and Blue LD 3rd Place, As well as other debate awards, IB Diploma.

SUBJECTIVE:

Extracurriculars:
TSA
Key Club
Operation Smile
Community of Caring
MESA
DECA
Debate
NHS

Sports: Lacrosse, Tennis, Track and Field, Swim

Job/Work Experience: Five Guys–> 15 Hours/Week

Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteers @ Childrens Hospital
American Red Cross
(My States Name) Food Bank
Boys and Girls Club

Essays: Talked about living in china, as a Caucasian male. Impact of my mothers death on my life. Many different topics actually, not really going to list them all…

Teacher Recommendation: From Biology + IB Director @ my school.
Counselor Rec: Yep

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?:Yes but didn’t qualify.
State: ####
School Type: Public; #1 Public In State
Ethnicity: Cacuasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150-200,000
Hooks: Parent graduated from Brown; from the southwest

Notes: Overall, I believed what lowered my chances of being accepted is the fact that my application essays were not that great. I procrastinated a lot when It came to deadlines, over all my senior year was pretty bad. I started slacking off in the 3rd term and my grades are suffering right now, kinda lost motivation after I got accepted.

2160

Hi everyone, here are my stats:

Accepted: CUNY Hunter (attending), City Grove School of Engineering, Baruch, Brooklyn Engineering Honors and on a Presidential Scholarship ($4,000), NYU Tandon on half scholarship, SUNY University at Buffalo Honors College on 5,000$ scholarship, and LIU Brooklyn with a 10,000$ scholarship
Rejected: Columbia

Major: Biological Sciences with a concentration in Behavioral Neurobiology

GPA: 3.8 UW/4.0 W
ACT: 30, 36 on writing

AP:
Sophomore Year: AP Capstone and AP World History (both 3’s)
Junior Year: AP Biology (4), AP US (4), AP Statistics (4), AP Language (5), AP Physics I (2; embarrassing, I know)
Senior Year: AP Psychology, AP Calc AB, AP Chem, AP Macro

Awards:

  • AP Scholar Award with Distinction
  • Honor Roll

Extracurriculars:
NSHSS Ambassador
President & Founder of a club/committee that volunteers for children
Vice-President of SGO
Logistics Coordinator of a club that fundraises money for cancer research
Communications Director & Webmaster of club that works against child trafficking
Physics Team

Interviews:
Brooklyn College for their BA/MD program; I was rejected, but my interviewer asked the weirdest questions. It was awkward and I am not surprised that I didn’t get in.
UB; This interview went amazing! I think it’s what got me into the Honors College as well.

Essays:
Common app: All really good, I spoke about my assimilation issues to American Culture as an immigrant.

Other things about me:
White female, income of about 69k

Thoughts on the application process:
I was rejected from Macaulay Honors, and I wasn’t too upset over it; however, I was invited to other Honors programs at SUNY’s and CUNY’s! You should do your best to apply to those scholarships and programs EARLY, so you can decide what you want to do. At the moment, I am waiting for my results for the Scholars Program at Hunter and I am exceptionally nervous for those results. But what made me choose Hunter is their exceptional pre-med program, coziness, and its “heart of the city” location.

Additionally, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF! You can apply to Ivy’s, but just know that I know very intelligent students that were blatantly rejected. It is an unfair process, and a lot of those schools give hesitant financial aid. One of my friends was accepted into Cornell and M.I.T. but decided to go to SUNY UB because they offered her a full ride. It’s okay to not go to Harvard; you will not be looked down upon. Pick the school that feels true to YOU.