Can more graduated seniors do "actual results" threads?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1901

Accepted (all for Comp Sci.) : Ohio State, UMD, Rutgers, Univ illinois urbana, Georgia Tech, Purdue

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 640 CR, 700 Math, 630 Writing
ACT: 31
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 17/272
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology(3), English Language
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Psych, AP Calc AB, Honors English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team (Captain), Red Cross Club,
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 100 hours
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays: Phenomenal
Teacher Recommendation: Alright, not too good
Counselor Rec: Excellent
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Rural Public
Ethnicity: Indian (Asia)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80k - 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

1902

Thought I’d share my results here, if they could be helpful to anyone:

APPLIED: Colorado College (early action), Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Williams, Swarthmore, Haverford, Kenyon, MIT (applied before I decided that wasn’t the school for me, so I wasn’t gonna go anyway. But I did try 100% on my application, so my results should still be taken into account), Princeton
ACCEPTED: Amherst (accepted early with an invitation to the Diversity Open House), Bowdoin, Middlebury, Kenyon (with 25,000/year Science Scholarship), Colorado College
REJECTED: MIT :wink:
Waiting to hear back from: Princeton, Swarthmore, Haverford, Williams

OBJECTIVE:
• GPA: 4.09 UW (school has no honors classes, but gives A+ grades a weight of 4.3)
• Class Rank: top 10%
• SAT scores: 2340 (780 writing, 800 math, 760 reading).
• ACT: 33 composite (35 English, 31 Math, 35 Reading, 30 Science, 9 Writing)
• APs: none; school doesn’t offer them
• Classes this year: Advanced Math Seminar, Advanced Chemistry, 20th Century Social Movements, 20th Century English Literature, Spanish 7, 2D Art 4

• SUBJECTIVE
Leadership Positions:
Leader of Peer Tutoring Center
Leader of Middle School Mentor Program
Member of the Honor Council

Academic Awards:
Won the Skills of Mind award in 9th grade… basically, given to the best student, in terms of attitude and results, each year.
Won the Humanities award 11th grade… given to the top student in the Humanities (English and History) department
National Hispanic Scholar

Sports:

  • Soccer team, 2 years captain, 4 years playing on varsity, won Coach’s award in 10th grade and MVP in 11th grade for the team
  • Track team, ran outdoor and indoor track for 3 years captain senior year, won awards and scored lots of points for the league championships in the 400, 800, mile and 2 mile… Won the most improved award 11th grade for indoor track.
    Played school sports 3 seasons a year for all 4 years of high school
    I didn’t fill out recruitment forms for sports or anything, but I wrote a second essay in the “additional details” section of the common app about the role of athletics in my life.

• Employment

  • Really nothing paid. I did an unpaid internship with the Carnegie institute two summers ago, and an unpaid internship at MathAction (writing a math curriculum incorporating Social Studies) one summer ago
    •

    Essays
    Common app essay was about the role of math in my life. I tried to be really genuine, and I got great feedback from my college counselor about it. I’m a strong writer, though I’m sure that can be said for most people who applied to the schools I applied to. Given that, I’m not sure whether or not my essay stood out.
    However, my acceptance letter at Kenyon (they do a personalized paragraph) described my writing throughout the application as “excellent” and specifically stated that my common app essay was a great piece of work. So that’s good!
    • Teacher Recs- Never got to read them, but my school has very small class sizes and I’m a very engaged student, so I assume they were good. Submitted one from my 11th grade History teacher and one from the 11th grade Physics teacher.
    • Counselor Rec- I know she quoted my soccer coach at one point in her rec, and my soccer coach loves me. Other than that, it was probably pretty average.
    • Additional Rec- A teacher who subbed my 11th grade English class for just one quarter. She didn’t teach me for very long, but the quarter was a special unit with a project that I felt I really engaged with. I also know that she is an amazing writer, so I hope her rec was strong.

OTHER STUFF
• State (if domestic applicant): MD
• School Type: Private
• Ethnicity: Hispanic
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: 100-150k
• Hooks: URM, Female passionate about mathematics (maybe a hook?)
• Where I’m applying: LACs

REFLECTION
I feel extremely blessed to be accepted to all these wonderful colleges. However, I can’t help but wonder how many would have accepted me if I had neglected to mention that I was hispanic. This isn’t to say that I don’t think I deserved to be accepted. I think I am a “good fit” for these schools, but I also know that there are a lot of people who are a “good fit” for colleges… way more than the number eventually accepted. I believe that my status as a minority may have given me a substantial boost. I’m not sure how I feel about that, especially as I did not grow up with any of the socioeconomic drawbacks that colleges often associate with being hispanic, such as having english as a second language or growing up poor.

Strengths: Strong essay, clear narrative about a girl who loves math

Weaknesses: I haven’t done anything really “amazing,” and my school doesn’t have APs or Honors. I’m not sure if this affects the way the schools view me. After all, it’s not like I chose not to take honor’s classes; I was unable to.

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m not sure! So far the news has been really good, and I think, like I said above, my URM status has something to do with it. I am also lucky enough to go to a school with teachers that really know me and have supported me through all 4 years.

1903

Just heard back from the last school so I figured I would post it.

Accepted: University of Washington, Northeastern University, University of Portland, Rochester Institute of Technology
Waitlisted: Washington University in St. Louis, Boston University
Denied: Vanderbilt University, Northwestern University
All for electrical engineering

Objective:
UW GPA: 3.74 (Strong upward trend, 2.9, 3.5, 3.6. 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0)
Class rank: Barely 10% (I think 34/350 or something)
SAT: 2190 (760 CR, 710 M, 720 W)
Course rigor / Senior Schedule: 7 APs total / Senior year: AP Gov, AP Calc AB, AP Lit, Electronics, Drafting, AP Physics 1

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Rotary Club affiliated school club (Historian), Yard work for neighbors and family, volunteering at local children’s museum, FIRST robotics, programming club
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 170 hours total
Summer Activities: Robotics summer class
Essays: Common app essay was pretty good, supplements for Northwestern and BU were honestly bad. I wasn’t really sure what to say.
Teacher Recommendation: Decent. I knew my teachers well and they wrote good recommendations but I think they lacked anything that made them really stand out (not their fault at all).
Counselor Rec: As good as it could probably be. I had only met my counselor twice.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Vanderbilt interviewer just stopped responding to email before we had set a date to interview and I let Vanderbilt know but I think something funky might have happened there, no idea what.
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Suburban public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 70k-90k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection: Honestly pretty disappointed with the results, but I can definitely see why it happened the way it did. I was not an extraordinary applicant and that’s what I needed for Wash U, Vandy, and Northwestern. I know having a C+ on my transcript and a 2.9 for the first semester of high school probably hurt me a lot, and I didn’t have the extracurriculars to make up for it. I had no extracurriculars really before junior year which kind of goes with my upward trend but it just doesn’t cut it at the top schools I suppose. I’m not sure what happened at BU, but I was really hoping I could get in there because it seemed like it might actually be affordable. I have no way of paying for RIT or UP which is pretty disappointing and Northeastern was not very generous with their financial aid. I’m hoping UW gives me a favorable financial aid package, but I’m not optimistic at this point. If I don’t get any good news from UW, probably headed to a CC next year and will transfer to UW. If I do get to go to UW right away, that’s great because it was really my first choice all along because it’s so close.

Strengths: I felt pretty good about my common app essay and I was happy with my SAT score other than the math score (I probably could have gotten 760+ on math but I forgot to fill in a couple questions that I knew how to do, just got distracted).

Weaknesses: GPA, ECs, class rank was not within 10% until first semester grades went in, no clear love for engineering (I do but I just didn’t have the activities to show it).

I am very happy to have gotten accepted to the schools that I did, I just wish finances were not such a big part of the process for me.

1904

Applied to: NYU, Northeastern, University of Miami, University of Florida, Florida State, UCF, and St. John’s University

Accepted: NYU (31K annual scholarship), Northeastern, University of Miami (17K annual scholarship), University of Florida, Florida State (10K scholarship), UCF (14k scholarship), and St. John’s University (23k annual scholarship)
Waitlisted: None
Rejected: None

Objective:
UW GPA: 3.7
W GPA: 4.9
Class rank: Top 5% (7/650) Public school; not the best
SAT I: 2030 (640 CR, 720 M, 670 W)
SAT II: N/A
ACT: 30
Course rigor: 9 APs, rest honors, and like 3 dual enrollment classes
Senior year: AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Lit, Physics Hon, Spanish 3 Hon, Economics Hon, Online Dual Enrollment Class @ UF
Major Awards: None

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Chemistry Club (Secretary), Mu Alpha Theta (Historian), Science National Honor Society, English Honor Society, Key Club, Relay for Life
Job/Work Experience: Middle School Tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: Middle School Volunteer, Nature Center Volunteer, Church Volunteer, Chapman Partnership
Summer Activities: None
Essays: I liked my essays but I didn’t spend much time on them so I’m sure they were nothing too great 7/10
Teacher Recommendation: I had 2 recommendations. One from my chemistry teacher I had for both honors chem and ap so it was very detailed since and positive (10/10). The second was my AP Lit teacher and it was also pretty decent (8/10).
Counselor Rec: Pretty good but generic (7/10)
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A
State: FL
Country: US
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 70-90k
Hooks: Hispanic female maybe

Strengths: I liked my essays a lot because I think they showed a lot about me, my personality, and my determination as well. Also, I was confident in my course load throughout the years and my weighted GPA.

Weaknesses: My SAT/ACT were middle 50% for all schools but I still think they could’ve been higher for Northeastern for a shot at a scholarship.

I’m super happy that I got accepted everywhere and now I have to make a decision. Now that I got a scholarship from NYU, it has become an option so I will either be attending UF or NYU in the Fall. Good luck to everyone in the college admissions process and don’t be afraid to apply to your dream school! NYU was my dream school and they gave me the best scholarship out of all the schools I applied to.

1905

Applied for computer engineering/comp sci majors for all schools:
Accepted: UCSD, UCI, UIUC, Purdue, Georgia Tech
Waitlisted: UC Davis
Rejected: UCB, UCLA, USC, Carnegie Mellon (CMU)

UW GPA: 3.92
W GPA: 4.64, UC GPA: 4.22
Class rank: N/A
SAT I: 2280 (800 CR, 740 M, 740 W)
SAT II: Math 2 (770), Chemistry (600), Japanese (550). Chemistry not reported, obviously.
Course rigor: Computer science 4, Calc BC 5, Chemistry 3, World History 4. Honors elsewhere when possible
Senior Courseload (all AP) : Psychology, English, Economics, Government, Art History, Statistics

Extracurriculars:
Pianist for 10 years, Level 10 Certificate of Merit recipient
2014 MTAC Contemporary Piano Festival – 1st place winner
Volunteered to tutor mathematics and english at local library (80+ hours)
Key Club(9-10), Strategy club(9-12), and Japanese cultural club member (9-12)
President (12) of Japanese cultural club
Trilingual (fluent in Chinese, proficient in Japanese)
Internship at semiconductor company specializing in CMOS image sensors for two summers
Job at RMA division of an engineering company specializing in networking

Essays: One was really good, the other only slightly above average.
Teacher Recommendation: Hard to tell. Decent, but not exceptional probably.
State: CA
Country: US
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese, born in the US
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80 K, 1st generation to go to college

Strengths: GPA/SAT. My first essay was also really good, and received a lot of praise.

Weaknesses: Bad SAT II probably hurt me a lot, as well as mediocre/typical extracurriculars like piano and library volunteering. Not much leadership and community involvement.

I’m a bit ambivalent, because on one hand I’m very happy to have gotten into UCSD and UIUC, which are great engineering schools but I do have some regrets. I’d advise anybody getting into the college admissions process to seriously research colleges but also be sure of what exactly YOU want in your college experience. Big/small school? Large city or small community? Warm/cold weather? Liberal/conservative? If you really don’t know, then apply to a wide variety of schools in that short 2 month period. You can choose months later in April when you get all the results. Also, be willing to compromise a bit. I sort of wish I chose a less impacted major @ UCLA and UCB, because engineering is so cutthroat right now and I honestly believe I would have had a much higher chance if I chose something else that I really enjoyed, like math or chemistry. Anyways to anybody reading this, good luck!

1906

@autumn2019‌ don’t make yourself feel bad for being hispanic. You’re an extremely well-qualified candidate, and while URM helps, it’s just a nudge. It’s not gonna replace hard work and dedication. Nor is that nudge unfair. Non-URMs typically come from a tradition of success for them to follow. URMs like hispanics and blacks don’t have that same support. When hispanic and black children look around, they don’t see themselves in the student bodies at many of these top-tier schools. Rather than feel guilty, you should feel twice as proud that despite your URM status you achieved great things, and you will serve as a role model to other young hispanics as you establish your own tradition of success.

1907

Well, my college admissions ride just ended, so here we go…

Accepted: University of Pittsburgh (Honors, Full Tuition merit scholarship), Penn State University (rejected from SHC), Swarthmore College, Princeton University (Applied SCEA, will be attending)

Waitlisted: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Denied: Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Objective:
UW GPA: 4.0
Class rank: 1/443
SAT: N/A
ACT: 35 Composite (36 Math, 35 Science, 35 English, 34 Reading, 10 Essay)
Course rigor / Senior Schedule: 7 APs total, 5 senior year: AP Physics C: Mech., AP Psych, AP Euro, AP Lit, AP Calc BC, as well as Stats at local CC.
Awards: NM Commended, 2x state finalist in debate, 6x state finalist & 2x World finalist in Odyssey of the Mind, National qualifier in Quiz Bowl, etc.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Speech and Debate (Varsity Captain), Odyssey of the Mind (Team Captain), Quiz Bowl (Varsity Captain), Mock Trial (Captain / Head Lawyer)

Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: About 1000 hours (over 6 summers) at local Cub Scout camp
Summer Activities: Camp ^
Essays: Common app essay was solid 8/10, MIT essays were weak (I guess that’s what happens when you do them the day they’re due…), Pton essays were pretty great, other supplements were pretty meh.
Teacher Recommendation: Decent. I knew my teachers well and they wrote good recommendations but I think they lacked anything that made them really stand out. Still solid though.
Counselor Rec: I made a point to visit / show my face as much as possible, so I think that helped a bit, but it was probably still very generic.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Princeton interview was very awkward (my first time, so jittery), MIT was a lot better, didn’t interview anywhere else.
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Rural ghetto public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen.

Reflection: After December 15th I couldn’t care less about my apps, and I think it showed in the decisions. I still feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten into some great schools, and I certainly have no regrets. One tip for you underclassman thread-stalkers: you don’t have to go to a good school to get into one. If you’re like me, and you come from a, shall we say, underprivileged high school, take every opportunity you are afforded and run with it. Adcoms respect the fact that you can achieve with not a whole lot of support, and I’m certain this helped me out to some extent.

Strengths: Stats were good, that’s about it.

Weaknesses: Essays were shaky (Procrastination + doubt = bad), recs were average.

I hope this helps you as you make your college decisions. Senior year is a very scary yet very rewarding time in your life, but make sure you keep time to enjoy it!

1908

@ivyhopes12 How do you denied from Hopkins and waitlisted at MIT but you get into Princeton? Props to you and congrats!

1909

I’ve been looking at this thread since sophomore year and with my final notification I’m ready to contribute!

Applied: Berkeley, CMC ED2, UC Davis, Pomona, Reed, UCSB
Rejected: CMC, Pomona
Accepted: Berkeley, UC Davis (Honors), Reed, UCSB (Regents)

School Type: Public, one of the best in the county
Location: SoCal yo
Race/Gender: White/Male
Major: Probably Econ or Env Sci, I need to do some soul searching
Unweighted GPA: ~3.95
Weighted GPA: ~4.65
UC GPA: ~4.85
Class Rank: 2/644 W, 1/644 UC

SAT I Scores
Math: 720
Critical Reading: 740
Writing: 800

SAT II Scores
Math 2: 790
Spanish w/ Listening: 700
Def. should’ve taken Spanish junior year instead of senior year

AP Scores
Biology (4), European History (5), US History (5), Chemistry (5), Spanish Language (5), English Language (5)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Microeconomics, AP US Government, AP English Lit, AP Art History

Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction (pretty sure I forgot to put this one on my apps, oops)

EC’s: Soccer (club, 2 years HS, defensive player of year 2K12 baby), Volleyball (HS, inc. varsity), Engineering Club (VP), Gay-Straight Alliance (VP, I am the ‘Straight’ in Gay-Straight), Geography Bowl (Captain)
Job/Work: Software Engineer Intern, Private Tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: A pitiful amount of hours spent doing beach cleanups
Summer activities: EXPLO Focus Program at Yale (I got a scholarship for this and had the time of my life, wrote about it in essays as well), beach cleanups, club soccer, kayaking, hiking, summer homework of course
Essays: All essays were about 9-10
Teacher Rec: Both were 9-10 as well, teachers that loved me for various reasons that I cannot imagine
Interview: Reed interview went very well, as did the CMC and Pomona

Hooks: Probably none, though I have a somewhat intriguing life story that wowed my Reed interviewer

Strengths: My test scores and GPA were pretty strong, though SAT’s could have been better. My class rank, which I believe is given consideration at UC’s, is excellent especially given the size of my school. I wrote well and received good rec letters, and my diverse interests may or may not have helped me.

Weaknesses: I have no particular hook that makes me stand out from the crowd of strong students. I do have diverse interests, but no particular focus in one area that may have pushed me into Pomona or CMC. My family’s income (<100K) isn’t a strong point either, though I still wholeheartedly encourage lower to middle class students to apply wherever they want to. I believe income is one of the last things considered, so be proud of your status!

Reflection: I am very happy with my results. CMC and Pomona are fantastic schools that accept only the top applicants, and to be honest if I got in to either school I would feel as if I took the spot of a more deserving student. That said, Berkeley, Reed, and Davis are schools with great reputations and I consider getting accepted to all three to be the greatest accomplishment of my life so far. Right now I’m trying to decide between Berkeley (everyone’s dream school) and Davis (good financial aid), and this next month will be a little tricky as I pick where I’ll be for the next four years. I’ve learned a lot about myself throughout the process of college admissions, and I would advise rising seniors and juniors to not stress themselves out about the whole shebang. It can be fun! Writing essays that allow you to revisit past events and learn more about your psyche, visiting schools that you’ve only seen pictures of (Reed is absolutely beautiful), getting to brag about yourself and what you’ve accomplished, and, of course, realizing that you’re taking a huge step forward in your life. To all you incoming seniors: pick your schools carefully, turn your apps in early IF you’re confident (I did and it relieved so much stress), and enjoy senior year! Take pride in who you are as an individual.

Thank you to all on this website! However ‘toxic’ it may be, CC has helped me a great deal over the past few years.

1910

@giraffeinatree‌ what nice feedback–I really haven’t thought about my URM status in this way before. My ethnicity is a statistic that may affect how colleges see me, but you’re right that it’s more than that: it’s also a part of who I am. I do hope to set an example for other hispanic and minority students to achieve great things! Thank you… your post really brightened up my day. :slight_smile:

1911

Still waiting to hear back from a couple ivies, but they’re most likely rejections so here’s the list:

Accepted: George Washington, Villanova (probs attending)
Wait-listed: Connecticut College, Trinity, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Boston College
Rejected: UVA, Tufts, Georgetown, UNC Chapel Hill, Amherst

SAT: 2110 M (630) W (680) CR (800)
gpa: A-/B+, competitive prep school, all APs and honors level courses

v. disappointed

1912

@ariistocrat Villanova is great! I have a friend that goes there and he loves it :slight_smile: I’m actually disappointed the only top school I got into thus far has been UNC Chapel Hill (I’m in-state and I’ve taken classes at the school - definitely not right for me). But don’t be disappointed in yourself (although I am disappointed in myself). YOU ARE FABULOUS!

1913

D1’s final results:

Applied: Harvey Mudd, Princeton, St. Mary’s College of Md., Stanford, SUNY- Stony Brook, UVA, Virgina Tech, W&M, WPI
Rejected: Harvey Mudd, Stanford (struck out in California), Princeton
Accepted: everywhere else (clean sweep in Virginia)

School Type: Public, several hundred students in graduating class
Location: Pennsylvania
Race/Gender: White/female
Major: STEM
Unweighted GPA: 3.82 after Junior year, with strong upward trend (straight A’s Junior year and Senior MY grades), school calculates using only core academic classes.
Weighted GPA: 4.82 (all Honors and AP, for which school gives +1)
Class Rank: school does not rank

SAT I Scores
Math: 790
Critical Reading: 700
Writing: 780

SAT II Scores
Math 2: 770
Chemistry: 780

AP Scores
Calc BC (5), Physics C-M (5), English Language (4) (have not taken senior year AP tests yet)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C-EM, AP US Gov., AP Psychology, Honors Math Senior Seminar, Honors English Nonfiction

EC’s: Science Olympiads, Technology Students Association, Gay-Straight Alliance
Job/Work: Private Tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: Some
Summer activities: Rutgers Young Scholars program in Discrete Mathematics
Essays: Good, not mindblowing
Recs: Good, not mindblowing
Interview: Stanford, seemed to go okay

Hooks: Female STEM?

Strengths: SAT and GPA.

Weaknesses: Only a few ECs, no “leadership” positions, no sports, did not take foreign language beyond level 4.

Other: Applied as Virginia resident to UVA, VT, and W&M (accepted at all 3).

Reflection: Probably applied to too many admission safeties and not enough reaches.

1914

CC has been a great help over the last couple of years. I hope this helps some of next year’s seniors! Haven’t decided where to attend yet, but all the results are in!

Accepted: Harvey Mudd, Bryn Mawr, Columbia, Macalester, Scripps, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, and a few safeties/state schools.
Waitlisted: Wellesley, Stanford
Rejected: Swarthmore (you win some, you lose some :smile: )

School Type: Rural public
Location: Pacific Northwest
Race/Gender: White/Female
Major: Undecided, probably mathematics or biochem
Unweighted GPA: ~3.96
Weighted GPA: ~4.85
Class Rank: School does not rank, definitely top 5-10%

SAT I: 2320 (Math 790, Reading 780, Writing 750)
SAT II: Math2 780, Bio E 750

AP Scores: Biology, Chemistry, APUSH, Euro History, World History, Music Theory, Statistics, Psychology, Literature, Language (All 5’s. My school offers very few AP classes, so I studied to take the tests)

Senior Course Load: Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Anatomy and Physiology, Orchestra, AP Physics, English Literature

Awards: AP Scholar, National Merit, Johns Hopkins CTY.
Extracurriculars: Cross Country and Track (4 years varsity, team captain, school records and state), Orchestra (section leader, principle soloist), Quiz Bowl, Math Team.
Job/Work Experience: three years of lab work w/ two published papers, science and math tutor.
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer track coach at a local club, very active w/ local forest service, help check trails for obstacles.
Summer Activities: mostly working, but also a few significant hiking trips and a class at my local college
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8-9 range. They probably should have been revised more, but were unique and generally well written.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8-9. All teachers knew me very well, thought I was a good student. Nothing too incredible. Also had one from my boss that I think was good.
Interviews: Interviewed for Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin and Stanford. Went well, nothing too mindblowing.

Hooks: Female in STEM, Probably an underrepresented area? (farming community).

Strengths: AP scores, research experience, and course load (I took most of my classes at the local college).

Weaknesses: Only three years of a language, plus being a middle-class, relatively average WASP. It’s hard to stand out!

Reflection: All in all, I’m happy with my results. The first time I got bad news, it really hurt, but things worked out, and I think I have great options. I wish I had known more about the process beforehand! I came into it without knowing what to expect, and because of that, I relied on the kindness and wackiness of CC to get through it.

1915

Oh well. I wonder, why did I even try in high school?

Accepted: Umass Amherst full ride
Waitlisted: Amherst College, WuSL
Rejected: HYPMS, NYU, All ivies, John Hopkins, Boston College, uChicago, Williams, Duke

Waiting on: Reed, BU

Essays: Excellent
Recs: Decent

PSAT: 216
SAT: 2390 (790W)
SAT II: Math 2 800, 800 Bio M, 770 WH,
AP: WH 5
GPA: 3.96/4.00 (transferred schools)

My courses were the most rigorous available.

Standard amount of community service. Tried pretty much all clubs, was copresident of one.

Awards: State finalist in a history essay competition
Member of best newspaper staff in state
Silver in both art and writing in Scholastic Art and Writing

Major: biology
Race: Asian
Gender: male

1916

As an international I didn’t really have that high hopes, but damn this cycle was brutal…

Accepted: Georgia Tech, University of Manchester, University of Southampton, Warwick University.
Waitlist: Cooper Union
Rejected: University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London, Olin College of Engineering, MIT, Harvey Mudd, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia.

Scores:
SAT: 2110

  • M: 740
  • CR: 730
  • W: 640
    SAT Physics: 720
    SAT Math II: 780

Since I am from Sweden my grade sytem is quite different from the american grades. My GPA is 19.55/20 at the moment and will most likely be 19.75 at the end of senior year. From my understanding this corresponds to a 4.0 american GPA since the Swedish A and B both correspond to an american A. I am taking 27 courses in total and 10 of them during my senior year, with my senior schedule being:

PE specialization
English Language Specialization; Writing
Natural Science Specilization; “Future Horizons”
Swedish 3
Mathematics 5
Social Science 1b
History 1b
Religion 1
Physics 2
Senior thesis

No APs since we don’t have them here… But the level of the maths/science, English and Swedish courses (don’t know about humanities) that I have taken is similar to AP (more like British A2-levels/IB higher level).

School type: Large public, one of the most prestigious and competitive schools in Sweden.

EC’s:
UNICEF associated charity organisation - (11-12) Co-founder and head of official relations.
Piano - (10-12) Have played for 8 years. Part of the advanced programme at my local school of arts.
Trombone - (10) Lead trombone in the most advanced jazz orchestra at my school of arts.
Student mentor - (11-12) Tutoring in Mathematics, Chemistry and English.
School Plays - (10-11) Head of light and sound for two major productions put together by my class. Winner of best light and sound.

Work experience:
Home tutor (paid) - (12) 4 hrs/week
Distributor of newspapers - (12) 5 hrs/week
Dentist assistant - (11) Summer job for 3 weeks, 30 hrs/week
Store Clerk - (10) Summer job for 3 weeks, 30 hrs/week
Internship at Truck-Manufacturer - (9, before HS) 2 weeks, 30 hrs/week

I feel that all of the rejections can’t have been because I am an international applicant, but at the same time I don’t really know what i did wrong (except for the occasional uninspired essay). Anyways, I am happy to have been accepted to Georgia Tech and I will most likely attend there in the fall.

1917

Major: Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering
Applied: North Carolina State University (ED II), University of Maryland-CP (RD), University of Illinois-UC, Cornell University(RD), Massachusetts Institute of Technology(Questbridge RD)

Accepted: NCSU, UM-CP, UIUC, Cornell University
Rejected: MIT

Objective:
•SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (M:700 R:730 W:670, Essay:8) [Not sent]
•ACT (breakdown): 34 (M:35 R:35 W:34 S:30)
•SAT II:
Chem:740
Math II:800

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 44/608

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language and Composition(4), AP US Gov/Pol (5), AP US History(5), AP Environmental Science(5), AP Psychology(5)
•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load:
1st Semester (Grade): AP English Lit/Comp (B), AP Calculus AB (A), H. Sociology (A), H. French V (A)
2nd Semester: AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics II, AP French Lang/Culture

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, Academic School Letter, Questbridge National College Match 2014 Finalist

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): TSA(10,11,12), Key Club(9,10,11,12), Wrestling(10), Recreational Archery(11,12), Tutoring (10,11,12)

•Job/Work Experience: None

•Volunteer/Community service:Math Tutor for my Apartment Complex 150+ hrs(10,11), Assistant Teacher at a Mathnasium 40+ hrs(9,10), Kramden Institute 30+ hrs(Summer 10,11), People to People Ambassador Program(10)

•Summer Activities: People2People Student Ambassador Program, Math Tutoring, Archery, Odd jobs for neighbors

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App (7): Wrote about the importance of family in developing one’s character.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1:
Environmental Science(8): Wrote about how I was a leader in lab groups and how I won the student choice award in my class.
•Teacher Rec #2:
Pre-Calculus(8): Wrote about how we both shared an interest and passion for space and enjoyed holding discussions after class over it.
•Counselor Rec:
(6-7): Didn’t read, but my school is relatively large for the number of counselors and I don’t see her often.
•Additional Rec:
(None)

Other:
•State (if domestic applicant): NC
•Country (if international applicant): USA
•School Type: Good/Large/Public

•Ethnicity: Hispanic (Colombian)
•Gender: Male
•Income Bracket:25-26k
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Generation

Reflection:
•Strengths: ACT, Rigor of Classes
•Weaknesses: Essays, GPA

•General Comments:
So overjoyed with the results!
CC has provided an abundance of useful information for my college process. I leave this here hoping future applicants will find use of it. Good luck to all of you!

1918

Here’s one for readers with average stats!

Accepted: Grand Valley State University, Loyola Chicago (17.5k), Michigan State, Case Western, Beloit (20k), Purdue, Wooster (24k), Kalamazoo (22k), URochester (11k)

Waitlisted: Denison

Denied: None

Major: Economics/Financial Economics/Business Economics (Statistics at Loyola)

Objective:
UW GPA: 3.4
Class rank: –
SAT: –
ACT: 32 Composite (26 Math, 32 Science, 36 English, 32 Reading, 8 Essay). 33 superscore with a 30 in math.
Course rigor / Senior Schedule: 7 APs total, but not most rigorous.
Awards: Nothing besides school sanctioned honors.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Theater, after school Honors Jazz Band, Creative Writing Club, Anime Club, and Champions for Life Club (which is hilarious to me since I’m pro-choice, lol.)

Job/Work Experience: McDonalds during junior year.
Volunteer/Community service: ~100 hours total at Vacation Bible School
Summer Activities: Work
Essays: My CA essay was very well written and well-received. I’d probably give it an 8. My Rochester supplement was bomb. I worked so hard on it. The rest of my supplements were good but not great in my opinion.
Teacher Recommendation: My favorite econ teacher wrote one of them, so I’m just going to assume that one was pretty personal. I also have a good relationship with my GC so that one was probably good too.
Interview: I only interviewed at Rochester and have to say that it went pretty well! I was a bit superficial at the beginning, but I began to let my true colors show toward the end. My interviewer and I both have the same kind of sarcastic humor, so it made it pretty easy to connect with him.
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: < 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

Reflection: My app was reviewed extremely well. I was offered big scholarships to schools that genuinely want me to attend in the fall. I was even accepted to my dream school, University of Rochester. If need-based financial aid comes through for Rochester, then that is where I will be sending in my enrollment deposit. If not, Wooster and Kalamazoo are my other two fallbacks, both of which I would be more than happy attending (coughgofightingscotscough.) I’m a little surprised by the waitlist at Denison, but I’m socially not a good fit for their school, and I think they could see that through my extracurriculars and plain general demeanor. I would not have attended even if I was admitted, and I think they could sense that. Ultimately, I have 4 amazing options left, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

Strengths: Showed passion and a lot of potential.

Weaknesses: GPA and lack of awards.

1919

Objective:

  • [] SAT I: 2360 [790, 770, 800]
    [li] SAT II: MathII 800, USH 790, CL 790, Chem 750[/li][    ] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
    [] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 4%
    [    ] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem 5, Lang 5, USH 5, Macro 5, Euro
    [] Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs
    [    ] Awards: NMF, AP Scholar distinction, Kansas Honor Scholar, some school stuff

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Biomedical Research, Forensics, National History Day, Avid Wikipedian, Track, Tennis, NHS, NJCL,
[] Volunteer/Community service: local volunteer organization, tutoring, hospital, HPA
[] Essays: CA 8/10, Supplements varied
[] Teacher Recommendations: 9/10, 8/10
[] Counselor Rec: 9/10
[] Additional Rec: 9.5/10
[] Interview: ~Average interview skills[/ul]
Other

  • [] Ethnicity: Asian

Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Research, Numbers, Volunteering
[] Weaknesses: ORM, Lack of Academic Competitions?[/ul]
Results

[ul]
[] Accepted: Cornell, Vanderbilt, Rice, Berkeley, Michigan, UCLA, UNC, Case
[] Waitlisted: Hopkins, Chicago, Northwestern, WUSTL
[li] Denied: Duke, Dartmouth, Penn[/ul][/li]General Comments: RD is hard.

1920

Applied: Amherst, Beloit, Colby, Dartmouth, Hamilton, Lewis & Clark, Middlebury, Pomona, Reed, Stanford***, Vassar, Williams

Accepted: Beloit, Colby, Hamilton, Lewis & Clark, Middlebury
Wait-Listed: Pomona (keeping spot), Reed (not keeping), Vassar (not keeping), Williams (not keeping)
Rejected: Amherst, Dartmouth, Stanford***

Attending: Middlebury!

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2230-- 790W, 760CR, 680M
[] ACT: 30
[] SAT II: 690 Lit., 690 World History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 UW/ 4.5 W
[] Rank: 3/230
[] AP: AP World (5), AP Env. Sci. (4), AP Psych (5), AP English Language (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB&BC, Physics, AP Lit, AP Gov, Chem II Honors, AVID Tutor
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commendation, AP Scholar with Honor, County awards, honor roll

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Writing (really focused on my passion for writing, how I’ve written three novels, published poetry in the school anthology, etc.), Feminism Club (co-founder and secretary), Ally (gay-straight alliance–member), cello performance (a few years, very devoted), trumpet performance (many years)
[] Job/Work Experience: Tutoring
[] Volunteer/Community service: Nothing special
[] Summer Activities: Not really
[] Essays: Personal statement was pretty good. I talked about my passion for writing in an interesting way (I hope!)
[] Teacher Recommendation: 1. English teacher from 11th grade–probably amazing :slight_smile: 10/10
2. Spanish teacher–fine I think (didn’t read) 8/10
[] Counselor Rec: Wonderful, I assume. She and I talked a lot about my drive and desires 9/10
[] Additional Rec: Some friends wrote them, probably very sweet… 10/10 for both

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: English, Comparative Lit., Literary Studies, History
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: small, rural, public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: GPA, rank, essays, scores (though to some they seem sub-par–to many they are great. I won’t insult anyone’s intelligence by saying my SATs are bad. They are simply looked at differently by difference schools)
[] Weaknesses: Little extracurricular/volunteer work (I did what I cared about, not what would look shiny on an application. NO REGRETS)

[/ul]General Comments:
Everyone says this, but yes, it IS a crapshoot. Accepted to Middlebury. Wait listed by Reed (which has less than half the acceptance rate of Middlebury). All I can say is, trust the system. I believe I will fit in at Middlebury more than the other schools. I feel so lucky to have gotten in, though. None of my other options even felt like options. To be honest, I only got accepted by one non-back up. Oh well! It turned out great :smile:

Just as a little anecdote–I applied to Midd on a whim because my twin sister wanted to apply. She ended up getting into Harvey Mudd (and plans to attend). Turns out, Midd was the right school for me even though I never imagined attending and I am so grateful for it. You never really know what will happen! Don’t apply to schools for the name or acceptance rate (should it really make you feel like a good person for saying, “My school disappointed WAY more hopeful, insecure, worried 17-year-olds than yours did!” ?). Look for a school that matches your personality. I would not have fit in at Williams, Vassar, Amherst, Dartmouth, or Reed by ANY means. I’m glad I don’t even have to consider shedding who I am for a school that is just as good as any other. Apply ED for your first choice!!!

Good luck to all future applicants. You’re more amazing than these college letters suggest.

:warning: ***My last bit of (controversial?) advice: Do not apply to Stanford. Don’t do what I did and “throw it in the pile”. You will not get in (and that’s okay!). You will waste your time and money all while boosting Stanford’s ego and paycheck. It is not worth it. Tons of schools are just as good. Find a place that will benefit from your humanness. :warning: