Just to start things off with the usual:
Ojective:
ACT: 34 (36E/31M/35R/32S/6w)
SAT II: 790 French, 720 US History (not even really self-study, just general knowledge)
GPA UW: 3.967
Rank: n/a
APs: APEuro (4)
Senior year course load: AP calc AB, Dual Enrollment Econ, English, and Humanities, self-studying for AP USH and AP Gov
Trust me, this was the most rigorous courseload available to me at my school, I explain this in the additional info section
Major awards- nothing too fancy, I’ve got a decent number of debate awards, B2 DELF certification, currently a semi-finalist for NSLI-Y.
SUBJECTIVE:
Self-taught linguistics 9-12: (languages are my hobby, I’m fluent in French, pretty good in Spanish, have a background in Mandarin, and the NSLI-Y is for Arabic). self-taught bc my school doesn’t offer any languages past level 3, some only to level 2.
Policy Captain for debate 10, 12: I literally started the program from nothing and have won a bunch of awards his year. I have a good reason for not participating junior year.
Foreign exchange: spent my whole junior year in France on exchange through Rotary, which could be a mark for or against me because my school here counted all my grades as pass/fail, which doesn’t give me a GPA.
Chess club founder/president 9-12: exactly like it sounds
Outside reading: I mention that I take it into my own hands to make sure I’m learning at an advanced level through outside reading and self-studying since my school sucks.
Junior Academy: this doesn’t really fit in with the rest of my profile, but it’s a rather selective international STEM group where we compete in challenges. My team and I designed a plant to break down PET plastic.
Family responsibilities: I have many of them
French tutoring: yeah I tutor
Volunteer: two main ones, one I taught a local immigrant piano lessons for a year until I left on exchange, the other I helped build a school in Guatemala
Paid work: swim instructor during summers, since middle school.
Essays/recommendations:
Common app: 8/10, I talk about my passion for languages and my exchange year
Why Tufts: ?/10, I tried really hard to communicate how much I love the school, but I never know how the admission officers will read it.
Something you’re passionate about: 8.5/10, wrote about progress vs tradition and the constitution
Teacher recommendation: 9/10 I’m not sure exactly what he wrote, but he was my debate coach and once asked me if colleges would enjoy the phrase “she started the bejeezus out of this program.”
Additional recommendation: 10/10, he was my seminary teacher and I put him as ‘clergy,’ referred to me as “the trifecta of perfection.”
Other:
Income bracket: ~80k
Race: mixed white/black
Gender: female
State: UT (middle of absolutely nowhere).
Intended major: International Relations
I didn’t end up applying ED because I decided to apply to my top reach school, Columbia, but in the 95% chance I’m rejected from Columbia, Tufts will be my top choice. I managed to get out to the Boston area and visit the campus, and I requested an interview where hopefully I’ll be able to convince them of my enthusiasm for the school even more.