Class of 2017 Decisions Thread (RD)

ChristyG · March 30, 2013, 4:05am

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W): 2330 (730/800/800) - Single sitting
[] SAT II (subject, score): 770 Math 2, 740 Physics, 760 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00/4.7
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (5), USH (5), English Lang (5), Calc AB (5), Mechanics (5), Comp Sci (4)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Stats, AP English Lit, AP Environmental Science, AP Spanish 5, AP US Gov (semester), Econ H (semester)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Multiple State (CA) and National Speech and Debate awards
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Speech and Debate (9-12): Debate Co-Captain (11-12) – Many local, state, and national speech and debate awards
-Science Club (9-12): President (11-12), Science Olympiad (9-12)
-Track (9-10): Varsity, a few local awards, not good enough to get recruited
-Cross Country (9-10): JV
-Mock Trial (11): Pretrial Attorney, a couple local awards
-Astronomy Club (9-12): VP (9,11)
-Math Club (10-12): VP (11)
-TV Station (12): Local community cable station, Friday News Anchor
-Student Advisory Council at Congressman Honda’s Office (11-12): Research Committee Head (12)
-Middle School Debate program, High School Advisor and Founder (11, 12)
-Live Oak Home for the Elderly, Volunteer (9)
-YMCA Summer Camps, Volunteer Student Leader (9)
-Quiz Bowl Team (11-12): Founder & Co-Captain (11-12)
[] Essays: I spent a very, very long time on these essays. My intellectual vitality essay was about my interest in astronomy. My roommate essay was about my variety of eclectic pastimes. My "What’s important to you” essay was about protecting justice through effective public policy.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Did not read.
[] Counselor Rec: Did not read.
[] Additional Rec: From my speech and debate coach, did not read, but probably very strong.
[] Interview: No interview
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[] Intended Major: Political Science
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White/Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Nationally ranked debater
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, extracurriculars, GPA
[] Weaknesses: I live pretty close to Stanford, and they don’t like to accept kids from my school very often.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays
[/ul]General Comments:[ul]
[] Accepted: Princeton, Duke, Cornell, UC Berkeley (Regents), USC, Williams, Claremont McKenna, UCLA(Regents?), American(Presidential Scholarship), UCSD
[] Waitlisted: MIT, Amherst, Brown, Middlebury, Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, UPenn
[] Rejected: Harvard, Yale
[li] Waiting to hear back from Georgetown[/li][/ul]
Go figure. I got into a lot of my top choice schools and a lot of my bottom choice schools, and got waitlisted at a lot of my middle choices. Yield protection? Who knows. Or cares, for that matter, I am certainly not complaining about my admissions outcomes! I feel so blessed.

I am elated at the moment; as of this morning, I was all ready to go to Princeton. Then, the Stanford decision came out and everything changed! I was certainly not expecting to be accepted. Congratulations everyone!

thatrunnerkid · March 30, 2013, 7:14am

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Did not take
[] ACT: 34 (34/35/36/29/8)
[] SAT II: 790 USH, 780 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/407 (top 4%)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Three 5s, One 4, Taking three this year
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Three APs, One Honors, Two academies
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] Film festivals, DECA and FBLA awards, AP Scholar w/ Honor
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Cross Country / Track captain, DECA and Environmental Club Officer, Video Production, Other less important ones (a lot of them)
[] Job/Work Experience: Lawn mowing
[] Volunteer/Community service: Composting at school for Environmental Club
[] Summer Activities: Interning at dad’s company, leading XC practice
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App ~ Great! Short story that showed my determination 9.5/10
EC Essay ~ Composting at School, too condensed 7/10
Intellectual Vitality ~ Wrote about how composting inspired me to want to start a business 7.5/10
Letter to Roommate ~ Talked about too much stuff relating to my personality 7.5/10
What Matters ~ My cross country team; best essay I wrote for anything (pretty much copied my Michigan Community essay though) 10/10
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list] From AP LA and US History teaches, did not read ?/10
[] Counselor Rec: She loves me, I think, but did not read, so maybe -> 8/10
[] Additional Rec:[/ul] N/A
[] Interview:[/list] Not available in my state

Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): WA
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Public, large for my state but medium-sized for the country as a whole
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: > $200,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] Nope[/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Tests (kinda), GPA (kinda), Some essays
[] Weaknesses: Other essays, No major awards, ECs, no hook, rigor of schedule
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It’s Stanford
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul]
Accepted ~ Northwestern, USC, Michigan, U of Washington, Willamette, Colorado - Boulder
Waitlisted ~ Claremont McKenna
Rejected ~ Here

General Comments: It’s Stanford, I didn’t expect to get in. Assuming Michigan and USC don’t give me surprise last-minute merit aid, I’ll be going to Northwestern. Go Cats!
And congratulations to all the admits this year, you lot truly deserve it and I hope you have a wonderful time at Stanford. Good job.

vurmeneta · March 30, 2013, 11:41am

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2180 (740 M, 690 CR, 750 W)
[] ACT: n/a
[] SAT II (if submitted): 770 Literature, 800 Spanish, 710 Math I
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8 (95/100)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 16/126
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):English Literature (3), Spanish Language (5), Calculus AB, Macroeconomics, Spanish Literature, English Language
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP English Language, AP Spanish Literature, Physics, Philosophy, Socioeconomic Development of Honduras, Computer
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Two-time Central American Knowledge Bowl champion
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (currently President, Historian in 11th grade and Class President in 9th), Knowledge Bowl (Team member and captain in national tournaments), HACIA Democracy (Spanish Language Committee Coordinator, Vice President, and Junior Co-Chair), Young Leaders of Honduras (President, former Treasurer), NHS (Member),
[] Job/Work Experience: not really possible in my country
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered in both a burn unit and a pediatric neurosurgery unit at different local public hospitals
[] Essays: best pieces of writing I have ever done, spent nearly a month working on them
[] Teacher Recommendation: from my AP Spanish teacher. Two-page long, very personal and really outlined my best assets and what I would bring to Stanford
[] Counselor Rec: very good but somewhat generic
[] Additional Rec: did not get a chance to see it, but I’m 100% sure it was very strong
[] Interview: No
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Economics/Internal Relations
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): Honduras
[] School Type: Private bilingual
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: n/a
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Minority, future leader
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: SAT, Recommendation letters, Essays, EC’s
[] Weaknesses: Class rank, GPA
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays, Additional recommendation letter, and showed strong passion for leadership[/li][/ul]General Comments: Congratulations to everyone who was accepted! Hope to see you next fall!

da6462 · March 30, 2013, 12:58pm

Decision: Accepted!!!

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):2260(Superscore, and took the SAT FOUR TIMES)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II:800 Chem, 750 Math II, some other sub 700 tests (I sent them all)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st quintile
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Lots of 5s and three 4s. Total of 14 AP Classes.
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Differential Equations, Number Theory, AP Physics C:Both, British Literature,AP Macro/Micro, Internship
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] AP National Scholar, National Merit Finalist, Engineering Awards for a National competition, Samsung submission winner.
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Leadership in Honor Clubs, a position in SGA, some recreational singing and dancing, peer mentoring, Math Team, Science Olympiad
[] Job/Work Experience: Intern at a company for 2 years
[] Volunteer/Community service: Over 200+, undocumented. Talked about my love for helping out new freshmen at our school.
[] Summer Activities: E2@MIT, GHP, Internship
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): Loved my essays to death. This probably was the deciding factor. I didn’t feel like I was actually writing these essays, more like talking to a long lost friend of some sort.
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[li] Teacher Rec #1: 10 (Didn’t read either, but if someone is writing a recommendation for you I only pray they do it because they actually like you :D)[/li][] Teacher Rec #2: 10
[] Counselor Rec: I’m not quite sure
[] Additional Rec:[/ul]
[li] Interview:[/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): GA
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Charter
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: $100,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college[/ul][/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Leadership? Love of a multitude of things? Difficult course load? Dancing?(Yeah, I like dancing)
[] Weaknesses: Very bad at standardized tests
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I really don’t know… I got rejected/waitlisted everywhere else. It’s mind boggling that the admit rate was only 5.7%. Although it was probably my essays; for every other college, I used the same draft where as for Stanford I wrote entirely different essays.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UGA, Georgia Tech
Waitlisted: Princeton, Carnegie Mellon
Rejected: Duke, Columbia, MIT[/ul]

General Comments: I’m just posting these stats because I just want people to have hope - I didn’t win any major awards, I’m not a super genius, but I did try my best at the things I loved. And also, DON’T BE AFRAID. The biggest regret I have during my high school career is that I was too timid and afraid of going out and getting the things I wanted. But most importantly, show passion for the things you liked to do, not for the things that make you “competitive”.

Mascara · March 30, 2013, 3:37pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2270 eheheh
[] SAT II: 720 Bio, 780 Lit, 800 M II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96 by midyear
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5%?
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s in Calc AB, BC, Language, Bio, 4 in APUSH
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Phys C, Literature, Chem, Gov; French, Orchestra
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist?[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad (president), a really awesome sport that not many people do (captain)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Tutor, teaching dance and language
[] Summer Activities: Nothing. I listed that I watched a concert, bahaha
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app was generic af, about friendship. Interestingly enough, Harvey Mudd quoted several parts of it and said they liked it, not sure what Stanford is going to say. 5/10
Short Response and “What matters to you”: the sport I do. I thought these were the best, actually. 7/10, maybe 8/10
Intellectual vitality: copy and pasted from all my other school essays. Nice, but nothing crazy. About how I’m destructive and want to go into engineering (I know, that makes no sense) 6/10
Roommate: I thought it was clever at the time, but now reading it, I sound like a psychopath. About how I love my whiteboard, because it reflects who I am. Guys, it actually sounds like I’m crazy. 6/10
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
[] Teacher Rec #1: Calculus teacher, who loves me. 8/10
[] Teacher Rec #2: English teacher, who likes me, but writes stellar recommendations. 6/10
[] Counselor Rec: Average. 5/10
[] Additional Rec: none
[li] Interview: Wait, you were allowed to interview? Awkward.[/ul][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): WA
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Public, very mediocre
[] Ethnicity: Asian (okay, don’t judge me)
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: > 200000 (and I actually need financial aid… siblings)
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): National champion in a sport I can’t be recruited for[/ul][/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: I thought my lists were very reflective of me. At the time, I thought my essays were quirky and different enough. I’m really not sure what I did.
[] Weaknesses: Very generic person with above average, but not stellar scores. I thought I was boring. I still do.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m not sure. Waiting for an “April Fools!” letter on Sunday, actually.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: w/l Caltech, accepted at Rice, UW Seattle, Carnegie Mellon, Harvey Mudd, and Stanford[/ul]

General Comments:
It’s going to come down to money. I’d much rather go to Harvey Mudd, actually, because I feel like the school suits me much better. Stanford seems a bit intimidating in personality. I’m very humbled that I got in, but my reaction was more confused than ecstatic.

For those who want to apply to Stanford: please do, but realize weird things happen in the admit room, and accomplished people will be rejected, while uninteresting people like me somehow get in. I’m honored, yes. But I understand that I haven’t accomplished anything that would get me into this institution.

Congrats to all who were admitted!

aastudent · March 30, 2013, 10:56pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (770/760/770/11)
[] ACT: 36 (36/35/36/36/8)
[] SAT II: Math II 800, Chem 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not do ranking
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc II, Chem, Bio, US History, Euro History (all 5s)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Calc III, Physics, Religious Studies (at local University), AP Chinese, English Literature, Piano Playing etc.
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major [/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Four year Varsity X-country and Track (Captain senior year); Research at local University for the last two years; Piano; School newspaper etc.
[] Job/Work Experience:
[] Volunteer/Community service: Coach for local elementary school Science Olympiad team; Funding raising for school children in China and Tibet etc.
[] Summer Activities: Research, travel to Tibet, X-country training
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app essays (9), Stanford essay I (9), essay II (8), essay III (10). All essays tied to my travel to Tibet in the last four years.
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[li] Teacher Rec #1: English teacher, as good as it gets (10)[/li][] Teacher Rec #2: Biology teacher, not sure (8)
[] Counselor Rec: Counselor sent e-mails to more than ten people in the community to solicit their feedbacks. I was told our local school district superintendent put in some nice words for me (9)
[] Additional Rec: letter from my summer research mentor [/ul]
[li] Interview: not offered interview in my area [/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MI
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 120K
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing [/ul][/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Academics, well-rounded, strong recommendation letters, research, unique Tibetan experience
[] Weaknesses: Demographic, too well-rounded perhaps, no major awards
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was just lucky. After rejection from Harvard and Princeton on Ivy day, I have all but written off Stanford.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul] Accepted: Yale (SCEA), Michigan, Vanderbilt, Swarthmore, Chicago, Williams, Columbia, Penn; Waitlisted: Duke; Rejected: MIT, Harvard, Princeton

General Comments: This has been a crazy admission season. It started well and ended well. I am blessed with many good choices. It will likely be a choice between Yale and Stanford. On Friday morning, I thought only one of the two things will happen for the day: me getting into Stanford or Michigan win over Kansas. Once I received good news from Stanford, I thought Michigan is going to lose. For 39 minutes, it looks like they are going to lose. Guess miracle does happen sometimes.

Fantoo · March 31, 2013, 12:49am

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (740 CR 780 M 740 W)
ACT: Didn’t take
SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 US History, 770 Chemistry, 770 Biology
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 93.93/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t send ranks, but 5/53
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 APUSH
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs, Spanish
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School newspaper (Editor-in-Chief), Mock Trial, Founder of weekly school newsletter, Teacher’s assistant at local Hebrew School, Varsity Tennis, JV Baseball
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Take calls at suicide hotline, Lead a weekly soup kitchen, Coordinate teen programming at synagogue.
Summer Activities: Camp counselor

Essays:
Teacher Recommendations: Outstanding
Counselor Rec: Good
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went alright, although she forgot about me the first time around and we had to reschedule. That actually happened with Penn too. Ah well, guess her feeling really bad didn’t help.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: SAT IIs, ECs
Weaknesses: Essays weren’t amazing. No crazy thing to make me stand out
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Any of a million reasons.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Princeton, Brandeis.
Waitlisted: Harvard, Columbia, WashU.
Rejected: Penn (deferred from ED), Yale, Northwestern, Hopkins.

Comments: I’m not at all upset, since I would’ve chosen Princeton over Stanford anyway, although it would’ve been a good excuse to fly out there. Congrats to everyone who got in!

tryingtofindlove · March 31, 2013, 3:24am

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2070; 710 reading, 670 math, 690 writing (12 essay)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 700 Biology M, 690 Chemistry, 700 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.91
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 17
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Biology, 5 Calculus AB, 4 English Language

Other[list]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 50k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:
[] Weaknesses:
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul]
Accepted by middlebury, vassar, tufts

General Comments:

Pterophyllum · March 31, 2013, 2:57pm

Decision: Accepted
I know I’m going to regret it when someday someone at Stanford figures out who I am but whatev I have some advice to offer for next year’s applicants.

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 M, 800 CR, 760 W)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 790 Chem, 800 BioM, 800 Math2
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00 UW, 4.41 W
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/306 
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chem (4), AP Bio, AP Art History, AP English Lang, AP Comp sci, AP Calc BC, AP Chinese (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP English lit, AP Compgov/World Religions, US Gov/Econ, AP Physics B, AP French, Multivar/Lin Alg (that I’m going to fail at this rate \o/ lol)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF, AP Scholar with Disitnction, the typical stuff but nothing amazing[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): I did a lot of clubs, played an instrument badly, did a lot of art well and raised a lot of fish. Not a lot of leadership, but I really enjoyed the things I was a part of.
[] Job/Work Experience: Intern at nanolab
[] Volunteer/Community service: tutoring
[] Summer Activities: Summer classes at Berkeley and Community college and some app design with a company
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): My essays were not amazing. My common app ones were esoteric and a bit random. Honestly reading them over now, they were rather shallow and expressed the typical themes of a high senior i.e. becoming independent, following my dreams etc… Essay writing has never been my strong suit. Stanford is my dream school however, so I did spend the most time on the supplements, by which I mean 3 days… My best and most creative essay by far was my Uchic one, but I expressed my deepest feelings and hopes in my Stanford ones and probably looked the most real in them.

[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[li] Teacher Rec #1: Stat and Calc teacher. He knows I’m not naturally good at math, but I study my butt off. Also told him I was taking multivar and Lin Alg at a local CC.[/li][] Teacher Rec #2: MUN advisor and history teacher. Not very close, but very respectful to him. He knows I love MUN too. 
[] Counselor Rec: She thinks I’m not the brightest person in the world… Can’t argue with her there
[] Additional Rec: Had my research mentor who was never there write me one. I hated him because he abandoned me to figure out how to operate a dozen machines by myself until the day before my project was due and when he wasn’t busy and tried to help ended up ruining one of my test wafers. He knew that though and we had a respectful relationship between each other. Yeah lots of angst about this, lol. He knew I worked my butt off though, did grad level work and stayed over time and worked on weekends to finish my project. Hopefully he wrote about it. [/ul]
[li] Interview:[/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type:
[] Ethnicity:
[] Gender:
[] Income Bracket:
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul]
Female in engineering, uncommon, but fairly common near Silicon valley imo
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Dunno I guess my work ethic
[] Weaknesses: I’m a normal kid
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Pure dumb luck
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li]Accepted: Uchic (5k merit aid), U of Michigan (20k merit aid), Casewestern (30k merit aid), Princeton, Columbia (Egleston Scholar), Cornell (LL), Harvey Mudd, Berkeley (regents), UCLA, UCSD (regents)
Waitlisted: Northwestern (this school =.= I have nothing to say to it), Upenn, Dartmouth
Rejected: Harvard, MIT
[/ul]

General Comments: Now onto my advice, whether it be useful or not, who knows. There’s no way to guarantee admission into a school, but I’ve noticed a MUCH better success rate in my schools where I did this than those in which I didn’t. Then again, this also correlated with how much I cared about getting into the school most of the time. You need to convince the school that you have the mindset of one of their students. For Stanford, there’s a random website you can google up that describes a Stanford student. Ambitious, innovative, chill etc… While this a stereotype and people there are all very different, these common factors are what I would look for if I were in admissions. Given that I’m not an expert in this, do this at your own risk.
For Stanford I addressed their prompts, but in them I showed the admissions offices that I could have fun and wasn’t a workaholic, that I was very driven and ambitious and had a goal to help others, that I took my opportunities seriously and strove to turn the smallest things into something big. Don’t turn your essays into one big brag fest, which I know, every admissions site says, but we all seem to end up doing. You have an underlying theme under each essay, but you need to tell admissions why this matters. This theme matters because you have the personalities of a (insert college name) student. My essays were very simple and straightforward, a bit quirky and unique to be remembered and my ideas were VERY clearly conveyed. I tried to cross out every characteristic the website gave and that is what I feel gave me the best odds of getting in. I was very cerebral for Uchic and demonstrated my love for philosophy and strive to learn even when barriers faced my way through the medium of Waldo (though I think Uchic let me in more for my 1600 and 4.0 than anything else because I told them I was an engineering major which should have been a big hint that I didn’t know anything about the school back then). . I did the same for Columbia (although I also wrote the worst essays of my life in the 5 hours I gave myself to finish their supplement OTL) and emphasized how important learning was to me and that I sought to be well rounded. I didn’t use Princeton’s helping the nation prompt, but I focused on my goals of helping others. I never even read MIT’s desired student type and look what happened, lol. This seems like common sense, but for me, I didn’t know what I was doing while writing these essays till after EA apps were submitted. Hope you guys learn from my mistakes. Finally what’s most important is that you don’t try to lie to admissions about the type of person that you are. I really do enjoy learning, really am ambitious, really am weird and that’s what made my essays sound honest. If you don’t have the characteristics of one of the students that go to this school, you really shouldn’t be applying. 
Pheww longwinded comment. Hope this helps someone in the future though and don’t take any of the exaggerated bragging that people do on here seriously. We all feel inferior after reading it lol and yes normal people like me can get in.

AustroHungarian · March 31, 2013, 3:10pm

^O.o

10char

chitch180 · March 31, 2013, 4:26pm

Pick one:
Decision: Deferred —> Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2320, 760/760/800/12
[] SAT II (subject, score): Math II (800), Chemistry (800), World History (760)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97ish (not 100% sure)
[] Weighted GPA: 4.67
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st Decile
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 5s on World History, Calculus AB and BC, APUSH, English Language, Chemistry, Biology, Spanish Lang, Macro and Micro (self-studied the last two after taking community college classes)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Euro, AP Physics C: Mech, AP Stats, AP English Lit, AP Computer Science, Religion/Art courses
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None, I think
[] Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Commended (didnt find out until after I submitted my app, however)[/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
–Founder/President, School FBLA Chapter (10-12)
–School Newspaper (Writer 9-10, A&E Editor 11-12)
–Varsity Badminton (9-12)
–Girl Scouts (1-12, Bronze Award, Working on Gold) (Going to miss selling cookies!)
–City Advisory Committee Member (11-12)
–Mock Trial Prosecution Attorney (12)
–School Religious Team (not my religion, but nevertheless fun) (12)
–Classical Vocalist (1-12)
[] Job/Work Experience:
–Summer Finance/Legal Internship (Summer after 10)
–Youth Basketball Referee (11-12)
[] Volunteer/Community Service:
–Youth Basketball Coach (9-10)
–Habitat for Humanity weeklong school trip
[] Summer Activities:
–Internship
–9, 11: Classes at Community College (wrote about these)
[] Essays (1-10 rating, details):[list]
[li] Common App Essay: Bookonomics (My own topic)[/li][] Supplement Essay: Princesses of Silicon Valley (The one about culture)
[] Additional Essay/Engineering Essay: Modes of Transportation (Summer Activities)[/ul]
[li] Recommendations (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):[ul][/li][li] Teacher Recommendation #1: Read it after the fact, consistently praising[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: Didnt read; Im guessing it was good!
[] Counselor Rec: Read a little, it was good. She was really nice and helped me a lot.
[] Additional Info/Rec: None [/ul]
[] Interview: Not the best. It was the first college interview I had, so I was nervous
[] Art Supplement: None [/list]

Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: mid-October (applied early)
[] U.S. State/Territory or Country: CA
[] School Type: Private Catholic
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): None, I think [/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Focus on my major economics in my essays, interview, and activities
[] Weaknesses: Extracurriculars were a bit of a laundry list; not sure anything really stands out
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Gods grace!
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
–Accepted: Princeton (Deferred at first), UChicago, Cornell, Claremont McKenna, Santa Clara, UCs. --Rejected: Yale
[/ul]

General Comments & Advice: We make plans, and God laughs in our faces

FearTheTree17 · March 31, 2013, 9:16pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (690 CR, 710 M, 800 W)
[] ACT: 32
[] SAT II: 760 Lit, 660 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72! But Stanford doesn’t look at freshman year, and without freshman year it is closer to a 3.9
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Psych (5), English Lang (4), World History (3), Calc AB (pending), English Lit (pending), Stat (pending)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP English Lit, AP Calc AB (self study), Greek 3 Honors, Mandarin 3, Psychology
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): chhhhhnope, nothing major anyway. Just school stuff and AP scholar.[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Freelance photographer, writer, blogger. Did a lot with poetry and even went to this exclusive writing camp over the summer. Also did aerobics, took classes outside of school/self study, and tons of volunteer work. I wish I did more – I’ll definitely do EVERYTHING in college, haha.
[] Job/Work Experience: Public Relations Intern @ ModCloth
[] Volunteer/Community service: Upwards of 200 hrs.
[] Summer Activities: ESL tutor, camp counselor, C++ programming certificate, prestigious writing camp (got college credit), worked at ModCloth, a few other things
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10, I think that these got me in the school. These essays were my pride and joy. I recycled some of these essays for my Kenyon app and they wrote me a letter saying my essays were among the best they’ve read all year, which was a really good sign for me.
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): My English teacher’s rec was probably superb, and my Math teacher’s rec was probably generic.[list]
[li] Teacher Rec #1: OK…are we rating now? English teacher’s was probably 8 or 9, maybe even 10. Idk.[/li][] Teacher Rec #2: Like, 5 or 6?
[] Counselor Rec: Better than usual. I fought with him over everything (like taking certain courses I didn’t meet the requirements for) and basically drove him crazy, but in the end he came to really respect me and wrote a ton in my rec.
[] Additional Rec:[/ul]
[li] Interview: I actually had one because my dad knew a former admissions officer. It wasn’t really an interview, just a time for me to ask questions about Stanford. But instead I just ended up talking about Neuroscience with her for an hour and a half. Maybe it was a wasted opportunity, but I don’t see it that way.[/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Private prep
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: bewbs
[] Income Bracket: Didn’t need FA
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): 5 time legacy, grandfather taught at Stanford.[/ul][/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: 5 time legacy, ESSAYS.
[] Weaknesses: GPA, AP scores?
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m not sure exactly. I know that Stanford puts all legacies in one pile and accepts a certain amount from the pile. I think that being a 5-time legacy had a lot of weight, but my college counselor says that she’s seen people in my situation get rejected many times in the past 10 years with stronger SAT scores and GPA. So maybe my essays? I don’t know! I feel guilty about it.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Carleton, Kenyon, Whitman, Pitzer, and some other places. Rejected at Wash U, Brown, Bowdoin, Rice, and Wesleyan.[/ul]

General Comments: I noticed that the schools that accepted me were the ones that I recycled Stanford’s essays for, and the schools that rejected me (aka my reach schools) were ones that either didn’t require an essay or I didn’t write very good essays for. So I think that my acceptance was based on a mixture of essays and legacy status. Stanford is a dream come true, and after everything I’ve been through personally in these past six years, it is just the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m going to make something of my education because I know I can’t let this opportunity go to waste. Congrats to you all, regardless of admission decision – the fact that you survived first semester senior year and even applied to Stanford in the first place just shows you how smart you are.

admit2017 · April 1, 2013, 3:25am

Decision: Deferred–>Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2390
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 710 USH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/250
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 8 fives so far
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs + 2 Ind. Study APs, + 2 comm. college math
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, AP w/ Distinction, NM Commended
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity sport, robotics team, volunteering, ind. science research
[] Job/Work Experience: lab assistant at state university
[] Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours
[] Summer Activities: living…you know…
[] Essays: good, thoughtful, my voice came through
[] Teacher Recommendation: 8/10 and 10+/10
[] Counselor Rec: 9.5/10
[] Additional Rec: 10/10 (boss at work)
[] Interview: 8.5/10

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender:
[] Income Bracket:
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: scores, essays
[] Weaknesses:
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ACCEPTED–Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Stanford, Hopkins, MIT, Duke, safeties… WAITLISTED–wustl, Northwestern… REJECTED–Yale-NUS

[/ul]General Comments: Super excited. Between Yale and Stanford.

juggler · April 1, 2013, 5:08pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2400
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Chemistry, 800 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on 13 AP tests
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus, Data Structures, AP Psychology, AP Physics C, Organic Chemistry, School English and Religion Classes
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NFL National Finalist, TOC Qualifier, Intel Semifinalist, Siemens Semifinalist[/li][/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Speech and Debate (Policy Debate Captain): 4th Nationals US Extemp (11), 3rd State Policy (11), 3rd State Impromptu (11), 5 Bids Tournament of Champions, Policy Debate (12)
Science Research: Siemens Semifinalist (12), Intel Semifinalist (12), Presenter at National Conference (12)
City Teen Advisory Committee: President (12), VP (11), Secretary (10), Teen Volunteer of the Year (10, 11)
Boy Scouts: Eagle Scout (11), STEM Nova Silver Medal (11)
Music: Indian Violin, Piano (Adv. Level, CM - 11) (9-12 both)
Newspaper: Business Editor (11-12)
[] Job/Work Experience: Scorekeeper, local basketball league (10-12)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Above
[] Summer Activities: astronomy/physics internship at local university (before 12), debate camp (10, 11, 12)
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): Impossible to rate my own essays; happy with them, read through them a lot, had them checked by many people.
Common App: My journey in speech.
Extracurricular: Indian Violin
What Matters: Morning car rides with mom
Intellectual Vitality: Astronomy
Roommate: Being too short to play high school basketball (apparently it worked!)
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[] Teacher Rec #1: APUSH teacher and speech coach; didnt read, Im sure it was excellent.
[] Teacher Rec #2: AP Chemistry teacher; she really liked me, Im sure it was good.
[] Counselor Rec: Probably good
[] Additional Rec: Scout leader and Eagle Project advisor, excellent [/ul]
[li] Interview:[/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Parochial
[] Ethnicity: S. Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 150k+
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): graduate school parent (so not really) [/ul][/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Well-roundedness, essays were good
[] Weaknesses: No sport/hooks
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: The whole package, I think I really came through in my app, and that probably paid off.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Princeton (REA), Harvard, Yale, MIT, Washington University in St. Louis, UC Berkeley (Regents), UCLA (Regents), UC San Diego (Regents), UC Santa Barbara (Regents)
[/ul]

General Comments: The experience has been ridiculous, and Im not sure where Im going to go. But good luck to everyone moving forward!

YoSoyBean · April 2, 2013, 4:49am

Decision: Accepted #whatislife

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (800 M, 800 CR, 740 W) (1 sitting)
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 800 US History, 800 Chemistry, 790 Math II, 760 Lit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/375ish at beginning of senior year, 2/375ish after 1st semester
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 8 fives
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lang, AP Bio, AP Physics B, AP US Govt (semester), Symphonic Winds Honors, Spanish 4 Honors
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist, National Spanish Exam Premio de Oro, All-State Symphonic Band, All-State Jazz Ensemble - nothing that says dy-no-mite[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Student Council - President of Regional Division of Student Councils (12), VP of school Student Council (12)
Alto Saxophone - see above All-State bands
Intern at outreach office of local congressman (11)
Varsity Tennis (9-12) - Captain (11,12) (less an indication of my own prowess at the sport than an indication of our team’s relative lack of prowess - still love my team though)
Intern at county DFL office during 2012 election (12)
Speech team (9-12)
[] Volunteer/Community service:
Unpaid internships at congressman’s office, DFL office
Service Learning through local adult education center - helped immigrants prepare for US citizenship test (10)
NHS (11,12) (honestly this is worthless at my school though)
[] Job/Work Experience:
Student Page (sorting/organizing/shelving) at local public library (12)
Homework Assistance with Peers Program (11) - helped recently-immigrated high school kids with their homework
[] Summer Activities:
All-State Symphonic Band Camp (summer prior to 11)
All-State Jazz Ensemble Camp (summer prior to 12)
Boys State (summer prior to 12) - elected Secretary of State
FTE program at Wooster College (summer prior to 12)
Internship at DFL office (summer prior to 12)
Working at library (summer prior to 12)
also mentioned visiting china (summer prior to 11)
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): essays on the supplement were definitelyyyyy written the day before the app was due
COMMON APP: my dreams of becoming a comedian/comedy writer/humorous actor/something - decided to lay it all out there cause it’s what i’m about and i’d feel disingenuous pretending that something else is more important to me
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: my mom’s move from china to the US, subsequent divorce from abusive husband; effects of growing up in single-parent household
EXTRACURRICULAR: losing stud co election → realizing i’m not entitled to things because of my “intelligence”
WHAT MATTERS: fairness, framed in recollections of an elementary school friend physically marred by russian birth defects
INTELLECTUAL VITALITY: doubt, framed in a brief recounting of the growth of my religious beliefs/musings
ROOMMATE: myself, framed in a one sentence note to my “roomie” followed by a 2/3 page long scatterbrained humorous “ha-ha” postscript
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[li] Teacher Rec #1: AP Chem teacher - fantastic. in there is something ridiculous like “one of the five best representatives of our high school in the last decade”[/li][] Teacher Rec #2: AP Psych/9th grade World History teacher - didn’t get to read but he’s a kooky guy and we make fun of each other regularly so i hope at the very least it was interesting
[] Counselor Rec: he listened to me ramble on about comedy for nigh on half an hour and said he could see the “passion” in my eyes and wild uncontrollable grin so hopefully it was good
[] Additional Rec: from school principal but was sent two weeks before decisions came out so may not have had a factor[/ul]
[li] Interview: 45 min in a coffee shop with a really fun mom who had just dropped her daughter off for figure skating lessons across the street. i got some good quips in and, in the end, that’s all you can really ask for[/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MN
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public, 1500-1600 students
[] Ethnicity: asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 60000 - 80000
[] Potential Major: Middle East Studies/Political Science/Religious Studies
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): midwestern charm[/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: wild energy and diversity of interests hopefully came through in app
[] Weaknesses: jack of all trades, master of none
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my loquaciousness, blind idealism, elitist humor, “bro”-ness, average height, ability to bowl a score above 100, inability to choose one thing to focus on/be decently good at, fear of death (nahhhh i didn’t actually mention the last one in my app)
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
ACCEPTED: dartmouth, cornell, northwestern, swarthmore, carleton, u of mn (honors)
WAITLISTED: columbia, brown, upenn, uchicago
REJECTED: harvard, yale, princeton, duke[/ul]

General Comments: i haven’t an inkling as to why things turned out the way they did. harvard was my dream school (the harvard lampoon seemed my ticket into the comedy business) - it had always been my dream school - and at the very least i always thought i’d be going east coast - but it seems the universe had other plans! (i mean that very secularly.) stanford is the one school i applied to that i haven’t visited yet but i am hyped to be fleeing the minnesotan cold for california!! (also i hear the education is pretty good but whatever that’s for nerds amirite amirite??)
but again, who knows why i was accepted here and denied elsewhere - stanford had the lowest acceptance rate of all of the top schools this year, yet i was shut down by most other comparable institutions. last year, i made it to the interview round for TASP, but then was not chosen for the program. (i know that might not be all that relevant but it still smarts, okay??)
to me, the lesson here is that if you lay it all f***ing out there (can i swear here?? please??) and be true to who you are and put your talent to good use, someone important will notice.
i wish the best of luck to all of you in the future and i hope to see some of you next year at the farm!!!

kcwijaya · April 3, 2013, 11:15am

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2330 - M: 800; CR: 780; W: 750
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 800 Bio E; 800 Math II; 740 English Lit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I want to say 3.9ish?
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A - probably top 2%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Microeconomics (5), Macroeconomics (5), Calculus AB (5), Computer Science (5), Biology (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP European History, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, Vocals, Band, Forensic Science, Sustainable Earth Systems
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Global Citizenship Award internationally recognized by EARCOS, Presidential Award Grade 10, 11, California State Award for Academic Achievement, Certificate for Recognition for Achieving High Honors, All-Star Volleyball Player of Southeast Asia, MVP Volleyball[/ul][/li]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Government,
National Honor Society, MUN, GIN, JHU’s Center for Talented Youth, Yearbook Copy Editor, Varsity Volleyball for 5 years, Captain for three years, Varsity Badminton, Varsity Swimming
[] Job/Work Experience: I interned at this biopharmaceutical firm. I learned medical school level material and worked in the lab to extract beta-D-glucan molecules within mushroom polysaccharides to repair heart cells and inoculated components that inhibit VEGF receptors in our cells.
[] Volunteer/Community service: I do a looot of community service. Coordinator of Habitat for Humanity, Coordinator of World Vision (teaching impoverished people how to use technology and giving them diplomas), Coordinator of Cleft Care - (helps kids with cleft palate), Coordinator of Pelayan Gratia (Last year sent 60 children to school. First time this was done in my school and I did this entirely on my own), Coordinator of Athletic Council (organizes athletics of my school), Coordinator of Malnutrition (raises money for malnourished kids in Indonesia), Coordinator of Big Brother/Big Sister (pairs abused children with students for high-school-career long commitments), Coordinator of several other projects dealing with orphanages, Coordinator of Klumprik teaching English to native Indonesians, Coordinator of Recycling Committee completely revamped the recycling system of my school. I’m currently helping my drama teacher, who recently suffered a stroke and had to get his leg amputated and lost most of his ability to speak, to learn vocabulary and reading and etc again.
[] Summer Activities: Elite Educational Institute (gr 9-10); Stanford Summer High School (gr 11)
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): I was really careful to make sure my essays were personable and unique and quirky. I didn’t sound smart or intellectual at all. I was just a regular teenager. My teacher said he loved my Common App - it was about how my hair has suffered more than Pangloss and Oedipus, and it made comparisons between all the times I’ve colored it or cut it and how it coincides with discoveries and innovations in my life. (7) My intellectual vitality was about how my Google history showcases my curiosity (8). My roommate letter was a tour around my room and how it shows the kind of person I am (6). What matters to you is how I never read the first page of a book because for me, the ‘beginnings’ don’t matter. I LOVED this essay. The end makes my mom cry (but it’s probably because she’s emotional). It hinted at how much I love stanford at the end, and how that’s the best end I could find for my story. (10)
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[] Teacher Rec #1: AP European History & AP Econ teacher - AMAZING. Two pages, incredible! He’s been a really close friend and was almost as obsessed about getting me into Stanford as I was LOL. 10
[] Teacher Rec #2: AP Calculus and Pre-calculus teacher. Not quite as good as above, but he loves me and I love him! Haha, it was pretty good all around. 8.
[] Counselor Rec: We got really close this year and she really wanted me to get in too!
[] Additional Rec: Volleyball coach - I’m guessing it was good! [/ul]
[li] Interview: Wasn’t offered one.[/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] Country (if international applicant): Indonesia
[] School Type: Private International
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: upper middle class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): NONE :([/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: test scores, essays, short answers, internship, interest
[] Weaknesses: no major awards, weak EC’s, no interview, international applicant
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I HAVE NO IDEA WHY BUT THANK YOU JESUS.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted - UCI, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSD, Caltech, Boston U, USC, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, UBC, LMU; Rejected - Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, MIT[/ul]

General Comments:

I DON"T KNOW HOW IM STILL ALIVE. This has been my DREAM since I was a little kid and I honestly believed I had no shot. Oh my gosh. I’m freaking out. Is this real life?

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone else accepted, and to everyone who wasn’t - you are AMAZING and any college will be SO INCREDIBLY LUCKY to have you!

swagsohard · April 3, 2013, 4:42pm

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2310
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 780 Bio M, 740 Math Level II, 710 German
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 x 5s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Rigorous w/ 6 APs
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Study Abroad and Language Awards, AP Scholar with Distinction[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):[/li]Policy Debate (16th at nationals)
Scholar Bowl (National Qualifier)
Model United Nations (Secretary General)
National Honor Society

[] Job/Work Experience: Lol no
[] Volunteer/Community service: 170+ hours
[li] Summer Activities:[/li]Research Internship at WUSTL on Lung Cancer (published a paper)

[] Essays: Hit or miss essays
[] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read
[] Additional Rec: Didn’t read
[li] Interview: Didn’t have one[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MO
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian Indian (Brown People FTW)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): meh
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): um no?

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades and Test Scores, ECs
[] Weaknesses: Essays, anti-hooks galore
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: lol who knows?
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[/ul]General Comments: So glad I’m done with this process! To all those rejected or waitlisted I wish you the best of luck; you guys will end up somewhere awesome.

Maverick10 · April 3, 2013, 6:05pm

bump bump bumpity bump bump

DoctorWatson · April 4, 2013, 12:55am

Decision: Accepted

Objective[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2260800 CR, 780 M, 680 V (Taken Once)
[] SAT II: None
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (3), U.S. History (4), Language (5)
[li] Senior-Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Biology, AP Calculus BC, AP US Government, and religious classes.[/ul][/li]
Subjective[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Editor-in-chief of school newspaper since my sophomore year; seven years of professional violin; one year as student-body treasurer
[] Job/Work Experience: Tutor; physician shadowing
[] Volunteer/Community service: Hospitals and clinics for three years; significant involvement with local temples; part of a truly amazing and touching healthcare program (sorry for the intentional ambiguity)
[] Summer Activities: Reading; volunteer work; part of a laboratory in UCLA, conducting biomedical research (one summer)
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10; I worked really hard on it and it wows everyone who reads it, even English professors. Its about the above-mentioned healthcare program.
[] Supplements: 9; The intellectual vitality one was about how I taught myself to play a hard piano piece as a complete beginner; my response to the roommate question was a unique, list-like essay about my idiosyncrasies; for the last essay, I said happiness is everything in life and everyone has the right to pursue it his or her own way. Just for fun, I should mention I risked using the word YOLO in my first essay. I guess it worked.
[] Recommendations:[list]
[li] Teacher recommendations should have been good. I knew both the teachers well and was a good student. [/li][] Counselor Rec: Certainly above average. I have a good relationship with my counselor. It was a couple pages long and really nice. [/ul] [/list]

Other[ul]
[] State: CA
[] School Type: Small, religious
[] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: ~120K
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-generation college; first cousin is an alumnus [/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Extracurriculars, academics, and personal statement
[] Weaknesses: AP scores and lack of SAT Subject Tests
[] Why you think you were accepted: 4.0, unique experiences, and a strong personal statement
[] Where else were you accepted:[list]
[] UCLA
[] UCSD
[] USC (Presidential Scholar)
[] University of Pittsburgh (Full-tuition plus stipend)
[li] Occidental (Presidential Scholarship) [/ul] [/list][/li]
General Comments:

ON STANFORD
I knew when applying that whatever the Stanfords decision would be, it would be a surprise. Like everyone says, college admissions are a complete crapshoot. Ive read these forums before; many of those who are turned down are highly accomplished and seemingly qualified. I am really grateful to be accepted to Stanford.

ON COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL
Thanks to everyone here at College Confidential for sharing their experiences and advice. This website really pushed me to accomplish things I didnt know were within my reach. Ive spent hours hereusually moping about how Ill ever be able to compete with so many over-achievers. Thank you to everyone for being such an inspiration.

FINALLY
Congrats to Stanfords class of 2017 and to every college applicant this year! In America, we have the opportunity to define our own educations no matter where we attend. The doors are open here for anyone who is motivated to pursue success. The journey has just begun :)

jmvldz · April 5, 2013, 3:23am

I remember going through this experience 4 years ago and getting my admission from Stanford. It was an humbling day to be sure.

For all of you admitted, congratulations! Should you choose to accept, you have a very challenging four years ahead of you.

For those of you not, congratulations! Stanford is a huge bubble but more importantly, you are done with the admissions process, done stressing about the wait, and done worrying (hopefully). Your life will be awesome and this is only one moment in what I am sure will be an exciting college experience ahead of you.

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