**Decision: Deferred to Rejected **
This was my worst application by far. I should NOT have applied Early Decision because I was not ready to submit the application. I should’ve waited for the regular-decision round and submitted better essays and a cleaner, more polished application. This application was significantly different from my others.
Here’s what I take away from this experience: you don’t HAVE to apply Early Decision to a college. I got into 6 out of 8 Ivy League schools regular decision. It takes time to write the perfect essay and polish the application, and that’s okay! Don’t feel pressured to apply early anywhere, which is what I did.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (750 Writing [10 essay], 700 CR, 650 M)
Please note I originally applied with a 1960 SAT score. Retook the exam in January.
ACT (breakdown): None
SAT II: SAT US History - 780 / SAT French - 710 / SAT World - 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 100.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language - 5 / AP US History - 5 / AP World History - 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Calc AB, AP Microeconomics, AP English Literature, AP French, Occupations, Religion 12, Dance
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, National Achievement Scholarship Foundation Outstanding PSAT Participant, online writing awards, National French Contest 7th place nationwide in 10th grade
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
- Writer for the Huffington Post Teen
-Editor-in-chief of school newspaper
-Contributor to my town's newspaper (I write articles about college, SATs, and education)
-Multi Published writer in literary magazines (an essay about track and field, an essay about cosmetics & chemicals)
-College Essay was published in a magazine
-Have my own travel blog (features photos and entries on my trips abroad)
-Quiz Bowl Team Captain
Also talked about French tutoring, Cross Country and Track. I did not list this on my other applications.
Job/Work Experience:
-Cashier at movie theater for 2014 summer.
Volunteer/Community service: French tutoring
Summer Activities: Cashier at movie theater
Essays:
Common App – I applied Early decision to Columbia, and I am almost certain that my essay was terrible. I wrote about doing track & field and cross country. It was a cliched mess, for sure. I should’ve submitted my regular-decision essay(s). They were better and different.
My supplements definitely weren’t that great either. I give my “Why Columbia” essay a 10/10. But the major essay on French was lackluster, probably. And I could’ve written a better EC essay. I rewrote all types of essay for my regular-decision schools
Teacher Recommendation:
One from my French teacher (10/10) - I am a heavy participant in this class and I have been the top student for 4 years. I tutor, I share French literature that I read in my spare time with my teacher, I do research for the class, and I’ve taught a little.
AP US History Teacher (9/10) - I was the top student in this class and I won an award for my efforts. I adore history and I am also very concerned about social issues. He told me that I had the best projects and essays in the class.
Counselor Rec:
I’d give it a 9/10. We are close friends. In the summertime, my school made us fill out a sheet of all our hobbies, favorite media, and accomplishments - so I guess that helped too.
Interview: My interviewer was very pleased with me. She thought I was a stellar applicant.
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: French Language, Education
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $40,000, single parent home
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
Reflection
Strengths: My writing and journalism, my grades and scores, URM status too, choice of major
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I made sure to highlight the fact that I am a published writer. I also think it’s different that I want to study French. Make sure your Common App essay defines who you are.
Weaknesses: SAT Math score is on the lower end, but to be honest, I’m proud of it. That’s the best I could achieve. Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Well I was rejected because my application was terrible. I know it was. I should not have applied Early Decision because I was not ready. It takes time to craft good essays and I was too obsessed with trying to get in.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted to 6 Ivy League Schools: Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown
Accepted: NYU, Fordham, University of Connecticut, SUNY Binghampton, SUNY Stony Brook, Siena College
Rejected: Yale, Columbia, Hunter College, Queens College
Other:
Congratulations to all who were admitted. I will be attending Harvard University or the University of Pennsylvania.
I applied to all 8 Ivy League schools and I was admitted to 6. I am not a legacy or a first generation, for those of you who would like to know.
To any future applicants who are reading this, I say to you, don’t be discouraged from applying even if you have less than stellar stats (although, I was pretty damn close if I do say so myself). As you can see, I was 2/9 on the college acceptances, but I’m not going to let it slow me down. I received more rejections in the last 5 days than most of my peers (or most of the people here) have received in 5 months. It’s important to remember that as long as you were content with the effort and energy you put into the whole process, you should not feel ashamed that you weren’t accepted. Good luck, and may you find success in your endeavors.