Accepted w/ 27k a year
2090 SAT, 32 ACT, 3.98 UW GPA, 6/190 rank (top 3%)
many extracurriculars with leadership (don’t feel like listing)
800+ hours of community service
Coca Cola Scholar Finalist
receptionist @ retirement home (15hr/week)
no demonstrated interest, applied 5 days before deadline w/ waiver
white, female, small rural public school (NJ) with good local reputation, 250k+ income bracket
major: neuroscience
received a likely letter in February
got a very nice p.s. at the end of my acceptance letter about my recent awards in tennis 
[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted **[/color][/size]
[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (800 M, 760 CR, 730 W) Superscore 2330 (800 CR)
ACT: 36 (36 M, 35E, 36R, 35S, 11W)
SAT II: US History (780), Math II (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/487
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 5s- Human Geography, English Composition, Psychology, US History 5 4s- Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Government, Environmental Sci, Biology
IB (place score in parenthesis): Spanish SL (6), Physics SL (5)
Senior Year Course Load: All IB/AP
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 2014 Intel ISEF Finalist, National AP Scholar
[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Social Science Research, History Fair, Debate Team/Club, FBLA, TSA (Chapter Sec), 4 years Varsity tennis and captain,
Volunteer/Community service: Local youth city council officer, teaching assistant at local high school, co-founder of tennis club to promote physical activity
Summer Activities: Interned for University of Utah Bioscience, attended CDC summer program, did social science research and presented at conferences
Essays: CommonApp- 8/10, wrote about failure, but could have polished the essay a little more
Disparities essay- 8/10, wrote about working to reduce health disparity through running the tennis club
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read but both teachers liked me quite a bit
Counselor Rec: Good, didn’t read but I have a really close relationship with my counselor
Additional Rec: Research mentor, should be pretty good
Interview: didn’t have
How much interest did you express? none
[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? no
How much merit aid did you get?
Major you put down: Biology?
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
[ b]Reflection**
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/waitlisted/rejected: stats/ec’s?
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
really nice to have the p.s. at the end. Accepted with 30k/year.
Decision: Waitlisted
Engineering
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 790 M, 680 W, 750 CR
ACT: 35 composite, 36 M 36 E 33S 33R
SAT II: 800 Math II, 720 Bio E
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.955, Weighted 4.750
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 / 261
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem 5, Bio 5, APUSH 4, Calc BC 5, Stats 5, Psych 5, USGov 5
IB (place score in parenthesis):–
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science Online, History course at nearby college, Grammar and writing, Spanish V and VI, AP Literature, Calculus 3 at nearby college, consumer auto, Christian Symbolism in art at nearby college
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
National merit commended scholar
AP Scholar with Distinction
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Dance Team (co-captain), DECA (chapter president), Blood Drive (coordinator), Tutoring program (co-founder), forensics, student council, national honors society,
Job/Work Experience: business interpreter last summer, dance instructor (current), fast food cashier (two years ago)
Volunteer/Community service: hospital volunteer, co-founded middle school tutoring program, church choir pianist, sunday school teacher
Summer Activities: Nursing assistant trainee, missionary to Africa, church summer camp, business interpreter/promotional displays coordinator
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Very personal, vignettes of life cut and pasted together, I would say 8 at least…
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): From online teacher and from college professor. Shows great work ethic and curiosity, I got to read both and very generous comments.
Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec: should be good, didn’t get to read but made effort to advocate myself and pop into her office regularly even though she deals with 250 other kids
Additional Rec:
Interview:
n/a
Other
Applied for financial aid and several other scholarships.
State (if domestic applicant): WI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, total enrollment around 1100
Ethnicity:ASIAN
Gender: FEMALE
Income Bracket: hovering around or under 90,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): born and raised in Asia. Began 3rd grade in US. Don’t know if this is a hook but I guess it’s a…fun fact??
Reflection: …
Strengths: ACT scores, AP’s, class rank
Weaknesses: SAT scores? Didn’t show enough interest? Senior courseload a little sparse
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Maybe because I didn’t show vested interest in Case in particular, I heard they do value that quite a bit.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
WashU in St. Louis: Waitlisted
Cornell Engineering: Accepted
Williams: Accepted
Bowdoin: Accepted
UW Madison: Accepted
General Comments:
This notice came after my acceptance to Cornell so I was a bit surprised but in all honesty I think Case isn’t the place for me. I didn’t demonstrate interest and I applied just because a neighbor had recommended it. I definitely was more interested in the potential scholarships than the school itself. Show interest! It seems to be a huge factor. Just a little miffed I spent so much time writing essays for the scholarship applications to not even be considered, haha, oh well! Best Wishes to everyone else.
Decision: Waitlisted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 31C (34E 35M 26R 30S 33E/W (10 Essay))
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (670) Math I (750) (Didn’t Submit)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/214
AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (3), English Language & Composition (4), Statistics (4), U.S. Government & Politics (4), U.S. History (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature & Composition, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Psychology, Earth Science Honor
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
More common awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, other school/town/state awards
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): French Club (Treasurer/President), Math Team (Captain), Student Government Class of 2015 (Treasurer), NHS (Treasurer), United Way (Board of Directors), Superintendent’s Student Advisory Committee, Technology Steering Committee, Strategic Planning Committee
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 1000+ hours volunteering through the YMCA, my church, as an intern to the superintendent, and tutoring
Summer Activities: Volunteering
Essays:
-Common App: How lectoring developed my confidence, pretty decent: 8.5/10
Teacher Recommendations:
-Honors Chemistry teacher - struggled through her class, but persevered greatly: 8/10
-Gym Teacher/Class Advisor- loves me: 8.5-9/10
Counselor Rec: Developed a fairly good relationship with her: 7.5-8/10
Additional Rec: Superintendent- loves me: 8.5-9/10
Interview: N/A
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
How much merit aid did you get? N/A
Major you put down: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 120-140k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflection
Strengths: Rank, Involvement, Test Scores
Weaknesses: Lack of demonstrated interest, lack of activities relating to engineering
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/waitlisted/rejected: Didn’t show interest
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
-Accepted: Georgia Tech, RPI, UConn (Honors + Full Tuition)
-Deferred: Michigan
-Waitlisted: no where else besides Case Western
-Rejected: Cornell ED, WashU
-Waiting: Michigan (Deferred EA), Northwestern & Vanderbilt
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
Being on the waitlist is actually quite annoying, but I will accept my place on the waitlist and see if I can get in. Even if I don’t, Georgia Tech is definitely superior in BME, and UConn gave me a lot of money, so I’ll probably attend one of them. If you want to attend this school, however, SHOW INTEREST. It can be as simple as getting on a mailing list, visiting a rep at a college fair, or simply emailing the school with question. I, however, did not do this, which is probably the reason I was waitlisted. Congrats to everyone else though!!
**Decision: Waitlisted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 32 (27R, 33W, 32S, 35M / 8 essay)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Bio (730), Math II (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parentheses): Bio (4), Chem (4), Lang (4) [lmao all 4’s]
Senior Year Course Load: AP gov, AP psych, AP calc ab, AP Euro, AP physics, and other non AP classes.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nope
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Lots of clubs and outside EC’s
Volunteer/Community Service: 100+ (don’t really count)
Essays: Pretty good.
Teacher Recommendations: Both teachers liked me.
Counselor Rec: okay. Didn’t really get to know the counselor until after the app process, lol.
Additional Rec: nope.
Interview: nope.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? nope
Major you put down: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Competitive public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: F
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): no
Reflection
Strengths: I’m really mediocre. Maybe EC’s and ACT, kind of?
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/waitlisted/rejected: gpa / didn’t really show interest.
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
- Accepted: UCSB (Chancellor’s Reception)
- Waitlisted: UCSD and now here…
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Maybe I didn’t show interest to this school, but my gpa definitely destroyed me. Congrats to those who got in, and don’t worry to those that didn’t!
**Decision: Accepted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): M 770 CR 760 W 700
SAT II: Math2:800 Biology: 800 U.S History 800
Unweighted GPA: 3.81
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/368
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistiry 5 BC Calculus 5 Biology 5 US Hist 5 Euro 4
Senior Year Course Load: AP ( Physics, Stats, Gov, Spanish) Honors (English)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars : Science Olympiad, Math Club, Karate
Job/Work Experience: Sunday School
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities: average
Essays: Thought it was good … hard to know reaction
Teacher Recommendation: Should have been good but did not see but told good by counselor
Counselor Rec: Should have been good but did not see
Additional Rec: Should have been good but did not see
Commonapp Essay: Thought it was good … hard to know reaction
UR Supplement Essay: Thought it was good … hard to know reaction
Interview: Felt it went really well
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): PA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: W
Gender: M
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): NONE
Reflection
Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Tried to let them know who I am and what I am looking for and what is important to me
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: generally strong application
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: University of Rochester; Case Western Reserve University
Rejected: MIT, Olin
**Decision: Waitlisted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2020 (740 M/540 R/740 W)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (place score in parentheses): N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (but really small, easy school)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/33
AP (place score in parentheses): English Lang & Comp (3) (really messed up on test day…mismatched those bubbles)
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: As much as my school offered (which isn’t a whole lot) - Honors history/english, advanced math (calculus), three sciences courses (physics, a&p, marine biology), and then the mandatory ones
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): No major awards, just school-wide ones
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Founded Ping Pong Club, took band for 3 years, NHS, class officer for 3 years (there’s not really a lot offered in terms of clubs and stuff unfortunately)
Job/Work Experience: Work for my math teacher grading papers, hardcore tutoring/organizing work with a student after school for about 1/2 hour every day
Volunteer/Community Service: Involved in church, also NHS
Summer Activities: Helped out at elementary summer school program (teacher’s aide), baby-sat last summer
Essays: Hopefully good? Don’t know though
Teacher Recommendations: Hopefully good as well but didn’t see
Counselor Rec: same
Additional Rec: same
Interview: n/a
How much interest did you express? none in terms of visiting/interviewing
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? yes
How much merit aid did you get? n/a
Major you put down: Biomedical engineering
State (if domestic applicant): HI
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): i don’t think any
Reflection
Strengths: GPA
Weaknesses: Reading in SAT, too little ECs, possibly essay. And of course no interest
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/waitlisted/rejected: See weaknesses
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UP and Willamette
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Retake SAT if you want to improve… get involved more. Show interest! (Idk how though… maybe should’ve spent couple hundred bucks to take a plane all the way over there?)
Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 30
SAT II (place score in parentheses):
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5 (top 50 schools in US)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): DNR
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB, Calc BC, Psych, Environ. Science, Studio art (all 5)
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: two APs (Calc and Studio art (for the second time)), and highest level honors courses for the rest
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none 
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Arts Service Club, Robotics Club, Advanced Arts program, MOSTEC, and College Arts Access Program
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service: art-related service projects around the city
Summer Activities: MOSTEC and other STEM programs
Essays: There were essays for Case?
Teacher Recommendations: who knows?
Counselor Rec: same
Additional Rec: same
Interview: I didn’t interview really, they just handed me my acceptance packet
How much interest did you express? none
Other
Applied for Financial Aid? yes
How much merit aid did you get? 28,000/year
Major you put down: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 80,000-120,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflection
Strengths: ACT
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/waitlisted/rejected: Who knows? Personally, I was surprised.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: USC, UIUC, UCLA, etc.
Blobman, my son (who is attending Case) also received a very personal comment regarding his essay. It was equally thrilling and puzzling to him whether this was an individual message or something routinely done. I think Case does a very good job at individualizing their acceptance letters. I hope you have found a great fit for your college choice.
[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted **[/color][/size]
[ b]Objective:**
SAT I (breakdown): * Math (710) Reading (710) Writing (690) *
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (place score in parentheses): * Math Level I (690) & English Lit (690) *
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A i *
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: ?
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): ?
– A LEVELS: English Lit, Math (w/ Mechanics) & Chemistry: predicted 2As and an A for chem. *
[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): * MUN 5 yrs (Head of press in 2 different intl MUN organisations); school newspaper 6 yrs (editor for 2 yrs); Tennis 8 yrs & generally other sports; piano 9 yrs; debate club (placed second at national championships); environmental committee 2yrs (Head of committee); student council; student mentor; other school leadership positions *
Job/Work Experience: * assisting at a paediatric unit*
Volunteer/Community Service: * assisting at a school for the deaf every summer; building bathrooms in vietnam *
Summer Activities: * community service; programs at NU-Q & CMU-Q *
Essays:* risky but well written. v philosophical & maybe too sophisticted? *
Teacher Recommendations:* v strong. *
Counselor Rec:* amazing; told it was above par from other teachers…?*
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A
How much interest did you express? * Not that much; wasn’t even going to apply; they expressed interest in me! Really glad they did tbh!*
[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes *
How much merit aid did you get? $10,000/year*
Major you put down: * dont remember. maybe neuroscience? maybe english lit? maybe env science?*
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): Qatar
School Type: British
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ??? middle class?
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nah
[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: my essay & extra curriculars & talking to admissions officers a lot & cwru is probably pursuing international students…
Weaknesses:* SAT score! & that one B at AS levels.*
Why you think you were accepted: ??? probably cause im international…
Where else you are applying or have already applied: like 19 others lol. Brown, MHC, Amherst, Princeton, NYU, etc.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: *I am so sure I got in because of my international status- I hardly showed any interest, if anything they showded much more in me so idk! 
*
Decision: Waitlisted
Objective:
[ul]
[] SAT I: 2150 (750CR/690M/710W)
[] ACT: n/a
[] SAT II: 760 (Math II), 690 (Chemistry)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6-3.7
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top Quartile (class of 305)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (5), Language and Composition (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Computer Science, AP Calc BC II, AP Biology, AP European History, AP Lit/C, Honors Spanish 5, Honors Physics I
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): …nothing on a national level, but I had some regional/state Science Olympiad medals, got published in 3 lit mags, and won 3rd place in a state-wide journalism competition[/ul]
Subjective:
[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: GSA (president), Stage Crew, Thespians, GLSEN, Amnesty International (vice president), newspaper, Science Olympiad, Young Writers and Poets
[] Job/Work Experience: nada
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at summer camp (40 hrs a week for 3 weeks), a hospital, library, food bank
[] Essays: Common App - nobody read it besides myself, but I would tentatively give it an 8.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t read. Chem teacher might have liked me. Spanish teacher didn’t even submit until January 20th.
[] Counselor Rec: I think she likes me??
[] Additional Rec: none
[] Interview: Went pretty well. [/ul]
Other
[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public school in suburban Pittsburgh, used to be ranked high because of high PSSA scores, but is undergoing a “fall from grace” because of low Keystone scores.
[] Ethnicity: South Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: Upper-Middle Class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none [/ul]
Reflection
[ul]
[] Strengths: Good Common App essay
[] Weaknesses: Everything else
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Low GPA
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected - UMich (engineering). Waitlisted - Case Western, URoch. Accepted - Carnegie 'effin Mellon, Pitt, Penn State. Still waiting on Tufts. [/ul]
General Comments: Mmmm, I only applied because there was no application fee. But it’s really ridiculous to see these other people who are like, valedictorians, get waitlisted at this school.
Update: I was accepted at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Binghamton, RIT, University of Rochester, NYU, and Boston University, but waitlisted at Case, so I really really think Case was looking for applicants with expressed interest as well as trying not to accept students who would be using them as a backup
@alissaanne23 Congrats on all your acceptances! But I don’t see that Case is a backup for any of those schools…?
lol. CWRU is a backup for those school? I think you need to research CWRU a little more. You’ll be impressed. Very impressed.
@Sdgal2 I agree. Case is ranked higher than all of those except NYU on US News. US news isn’t everything of course, but from what I’ve read, Case is getting more competitive in terms of admissions. I don’t think if can be considered much of a backup or safety anymore.
When I log on to kid’s log on (waitlisted) it now takes me to blackboard, but no notifications, is this just a different portal for WL?
I thought Blackboard is for students and admitted students.
Right, it does look more like the accepted students sites, but there isn’t any info on there. Other than his name.
Or it could be nothing LOL.
@Sdgal2 trust me I definitely know how excellent a school Case is! by backup I really just meant that it is (typically) easier to get into compared to NYU or Yale or UChicago, where I also applied. I didn’t mean to say that Case was a backup for all that I listed, just a backup compared to my reach schools (Ivies, Chicago, etc). Sorry for the misunderstanding! I understand that the selectivity is changing at Case, but nevertheless, it was a school I was interested in.