for those of you who have been accepted...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Rochester
21

<p>GPA 5.15/3.6</p>

<h1>AP/honors taken: Mostly Advanced and Honors</h1>

<p>rank/% : 10%
SAT/ACT superscored/regular: 1440,2020/1990
hs competitive/noncomp. somewhat competitive
counselor rec: don't know...
teacher rec: not sure
essays: pretty good :)
Top 3 ECs: research, volunteer, sport
Top 3 leadership positions: none..:(</p>

<p>Extra comments/"hooks": cultural background, music and research experience I guess?
Other universities you have been accepted at UWisc-Madison
Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted? have to wait till the financial aid information comes in</p>

22

<p>GPA weighted/unweighted: 4.0W/3.7UW (not sure about the unweighted)</p>

<h1>AP/honors taken: 6 APs, honors for the rest</h1>

<p>rank/%: 45 out of 855/6%</p>

<p>SAT/ACT superscored/regular: 1780/1760</p>

<p>hs competitive/noncomp.: not so competitive </p>

<p>counselor rec: I don't know
teacher rec: Very good- written by my research mentor from last year (said that my research could one day help humanity and tons of other stuff about my research)</p>

<p>essays: research-oriented essay but had a typo on the diversity short answer ><. Decent, I guess. </p>

<p>Top 3 ECs: Hospital Internship, Math Team, Varsity sport
Top 3 leadership positions: Medical Biology Journal member for 3 years= assistant editor (10th grade), Chief Layout Editor (11th grade), Senior Editor-in-Chief (12th grade)</p>

<p>Extra comments/"hooks": I've been involved in science research for three years. I was a finalist in a science competition last year and I won an award for my research project. Seeing as UR is a big research school, I think this is why they accepted me. =X</p>

<p>Other universities you have been accepted at: GW, the WISE program at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Binghamton</p>

<p>Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted? Yes, but it depends on financial aid since the WISE program basically means a free ride at Stony. URoc's 50K price tag is very intimidating esp. since I have EFC zero.</p>

23

<p>GPA: 99.067. my school doesn't do it on a 4.0 scale</p>

<h1>AP/honors taken: 6 APs, most other classes were honors.</h1>

<p>rank/% : 5%, 506 in graduating class
SAT/ACT: 1770 WHAT UP, 29 on ACT
hs competitive/noncomp: somewhat?
counselor rec: probably very good, but i didn't get to read it.
teacher rec: good
essays: good
Top 3 ECs: drama club, speech and debate, orchestra
Top 3 leadership positions: secretary of orch and drama club, president of speech and debate</p>

<p>Extra comments/"hooks": well, i'm asian.
Other universities you have been accepted at: case western reserve, waitlisted at uchicago.
Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted? still waiting on more decisions.</p>

24

<p>GPA weighted/unweighted: 3.8 UW</p>

<h1>AP/honors taken: 3 APs 3 Honors</h1>

<p>rank/%: school doesnt rank
SAT/ACT superscored/regular: 1350/2040
hs competitive/noncomp.: very
counselor rec: probably very good
teacher rec: good
essays: very good
Top 3 ECs: international club, math team, key club
Top 3 leadership positions: president of international club, math team competitons (3rd,2nd place)</p>

<p>Extra comments/"hooks": dont know. I am asian
Other universities you have been accepted at: Georgia Tech
Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted?: Possibly, depends on financial aid package</p>

25

<p>lol at all of your stats...</p>

<p>Accepted to engineering...</p>

<p>Gender
M
Location
Central NJ
College Class Year
2012
High School
Public
High School Type
sends some grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid
Yes
Academics:
GPA - Unweighted
0.00
GPA - Weighted
88.06
Scores:
SAT I Math
750
SAT I Critical Reading
680
SAT I Writing
620
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC)
770
SAT II Physics
720
Extracurriculars:
Significant Extracurriculars
Work at Supermarket
Computers
Swimming
Trombone
Youth Group
Hebrew School
Athletic Status - list sport and your level
Swimming - Varsity
Honors and Awards
Top scorer in school in AMTNJ math contest 2007
College Summer programs
CTY</p>

26

<p>[ul]
[<em>]GPA weighted/unweighted: not sure
[</em>]# AP/honors taken : taking IB Diploma
[<em>]rank/% : 7/93, top 10%
[</em>]SAT/ACT superscored/regular: 2040
[<em>]hs competitive/noncomp.: noncomp
[</em>]counselor rec: didn't read
[<em>]teacher rec: didn't read
[</em>]essays: more revision needed
[<em>]Top 3 ECs:
[</em>]Top 3 leadership positions:</p>

<p>[<em>]Extra comments/"hooks": I'm an international.
[</em>]Other universities you have been accepted at CWRU, USC, Lafayette, CMU
[li]Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted? maybe because I got IB Scholarship ($10000/year)[/li][/ul]</p>

27

<p>ACCEPTED:
GPA: 4.5 out of 4.8 weighted, don't know unweighted
all honors/APs
ACT 28, didn't take SAT
competitive suburban PA HS
No real hooks, but I have leadership in everything (language club pres., student gov leader, lots of band/jazz band/music activities with leadership)
after school job
assume good recs, didn't read them
thought my essays were good...
Will most likely attend, awaiting fin. aid letter, didn't come yet...</p>

28

<p>NOTE: I am not trying to be snobby or pretentious in any way...I am just trying to describe my application/profile and views on what got me in to these colleges...</p>

<p>

**
Accepted
**

</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>]SAT: 2090
[</em>]SAT II: Math2:720, USHistory:650, Physics:710
[<em>]ACT: N/A
[</em>]GPA: 3.54 uw
[<em>]Rank: N/A
[</em>]Other Tests: AP Psychology:4, AP Physics:2 (i was sick...), AP USHistory:4
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Superb (imo...). I don't want to sound pretentious, but I guess I'm a pretty good writer...
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Two Teachers who I know personally and are amazing (both have Ph.D's): English, AP USHistory/AP EuropeanHistory
[<em>]Counselor Rec: Senior Class Dean
[</em>]Supplementary Material: Short Story I wrote and was published in a literary magazine
[<em>]Hook: Won a bunch of awards for violin and writing.. [/ul]Personal[ul]
[</em>]Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
[<em>]High School Type: Private
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>]Gender: M
[</em>]Applied for Financial Aid: Yes[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Violin (Youth Symphony Orchestra, National Honor Orchestra, Interlochen Summer Camp, HMTA Finalist, MNTA Finalist (west region), etc), I teach Violin to underpriviledged children (for 4years+) Sports: V-Golf (3years), V-Volleyball (2years, all-state), JV-Basketball (1year), Speech & Debate (state qualifier), Mock Trial, Key Club, JSA creator (of my district), avid writer of fiction/literature
[</em>]Awards: VIOLIN: Honolulu Symphony Concerto Competition Laureate, HMTA strings competition Laureate, MNTA mid-region finalist, Interlochen Youth Concerto Competition 2nd place, Selected short stories published in Literary Magazine & Local newspapers, other miscellaneous stuff
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: It's not all about GPA...In my case, relatively, I had pretty low SAT scores and a low GPA, but I was "passionate" and excelled at a couple of things (also, it helped that my highschool was/is a very recognized institution for most universities and colleges...It's Barack Obama's alma mater as well as Steve Case (AOL founder), the eBay founder, Michelle Wie, Kelly Preston (actress), etc...LOOK IT UP ON WIKIPEDIA).<br>[/li]I also believe that most colleges want someone who is dedicated and passionate about a couple of subjects and activities and truly excels at them rather than joining 50+ extracurriculars and being mediocre/dispassionate
I think what got me in was my essay describing my first community service project as a high school freshmen...I taught violin technique (how to play a violin) to a group of ten underprivileged children for $1 an hour...and I taught each one of them for four straight years. I described a couple of real examples during those four years that exemplified perseverance and tenacity on both my students and i's account.
It also helps if you win a couple of national titles and competitions...
Anyway, I think the essays have the "final say" in terms of a decision of acceptance or denied admission...the essay is the only way for these admission officers to truly connect with the applicants on a personal level...so take your time on them, and make sure you write to the best of your abilities.[/ul]</p>

<p>So far, I have gotten into:</p>

<p>Santa Clara University
American University
University of Chicago
USC
Boston University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Rochester</p>

<p>Waiting on:</p>

<p>UPENN
Columbia
Tufts</p>

<p>***EDIT: Oh, I also forgot to mention my "political activism" as well as my position with the Obama '08 campaign. I'm a student organizer for the Obama campaign (they have flown me out to Iowa, California, and New Mexico) to campaign along side the senator and his sister. It's very interesting and I got to witness firsthand the dog-eat-dog world of politics. I think this scored a lot of points with most of my colleges. I am very aware of my surrounding world (in terms of politics, foreign policy and issues, etc), so I also described my experiences fighting as a lobbyist in my state senate as well as working alongside with the ACLU on certain lawsuits that I feel passionate about</p>

29

<p>Caucasian Male, Rochester Native, Somewhat Bookish</p>

<p>GPA 3.66/3.4 <-----Suck it, you 4.5 overachievers. Suck it.
7 AP's, 8 Honors
School doesn't rank, but I was in the top 15%
2300 SAT/ 34 ACT
Counselor Rec: Good
Teacher Rec: Best I've ever read...ALWAYS get your recs from English teachers
Essays: I wrote them in English. Fair enough?
Top 3 ECs: Democrat and Chronicle Editorial Board, bunch of volunteer stuff
Top 3 leadership positions: I dressed up as Quailman for Halloween. Does that count?
Major: Double Philosophy/Political Science</p>

<p>Extra comments/"hooks":I'm a single legacy, and my father works at the University, so I got a full ride. I don't know wether that had any negative or positive impact on my acceptance, but rumor has it it's harder to get in with a parent on staff.</p>

<p>Also,</p>

<p>Other universities you have been accepted at: Binghamton.</p>

<p>Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted? Yep.</p>

30

<p>White Male, Wayne County NY</p>

<p>GPA 98.44/100
Zero AP, Zero Honors (school's too small, too public to offer them :)</p>

<h1>1 out of 75</h1>

<p>2100 SAT (720M, 710CR, 670W)
Counselor Rec: No clue
Teacher Rec: I thought they were good
Essays: Once again, I thought they were good
Top 3 ECs: 4 years Vars. baseball, 3 years Vars. hoops, 3 time state champ for Science Olympiad
Top 3 leadership positions: Baseball Captain, Hoops Captain, Student Council President
Major: Mech. Engineering or Physics</p>

<p>Extra comments/"hooks": National Merit Finalist</p>

<p>Other universities you have been accepted at: Clarkson, RPI, Alfred U, waitlist at Cornell</p>

<p>Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted? Idk...havn't gotten a FA package yet.</p>

31

<p>@RCram22</p>

<p>were you just accepted today?</p>

32

<p>I know that this has nothing to do with the thread but does Rochester have any wi-fi or any ethernet connections in the dorms?</p>

33

<p>Yes. Both. Each bed has its own ethernet connection. Of course, some kids have complained about their reliability, but they're there.</p>

34

<p>mcguster, sorry</p>

<p>GPA 3.5467 weighted/3.45 unweighted</p>

<h1>AP/honors taken: 3 AP's, 3 Honors</h1>

<p>rank/%: 27.1%, 213/786
SAT/ACT:
1620 SAT, 710 Math, 470 Verbal
1390 SAT II, 710 Math2, 680 Chemistry
21 ACT
hs competitive/noncomp: competitive
counselor rec: very good
teacher rec: one was very good, one was alright
essays: spent a lot of time on
Top 3 ECs: Peer Counseling, Football, Track and Field
Top 3 leadership positions: Captains in two sports</p>

<p>Interesting how I got in, but the question is if I go there, will I be in over my head?</p>

35

<p>I guess I'll join the fun too...</p>

<p>GPA weighted/unweighted: 3.8 uw</p>

<h1>AP/honors taken: My school offers one AP (AP English), decided to not even take the AP exam for it. Took the hardest curriculum possible at school until senior year (went ED I).</h1>

<p>rank/%: 2/~150
SAT/ACT superscored/regular: 1340/1980, 32 tried not to obsess too much
hs competitive/noncomp.: Not competitive at all
counselor rec: Haha, I vented about my existential meltdowns to him almost weekly. As a result - golden recommendation.
teacher rec: Average
essays: Great
Top 3 ECs: Track, Science Club, Quiz Show
Top 3 leadership positions: Track Captain, Pres of Science Club/Olympiad, Church things</p>

<p>Extra comments/"hooks": My interview was straight-up gangster.
Other universities you have been accepted at: Went ED I
Do you plan on attending now that you're accepted? Yep, with a pretty comfortable FA package. ED I was a great thing, I've been keeping this year pretty chill. Not sure if it's the best way to prepare for college (especially U of R), but I've kept my sanity.</p>

<p>I'd be interested in talking with any other people that plan on attending. PM, or my AIM screenname (same as my name here).</p>

36

<p>hA my scores suck compared to you guys. whatever, i still got a merit scholarship. $$9,500 / year</p>

<p>GPA weighted/unweighted: 3.34 weighted</p>

<h1>AP/honors taken: 1 honors class, 5 APs (counting this year)</h1>

<p>rank/%: thank goodness my school doesn't rank, i'd be like bottom 20%
SAT/ACT superscored/regular: 2020
hs competitive/noncomp.: really competitive
counselor rec: perfect
teacher rec: perfect
essays: almost perfect
Top 3 ECs: Community Service, Art, Junior Statesmen of America
Top 3 leadership positions: i only had one haha. i chaired a fundraiser and raised about 7 grand</p>

<p>both of my parents are grads</p>