Harvard Class of 2021 SCEA Results Only Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
21

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):35C
SAT II: 760 physics, 790 french
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 99% (i’m Canadian lol)
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): physics (5), english lang (4), french (5), psych (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: chemistry, biology, functions, calc, french, english, world lit, religion (all AP)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): government of Canada history award, duke of ed (???)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): club volleyball (train with national team but NOT recruited athlete); model UN, blood drives, me to we, science fairs (won awards), courses at University of Toronto
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: blood drives
Summer Activities: SHAD, volleyball
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’m not gonna rate my own essays, that’s weird. I think they were authentic though and that’s what counts.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):History teacher-10! Loves me and read, really good;
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):Physics teacher: idk, but I think pretty good, I have a really good relationship with her
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): counsellor rec–10 (?) really great relationship
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): volleyball coach, 10/10
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): went really WELL! I think this is partly why I was accepted. Talked for 2+ hours; told me he was the best candidate he ever interviewed; said other people were dry and hard to talk to.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major:engineering
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Canada (The six represent!)
School Type:
Ethnicity: white
Gender: F
Income Bracket: middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none, not a recruited athlete

Reflections:
Strengths: being authentic, good scores are a dime a dozen; great interview
Weaknesses: being international, almost no one gets accepted from Toronto unless they are a recruited athlete.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any): go crimson! I’m gonna accept and go to Harvard. Not gonna apply anywhere else. Good luck to others!

22

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (760 R, 770 W, 740 M)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Lit-790 US History-770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Weighted GPA: 4.23
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~10/~650
AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Language (4), US History (5), Psych (5), Euro (5), American Gov (5), Biology (5), World History (self-studied, 4), Literature (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): -
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Chem, AP Lang, AP Comp Politics, AP Macro, AP Micro, Drama as Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): TASP, National Merit Semifinalist, several international MUN awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN (4 years, President, Youth Leadership Council in my city, chair of all of my regional conferences, three international first place distinctions), Mock Trial (4 years, 3 year senior team captain, several regional honors), Student Government (Student Body President of over 2400 students), TASP, The Ohio Political Youth Organization (Founder and CEO of statewide body meant to encourage youth involvement in politics), Top 25 Show Choir (section leader), National Honors Society
Job/Work Experience: ~
Volunteer/Community service: Founding Board Member of the Coach Kyle Elig Foundation that provides children with athletic opportunities
Summer Activities: TASP
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10, wrote it about Ben and Jerry’s, and it was the best essay I’ve ever written.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10, Known me for four years, called me the change he wishes to see in the world
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10, Known me for four years and called me a once-in-a-lifetime student
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10, said in her 28 years of counseling no student had ever impacted her so profoundly
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 7, from my Superintendent

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10, he started referring to me as Madame President halfway through the interview lol

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Who says no to this question? Honestly, I’m curious.
Intended Major: Double Concentration in Government and Philosophy
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant): US OF A
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 150,000-200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections: I am so glad this is over.
Strengths: ECs, definitely rec letters and interview
Weaknesses: GPA is a little low by Harvard standards, as are my test scores (I suck at math, oops)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: WHO KNOWS?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Only other school I applied to is Ohio State, and I got in there. I don’t intend on applying anywhere else.

General Comments (if any):
This has been the single greatest moment of my life. I am living testament to the fact that you DO NOT have to be perfect to get in. My best advice to future applicants: DO NOT TRY TO BE WELL ROUNDED OR WHAT HARVARD IS LOOKING FOR. Find what you love, pursue it with everything you have, and distinguish yourself that way. I am so excited to be Harvard 2021!

23

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2340 SS
ACT (breakdown):35 (23 Writing; low, I know.)
SAT II: 800 Chem, 800 Math 2, 770 USH, 800 Bio-M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/800
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: IB stuff
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Gold Key - Scholastic (personal essay published in National Best Teen Writing), National Spanish Exam - Gold (top 5 in state), regional math comp (3rd), Nominee (2x) of Governor’s Youth Innovator Award, couple o’ SciOly medals/ribbons --> Nationals qualifications

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): SciOly (captain), Debate (president), other shiz
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: tutoring shiz
Summer Activities: Harvard Summer School, lab internship
Essays (rating 1-10, details): HAHAHAHAH, check out my last thread – probably where my application fell apart. EC essay was 9/10, supplement invoked tears in adults I knew - 10/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 Math
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 English
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 15/10, she likes me
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Harvard professor, probably generic – 7/10
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): connected, he liked me :slight_smile: – 9/10

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type:
Ethnicity: Asian (lulz)
Gender: a bro
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections: don’t let your parents eff up your application, do research early in high school and get awards, i’m a jack of all trades, master of none… SCEA is just as much a crapshoot as RD – only for those who like the school and feel they can get in. A deferral = rejection.
Strengths:
Weaknesses: my essays, IMO, were good. but also IMO, my parents ruined them :frowning:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

Congrats to all accepted :slight_smile:

24

Decision: Deferred

My background is pretty special even for an international student. Take this with a grain of salt.

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1480 (770 Math+710 CR/W)

ACT (breakdown): N/A

SAT II: Bio M (780), Math 1 (750), Math 2 (720)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A (My school doesn’t calculate GPA but my transcript is crappy.)

Weighted GPA: N/A

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A

AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load: Not a senior, and did not have the liberty to choose my own courses as a senior.

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
-Taipei City Honor Student
-Taipei City Scouting Award
-Principal’s Graduate Award (a little like being valedictorian only it’s not limited to academics)
-High School Biology Competition First Prize (at our school, which has quite a few IBO gold medals)
-International Biology Olympiad Team Selection Top 5% (Didn’t make Team Taiwan :(( )

Taiwan’s College Entrance Exams: Scored within the top 0.05% in Chinese (all the test-takers are native Chinese speakers so…yeah) and English (second highest in the country actually). Top 2% overall in Chinese, English, Social Studies, Science, and Math combined.

CURRENTLY A FRESHMAN AT NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Venture Scout Troop (Club President and Senior Patrol Leader)
-Studyblr (Blogs about academics and the experience of living in Taiwan. Have around 10000 followers.)
-Translator (English/Chinese. I’ve published two books and they are still in print today)
-Academia Sinica’s Biology Program for Gifted High School Students (Three years in length and hosted by Taiwan’s top research institute. Very tough to get in/graduate. Had to attend weekend lectures, do a lab research internship, author your own academic paper, and present it in front of peers and professors twice to graduate)
-Mountaineering (Scaled 6 peaks above 10000 ft on three different expeditions)
-Miscellaneous (Learning French and Japanese, Triathlon, Drama…)

Job/Work Experience: Tutoring (did not mention in application)

Volunteer/Community service: Autism Awareness, LGBTQA and marriage equality (will update the AO on exciting recent developments!!! hmu if you want details!!!)

Summer Activities: See EC

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
-CA App Essay: 9/10 (I was very sincere talking about the single biggest passion of mine: Medicine. I love medicine, and aspire to become a research rheumatologist in the future. Not trying to sound pretentious, but I think I have a talent for this kind of thing, as I’ve been reading medical textbooks since fifth grade and in a few certain fields like rheumatology I probably know more than the average primary care physician does. In retrospect though it probably sounded more like a med school application essay than one targeted at colleges. And I also mentioned my gap year in which I did nothing other than working out, reading and studying for Taiwan’s college entrance exams. I would say trying to remove some of the focus from my obsession with medicine worked both ways. It was good that I spent some time talking about something unrelated to medicine, but at the same time it probably made me sound a bit…mundane and conforming to the “Asian stereotype”? I would greatly appreciate any feedback since I’m applying to a few schools in RD and could use the advice)
-Harvard Supplement: 7/10 (Listed some books I read and why I liked them. Tried to present myself through what I wrote by relating to some of my personal experiences. I personally wasn’t particularly impressed by what I wrote. Eh.)
-EC Essay: 8.5/10 ( I don’t know why it’s there in the first place, but I wrote about mountaineering and how once, by giving my jacket to a friend who had mountain sickness and by acting stupid at an altitude of nearly 13000 ft, I got hypothermic myself.)
-Additional Info: 8.5/10 (Aside from elaborating on some of my EC’s, I explained the circumstances behind my grades. I took full responsibility for what happened. I didn’t plan to apply to US universities and Taiwan’s college system relies almost solely of testing results for admissions. So I decided to do what I liked and study the subjects I liked. Unlike in the US, we aren’t free to choose our own courses in high school, which means I am forced to take classes I hate. I also got quite sick from lupus in high school.)
-Additional Note explaining the nature of my illness: 9/10 (After I sent out my common application, kind people on CC suggested that I send a note to the AO explaining my lupus as they felt it was relevant and that Harvard should know about it. I was initially reluctant to do so since I didn’t want to be seen as an excuse-seeker. Eventually I did send in a half note/half essay about what I went through, though I’m not sure if it was considered in time for my decision. It was, and still is, a very rough patch in my life, and I would like the committee to know about it.)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

-Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 (Lab PI. Acclaimed neuroscientist published in all the major journals and he really likes me. We spent a lot of time talking about all sorts of stuff even before I decided to apply to any schools. He thinks I am very unique, and he’s extremely supportive of my future plans in medicine and academia. He was the one to bring up writing my rec letters!)
-Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 (Biology teacher. Coached me for biology competitions. He’s a difficult teacher to please and most kids don’t like him because he’s strict and his classes are difficult. But he is the only teacher who’s challenged me in biology class, and he’s very eager to write me a rec letter. I read it. It’s awesome.)
-Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 (We don’t have GCs here in Taiwan. My counselor is actually my Chinese teacher who doubles as a homeroom teacher if that makes sense. She has always been extremely supportive of me and is the only recommender to be familiar with my familial circumstances. I am, in her words, one of the most unique students she has ever come across.)
-Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Nope. Thinking of getting another one.
-Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A. No interviewers where I am.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Hell yeah
Intended Major: Biological Sciences.
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): Taiwan!
School Type: Public elite (only top 1% scorers gain admission)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: AFAB, identifies as mostly masculine. I am also asexual.
Income Bracket: Middle class. Need full-need FA to attend.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I am overall a very weird applicant

Reflections:
Strengths: I’m a weird applicant? My essays and recs are good. I also have a few spikes and uncommon ECs.
Weaknesses: I can spell BAD with my grades so you get an idea of how bad it is.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Very good+Very bad=Deferred
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Applying RD to Yale, UPenn, Duke, and Amherst. Fingers crossed.

General Comments (if any): I am very surprised that I didn’t get a straight-out reject because of my grades. I also think that I would’ve had a decent chance if my grades were better. Currently I’m expecting a better SAT score, probably in the 1500’s, from the December SAT that would hopefully bump up my chances next round. I’m also planning to polish some parts of my application. My fingers are crossed for RD!

25

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500 (730 E, 770M), 2170 (660,750,670) didn’t send either of these
ACT (breakdown): 35 (34,35,35,35,29)
SAT II: 750 Math 2, 750 Spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Weighted GPA: 5.14
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 22/861
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 - English, Psychology, Statistics, Spanish, Human Geography. 4 - World History. 3 - US History
IB (place score in parenthesis):

Senior Year Course Load: Band, AP Microeconomics, AP Chemistry, AP Englsih, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, Government

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, Scholarship with National Geographic Student Expeditions (1/20 nationwide), AP Scholar with Distinction, Texas Leadership Salute Finalist, Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Scholarship

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Marching Band (Woodwind Captain, Principal Clarinet, Clarinet Section Leader, Squad Leader)
Jazz Band (Lead Saxophone)
Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra (Principal Clarinet)
Photography Club (President)
Korean American Youth Leadership Program
Church Youth Group (Class Representative)
NHS, EHS, Spanish NHS, Science NHS, Mu Alpha Theta
Student Council

Job/Work Experience: Started my own photography/filmmaking business, bakery cashier

Volunteer/Community service: Built a PSAT curriculum for 9th/10th graders and taught tutoring classes at church on Saturday for 3hr/week. Volunteered at middle school clarinet camp. Organized events at local senior center for band ensembles to play.

Summer Activities: travelled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands on a full scholarship with NatGeo ($10,000 value), road tripped to Grand Tetons, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains, volunteered at clarinet camps, PSAT tutor at church

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8, unique perspective on photography and how that allowed me to view life through a different lens

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 7/10, close Precal Gifted and Talented teacher, said best class she’s taught
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, English teacher who really cares about his students and best teacher I’ve had
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, got close this past year and got on her good side
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 7/10, National Geographic Student Expeditions Leader and teacher at New York Film Academy, said I was one of the best students he’s seen on one of those trips and we really clicked throughout the three weeks together
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 6/10, over the phone, threw me off with unexpected questions, didn’t have similar interests

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Definitely
Intended Major: International Relations (Social Sciences)
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public (4000 total)
Ethnicity: Korean
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <75,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections: Not a big surprise, was hoping for the best but expected the worst. It’s Harvard so I knew the chances were slim when I started and at least I get a second chance.
Strengths: Unique photography angle, National Geographic Scholarship
Weaknesses: Interview, Asian Male
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Asian, it’s really a crapshoot with schools like this.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Applying to Stanford, Columbia, Penn, Berkeley, Northwestern, USC, Vandy, UT Austin

General Comments (if any): Don’t waste too much time lurking on CC, it’s mentally unhealthy and damages your self-confidence. Each applicant is unique and brings something different and “comparison is the thief of all joy” so only focus on putting forth your best application without worrying about other people who have big national awards, valedictorian, all-world cellist, started their own non profit organization, and took classes at Harvard in middle school.

26

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 770 Reading 710 Math
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 780 Bio M, 760 Chem, 770 Japanese, 760 French
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem, Japanese, Spanish Lit, Lang, World, Psychology, Government, Art History, Spanish - All 5s
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Stat, AP Lit, AP Human Geo, AP Bio
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN, Japanese class on Saturdays, Kyougi Karuta every once in a while, Track and Field, National Honor Society, Hispanic Heritage Club, Hispanic leadership program sophomore year
Job/Work Experience: Interned at a neuroscience lab for two summers and volunteered throughout the school year. I submitted the poster that I presented at the lab.
Volunteer/Community service: Nursing home
Summer Activities: Neuroscience internship and self study Japanese
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 talked about my experience immigrating to America when I was 10
Supplement was about my experience in a meeting for LGBT researchers at NIH (I’m gay)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10 He was really
impressed with my personal background
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10 from lab mentor and Japanese teacher
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9 It was fun and it felt like a conversation

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: neurobiology
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, magnet
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Poor
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
URM
Reflections:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):
Pursue your passions and do not worry too much about getting perfect scores! Once you meet their benchmarks for scores just focus on doing what you like!

27

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1460
ACT (breakdown): 30 (didn’t send)
SAT II: Pretty bad Literature 620; Math 1 670; Math 2 660 (felt awful/wiped out taking the tests and I never do well on anything if I’m mentally not focused)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Weighted GPA: 4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 19/131
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Language & Comp, APUSH, Art History; 4 on WHAP, 1 on Physics
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Macro, Government, Environmental Sci, Stats, Literature & Comp (I take half days at school to work on my internships)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastics two time Regional Gold, art and writing has been featured in many magazines and museums, Glazner and Sierra Nevada Writing Contest Finalist, Commended National Merit, AP Scholar with Honors, TEDx speaker this past April,

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): writing art writing art writing art that’s been featured in several magazines and museums/won awards, Asian American Association Community Coordinator, head of fundraising for my school (one fundraiser made $7000 in one night), founded my own art collective in Houston that won a $1000 grant, research project about coming-of-age in marginalized identities, National Honor Society, editorial team of Winter Tangerine Magazine and Fissure Magazine, a bunch of internships I do at the same time.
Job/Work Experience: Houston Museum of Natural Science (paying); internships at Winter Tangerine Mag, Scott Schofield, BLUEorange Contemporary Arts Gallery, will be pursuing two more internships at Houston Center of Photography and Menil Museum
Volunteer/Community service: Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, school events
Summer Activities: 200ish hours at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital last summer, studied Art History at Rice this past summer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CommonApp (10): talked about my identity, overcoming adversities in family, identity, and community. Writing Supplement (9, maybe even a 10): talked about how this one sculpture literally changed my life and continues to do so by inspiring me to pursue art history at a collegiate level and eventually enter arts management/curation/maybe even conservation at a professional level
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 7? I don’t know since I’m not allowed to read them.

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): Probably a 7 or 8. Didn’t read but the teacher correlates with major I want to pursue (art history). He’s a quiet kind of guy and never showed clear favoritism but he laughed at my jokes, sponsored an essay I submitted to the Atlantic, etc.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8? Didn’t read, but she was my research teacher who was most familiar with the research project I did junior year. She was impressed with the exposure and popularity my product had, the grant it received, and always gave me straight A’s.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8 or 9. I was probably one of the first students he got to know his first year working at my school since I was frequently in his office to talk about majors, schools, grades, etc. He always told me that just because I stopped by often, whether it was talking about the future or asking for some recommendation to be sent to a scholarship, he could tell I was clearly hardworking.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8. My interviewer and I both were first generation college students applying to Harvard, grew up in Houston, interested in business, had similar viewpoints on tons of things. With just one or two questions in, she told me that she could tell that in the long run, making a positive impact on the world was what I most wanted to do (I mean we all do, but it’s nice hearing that someone can tell you want to change the world as cheesy as that sounds)

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Art history
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 85K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen, LGBTQIA+ (if that counts?)

Reflections:
Strengths: ESSAYS definitely! I’m a writer first and foremost so that really pulled through with essays. Also I have tons of extracurriculars and awards related to art and I think my passion for the arts was well united throughout my application overall though I honestly wish there were more than ten spaces and/or more space to write about each activity. I had to water down/exclude a lot of things. Sent in a portfolio of my best works.
Weaknesses: Grades/rank obviously. Sent in my SAT II scores by total mistake. In my defense, my high school just implements AP courses into everything and makes all the curriculums 10x harder just to be the top high school in Texas and USA so I hope they consider that? In the junior class of my school you could have a 4.2 and be in the bottom 50% like yikes!
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Scores being pretty subpar were probably a major factor but honestly, no one knows what Harvard admissions are thinking about except for Harvard admissions.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected by UT Austin’s Business Honors, but waiting to hear back from Plan II Honors. Waiting for/will be applying to Fordham, UMich, USC, UPenn, Columbia, Stanford. Still on the fence about whether or not I want to finish applying to Barnard, Cornell, and American University.

General Comments (if any): I was expecting a flat out rejection, but I’m glad I can make Deferral standards by Harvard. There’s a lot of deferrals though? Was all or most of everyone just deferred?

28

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1590 (New only) CR: 790, M: 800 Essay: 8,7,8 (23)
ACT (breakdown): C:36, E: 36, M:36, R: 35, S: 36 Essay: 29
SAT II: Chem: 800, Math II: 800, Bio M: 800

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87 (I’m calculating based on A/A+ 4, A- 3.7, B 3, got one B during first semester otherwise all A+, A, or A-, out A- cutoff is 94%)
Weighted GPA:4.811 (the highest ever recorded for our school)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Doesn’t rank, but ^^^ so 1/706

AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5), Chem (5), BC Calc(5 - including AB subscore), Macro (5), Micro (5), English Lang (5), Physics 1 (5), US Gov (5), Music Theory (5 - both subscores), World History (4)
Self studied Stats (5), Chinese (5)

Senior Year Course Load: Dual Enrolment Multivariable Calc (1st semester) Linear Algebra (2nd), AP English Lit, AP Physics C (both Mech and E/M), APUSH, AP Compsci, Honors Latin 3/4

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): IDK what counts as major so…

  • USNCO (chem) Honors - top 150
  • AP Micro perfect score (all 90 points)
  • AIME qualifier (never USAMO though)
  • National Merit Semi (didn’t report, I let my SAT and ACT speak about my testing)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Figure Skating (since 3rd grade)
    • 4 Time national competitor (top 12, highest placement was 7)
    • 26+ hrs/wk of training and travel
  • Book Blogging (Barnes & Noble Teen blog member)
    • I read/audiobook/write reviews for at least 15 hours a week

Job/Work Experience:None - my activities take up too much time…

Volunteer/Community service: I only have about 250 total

  • Our school’s peer tutoring center (Peer Tutor Leader)
    • Tutors and Leaders chosen by application and interview
    • 100 hours a year

Summer Activities: Skating and reading, that’s all

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Your own writing will always sound boring to you, so really get others to read it for you! I’m not going to rate either, b/c I’m biased both positively and negatively. But I think they were real and captured my voice and passions so…

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 - teacher of 20+ years told me in November that he said I was one of his top 10 students ever. Have had him for all 4 years of high school and is always telling me that I’m one of the few students with aptitude for the subject he teaches. Also, he’s a really good writer (won a publishing award during my freshman year) so I have no qualms about the quality of this letter.

Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): Probably 10/10. AP Chem (Junior), I was by far her favorite and best student. I did science competitions with a group she sponsored, and was the only person from our school to make it to USNCO. Plus I want to concentrate in some sort of chem, and she knows that. Still keep in touch this year (we chat literally every day) and planning on doing chem oly again.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): IDK? I mean she really likes me, but she’s just a really good counselor in general so I’m sure she’s nice to everyone (She probably has like 80 seniors this year). I do go talk w/her often so this letter certainly didn’t hurt me.

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Not bad, I got all of my points across I think, and I definitely did not come across as scripted, but we didn’t really connect too strongly…

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemistry (or MCB or Chemical & Physical Biology) and/or Classics
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Super large public (graduating class of 700+)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Uh, I filled the FAFSA a long time ago
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflections:
Strengths: Skating (especially for a guy), grades and scores, recommendations
Weaknesses: Well, I’m an Asian guy.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See strengths, and we have no sports recruits from our school this year (2 last year which meant no one else got in)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waiting on a couple publics (money may become a factor), Case Western PPSP, still going to apply HPME (NU) and Universty Scholars (Wash U)

General Comments (if any): AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

But no seriously, I’m super hyped. I’m rooting for everyone who got defered (since it seems like everyone was).

To prospective applicants, I know you’ve probably heard this already 100000 times, but seriously just be yourself. Write your essays on things you are passionate about and let that love come through (no need to brag with accomplishments in the essays IMO). If you’re interested in a school, seriously do research on it. I spent like 10 minutes here and there just randomly thinking of a question about Harvard and then googling it and seeing what came up. Also, seriously start on essays early b/c first semester will FLY by, and I know that me telling you this won’t change a thing XD. But do try to get started on things early?

29

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (800 M/ 760 W/ 710 R)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math 2 (800)/ Bio M (800)/ Physics (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Weighted GPA: 4.0/4.0…I know this may seem weird, but my school does not offer UW GPA and doesn’t have AP’s.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/113
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (5) / Physics 1 (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Advanced Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, Sociology, English Lit, Arabic, Islamic Studies, Art. + Self-studying for AP Physics 2, Calculus BC, CS A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
–Students’ Union (Head of Academics Committee); Got 2 AP courses running unofficially in my school this year
–Swimming
–MUN Club (Head)

Job/Work Experience: N/A

Volunteer/Community service:
–Translator for Khan Academy
–Free tutor for AP Calculus at my school (I got my physics teacher to volunteer for AP Physics, but it was a little bit hard for math, so I got the approval of the head of the mathematics department and volunteered)

Summer Activities:
–Self-Studied some advanced mathematics (Multivariable & Vector Calc)
–Volunteered for a charity organization (It lasted for 2 weeks, so I don’t think it added anything to my app)

Essays (rating 1-10, details): ~10. I wrote one about my love of physics and how it affected me and even changed some of my beliefs, made me more tolerant. The other was about swimming.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10. It was by the bio teacher. It is like 2 full pages long. He lead me to explore science on the internet, which affected me greatly. Our relationship was amazing.

Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10. My math teacher. He focused mainly on my academic caliber and genuine interest and curiosity for learning.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): ~6. He doesn’t know me well, so it was basically just a validation of my achievements.

Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9. It went really good.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Physics. Maybe Mathematics?
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): Egypt (But applying from Saudi Arabia)
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Middle East
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~ $120K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflections:
Strengths: Mainly academics. Besides my test scores, I demonstrated a genuine interest in physics; I self-studied for 2 AP exams last year to make up for the weak curriculum in my school, and I took lots of physics and mathematics courses on EdX. My essay served to corroborate on my interest and to reflect upon how it changed me. I also did lots of things to change the educational environment in my school.

Weaknesses: EC’s and awards. But I do believe that they assessed me in terms of where I come from, and I suspect this should excuse me from this.

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Now I am applying RD to many places I didn’t determine yet. But probably Princeton, MIT, Caltech, Yale, Amherest, Rice, and some others.

General Comments (if any): Focus your application on building your story. No matter how strong EC’s you have and amazign scores you get, what will matter the most for them is compiling through essays and rec letters everything you do into a uniques and interesting story. If you have any of the qualities they like (intellectual curiosity, braveness, etc…) try to show it rather than explicitly mention it in your essays.

I am very disappointed. I really worked hard to build my application as a story, to bring the numbers and achievements into a real person. I have no idea why they rejected me, maybe I am just not good enough for HARVARD at the end.

30

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2280 (800 CR, 770 W, 710 M)
ACT (breakdown): did not submit, 34 (34 M, 35 R, 33 S, 31 ELA, 24 Writing)
SAT II: 730 M2, 730 Physics, 780 French with Listening
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.80
Weighted GPA: 4.31
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Comp Sci (4), US History (4), French (5), Stat (4), AB Calc (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Biology, Shakespeare, Honors Math Modeling, Novice Spanish, Social Science
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, Silver Key Award for Drawing (Scholastic Art and Writing Competition), Department Award for Fine Arts, Department Award for Photography

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity High School Tennis (captain)(4 years)(Coach’s Award)
Varsity High School Ski Team(4 years)
Cross Country (1 year lol)
Wachusett Mountain Race Team (4 years)(Most Improved Award)(Tristates top 20 GS)
Key Club (2 years)

Job/Work Experience: Certified Ski Instructor, Counselor in Training at local camp, babysitting.
Volunteer/Community service: through Key Club, also 40 hours at local camp, some random other community service.
Summer Activities: NSA All Girls All Math Camp at University of Lincoln, Nebraska
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app essay: 8 ish, about keeping a positive attitude and pushing forward through all the times I’ve had to move houses and schools. I thought it was very genuine and representative of me, idk. Supplemental activity: 7.5 ish, about ski team and how it’s helped me discover a family away from school/home, maybe a bit cheesy though. optional supplement: 6 ish? it was a book list, about 50 ish books I’ve read over the course of the year. I feel like if I’d had time to write a proper solid essay it would’ve been better…
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): US History teacher, 8 ish. My favorite class, I tried to participate and did well.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): math teacher, 7 or 8, she didn’t know me very well but I was a good student.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8 or 9, I talked to her a lot over the years and she was really nice.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8? The guy was convinced I’d be working at the NSA in 10 years…a little all over the place though, my interests weren’t focused enough.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Comp Sci
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, small
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: lower middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections: Deferred, as expected. Lots of competition out there. Glad I didn’t get rejected! There are a lot of things applications don’t reflect, however. If you’re reading this, remember not to get too hooked up on cc, numbers never tell the whole story. I speak 3 languages and have lived in a lot of places, I like to paint and spend time with my family. In the end, I really wouldn’t give up my family vacations and time spent relaxing to work harder, get internships and get into Harvard. To each his own, I tried enough in school to be satisfied with myself.

Strengths: ECs, I’d like to think my sports accomplishments and art accomplishments count for something in the long run. SAT was pretty good.

Weaknesses: SAT subject test scores were low, M2 730 is low. GPA was low.

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Not even half surprised, expected a deferral or rejection. I’m just not a strong enough applicant to compete against these super students with 4.7s and legacy and research stuff.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Deferred until Jan from McGill.

General Comments (if any):

Look, guys, there are a lot of really smart people out there who really applied themselves in school and in other stuff. Your decision never defines you. If you’ve applied to Harvard, chances are you’re a very intelligent and interesting individual. Your application isn’t going to show your entire life story and personality, and wherever you end up, you are the only one who defines your success.

31

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
ACT: 34 (33 English, 34 Math, 33 Reading, 34 Science, 36 Writing)
SAT II: US History: 690
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.3
Rank: Top 10%, 17/258
AP: Psychology (4) World History (3) English Lang (4) US History (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish 4, AP Calculus AB, AP Lit, Leadership, AP Government Politics, AP Environmental Studies
Awards: AP Scholar with Honor, Political Opinion essay published in Washington Times, recognized by national NHS chapter for accrediting a local chapter.

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Eagle Scout
  • Class President
  • Student Body (ASB) President
  • Student Body (ASB) Vice President
  • School School Site Council (SSC) President
  • President of 3 clubs and Founder of 2 (National Honor Society & Youth Democrats)
  • American Legion “Boy’s State” Congressional Delegate
  • YMCA Youth in Government
  • All-county & all-state debate team champions; speech & debate team captain
  • Rotary Leadership Council Alumni with honors in Community Outreach
  • HOBY World Leadership Alumni & Counselor
  • Varsity golf, varsity basketball

Job/Work Experience:

  • Intern at Congresswoman’s office
  • Manage Intern Department at my City Hall
  • Work at San Francisco HQ of the FBI in community development department

Volunteer/Community Service:

  • 700+ Hours of community service through working with Sheriff’s department on community development

Summer Activities:

  • Summer 2015 - Classes at local community college (PoliSci 210), work at Capital Building with Congress
  • Summer 2016 - Classes at local community college (PoliSci 310), Boys State, 2 week Harvard Pre-College Program (Intro to American Law)

Essays:

  • About impact made at Congresswoman’s office through a reflective story of working with her at The Capital in DC.

Teacher Recommendations:

  • Used my History & Math teachers. Have had both for 2 years, and both let me participate in the writing process for the letter.

Counselor Rec:

  • God mother, counselor since 6th grade, peer, it was a hands down 10/10 and nearly brought me to tears

Additional Rec:

  • An evaluation by the Harvard Professor who taught me over the summer (very well-written evaluation letter) and my Congresswoman that I work closely with.

Other:

My application definitely stresses my passion for government, what i have learned through it, and what I plan to do with it.

Financial Aid: Yes
Projected Concentration: Political Science
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+

32

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (770CR, 740 Math, 800Writing)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.90
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chinese (4) Calc BC (5; AB subscore 5) Physics C Mechanics (5) Physics C E&M (4) Biology (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Journalism, AP Chemistry, AP Macroeconomics, AP Psychology, Multivariable Calc, World Literature, Senior Research Seminar
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NFPW 2nd place regionally (category: features) (obscure journalism award LOL)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • DECA chapter co-founder and co-president (9-12; founded chapter in 10th grade after transferring to new school, long story)
  • School Newspaper (11/12, Managing editor and profiles editor), Boy Scout (since age 10, Eagle Scout award pending)
  • Wilderness/hiking club (11/12)
  • Key club (10/11, Vice President)

Job/Work Experience:

  • Interned at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (summer 2014, 2015). Humorously enough, this “internship” didn’t really involve much hands-on economics learning — a bunch of important Chinese diplomats and entrepreneurs came to visit Stanford and I showed them around.
  • Did a field internship (summer 2015) at a local microfinance nonprofit that landed me in Uganda for a couple weeks. Met some cool people and learned about microfinance and impact investing.

Volunteer/Community service:

  • Made a dope rock garden for local buddhist temple as part of my Eagle Scout project
  • 50ish hours from being a counselor at summer journalism camp
  • 10ish hours from Boy Scouts and Key Club combined

Summer Activities:

  • Stanford Pre-Collegiate Institute (formerly EPGY) (Summer 2013 – physics, summer 2014 - business and entrepreneurship)
  • Yale Young Global Scholars program in Politics, Law and Economics (2015)
  • Leadership in the Business World @ Wharton (2016)

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
-CommonApp - 9/10 - Ran with “reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea prompt,” (apparently only 4% of CommonApp applicants use this prompt???) told the story of how I wrote an investigative article about a little-known California law that is supposed to curb teen suicide rates but has been statistically shown to worsen the condition of hospitalized teens (CA law section 5150 if you want to look it up). Got stories from formerly suicidal teens and accidentally entered a locked, high-clearance psych ward (oops). Story was a vehicle to demonstrate good character, make me look like a hero, etc etc. Possibly too edgy/dark.

-H supplement - 6/10 - Well-written but sort of boring in retrospect. Story of me taking the initiative to learn Mandarin Chinese on my own (aka my parents made me) and eventually going to Taiwan to do a homestay on my own with a local family. It was a decently thoughtful reflection on culture shock, language barriers, etc.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): Haven’t read; assuming close to 10/10. English teacher I had soph/jun year and she liked me a lot. I wrote some decent essays under her guidance and came in once a month or so to just chat. After her student and my friend died, we kinda bonded in a weird way.

Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): Haven’t read; assuming 7/10. AP Bio teacher I had jun year and I could never tell if she liked me until the end of the year when she told me she appreciated my jokes and contributions to class. I’m not going to major in anything remotely bio-related, but my math and physics teachers junior year weren’t my biggest fans.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Haven’t read, assuming 8-9 (how good can a counselor rec really be? serious question) My school has a teacher advisor system where teachers who opt in serve as “counselors” for a group of 25ish students from 10-12 grade (so one overworked school counselor isn’t writing recs for 470 kids). My teacher advisor (counselor) taught me math sophomore year and I always came to her for life and math advice, so she knew me pretty well. Also she runs the research program I am participating in.

Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):

(7/10) Interviewed with local guy who actually had 3 kids graduate from my HS. Bigshot pharmaceutical CEO but very humble. We really didn’t have much in common, but he seemed interested in my weird journalism stories (journalism has taken me into a lot of odd places) and we talked comfortably for a good hour. Also talked about mental health and improving it on Harvard campus. Good interview I guess considering I almost scraped the side of his car while parking in a rush :o))))

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: applied math (concentration is a pretentious way of saying major IMO. so harvard.)
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public (470 in my class)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Rich white male!

Reflections:

  • My application was kind of all over the place; journalism experience and interest was a half-assed “spike” if I had to pick one and didn’t really parallel my intended major (applied math) at all
  • My dad pressured me into EAing Harvard even though I definitely would fit in more somewhere like Stanford or Dartmouth (more relaxed, down-to-earth?). That said, I visited Harvard twice and liked it a lot both times.

Strengths:

  • Recs — some adults actually like me and I think the three that wrote recs thought highly of me as a person
  • Cool/edgy commonapp essay
  • Only white kid applying REA from my very asian school

Weaknesses:

  • Application didn’t have a real “spike”; not enough demonstrated interest by ECs in my intended ~concentration~ (Applied math)
  • Essays didn’t relate to Harvard AT ALL (I didn’t even mention Harvard, idk why)
    Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: see weaknesses
    Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Eagerly awaiting to hear back from UCs and other Ivies!

General Comments (if any):

  • My school is top 15 in CA and all 5 who applied REA to Harvard got deferred.
  • Harvard deferred me on my frickin birthday, which is pretty uncool
  • Get a college counselor if you can afford one because (1. your tiger parents will respect their judgment and listen to them and not make you EA harvard and 2. your essays will be less sloppy)
  • If you can't afford a college counselor, get your english teacher to edit your essays (I was too shy/busy/incompetent to do this, but it's free!)
  • Don't take the process too seriously! This is almost a platitude, but the college you go to does not define you. Have faith in an internal locus of control in your life (thanks AP psych) and recognize that you can learn, grow, and be happy anywhere you go.
  • Let your personal voice out in your essays. Run as far away as possible from what you think will "please" Harvard/other schools. Write about yourself as authentically as possible. Show it to your best friend and ask "Does this sound like me?" If it doesn't, revise.
  • I really don't expect to get accepted RD but I am ok with this. Good luck to you, persistent reader who managed to get to the bottom of this post!
33

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (800 R, 800 W, 770 M)
ACT (breakdown): Not taken
SAT II: 800 Math II, Biology M, Chemistry, Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9/4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 on Lang, Bio, Physics C Mechanics, Chemistry, European History, US History, World History, Calc BC, Stat; 4 on Micro, Physics 1 and Physics C E and M
IB (place score in parenthesis): Not taken
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 2, Literature, US Gov, Comp Gov, Macro, Environmental, Psych, Comp Sci
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Two time USABO Semifinalist, USNCO Finalist, Special award at regional affiliate of ISEF, National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Captain of Science Olympiad, Vice President of Mathletes
Job/Work Experience: None available
Volunteer/Community service: Three hours per week at hospital
Summer Activities: 2 MOOC classes from EdX, research for 50 hours a week at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10/10

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, Physics teacher who wrote me multiple recommendations previously and asked me to join him with multiple competitions
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 Teacher who told me I was one of her favorite students of all time
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 My counselor and I are on good terms, however, she is slightly unexperienced, but extremely well-intentioned.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Both 10/10, one of my mentors used to work at Harvard
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, my interviewer and I enjoyed a discussion about literature after and she complimented me for being articulate.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biology/Econ
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): na
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100,000-150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflections:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

34

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1570/1600C, 20W
ACT (breakdown): 36C (35E, 36M, 36R, 36S, 8W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Bio, 790 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Chemistry, Biology, Physics C, Calc BC, English Lang, US History, US Gov, Statistics, Computer Science
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Math HL (6)
Senior Year Course Load: Honors Engineering curriculum (Computer Science) at state university: Calculus III, Linear Algebra, Fundamentals of Engineering/Programming, Software Components, Nanotechnology research, Microeconomics, Biostatistics research, etc.

Choosing not to list extracurriculars in fear of listing identifying information.
I invested almost all of my time to serving one nonprofit high school student organization (appx. 25 hr/wk) and holding a part-time internship under an epidemiologist.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): ?
Took a major risk and wrote about a personal incident of running from an active shooter in a shopping mall, and how that further emphasized my passion for understanding applied math/statistics for public health. The essay was written somewhat poetically, and I feared that if it didn’t resonate, it may come across as inauthentic.

Extracurricular Essay: 10
If you are passionate about what you devote your time to, this essay should be the easy essay. I copied and pasted from already existing pitches I made to publicize the organization.

Supplemental Essay: ?
As a creative writer at heart, instead of writing a cohesive essay with an obvious theme, instead I strung together multiple moments in my life when I realized something important about who I was, and who I wanted to become. The underlying theme of all of the stories was that I am most inspired to work harder/learn more/improve myself when I realize the vastness of what is left to be discovered, particularly in public health fields where a flaw or failure to focus attention on or research health disparities/crises will lead to death. Although multiple people who read the essay told me that they struggled to understand the cohesive theme, the essay illustrated my empathy and genuine desire to improve myself.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9, he didn’t write it until the day it was due (eek) but he asked me for advice on what to write, and I believe he took it.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8? My counselor and I are good friends, but I go to a large public school, where we are never given opportunities to truly form a personal relationship with our counselors.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10. Teacher who directly worked with me and supervised me in my extracurriculars, and saw the passion that I held for my vision. He also had numbers to articulate the impact I had on the organization, and on his students.
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10. Hands down, one of the best conversations I have ever had. I was nervous before because I have always been a poor interviewer, but I entered with the mindset that I just wanted to learn as much about my interviewer & his experience as possible. We talked about everything from economic theory to political theory to book recommendations to my interviewer’s personal life.

Intended Major: Computer Science/Public Health
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: White/Asian
Gender: F
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflections: I’m honestly still in shock as to why or how I was accepted. I was completely emotionally uninvested throughout the application process, and never did anything in high school solely because it would look good on a college application. My acceptance truly is indicative of the importance of essays, letters, and interviews.
Strengths: Letters of rec, unique essays, interview, did a lot for EC’s (even if not nationally recognized/didn’t win awards), no slips in academic record
Weaknesses: No “hook”, no national positions/awards/prizes, no scientific research/published papers, low writing scores
Why you think you were accepted: Throughout the entirety of the process, I was completely honest. In my essays and in my interview, I didn’t just talk about myself. I talked about what I wanted to do, and why I wanted to do it, and how I would be able to do it, even though I acknowledged that it was likely I would not always succeed. My letters reinforced my authenticity and genuine desire to serve others.
Was also accepted to several state schools, and am currently going through the interview process for competitive merit scholarships.

General Comments (if any):
Through it all, be yourself. Simultaneously voice your passion and reinforce your authenticity. Be modest, and understand that you don’t have everything figured out. You are a student. You want to go to college to learn. Stress that you are excited to change your mind and gain new perspectives.

To any future applicants seeking guidance on extracurriculars/this process: Although I can’t make any promises, as the admissions process is incredibly subjective/random to a tee, you don’t have to have your name on 4 research papers, be a musical prodigy, or cure cancer at the age of 15. Just work hard for what you love, and your passion will shine through.

If you are in a place where you cannot yet pursue what you love, as you have other obligations/responsibilities to support your family, I admire you so much. Admissions will understand.

If you are lucky enough to be in a position where your parents and family will support you in whatever you choose to pursue, as I was, you should explore not only the extracurriculars that you are “expected” to participate in, but also explore academic fields, majors, and careers of interest. If you find that you have no true interest in any of your extracurricular activities and that you are only doing them to place them on your college application, quit them. Research. Read. Find what makes you tick, and pursue that.

35

DEFERRED

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):30 (28 math/reading, 34 science, 33 STEM)
SAT II: 730 Math, 740 Chem.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
Weighted GPA: 6.429
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/296
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics-(5), Lang., APUSH, Chemistry, Calc. AB, Microeconomics-(4), Music Theory, Biology (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Lit., AP Psych, AP Human Geo, AP Macro., Honors Anatomy, Honors Wind Ensemble
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 5 Honors societies (President of 2), Associate Director of Honors Wind Ensemble, All County/Region/ State Hornist, Marching Band (Officer/section leader), Peer Leader, Chemistry Olympiads (first and second-molecular molecule)
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: 3 years volunteer at local hospital, mentoring young aspiring Hornists through district’s music program
Summer Activities: E2@MIT, Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra, Army Outreach STEM program at NJIT, NJ Girl’s state
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I’m not sure; I didn’t see them. One was my biology teacher, and hers got me into E2@MIT and UPENN’S PEEP fly-in program, so it must be good. The other is my 9th grade English teacher, who I’ve served 2 years as President of the Honors English Society under.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8…I’m guessing, he doesn’t know me well.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10, my Professor who I studied Genetic Engineering under at MIT.
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9, It was really phenomenal.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Black/White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 100-120k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Gen., female going into research science

Reflections:
Strengths: Class rank/gpa combined with high achievement level on my instrument. Acceptance into highly competitive summer programs.
Weaknesses: Test scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Test scores
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UMN College of Sciences, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

General Comments (if any):
I have retake act, which I am pretty sure I improved upon. I will submit that as well as a music supplement, which i hadn’t included, and move on.

36

.

37

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300 superscore; 800 math, 790 writing, 710 reading
ACT (breakdown): did not take
SAT II: math ii 800, literature 690
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79
Weighted GPA: 4.1
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): apgov(3), apstats(3) - did not send though
IB (place score in parenthesis): did not take
Senior Year Course Load: AP U.S. Government, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP Computer Science, AP Calculus BC, Honors English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Excellence in English, Excellence in Math, Excellence in Spanish

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team (Regular, got Top Score last year for juniors), Drama Club (Treasurer), Book Club (co-founder, co-president for the past 3 years), an all-female a capella group (I make arrangements), National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: teach math at Russian School of Mathematics
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at the public library
Summer Activities: helped mom with her thesis because I have the best English in my family
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 (I’m pretty confident about them, but I did have to write both on the last day so I’m not exactly sure about the quality)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): ~9 (the details are below)

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10 (she loves me)
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10 (he called it “top notch” and I trust him that it is)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8 (we got a new guidance counselor this year who doesn’t know me as well, but I like her a lot)
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): none
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9 (I had a very nice time with my interviewer but I think I tend to overwhelm people with my excitement over things, so I don’t know if that was a positive thing for her or not)

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yup!
Intended Major: mathematics (but did indicate that it might change)
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: $50,000-$60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): (idk if it counts but) immigrant from Kyrgyzstan (it’s a pretty obscure Asian country, idk if obscurity counts as a hook)

Reflections:
Strengths: SAT, essay, recs, academic rigor,
Weaknesses: I’d say my gpa is lower than that of some of the people posting here, but it is in their range
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: probably didn’t have something special that would push me over the edge
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to my safeties (umass boston and umass amherst). other than harvard, applying to brown, mit, stanford, columbia, yale, bu, nyu, neu, brandeis.

General Comments (if any): i didn’t have any expectations going into it. the three other people who applied from my grade are much more involved with volunteering, internships, and etc, and we all were deferred. going to wait for march 30th all together.

38

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 36
SAT II (subject, score): Latin 800, Math II 710, Chemistry 690, Physics 800, German 800, Korean 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): 5’s on Physics 1, Physics C, Calculus AB, Chemistry, Latin, German, USH, Human Geo, Lang, Statistics, Computer Science. 4 on Biology.
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, Post AP Chem, AP Micro, Linear, Post AP Comp Sci, Experimental Engineering
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics (Captain), Hackathon (Founder, chair), Programming Club (President), Varsity Fencing (Captain), Varsity Soccer, Varsity Swimming, Key Club (President), Red Cross (President), Girls Who Code (Vice President), National Honor Society, Math Club (Vice President)
Job/Work Experience: Museum tour guide (4 years)
Volunteer/Community Service: None
Summer Experience: Girls Who Code, worked at various code schools

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 Wrote about what it is like to grow up without parents
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I’m not sure. I didn’t see them. One was from my German/Latin teacher who I had for four years. The other one was from my Chemistry/Physics teacher who I had for three years.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): None

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Electrical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <$14,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflections:
Strengths: ACT, academic rigor, ECs
Weaknesses: low GPA
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

39

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2280 Superscore (800 M, 710 CR, 770 W)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 790 World History, 800 Math II, 740 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School doesn’t do unweighted
Weighted GPA: School does on 100 point scale. --> 102.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics 1 (4) World History (5) Euro History (5) Calc AB (5) Biology (5) English Language (5) U.S. History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Psych, AP Environmental Science, AP Calc BC, SUPA Economics, SUPA WRT 105, Honors Government
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge finalist, Rennsealear Medalist, Some regional Math and state Math awards/ accomplishments.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics (Captain), Math Club (Captain), SPARC Interact (Volunteer Club), Environmental Action Club (Treasurer), Math Honor Society (Event Coordinator)
Job/Work Experience:Food Service job (12th grade; 20hr/week) , Summer job at school (10th grade; 35hr/week)
Volunteer/Community service: Various local and state volunteer events under the Environmental Action Club and SPARC Interact Club
Summer Activities: Employed at school 10th grade Summer and traveled 11th grade Summer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9, Talked about my rough childhood growing up in poverty and how I fortunately came to the USA and how that shaped me become who I am now.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10, All my teachers loved me and praised me throughout my High School career. Our school is pretty small so I stood out to the staff and I took a lot of challenging courses that further distinguished me.
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9, Pretty chill and casual. The interviewer was impressed by my deep passion, dedication, and accomplishments within the robotics and math teams.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: < $65k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation college, immigrant, poor socioeconomic background

Reflections:
Strengths: Background experiences and life circumstances, grades, SAT scores, essays, recommendations
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I showed them who I truly was and didn’t try to pile on 20,000 hours of community service and string together various disconnected activities from different walks of life to make myself seem cosmopolitan and “well-rounded”. Less is more.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments (if any):

40

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520
ACT (breakdown): 36 (E:36 M:36 R:34 S:36)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 98
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Government (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): History of Americas HL, Math HL, English HL, Psychology HL, Chemistry SL (6), Spanish SL (6)
Senior Year Course Load: History of Americas HL, Math HL, English HL, Psychology HL, Theory of Knowledge, Computer Programmin, Orchestra, Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cross Country All-State, Sterling Scholar (pending Semifinalist), Eagle Scout Award, National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): cross country (captain & varsity), tennis (varsity), student government (president), church choir, Spanish club (secretary), mariachi band (main vocal), NHS (treasurer)
Job/Work Experience: piano teacher
Volunteer/Community service: rehabilitation hospital volunteer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 6/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8/10

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): maybe 6/10?
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, from church choir chorister
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, we talked for two hours and a half

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Utah
School Type: Charter
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $100K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflections:
Strengths: scores, IB
Weaknesses: essays
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think it was my essays
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: don’t know yet

General Comments (if any): My interviewer told me that he was surprised that I was deferred. I really think it was my essays. And the fact that there are so many qualified applicants.