Harvard RD Class of 2020 Result Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
21

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34M, 33CR, 36W, 28S (oops)

  • one attempt
    SAT II: 770M-II, 710Literature
    Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
    Weighted GPA: 5.1
    Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/300
    AP (place score in parenthesis): 5-APUSH, 5-ENG.LANG, 4-CALC.AB, 4-COMP.SCI, 3-CHEM, 3-BIO, 3-US.GOV
    IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
    Senior Year Course Load: AP CALC.BC, AP ENV.SCI, AP STATS&PROB, AP PHYS, AP PSYCH, AP HUME.GEO, AP ENG.LIT, GYM
    Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Numerous publications (editor)
  • Environmental Coalition/Commission (vice president and liaison)
  • Student Council/Government (president, student rep for board)
    Job/Work Experience:
  • Video game guides at home
    Volunteer/Community service:
  • Key Club/local foodbank/tutor at library
    Summer Activities:
  • Courses taken at Boston University
  • Interdisciplinary program studying climate change
  • MIT’s Online Science, Engineering, and Technology Community (MOSTEC)
    Essays (rating 1-10, details):
  • Common App - 10.1/10: very personal, anecdotal, interesting metaphor utilized (came from the heart)
  • Extracurricular Activity - 9/10: talked about the permanence of yearbook through a descriptive story
  • Optional Essay - 10/10: talked about how my culture isn’t governed by tradition but rather accessible through incense (personal anecdote)
  • I admit some essays were a bit poetic/non-sequitur, but I was happy with them overall.
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
  • Biology Teacher - 10/10: knew him since I began high school, worked with him in various clubs, talk to him a lot outside of class
  • English Teacher - 9/10: although she was my 10th grade teacher, she knew my love for literature, and I think that’s what she talked about in her letter (Socratic circles, research papers, etc)
  • Guidance Counselor 10/10: her letter essentially captured my story but also revealed my love for learning by talking about my various projects in the summer programs
  • Supplemental Recommendations from MOSTEC Professors: first one was quite bland (so was he somewhat) but talked about an above-and-beyond attitude; second was much more casual and talked about my love of writing.
    Interview: I did not receive one.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Humanities
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Lower Bracket
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Personal story (? - I never specifically referenced it but I think it could be inferred from recs)

Reflection

Strengths: Genuine essays that were essentially entries to a diary, lackadaisical approach towards admissions process (I never really followed proper procedures in handing in documents/submitted my scores quite late)
Weaknesses: Scores (although I have a theory that really high scores can hinder a person)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My application process was never superficial: it was revelatory for me, and I think such effect transpired for the adcoms.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

  • Accepted to Princeton
  • Accepted to Stanford
  • Accepted to Yale
  • Rejected from MIT
  • Waitlisted from Duke
  • Waitlisted from Columbia

General Comments: So I think the most important lesson I garnered from such a long, drawn-out (and sometimes horrifying) process is that the result is simply just a copied-and-pasted letter (a digital one, in fact). Prior to beginning any of my college applications, I reflected on the tumultuous journeys of myself and of my classmates, and I couldn’t help but to notice how there have been so many pressures that have alienated us into believing and subscribing to such a superficial dream of what “success” really is. Thus, I took the entire admissions process as a source of inspiration for myself, and only myself. My essays mirror that of a senior thesis of any college student, and they weren’t written with the intention of impressing the admissions officers (bragging is quite useless and unnecessary), but rather with the genuine desire to cohesively put together the snippets of my own story. And I think that, if an institution is compelled and intrigued with your story, it’ll check its acceptance marks. If not, then there isn’t a compatibility, and that’s totally okay. And if you have no story at all, I plead you to go write it for the sake of knowing yourself.

As someone has already stated in another thread, “people aren’t lying when they tell you to just be yourself.”

22

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 720 cr, 800 m, 720 w
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 720 m2, 730 Chinese, 770 ush, 710 m1
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 25/650
AP (place score in parenthesis): did not send
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: all AP and 1 honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): decent. if you want more details you can message me but I doubt you would care lol
Job/Work Experience: lifeguard
Volunteer/Community service: 133 hours
Summer Activities: typical stuff
Essays (rating 1-10, details): decent I think idk
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): didn’t read

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: very short, but had a nice conversation

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Social Sciences
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: dude
Income Bracket: upper middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Dad went to Harvard College

Reflection

Strengths: Legacy
Weaknesses: I’m simply not Harvard material
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: see above
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Rice, UVa, UNC, UF, Southern Cal, UCF
Waitlist: Cornell, ND, JHU, NYU Stern
Rejected: Rest of the ivies-Yale (didn’t apply), Duke, Vandy

I applied to Harvard because YOLO hahaha. I also wanted to see if legacy would get me anywhere, but apparently not. I will most likely attend Rice. Still hoping to get off the waitlist for Cornell because I love that school, but its so hard :frowning:

23

Choose One
**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 reading, 800 writing, 780 math (first attempt)
SAT II: 800 math 2, 790 lit, 720 US history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.09 unweighted (3.7 for A-, 4 for A, 4.33 for A+ but A+'s were discontinued my junior year… don’t know what my GPA would be out of 4.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank or give exact percentiles, but I know I’m in the top decile; average GPA is 3.5, I think?
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s for all – Chinese, chem, APUSH, BC Calc, physics 1
Senior Year Course Load: two English seminars, survey course in western civilization, AP Stat, physio first semester and Asian American history second semester
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing huge like USAMO lol, just a lot of smaller stuff – National Merit $2.5k scholarship, school awards for bio and history, fiction writing awards, couple of grants, commendations from CA state legislature for cultural outreach stuff (sounds like a bigger deal than it really is)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: Asian and Chinese Clubs (president), published writer, admin for eating disorder recovery website
Job/Work Experience: I have a job now but I didn’t put it on my application so it’s kind of irrelevant
Volunteer/Community service: tutoring, teaching underprivileged kids martial arts, public health stuff
Summer Activities: garden-variety academic summer programs, took undergrad English classes at nearby university
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10? I like to think I’m a good writer. I wrote my common app essay about recovering from my eating disorder (which scared off some schools tbh. gotta be careful with mental illness + college essays) and my “optional” essay about why I love writing.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10?
Teacher Rec #2: 10?
Counselor Rec: also 10? I honestly don’t know since I didn’t read them but I have a good relationship with my teachers and my college counselor.
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: 10? I thought my Harvard interview was my best one. I really connected with both alumni interviewers.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: nah
Intended Major: English maybe?
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: private college prep school
Ethnicity: Chinese American
Gender: girl
Income Bracket: upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothing really

Reflection

Strengths: academics, overcame difficulty (eating disorder), pretty solid extracurriculars
Weaknesses: Asians are overrepresented; eating disorder might give admissions officers pause
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: good stats, essays, “academic vitality” etc. etc.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

  • Stanford – rejected 12/11/15
  • WashU – waitlisted 3/10/16
  • UChicago – waitlisted 3/16/16
  • UCLA – accepted 3/18/16
  • Middlebury – accepted 3/19/16
  • UC Berkeley – accepted 3/24/16
  • Wesleyan – accepted 3/25/16
  • USC – accepted 3/25/16
  • Amherst – accepted 3/25/16
  • Vanderbilt – accepted 3/23/16
  • Cornell – accepted 3/31/16
  • Dartmouth – accepted 3/31/16
  • UPenn – rejected 3/31/16
  • Brown – waitlisted 3/31/16
  • Columbia – accepted 3/31/16
  • Princeton – rejected 3/31/16
  • Yale – rejected 3/31/16
  • Harvard – accepted 3/31/16

General Comments: The first three decisions I got were all bad. Don’t lose hope!!

24

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

[] SAT I (breakdown): 790 Reading, 750 Writing, 650 Math (2190)
[] ACT: 31 Composite (can’t remember the breakdown), Did not send
[] SAT II: 790 USH, 740 Lit, 640 Chem
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/854
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Environmental Sci (4), World History (5), Biology (4), English Lang & Comp (5), Chem (3), APUSH (5), Psych (5), Pending scores: Physics 1, Stats, Human Geography, English Lit & Comp, U.S. Gov
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AICE Spanish Lang, AP Stats, AP Human Geography, AP English Lit & Comp, AP U.S. Gov
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): APUSH Most Outstanding Student, AP English Lang Most Outstanding Student, National Merit Commended, some academic school-related awards [/li]
Subjective:

[] Extracurriculars: Writing (short stories, had one published last month which was unbelievably exciting; currently working on a novel that I sent them a sample of), Friday Friends (fosters friendships among middle-school aged kids) (7th-12th), Tender, Love & Care (TLC–raises funds for kids with severe illnesses) (9th-12th, but it was disbanded), Spanish Honor Society Historian (11th-12th), Social Studies Honor Society Member (11th-12th)
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: Friday Friends (but I haven’t been able to help out as much as I would like to this year; never recorded the hours), Church Bible Camp for kids aged 5 to 14 for the past couple of summers (have like 300 hours from this)
[] Essays:
[] Common App–was about how my family purchasing our first computer influenced my writing by giving me a
way to write more efficiently, and how it gave me the ability to research medical conditions and phrasing to
give my stories a more realistic feel. 8/10
[] Harvard Supplement–was about how a funny medical mishap (don’t worry, it wasn’t severe)shaped how I
viewed the medical field from then on. It was super lighthearted and I genuinely enjoyed writing it. 9/10

[] Teacher Recommendations:
[] Counselor Rec: She’s phenomenal and has been at our school FOREVER, plus I think she was a bit partial to me because she loved my older brother. Talked about how I’m first generation and reeeeeally enjoy writing. I have faith in her, so I’ll give it a 9/10
[] Additional Rec: Psych teacher–I think she really liked me, and her sassiness ensured that we had something in common. 9/10
English Lang teacher-- I know for a fact she loves me (we talk on a daily basis) and she’s an amazing writer, so 9/10
[] Interview: It went super well. The lady that interviewed me had her PHD in Psychology and I might want to go into Psychiatry, so there was a bit of a similarity. She was suuuuper nice and approachable, and our meeting lasted almost two hours.

Other

[] State (if domestic applicant): Fl
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZHwGnGrm_k
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: 40,000-50,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Generation, Low-ish income

Reflection
I have been more than blessed. Sometimes the process may seem a bit arbitrary on this side of the admissions game, but I have learned that these schools are attempting to construct well-rounded classes, and rejections are not attacks on your self-worth.

[] Strengths: GPA, test scores (minus Chem, lol), ESSAYS, RECS, LUCK
[] Weaknesses: Lack of diverse ECs, but at the same time, I might want to work with adolescents, so my ECs do go pretty well with that
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: …I honestly don’t know. I checked this decision first to get it over with and because the Princeton sever was still loading, and I was so prepared for a rejection. All I read were the bolded words of the very first sentence; it took me like ten minutes to calm down enough to read the rest of the letter.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Accepted:
Columbia, Johns Hopkins, University of Florida, UMiami

Waitlisted:
Stanford

Rejected: Yale, Princeton, Brown

General Comments:

It’s OVER and I’m free! I’m in the process of sending in the rest of my financial aid stuff to H and C (didn’t send them before because I REALLY didn’t expect to get in), and when I get my fin aid packages back, I’ll have a better idea of where I may be able to go. Again, I feel so unbelievably lucky, and I have something shocking to reveal, so sit down and brace yourself. Are you sitting? Are you ready? Okay: not getting into schools of this caliber is not the end of the world. I know rejection sucks, especially when it’s from your top choice, but there are so many amazing schools out there. This is not the end of the road for you. For any of you.

If nothing else, there’s always grad school :wink:

25

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2160
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.979
Weighted GPA: 4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): hosa, key club, stucco, city council, volleyball, sports medicine, culture club (Pres and founder), hospital teen board leadership in all
Job/Work Experience: CVS
Volunteer/Community service: 100 hours various things
Summer Activities: science camp and volunteering
Essays (rating 1-10, details): commonapp 9, sup (I thought 8) but reading it I can see how it seems desperate so 7
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8
Teacher Rec #2: 7
Counselor Rec: 6
Additional Rec: 8
Interview: didn’t receive one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yup
Intended Major: biological science
State (if domestic applicant): south
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: pub
Ethnicity: black afro-amer
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 160k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): apparently nothing

Reflection

Strengths: me
Weaknesses: me
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: read comments maybe essay maybe me maybe test scores
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: rejected- Stanford, mit, waitlisted- Princeton, Brown, accepted (you name a school and watch it appear)- duke, usc, Pomona, jhu, emory, rice, Columbia, upenn, cornell, uchicago, northwestern, Swarthmore, vandy , lol my bad for not believing in myself

General Comments : if I had feelings they would definitely be hurt because Harvard was the one calling me junior year telling me I should apply because of my academic achievements but it’s Gucci I know what’s up and the feeling is mutual now. But real advice… this whole college thing is somewhat a game. I might have not got in because of factor I could control lk my essays or because of uncontrollable factor like other applicant who are passionate about healthcare reform and developing countries. you never really know but you can always try to make sure your controllable factors are perfect and then ensure your personality can be seen if you print out your whole application material and read it. But honestly what do I know. Also make sure their is one match school that is almost like your dream school make yourself fall in live with it so that when or if you get rejected form your dream reach it’s just like “oh well that’s one less thing to think about” instead of “oh no what will I occupy my life with now.” PM if u hav any questions

26

DECISION: ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 780 CR, 760 Writing, 660 Math
ACT (breakdown): 34C: 36 Reading, 36 English, 32 Science (26 first time, oops), 32 Math
SAT II: 710 US History, 730 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 98.7/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/30
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP Lit (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc and Bio, a few courses through the local community colleges. As rigorous as my school could offer
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A few Scholastic Art and Writing gold/silver keys, a Silver Medal in Poetry freshman year, Congressional Silver Medal, National Merit Commended, nothing major really

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Jazz Band, Band, All county, Yearbook Club (treasurer), Mock Trial, Student Council and Class President, VP NHS, Varsity soccer and ski team, science club (secretary)

Job/Work Experience: Was hostess at local restaurant for just under two years

Volunteer/Community service: About 250 hours total doing various activities

Summer Activities: Multitude of academic camps, did go to Harvard summer before junior year, and participated in an immersion program before senior year

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 8/10–described my experience on the ski team and as a ski instructor. Talked about how it’s easy to relate with my students because of our kindred fear of skiing, mentioned that it’s worth it to take risks and be uncomfortable because they yield such great experiences and outcomes. I think it got my point across and sounded very genuine.
Supplement: 9/10, wrote about a crazy night hostessing at a restaurant, coordinating the melee of the kitchen and peaceful ambiance of the dining room

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10, English
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10, history
Teacher Rec #3: 7/10, science
Counselor Rec: 7/10, I’m not really sure
Additional Rec 1: 10/10, band
Additional Rec 2: 7/10, principal

Interview:
On Campus: 6/10. Did not go as I had hoped, as the interviewer and I were not very compatible in our interests. I was nervous and it clearly showed. I think she thought I didn’t have a genuine interest in Harvard and I left feeling very discouraged.

Alumni: 8.5/10. Lasted for about an hour, my interviewer was very nice and we were able to discuss some things we had in common. She was very receptive and responsive to my questions and we overall had a very nice conversation.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: History of Science
State (if domestic applicant): East Coast
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Rural public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Honestly none that I can think of. Perhaps my small school/town? It definitely came up a lot in my interviews and was reflected in my essays.

Reflection

Strengths: I honestly don’t know. I have always been very strong in the humanities, taking summer classes since 5th grade in all sorts of social science/historic/writing subjects. I went to Harvard summer and did well, but I don’t think that would have been a game changer. I had a lot of (I think) really positive recommendations because I know my teachers so well. I do have a love of English and writing and perhaps that showed.

Weaknesses: My test scores were not that high in math, and my subject tests were mediocre. My only major award was in 9th grade. I also did not seem concentrated in one area or particularly great at something, just well rounded

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I came across as very genuine, not very polished. I put a lot of work into my application and into my extracurriculars. I never had resume padding in mind, but over the years I accrued many activities and service opportunities. In my small school, everyone is encouraged to be in everything just because we don’t have the numbers to fill up many clubs and teams. I have always kept my grades up and been very busy during the summers.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
ACCEPTED: Columbia, Dartmouth, JHU, BC, Notre Dame, Georgetown, NYU
DENIED: Duke, Princeton (applied EA, deferred, rejected), Yale, Northwestern, MIT, Stanford

General Comments : I think this whole process is very unpredictable. I am ecstatic that I got into Harvard, but I understand that at some point all chances are a shot in the dark once acceptance rates get so low. I know that I am not the most impressive applicant this school as ever seen, far from it, but maybe the admissions liked my very low-key demeanor and curiosity? Who knows? I don’t. March 31st was the most surprising day of my life. To all of those who got accepted: I hope you have the best and most informative four years of your life. To those who didn’t: I hope you have the best and most informative four years of your life at whatever awesome college you go to.

Note: It is possible to get into Harvard with an 88 in Calc.

27

I just want to thank the College Confidential community for all the knowledge that you’ve provided to me throughout the years. I’d go on this site everyday to find out about the best test prep methods and to find motivation to better myself when reading about all of the great things you guys achieve on here. Hope this helps to anyone looking for some insight on the college process.

DECISION: ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 750 Reading, 750 Math, 780 Writing, (2280)
ACT (breakdown): None
SAT II: 780 Math II, 750 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA: 96.970 (my school does it out of 100)
Weighted GPA: 99.989
Rank: 5/293
AP: Macroeconomics (5), Environmental Science (4), U.S. History (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Physics C, AP Statistics, College Spanish (Dual Enrollment), AP Literature, Band
Major Awards: National Hispanic Recognition Program, Questbridge National College Match Finalist, AP Scholar

Subjective:
-Extracurriculars: Area All-State Band (First Chair), School Band (Section Leader), Jazz Band (First Chair), Sax Quartet (First Chair), Pep Band, Varsity Baseball (All League Honorable Mention), Math Team, Science Olympiad (medalled twice), NHS, Big Buddy Program

-Job/Work Experience: I play jazz music at a local nursing home.
-Volunteer/Community service: (150 hours total) Childcare center, baseball camp, local elementary school, local library, Vacation Bible School counselor and church volunteer, Intern at local museum, Midnight Runners.

-Summer Activities: Played on town travel baseball team (won some league championships), and volunteering.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
-Common App Essay: 10/10- This was probably the best thing I’ve ever written. It was an autobiographical work, really personal, and came from the heart.
-Extracurricular Essay: 8/10- I really think this one wasn’t too special but it definitely got the job done. It was about my involvement in the school band.
-Optional Essay: 8.5/10- I took a fun approach to this one. I wrote about how I rap on the bus rides home from baseball games and developed into a team leader and morale booster.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
-Teacher Rec #1: 8/10- I got this from my math teacher. He liked me a lot and I was a really good student in his class. I’m sure he wrote nothing but positive things about me and am grateful for the recommendation.

-Teacher Rec #2: 8/10- This was my Spanish teacher, I had her for my sophomore and junior year. I was among the best students in her classes for both years. I’m sure she wrote another positive recommendation.
-Counselor Rec: 7.5/10-My counselor was new to the district and was employed my junior year. Since counselors in my school serve several hundred kids at once, it’s hard to have a personal relationship with them. She probably remembered my name because I was that one kid that would always nag her for documents and recommendations I needed for various scholarships I was applying to. But she generally liked me and probably wrote some good stuff about me.
-Additional Rec: 10/10- This was from my band teacher. She had me for four years and we have a great relationship. She knows me as a great sax player and a class leader.
-Interview: 9/10- Out of all the college interviews I had, I definitely felt the most satisfied with my Harvard interview. My interviewer and I had a great conversation, it lasted an hour and a half, we got to know each other really well, and it was just a great experience.

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics or Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: Public, Suburban
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $20,000-$30,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, 1st generation college

Reflection: After I sent all of my apps, I was so fed up with everything that I lost any worries of whether I’d get accepted or rejected from schools. So this was a pleasant surprise. Going into high school, I wanted my goal to be that at the end of it, I could say “I did everything I could to get into the best college I could.” I’m proud to say I can say that. But this came with a price. I feel like I didn’t enjoy high school as much as I could’ve socially. I never really knew how to just chill like a normal person until my junior year because I was SO focused on my goals and what I wanted to achieve. I advise everyone to balance your work with fun. I felt like I’ve always been worrying about the future that I never really lived in the present. That’s why for these last couple months my goals are to just live in the moment, maximize my happiness, and enjoy being a careless senior while I can. Because soon I won’t be a senior anymore, I’ll just have the memories of one.

Strengths: ESSAYS. I presented myself really well and made a hard case for any admissions committee to reject me. I also can’t neglect the fact that I had some hooks and I got some pretty elite application help too. But don’t get it twisted. I worked my ass off. I earned everything I got.

Weaknesses: I guess my SAT score was good, but not necessarily “Ivy good.” I didn’t have A1 recommendations but I guess that’s a minor weakness. I also didn’t have that one extracurricular where I was “world class.” I just had deep involvement in a couple that I loved and had great achievement in them considering my circumstances.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
-Columbia (Waitlisted)
-University of Michigan (Accepted)
-NYU (Accepted)
-Carnegie Mellon (Accepted)
-Boston College (Accepted)
-Boston University (Accepted)
-Northeastern University (Accepted)
-Bentley University (Accepted)
-SUNY Binghamton (Accepted)

General Comments: This might be long, but bear with me.
When I saw the acceptance letter I laughed. I knew I’d get into most of my schools, but I was unsure of Harvard and Columbia because of how selective they are. I was honestly really happy I was waitlisted from Columbia because it seemed like the more people I met from there the more I disliked the place. I guess it just wasn’t the right fit for me. But I was even happier that Harvard gave me an opportunity to attend. Not so much happy for myself, but I was happy to see my parents happy. It feels great to see that all of the sacrifices they made for me paid off.
While I was praised at school, I got a decent amount of hate too, be prepared for it guys. People I was hanging out with on an everyday basis for years loved me until I got in. I remember back when I was a freshman I sometimes thought “I wonder how people would think of me when I got into (fill in the blank) college” and that was one of the things I really cared about. What I realize now is what the crowd thinks of you means nothing. What matters is what the people who actually care about you think. If high school hasn’t taught you to not give a shit about what people think of you then you probably missed out on the biggest lesson of your life.

Another important thing: always believe in yourself. Some of my teachers called my parents to say “your son is never going to be the best no matter how hard he works because other people are just naturally better than him.” Make the doubters eat their words, use what they say as motivation, and bury them with a smile.

Lastly, I wrote this for any kid out there who’s in a similar situation to mine. There’s hope out there. I know this sounds corny and cliché but if you work hard and believe in yourself, anything is possible, even getting into Harvard. I wish all of you guys the best of luck with your college journeys and nothing but happiness and success in your lives. Thanks for everything College Confidential. Peace.

28

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (750 CR, 670 M, 620 Writing)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (34E, 33M, 34R, 35 S, 8 writing)
SAT II: 690 Chem, 670 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88-3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/288
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(5), USH(4), Eng Lang and Comp (5), Chem(4), Phys I (3).
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Eng Lit and comp AP, Bio AP, Calc BC AP, Phys C AP, Micro-Macro Econ AP, Spanish AP.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): An Ap scholar here, State scholar there.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Theater Technicians 4 years
Scioly 2 years
Forensics 2 years
History Club 1 year

Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering through my old Church and school.
Summer Activities: Volunteering.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Cannot tell.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Cannot tell.

Teacher Rec #1: See above
Teacher Rec #2: See aforementioned
Counselor Rec: See the prior line
Additional Rec: Catch the line on top of this
Interview: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yea
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: Black as the night
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200K when I applied, dropped by half since then.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: APs, test scores, URM status
Weaknesses: APs, test scores, C in one semester of Algebra II
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Most competitive year in history, qualified applicants (in my school, state, and country), and I was weak in more than one area. Not too cut up about it, because I can always apply for Med School if at all. Best of luck to those in the future, and congratulations to those accepted!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: UIC, SLU, Howard, UMich, UIUC, Northwestern, Emory-Oxford, Columbia.
Waitlisted: UChicago, Yale, UPenn
Rejected: Harvard, Princeton

29

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT: 35 Composite, 36 Math, 36 Science, 34 English, 34 Reading
(36 Superscore)
SAT II: 800 Math II , 740 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo 5, World History 5, Chemistry 4, Calc BC 5, Bio 4, Physics 1 4 (self “study”), English Lang & Comp 5, US History 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP CS, AP Lit, AP Econ, AP Physics C, AP Seminar, Honors Adv Math II, Academic Decathlon, WOOT
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National and state medals for academic decathlon, but really nothing, probs why I got rejected, National merit scholar, National ap scholar, city and state medals for math team, invite to nationals for science bowl

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Math Team 9-12
Physics Olympiad, 10-12, Captain
Science Bowl 11-12, Co-Captain
Table Tennis 9-12, Co-Captain
Academic Decathlon 11-12
Piano, 1-12

Job/Work Experience:

Volunteer/Community service: 100+ service hours

Summer Activities:
Math camp at UChicago after 7th, 8th, 9th
Particle Physics Research at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory after 10th
Summer Math Program at MIT after 11th
Astrophysics Research at UChicago after 11th

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App 7/10, I thought my roommate essay was funny and showed my personality. I tried to show how much I liked Stanford in my essays and thought they were good. 8/10 for short essays.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: idk
Teacher Rec #2: idk
Counselor Rec: idk
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public Magnet
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 120k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):none

Reflection
Strengths: none
Weaknesses: GPA, lack of significant awards. Tried to do stuff like math and physics olympiads but never got to the point I should’ve for the amount of work I put in. I sacrificed my grades to try to become good at them in the same way an athlete or musician might, but ultimately it didn’t pay off. no regrets though, still learned a lot. Now that all of my decisions are out, I’m guessing it was also my essays.

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ^

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Rejected Caltech, WashU, Northwestern, UChicago, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, UPenn
Waitlisted MIT, University of Michigan
Accepted Carnegie Mellon, University of Illinois

30

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2190: 800 M; 720 CR; 670 W (lol)
ACT (breakdown): did not send
SAT II: 800 Math II; 800 Math I; 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.0 (all classes had same weight b/c the school was selective)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank (only 50 kids in my grade)
AP (place score in parenthesis): All of my AP’s are self-studied: AP Calc BC (5); AP Computer Science (5); AP Microeconomics (5); AP Macroeconomics (5); AP Psychology (5); AP Statistics (5); AP Physics C: Mechanics (4, rip retaking this year for the 5 lol); AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: All dual-enrollment college courses. Senior/Junior undergraduate level courses in Math and Computer Science as well as some grad courses.

Math: Ordinary Differential Equations, Rings and Fields, Abstract Algebra (grad level), Real Analysis, Complex Analysis
CS: Systems Programming, Assembly and Machine Organization, Foundations of CS, Programming Language Design

+Self-studied AP’s: AP Politics and Government, AP Human Geography

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel ISEF Regional 3rd, Massachusetts State Fair 4th, USACO Gold, WPI Programming Contest 1st place, 2nd place gold division Cyber Patriot (internationally), National Merit Finalist, NMF $2500 Award Winner, Rensselaer Medal, HiMCM (meritorious), some other awards.

Minor Awards: AIME Qualif. 2 times - scored a 6. Qualified for MAML 2 (proof based Massachusetts Contest for top 5% of math people) 3 times (freshman, junior and senior year). Local WOCOMAL competition top 25 for a few years, some other stuff.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team captain, Programming Team captain, ARML Regional Team, Research (engineering and designing mobile applications to solve health problems), National Honors Society, Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Mock Trial
Job/Work Experience: Paid research software internship Junior year of high school + Part time software job offered by that company after internship. Also private tutoring.
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours volunteering as a math tutor at a local center.
Summer Activities: Software internships taking Coursera classes online and reading textbooks to self-study subjects I find interesting.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Essay #1 (9/10): Edited this one quite a bit, really tried to create a polished version of my vision of myself and what I wanted to do in life. Wrote about research and applying research through engineering.
Essay #2 (6/10): Wrote pretty genuinely about how my work experience shaped me into a better and more goal-oriented person.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (CS Teacher, 9/10): We got to know each other pretty well, and she liked me personally. She also advised part of my research during junior year.
Teacher Rec #2 (Humanities Teacher, 6/10): Knew me pretty well but didn’t get to know him too closely throughout the year. He liked me as a student. Was probably pretty generic.
Counselor Rec (4/10): Talked to her like once throughout the year. Her essay was probably rather generic, rip.
Additional Rec (Employer/Boss, 10/10): He was a great guy, and was so impressed with me that he offered me a full-time and then when I declined a part time job near the end of my internship. He told me that in his rec he said I was working at the level of most other people with PhD’s in our group.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public Magnet (50 people per grade, only 11th and 12th grade)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation immigrant, but that doesn’t really count for anything…

Reflection

Strengths: Work experience, Self-studied AP’s, High-level college courses, maybe research.
Weaknesses: SAT Writing, didn’t make ISEF international fair.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Lots of excellent applicants, no legacy or URM status, college admission is a crapshot as I’ve learned. Also applying to CS, to which the majority of applicants are guys.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Accepted:
Duke
Cornell

Wait List:
UChicago
Carnegie Mellon SCS
Georgia Tech (lol)

Rejected:
Harvard
MIT
Stanford
UC Berkeley (Engineering)
Brown
Caltech
Yale
Columbia
Upenn

General Comments: Honestly, applied to Harvard just to apply. Congrats to everyone that got in! Will probably choose Cornell over Duke next year, because it has better CS (although the environment is a little more depressing unfortunately).

31

**Decision: Waitlisted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): C 2330 CR/M/WR 800/770/760 (once)
ACT (breakdown): C 35 E/R/M/S 36/35/35/35 W/32 (once)
SAT II: 800: Math 2, US History, Chemistry; 770 Spanish w/o Listening; 760 (Yikes!): Physics (Double Yikes!)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.534
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): all 5s; US History, English Language, World History, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Literature, European History, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Spanish Language, US Government
IB (place score in parenthesis): no scores yet
Senior Year Course Load: IB Chemistry HL, IB English A Lit HL, IB Math HL (Calculus), IB Spanish B HL, IB Computer Science SL, IB History SL (Communism), IB Biology HL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist (Semifinalist on application), AIME Qualifier, US Senate Youth Program Alternate, NACLO Invitational Round Qualifier (not on app),

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout), Chess Club (President two years), Math Club (President), Key Club (President), XC (Captain), Spanish Club (Treasurer), Robotics Club (Secretary two years), Student Council, NHS, Linguistics Club
Job/Work Experience: two summers (2014 and 2015) working in an industrial QA lab
Volunteer/Community service: Nothing huge: summers volunteering at a local recycling center, local restorative justice program for teens, etc.
Summer Activities: summer work, recycling center, a couple of summer programs
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Personal Essay: 9/10, I described a unique (and rather entertaining) tale of an ancestor’s exploits and how all the men in my family, myself included, seem to exhibit that ancestor’s audacity
Supplement: 7/10, I wrote about how my IB Extended Essay in Spanish Literature allowed me to broaden my appreciation for both Spanish as a language and literary research in general

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Honors Physics and AP/IB Chemistry teacher: 10/10, I didn’t read it but does he know how to make someone sound good!
Teacher Rec #2: History teacher; 8/10, possibly generic but I think more likely 10/10; we talk about politics and history a lot lol
Teacher Rec #3: 10/10 Math teacher: knows me very well, quite a kindred spirit in being scatter-brained and such.
Counselor Rec: 10/10 counselor’s first year but very supportive
Additional Rec:
8/10 EE Supervisor: probably corroborated my supplement well and explains my competence in Spanish as well as my genuine interest in the language
8/10 Extracurricular Supervisor: explained one of my ECs in detail, knows about and benefits from my Eagle Project
Interview: 8/10 I didn’t hit my ECs hard enough, but I think I adequately communicated my varied interests and appreciation for the liberal arts institution that is Harvard College, and we felt connected through shared interest in one of my ECs. The interviewer gets a 10/10 from me—his insights were valuable, and he was personally funny and engaging.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
Intended Major: Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): the Mother of Vice Presidents (Schuyler Colfax, anyone?)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: relatively competitive public charter
Ethnicity: White bread
Gender: XY
Income Bracket: See FA
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nada nada, limonada

Reflection

Strengths: strong grades and test scores, unique essays
Weaknesses: no truly impressive extracurriculars, Physics Subject Test! (in my defense, I took that test a year and a half after I ended my physics course; still, a 760 is 75th percentile and therefore not at all impressive for an intended engineering major)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m not that exceptional, especially in Harvard’s pool, and I didn’t apply Early Action. I think my extracurricular activities leave much to be desired, and I also don’t benefit from URM or legacy status (at least I’m not Asian, though, so I’m not complaining!). That said, I think I was attractive enough not to reject outright because I suppose (and hope!) that Harvard thinks I could satisfactorily fill a spot if yield is lower than predicted.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Stanford (REA), WUSTL, Notre Dame (likely letter), Cornell Engineering, Brown, safeties
Waitlisted: Case Western Reserve, Penn Wharton
Rejected: Princeton

General Comments : I have believed since before applying that I am Harvard rejection material, so the wait list spot pleased me greatly. I understand my flaws and why Harvard didn’t admit me; nevertheless, I’ve accepted my spot and will hope for Harvard’s blessing!

To those rejected: it’s Harvard, and I’m sure you all have other great choices that you will love!

Wait lists: make a plan B and be excited about it, but don’t be afraid to try for Harvard; it accepts wait list kids almost every year!

Admitted students: you have my best regards, and I wish you an amazing, intellectually stimulating time in Cambridge!

32

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2400 (first sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math 2 - 800, Physics - 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96/4.0 (2 Bs in 6th grade french)
By the way, the 6th grade Bs do count on my high school transcript because french is a foreign language and counts as a “high school class” in my county.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Gov’t (5), Stat (5), US Hist (4), English Lit (5), BC Calc (5). Physics: Mechanics (5), Euro Hist (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): SL French (6)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Global Politics, IB HL Math, IB SL Chemistry, IB Psychology, IB HL Physics, Linear Algebra, IB HL English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME qualifier, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Year-round club swimmer (22hrs/week, since 4th grade), Clarinetist (since 4th grade), Orchestras/Bands, Debate Team member (all of HS, County Playoffs 3rd-round contender), Writer for the school newspaper (all of HS)
Job/Work Experience: Assistant Coach for local summer swim team (30 hrs/week), Technical Intern at a small IT company the summer prior (30 hrs/week)
Volunteer/Community service: ~150 hours, National Honor Society, National Math Honor Society, etc.
Summer Activities: swimming, coaching, giving private swim lessons, working as a technical intern the summer prior
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9-10, spent months on them, couldn’t find anything to improve upon. Had my great English teacher and several peers (college and high school) review them and they seemed good…

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9-10 (history teacher), really loved her class and we had a really nice relationship. We still always say hi when we pass each other in the halls.
Teacher Rec #2: 9-10 (physics teacher), really liked him and did excellent in his class. Our class was rather huge but I am quite sure that I stood out in his eyes.
Counselor Rec: 7+, Didn’t have that many interactions with my counselor, but all of my interactions were positive and I was really respectful.
Additional Rec: (Club Swim Coach) 7+ Been swimming with my club swim coach throughout high school and we have a very positive relationship. He mentioned that he was a bit crunched for time though (I officially requested 2 weeks prior to the deadline), so I dunno about the quality of the rec.
Interview: 9, Great interview. Alum and I really connected (he seemed like a very genuine and passionate guy) and I really showed my interests and who I was.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: County Magnet Program (IB)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation born in America

Reflection

Strengths: Great, dedicated swimmer, Accomplished student, Talented Musician, Caring Swim Coach, Enthusiastic Intern
Weaknesses: 3.96 GPA? Maybe teachers actually didn’t like me that much? No especially significant math/science awards. Unimpressive summer positions?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Maybe recs were worse than expected? Maybe 3.96 GPA is unacceptable? Who knows.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Carnegie Mellon (IS, MCS), University of Maryland (Banneker/key), University of Virginia, Georgia Tech
Waitlisted: Carnegie Mellon (CS), NYU Stern, Dartmouth
Rejected: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, Cornell, Hopkins, Duke, UChicago, UPenn, Columbia

General Comments: Overall really disappointed with how my years of hard work turned out.

33

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**

Deferred early action, then rejected.

Objective:
SAT I: 2050 (580 math, 680 v., 790 writing)
700 Bio, 700 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Weighted GPA: 4.03
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11/270 (top 4%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Eur Hist (5), Eng Comp (4) US Hist (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Calc, H. Anatomy, H. English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): a few school and regional awards, AP scholar, silver in national Spanish exam, bronze in state writing - nothing earth shattering

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):VP band, 2 summer bio college lab internships, NHS, school paper, drama club, freshman softball
Volunteer/Community service: library volunteer
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9, personal experience overcoming some unusual barriers
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 7-8, pretty good, nothing great

Interview went very well
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Bio
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity:W
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: writing, bio lab work/experience
Weaknesses: math (SAT especially)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: the compelling side of the app described in essay couldn’t quite make up for lower (relative to this kind of app pool) GPA/test scores stand out
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: rejected all Ivies except Brown (didn’t apply), Stanford, Amherst, Swarthmore (was deferred E/A Harvard then rejected)
Waitlisted: U Chicago, Tufts, Tulane (?)
Accepted: Boston University, UMass

General Comments:
Submitting for my daughter - before applying, we were comfortable with the flagship state school where she can graduate with no debt and conduct research; all other schools except BU/Tulane were reaches, but we figured it was a lottery and just needed one school to take a bite - almost worked. Didn’t apply to any other higher tier private schools since their aid would be too low to make it worthwhile. Would definitely accept Chicago, maybe Tufts off the waitlist, but the odds of that are very low.

34

[ab][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2390 (one sitting)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (one sitting)
SAT II: Math II: 800 USH: 650 Chem: 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: NA
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parenthesis): 11, all 5s 4s (2 3s)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP’s/Dual enrollment
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nmf, national pres qual, top scholarship prog, amc stuff, ap awards, other music/community service related awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): community service, student government, math team, band, orch, choir (all leadership roles, mostly pres/founder), part of a nonprofit
Job/Work Experience: science tutor at museum/20hrs a week, other tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: 600+ ish hours
Summer Activities: research (not published D:) work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): ehhh
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): very good I think…

Teacher Rec #1: bueno
Teacher Rec #2: bueno
Counselor Rec: ehh
Additional Rec: bueno bueno
Interview: NA–not in my area

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: y
Intended Major: stem
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): usa
School Type: public
Ethnicity: asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket: comfortable
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: standardized tests
Weaknesses: ecs, asian male with good financial standing–although lets be honest, I’m very grateful for this
Why you think you were rejected: ehh i was pretty much expecting this
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
accepted:
carleton
grinnell
amherst
northwestern (isp)
dartmouth
pomona
vandy

wait
washu
case western
columbia
brown
stanford
williams

rej
mit
harvard
yale
princeton
uchicago
duke

General Comments :
im satisfied

35

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 34
SAT II: 770 Chemistry, 760 Math I, 730 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.3
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/550
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Gov (4), BC calc (4), Chemistry (4), Micro Econ (5), Lang (5), physics 1 (5), stats (5)
Senior Year Course Load: (hardest available at my school) AP Bio, AP physics C (both mechanics and magnetism), AP Psych, APUSH, and AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial (President), Speech and Debate (Speech Captain), FBLA (president), NBHS (vice president), NHS
Job/Work Experience: Worked 20 hours a week as a lifeguard all four years of high school
Volunteer/Community service: Minimal - some through key club and NHS
Summer Activities: Working, interning at the secretary of state’s office, and competing at nationals for various activities
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App was a 10 (I had admissions officers from other schools remember it and bring it up to me), optional was probably a 7

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): (I’m guessing on all of these - I never saw them)

Teacher Rec #1: 10
Teacher Rec #2: 8
Counselor Rec: 9
Additional Rec: None
Interview: 10 - Really connected with my interviewer. He said he would write me an amazing rec.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Government
State (if domestic applicant): CO
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, test scores were good enough to get me in the door, class rank
Weaknesses: Nothing totally outstanding, maybe I should have done some more unique extra curriculars
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I honestly have no idea. Even after reading coutless books, watching a ton of videos, and going through the process myself, I still have no idea why schools make the decisions they do.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Williams, Smith, Duke, Grinnell, Vassar, and Cornell
Waitlisted: Bowdoin, Swarthmore, Amherst, Harvard, UPenn, Dartmouth, and Vanderbilt
Rejected: Yale and Princeton

General Comments : Slightly frustrated that all the work I put in the last few years didn’t really pay off. I don’t know what else I could have done besides maybe try to do something really unique to get their attention or win some national awards. I committed to Duke, although I’m staying on Harvard’s waitlist.

36

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (CR=720, Writing= 750, Math= 800)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Physics=740, Math 2C= 800
TOEFL: 119 (Not included in the formula, but thought might help for internationals, so)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7, but 3.8 excluding freshman
Weighted GPA: 4.3
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/30
AP (place score in parenthesis): calculus=5, statistics=4, micro and macro= 4, english= 4, physics b=5
IB (place score in parenthesis): no
Senior Year Course Load: APUSH, AP Chem
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

  • International Social Science for Youth finalist
  • Global Enterprise Challenge 2nd place
    *Global Enterprise Challenge individual Award
  • Seould National University Essay Competition 1st place (international)
  • GO game (it’s the game that alphago played) - I became a professional
    P.S: dunno if these awards count, as they’re not that recognized except GEC

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Business Club (president/founder), Math Club (council member), A Secondhandshop (more like volunteer, but was assistant manager in the shop), , Forensics Club (president), Varsity Cross Country, Church Orchestra (lead cellist), Peace Club, GO game club
Job/Work Experience: Korea Economic Development Cooperative Intern, Direct FX Trading intern, CJ (a Korean firm) intern in the marketing section
Volunteer/Community service: North Korea Human Rights Group intern, library assistant,
Summer Activities: ummmm… I guess none? Wow, what did I do now I come to think about it?
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I think around 9.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10. She knows me well, and we got along very well.
Teacher Rec #2: Ummmm… 6, I think he just copy pasted the rec letter for every student lol, but wrote beneficially at least.
Counselor Rec: 10, she also knows me well.
Additional Rec: No
Interview: No

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): South Korea
School Type: Freaking small, like 30 kids
Ethnicity: Korean
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Parents don’t tell me, so don’t ask me.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
First Generation college

Reflection

Strengths: Awards? Extracurricular activities
Weaknesses: AP scores, low SAT compared to other asians, mayber should have taken one more subject test, freaking bad freshman grades, universities don’t know my high school
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: honestly, it’s Harvard. I did it just in case. Doesn’t make me sad at all
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UCLA, Vanderbilt, the other UCs except Berkeley, Emory, UVA, BC, colgate,
Waitlisted: Notre Dame, NYU stern, chicago, washu, stanford
rejected: harvard, yale, johns hopkins, northwestern, brown, cornell (ED- defer, then reject), georgetown, berkeley, michigan, oh i can’t even remember the rest. too much to write all.

General Comments :
I don’t even know how many colleges I applied to. 25? 30? All I know is, I don’t regret it. There are lots of cases in which a student has to go to his/her safety school. I didn’t want that. So applied a lot. (freakishly exhausting, I know) There are lots of people that tell you to apply to few that you really want to. The truth is, the competition is so fierce nowadays that the old way isn’t really going to work anymore. I was actually depressed that I didn’t get into any ivy league. But after getting accepted to Vanderbilt from the waitlist, where I’m going, I’m pretty satisfied. I feel that I got accepted pretty well compared to other international asians with my score, and I’m grateful for that. I looked through college confidential a lot, and I do admit that it helped a bit. but i think it would be better for future kids to do other stuff instead of cc. try to raise your SAT score as much as possible, and also GPA. it is holistic, I know, but the higher your score is, the greater your chance of acceptance. Unless your SAT is 2350+, then RAISE YOUR SCORE as much as you can. Colleges do look into your personality and other things, especially for HYPS, but the score, I think, is the basis, especially for asians who have such high scores. Feel free to message me. I’ll try to help, if I can.

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**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I: 2200 (700 CR, 790 M, 710 W)
ACT: didn’t take
SAT II: 790 Math II, 770 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/397
AP (place score in parenthesis): not available in my school/state
IB (place score in parenthesis): not available in my school/state
Senior Year Course Load: we can’t choose classes, so all students take the same curriculum. Algebra, Introductory Calculus, Portuguese, English, German, Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Biology, Introductory Genetics, Brazilian Geography, Global Geography, Brazilian History, Global History, Writing, Sociology, Philosophy, Human and Christian Studies, Physics, Modern Physics, 21st Century Studies, Physical Education.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Jesuit Schools Standout Student (9th-12th), Silver at State Chemistry Olympiads (10th-12th), Gold at National Geography Olympiads (12th), several other academic/scientific prizes

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Class President (9th-12th), Student Council Communication and Media President (11th-12th), Model UN President (12th), Volunteer Group President (12th), School Olympiads Class Director (9th-12th), Editor-in-chief of a magazine (11th), redesigned the school’s uniform (12th), tennis (9th-12th), piano (10th-11th), around 10 different science/academic competitions (all with medals), photography.
Job/Work Experience: -
Volunteer/Community service: around 1000 hours
Essays: 10/10. CA about leadership, with lots of personal thoughts and unexpected twists. “Why Duke” mentioned specific clubs, professors and classes. Duke supplement about my cultural background and ambitions written in a poetic writing style, later praised by the admissions officer. I really made sure I was sending the best essays I could have written, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Teacher Recommendations: 9/10. 12th grade Algebra teacher emphasized class participation, and 12th grade Global History teacher emphasized extracurricular involvement and leadership. Those were the first recommendation essays they had ever written though, so naturally they weren’t perfect!
Counselor Rec: 10/10. Although my counselor couldn’t help me apply to colleges outside of Brazil, he’s one of my greatest friends, knows me incredibly well, and wrote a carefully crafted essay that describes me both as a student, a friend, and a leader.
Additional Rec: -
Interview: amazing. We talked for over two hours about my research ideas, dreams and aspirations, as well as the usual topics.

Other
Country (if international applicant): Brazil
School Type: private/religious
Ethnicity: white
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection
Strengths: essays, leadership, will to change what needs to be changed at school and in my community, recommendations.
Weaknesses: SAT score, lack of AP/IB classes, my school didn’t have any clubs or organizations, and we weren’t allowed to create either of those.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: probably because I don’t have any work experience.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted at Duke, UPenn, Carnegie Mellon (School of Computer Science, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan, University of Washington. Waitlisted at Cornell and Pomona College. Rejected at Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and MIT, which was expected considering the incredibly tough competition for international students.

General Comments: believe in yourselves, aim high, don’t listen to what others say. As said Eleanor Roosevelt, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Duke Class of 2020!