This is suuuuper late, but I wanted to provide some encouragement to possible future applicants! My stats are slightly lower, I had no interview, no internships, and no significant STEM EC’s. This was my application during RD.
SAT: 1500 (750 Math, 750 Reading/Writing)
SAT II: 780 Math 2, 680 Bio E
GPA: 3.94 UW, 4.66 Weighted
AP’s: European History (5), US History (5), English Lang (5), Spanish Lang (5), Environmental Science (5), Calculus AB (5), Chemistry (4). These were all taken junior year, which I put on Commonapp
Senior courseload: AP Statistics, AP US Government, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics 1, AP Psychology, AP Biology, AP English Lit, AP Calculus BC (self-study cuz my school only had 3 or 4 people who qualified, which isnt enough to make a class. I discussed this in my additional notes section)
EC’s: no significant STEM activities. My school doesnt have any robotics or math competitions or CS classes or even calc BC. Instead, I was Academic Decathlon co-captain, NHS President, Key Club secretary + division apparel coordinator, tennis varsity 2 years (we weren’t league winners anyway, just an average team) and 2 years JV, Math Club tutor (2 years), and picked up a Kumon tutoring job senior year. I also did piano for ten years, went up to level 10 and am achieving the Diploma this year, which certifies pianoteaching ability. The other activities were for 4 years, positions were obtained senior year. I also did badminton and choir freshman year and yearbook sophomore year but quit after 1 year.
Awards: Questbridge Finalist, National Merit Commended Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, nothing else big, just honor roll stuff. I received a $40000 STEM scholarship after admission decisions already came out though by reusing the same essay I wrote for Mudd haha, which I guess means my essays were good?
Accepted: UCLA with $10000 Achievement Scholarship for Low-income students, UC Berkeley Regents Finalist (but not actual recipient haha :c ), UCSD Regents, UCI Honors
Waitlisted: Claremont McKenna
Deferred then rejected: Pomona
Rejected: all the other privates lol, including Stanford, Caltech, MIT, USC, HYP, but it’s ok cuz I love Mudd and Mudd fits me more than any of these schools anyway!!
Race: Asian
Sex: Female
Location: 15 minutes away in San Bernardino County. Nobody from my school has been accepted to Mudd before
Income: Low!! I think Mudd took into account my first-gen and Questbridge status, so they knew that I had few opportunities to do outstanding work like some wealthier folks but that given the opportunities at Mudd, I could handle it. They probably realized that in comparison to my area, I stood out.
Essays: These are probably what got me in, plus their holistic decisions, taking into account your background. If you want to read my essays, I’m always free to share them. I showed that I fit the school well, which I think liberal-arts college emphasize anyway, not just someone who spits out facts. I really showed my balance between STEM like how I like doing puzzles, Rubiks cube, self studying BC, and how I loved learning stuff like languages and competing in spelling bees. I showed that I researched the school too. After all, kids who apply to Mudd arent your typical name-brand chasers. Know why you want to be at Mudd and show what you’d contribute!
