*****Johns Hopkins University RD 2020 Results Thread*****

Colleges and Universities A-Z Johns Hopkins University
21

DECISION: Accepted

GPA: 3.75 UW // 4.70 W
SAT I: 2090 Superscored (CR 740 M 690 W 650)
SAT II: 760 Lit, 640 Math II, 730 Spanish
ACT: 32 (E 29, M 30, R 33, S 35)
Rank: none at school
AP: Spanish Lang (5), Spanish Lit (5), English Lang (4), US Gov (4), Art History (3)
Senior Year Courses: AP Stat, AP Literature, Honors Latin American History, Honors Philosophy, Honors Anatomy & Physiology, Mandarin Chinese II, Theology 12 (mandatory…)

Major: Neuroscience

Recs:
Decent, nothing too special from teachers tbh. Counselor one was great

EC’s:
School - President of Tri-M Music Honor Society (lots of hours spent promoting music appreciation and doing music-related community service), President of China Club (promoting asian culture and organizing trip meetings), Model U.N. (leadership team, travel team where I’ve won numerous awards at local & out-of-state conferences), Peer Minister (grueling work planning annual spiritual retreats for kids at my school)
Other - Around 10 years of guitar (played 4 years for school band), learning Mandarin for ~2 years.

Work Experience:
Certified referee, will be reffing youth soccer games as a linesman (later as a head ref when I get enough experience I guess)

Community Service:
-Have helped set up logistics the past 5 years for an annual fundraiser for orphaned/impoverished children in a small town in the Andes region of Peru.
-Tutored/Helped at learning center for under-privileged kids

Summer Activities:
-spent 1 month at Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan studying Mandarin
-Been to Leadership course @ Duke, Medicine course @ Johns Hopkins

Essay: Common App one is great, used failure prompt to talk about my inability to hold a conversation in Mandarin when I visited China in 2014, and how getting to know a Taiwanese exchange student led to me overcoming my past embarrassment and learning a lot at that month-long course in Taipei (mentioned above).
Submitted: right before deadline

Strengths/Weaknesses: essay was great I guess, gpa might be lacklustre relatively
Why was I accepted: A guess maybe a combination of everything? Wasn’t exceedingly amazing in any category, but I guess I came off as genuine
Info:
State - FL
School - Private
Ethnicity - Hispanic (son of Peruvian immigrants)
Gender - Male
Income Bracket - not one penny of financial aid will be // was given

Accepted to: UF, BC, Northeastern (quarter tuition), Fordham (half tuition), Loyola Marymount (half tuition), UCSD, USF in Tampa
Waiting on: USC, Stanford, Pomona, Berkeley, UCLA, UNC, Duke
Rejected/Waitlisted: N/A

Comments: This whole process is a crapshoot, so don’t take any rejection too personally. Congrats to those who got in, and all those who didn’t best of luck to wherever you go. Its not always about a school’s stature, but what you do while you’re there.

22

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1890 (570 CR, 720 M, 600 W)
ACT (breakdown): 33 (35 R, 31 M, 34 S, 32 W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Don’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): 3 AP European History, 3 AP Language, 4 AP Chemistry
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Spanish, AP Calc BC, Government, Politics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
AP scholar, National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
High School Volleyball Team (9 Freshman, 10 JV, 11 varsity)
Club Volleyball (9, 10)
Piano (11 years)
Freshman Mentoring (11, 12)
Social Media coordinator for a nonprofit organization (11, 12)
Selected as a member of the school district’s student and board of education relations committee (12)
Feminist Club Vice President and initiating member (11, 12)
Chemistry Club Member (12)

Job/Work Experience: Work at American Eagle
Volunteer/Community service: over 400 hours through freshman mentoring
Summer Activities: attended Brown University summer program
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9, discussed my childhood as a Kenyan-American and how that impacted me
Johns Hopkins Supplement essay: 8, pretty average to be honest
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Didn’t read, she likes me a lot, 9
Teacher Rec #2: didn’t read, she’s fond of me though, 8
Counselor Rec: didn’t read, don’t know her well but she likes me, 9

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant): United States
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Black, East African
Gender: F
Income Bracket: $75,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Black, female

Reflection

Strengths: standardized test scores, essays, recommendations
Weaknesses: AP scores, no EC’s were done for all 4 years
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No idea

Accepted to: University of Southern California (presidential scholarship finalist), Northeastern (Honors Program), Ohio State University, Boston College, Johns Hopkins
Waiting on: University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Tufts, GWU, American

General Comments :
Please don’t spend too much time on this website comparing yourself to other students. Not a single person here will be able to determine your acceptance, deferral, or rejection from a school, and the process truly is holistic. Unfortunately all you can do is submit your best application and wait until decisions come out, doing anything else will only stress you, and I know this from being a student who used to panic over reading the stats of other applicants.

I am excited to have been accepted and I can’t wait to see what other options will appear in the next few months.

23

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (710 M 720 R 780 W)
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown): One sitting best overall
[] ACT (breakdown): never took
[] ACT superscore (breakdown):
[] SAT II: US History (690) Math II (720)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
[] Weighted GPA: 4.1
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 40/240
[] AP (place score in parentheses): US History (5) Lang (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics AP Gov AP Spanish AP Lit AP Calc AB Journalism
[] Number of other applicants in your school: None as far as I know
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing [/ul] Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Jazz Band, newspaper, political action and awareness club
[] Job/Work Experience: Not much
[] Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, drug and alcohol awareness organization[/ul] Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: Wrote about how I matured after a large sudden life change, pretty good maybe a decent to strong 7[/li][] JHU essay: It was decent, kind of rushed, I just talked about how much I liked JHU
[] Other:[/ul][li] Teacher Recommendation #1: History teacher, very good I would like to think[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: Former History/current gov teacher. I know this one is excellent, I’m close to her.
[] Counselor Rec: Possibly decent, I know her somewhat well
[] Additional Rec: none
[] Interview: Couldn’t find an interviewer
[] Art Supplement: none[/list] Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: January 1 (last minute woo)
[] State (if domestic applicant): California
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 50-60k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing too unique[/ul] Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays and recs were decent, test scores were in the ballpark
[] Weaknesses: GPA and Extracurriculars (literally the two most important things I know)
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: GPA probably considering I’m not even top 10 percent
[] What would you have done differently?:Taken school more seriously freshman and sophomore year take more honors classes back then and try to get more A’s, and joined more EC’s and tried to get leadership positions[/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Congrats to everyone who got in. I’m a little bummed but it was expected. Hoping the next week brings good news.

24

waitlist

[ b]Objective:**[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):720 800 720
[ *] SAT I superscore (breakdown):720 800 720
[ *] ACT (breakdown):
[ *] ACT superscore (breakdown):
[ *] SAT II:us-770 m2-720 m1-710 chinese-730
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.87
[ *] Weighted GPA:4.47
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 24/650
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses):did not send but 3s and 4s
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: physics 2, calc ab, de English, gov, macro, art, German 3, euro
[ *] Number of other EA applicants in your school:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):national merit, ap scholar with honor

[/list] [ b]Subjective:[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): math vp, German treasurer, Spanish, swimming, nhs
[ *] Job/Work Experience: lifeguard
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:[/list] [ 133 hours
b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ list]
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
[ *] Common App Main: 8
[ *] JHU essay: 7
[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1:idk
[ *] Teacher Recommendation #2:idk
[ *] Counselor rec: 7
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ ] Interview:
[ ] Art Supplement:[/list] [ b]Other[ list]
[ *] Date Submitted App:last day
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):fl
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:public
[ *] Ethnicity:Asian
[ *] Gender:boy
[ ] Income Bracket:300k
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] [ b]Reflection[ list]
[ ] Strengths:
[ ] Weaknesses:grades, ap scores
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: not sure
[ ] What would you have done differently?:[/list][/list][ b show more interest? Idk
Other Factors:
[ b]General
Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc:
congrats to those who got in!

25

Pick one:

[ b][ size=4][ color=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/size]**[/color]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (CR: 760, M: 770, W: 800)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 800 Bio M, 790 WH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC, Stats, World History, US History (5), Bio (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, Micro/Macroecon, STEM Research, AP Comp Sci, Lit on Trial (English), Ceramics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME Qualification, National Merit Scholar, Cum Laude, AP Scholar, Scholars & Scholars

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): founded website to promote healthcare efficiency, research paper published on Big Pharma, won two competitions in varsity crew, went to national in FIRST Robotics, president and founder of programming club, House Prefect, research on circadian regulation of antioxidant defense mechanism at UMass
Job/Work Experience: intern at Newracom (tech company), medical intern at Washington DC VA
Volunteer/Community service: Immaculate Conception, Boys & Girls
Summer Activities: psychology course at UCI, Fundamentals of Medicine at Georgetown
Essays: CommonApp was about skating and breaking out of an eggshell (9/10), Supplement = stated three reasons (business+medicine, bio research, information communication)
Teacher Recommendation: didn’t see them, but probably good (8/10)
Counselor Rec: didn’t see them, so I don’t know
Additional Rec: recommendation from Newracom (10/10)
Interview: normal
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: N/A
Intended Major: Medicine, Science, and Humanities
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, boarding
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): ahahahahahaha

Reflection

Strengths: test scores, GPA, relevant and focused extracurriculars, strong recommendation letters
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: more towards Public Health than STEM-driven
Weaknesses: Asian. APs. Definitely should have taken more AP tests
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: rejected by Stanford and Northwestern, waitlisted by WashU

General Comments: :slight_smile: Good luck to everyone!!

26

DECISION: BIG FAT REJECTION

[ b]Objective:[ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): nah
[ *] SAT I superscore (breakdown): nope
[ *] ACT (breakdown): 34C
[ *] ACT superscore (breakdown): 35E, 34M, 33R, 33S
[ *] SAT II: nope :frowning: should have
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[ *] Weighted GPA: 4.13
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st -valedictorian
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): US History (2-did not submit) Bio (3) Chem (3) Statistics (4) Lang (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP CALC BC, AP GOV, AP LIT, Spanish 4,
[ *] Number of other EA applicants in your school:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): i don’t think i have any- i got an all OCC journalism award though
[ b]Subjective:[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
President of national honor society
Treasurer of Spanish Club
Treasurer of Senior Class
Captain of Cross Country and Track Teams
Student Council
Indians Club
Math Club
Art Club
[ *] Job/Work Experience: McDonalds 1 1/2 years
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:[/list] [ b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best): Big weakness- Ive volunteered at track meets, soccer games doing concession, done some stuff at old folks homes, raked leaves for the elderly, helped with our senior citizen prom, tutored math, but no set volunteering gig
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects): UGH idk
[ *] Common App Main: Really dumb in retrospect- it was written nicely but I wish i would have written about something more profound
[ *] JHU essay: Wanting to be a doctor. probs dumb
[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1: Good
[ *] Teacher Recommendation #2: Good
[ *] Counselor Rec: idk
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ ] Interview: none
[ ] Art Supplement:[/list] [ b]Other[ list]
[ *] Date Submitted App: late December (yeah procrastinators!)
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): OH
[ *] Country (if international applicant): USA
[ *] School Type: Public, around 300 in grade
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ ] Income Bracket: top 1%
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] [ b]Reflection[ list] nope
[ *] Strengths: ACT maybe, class rank
[ *] Weaknesses: everything
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: because I suck
[ ] What would you have done differently?:[/list][/list][ b]Other Factors: I would have started trying to improve my resume like sophomore year. I’m so disappointed with myself and a little bit mortified that neglected to pursue any kind of volunteering job.

[ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Oh I was supposed to vent here? I will leave you with one final lamentation: I wish I never stopped working for it. Somewhere along the line I lost that drive.

27

** Decision: Rejected **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Math: 690, Reading: 750, Writing: 700
[] ACT (breakdown): N/A
[] SAT II: Math Level 2: 780, Literature: 770
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6 (severe upwards trajectory after diagnosis with learning disabilities
[] Weighted GPA: N/A
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t do that
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Psychology (5), US History (4), English Language (4)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Award of Honor on the National French Exam (twice), AP Scholar Award

[/ul] Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Newspaper (editor), Yearbook (editor), Literary Magazine (editor)
[] Job/Work Experience: Director of Communications at therapy horse farm, babysitter, member of a youth leadership team working to provide healthier food options
[li] Volunteer/Community service: well over the required amount at my school[/li][/ul]

Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
[li] Common App Main: 9/10 - JHU Rep read it earlier this year and liked it [/li][] JHU essay: 9/10 - thought it was strong, talked about the experiences I’d had studying at JHU
[] Other: I submitted a writing portfolio, which I thought was pretty strong (recruited by Penn’s KWH)
[/ul][li] Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10 – didn’t read but have heard that it is really good[/li][] Teacher Recommendation #2: " "
[] Counselor Rec: " "
[] Additional Rec: two Hopkins professors wrote on my behalf
[/list] [ b]Other**[ list]
[] Date Submitted App: 12/24
[] State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: Upper-Middle Class
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Both of my parents work at Hopkins, I went to CTY, and I took courses there last summer (that I received A’s in) [/li]
[/list]Reflection[list]
[] Strengths: connections to the school, extracurriculars, writing
[] Weaknesses: GPA
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I know that I was rejected because I didn’t apply ED.
[] What would you have done differently?: Nothing

[ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc:**
Congratulations to everyone who was accepted! I am sad that I didn’t get in because I really love Hopkins and am very personally connected to it, but I know that I will find the right school for me.

28

@Gabrie555
Thanks for those kind words. I’m very sad rn

29

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] ACT (breakdown): 33 C, 35 R 35 E 30 M 33 S (single sitting)
[] SAT II: 770 SAT Eng Lit, 800 SAT French w/o Listening (both single sitting)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 95.4/100 Ontario, equivalent to 4.0 GPA
[] Weighted GPA: N/A
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/14
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 5 French Language
[] Senior Year Course Load: Honors Physics (grade 12 level), AP English (grade 12 level), two classes in advanced chem and advanced calculus at University of Toronto
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Won awards some random province and national math competitions for best school-wide performance, team leader in finalist team in city-wide statistics competition, nothing major[/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars:
-11,12 ( 5hr/week): Research assistant at chem lab at the University of Toronto
-summer before 11: NFTY-EIE in Israel, took classes in Hebrew Language and Jewish History. About a week after I arrived in Israel the Gazan conflict broke out, I decided to stay, the war lasted until about a week after I left. Our group decided to dedicate a lot of time after classes volunteering to package donated food items to be shipped to IDF soldiers in Gaza.
-9,10,11,12 (3 hr/week): Singing (opera and musical theatre)
-9,10,11,12 (2 hr/week): Taekwondo (black belt)
-9,10,11,12 (3 hr/week): Acting (various roles both inside and outside of school, plays and musical theatre)
-9,10 (5 hr/week): Fencing (yellow badge)
-11: Team leader for finalist-placing team at math and statistics city-wide competition, first author on published paper detailing our group’s research for the competition
-9,10,11,12: Scuba diver, PADI certified, practiced diving on school breaks and during summer
[] Job/Work Experience:
-11,12 (4hr/week): Sunday school religious teacher for kindergarten students
[li] Volunteer/Community service:[/li]-summer before 12: Received full grant to volunteer for 4 weeks in Nepal as a medical assistant (helping doctors and nurses) after the earthquake
-various hours for a bunch of different organizations like Canadian Cancer Society, didn’t put on app[/ul]

Writing:[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: 10/10. When I was younger, my family was filthy rich, but my dad was arrested for Ponzi schemes when I was ~10. My mom and I (I’m an only child) became poor overnight: it was an incredibly shtty situation and I had to grow up really quickly. I also used this essay to explain how I first got interested in my proposed major (physics/astronomy): I used to sit on the roof of our home and look up at the stars, it was like an escape for me. Possibly one of the best pieces I’ve ever written. (We’re doing ok now with help of friends and family, mother still unemployed tho, my grandparents have been paying for my schooling and stuff, we live in their house)[/li][] JHU essay: 9/10. Really awesome. Wrote about my experiences working at a hospital in Nepal and why I want to become a doctor
[] Other: Wrote a diversity piece (~300 words) on the extra section of the Common App to talk a bit about my heritage and family, I’m Choctaw[/ul]
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: 8-9/10 science teacher. Told me I was one of the best students he’d ever taught but he’s not a great writer. Also he sent it in like 15 mins before the deadline, pretty sure he wrote it the day it was due.
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: 7/10. Mandarin teacher. He really liked me and we were good friends, his class was one of my worst marks even though it was one of my most fun classes, but he showed me the letter and it was pretty poorly written. I tried to suggest some changes, dunno if he implemented them.
[] Counselor Rec: I would imagine 9/10, no idea what he wrote, I gave him my ‘brag sheet’ for ideas but idk
[] Additional Rec: 10/10, written by the head professor at the lab I work at, he’s told me how much of a hard worker I am and he thinks it’s great I’m taking his class at the university while in high school. Love that guy.
[] Interview: Did not have
[] Art Supplement: N/A[/list]

Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: Day RD was due, probably few hours before deadline knowing me
[] State (if domestic applicant): Born and raised in TX, moved away for high school
[] Country (if international applicant): Currently in Canada
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Native American (Choctaw) and Caucasian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: <$20K
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Semi-URM, low income, interesting life experiences, female in STEM[/ul]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays and uniqueness
[] Weaknesses: Maybe test scores and not super mega impressive ECs
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I bring something unique
[] What would you have done differently?: I only wrote the ACT the one time, I probably should have taken it again but I didn’t want to. Didn’t seem to matter though![/ul][/list]

Other Factors:
I’m very excited I got in! Hopkins is definitely on the top of my list. I received an LL from Columbia and am still waiting on Ivy League and Stanford decisions, but even so I am definitely going to one of the Hopkins admit weekends before deciding. A close friend of my family’s went there and I am so in love with the university. Go Blue Jays!
Acceptances so far: Columbia (LL); UCSD, UCI, UVa, UBC, McGill.

30

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (M:790 CR:770 W:780)
[ *] ACT (breakdown): n/a
[ *] SAT II: Math 2 - 800 Biology - 780 Chemistry - 760
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *] Weighted GPA: 4.4
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): US History (5) AP Biology (my school doesn’t offer that many APs before senior year)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Psychology, BC Calculus, AP Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
[ *] Awards: National Merit Commended, 5th place Le Grand Concours (French language test), 2014 Merck Science Day- 3rd place in county for Integrated Science

[ *] Extracurriculars:
Theater, both school and community level since sophomore year -2015 Montclair State Theater Night Award for Best Drama - The Laramie Project 2015 Rising Star Award for Best Choir - Urinetown.
Choir Leadership Council (Web/Tech manager) also in the school’s highest level choral group (I take two periods of choir a day, which is interesting) and I also take voice lessons
On staff of school’s literary magazine, Folio, also a regular contributor
NJ Youth and Government - 2015 Outstanding Statesman - Wilson Assembly
Key Club (Webmaster)
Science Olympiad - Won a 6th place medal at a regional competition for Anatomy and Physiology
Math Club (Recording secretary)
National Honor Society
Chess Club
I ran XC/Track as a freshman.

[ *] Job/Work Experience:
Worked at a local Mongolian grill from freshman year to sophomore year.

[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
Clerk for the APPNA (Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America) Free Health Clinic
Assistant at NY VA Medical Center in the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics during summer before my senior year
Assistant at my grandmother’s senior center during the summer before my sophomore year
Amounts to over 200 hours

Essays:
[ *] Common App Main: Pretty good, I used the prompt everyone used and wrote about how I gained inspiration to write creatively and how my development into a more sociable person mirrored my development as a writer. Kind of cliche, but I think it came off as genuine and earnest.
[ *] JHU essay: Also pretty good, I put my three year school theater career through the the idea that I was “picking up the cane”. This came from the fact that I’ve played old men in basically every theater production at my school at that point (from old ensemble man in Anyone Can Whistle to Feers in The Cherry Orchard) and many of these old men held canes. Basically picking up the cane is a metaphor for academic inquiry and creative risk and stuff since I ended getting really into acting and writing plays.

[ *] Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 Odd South African junior English teacher. He liked me a lot and he encouraged me to pursue writing and English.
Teacher Recommendation #2: 7/10 APUSH teacher, we had a good, if sarcastic, relationship and I did very well in his class.

[ *] Teacher Recommendation #3: 7/10 Precalculus teacher, I loved her and I had to go through a lot of academic growth in her class because it was fairly difficult to get an A.
(The reason I have a third rec is because a of a miscommunication between me and my teachers in which my math teacher sent her rec to Hopkins, blocking the rec of my English teacher which I wanted to send as Hopkins only allows two. I sent an email to the admissions office explaining the situation and they said they’d consider all three recs).
[ *] Counselor Rec: 10/10 She like me a lot and I often dropped by her office to talk or ask questions about whatever.
[ *] Interview: We met at a Dunkin Donuts. We ended talking a lot about movies for some reason. That’s all I remember. 10/10 would interview again.
[ *] Date Submitted App: 12/30/15

[ *] State: NJ
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: 100k+
[ *] Strengths: My academics and essays were fairly strong along with a good amounf of volunteering.
[ *] Weaknesses: I lacked in the extracurricular leadership department as I didn’t really get involve in clubs and stuff until my sophomore/junior year due to my shyness.

[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Since I’m going the humanities route, I wasn’t the “typical” applicant since a lot of people see JHU as primarily a stem school. Also, I think my essays made up for my lack of leadership somewhat.

[ *] General Comments: Congrats to everyone who applied. Super pumped to get into one of my top schools. Essays definitely made my application.

31

Decision: Accepted

[ b]Objective:[ list]
[ *] SAT I): 700 CR 500 Writing 650 Math
[ *] SAT I superscore (breakdown): 1850 (didnt submit)
[ *] ACT : 36 reading 35 Science 27 English 29 Math
[ *] ACT superscore : 31
[ *] SAT II: 680 Physics 720 US History
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.88
[ *] Weighted GPA: 4.32
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2nd
[ *] AP: Psychology (4) Biology (3) Us History (4) European History (4) AP English Language (3)
[ *] IB None
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Microeconomics, AP US Government, AP Physics 2, AP Literature, Spanish 3
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] [ b]Subjective:[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Mock Trial (lead prosecutor) Science Bowl
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Worked as a Research Intern at Hopkins
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:[/list] 200+ hours at local library, 100+ at local musuem
[ b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):**[ list]
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects):[ list]
[ *] Common App Main: Pretty Average 7
[ *] JHU essay: Talked about my research over the summer at Hopkins 8
[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1: Great essay, English teacher I’ve known for all of high school 8
[ *] Teacher Recommendation #2: Okay, pretty cookie cutter 6
[ *] Counselor Rec: Okay, once again, pretty cookie cutter 6
[ *] Additional Rec: none
[ ] Interview: None
[ ] Art Supplement:[/list] [ b]Other[ list]
[ *] Date Submitted App: January 1st
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): California
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Native American and White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ ] Income Bracket: Middle Class
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] [ b]Reflection[ list] Native American, CTY members for over 5 years
[ *] Strengths: Native American, worked at Hopkins, Good GPA
[ *] Weaknesses: Test Scores, Writing
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
I have worked on the campus as a research intern and I have affirmative action on my side.

32

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (800 CR, 750 M, 770 W)
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 750 Bio
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: Idk I took like 15-17 APs tho
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 95th
[] AP (place score in parentheses): mostly 5’s, two 4’s
[] Senior Year Course Load: Max
[] Number of other applicants in your school: Can’t put a number on it but a lot
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
[] Job/Work Experience: yeah my main thing; 12-34 hrs/wk, 9th thru 12th
[] Volunteer/Community service: put a significant amount of time into stuff that actually mattered to me… like 400+ hrs i think? I think CC will judge me for saying that’s a lot tho. again 9-12th grade[/ul]
Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li] Common App Main: ?/10 omg it’s really hard to judge yourself[/li][] JHU essay: 8/10 lol i thought it fit their vibe; guess not :([/ul]
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: 7-8.5?/10 this teacher really loved me but we never had a deep emotional connection or anything plus she’s uber busy
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: 7.5?/10 teacher also loved me but idk about his writing skills
[] Counselor Rec: 6?/10 she doesn’t know my name lol
[] Date Submitted App: A week before… I think…
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: big, wealthy, public
[] Race: azn
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: Team pell grant
[] Tips (URM, first generation college, etc.): 1st gen everything[/list]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: academic rigor, essays
[] Weaknesses: extracurriculars? i had to work tho idk
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: guess I didn’t charm them enough
[] What would you have done differently?: hm nothing that would have made a huge difference[/ul]
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: can’t help but be disappointed BUT CONGRATS to everyone excited about their acceptance!! <3

33

Decision: Accepted to Whiting

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (800 M, 800 CR, 720 W)
[] ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 M, 35 E, 35 S, 33 R)
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Biology M, 800 Chemistry, 800 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: 4.67
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 7 5’s
[] IB (place score in parentheses): predicted 44/45 (one can hope…)
[] Senior Year Course Load: HL: Math, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, SL: French, English Lit (SHOUTOUT TO MY IB FOLK)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit, US Presidential Scholars, Top 150 in USNCO
[/ul]
Subjective:[ul][list]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Model UN (President), Math Club (President), Science Bowl (President), and then some other clubs, sports and service
[] Job/Work Experience: worked as a math tutor; interned at FedEx; worked in a lab at a local university
[] Volunteer/Community service: tutoring, Chinese people things, etc.
[] Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[] Common App Main: 7-8/10 I tried really hard to make it cool but it also didn’t exactly have the effect I wanted
[] JHU essay: 8/10 to be honest, I did the classic “copy-and-paste and replace with JHU,” the skeleton of the essay was a typical engineering essay but I made sure to add in some specifics about JHU that I thought were super cool [/ul]
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: Naviance sort of messed up, so I don’t actually really know what recs went though (I had 3 recs total, but only 2 were sent…); 10/10 for my chemistry teacher, I’ve had him since freshman year and we also work together on a lot outside of school. My counselor said he blew it out of the water
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: 9/10? Depending on who went through, but either way I was really close with my teachers and I’ve done well in their classes
[] Counselor Rec: 10/10 we’re like best friends
[] Additional Rec: I might have sent a rec from my research professor from over the summer
[] Interview: didn’t have one
[] Date Submitted App:
[] State (if domestic applicant): TN
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: private
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: enough…
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m basically the opposite of a hook, but I guess doing CTY might have done something (since they asked)[/list]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: test scores and GPA, I put a lot into my ECs
[] Weaknesses: essays could have been better
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I expressed interest and got in contact with an admissions officer [/ul]
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Obviously it helps to have good scores and grades and everything that makes up a strong application, but in the end, the main determining factors are the weird little details that make you who you are and of course some luck. I have no way of knowing how I got in to JHU but not other equal-caliber schools, but to those of you who are hoping to get in next year, do as much research as you can to see what specifics you like about JHU, but always keep in mind that even the most seemingly perfect applicant might not get in. Congrats to everyone who got in! If you didn’t get in, don’t lose hope because you’re going to be at a college that in the end you will be able to shine the brightest :slight_smile:

34

For my sister:

Decision: Accepted

[ *] SAT I Did not take

[ *] ACT (breakdown): 33 35R 35W 29M 31S

[ *] SAT II: Did not take
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[ *] Weighted GPA:
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Does not rank
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH (4) APES (5)

[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Spanish V, AP AB Calc, Computer Programing, Global Scholar (Honors class at school)

[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National History Day - National Gold Medal Winner - Documentary

[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Started and President of own Non-profit and gained 501©3 status - At least 15 hours/week
National Field Hockey Traveling Team - top 20 in nation U19 and U16 captain and coach for U9’s
Student Council all 4 years - Prefect senior year
House Captain (like Harry Potter)
Varsity Field Hockey all 4 years - Captain last year
I did not do a lot of different extras, but I did a lot for the ones I was in.

[ *] Job/Work Experience: 2 business internships and TONS of babysitting
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: See extras

[
[ *] Common App Main: Talked about my robe collection - tried to make deep and funny

[ *] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1:We can’t see recs but teacher said that it was the best one she wrote in 17 years.

[ *] Counselor Rec: Awesome - said I was part of the administration at my school

[ *] State (if domestic applicant): WI

[ *] School Type: Private - top in state according to new poll
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Female

[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none really other than I have an autoimmune disorder - talked about in essay

[ *] Strengths: Strong letters of recs and non-profit is very successful

[ *] Weaknesses: I thought my ACT would be too low

[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Luck of the Irish!!

35

Decision: Accepted to Engineering

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT (breakdown): C 33, M 35, E 34, R 32, S 30
[] ACT superscore (breakdown): Improved science to 33, so composite bumped up to 34
[] SAT II: Chem 800, Math II 760, Bio M 760
[] Unweighted GPA: 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: 4.25
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/100
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Chem (4), Spanish Lang (5), Physics 1 (3)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Calc AB, AP Physics C, AP Spanish Lit, bunch of other non honors humanity classes
[] Number of other applicants in your school: none
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Various minor math and science awards in region [/ul][/li]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Support group for war veterans (president), tutoring club (president), dance 7 h/week (advanced ensemble), varsity basketball (captain 11 12), school athletic council (treasurer), missionary trip, other minor volunteer projects, French classes, Stanford summer camp
[] Job/Work Experience: Not possible in my country
[li] Volunteer/Community service: see extracurriculars [/ul][/li]
Writing:[ul]
[] Essays (Include Subjects):
[] Common App Main: 9 How mundane driving made me mature
[] JHU essay: 9 How I could unify my passion for research and becoming a future leader at JHU
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: Spanish teacher 9 (absolutely loves and admires me, and she has great expectations for me)
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: AP Chem teacher 8?
[] Counselor Rec: 8
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: None offered
[li] Art Supplement: N/A [/ul][/li]
Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: Last day
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): South America
[] School Type: Private, international
[] Ethnicity: Latino
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: High
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Female in engineering? [/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Scores, essay
[] Weaknesses: No pattern in extracurriculars?
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Definitely the essays, maybe country
[] What would you have done differently?: take advantage of additional letters of recommendation [/ul]

General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc:
I’m only posting this because, after spending countless hours reading these forums, I promised myself I would share my own stats to help future applicants. In essence, I am proof it is possible to get in, even for international applicants, despite how daunting stats on this page might seem.

36

Decision: Rejected

Objective

SAT I: 2260 ( 720 CR, 780 M, 760 W)
ACT: 36 (35 E, 35 M, 36 R, 36 S)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 730 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76 (4.02 W)
Rank: Top 15%? (Just a guess, school doesn’t rank)
AP: APUSH (5), Stats (5), Euro (4)
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: English, AP Macro, AP Calc AB, AP Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commendation, Schoolwide English Dept. Award

Subjective

Extracurriculars: Club President + Founder, 5 years Odyssey of the Mind (2x State Champions),
Job/Work Experience:1 year retail job, 5 year other work, contracted technology work
Summer Activities: Service trip Costa Rica,
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 or 9 / 10, won’t really go into much more detail
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec: 8 or 9 / 10
Counselor Rec: 7/10
Additional Rec (if used): Teacher, 7/10

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Physics/Astronomy
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $500,000
Hooks (legacy, URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, strength of senior year schedule, essay
Weaknesses: GPA, ECs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Dip in grades junior year, not too many Extracurriculars
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Rejected: UCLA, Notre Dame
Waitlisted: UCSD
Accepted: St. Mary’s CA, Willamette, UMass Amherst, George Mason, Ohio State, Northeastern

General Comments: Wasn’t expecting to get in so not super disappointed but :confused:

37

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2400 (800 Math, 800 CR, 800 Writing)
[] SAT I superscore (breakdown): N/A (only took once)
[] ACT (breakdown): N/A (did not take)
[] ACT superscore (breakdown): N/A
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 800 World History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Weighted GPA: 4.0+
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 5s for all tests (APUSH, Physics B, Chem, World History, Calc BC, English Lang, and Music Theory)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP English Lit, Psychology/Sociology, AP Macro/AP Micro, AP Environmental Science, Spanish V Honors, AP Stat
[] Number of other applicants in your school: 1 ED, at least 1 RD
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Won 2nd and 3rd place at the NJ FBLA State Leadership Conference in 9th and 11th grade, respectively; passed the ABRSM Exam (for piano) with Distinction; AP Scholar with Distinction[/li][/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): FBLA (Webmaster); Model UN; Academic League (Varsity Captain); FIRST Robotics (Programming Co-Captain); Science Research Club; Piano
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[li] Volunteer/Community service: ~13 hours working for my township’s Youth Council[/li][/ul]

Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):[ul]
[] Common App Essay: 8/10. I wrote about how I became our FBLA chapter’s Webmaster after volunteering to update our newly-created website when nobody else would do so.
[] JHU essay: 9/10. It essentially had two parts; the first connected JHU’s programs in Nanjing with myself and my heritage (Nanjing is my hometown); the second part connected my love for music (particularly K-pop) with the school’s musical nature. This is probably the best “Why X” letter I’ve written.
[] Teacher Recommendation #1: 8/10 to 9/10. My AP English Lang teacher is an interesting person (he used to be an actor), so I’m sure he’d have an interesting perspective on me.
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: 7/10 to 8/10. My AP Physics B teacher knows me pretty well; however, he himself admits that he does not write the best letters.
[] Counselor Rec: 7/10. Probably nothing special, given that my counseler writes them based off of a “Brag Sheet” where we put our achievements and special qualities on.
[] Additional Rec: I don’t recall if I sent one or not.
[] Interview: None
[] Art Supplement: None[/ul] Other[ul]
[] Date Submitted App: 25 November, 2015
[] State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
[] School Type: Large suburban public school
[] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 100k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul] Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: (Perfect!) test scores and high grades were my definite strengths. I also like to attribute my success to the uniqueness of my “Why JHU” essay.
[] Weaknesses: A dearth of volunteer hours and a lack of an interview did not help. My “average” ECs and my ethnicity might be considered weaknesses as well.
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Part of me feels that JHU simply likes our school (given that it admitted multiple people this year and one last year), even if it’s likely not the case. Otherwise, it’s because of random chance and (possibly) my “Why JHU” essay.
[li] What would you have done differently?: I wish I did less stuff, especially ECs, during high school; that way, I could’ve stressed myself out less and go for the favored “depth over breadth” approach.[/ul][/li]
General Comments: Congratulations to those who got in! (Especially to my fellow schoolmates who probably don’t use CC). And for those who didn’t, don’t get down, because you’re still awesome! (And I should tell you I ate a rejection and two waitlistings before reaching this point.) I also want to thank CC especially for recommending Johns Hopkins (along with my dad).

Other Schools

[list]
[]Accepted: Rutgers, Case Western, University of Washington
[]Waitlisted: U Chicago, Northwestern
[]Rejected: MIT
[]Waiting: Duke, Berkeley, UPenn, Princeton, NYU

38

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:[ul]

[]SAT I and/or ACT (breakdown): 2260 (800 CR, 760 M, 700 W)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 2400 (chem, math 2, bio e)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): NA
[]Rank/Percentile: NA
[]AP (place score in parentheses): NA
[]IB (place score in parentheses): NA
[]Senior Year Course Load: NA
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NA

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
[]Job/Work Experience: Summer internship with doctor, wrote about it extensively in CommonApp essay
[]Volunteer/Community Service: a couple of hundred hours (hospital volunteer + rotary)
[]Summer Activities: 150+ hours shadowing a doc (he even gave me a rec)
[]Essays: Common app was good 8/10, supplement was good 7/10
[]Teacher Recommendations: average to good prolly 7/10
[]Counselor Rec: didn’t know her, so probably very generic
[]Additional Rec: Doctor wrote a really good rec 8.5/10
[]Interview: NA

[/ul]Other:[ul]
[]Applied for Financial Aid? Nope
[]Projected Concentration: Neuroscience
[]State/Country: International, US citizen
[]School Type: Private
[]Ethnicity: B
[]Gender: M
[]Income Bracket: NA
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

[/ul]Reflection:[list]
[]Strengths: Def SAT scores, transcripts and ECs
[]Weaknesses: My mid terms were really bad and they were sent (2Cs) and my ECs were not that unique compared to some other applicants.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Showed interest, good SAT
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Some ivies and random colleges. Already got into Tulane (32k/yr merit), UCSD, Case Western (31k/yr merit), UCLA
Rejected: Northwestern, Grinnell

39

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t report
[] ACT: 29 (second sitting)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geo (3), AP English Language (3), AP Psychology (5), AP US History, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, AP Music Theory
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): My school doesn’t do this
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, AP Music Theory, Anatomy H, Religion (it’s a requirement), American Gov H, Economics H, Computer Graphics (req), Writing I (req)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Academic award for Math Analysis Honors in sophomore year, first honors all 4 years of high school, idk what else you consider “major”

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Space Club (President and Founder), Chess Club (President), Florida Youth Orchestra (violin II and principal harp in principal orchestra), Violin, Harp, composing, transcribing, and arranging music, NHS, Mu alpha theta, rho kappa, jazz band
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours of community service at various locations
[] Personal Statement: I thought my essays were between an 8 or 9. Talked about my family’s struggle to move to this country after a terrible catastrophe that took everything we owned

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[li]** Intended Major **: astronomy/physics [/li][] State (if domestic applicant): Florida
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Private catholic
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: $50,000-$74,999
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Hispanic woman in STEM, musician, immigrant with tragic backstory

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: My music stuff, essays.
[] Weaknesses: GPA, test scores, lacking APs, ECs, no major awards (as if I wasn’t dying enough of stress, I really don’t know how you people do it)
[] Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? University of Michigan and its music school
[] Schools you were rejected from? JHU, UCLA
[li] Schools you are waiting for? Vanderbilt (!!), UC Berkeley, USC, Oberlin, UMiami, Rice[/li][/ul]General Comments: When I applied to Vandy, this school, and UCLA, I knew that I was reaching myself really far but I took the risk anyway. At the end of a day, if at these schools all that matter are freaking numbers to get in, instead of actually who the person behind those numbers are, then this is not a school I would like to go to. If I’ve learned anything from this is that “prestigious” schools just care about numbers and not the people just to continue their false marketing tactics. I’ll just have to wait what happens, I’m happy I got Michigan, it’s a school I really wanted although Vandy is my first. I know I shouldn’t bet on getting in too much though.

40

[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**[ list]
[ *] SAT I superscore: 2000
[ *] ACT superscore (breakdown): 31
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
[ *] Weighted GPA: 4.3
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (3), US History (4)
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci, AP Music Theory, AB Calc, AP Bio, Chamber Ensemble, English Electives
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Honor Roll for four years (that’s about it)
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity Track, GSA, Black Affinity, Robotics, Volunteering, Performing Arts (including theater, flute, guitar, and singing)
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:[/list] [ b]Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best): Church (soup kitchen as well as other homlessness activities), Service Abroad (Three week service trip to Panama)
[ *] Essays (Include Subjects): Most of my essays had to do with racial equality/social justive
[ *] JHU essay: Interest in research and diversity
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CT
[ *] Country (if international applicant): USA
[ *] School Type: Private
[ *] Ethnicity: Black and White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: $250k+
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Diversity maybe???

[ *] Strengths: Strong interest in research, heavy involvement in the performing arts, advocate for social justice
[ *] Weaknesses: Relatively low grades
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My strengths listed above

Congrats to all who got in! Johns Hopkins is my number one school so I am excited to meet all of you!! I will be majoring in Computer Science!