MIT Class of 2020 RD Results Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
21

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 770/740/680
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): same
ACT (breakdown): n/a
ACT superscore (breakdown): n/a
SAT II (subject, score): Maths 2: 800 Bio: 800 Chem 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 9.3/10 (international student)
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parentheses): n/a
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: n/a
Number of other EA applicants in your school: idk :
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): 2 IBO medals
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):

  • Three years in the Scout (Scoutmaster Assistant)
  • General Knowledge Quiz Team (won 4th place at national competition)
  • Vice class president about studying (3 years)
  • Biology teacher at School
  • Guitar Player
    Job/Work Experience: n/a
    Volunteer/Community Service: n/a
    Summer Experience:
  • Project to educate children the value of environment and how to protect it. (Vice Pre)
  • Project to provide Meals for Patients (about 400 meals per week on Sunday)
  • Science Camp: Meeting Nobel Laureates

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
What You Do For Pleasure: 8/10 About playing mafia games with friends. It’s truly what I do for pleasure. Wrote about how I love to debate, build new strategies and use logic to detect the mafia.
Department at MIT: 6/10 It’s quite generic. I wrote about the beauty of biology and the useful applications of bioengineering. However, I think the way I wrote it showed them my true passion for biology.
Contribute to the community: 8/10 Wrote about the Scout and how we help the Junior Scout to be prepared and be loved
World You Come From: 9/10 I like this essay the most. It shows many aspects of me. I wrote about the inadequate status of biotechnology in my developing country, about how my family and friends suffer from it, and how I’m gonna change and improve biotech in my country.
Significant Challenge: 7/10 wrote about how I failed multiple times in three years in the entrance exam to the Advanced English class and how this failure made me realize my true passion and thrive for my own dreams.
Additional Essay/QB Essays: n/a
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details): n/a

Teacher Recommendation #1: 10/10 from bio teacher. We’re very close. She wrote a stellar letter to point out more good aspects in me than I can think of. haha. Love her! I believe it plays a big role in my acceptance.
Teacher Recommendation #2: n/a. from literature teacher but i didn’t read it. I’m very active in her class. I think she will say sth good about me.
Counselor Rec: n/a. didn’t read it, too
Additional Info/Rec: n/a
Interview: It went well because he seems interests in my stories. However, one time, I can’t understand what point he’s trying to make and he has to explain about it several times. not sure how it would affect the report. actually, it was my first interview ever and i’m extremely nervous. however, i’m happy that I didn’t ruin it.
Art Supplement: n/a

Other

Date Submitted App: the last day, haha
U.S. State/Territory or Country: an asian coutry
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: less than ten thousand
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): IBO medals? is the medals considered as a hook?

Reflection

Strengths: IBO medals, some good essays, SAT subject scores, letter of recommendation from bio teacher
Weaknesses: SAT scores, not very impressive ECs, some boring essays, international student
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: biology consistency -> passion, awards, ECs, dreams, I think you can find bio in every corner of my application, haha. On the other hand -> diverse side interests (scout, quiz, mafia games, teaching), but share common underlying things: help other and strive for more knowledge (did you notice that it is the consistency but diversity law of the living creatures, too? haha I’m a bio nerd, and I’m proud of it!)
What would you have done differently?: nothing, I did my best. I painted a true picture about myself.
Where else did you apply?
Waitlisted at WashU and Case Western Reverse.
Haven’t heard from Johns Hopkins, Duke and Cornell but it’s no great deal because MIT is my top choice.

**Other Factors: ** n/a

General Comments & Advice: Follow your dreams and passions, and MIT will follow you. Be confident! People say I have no chance because of my low SAT score, compared to the guys who has 2400 SAT and two IMO gold medals from my country. Thankfully, I still keep the faith and apply. So if you love MIT, apply to MIT no matter what! Good luck future applicants!

22

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1990 (660/760/550/7) only attempt
ACT (breakdown): 33 (idk but i got a 6 on the essay) only attempt
SAT II (subject, score): 760 Physics, 800 Math II, 740 Math I
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.70
Weighted GPA: our weighting system is really dumb but i think it’s like 14.2/18 (an A+ in an AP class is 18 points, in honors is 16, regular is 13)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/444
AP (place score in parentheses): Eng Lang (3) Physics I (3) Music Theory (3) World History (4) Calculus AB (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng Lit, Calculus BC, Statistics, Engineering Design & Development, Dual Credit Govt/Econ, self-studying Physics C: Mechanics, Theater Production
Number of other EA applicants in your school: probably zero.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Robotics 10th and 11th grade, Theater 11th and 12th grade, even though i only took two extracurriculars i devoted a heck of a lot of time and energy to both of them. no awards or leadership though
Volunteer/Community Service: i sit in my calculus class after school and tutor people. idk how many hours i spent doing it

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: i am not going to rate my own essays. i don’t like reading what i write so i don’t want to look at them again
What You Do For Pleasure: i wrote about playing guitar. it’s 100 words
Department at MIT: course 18, i wrote about working through Michael Spivak’s Calculus textbook
Community Service: i wrote about tutoring and about a personal project involving a video series about physics
World You Come From: i wrote about living next to a military base and not having a lot to look forward to around here
Significant Challenge: i wrote about acting for the first time and getting over my embarrassment and nervousness
Additional Essay/QB Essays: for the FUN form i talked about a personal issue i had to deal with after i submitted the application for EA (i got deferred then btw)

Teacher Recommendation #1: i got my english lit teacher to write it even though i didn’t know her that well at the time
Teacher Recommendation #2: i got my calculus teacher to write it since i’ve been learning under him for two years and he’s a brilliant man.
Counselor Rec: idk i didn’t waive my ferpa rights
Interview: i liked the guy and he answered some questions i had about the institvte.

Other

Date Submitted App: like really early in october. i was eager to get it in early and not worry about it until decision day. then i got deferred and sent in my FUN form as soon as i could to keep not worrying about it.
U.S. State/Territory or Country: texas
School Type: it’s two stories. it has classrooms and a lot of other people.
Ethnicity: hispanic
Gender:male
Income Bracket Range: ~$60k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): i love to learn and to teach other people. i always try to do things that interest me or that i find challenging because it makes me feel more fulfilled as a person.

Reflection

Strengths: i’m very honest and self-critical. i don’t give a fuck about impressing anyone. i just do what i do and try to work to do it better
Weaknesses: “comparison is the thief of joy” and i have certainly been deprived of joy a lot
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: maybe they liked my style more the second time around.
Where else did you apply?: UT Austin. i knew i could go anywhere in texas so the only out of state school i applied to was MIT because i felt it was the college that would grant me the most flexibility to do what i want

General Comments & Advice: my numbers aren’t the best in the universe so i had to play to my strengths. i love to learn and i’m very passionate about the things that hold my interest, and it was refreshing to be able to exhibit those things in a genuine way through the short essays. i still have a hard time believing i got in tbh, looking at people with higher numbers who didn’t get in.
i would have been happy going to UT Austin because it would’ve meant i’d be able to see my current friends more and work on cool projects with them, and going to Massachusetts means i have to do a hard reset of my life which is kinda bittersweet tbh.
if there’s any big advice i wanna give for my only CC post it’s that it’s important not to let where you go or what numbers you got define you as a person, because human beings tend to also have personalities and experiences and stuff like that. welp bye

23

**Decision: Deferred -> Rejected **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 680/700/670/8
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): same
ACT (breakdown): 30C/31E/32M/25S/33R
ACT superscore (breakdown): same
SAT II (subject, score): 620 Math 2, 630 Physics, 680 Math 1
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Weighted GPA: 102.4/100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/832
AP (place score in parentheses): USH (3), WH (3), English Language (4), Spanish Language (5), Spanish Literature (4), taking Calc BC, Physics 2, Bio, Chem, English Lit, Gov, Macroeconomics
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP Bio, AP Chem, AP English Lit, AP Gov, AP Macroeconomics, AP Stats, Computer Maintenance
Number of other EA applicants in your school: Just me
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): none
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, QuestBridge College Prep Scholar, some other school awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Spanish Club treasurer then president (10-12), Student Council (senior class treasurer) (12), Physics tutor (11-12), Team America Rocketry Challenge (12–co-founder of school team), some other stuff
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: 100 hrs
Summer Experience: eh

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
What You Do For Pleasure: 10/10
Department at MIT: 8/10
Trait Most Proud Of: 8/10
World You Come From: 7/10
Significant Challenge: 9/10
Additional Essay/QB Essays: n/a
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details): n/a

Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10 English teacher
Teacher Recommendation #2: 1000/10 physics teacher
Counselor Rec: None–school is too large & she knows no one
Additional Info/Rec: None
Interview: 12/10
Art Supplement: None

Other

Date Submitted App: 11/1
U.S. State/Territory or Country: TX
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: XX
Income Bracket Range: $60,000-$75,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): URM, first generation

Reflection

Strengths: none
Weaknesses: everything. :slight_smile: I wish they would’ve rejected me EA.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: It’s obvious why I got rejected. I really wish they would’ve rejected me EA instead of deferred me.
What would you have done differently?: A lot.
Where else did you apply?

Texas A&M ($5500 merit scholarship so far)
Notre Dame (Likely Letter)
Harvard
Yale
Cornell
Columbia
Dartmouth

**Other Factors: **
I would say I shouldn’t have applied, but it was fun dreaming about it.

General Comments & Advice:

24

**Decision: ****Deferred ** --> **Rejected **

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (breakdown): 2230 (740 CW, 760 M, 730 W, 11 Essay)
    [    ] ACT: 35 (36 E, 36 M, 33 R, 35 S)
    [] SAT II: 790 Math II, 780 Chemistry, 800 US History
    [    ] Unweighted GPA (4.0 scale): 4.0
    [] Weighted GPA (4.0 scale): N/A
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/219
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC, Chem, Microecon, Macroecon, US History, World History, Comp Sci, Eng Lit, Psych, Physics C: Mech, US Gov, Stats (all 5s), Eng Lang (4), Bio (4)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
    [] Senior Year Course Load: Organic Chemistry, Modern (Euclidean) Geometry, AP French, AP European, AP Human Geo, Choir
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): HiMCM Finalist

Subjective:

  • [] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (Captain), Mock Trial (Captain), NHS (President), Jazz Choir, Show Choir, All-State Chorus, Tennis
    [    ] Job/Work Experience: N/A
    [] Volunteer/Community service: Summer Camps at the Science Center (it’s basically my job)
    [    ] Summer Activities: Mostly stuff with the Science Center. I also went to France last summer!

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:

  • []What You Do For Pleasure: I wrote about making art with dominoes. This was a weird essay that I changed last []minute because I didn’t like what I had originally. (6)
    []Department at MIT: ChemE. I actually made a lot of references to the Blogs with this one. I’m a pretty active reader []of the MIT Blogs and I quoted a few of my favorites. (8)
    []Trait Most Proud Of: My Ability to Build Up Others. This one was easy for me as I have a lot of experience in []helping others to become more confidant (especially in Debate). (9)
    []World You Come From: I wrote about growing up around the people with Intellectual Disabilities that my parents []worked with. I thought this was by far my best essay because it was so personal (9-10)
    []Significant Challenge: This one was about a math modeling competition in which my team messed up and we had to []scrap our whole model. (7-8)
    []Additional Essay/QB Essays: N/A

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

  • [li]Teacher Recommendation #1: My Math Teacher. He has taught me since 8th grade when I took Precalc with him. He has had a lot of influence on me but I don’t know if he would really be one to gush over me. (8)[/li][]Teacher Recommendation #2: My English Teacher, who absolutely ADORES me. Her son also went to Harvard so she has a pretty good idea of how hard she needed to sell me in order to get into a good school. She told me it was easy. :slight_smile: (10)
    []Counselor Rec: I am probably my counselors favorite student simply because I talk with her quite a lot about college and the classes I am taking. (9)
    [    ]Additional Info/Rec: My Debate coach wrote that I am one of the best people she has ever met in her life. I got to read this one and it was cool how she wrote that I “changed the lives” of my younger teammates. (9-10)
    []Interview: This was my first college interview and it was really awkward. My interviewer actually got rejected from MIT out of high school and went back when he was thirty after he had created a rather successful start-up. A lot of the questions I had planned ahead of time for the interview didn’t make sense because he lived in an apartment with his wife and kid while attending MIT. Probably my worst interview out of the 10 I did. (6)
    [    ]Art Supplement: I submitted a couple recordings of me singing. I actually don’t know if these ever went through because my choir teacher couldn’t figure out how to submit a recommendation…

Other

[ul]
[]Date Submitted App: Late September (I applied EA)
[]U.S. State/Territory or Country: Iowa
[]School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket Range: High
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): None really…[/li][/ul]

Reflection

[list]
[]Strengths: I felt that I really threw my all into my essays. I also had really good teacher recommendations.
[]Weaknesses: My interview was awkward and I didn’t have access to most of the science and math extracurricular activities that would have helped me stand out.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not enough STEM activities (beyond my classes)
[]What would you have done differently?: Pushed my school to offer more math and science activities. Interviewed with someone else!
[li]Where else did you apply?: WashU (full scholarship), Vanderbilt (full scholarship), UChicago (accepted), Georgetown (accepted), Caltech (rejected)[/li]
General Comments & Advice:
It has been my dream for the past three years to attend MIT. I visited after my freshman year and absolutely fell in love with it. I knew that it would be hard to get in but I was sure gonna try! I had a really tough time attempting to get my school more involved in math and science activities (I actually tried to start a Science Bowl team at my school but every single science teacher grades 6 through 12 refused to coach it). Don’t get me wrong. Academics are the top priority of any admissions person at MIT, but for an applicant without a hook, it is incredibly important that you find some way to stand out through your essays or extracurriculars. This was a tough blow for me, but I have several other amazing offers. Writing this was actually therapeutic in a way, and I only hope that doing so will help another prospective student in the future!

25

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2330 (800M/730CR/800W/10E)
ACT (breakdown): -
ACT superscore (breakdown): -
SAT II (subject, score): Math II 800, French 800, Physics 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): -
Weighted GPA: -
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): -
AP (place score in parentheses): -
IB (place score in parentheses): -
Senior Year Course Load: 4 A Levels (UK system(
Number of other applicants in your school: 0 EA, 1 other RD
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): a few national-level math + debating ones
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Merit

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): competitive debater (school captain, national team reserve) - quite a bit of success at competitions, also coach the younger students at my school; music (piano + oboe) - do a lot of solo concerts including an upcoming concerto as well as orchestra + chamber music (went on an international tour); captain of school math teams - quite a bit of success + involved in coaching the younger students at my school; other less important things…
Job/Work Experience: -
Volunteer/Community Service: around 50 hours at a charity shop
Summer Experience: did a math research placement, went to debate camp, went to math camp, went on an international music tour

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
What You Do For Pleasure: wrote about debating in the shower - quite fun + light-hearted and conveyed my passion for debating
Department at MIT: Applied Math - gave quite specific reasons
Helping community: about coaching debate - a bit cringe to be honest, and I probably mentioned debating enough times already
World You Come From: about being a girl interested in math - probably quite generic and not too personal
Significant Challenge: would rather not say
Additional Essay/QB Essays: -
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details): -

Teacher Recommendation #1: math teacher - a really great person + inspiring teacher but I’m not sure how much he actually likes me as a person
Teacher Recommendation #2: history teacher - says a lot of nice things so hopefully good!
Counselor Rec: hopefully quite good - we had to fill out a very long form
Additional Info/Rec: -
Interview: ok - one of my first interviews so I don’t think my responses to the classic interview questions (‘tell me about a time you failed’) weren’t as polished as I would have liked
Art Supplement: -

Other

Date Submitted App: I think 31st December?
U.S. State/Territory or Country: UK but US citizen
School Type: private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket Range: -
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): -

Reflection

Strengths: really passionate about math and debating which I wrote quite extensively about and had awards to back this up
Weaknesses: I’m not sure how much of my personality I managed to convey
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: high test scores + awards + passion + LOTS OF LUCK
What would you have done differently?: -
Where else did you apply? quite a few US schools + UK schools

26

**Decision: Deferred --> Waitlist **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 35 composite 36 M 36 S 34 R 34 E
ACT superscore (breakdown): 36 composite 36 M 36 S 36 R 34 E
SAT II (subject, score): 800 Math 2 740 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc BC 5, US History 4, World History 5, Physics 1(self study) 4, Bio 4, Chem 4, Human Geo 5, English Lang 5
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Econ, AP Computer Science, AP Lit, AP Seminar, Honors Adv Math, WOOT
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Academic Decathlon Nationals medals
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Math Team
Physics Olympiad, 10-12, Captain
Science Bowl 11-12, Co-Captain
Table Tennis 9-12, Co-Captain (ran out of room and put Piano over this I think)
Academic Decathlon 11-12
Piano, 1-12

Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service: numerous service hours
Summer Experience:
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

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: good
What You Do For Pleasure: Ping Pong 8/10
Department at MIT: Course 18 and 8 10/10
Trait Most Proud Of: Is this even an essay?
World You Come From: Talked about community 7/10
Significant Challenge: Talked about getting better at math 8/10
Additional Essay/QB Essays:
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: Math teacher, either 1/10 or 10/10 can’t tell
Teacher Recommendation #2: English teacher, solid 7/10 probably
Counselor Rec: idk
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: 10/10, went smoothly
Art Supplement:

Other
Date Submitted App:
U.S. State/Territory or Country:
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: idk my ethnicity, but I’m black
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 120k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): URM

Reflection
Strengths: Scores, ECs, passion
Weaknesses: GPA, lack of significant STEM awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Grades/Updates with any new stem awards
What would you have done differently?: Done less ECs, focused on maybe 1 or 2 things and better grades
Where else did you apply? UChicago, Caltech, Washu, Northwestern all rejected

27

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

[ b]Objective:**

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 800/780/800 (2380)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Same
ACT (breakdown): Not Taken
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score): 800/800/800 Math II, Physics, Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 5.81
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2
AP (place score in parentheses): Chem (5), APHUG (5), APUSH (5), WHAP (4), Physics B (5), Physics C Mehcanics (5), Physics C E&M, Calc AB (5), Calc BC (5), AP English III (5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Free Period, AP Gov/Econ, Debate, Biology AP, Comp Sci, Stats AP, English IV AP
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 10
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Chemistry Olympiad, Debate TOC Qualifier, Debate State Semifinalist, USABO Qualifier, Chemistry Scholarship Winner, DECA State Qualifier
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NM Finalist, AP Scholar

[ b]Subjective:**

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Debate (9-12) Captain
UNICEF (9-12) President
DECA (10-12)
SNHS (10-12) VP
City Youth Council (11-12) Head of Community Engagement
Research (12) - entered research in Siemens Competition

Job/Work Experience:
Tutoring - 12th
Volunteer/Community Service:
HFH Youth Council Chair (200)
Political Campaign (150)
Summer Experience:
Studied organic chemistry and performed research

[ b]Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):**

Essays: LOL I started them the day of
What You Do For Pleasure: Poker
Department at MIT: CHEM ENG
World You Come From: Fireflies
Significant Challenge: Fear of Flying led to my love of Aerodynamics
Additional Essay/QB Essays: NONE
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: She was really nice but I didn’t know her outside of school
Teacher Recommendation #2: Also didn’t know outside of school, but I was definitely her best student
Counselor Rec: I made time to talk to her, but we still weren’t really close
Additional Info/Rec: Research Director
Interview: Best interview that I had which isnt saying much because I am always very stiff and formal in interviews.
Art Supplement: NONE

[ b]Other**

Date Submitted App:1/1
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Oklahoma
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: N/A
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): LOLOLOL

[ b]Reflection**

Strengths: Had both strong science focus and extra debate awards
Weaknesses: bad essays and recs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: idk
What would you have done differently?: started essays sooner
Where else did you apply? Harvard, UPenn (likely), Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia

[ b]Other Factors: **

[ b]General Comments & Advice:** I am doing this because I obsessively haunted CC in the days before my college decisions, but I just wanted to say for the students on CC right now that you should just go out and relax. The college admissions process is very arbitrary because, for private schools, the officers can do whatever they want, so they can pick regardless of skill/talent. There were some incredible applicants who were rejected and some medicore applicants who were accepted, but this college won’t define us.

28

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 780/740/730/10
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):2250
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT superscore (breakdown):Didn’t take
SAT II (subject, score): Math II: 790, Physics: 790, U.S. History: 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 5.24? I’m not sure
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2
AP (place score in parentheses): 5s (14 courses): Music Theory: both Aural & Non Aural, Physics B, Computer Science A, Statistics, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Spanish Language, English Language & Composition, Economics: Microeconomics, Economics: Macroeconomics, Psychology, World History, United States History, Human Geography 4s (3 courses): Environmental Science, Biology, U.S. Government and Politics, 3: Chemistry
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Art History, two music classes, LINUX, Intro to Internet, Financial Accounting, Self studying both AP Physics Cs and AP Spanish Lit
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 1, RD probably around 5
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): A couple international piano competitions
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP stuff, National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Lots of piano and politics, SGA President
Job/Work Experience: Intern at local politician offices
Volunteer/Community Service: Mostly political campaigns and playing piano at nursing homes
Summer Experience: Went to piano festivals every summer

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
What You Do For Pleasure: Music
Department at MIT: Music
Trait Most Proud Of:
World You Come From: Talked about languages
Significant Challenge: Our website getting hacked
Additional Essay/QB Essays: Combining linguistics, music, and CS
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1:Pretty good
Teacher Recommendation #2:Pretty good
Counselor Rec: Pretty good
Additional Info/Rec: Pretty good
Interview: Pretty good
Art Supplement: Should be very good

[ b]Other**

Date Submitted App:
U.S. State/Territory or Country:FL
School Type: Magnet arts school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: We qualify for aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): N/A

Reflection

I never thought I would be able to get into MIT. I don’t have any math or tech background, my SAT scores aren’t too high (2250), and I applied with a music angle. College confidential helped me a lot throughout my college application process and I thought I would post my stats to help others realize that MIT isn’t looking for one dimensional test scores and strict sciency background; it looks for passionate people from all sorts of backgrounds. Don’t be afraid to be yourself!

Strengths: Strong music background, linguistics, passionate (hopefully this came through)
Weaknesses: Test scores and no math/science background
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
What would you have done differently?:
Where else did you apply?

Accepted: Princeton, Cornell (LL and Cornell Tradition Fellow), Carnegie Mellon (CSC), Brown, Duke, Dartmouth, Wellesley, Vanderbilt, Emory, UF (full ride)
Waitlisted: Harvard, Northwestern, UPenn, WashU, Columbia
Rejected: Stanford, Yale

[ b]Other Factors: **

[ b]General Comments & Advice:**

29

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

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (750 R 770 M 790 W)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take it
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (800), Math II (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (5), Spanish Language (5), Spanish Literature (5), English Language (5), Calculus BC (5), AB subscore (5), Physics 1 (5), Physics 2 (5), U.S. History (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): not available at my school
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, Calculus D (Multivariable Calculus)/Linear Algebra, Speech and Debate, AP Biology, AP Art History, AP Microeconomics, AP U.S. Government
Awards: National AP Scholar, Speaker at U.S. News STEM Solutions National Leadership Conference, presenter at 2016 Oncofertility Conference at Northwestern University

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): varsity swim team, speech and debate team (student teacher and treasurer), engineering program to send an experiment to the International Space Station (one of two project managers), brief internship at Qualcomm
Job/Work Experience: tutoring, research assistant in organic chemistry lab (published on paper as coauthor)
Volunteer/Community Service: environmental club (President), NHS, chemistry club (President)
Summer Activities: science program at UCSD, research at USD

[ b]Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):**

Essays:
What You Do For Pleasure: hang out with friends and play board games
Department at MIT: math
Trait Most Proud Of: something about how I helped shape our debate team
World You Come From: politics
Significant Challenge: sending an experiment to the International Space Station
Additional Essay/QB Essays:
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details): all of my essays were good. I put my heart into them

Teacher Recommendation #1: fantastic
Teacher Recommendation #2: fantastic
Counselor Rec: fantastic
Additional Info/Rec: never got sent even though I submitted a research supplement. it was incomplete but I never knew until the day before decisions came out
Interview: eh
Art Supplement:N/A
[ b]Other**

Date Submitted App: November
U.S. State/Territory or Country: CA
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Asian and Caucasian
Gender: female
Income Bracket Range: upper
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): none

[ b]Reflection**

Strengths: extracurriculars, grades, test scores, well-rounded
Weaknesses: not outstanding at any of my extracurriculars like swimming or debate
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: no idea. it’s pretty random
What would you have done differently?: nothing
Where else did you apply? accepted to UCLA (engineering), UC Berkeley (engineering), UCSD (engineering), Harvard, BU, Columbia (engineering), and Rice (engineering), didn’t get waitlisted or rejected anywhere

[ b]General Comments**

work really hard on your essays so that when decisions come out, you have no regrets or doubts about what would’ve happened if you’d tried harder

[

30

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 800/800/800, 12 essay, 2400
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): took SAT once
ACT (breakdown): 36 all sections
ACT superscore (breakdown): took ACT once
SAT II (subject, score): 800 on math 2, chem, bio, US history

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: didn’t have weighted GPA
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parentheses): 5 on macro, micro, bio, chem, physics c mechanics, physics c e&m, us history, bc calc, comp sci, gov, english language, environmental science, world history, spanish
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: multi and lin alg at local state university, honors other classes
Number of other RD applicants in your school: idk
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): 2x usamo qualifier, intel semifinalist, usaco gold, all eastern violin
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NMS semifinalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): 9-12th: varsity tennis captain, NHS president, class president, math team captain, violin
Job/Work Experience: research at local university
Volunteer/Community service: 300 hrs at local homeless shelter
Summer Experience: research, volunteering

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: 9-10 (pretty good. Reviewed and approved by english teacher). Volunteering.
What You Do For Pleasure: play tennis and violin, volunteer
Department at MIT: course 6
Trait Most Proud Of: collaborative instead of super cutthroat like other people at my HS
World You Come From: competitive culture, both at home and at school
Significant Challenge: trying to start my own club about astronomy, but nobody was interested/understood
Additional Essay/QB Essays:

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: math, 10/10. “best student I’ve ever had. He knows more math than me.”
Teacher Recommendation #2: english, 10/10. High praise for my character, improvement in essay writing
Counselor Rec: probably ~8, was on pretty good terms with her
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: 9. Interviewer said “I think you’ll be a really great fit for MIT, I hope you accept”
Art Supplement:

Other

Date Submitted App: 12/27
U.S. State/Territory or Country: NY
School Type: top ranked public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 100-150k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): none

Reflection

Strengths: math, cs, violin
Weaknesses: asian…?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: asian, not enough hooks
What would you have done differently?: make the IMO
Where else did you apply?: accepted berkeley and caltech, rejected all ivies and mit and stanford

[ b]Other Factors: **

General Comments & Advice:
Don’t br Asian

31

**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, 2nd place gold division Cyber Patriot (internationally), Rensselaer Medal, HiMCM (meritorious).

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). WPI Programming Contest 1st place, National Merit Finalist, NMF $2500 Award Winner, and AP National Scholar. 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, Varsity Crew, 1st Clarinet in Marching Band
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):

What You Do For Pleasure: Wrote about Juggling and how powerful the feeling of control, balance and harmony is when practicing. Also made a comment about how siteswap notation relates to affine Weyl groups.
Department at MIT: Course 6 EECS. I really made it clear that I knew people in the department and would be excited to study with the talented individuals there.
Trait Most Proud Of: Wrote about my willingness to teach and to share my knowledge with the world. Cited the YouTube channel I started when I was 9 years old to teach others Java programming that has since gained 2200+ subscribers.
World You Come From: I shared some experiences I had with the Open Source community and how I believe that shared knowledge and community developed projects are changing the software world for the better.
Significant Challenge: Described conflicting feelings when I realized that I couldn’t do everything and participate in every extracurricular and really had to choose what subjects to pursue in life.
Additional Essay/QB Essays: n/a

Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, 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 job, and then when I declined he offered 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.
Interview: Went pretty well, he seemed pleased with me. The interview lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes (aka on the longer side).
Art Supplement: None, but I submitted a Research paper for my Research supplement and also made a video for my Maker supplement where I described an interactive circuitry education application I made and presented at a STEM conference in Worcester.

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:
Carnegie Mellon SCS
UChicago
Georgia Tech (lol)

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

General Comments: MIT was one of my dream schools. I’ve wanted to go there since I was 9, and honestly still tasting some salt after this rejection. Oh well. Congrats to everyone that got in! Will probably choose Cornell over Duke next year, because it has more well developed CS (although the environment is a little more depressing unfortunately).

32

Posting for son:

DECISION: ACCEPTED

SAT I: 2380 - (breakdown M-800, CR-800, W- 780) - Took Twice
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): Math2 - 790, Bio - 780
Unweighted GPA: 3.98 (B+ in Spanish)
Weighted GPA: 5.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses): Physics, Chem, Calc BC, History, Lit., etc…All 5s
IB (place score in parentheses): IB Program - Don’t have projected scores
Senior Year Course Load: CORE - IB Physics 2, IB Further Math, IB Spanish 5, IB Econ, IB English, AP Stat,
Number of other applicants in your school: 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): None
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, National Merit, National Hispanic Scholar, Book Awards, etc…

SUBJECTIVE:

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details): 10 - Received many compliments from admissions officers

Teacher Recommendation #1: Math - Excellent
Teacher Recommendation #2: Physics - Excellent
Counselor Rec: Excellent
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: Not great
Art Supplement: Ragtime music expert - playing over 10 years

OTHER:

Date Submitted App: early Dec.
U.S. State/Territory or Country: NJ
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Mexican
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: $150K+
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): URM, not first gen, not low income, affluent community

REFLECTION:

Strengths: HS Transcripts, GPA, ECs, LORs
Weaknesses: No big awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Very Strong math/science URM, also accomplished jazz pianist, Coach, Teacher and created popular BLOG
What would you have done differently?: Nothing
Where else did you apply?

Accepted:
MIT
Brown
Dartmouth
Cornell Honors
UPenn (Wharton)
Williams
WashU
Johns Hopkins
Rice U - ($100K Scholarship)
UVa
UCLA
Rutgers Honors (Full Ride)

Rejected:
Yale
Princeton

Wait Listed:
Harvard

GENERAL COMMENTS/ADVICE:
Good Luck future applicants. IF you are Hispanic, I suggest reading past posts from senior members!!