Stats:
Demographic Info
-Asian
-Male
-150k+ income bracket
-Both parents hold graduate degrees
Grades, Courses, Standardized Testing
GPA - 3.77 UW, perfect midyear report (4.0 UW), upward trend during Junior and Sophomore years.
Current Senior Schedule:
AP Macro Econ
AP Gov
AP BC Calc
AP Art History
AP Environmental Science
NJROTC
English 4
Rank - Comfortably within the top decile.
SAT I - 2250 (Super scored)
- 2170 (Single sitting)
ACT - 34 (Single Sitting)
SAT II - Math II and I (800 on both)
- Chem (800)
- US Hist (770)
APs taken before application was submitted:
AB Calculus (5)
Chemistry (5)
US History (5)
Physics (4)
Euro History (5)
Chinese (5)
Extracurriculars
- Heavy NJROTC involvement (Officer four years, battalion CO Junior and Senior years)
- Varsity Drill (Squad Leader)
- Varsity Tennis
- Student Government Officer (2 Years)
- Horticulture Club (Founding Member, 1 year)
- Violin (State aptitude batter passed Junior Year)
- Volunteering: 200+ hours
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Veterans’ Groups
Local University/Exchange
- Work: Tutor (2 years)
- Summer Activities: [USNA Summer Seminar (Junior Year), Volunteering]
- Awards: NROTC scholarship, assorted awards through veteran service groups, commendation from my Congressman for service.
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Applied to:
Brown Accepted
UCLA Accepted
UCSD Accepted
Cornell Rejected
Northwestern Waitlisted
Boston U Accepted
Tulane Rejected
USC Rejected
USNA [color=#FF0000]Rejected/color
I was told that I had very decent chances at Tulane, UCSD, Boston and decent chances at USC. Looking back, I’m not actually surprised I got the L from Tulane, since I’m pretty sure I was yield-protected due to weak interest. I’m very surprised that I got into Brown, and pleasantly surprised I got into UCLA since my UC GPA was quite low (4.1). I will comment to write about what I learned, since this post is uncomfortable to look at
1) I don’t think my ECs were all that strong. I think they were more unique than impressive, and that’s probably what saved me. If you can make yourself stand out (the whole idea of a hook or a spike), I feel as though you’d stand a better chance in front of the admissions board
2) I think my college list might show the early signs of gambling addiction… Juniors, please if you see this APPLY TO SAFETIES. The college with the highest acceptance rate on my list was UCSD… and I applied as an engineering major. Don’t roll dice with colleges.
3) While my essays may not have been the most elegant, I think they highlighted my persona and showed the admissions personnel my true desire to serve. I did not recycle a single essay, and I think that paid off. You reap what you sow I suppose… Underclassmen, it’s going to be worth putting that extra hour into your college essays since yaknow, it’s only your future…
4) Don’t kick yourself over a not-perfect SAT/ACT/GPA. I clearly didn’t have one, and I’m the textbook example of an anti-hooked person. After you get a good score, stop and focus on making yourself an interesting applicant. Being a total nerd with a 36 and a 5.0 doesn’t make you very interesting. Top schools could easily fill their classes with those kinds of students but they clearly don’t
5) Don’t lose too much sleep and stay positive. Once you submit that application, there’s nothing left for you to do other than keeping your grades up. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by worrying daily as your grades plummet from self-induced anxiety. You’ll be OK.
6) Double check your application before you submit it.
7) One more thing… take CC advice with a grain of salt. A lot of posters here are just like me: High school students. We don’t offer the best advice. Don’t get hooked onto ‘What are my chances?’ threads. It’s not healthy
So yeah… That’s about it.
Thanks for the information, it’s very helpful. Congratulations to you on your terrific choices! Do you know where you will go?
@melvin123 Already bought the Brown T-shirts lol
Good for you! If you’re going to do NROTC, I think you have to go to Holy Cross for it, which is about an hour away.
Yeah, but it’s only like 40min away on a good day, and it’s only once a week. I don’t think it’ll be that bad
Hello from a fellow Brown commit! I had similar stats to yours and big lack of the type of ECs of a ton of people on this board and I was straight up obsessed with those chance me thread. I spent years agonizing over my 4 B’s freshman year but I ended up with no rejections. This is all good advice, especially about the essays and ECs.
what major did u apply as?
@kjake2000 Can’t remember. Some schools I applied as a Chem major, others a Chem E major