**Official Amherst Class of 2020 ED DECISIONS ONLY Thread**

To help future Amherst applicants, this thread is for DECISIONS ONLY. There are other threads for discussion and congratulations/consolations.

Please enter as much info as you can, up to your personal comfort level.

On the decision line: Delete the decisions that don’t apply to you, and remove the 'a’s in the first two brackets. You can preview to make sure it looks right.

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:

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

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections:

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred?

General Comments:

Correction:
On the decision line: Delete the decisions that don’t apply to you, and remove the 'a’s in the first THREE brackets. You can preview to make sure it looks right.

Are the decisions out today?

@NerdEmperOr7 In about…2 hours or so. Supposing results are out at 5.

@Jenni7298 Thanks!

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 800CR 780Math 800CW
[ *] ACT (breakdown): N/A
[ *] SAT II: 800 in Physics, Math Level 2, Biology and Chemistry
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8ish
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s in Calculus AB and Physics C Mechanics
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Not sure how to respond to this… I’m an international student: we don’t get to choose the course
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): The Telegraph School Award for the Best All-Rounder 2015

Subjective:

[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Spelling bees, Debate, Elocution, Theatre, Karate, Classical Guitar, Science Fair, Model UN
[ *] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered for about 18months at a school for mentally handicapped children
[ *] Summer Activities: N/A
[ *] Essays (rating 1-10, details): I thought it was nice. IDK, can’t comment really

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
[ *] Teacher Rec #1: Physics teacher, Rec was great, ratings good
[ *] Teacher Rec #2: English teacher, Rec was great, ratings brilliant
[ *] Counselor Rec: No idea, she wouldn’t show me
[ *] Additional Rec: Chemistry teacher, rec was great, ratings brilliant
[ *] Interview: N/A

Other:

[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[ *] Intended Major: Physics
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): N/A
[ *] Country (if international applicant): India
[ *] School Type: Private, All-boys
[ *] Ethnicity: Indian
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: >$30000 pa
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):I don’t know what these are. sorry

Reflections:

[] Strengths: Versatile, academically strong (i guess)
[
] Weaknesses: few athletic activities
[li] Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred? I don’t know.[/li]
General Comments: Best of luck! Hope you guys get in - I really liked the place, at least from first impressions

Sorry typo: Income bracket <$30000

@NerdEmperOr7 Oh wow. They’re absolutely mad not to take you. Really. No idea if it’d help, but I got rejected as well. My stats really aren’t as good as yours though haha.

Rejected

Objective:

[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 780CR 740Math 800CW
[ *] ACT (breakdown): 35
[ *] SAT II: 780 in Math Level 2, 800 Literature
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Several 5s, one 4.
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Eng., AP Latin, AP Psych.
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing national, lots of regional, etc.

Subjective:

[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots
[ *] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: 400 hours
[ *] Summer Activities: Volunteer, sports
[ *] Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9?

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
[ *] Teacher Rec #1: Excellent
[ *] Teacher Rec #2: Excellent
[ *] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see, but should have been good
[ *] Additional Rec: NA
[ *] Interview: N/A

Other:

[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[ *] Intended Major: English
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Private
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: 180K
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Well rounded? Play some sports

Reflections:

[] Strengths: Grades, test scores
[
] Weaknesses: No major hooks to distinguish me from others with great grades and test scores?
[li] Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred: See above[/li]
General Comments: Good luck! Amherst is a great school where from I can tell you will get a first rate education (if you can get in!)

Got Deferred. Does that basically mean I got rejected?

Posting for my son:

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (CR 750, M 800, W 800)
SAT II: Math2 800, Chem 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): No AP courses prior to senior year (school offers very few)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Sport, both HS (team captain) and club level; Founder and president of his high school’s Seinfeld Club (motto: Life imitates Seinfeld); Designed all sorts of clothing used by his high school class and club sports team
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: minimal
Summer Activities: Three more months of his sport
Essays (rating 1-10, details): My son thought his common app essay was good, I thought it was ‘meh’. He submitted a graded paper for the Amherst supplement
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): The teachers (Math, American History) who submitted LOR’s like him quite a bit, in terms of both his intellect and personality, so likely they were very strong. But who knows?
Counselor Rec: Ditto

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: ?Chem ?Math ?Econ
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Vanilla
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: We’re comfortable
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Applied with coach support

Reflections:
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred? The coach told my son that based on academics alone he had a 50ish per cent chance of getting in. Would imagine that the coach’s support tipped that to > 50%. His academics are strong enough that even without athletics he would have likely ended up at a highly selective school, but he truly appreciates how fortunate he is to have been admitted to Amherst.

General Comments: My son is a better student than he is an athlete, but he wanted to continue in his sport at the college level. He was looking for a school that was not only academically excellent, but where he was good enough to make the team. Ultimately his choices came down to Amherst and Pomona. He certainly liked Pomona plenty, but with Amherst it was love at first sight. He then spent a weekend at both schools, and really liked the Amherst kids (bright, eclectic, fun) who would be his future teammates. Loved the idea of a small undergrad-only school dedicated to teaching. He is thrilled.
For those who’ve been deferred/rejected – It goes without saying that (unfortunately) Amherst is so selective that many many deserving applicants get turned away. Hang in there, and move on. Happiness and success depend far more on the person than on the school. Best of luck.

Rejected. Pretty angry/insulted so I’ll keep it short.

SAT I:max II:max
IB predicted max
ECs/Essays/Recs. Multiple unique, committed interests. Non-bullshit. Tick most boxes - Int. Competition. Think IMO, WSDC kind, speak five languages (IB language ab initio), regional sports champion yada yada

I can always think of it as not being a ‘fit’ but that’s an entirely ridiculous ground for rejection.

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): CR 750, Math 780, Writing 800 (total 2330)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Bio 760, Literature 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 100.0): 96.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (5), English Language (5), US History (5), Computer Science (5) (I also took AP Spanish but I didn’t take the exam)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP Psychology, AP Government and Politics, AP Macroeconomics, Philosophy, Ballroom Dancing
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Track and Field, National Honor Society, Big Sibs (peer mentoring program), founder of a chapter of a national organization at my school, producer of my school’s musical theater competition thing, an editor of my school’s yearbook, a couple other small things
Job/Work Experience: babysitting
Volunteer/Community service: NHS, Big Sibs (other than that, minimal)
Summer Activities: environmental science/leadership summer camp in the Rocky Mountains, visiting family also in the Rockies
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 or 9–my commonapp was about the dichotomy between where I live and where I spend my summers/where I feel most at home, I had my English teacher and 2 of the college counselors at my school read it and they said it was great. My Amherst supp was the option A, and I chose the first quote and it was about the day my view of science changed idk it was good like also 8 or 9?

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: from my English teacher I had both soph and senior year, she loves me and told me part of what it said and it was really good. 9 or 10
Teacher Rec #2: from my math teacher from junior year, I think it was also pretty good because I worked really hard in that class
Counselor Rec: my counselor and I are really close so I think it’s good
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Psychology or Environmental Studies
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large public magnet
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: comfortable, not rich
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A although I have been in touch with the Track and Field coach (wasn’t officially recruited though so I doubt it helped)

Reflections:
Strengths: I am a pretty good writer and I think my essays were very honest, and I have the courseload and the grades. Also, my school is very competitive, so because they compared me to my peers I’m sure it helped. Additionally, one thing I know schools look for is intellectual curiosity, and I did my best to show mine.
Weaknesses: My essays were kind of similar to each other, but went in different directions so it wasn’t that big of a deal. I also don’t have anything that is unusual or especially cool about me.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred? I don’t think I necessarily stand out, but I ED’d and I have strong stats and stuff so I guess that’s why.

General Comments: I also EA’d to UChicago and was planning on applying to Princeton, Yale, Swarthmore, NYU, Johns Hopkins, Bowdoin, etc. I chose Amherst because it’s the only school I’ve visited where I could really see myself–over and over on the tour I said to my mom “Mom, I want to go here.”

I actually want to ask the same questions.