<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2000 (CR 620, Math 620, Writing 760)
[</em>] SAT II: USH 700, Math I 580
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.73
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No Rank
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), English Lang (5), Psychology (5), World History (4), Spanish Language (2)
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Comparative Govt, AP English Lit, AP Spanish Lit, AP Calculus AB, Geosystems Honors, Adv Orchestra (2 classes)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Two-time State Forensics/Debate champion in Student Congress, Extemporaneous Speaking; multiple regional- and state-level Debate awards, won my county’s Democratic Volunteer of the Year, Harvard Book Club Award, several other academic awards[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Speech & Debate (Team Captain for 2 years, Dir. Training/Recruitment for 1, state champion and finished first in my region/state/etc. to qualify for nationals);
Orchestra (Principal Cellist for 1 year, won regional 1st ranking every year since 5th grade)
Cross Country (Varsity)
Spanish Honor Society (President)
The usual NHS, EHS, HHS, Boys State
Won Science Fair and participated three years in a row
Lots and lots of other stuff
[</em>] Job/Work Experience:
Interned with major regional law firm
Interned with local delegate’s campaign
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service:
Political Activism (hundreds of hours volunteering, founded local club, featured in Washington Post at the age of 10 for activism, literally spent entire weekends volunteering for campaigns and this is my true passion);
[</em>] Essays: Wrote about my passions and my true feelings and didn’t stray away from controversial topics, made sure that everything I wanted to say shone in my essays
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: You can’t judge recs without seeing them, that’s kinda hypocritical…but I got my History teacher and Spanish teacher/SHS sponsor to write recs and they were very enthusiastic and receptive about me asking them
[</em>] Counselor Rec: I was the first person to see my counselor when she first came to our school before 9th grade even begun and I have developed a strong relationship with her…if you are reading this, DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR COUNSELOR. She has been the single most instrumental person in keeping me going throughout the years! Again, can’t judge based on not seeing it
[<em>] Additional Rec: My local Democratic committee’s ex-chair wrote me a rec that I saw and I liked a lot; she has always been there for me and I sought out her help…
[</em>] Interview: Met at a local restaurant with a '10 graduate who asked me about the usual stuff but then we talked about politics and other stuff I like…very nice dude and someone I could see myself chillin with at Brown
[/ul]
Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): VA
[</em>] Country : USA
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: African-American (first-generation American of Trinidadian descent)
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: Not sure…but upper middle class
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Being African-American, male, and first generation undoubtedly helped, but being unique and committed to my passions prob. shone a lot more. I am committed to the things that I do and it shows in my app…that’s what a real hook looks like
[/ul]
Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: EC activities (my activities were not a laundry list and all things that I have been committed to and given 100%), unique applicant, commitment to the things I cherish and love, and this all shone through from fit to finish
[<em>] Weaknesses: SAT scores, obviously
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred: Because I stayed committed to the things that I loved and I was someone different from the “usual” - do things that you love, dare to be different, take risks
[li] Where else were you accepted/deferred:[/ul][/li]General Comments:</p>
<p>First of all, do NOT ask someone for Chances on CC. People are very misleading and try to get you not to apply. I remember the dozens of people telling me that I had little-no chance because of my SAT scores. Listen to your counselors, your parents, your advisors - they tell you the real story - that SAT scores and statistics are NOT everything.</p>
<p>Believe in yourself, don’t give up or slow down. Stay committed to the things you love and work hard no matter the outcome. I can say that in times when the going got tough in terms of academics, I never gave up and worked for every single point and every single grade. </p>
<p>Also, don’t let ANYONE get you down for being different and unique. 
Congrats to everyone & good luck in the future!</p>
