Official Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2018 Admissions Decisions

musicheartbreak4 · March 26, 2014, 7:34pm

[color=green]ACCEPTED: CIT[/color=green]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (CR:750 M:730 W:730)
ACT: none
SAT II: Math II (750), Chemistry (760), English (740), US History (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 100): 94.6 UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calculus BC (5), AP English Language (5), AP US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus/Linear Algebra, AP Physics B, AP Chemistry, AP English Literature/English IV, AP US Government, Intro to Computer Programming
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Commemorated National Merit Scholar, AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years varsity softball (Captain), 3 years cast and crew theatre (stage manager twice), 4 years Latin Club (treasurer), 4 years GSA, 3 years Student Diversity Board.
Job/Work Experience: Intern on Capitol Hill and in a science lab.
Volunteer/Community service: volunteered at special ed school
Summer Activities: Working
Essays: I loved my common app essay, and I think my Northwestern essay was pretty good.
Teacher Recommendation: didn’t read them, but I think they were good
Counselor Rec: also not a clue
Additional Rec:
Interview:none

Other
State (if domestic applicant): Northern VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private, all-girls
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: no financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection
Strengths: test scores, grades, common app essay, showed a lot of interest
Weaknesses: didn’t interview, low SAT math
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: UVA, Michigan, Penn State Schreyer Honors College. Likely letter from Cornell.

Vctory · March 26, 2014, 8:44pm

**Decision: Accepted DS **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2120 (CR: 660 Math: 710 Writing: 750)
[] ACT: Didn’t take
[] SAT II: 750 US History 740 World History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93/4, 4.41/5 (Two B’s from middle school in high school classes (Alg 1 + Geometry), none in hs)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/475
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (5), AP Human Geography (4), APUSH (5), AP Euro (5), AP Comp Gov (5), AP Lang (4), AP Calc (3), AP US, AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Macro, AP Micro, AP Stat, AP Environmental Science, AP Comp Sci
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: All the ungraded AP exams (8 AP classes)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None major, but: Outstanding Delegate Award (MUN/Regional); AP Scholar w/ Distinction; Varsity Letters; Swimming State Meet Qualifier/Competitor
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honor Society (VP), Quiz Bowl (Team Captain), Student 2 Student (Executive Committee), Online Entertainment Organizations (Leader/Founder/Co-leader/Manager/–worked with advertisers; pulled together contracts; sought legal counsel; organized and recuirted content producers, editors, and graphics designers; served as primary liaison to other organizations; all content centered around video games/Call of Duty), Mock Trial Lawyer (Lead for Defense), Model UN Delegate, Tutor, Interact/KenyaVenture volunteer, Varsity swimmer (2 years)
[] Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard Summer (10th, 11th, 12th): 40 hrs/week, Lifeguard Fall/Winter (12th): 18 hrs/week, Online Organizations (it was like a job. I wrote about it in every essay asking for an EC)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Through NHS/Interact, couldn’t list all of it on my Common App, but mainly tutoring 5 hrs/week all year, IS and OOS(chool)
[] Summer Activities: Work; study
[] Essays: Common App 9/10 (Wrote about being a liberal in a strictly conservative family); CM essay: 10/10. One of the best essays I’ve written in my life. 
[li] Teacher Recommendation: #1 AP Comp Gov: 10/10 (Excellent), I went in his room during lunch to read from his collection on political theory; my Model UN coach and Interact advisor[/li]
<h1>2 AP Government: 7/10 (Neutral), My Mock Trial coach, nothing else to say besides his recommendation neither hurt nor helped my app</h1>

[] Counselor Rec: #3 GC: 10/10 (Excellent), First day freshman year I went in and expressed interest in going to a top tier school, explaining my career path to him. Been in contact since. 
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[li] Interview:[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MD
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: Public, large, surprisingly competitive for the top 20 (#4’s GPA is 4.42, mine’s a 4.41 and I’m #10)
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 180,000+
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing huge[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: EC’s, Leadership, Online organizations and contract experience, GPA, course rigor, essays
[] Weaknesses: SAT scores, SAT scores, SAT scores; unhooked applicant
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UPitt (Honors), Penn State, UVA (OOS), Carnegie Mellon, UDelaware (Honors), UMD (Honors), McDaniel (full ride), UKentucky (Honors)
Waitlisted: UChicago
Rejected: Northwestern
Waiting: Brown, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UNC Chapel Hill, UPenn, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, William and Mary

[/ul]General Comments:

Apply even if your SAT’s not in the 2200s like most of the people here. Expect the worst, hope for the best.

lilemmie · March 26, 2014, 11:58pm

[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]

[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT: 2200 (770 M, 710 W, 720 CR)
[ *]SAT II: 750 M2, 680 Chem
[ *]GPA: 3.96 UW, 4.08 W
[ *]Rank: school doesn’t rank
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): none
[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays: Great!
[ *]Teacher Recs: Pretty good!
[ *]Counselor Rec: decent
[ *]Supplementary Material:
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): nah
[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location: California
[ *]High School Type: Small Public
[ *]Ethnicity: White/Asian
[ *]Gender Female
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars: I play waterpolo and am on swim team. Every spring break I go to Tijuana to build houses with my local church (I am leading a team this year) I am in the Honors Society and have been certified as a Scholar Athlete. I did an intense in-depth and super competitive leadership program summer 2012 and got a letter of rec from one of my advisers.
[ *]Awards:
[ *]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: University of Michigan, Tulane, UC San Diego, and a bunch more
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[ /list] I got into two different scholars programs! wooohooo

19KLS96 · March 27, 2014, 12:49am

Could someone who was accepted and not waitlisted try logging onto this: <a href=“https://cas-webapp.andrew.cmu.edu/waitlist/admitlogin”>https://cas-webapp.andrew.cmu.edu/waitlist/admitlogin</a>
Trying to ascertain whether having an ‘invalid login’ means rejection or not waitlisted.

gkiely · March 27, 2014, 1:10am

Tried to login and was told it was an invalid login. S was accepted.

probability · March 27, 2014, 1:25am

Accepted— COS
Waitlisted— SCS
Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2220 (790 M 720 R 710 W)
[]SAT II: 790 M2, 800 Bio, 770 Chem
[]ACT: n/a
[]GPA: n/a, overall average ~A- if that helps
[]Rank: n/a
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): APs: 5 Bio, 5 Chem, 5 Calc AB, 4 Environmental, 4 Lang, 4 US History
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Common App was about sewing, but was pretty good, I think. CMU-wise, the COS one was really nice, but the SCS could honestly have used a bit of work.
[]Teacher Recs: Decent, I think. AP Chem teacher and English Teacher.
[]Counselor Rec: Probably pretty good.
[]Supplementary Material: Non-Arts art portfolio (photography)
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): eh
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: NY
[]High School Type: Large Public for first two years, small private now
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: GSA, quiz bowl, math camp, bioengineering research over the summer, work as tutor
[]Awards: National Merit Finalist, won some local math awards
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: Accepted to Northeastern, St. John’s, Drexel, Fordham. Rejected from MIT. Waiting for Tufts, NYU, Cornell, King’s College London
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: I cried a lot when I got the letter, didn’t think I’d get it [/ul]

asukaxchan · March 27, 2014, 1:28am

[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]
Got into College of Fine Arts, Dietrich College, and BHA Program (which they just automatically accepted me into)!

[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT: 2150 (680 R, 740 M, 730 W)
[ *]SAT II: 740 Math II, 730 Bio-E
[ *]ACT: N/A
[ *]GPA: 93.7/100
[ *]Rank: school doesn’t rank
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP Macro (4), AP Micro (4), AP Bio (3)
[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays: Common app: Talked about fencing and how my loss in a competition motivated me to not only become a better athlete, but to also gain confidence as a person.
Why CMU: Talked about all the cool extracurriculars and study abroad opportunities I want to do at CMU, my wish to have an interdisciplinary education, and why art and humanities is awesome
[ *]Teacher Recs: English and Math Teacher, I assume they were decent
[ *]Counselor Rec: Didn’t read, I assume good
[ *]Supplementary Material: Art Portfolio
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): cousin majored in economics
[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location: NYC
[ *]High School Type: selective specialized high school
[ *]Ethnicity: Asian
[ *]Gender: Female
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars: Competitive Fencing 4 years (won a ton of competitions in the city and also have a national rating), a bunch of volunteer work in city and abroad(400+ hrs), Creative director of school’s fashion mag, President of Children’s Philanthropy club, Layout editor of lifestyle/fashion mag, Freelance writer for a non-profit arts organizations, 2 internships: one in 10th grade (aiding homebound senior citizens through volunteer efforts) and one in 12th grade (assist in student art program),
[ *]Awards: Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Key and 2 Honorable Mentions (art), Cornell 2013 FSAD Gold Honorable Mention, AP Scholar, National Merit Commendation, 1st and 2nd place in a bunch of inner city fencing competitions
[ *]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: Accepted: UMich, Georgia Tech, Boston U, Northeastern and a bunch of safeties
Rejected: Brown, UVA
Waitlisted: W&M
Waiting on: Cornell, NYU, UNC
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[ /list] Got invited into Humanities Scholars Program! Also I was pretty surprised at my admittance because I thought that C+ in BC Calc senior year would haunt me during the college process. Guess not!

cmattins · March 27, 2014, 1:35am

Decision: Accepted at Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences AND Tepper School of Business

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2150
[] ACT: (not submitted)
[] SAT II: 750 Math, 700 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), Physics (5), Latin (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English, Economics, AP Biology, Astronomy, AP Calculus AB, Jazz Band, English IV: Non-Linear Narratives
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[/list][ b]Subjective:**
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics (President, Chief Financial Officer), Political Mania Political Magazine (Editor, Writer), Piano, Drums, Boy Scout (Eagle Scout)[/li] [] Job/Work Experience: Robotics Teacher for Summer Camp, Camp Counselor
[] Volunteer/Community service: Mentor at Project Excellence for Underprivileged Students, Volunteer for St. Vincent de Paul, Upper School Ambassador (Counselor for 8th graders)
[] Summer Activities: Microeconomics at Brown
[] Essays: I felt they were very good and had them checked by five or six people who all said they were good.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I did not see any of them but I assume they were good
[] Counselor Rec:
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview:
[/list]Other
[li] State (if domestic applicant): Arizona[/li] [] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Filipino/English
[] Gender: M
[]Income Bracket: Top 2%
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Literally none
Reflection
[li] Strengths: Extracurriculars and Essays[/li] [] Weaknesses: Grades and CR in SAT
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Extracurriculars were interesting and original especially for an economics major. My essays were personal and helped them understand that I searched for a long time for my major by trying different extracurricular activities.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UCLA, Barrett, University of Michigan
Rejected: Washington University, Northwestern
General Comments: I agree with @Vctory. After looking at all the acceptances here and their SATs, I was almost positive I would not get in with a 2150. But extracurriculars and essays seriously help.

renoverchat · March 27, 2014, 2:12am

Accepted to Dietrich

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2350 (800 CR)
[]SAT II: 780 on both
[]ACT: didn’t take
[]GPA: 3.80 UW
[]Rank: 16/300
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Did well, but didn’t submit

[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Okay.
[]Teacher Recs: Should have been okay, but didn’t read them.
[]Counselor Rec: Should be good.
[]Supplementary Material: Sent an art portfolio.
[li]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): No financial aid requested? Some national awards?[/li]
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: Indiana
[]High School Type: Normal public
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: F

[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Art, some tutoring, piano.
[]Awards: National art awards, Merit Finalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: Accepted to William and Mary, and UMich (so far). Rejected/waitlisted at WashU, and a few other top 20s.
[]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] Honestly, I’m relieved that this (college admissions) is over. I don’t feel the happiness as much as the relief so far (though the happiness is strong too). I was never the best student, grade-wise, and I wasn’t sure that my good SAT scores could compensate. I was already rejected by a few colleges, and I was afraid that all of my top choice schools would deny or waitlist me. I’m thrilled that I got in somewhere that I like.

kokobacho · March 27, 2014, 2:42am

Accepted: MCS

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2070 (superscore)
[]SAT II: 730 Math II 730 Chemistry
[]ACT: 32
[]GPA: 3.78 (unweighted)
[]Rank: my school doesn’t rank
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): My predicted scores for IB are high.
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: I think my common app essays were pretty good! I talked about how I used to live abroad. The writing supplement was about my love for chemistry and working with Air Alliance to clean up the air in Houston.
[]Teacher Recs: I heard my chemistry teacher’s recommendation and it was amazing. Idk about my other teachers but I assume they were good too
[]Counselor Rec: idk.
[]Supplementary Material: didn’t send any
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none really.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: Houston
[]High School Type: international school
[]Ethnicity: East Asian
[]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: secretary of environmental club, president of national chinese honor society, vice president of half the sky club, ice skater until 10th grade, jv soccer player, SPCA volunteer, dancer, national honor society member, computer science club, compudopt volunteer
[]Awards: national honor society and national chinese honor society.
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: accepted to northeastern, boston university, purdue university. waitlisted at washington university.
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] I honestly cannot wait to go to this school!

roxy481 · March 27, 2014, 2:52am

[ size=+1][ color=green][ b]Accepted: Tepper[ /b][ /color][ /size]

[ b]Stats:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT: 2320
[ *]SAT II: 790 math 2, 760 chem
[ *]ACT:
[ *]GPA: 3.8 unweighted, 4.4 weighted
[ *]Rank: school doesn’t rank
[ *]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): ap euro: 3, ap human geo: 4; taking IB exams: hl lit, hl bio, sl chem, sl math, sl french, hl history
[ /list][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[ *]Essays: 7/10, wrote about my experience working at a bioengineering lab and how that made me want to pursue both business and engineering.
[ *]Teacher Recs: read one, really good and personal
[ *]Counselor Rec: really nice, supplemented my app perfectly. she knows me well
[ *]Supplementary Material: nada
[ *]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):
[ /list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[ *]Location: CA
[ *]High School Type: huge public
[ *]Ethnicity: indian
[ *]Gender: f
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars:
board member of a nonprofit
president MUN
president DECA
pres indian cultural club
vp french honor society
NHS
indian community youth group
marketing internship at a nonprofit
internship at UCLA bioeng. dept
[ *]Awards: a bunch from MUN
[ *]Where else were you accepted/rejected?:
accepted: Tulane (pres scholarship), UIUC (engineering), UCSD, UCLA, UCB (regents)
waitlisted: Northwestern engineering
rejected: MIT, UChicago,
[ *]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[ /list]

not really sure, mainly make your essays unique and something relatable to what you want to do- not just “business” or “engineering” but how you plan on using that
good luck!

roxy481 · March 27, 2014, 2:53am

Accepted: Tepper

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2320
[]SAT II: 790 math 2, 760 chem
[]ACT:
[]GPA: 3.8 unweighted, 4.4 weighted
[]Rank: school doesn’t rank
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): ap euro: 3, ap human geo: 4; taking IB exams: hl lit, hl bio, sl chem, sl math, sl french, hl history
[/ul][ b]Subjective[ /b][ list]
[]Essays: 7/10, wrote about my experience working at a bioengineering lab and how that made me want to pursue both business and engineering.
[]Teacher Recs: read one, really good and personal
[]Counselor Rec: really nice, supplemented my app perfectly. she knows me well
[]Supplementary Material: nada
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):
[/list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[]Location: CA
[]High School Type: huge public
[]Ethnicity: indian
[]Gender: f
[/list]**Other **[list]
[]Extracurriculars:
board member of a nonprofit
president MUN
president DECA
pres indian cultural club
vp french honor society
NHS
indian community youth group
marketing internship at a nonprofit
internship at UCLA bioeng. dept
[]Awards: a bunch from MUN
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?:
accepted: Tulane (pres scholarship), UIUC (engineering), UCSD, UCLA, UCB (regents)
waitlisted: Northwestern engineering
rejected: MIT, UChicago,
[]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[ /list]

not really sure, mainly make your essays unique and something relatable to what you want to do- not just “business” or “engineering” but how you plan on using that
good luck!

TheToughGame · March 27, 2014, 5:06am

[ size=+1] [ color=green] [ b] Accepted: MCS [ /b] [ /color] [ /size]
UW:3.86
W:4.36
SAT 2180, 2270 SS
Rank: 30ish/525 unweighted rank
12 APs in total, 800 on IIC, 770 on USH

Race: Chinese
[]Essays: 6/10, really weren’t that great
[]Teacher Recs: never read them
[]Counselor Rec:never read it
[]Supplementary Material: none
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): none
[/list][ b]Personal[ /b][ list]
[]Location: CA
[]High School Type: public
[]Ethnicity: Chinese
[]Gender: m
[/list]Other

EC and Awards: too lazy to list all of it

Accepted: Berkeley (Regents Candidate), UCLA, UCSD, UCI,
Rejected: Penn (ED), Northwestern, Rice

Twillsmomnp · March 27, 2014, 1:17pm

Waitlisted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 760 M, 800 CR, 800 Writing
ACT:
SAT II: 800 Math2, 760 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.71
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/336
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB: 5, Physics: 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Physics, AP Econ, AP Comp Sci, GT Engineering, English Honors, Piano
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF (finalist pending), National Spanish Exam Silver

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): XC 4 yrs (JV Captain 1yr), STEM club, NHS, Spring Track
Job/Work Experience: NASA Space Club Scholars Summer Internship
Volunteer/Community service: Youth Group, trail clean up
Summer Activities: see above
Essays:
Teacher Recommendation:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: none

Other:
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: W
Gender: M
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection:
Strengths: Strong focus on engineering, NMF, Grades, SATs, a
Weaknesses: Average extracurriculars, no “hooks”
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Limited leadership, did not have interview
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted Pitt, UDel, UMD, Waitlisted: Lehigh

muftogun · March 27, 2014, 7:18pm

Accepted to MCS

Rejected from SCS

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2000 (M 740 CR 630 W 630)
[]SAT II: M2 690 Physics 600
[]ACT: n/a
[]GPA: 4.0 UW 4.75 W
[]Rank:1/323
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): None
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: I didn’t think it was that good. 7/10
[]Teacher Recs: Probably good, didn’t read
[]Counselor Rec: Same as above
[]Supplementary Material: none
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): None
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: MD
[]High School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: African American
[]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Class Board Treasurer for 4 years, Colorguard for 4 years (Captain for 2), NHS Webmaster, Spanish NHS, SGA
[]Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, JHU CTY, Honor Roll
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: Accepted: MIT, USC, UMD, UPitt, Rice University; Rejected: Stanford; Waiting for GWU
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul] I’m glad I got in. I wasn’t expecting it at all, but I’m not really in love with the school. I’m most likely going to MIT or UMD.

LadyPikachu · March 27, 2014, 7:30pm

ACCEPTED TO MY TOP CHOICE SCHOOL AND DEPARTMENT CIT!!!

Waitlisted at MCS

Rejected at SCS

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2210, M790, W710, CR710
[]SAT II: Chem 760, Math II 770, USH 760
[]ACT:
[]GPA: 3.9 UW, 4.5 W
[]Rank: 2 out of 400
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Chem (5), APUSH (5) (school doesn’t offer AP’s until Junior year)
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: I really liked my common app essay. It was about me drawing a comic. My “Why CMU” essay really went into depth about CIT, but I didn’t talk about MCS at all, so I think that’s mainly why I was waitlisted despite its higher acceptance rate. So, for future applicants, the essay matters. Address every department you apply to!
[]Teacher Recs: Dunno, didn’t read
[]Counselor Rec: Dunno, didn’t read
[]Supplementary Material: Submitted an art supplement
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Nada!
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: MA
[]High School Type: Average public high school
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: F
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: I’m gonna be pretty vague - Creative Writing Club, Art Museum Stuff, Chinese Culture Club, Lots of hours volunteering at computer/technology/art place, Volunteer at a Painting Studio, Nanotechnology Research Internship, Summer Art Program every year
[]Awards: Haha nope!
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: RPI, WPI, Northeastern, BU, University of Rochester. Priority Waitlisted to RISD
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/li]
I AM SO HAPPY. CMU IS MY TOP CHOICE. I FEEL LIKE ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS HAVE BEEN FULFILLED. I’ll have to see their aid though…haha.[/ul]

Rt86520 · March 28, 2014, 5:05am

Accepted CIT:ECE **
Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: didn’t send
[]SAT II: chem 720 math 2 770
[]ACT: 34: r30 m35 e35 s36
[]GPA: (we do a 100 point scale) unweighted: 3.6ish weighted 4.1ish
[]Rank: school doesn’t rank past top 10%, I’m not in the top 10%
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 5 on chem and psychology, 4 on human geo, 3 on bio, world history and English Lang
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: ehh it was okay, I didn’t think it was the best. I wrote about overcoming shyness. My why cmu essay mentioned a lot about the sport I was being recruited into, and I talked about how I wanted to become an engineer.
[]Teacher Recs: decent, I didn’t know any of my teachers super well but they all liked me, didn’t read
[]Counselor Rec: I think it was good, didn’t read
[]Supplementary Material:
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): recruited athlete
[/ul][ b]Personal[ul]
[]Location: Texas
[]High School Type: public, pretty competitive
[]Ethnicity: asian
[]Gender: female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: sports team for 4 years, spent most of my school and summer doing it, decent number of volunteer hours relating to my sport…
[]Awards: mostly sports related, NHS
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: only accepted into a school I was automatic to. Rejected from rice.
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: start essays early. They are a killer. And make sure you have them reviewed by multiple people. Also, do more extracurriculars, and try to make that involvement more than just a participant. Also you might want to have an interview just to be safe (I didn’t and it was worrying me). Also this may seem like common sense but in general, if you’re being recreated as an athlete, make every coach feel like they’re your number one school.[/ul]

twiggs · March 28, 2014, 5:47am

Decision: Admitted to SCS and CIT

Objective:[ul]

[]SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2240: 800/680/760/8
[]SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): one sitting, took it once
[]ACT (breakdown): 34: M:34, CR:32, E:35, S: 34
[]ACT superscore (breakdown): one sitting, took it once
[]SAT II (subject, score): Math II: 770, Chem: 790
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[]Weighted GPA: 4.9 (Plus 1.0 for AP, 0.5 for honors)
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t officially rank, but I’ve heard that I am first in my class out of 107
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Chem (5), Env Sci (5), Lit (4), US History (4), World History (4)
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Comp, AP Physics B, Advanced Computer Tech, Independent Science Research, Two online electives from OSU eCampus
[]Number of other applicants in your school: One who was waitlisted
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
[]Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NCWIT Aspirations in Computing for Hawaii, Commended National Merit, always on honor roll, AP scholar with distinction, Mount Holyoke Book Award, A chemistry scholarship, Cum Laude Society

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]

[]Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Varsity Swimming: 9-12, captain, won league championships, fourth at state, (I’ve also swam club since I was seven); Varsity Water Polo: 9-12, started for four years; Piano and Violin: since I was four, (I’m pretty good); Photography: 10-12
[]Job/Work Experience: Intern at Imiloa Astronomy Center for work in observatories, Intern at EXG Technologies studying sleep apnea, Intern at my school’s Energy Lab doing awesome science stuff
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Sometimes I coach swimming for hours but I don’t have time usually
[]Summer Experience: Research on sleep apnea, created virtual tours of the observatories on in Hawaii, went to summer camp, went to a summer art program at Cornish College of the Arts

[/ul]Other[ul]

[]Date Submitted App: 12/21 ish
[]U.S. State/Territory or Country: Hawaii
[]School Type: Small Private
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket Range: High enough that I don’t need financial aid
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Woman in CS?[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[list]

[]Strengths: I have the makings of a “user-friendly” engineer
[]Weaknesses:
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Overall strong application, I think I’m also pretty well-rounded but I shine in some areas
[]What would you have done differently?: not stress so much when decisions are about to come out.

tomwantssnow · March 28, 2014, 6:00am

Rejected from SCS, MCS Physics, and Tepper

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2230, 710CR 800M 720W
[]SAT II: 800 Physics, 800 Math 2, 730 Chem
[]ACT: 36
[]GPA: 4.0 UW/4.5W
[]Rank:9/372
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): 4: Chem & Spanish Lang. 5: Physics B, English Lang, Calc AB
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: Strong, wrote about my mother’s breast cancer and how it affected me and who I am. Teachers liked it.
[]Teacher Recs: Strong from English teacher who was also adviser for key club and math teacher who was impressed by me.
[]Counselor Rec: Likely generic seeming as I did not talk to my counselor much, but she liked me.
[]Supplementary Material: None.
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Only that my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer my sophomore year
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: Pacific Northwest
[]High School Type: Competitive, highly ranked public school
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Male
[/ul][ b]Other**[ul]
[]Extracurriculars: Over 1500 hours of community service, Pres. of Key Club, Pres. of Keystone (regional volunteer/leadership group), NHS member, volunteering with BGCA, taught self to write code, taught self to play guitar, recreational level sports
[]Awards: AP scholar with distinction, national merit commended scholar, presidential scholar applicant, many community service awards.
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?: Accepted at Cal Poly SLO, rejected at Columbia, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Princeton, Stanford REA, UC Berkeley, Yale. Waitlisted at Cornell and UPenn SEAS.
[*]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul]

Elsiin · March 28, 2014, 7:38am

Accepted: H&SS
**Accepted: School of Design **
Accepted: BHA Program

Stats:[ul]
[]SAT: 2250 - 800CR, 670M, 780W
[]SAT II: Literature 700, US History 760, Math 590 (Hahahaha)
[]ACT: 31 - perfect scores in everything verbal related, terrible scores in everything math and science.
[]GPA: 3.99 (Weighted)
[]Rank: 25/828
[]Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AP - US History 4, European History 5, English lang 5, US Gov 5, Passed Level 4 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test
[/ul]Subjective[ul]
[]Essays: I loved loved loved my common app. Got very good feedback. I started crying while writing it, which should give you a good sense of how much of myself was in there. Wrote about my independent study of Japanese and what it means to me.
[]Teacher Recs: Only saw one; it wasn’t effusive or anything, but very insightful into my character. The teacher nailed me spot-on.
[]Counselor Rec: INCREDIBLY effusive. I only talked with her once, but she was impressed, and it showed.
[]Supplementary Material:

“Why CMU”: I applied to H&SS AND Design AND BHA so I had a lot to cover and not a lot of space. Didn’t feel like I got across much of the same passion as in my common app, but I made clear my intentions and my love for the school.
I gave them a pretty long list of science fiction books. Did that help me get into Design? Who knows.
I applied to Design, so I submitted a portfolio online and also went for an in-person review. I didn’t come away from the review feeling confident at ALL, but it seems like my reviewer sure did.
I graduated in January so I could spend a trimester in Japan (writing this post from Utsunomiya!), so I had a little extra box on the common app where I explained my choice to study abroad. It communicated my intentions well.
I did the sleepover weekend and had an interview with an admissions officer, which went FANTASTIC.
[]Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): Nobel Prize? I wish.
[/ul]Personal[ul]
[]Location: NYC
[]High School Type: Large Public. Sends just a handful of kids to top schools every year.
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]Extracurriculars:
~100 hours volunteering and local synagogue, 3 yrs
~3 years of independent Japanese study, 2-3 hours a day, pretty intense self-immersion
A TON of summer art programs
[]Awards: National Honor Society
[]Where else were you accepted/rejected?:
Accepted: Bingmamton, WashU, Temple U (full tuition + 12k in stipends), Macaulay Honors College at CUNY (full tuition + macbook + $7500 for study abroad)
Rejected: UPenn
[li]Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:[/ul][/li]13 hour time difference, so the result came up at 13:00 for me; had been refreshing the page since 12:50. Not gonna lie, I lay on the floor and sobbed for ten minutes. Carnegie Mellon is more than my dream school; it actually solidified in my mind exactly what I want to study and exactly what I want out of my college experience, wherever I end up going. I’m so excited.

As for advice:

<ol>
<li>Do NOT submit your application nine minutes and fourteen seconds before the deadline. Do not do it. Do not put yourself in a position where that is what you will have to do, because it is nerve wracking and horrible and you will feel very unpleasant for hours afterwards and get yelled at by your parents. Just. Don’t.</li>
<li>You’ll keep hearing this from people, but showing interest in CMU is HUGE. Do the sleepover weekend. If you can’t do the sleepover weekend, email back and forth with professors and talk to as many people as you can. I did the sleepover weekend and also set up meetings with a bunch of people. Def showed my passion for the school.</li>
<li>As far as the School of Design goes: The interview lasted five minutes. Literally five minutes. For everybody. Be prepared to not have NEARLY enough time to say what you want to say.</li>
<li>I had a lot of weaknesses (math scores, extracurriculars, awards) but I am INCREDIBLY passionate about Japanese and I got that across in multiple parts of my app. If anything, that’s what pulled me through. As for the BHA program, I wrote about how I want to study design in the context of culture and language, and culture and language through design. </li>
</ol>

Thread		Replies	Views
*Official Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2021 Regular Decision Results ONLY* Carnegie Mellon University	36	2609	April 18, 2021
* Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2015 Official Decisions Thread * Carnegie Mellon University	9	76	April 17, 2021
*Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2019 RD Decision ONLY* Carnegie Mellon University	36	912	April 18, 2021
Official Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2013 RD Decisions Thread Carnegie Mellon University	155	360	April 17, 2021
OFFICIAL Class of 2015 CMU Decisions Thread Carnegie Mellon University	338	1832	April 17, 2021

Official Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2018 Admissions Decisions

POPULAR STATES

SEARCH SAT SCORES

SEARCH ACT SCORES

SEARCH GPA’S

**Official Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2018 Admissions Decisions**

Related topics

POPULAR STATES

SEARCH SAT SCORES

SEARCH ACT SCORES

SEARCH GPA’S

CONNECT WITH US

Official Carnegie Mellon University Class of 2018 Admissions Decisions