**OFFICIAL** Class of 2019 - Decisions Thread!

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
1

Here’s a template. Delete the spaces & fill it out to the best of your ability. B-)

[ b][ color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]
[ color=yellow]Decision: Waitlisted[/color=yellow]
[ color=red]Decision: Rejected[/color=red]**

[ b]School/major:**

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[]SAT I (breakdown):
[]ACT (breakdown):
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses):
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[]AP (place score in parentheses):
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load:
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/li][/list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ list]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
[]Job/Work Experience:
[]Volunteer/Community Service:
[]Summer Activities:
[]Essays:
[]Teacher Recommendations:
[]Counselor Rec:
[]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview:[/li][/list]

[ b]Other**
[ list]
[]State (if domestic applicant):
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type:
[]Ethnicity:
[]Gender:
[]Income Bracket:
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/li][/list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ list]
[]Strengths:
[]Weaknesses:
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/li][/list]

2

I’ll go first!

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted with Presidential Scholarship ($20k/year)[/color=green]

School/major: College of Arts & Sciences - Undeclared

Objective:

  • []SAT I (breakdown): 2150 (750 CR 710 M 690 W)
    [    ]SAT II (place score in parentheses): US History 750, German 650
    []Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
    [    ]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): neither rank nor percentile is released at my school
    []AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH (5), AP Eng Lang (5)
    [    ]Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics I, AP Econ (Macro & Micro), AP German, AP English Lit, Honors French III, Prob & Stat

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Future Teachers of America Club (President), Health Careers Club (President), German Honor Society (President), American Association of Students of German (Executive Board Member), Debate & Speech (League’s Peer Group Liaison), School Newspaper (Editor of the Arts & Entertainment section),
[]Job/Work Experience: tbh I worked at a summer camp for a few years, but I didn’t ever mention it in my application
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Liberty in North Korea Rescue Team (Vice-President), tutoring children through the American Youth Literacy Foundation
[]Summer Activities: working at a summer camp
[]Essays: I think my common app essay was lackluster. My supplementals were pretty clever, honestly. Looking back, I’m proud of them, for sure.
[]Teacher Recommendations: Pretty good
[li]Counselor Rec: Pretty good[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): PA
[]School Type: Public, mediocre
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[li]Income Bracket: > 100,000[/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: SAT scores, GPA, extracurriculars
[]Weaknesses: my common app essay was pretty weak, no hooks whatsoever, not declaring a major
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I wouldn’t be able to go to American without the very generous Presidential Scholarship, so I tried very hard to demonstrate my interest in attending. Also, my stats were in line with or above the average AU student.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Pitt (accepted), Penn State (accepted), Temple (accepted), and GW.
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I am so happy I got the $20k/year scholarship! Unless GW offers me the same or more, I think I’ll be attending American next year![/li][/ul]

3

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

School/major: School of Public Affairs/Political Science

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 620 CR 690 M 630 W
[]ACT: 32 composite
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 71/370
[]AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH (2), WHAP (3), Calc AB, Statistics
[]IB (place score in parentheses): IB DP Candidate (no predicted scores yet)
[li]Senior Year Course Load: IB Biology HL, IB History of the Americas HL, IB Math SL, IB Spanish ab initio, IB Music SL, IB English HL, music electives[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Marching band (section leader, 3 years), symphony orchestra, pit orchestra (lead/section leader, 3 years), Model United Nations (founding member), youth group, summer mission trips
[]Job/Work Experience: Youth softball umpire for parks and recreation dept (3 years), music lesson teacher (1 year)
[]Volunteer/Community Service: various experiences, summer community mission trip
[]Summer Activities: Michigan Democratic Party campaign office intern
[]Essays: Reviewed with a teacher and with several friends, I’m proud of them for sure.
[]Teacher Recommendations: Good
[li]Counselor Rec: Good[/li][/ul]

Other

  • []State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
    [    ]School Type: Public, decent
    []Ethnicity: White
    [    ]Gender: Female
    []Income Bracket: > 100,000
    [    ]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college student

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: Standardized test scores, long term commitment to music extracurriculars
[]Weaknesses: mediocre GPA, lack of range of extracurriculars, lack of APs/low scores
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Stats were around where they should be to comfortably count on AU, I feel like I show potential and I showed interest which also helped me to get the Dean’s scholarship and a small grant
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Georgetown (deferred early), GW, James Madison University, UMich, a few small in state schools
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: very happy with the Dean’s scholarship! It will definitely be tough between GW and AU if I get in there, but unless I get into Georgetown or get major aid from JMU, American is certainly in my top 2![/li][/ul]

4

ACCEPTED SIS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT: 26 both times, 28 SS. Amazing verbal, bad math/science (although my scores were all over the place because I was incredibly sick the second time I took it haha)
SAT II: Didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85-3.9ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
AP (place score in parenthesis): Took AP Enviro and AP Micro and got As, didn’t take AP tests. Will have 34 dual-enrollment community college credits by the time I graduate though (all As, variety of subjects-- chem, English, history, etc.)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: 1st semester: Precalc, Chem (CC), British Lit (CC), American Politics (CC), Writing Center training class (CC- required bc I work at the college writing center), Intermediate/Advanced Russian (w/ tutor), Intermediate Turkish (w/ tutor). Second semester: English Comp II (CC), Psychology (CC), Precalc, Intermediate/Advanced Russian (w/ tutor), Intermediate Turkish (w/ tutor)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Lots of Russian competition awards with highest marks. National Security Language Initiative for Youth Scholarship- Russia
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tons of theatre, participated in competitive girls’ theatre-journalism program
Job/Work Experience: College writing tutor
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at local children’s farm camp/created promotional video for its website, taught kids’ Shakespeare class, volunteered at English language immersion camp in Spain
Summer Activities: NSLI-Y, volunteering at camps, internship on Congressional campaign
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App one was good. I wrote about my campaign internship and registering voters in my community. Probably 8-9. Supplement on “Why AU” was kinda generic but had good reasoning; I talked about going to Russia and why I wanted to study International Relations. Maybe a 7-8. For the “AU Community Journey” one I kinda let loose and gushed about why I love AU. Very idealistic, semi-poetic. I’d give it an 8.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Didn’t read, but probably 9 or 10. It was from my favorite English teacher, a professor at my local community college and one of the best people I’ve ever met. She independently recommended me for the writing tutor job and I used to meet up with her outside class and discuss books :slight_smile: And I was really good in her classes
Teacher Rec #2: Also didn’t read, but most likely equally strong. From my Russian teacher who I’ve worked regularly with since I was like 12. She is like family.
Counselor Rec: From my mom haha (homeschooled). I’m sure it was good though, she talked about why we homeschooled and our philosophy of experiential learning
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None

Other
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Homeschool
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: Probably the variety of things I’ve done outside of the classroom/incorporated into the classroom (yay homeschooling!), recs, commitment to obscure languages, obsessive love for AU which I communicated
Weaknesses: Test scores.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See “Strengths”
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted everywhere-- St. Olaf, Dickinson, Lawrence, Indiana University- Bloomington, Beloit, New College of Florida
I’m only posting this because if it shows anything it’s that test scores aren’t everything, even for homeschoolers (and we’re often told they are). Just pursue your passions and the world will have no other choice but to take notice. Not sure where I’m going (it would 100% be AU if it weren’t for the price…need to look into that further) but it was nice to be accepted!

5

Decision: Accepted - SIS - $15k/year Frederick Douglass Schlarship

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 31, 27M 29S 33W 35E
SAT II: n/a
GPA: 3.4 WGPA: 3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Govt (4) Psychology (4) English Lang (5) World History (4) European History (no score yet) English Lit (no score yet) Comparative Govt (no score yet)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Senior Independent Project (1 semester), TV internship (1 semester), Honors French 3, AP English Lit, AP Comp Govt, AP Euro, Law, & Programming.

Major Awards: National Hispanic Scholar, Honorable Mention in AFSA Essay Contest.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (Master Electrician) for my school’s technical theater, member of Social Studies Honors Society, Model UN (first year- but fairly successful with awards.), a lot more I don’t care to list.
Job/Work Experience: Cashier/scooper for an ice cream store.
Volunteer/Community service: Lots of hours (200+) and worked on a gubernatorial campaign during the school year and summer of my junior year.
Summer Activities: Gubernatorial campaign and french immersion program.
Essays: Good, apparently! They wrote on my letter that my supplement was “outstanding!”
Teacher Recommendation: They like me so good
Counselor Rec: We know each other well so good
Additional Rec: n/a
Commonapp Essay: worked hard on it so yeah good
Supplement Essay: see “essays” section above
Interview: Went well, I think!

Other: I completed a 20 page senior independent project that I didn’t send AU but I did notify them about the special program I was in.

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

Reflection: I visited a TON and showed how much I knew AU on my supplement, which they enjoyed. I know I would fit in here.

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: ACT score, essays, URM status, extracurriculars
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I showed that I was a good fit
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted- University of Arizona (Honors College) and George Mason University. Waitlisted- Northeastern.

Notes: I wish they gave me more money, looks like I won’t go unless I earn some outside scholarships.

6

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted w/ $45000 a year[/color=green]

**School/major:**School of International Service

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2140 (710/640/790)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 730 Lit/770 USH/730 WH
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Can’t really say for sure. 3.6?
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[]AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH (5), AP World (5), AP English Lang & Comp. (5), among others
[]Senior Year Course Load: Journalism & Ethics/AP Biology/AP Human Geography/AP Macroeconomics/AP Microeconomics/Capstone Research Seminar
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

  • []Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): I feel corny listing them.
    [    ]Job/Work Experience: None, though I’ve done a really high-profile internship.
    []Volunteer/Community Service: Served as a debate tutor to students at a struggling school. Absolutely life changing.
    [    ]Summer Activities: See volunteer service.
    []Essays: Common app: 9/10? Extended personal statement probably the greatest thing I’ve ever written. Supplement 1: 8/10, Why AU: Talked about a really specific regional/topical focus.
    [    ]Teacher Recommendations: One 11/10 from the hardest teacher in my school’s humanities department, half the students in a given class of his routinely drop it two months in. One unknown from my junior year AP English teacher, but she absolutely loves me.
    []Counselor Rec: Unknown, though I’m aware she highlighted debate success and reputation as one of the strongest humanities students in our year.
    [    ]Interview: Didn’t, though my mom did meet with our admissions rep for extended time.

Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): NY
[]School Type: Extremely competitive in-state magnet.
[]Ethnicity: Black/African American
[]Gender: M
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first gen, school history department’s “superstar”[/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: Test scores, ECs, essays
[]Weaknesses: Unweighted GPA when accounting for math grades
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: I’d rather not say, though I’m especially excited to hear from a couple schools out west. AU was (and still is) one of my top choices heading in though.
[*]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight Work hard for the things you want. GC commented I’m likely to be near the top of AU’s big board, so that’s cool.[/ul]

7

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted to Honors Program w/20k Scholarship[/color=green]

School/major: Public Affairs/Political Science

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 1930, didn’t send
[]ACT (breakdown): 31C (35E, 26M, 35R, 28S, 10 Writing)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): none
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83, 4.67 Weighted
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 40 of 551 (top 7%)
[]AP (place score in parentheses): 5APUSH, 5EnglishLang, 5AmericanGov, 4Macroecon
[]IB (place score in parentheses): none
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Spanish 4, AP English Lit, Pre Calc, AP Euro, History WWI & WWII, Forensics
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): high honor roll, IMEA Senior Festival participant, National School Orchestra Award, Mu Alpha Theta Honors Math Society, AP Scholar, Illinois State Scholar, Solo & Ensemble Contest Division I recipient (twice)[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): String & Symphony Orchestra (section leader of violas 3 years), Debate Team (secretary 1 year, went to state tournament both years of team’s existence), Scholastic Bowl (captain of varsity team 1 year), Tri-M Honors Music Society, National Honor Society, Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra
[]Job/Work Experience: cashier and stocker for local farming business, summer job
[]Volunteer/Community Service: student volunteer for local youth orchestra 4 hours a week, every Saturday, for 3 years
[]Summer Activities: National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC), Political Action and Public Policy, held on the campus of AU. Not only was it the best experience of my life, but I also got to know the campus of AU well, and that really helped with my writing supplements
[]Essays: common app essay was about the time I stood up for myself in APUSH class, app supplements were great. 9/10
[]Teacher Recommendations: waived my right to see. From my Spanish, APEnglishLang, and APUSH/APAmericanGov teachers. Probably pretty good. 8/10
[]Counselor Rec: Generic with a capital G. She barely knows me. 6/10
[]Additional Rec: none
[li]Interview: none [/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): IL
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: large public school, 2,000+ students, has a good reputation, academically competitive
[]Ethnicity: Mexican
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: $70-80k
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM? At least where I live and go to school lol[/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: I absolutely love AU, and it showed
[]Weaknesses: test scores
[]Why you think you were accepted: I demonstrated strong interest and proved that I’m a great fit
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: applied to ISU, UW-Madison, UMich Ann Arbor, Boston U, Yale, and Brown
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I’m super excited![/li][/ul]

8

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

School/major: Public Affairs/Political Science

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 1840 (690 math, 590 writing, 560 CR)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.26
[]AP: English 3AP(3)
[]Senior Year Course Load: APES, AP Psych, AP Econ, AP Speech, English, Calc E,
[li]Major Awards: Consistent speech & debate finalist. Consistent Model UN honors. [/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Speech & Debate, Model UN, & Environmental club
[]Job/Work Experience: Biology Internship(90 hours); Administrative assistant(2 years)
[]Volunteer/Community Service: 100 hours
[]Summer Activities: Rotary Exchange student
[]Essays: Teachers said they were publishable
[]Teacher Recommendations: Two
[li]Counselor Rec: None[/li][/ul]

Other

  • []State (if domestic applicant): CA
    [    ]Country (if international applicant): USA
    []School Type: Public
    [    ]Ethnicity: White - Middle Eastern
    []Gender: Male
    [    ]Income Bracket: High

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: Essays & Extracurriculars
[]Weaknesses: GPA & possibly SAT
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Political extracurricular activities
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: UC’s, UW, etc
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: It’s a political atmosphere, and my political EC’s made up for my academic performance.[/li][/ul]

9

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

School/major: College of Arts and Sciences - Jewish Studies

Objective:

  • []SAT I (breakdown): 1990 Math - 730, CR - 600, Writing - 660
    [    ]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (640), Chemistry (550)
    []Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not sure, probably about 3.4. Weighted 3.57
    [    ]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
    []AP (place score in parentheses): Statistics (3)
    [    ]Senior Year Course Load: Calculus, Physics, Chorus/Orchestra. 1st semester: Accelerated Psychology, Accelerated Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Accelerated Digital Video Production. 2nd semester: English Senior Seminar, Communications, Accelerated Middle East Studies

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): United Synagogue Youth (chapter membership/programming vice president and membership regional general board), drama club (secretary), key club (bake sale committee head), Jewish Cultural Club
[] Volunteer/Community Service: About 30 hours/year
[]Summer Activities: Went to Israel
[]Essays: My personal statement was definitely my proudest piece of writing to date. My supplement was okay, but I related my major as well as the one I plan to double major in (communications) to the question.
[]Teacher Recommendations: One of them was from my freshman English teacher/sophomore year modern drama teacher/drama club advisor, this one was probably very good. The other was from my junior year chemistry teacher, probably good.
[]Counselor Rec: Probably good.
[li]Interview: none[/li][/ul]

Other

  • []State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
    [    ]School Type: Public school, one of the top non-magnet high schools, in top 5 non-magnet high schools in the state
    []Ethnicity: Caucasian
    [    ]Gender: female
    []Income Bracket: high
    [    ]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: My essays and the fact that my extracurriculars lined up with my major
[]Weaknesses: GPA
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: see strengths
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted to University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers New Brunswick, Penn State, University of Maryland, University of Delaware, The College of New Jersey, and Muhlenberg. Rejected from Northeastern. Waiting on Boston University, Tulane, NYU, and JTS/Columbia Joint Program
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/li][/ul]

10

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

School/major: Schools of Public Affairs. Political Science

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2010. M: 600 W:650 R: 760
[]ACT (breakdown): 32. Reading: 35 Math: 27 English: 33 (Essay: 09) Science: 32
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): n/a
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.54 (UW) 6.58 (W)
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 300/12,243 (98 percentile, top 2% of entire Senior class in county)
[]AP (place score in parentheses): 10th grade: Human Geography (5), European History (5). 11th grade: Micro (4), Macro (4), US History (5), Lang and Comp (5). 12th: Biology, Psychology, Lit and Comp. (9 APs in total)
[]IB (place score in parentheses): HLs: History of the Americas, Psychology, and English. SLs: French, Math Studies, Biology
[]Senior Year Course Load: see above
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): not much lol. AP Scholar with distinction[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Mostly really only Volleyball, both high school (all four years, team captain, MVP) and club (since 6th grade). A few school clubs but no real leadership roles. I have few ECs but I devote all my time to them
[]Job/Work Experience: 100 hours over the summer working at a local cafe shop.
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Mainly it was my work with dog rescue and adoption agencies over the past two years. They referenced it in my letter. A few other things like summer camps, Knit for the Needy,
[]Summer Activities: none
[]Essays: okay. focused on my long volleyball career and my volunteering with dog groups
[]Teacher Recommendations: only read one of them, it was okay. But i think the other was pretty strong.
[]Counselor Rec: im not sure. he knows me pretty well but I am not sure what he said.
[]Additional Rec: n/a
[li]Interview: n/a[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): FL
[]Country (if international applicant): Hillsborough
[]School Type: Public (IB)
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: Middle class
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none really[/li][/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: I guess my scores and work load. Even though my UW gap is kind of low, I have shown how I can handle difficult coursework. I don’t know how American weights GPAs but my school obviously weights it pretty high. Our valedictorians have GPAs closer to 8 or 9 lol. Good recs as well.
[]Weaknesses: ECs?
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: coursework most likely.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: USF (accepted), UF (accepted), Emory, Boston U, Georgetown.
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: excited but don’t think i can afford it. even with 15k grant and 10k Dean scholarship, work study, and loans, I’m still a few thousand short. Also I hope i did this right[/li][/ul]

11

[ b][ color=green]Decision: Accepted- $35k a year[/color=green]

[ b]School/major:School of Public Affair, Political Science**

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[]SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[]ACT (breakdown): 35, Reading: 36, Math :36, English: 32, Science 34, Writing: 10
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II C (760), US History (770)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[]AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
[]IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[]Senior Year Course Load: Calculus (College Course), AP Literature, AP Physics, AP Gov, Wind Symphony
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A[/li][/list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ list]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): MUN, Mock Trial
[]Job/Work Experience: McDonalds
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Love In Music, helped teach children player instrument for 5 years
[]Summer Activities: Hm… quite a lot of stuff too write down
[]Essays: Wrote about my goals and aspirations
[]Teacher Recommendations: Got two, pretty stellar but probably not the best of all time. At least a 8/10 for both
[]Counselor Rec: Really good relationship with counselor for all four years, she knew me well at least a 9/10
[]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview:[/li][/list]

[ b]Other**
[ list]
[]State (if domestic applicant): CA
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Public (Nationally Ranked)
[]Ethnicity: Korean
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: $24,000
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A[/li][/list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ list]
[]Strengths: Probably my EC and test scores
[]Weaknesses: My GPA and lack of anything spectacular
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Overall good package(?) ahha
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Ivy’s, UC’s
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/li][/list]

12

b][ color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

School/major:**

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 690 math, 690 reading, 740 writing
[]ACT (breakdown): N/A
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Literature (790) US History (730)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.55
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): not sure
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Bio (3) APUSH (5)
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: 3 APs, 1 Honors, 2 regular classes
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Won a national award for a French test in 9th grade… and that’s it[/li][/list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ list]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Jewish youth group (Tresurer, lead community service projects, planned lots of events), journalism (News editor), dance since forever, FNHS
[]Job/Work Experience: paid summer camp counselor before senior year
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Some through my youth group
[]Summer Activities: went on a trip to DC summer before my junior year that had a focus on political activism and community service
[]Essays: Pretty fab if I may say so myself
[]Teacher Recommendations: Probably pretty good, by two teachers who liked me and knew me well
[]Counselor Rec: Probably pretty generic
[]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview: none[/li][/list]

[ b]Other**
[ list]
[]State (if domestic applicant): CA
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: very large public school
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: upper middle class
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nah[/li][/list]

[ b]Reflection**
[ list]
[]Strengths: My test scores were pretty good and in the admissions letter, they wrote they were impressed by my work in my youth group. Also my essays were well written.
[]Weaknesses: My GPA is really low and I don’t have an extraordinary resume.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Overall, my stats were in a good range compared to other AU students
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Rejected from most UCs (letting CA down :’( ), accepted at cal poly, rejected at Boston University, waitlisted at Brandeis and U of Washington, still waiting to hear back from U of Maryland, NYU, George Washington
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Start your essays really early! I ended up doing mine right before the application was due and I turned in all of my applications on the day they were due. The more time you give them, the better they will be, and then you’ll have time to go over other aspects of you application. There were so many questions that suddenly came up right before I submitted my application that I didn’t have time to address, probably because I was still writing my essays. Good luck! [/li][/list]

13

Decision: Waitlisted

School/major: Economics/CAS

SAT I: CR 690 Math 770 WR 700

SAT II Chemistry 760

Unweighted GPA : 4.0

AP: USGOV (4); APUSH (4); PSY (5); HUM. GEO (5); CHEM (5); MACRO (5); MICRO (4); LANG (4); WORLD HIST; CALC BC; STATS; LIT

Senior Year Course Load: In addition to AP’s listed above (the ones without scores, I have Physics, Bible, Spanish 4, and Health

Major Awards : not much – an AP award; lots of 4-H awards at local state and national levels

Extracurriculars: Varsity soccer; lots of 4-H with lots of leadership; honor society

Job/Work Experience: Volunteered for local state senator and then was put on paid position

Volunteer/Community Service: 900 hours of various community service/volunteer work

Summer Activities: (volunteer activities and job)

Essays: They must have been decent because I was moved on to the second round for both the FDDS and also the Honors Program

Teacher Recommendations: I didn’t see them, but I got an A+ from the 1 teacher, and both seemed to really like me.

Counselor Rec: My mom had to do this because I’m homeschooled. I used the common app and that’s what they say homeschoolers should do. We also could have someone else do this, but our homeschool oversight doesn’t believe kids should go to secular schools, so I didn’t want to ask them to write one. :stuck_out_tongue:

State: MD
School Type: Homeschooled
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: upper middle class
Hooks: Clearly I didn’t have one or they wouldn’t be breaking up with me!

Strengths: While I didn’t go into details, but I think I had really strong extra-curriculars and leadership in the area of politics and government. I also thought I had strong test scores- I know there are lots of kids with higher scores, but mine were still fairly strong

Weaknesses: Situation described below may have been my downfall - stupid appendix!

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: The only think that I can think of concerned the 2nd steps for the FDDS and Honors. Long story short was that I didn’t submit either of them and even though I sent them an e-mail telling them I was in the hospital for surgery, maybe they took that as though I wasn’t interested. All I know is that I never heard back from them after that. Perhaps they started seeing other people behind my back?!

Where else you are applying or have already applied: University of MD, Colgate, McDaniel, Cornell, Temple
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: If I say “No” to the waitlist, do I win the break up? Seriously though, I appreciate all the great advice on CC because I have several great options even if I don’t get into my reach schools. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea if I would have gone since I don’t know how much aid I would have received. It would have had to be a GREAT package for me to have accepted. Congrats to all who got accepted, even if you did steal my girl!

14

Decision: Accepted

School/major: Kogod/Business & Entertainment, Deans Scholarship - $12,000/yr
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2080 (680 math, 720 writing, 680 CR)
GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75UW/4.1W
AP: Art History (4), US History (5), Eng. Lit (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Micro/Macroeconomics, AP Comp Govt, English 12, Leadership, PE
Major Awards: Nothing special

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Club Soccer, HS Soccer, HS Lacrosse, HS Leadership Class, has formed and led several bands (rock/metal) during HS
Job/Work Experience: Started DJ/Music Production company, Hebrew tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: Assistant Teacher at Sunday school, DJs charity events
Summer Activities: Summer program at Amherst
Essays: Very good, related to his music
Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t see, but one teacher loves him
Counselor Rec: Didn’t see, but she was aware of some medical struggles he had which had him miss over 2 months collectively during HS, and still maintained good grades

Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public (Large, highly rated, very competitive)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $200K+

Reflection
Strengths: Essays, long term commitment to soccer and music
Weaknesses: Leadership roles in extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Commitment to music, competitive stats and showed a LOT of interest in AU (several meetings with my local rep, interview, campus visit, met with head of department, etc - it really matters!!)
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted to Northeastern, Syracuse, Elon, U of Rochester, Drexel. Waiting on USC, Rejected from U Miami (showed no interest, applied last minute, and their music biz program is through their conservatory and his music bkgd is not formally taught)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I think he benefitted by showing a lot of interest (AU has always been a top-3 choice for him) and applying for a major that has recently been revamped that they are trying to build up.

15

** [color=green]Decision: Accepted with $20K Frederick Douglass Scholarship [/color=green]

School/major: SIS, International Studies **

**Objective: **

  • []SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (CR: 730, M: 740, W: 740).
    [    ]ACT (breakdown): 33 (R: 36, E: 36, M: 31, S: 29)
    []SAT II (place score in parentheses): World History (760), U.S. History (730), Lit (730)
    [    ]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school doesn’t tell unweighted, 4.14/5.0
    []Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 83/1348 (top 7%)
    [    ]AP (place score in parentheses): these don’t matter very much imo but I’ll list: Human Geo (5), World History (5), U.S. History (5), Language (5), European History (4), Spanish Language (4)
    []Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP Environmental Science, AP Gov/AP Econ, AP Lit, Newspaper (double block because I’m an editor)
    [    ]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing big, a few small journalism things

** Subjective: **

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Wrote for multiple websites (specifically one focused on Millennials, another a sort of college/high school life blog) since I was in middle school. Ran the Twitter page for one of them. Also serve as a ~trendspotter~ for MTV Insights, advisory board member for an admissions website, and did a virtual internship with another college-focused website. More traditional stuff: school newspaper (co-editor-in-chief), Key Club (chapter president), Junior World Affairs Council (president), varsity bowling team member (yes rly), NHS.
[]Volunteer/Community Service: 100+ hours at minimum, didn’t really stress this in my application beyond my involvement with Key Club and NHS
[]Summer Activities: took two college history courses at SMU
[]Essays: They mentioned that they liked my supplement, although my essays for American were not my favorite. The prompts didn’t allow for a lot of creativity, but I got my point across. I feel like my Common App essay was pretty strong.
[]Teacher Recommendations: Only submitted one to AU, which was from my English teacher who is also my Key Club sponsor. She likes me, but I don’t think it was outstanding.
[]Counselor Rec: I go to an extremely large two-year public school, so my first interaction with my counselor was near the end of junior year during my academic conference. That being said, we talked a lot in the time before she wrote my rec and she was very encouraging about where I was applying. I assume the rec was good, but not insanely special.
[li]Interview: Did an interview with an admissions rep near my hometown, wasn’t especially great but we got along pretty well. [/li][/ul]

** Other: **

  • []State (if domestic applicant): TX
    [    ]School Type: Public, very large
    []Ethnicity: White/Hispanic mix
    [    ]Gender: Female
    []Income Bracket: >100K
    [    ]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a

** Reflection: **

[ul]
[]Strengths: ECs, test scores, demonstrated interest
[]Weaknesses: unweighted GPA probably isn’t the best, mid-year grades were not great (thanks, economics)
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Obviously have no clue, but I feel like my scores/GPA were strong enough to get into AU. ECs and essays helped.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: SMU (accepted), still waiting on GW, Rice, Reed, and Oberlin
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Whole experience taught me how important demonstrated interest is at schools like American. I think my scores/GPA got me into AU, but my level of demonstrated interest got me merit aid (which I was shocked to receive). I interviewed and visited campus last year and made a concentrated effort to focus on the school, not the location. Was honestly expecting to receive very little aid and throw the acceptance out the window, but the package they gave me has moved American to the top of my list. Good luck to everyone![/li][/ul]

16

Decision: Accepted w/ $55000 a year

School/major: College of Communication

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1870 (660/670/540)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.3
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 19%
AP (place score in parentheses): APUSH (4), AP English Lang & Comp. (4), among others
Senior Year Course Load: Journalism/AP Environmental Science/AP Macroeconomics/Courtroom Procedures /AP English Literature/Portuguese 4 Honors/Speech & Debate 4 Honors/Pre-Calculus Honors/Digital Design 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A couple

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Government (Senior Class Vice President), PTSA (Student Representative), Newspaper (Editor In Chief), FBLA (Historian/Secretary), Temple Youth Group (Communications Vice President), Quill & Scroll Honor Society (President), English Honor Society (Historian), US Grant (Vice President), Scholars Academy (President), Yearbook (Copy Editor)
Job/Work Experience: Child care, work at my temple
Volunteer/Community Service: 999+ community service hours, nominated for Silver Knight Award (top community service project award in Florida)
Summer Activities: Work in my temple’s summer camp/visit family in Argentina/take online classes
Essays: Common app: 10/10 Had multiple English teachers and counselors read it and they all loved it. Supplement 1: 9/10, Why AU: Talked about the time I spoke at the House and Senate 9/10
Teacher Recommendations: 9/10 first recommendation, 9/10 second recommendation, didn’t read the third but the teacher loves me, i’m her editor in chief of the newspaper and she’s the one who nominated me for the Silver Knight Award
Counselor Rec: Unknown
Interview: N/A

Other
State (if domestic applicant): FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: F
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, lots of extracurriculars, spoke in the House and Senate

Reflection
Strengths: Extracurriculars, Essays, Schedule strength
Weaknesses: Unweighted GPA, math, class rank (not bad but could have been higher), sickness affected my midyear grades
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: letter said my extracurriculars, received a personal email from the assistant admissions director saying “my academic achievement and well-rounded involvement were exactly what we were looking for”
Where else you are applying or have already applied: applied to 12 schools, heard back from 8 and got accepted into 7,
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: People may tell you extracurriculars don’t matter but they do! However it’s not the quantity, it’s the quality and having positions. Be involved in things that relate to your major but also show well-roundness. Take your time with your essays, have people read them and edit them. Most importantly though (and I say this personally), PUT YOUR HEALTH FIRST. I have been battling a terrible condition for the past years that my doctors say only gets worse because of stress. My grades suffered a lot because of this. Always remember that school is important, but your health and well-being should never be a risk.

17

[color=yellow]Decision: Waitlisted[/color=yellow]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 33 (30 - math, science; 35 - reading/English)
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/608
AP (place score in parenthesis): Gov (4), Stat
IB (place score in parenthesis): HL Chem, HL English, SL Spanish, HL History, SL Math (5), SL Business (6)
Senior Year Course Load: ToK, IB History, IB Chem, IB English, IB Spanish, ToK, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st place in the state Deca

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Jazz Band (first chair), Speech & Debate (captain), Cross Country (varsity), Track (varsity), Deca (first place in the state)
Job/Work Experience: Receptionist for medical clinic, Paid Video Game Journalist
Volunteer/Community service: Internship for Colorado Democratic Party, roughly 200 hours. Raised $2,000 for a charity called Child’s Play.
Summer Activities: Went to E3, Worked at the receptionist, ran cross country, did part of my internship.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app was pretty good, but the AU-specific ones were less so. Probably 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Honestly, haven’t got a clue.

Teacher Rec #1: ToK teacher, she said she made me look like Albert Schweitzer, so I guess that’s good…
Teacher Rec #2: HoA (history) teacher. It was probably decent.
Counselor Rec: Everybody knows him as “the weird counselor”, so I didn’t get my hopes up.
Additional Rec: Very good, I sent one from my internship supervisor.
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No (although I won’t get it…)
Intended Major:Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Suburban (about 3,000 kids)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: The upper one
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Very unique job…

Reflection

Strengths:I’ve an incredibly unique extracurricular, as I haven’t met a single other video game journalist younger than 22. I also ran the largest voter registration drive in the Colorado 6th Congressional District. My grades/scores were also good.
Weaknesses: Maybe my essays were not actually as good as I thought they were. Perhaps my recs and my senior year course load (too many off period, probably)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Yield rate stuffz.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: CU, DU, MSU (michigan state)
Waitlisted: AU
Still Waiting: U of M, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Penn

General Comments: I know I sound like a Salty Sam when I say this, but I am utterly convinced that my decision was a direct result of AU being my safety, and AU knowing that full well.

18

[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

School/major: School of Public Affairs, CLEG major

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2010 (590 CR 720 M 700 W)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chinese with Listening 780, Math 1 720, Math 2 610 (ugh), French 680
ACT (breakdown): 32 Composite (32 English, 35 Math, 30 Reading, 29 Science)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): neither rank nor percentile is used at my school
AP (place score in parentheses): none
Senior Year Course Load: IB English SL, IB French B HL, IB Business and Management SL, IB Math HL, IB Physics SL, IB Economics HL, TOK

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): A representative of an NGO I’m part of at the UN DPI/NGO conference, Student Gov’t VP, TEDx speaker, Creator of a philosophy discussion group
Job/Work Experience: Internship with CEO of an NGO
Summer Activities: Internship with CEO of an NGO

Essays: I think my common app essay was one of my strongest parts of my application. It was one of the best, if not the best, I’ve ever written
Teacher Recommendations: Really good (I know my teachers well, and the two I picked were really good recommendation writers in my school)
Counselor Rec: Pretty good I think (I tried to build a strong relationship with my counselor)

Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: > 100,000

Reflection
Strengths: ACT/SAT subject tests, essay, extracurriculars, recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I maintained strong communication with people at American when I visited. I think I got in mainly because of stats and my essay (on the acceptance letter, they said that they really liked my essay).
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Applied to: Cornell, JHU, Georgetown, GWU (will hear back from then soon)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: The essay is extremely powerful in the application. Make sure to get good enough stats (perfect scores and grades are not necessary) for the school, write a great essay, demonstrate passion in something (I loved what I did in my NGO), and build strong positive relationships with your teachers.

19

Decision: Accepted

School/major: School of Public Affairs/ Political Science

Objective:
[ list]
[]SAT I (breakdown): CW: 620, M: 520, W: 550
[]ACT (breakdown): 22
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.2
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 49/90
[]AP (place score in parentheses): School doesn’t do AP tests until Senior Year
[]Senior Year Course Load: Morality, Environmental Science, History of Rock and Roll, AP English, Global Studies II, Phys. Ed, College Writing, Creative Writing
[/list]

Subjective:
[ list]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):Creative Writing Club (Founder and President), Global Studies (President), Theater (Lead), Student Ambassador
[]Job/Work Experience: Summer Job working in a medical office dealing with patient’s personal details and hyperbaric oxygen chambers
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Field of Dreams,
[]Summer Activities: Summer Job
[]Essays: Pretty good but I could have done better
[]Teacher Recommendations: Stunning
[li]Counselor Rec: Pretty Good[/li]
Other
[ list]
[]State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
[]School Type: Small, Catholic Private School
[]Ethnicity: Caucasian
[]Gender: Male
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation[/li][/list]

Reflection
[ list]
[]Strengths: Extracurriculars didn’t hurt. My work on my local Representative’s Youth Advisory Council didn’t hurt either. I made it VERY clear that AU was my first and only choice.
[]Weaknesses: Look at my stats, I’m not the best student academically.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I thought I would get denied but when I got that folder in the mail… I made it super clear that my sights were set on AU. Senior year I made sure to do everything and anything and managed tokeep my grades above a 4.0.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Catholic University of America, Susquehanna University, Rowan University.
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I didn’t care about my grades when I was an underclassmen, looking back now I know that if I had kept them up and studied harder on the SAT/ACT that I wouldn’t have had to constantly question if I was getting admitted or not. My biggest help was by far my leadership and extracurriculars, as well as my undying love for this school. Keep your grades high, be active in school, and email your admissions rep. Next comes the financial aid…[/li][/list]

20

**
[color=yellow]Decision: Waitlisted[/color=yellow]
**

School/major: English

Objective:

  • • SAT I: 2150 (680R/710M/760W) did not send
    • ACT: 34
    • SAT II: 750 US History, 800 English Lit. did not send
    • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
    • Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2 out of 169
    • AP scores: US History (5), WHAP (5), Biology (4), English Lang. (5)
    • IB scores: N/A
    • Senior Year Course Load: First semester - half of courses are writing, academics are AP Psych, AP Government, AP Physics, AP English Lit, and AP Microeconomics. Second Semester - half of courses are writing, AP Physics, AP English Lit.
    • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar With Honor, National Merit Commended Student

    Subjective:
    • Extracurriculars: National Honor Society, Literary Magazine Juror, Literacy Club, tutoring for AP World History
    • Job/Work Experience: Teacher Assistant at a religious Sunday school (working with 1st graders)
    • Volunteer/Community service: Anti-Defamation League intern, intern for a local newspaper
    • Essays: Fairly good, I thought, but nothing Pulitzer-worthy
    • Teacher Recommendations: I didn’t read them, but I believe they were pretty strong. AP World History teacher and AP English teacher.
    • Counselor Rec: Probably fairly generic
    • Additional Rec: N/A
    • Interview: N/A

Other

  • • State (if domestic applicant): Texas
    • Country (if international applicant):
    • School Type: Small public school for the arts - audition is required for acceptance.
    • Ethnicity: Caucasian
    • Gender: Female
    • Income Bracket: middle
    • Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):None that I can think of

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: Class rank, test scores, and a fair number of extracurriculars
[]Weaknesses: little demonstrated interest, and not much in the way of politically-related extra-curriculars. Also, not taking AP Calculus or AP Spanish, both of which my school offered.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I would attribute it primarily to my lack of demonstrated interest and yield protection
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted at University of Texas (liberal arts honors), Washington University in St. Louis (College of Arts and Sciences) and Bryn Mawr college. I’m still waiting to hear from Rice, Brown, Reed, and Tufts.
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Maybe I’m wrong in attributing it to this, but showing interest certainly seems like it would be really helpful and something I wish I had done more thoroughly with some of my schools.[/li][/ul]