<p>I wrote a rather religious essay; I think that did me in at the ivies.
I would have easily gotten into at least one of the ivies I applied to, but the absolute shut out leads me to believe that they don't look kindly on religion. That's ok though, MIT did.</p>
<p>If your essay was interesting enough for MIT then it was probably interesting enough for the ivies. I'm sure they accept plenty of students each year with tons of ECs and community service that's church-related and even some who write essays about it. Sorry you had some tough luck with the ivies; you still got into a wonderful school.</p>
<p>@ Red Remote:</p>
<p>You also have to remember that as acceptance rates continue to decrease across the board, there is less and less of a chance that any given two schools will select the same candidates (even given the same exact pool of applicants) as the best.</p>
<p>As for your essay, I can 100% guarantee you that writing a religious essay would hurt you. (In fact schools love to read relatively "risky" essays, where students stand by their beliefs even if it is not a popular belief. That's what college is all about.) The only way this type of essay could hurt you is if you came off as closed-minded. If you said, these are my beliefs, and all other beliefs are wrong, for example. Closed mindedness is NOT what they want in a college student.</p>
<p>I believe when Dartmoose said "I can 100% guarantee you that writing a religious essay would hurt you" that he meant "wouldn't." :)</p>
<p>^haha... yeah that's what I meant to say... lol thanks</p>
<p>Accepted</p>
<p>Stats
SAT Total: 2020
SAT II: Biology M: 800, Math IIC: 640, United States History: 790
ACT: 36
AP/IB: Biology: 5, English Language: 5, U.S. History: 5, Psychology: 4,
GPA weighted: 4.17
Rank or % estimate: top 10%
Senior Year Courses: (0) IB HL2 European History, (1) AP Government/Economics, (2) School Newspaper, (3) AP Calculus BC, (4) AP English Literature, (5) AP Physics B, (6) Theory of Knowledge, (7)Boys Volleyball </p>
<p>Subjective
Essays: I think they were pretty unique
Teacher Recs: didn't see it
Counselor Rec: didn't see it
Peer Rec: She was pretty clever
Important ECs: Varsity Volleyball (2 years), Key Club Officer (4 years), Academic Decathlon (2 years - founding member), School Newspaper Editor (3 years), Habitat for Humanity (3 years), American Red Cross volunteer (4 years), Volunteer at Community Hospital (4 years), Intern for LA Times (1 year)
Hook (if any): Interview with Dartmouth alumni Maura Logan</p>
<p>Location/Person
State or Country: California
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Male
Legacy Yes/No: No
Athlete Yes/No: Yes
Other Factors
Will attend Yes/No/Undecided: Oh yeah
If attending, why?: Their cognitive science program is calling my name - plus I've always wanted to go to Dartmouth Medical School. Hopefully, my chances will increase by attending Dartmouth's undergraduate college.</p>
<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>SAT: CR 650, M 780, W 710
SAT IIs: Chem 700, Math II 740, US 780
GPA: (weighted out of 100) 101.58
Rank: Salutatorian of 361
AP: Euro 4, US 5, Chem 4, Stats 4, English 3, Lit, Spanish, Calc BC, US Gov, Bio
Senior/HS Year Course Load: most difficult (haven't had lunch since 9th grade x_x)
Major Awards: Nothing huge, but there were tons of little things that showed personal achievements or dedication to an EC.</p>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<p>Essays: I think the topic I chose was mediocre at best, but I honestly think my essay was candid and true to who I am. Also, a lot of my short essays followed a very close theme/story to my main one, so I was scared of that a bit. However, I tried my best (and succeeded apparently) in conveying passion among a few other things. My extracurricular essay was amazing.
Teacher Recs: I waived my right to them, but when I asked my counselor what she thought of my recs, she said they were some of the best she has ever seen.
Counselor Rec: I waived my right to it, but other guidance counselors have said that my counselor's recs are amazing.
Interview: none
Hook (if any): none</p>
<p>Location/Person:</p>
<p>State or Country: Nassau County, New York
School Type: Public (one of the "worst" districts amongst other amazing districts)
Ethnicity: Korean-American
Gender: male
Income Bracket: ~40K</p>
<p>Reflection:</p>
<p>Strengths: none? I think essays and recs if anything. I can also hold a conversation in 5 languages.
Weaknesses: My SAT scores esp. as an Asian male from a state like NY.
Why I was rejected: I opted out of AP Basket Weaving. I knew I should've went for that 7th AP.</p>
<p>Other factors:</p>
<p>EC: Mathletes (President), Science Honor Society (Sec.), Newspaper (Layout editor, but I quit in first semester of 12th), Quiz Bowl (Co-founder and Capitan), Math Hon. Soc., Tri-M, Spanish, Japanese, and ASL Hon Socs., Marching/Concert Band and Orchestra (1st tuba/Band Capitan), Nat'l Hon. Soc., Class of '08
Sports: Badminton Club in 9th grade, and Girls' Badminton team manager in 12th. (There isn't a boys' team.)
Work: none
Volunteer: 200+ hours at a hospital's local pharmacy. I didn't mention it, but this helped me decide that medicine wasn't for me.
Summer Activities: Basically, this is when I did my hospital hours. I also went to JHU and got an A+/A- in two courses in 5 weeks. I also did CTY during the summer before 9th, but I didn't think that mattered much at all (but this also shows a move away from medicine).</p>
<p>I'm not that excited or disappointed about the decision. I just copied and pasted from my ACCEPTED!! post from another school.</p>
<p>hey, for any ED applicants reading this thread, have that been any packages sent out for us... or will we have to wait for the rest for the class to send in their decisions first?</p>