****Official Dartmouth College Class of 2021 Regular Decision Results ONLY****

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

Here is the official thread for Dartmouth class of 2021 Regular Decision applicants. Dartmouth will announce their decisions online by March 30 at 5PM . Good luck to Everyone!

Moderators note: Please post results only, there will be another thread for comments. Comments will be deleted

Remove spaces when you post:

[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted **[/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Deferred **[/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected **[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown):
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score):
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load:
Number of other EA applicants in your school:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.):

[ b]Subjective:**

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service:
Summer Experience:

[ b]Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):**

Essays:

Teacher Recommendation #1:
Teacher Recommendation #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview:
Art Supplement:

[ b]Other**

Date Submitted App:
U.S. State/Territory or Country:
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket Range:
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):

[ b]Reflection**

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
What would you have done differently?:
Where else did you apply?

[ b]Other Factors: **

[ b]General Comments & Advice:**

2

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 34.
ACT superscore (breakdown): 36 Math and Science. 31 English and Reading
SAT II (subject, score): 790 MATH2. 720 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8. Competitive Magnet Program in a decent school. Send about 20 kids to top 20 uni per year. Most of the 20 kids get into multiple top 20/ivy.
Weighted GPA: 5.25/6.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 15/780
AP (place score in parentheses): 10 AP up until senior yr. No AP senior year due to IB. 4 5s. 4 4s. 2 3s.
Senior Year Course Load: IB Higher Level English Lit, History, and Psych. Standard Level Math, Bio, Spanish, TOK.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): School award for helping peers, Commended scholar, National AP scholar.

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Ran a small business with revenue about 30k.
VP of Financial and Investment Club
Secretary of UNICEF Club
Founder and President of ACT Prep Club
Competitive Computer Science summer program at local uni.

Job/Work Experience: The small business as well as working as a freelancer on the internet as a writer and a translator.
Volunteer/Community service: 150 hours at a place that I am very passionate about. 50 hours at local library.
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7/10. Writing is meh but it is passionate, has my voice, and genuine.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Legit 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: Never read. probably very average
Counselor Rec: 7/10? Not super close but closer than many students.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Did not receive a request

Date Submitted App: 11/30
U.S. State/Territory or Country: FL
Intended Major: Econ
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian(Minority Asian though.)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: <$30k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): First gen

Strengths: Passionate. No filler bs.
Weaknesses: Not the best writer in the world.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?: lol. beat me

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:
Accepted: Williams, Colby, UF, Hamilton, Swarthmore, Middlebury.
Waitlisted: Uchi, Washu(possibly bc I need too much money)
Rejected: Duke, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Penn Wharton.
Waiting to hear back from: Stanford

3

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay):
ACT (breakdown): 35 --> 32: English | 35: Math | 36: Reading | 36 Science
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score): Math II: 800 | Physics: 760 | Lit: 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA: 4.1 / 4.3
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/220
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: TOK, SL Business, SL Math, SL ESS, HL Lang Lit, HL Physics, HL Spanish
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Rising Star Actress Award | Rising Star Forensics Speech Reward | National Commended Scholar | National Spanish Exam, Bronze in Level 5 |
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National Honor Society, High Honor Roll all throughout high school

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):

  • Vice President of National Honor Society
  • Leader of Ascent Games
  • Theatre (all throughout high school, played four main characters and 2 leads)
  • APAC Moonlight Choir (top, audition-based choir in school)
  • APAC Forensics (oral interpretation & solo acting)
  • Homeroom Representative in Student Council
  • Female leader of Vida Nueva retreat
  • Student leader of Ohana (Christian group that plans monthly events for high school)
    Job/Work Experience:
    Volunteer/Community Service:
  • Director of TASSEL (service club to teach Cambodian kids)
  • President of Room 2 Read (service club to build libraries/provide education in 3rd world countries)
  • Student leader of 30 hour Famine
    Summer Experience:

[ b]Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):**

Essays: I think 9/10? They were some of the best essays I wrote out of all my colleges.

Teacher Recommendation #1: No idea, never read. But, I think well in her class and we were close enough.
Teacher Recommendation #2: No idea, never read. But, we’ve talked a lot outside of class about life and we’re very close :smiley:
Counselor Rec: Hopefully 10/10? I’m in a selective group where we learn counseling from him and I’ve talked to him a lot in serious and chill settings, so he knows me very well.
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview:
Art Supplement:

Other

Date Submitted App: 12/04/16
U.S. State/Territory or Country: South Korea
School Type: International
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):

[ b]Reflection**

Strengths: Strong, dense essays, good relationship with teachers & counselor
Weaknesses: Applied for computer science but never took computer science
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Idk I personally loved my essays, so hopefully the admission officers did too xD
What would you have done differently?: Applied to less safety & target and more reaches
Where else did you apply?
Accepted: UT-Austin, UIUC, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, UCSD, Wesleyan
Rejected: USC, Carnegie Mellon - School of Computer Science, Yale, Cornell (but Cornell hates my school LOL)

4

[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted **[/color][/size]

SAT I (breakdown): 1560 (800 math, 760 reading/writing)
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 720 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):Probably like a 3.85-3.9 but my school only shows weighted which is a 4.48
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No rank. Around top 5% I’d guess
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), Calc AB (5), Psych (5), Physics 1 (3), Micro (5), Enviro (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Marco, AP Calc BC, AP Gov Pol, AP Prob Stat, Honors Lit, Honors Abnormal Psychology, Spanish 5
Awards: NHS

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of Theater all four years, lead role in some shows. Karate for over 7 years, Adult Black Belt. Juggling for 6 years, very good and hold a world record. Write poetry, working on a children’s poetry book. Co-founded my HS Improv comedy Club.
Job/Work Experience:Worked as assistant instructor at my Karate School for 2 years and was promoted last summer to Head Instructor (3 years of experience there). Landscaping work over the summer. Teach juggling at summer camps.
Volunteer/Community service: Teaching juggling to underprivilagd and sick children through an organization I’m a part of. Tutor other students for free.
Summer Activities: Work in the 3 jobs listed above. Nothing too exciting here.

Essays: Common App one I’m still not a fan of. Maybe a 7/10 because it at least showed my personality well.
Dartmouth essays I give an 8/10. I enjoyed them both and thought they revealed a good bit about me.
Teacher Recommendation:Two very good letters from my Sophomore Math teacher and Junior AP Psych teacher. I knew them both quite well and still visit them often to chat and stuff.
Counselor Rec: Should be pretty good aswell. Most students at my HS of 3,000 kids don’t get to know their couselors really at all, but I made an effort and we had a pretty nice relationship.
Additional Rec: One from a very good friend. She let me read it and it was excessivly sweet and nice.
Interview: Starbucks in NYC. Went well. Nothing exciting.

State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Intended major(s): Psych
School Type: Large Suburban Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Personality, demonstrated interest, interesting extracurriculars, no superficial material done just for the sake of colleges, LORs
Weaknesses: AP Physics score, No major awards or programs. Freshman year grades were less than stellar.
Other results: Accepted- Cornell, TCNJ, WashU St Louis, Bucknell (Presidential Fellows), Case Western… Rejected-Brown and Princeton.

General Comments: Happy with my acceptences and honored just to be waitlisted from such a great school! Hope everyone finds happiness with where they end up :slight_smile:

5

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35C (36E 35M 35R 35S) 8/12 Essay
SAT II: Math II (800) Bio-E (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/529
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Bio (4) AP World History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous, but I dropped hard classes to take choir and theatre lol
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Boys Nation Senator, Questbridge Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Chess Club (founder, President)
NHS (Officer)
Book Club (Officer)
SkillsUSA (Officer)
FBLA (Officer)
Concert Choir (Unofficial section leader, I helped restart the club and grow it from 7 members to 100 in 6 months.)
Choir also has sung at district banquets, and we went on tour in LA.
Lead role in school musical

Job/Work Experience: I work 20 hours a week with my Dad.
Volunteer/Community service: 10 hours a week at church, with various events.
Summer Activities: FBLA National Conference
Mission trip to Nicaragua
Boys State and Boys Nation

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Questbridge Essays -
8/10 - It compared my life to a wooden desk I’ve owned since I was little. I scribbled on it and wrote down my thoughts when I was going through bad times, and the desk became an extension of my personality.
6/10 - I wrote about how chess was an underappreciated art form. I went on to say I found people at school to create a club with.

Common App Essay - 7/10, it was about how I visited my Grandma before she passed from terminal breast cancer. She was playful and humorous even in her last moments, so I wrote about how she didn’t let her condition stop her from having fun with her grandchild for the last time.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: English teacher, pushed me to pursue politics. 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: Bio teacher, I was funny and over-excited in her class. I wasn’t the best student, but I got close to her as a person. 8/10
Counselor Rec: Generic, I got a new counselor starting junior year. 4/10
Additional Rec: None.
Interview: None.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
School Type: Large public, 2500 students total.
Ethnicity: Asian-American (South Korean Immigrant)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 35k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen, poor (?)

Reflections:

Strengths: Test scores, ECs
Weaknesses: Dat GPA, holy balls I should’ve tried harder for all 4 years.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/deferred? Plain and simple, don’t read too much into your decisions because it can seemingly be random at times and they do not determine your worth as a person.

General Comments: I didn’t care at all about school in my freshman year, so my GPA took a beating. I started to wake up and realize that I didn’t want to go to my state school (no offense ASU!) and end up with a desk job, working 9 to 5 and not accomplishing more. I was entitled - I thought I was such a smart kid, and that I was destined to rule the world, cure cancer, marry Emma Watson. So I involved myself in a bunch of clubs that I didn’t care about, started studying for tests that I hated studying for, all in an attempt to pad my application. In my senior year, I took a look at myself and I didn’t know who I was. I was a phony, a hack, who did what he had to do to get to a place that he thought he had to get to. I embraced my quirks and my love for music during this past year, but I regret that it was too late. When I look back on my high school life, I realize that I wasted my time doing things that I didn’t like doing. I can’t think of more than 5 memorable experiences I had in my high school years. I just wish I had accepted myself earlier. Then I could say, “Oh I don’t regret high school. I had a ton of fun!”

Anyways, remember that admissions to top colleges are basically like drawing the lottery. I’m blessed to be accepted to these institutions. I just feel weird, knowing that they didn’t accept me, per se - they accepted a bluffed-up version of me.

Other College Decisions: Harvard (Accepted), Princeton (Accepted), Amherst (Accepted), Wesleyan (Accepted), USC (Accepted), Vanderbilt (Accepted), UChicago (WL), Dartmouth (WL), Northwestern (WL), Pomona (WL), University of Virginia (WL), MIT (Rejected), Columbia ED (Rejected), Brown (Rejected), Yale (Rejected), UPenn (Rejected)

6

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1520 (750 Math, 770 Verbal)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1530 (750 Math, 780 Verbal)
SAT II (subject, score): Lit, 750
IB (place score in parentheses): (42/45)
Senior Year Course Load: High Level Literature, Psychology and Theatre, Standard Level Math and Chemistry, Ab Initio Spanish
Number of other EA applicants in your school: None that I know of
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): International New York Times Essay Writing Competition Champion
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): Local

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):

  • Jazz dancing, cheerdancing (both in my junior year, won most outstanding dancer awards for each)
  • Singing (I've been doing this for about eight years cumulative since I was three, and have won a few contests/awards)
  • Musical theatre (lead roles in a school production and a theatre company workshop production, respectively) -Correspondent for the junior edition of the most widely read newspaper in my country (2011-2013)

Job/Work Experience:

  • Just my parents’ business, basic coding, customer service for ~1000 people, etc.

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: I’d say a 9/10, writing is a strength of mine and I worked a lot to include tiny details that would make it clear Dartmouth was a fit for me.

Teacher Recommendation #1: From my IB Coordinator, we’re not that close but he thinks well of me. Should have been positive, but a little vague. 7/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: My Lit teacher, has famously high standards and has consistently given me 7’s, I’m extremely participative in his class and we share the same sense of humor. Also has lots of experience writing recommendations. Should have been pretty good. 10/10
Additional Rec: Written by my best friend whom I’ve known for 8 yrs, it was clearly written by someone who knew me very well, she also emphasized my strong outgoing nature and passion for others. 9/10
Interview: Did an interview with an alumni in the Philippines. Interviewing is my strength, and he seemed to enjoy me.

Other

Date Submitted App: 01/01/2017
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Philippines
School Type: International school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: 50-80k/yr
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): International student???

Reflection

Strengths:

  • Spent two years at our national art high school, a very small boarding school on a literal mountain, with a tight-knit artistic community. I played up this community’s similarity to Dartmouth in my interview.
  • SAT1 scores well within Dartmouth range
  • Went with English as my prospective program, which was clearly my strength in my application
    Weaknesses:
  • Thin extracurriculars
  • I only submitted one subject test, with a so-so score at that.
  • Essays were a little crammed.
    Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I worked hard to portray myself as a great fit for Dartmouth and I think they saw that.
    What would you have done differently?: Applied to more reaches! Seriously, I shouldn’t have been so quick to think that X school would reject me while Y would…It may be trite but you really do have nothing to lose.
    Where else did you apply? NYU, Colby, Wesleyan, Vassar, and Sarah Lawrence. Accepted by the first three, rejected by the last two.

**Other Factors: ** I do think that, being an international student, they are a tad bit less competitive about ECs, considering that in my country, there aren’t quite as many options available in schools as there seem to be in other countries.

General Comments & Advice:

  • International students: you are wanted! That’s the most important thing to remember as you wade through an application process that is really really scary and seemingly not tailored for you at all.
  • Based on admission percentages and stats of those who have gotten in, one would think it’d be more likely for me to get into Vassar/SLC and not get into Dartmouth, rather than get into Dartmouth but not Vassar/SLC. But the latter is exactly what happened, which continues to blow my mind. Do not underestimate the importance of the “fit”!
7

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): N/A
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 single sitting (34 E, 36 M, 32 R, 36 S)
ACT superscore (breakdown): 36 superscore (34 E, 36 M, 36 R, 36 S)
SAT II (subject, score): Math II (800), Chem (720)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 (Estimation- school goes off of weighted GPA)
Weighted GPA: 4.0 (Capped at 4.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/70
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc BC (5), AB Subscore (5), Stats (5), Chem (4), Psych (4), Lang & Comp (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Band, Choir, AP Lit (it is lit), Physics, AP US History, Spanish IV, Weight Lifting, Gov
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Not much, Samsung American Legion Scholar, that’s it
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, Academic Letter four years in a row, not much else that I can think of.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Student Council 9-12 (Basically my life, served as State President and Region President, within school council Pres (12), VP (11), and Tres. (10)), Forensics 9-12 (Captain senior year, state semi-finalist freshman year), NHS 10-12 (Tres. junior year), Track and Cross Country 9-12 (Captain 11-12), Theater (10-12), other various activities
Job/Work Experience: Worked for my dad’s used car dealership on and off for the past few years, camp counselor the past two years at a leadership camp through my state’s student council organization
Volunteer/Community Service: Various things through NHS and mentorship/tutoring
Summer Experience: Camps for leadership (Boys’ State and WASC Leadership Camp), and also other various activities throughout the years, including State Honors Choir Camp this past summer

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: I feel like they went well and I felt as if I was pretty open and wrote well for them 9/10

Teacher Recommendation #1: 9/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: 8/10
Counselor Rec: 8/10
Additional Info/Rec: N/A
Interview: 10/10 really enjoyed the conversation with my interviewer
Art Supplement: N/A

Other

Date Submitted App: 11/28/2016
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Wisconsin
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: $60,000-$80,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Not anything really, except maybe from a small, rural school

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, ECs, Interview
Weaknesses: Lack of awards, writing could be better
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably my passion shown through my ECs
What would you have done differently?: Nothing, except maybe start my essays earlier lol
Where else did you apply?

Accepted: St. Olaf, Grinnell, Hamilton, Yale (SCEA)
Waitlisted: Kenyon, WashU, Amherst, Bowdoin

General Comments & Advice:

To anyone out there reading this: go out there and try your hardest!! The best way to live life is to do what you love and love what you do, and I truly live through this idea, and I’m sure it’s the only reason I’ve been accepted to two Ivy League schools! Best of luck to future CC lurkers, and don’t spend too much time stressing about the things you read on this site!

8

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:

  • SAT I (breakdown): 770 M, 750 CR+W, 20 Essay
  • ACT (breakdown): 36 Composite, 35 English, 36 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science,
  • SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chem, 760 Physics
  • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 UW, 4.61 W (scaling is subjective per school so don’t take this too seriously)
  • Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4th out of 230
  • AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chem (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP World (5), AP US History (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Calc AB Subscore (5)
  • IB (place score in parenthesis): None
  • Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP Literature and Composition, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Physics 2, AP Biology, Multivariate Calculus, Linear Algebra
  • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
    • Academic awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Scholarship Program Letter of Commendation, Excellence in Mathematics and the Natural Sciences from the Society of Women Engineers (CT Section), Presidential Scholars Semifinalist.
    • Dance awards: Dance Teachers Club of CT Scholarship Winner (2010, 2012, 2013, 2015), DMA National Jr. Mr. Dance Most Talented Non-Finalist (2012), DMA Jr. Mr. Dance of CT (2012), Sophisticated Production’s Highest Scoring Solo (age 15 and under) (2013), DMA Teen Mr. Dance of CT (2014), DMA Tap Class Audition Scholarship 1st Place Recipient (2016), Numerous First Overall Solo and Group Awards (2010 – Present).

Subjective:

  • Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
    • Competitive Dancer (Senior Competition Captain) Tap: 10 Years, Ballet: 9 Years, Jazz: 9 Years, Hip-Hop: 7 Years, Contemporary/Modern: 7 Years
    • Nutcracker Ballet (I've played the role of Prince and Cavalier these past 3 years) (9, 10, 11, 12)
    • National Honor Society (Tutoring coordinator/tutor) (11, 12)
    • French Honor Society (Executive Officer) (10, 11, 12)
    • Seaperch (11, 12)
    • Math League (9, 10, 11, 12)
    • Varsity Tennis (4 singles, 3 doubles) (10, 11, 12)
    • Offered to produce music for small fashion lines
  • Job/Work Experience: None
  • Volunteer/Community service:
    • Assistant Dance Teacher Ages 9-14
    • Nutcracker Ballet Student Rehearsal Assistant
    • NHS Tutor, all subjects
    • Writing Center Tutor
    • Math Center Tutor
  • Summer Activities:
    • 4 Weeks of Dance Intensives/National Competitions
    • Helped build a dance studio/gym in my basement
    • Dance training
    • College Tours
    • Tennis
  • Essays (rating 1-10, details):
    • Common Application Essay Rating: 9?? I had my AP Lit teacher read it over, as well as a few friends. They all said it sounded really personal and unique while being memorable, but I couldn't judge myself accurately.
    • Dartmouth Supplement: 7-8
  • Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    • Teacher Rec #1: AP Calc/Multivariate/Linear Teacher, Math Team Coach
  • I assume it would be very good as he knows my intense schedule in and out of school, my work ethic, my sense of humor, and my sociability.
    • Teacher Rec #2: AP Chem Teacher Same as Rec 1, with the addition of my love and curiosity of the natural sciences plus my drive and independence in the classroom.
    • Counselor Rec: Unknown, but she used to attend my dance studio? So maybe that helped. This was also her first year, so personal details may have been rough.
  • Additional Rec: None.
  • Interview: Just another interview

Other:

  • Applied for Financial Aid?: None.
  • Intended Major: Physics
  • State (if domestic applicant): Connecticut
  • Country (if international applicant): NA
  • School Type: Public
  • Ethnicity: White
  • Gender: Male
  • Income Bracket: Upper middle class
  • Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Male dancer?
  • Strengths: Test scores, extracurriculars, strong commitment to dance, national dance awards, rigorous course schedule, 3 independent studies in physics (shows initiative),
  • Weaknesses: supplement, interview
  • Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted: Interview, no dance

General Comments: Probably going to end up at YPC

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:
Accepted: Williams, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Muhlenburg, William and Mary, Duke (likely letter), Columbia (likely letter), Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Cornell, NYU, Wesleyan, Amherst

Waitlisted: Tufts, Brown, Dartmouth, Stanford

Rejected: Harvard

9

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2300 (770/740/800/8) only sitting
SAT II (subject, score): Math 2 - 800, Lit - 670 (yes I got in even though I sent this score!)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.9 ish UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): APUSH (4), AP Lang (4). AP Calc AB (5). AP Gov (5). AP Comp (5). AP Environmental (5).

Senior year course load:
AP Calc BC
AP Physics
AP Statistics
AP Economics
AP Literature

Awards:

  • AP Scholar with Distinction
  • National Merit Scholar Commended
  • Chosen as 1 of 8 teens nationwide for a major program (lots of publicity)
  • (2x) High school award in math and science - given to best student in each class
  • Yale essay contest 1st place
  • Two other, smaller online essay contests - finalist/top10 winner
  • second place in We The People state competition
  • High honor roll, NHS, etc.

Extracurriculars (exactly what is on my Common App):

  • Blogger for the Huffington Post
  • Co-Editor in Chief of school newspaper
  • Co-President of DECA business club
  • Co-Founder of a growing company (annual revenue projected around $15k-20k)
  • Published writer and journalist: fantasy novel published on Amazon, reporter for local newspaper, published in 4 literary magazines
  • Editor for a national high school literary magazine
  • Karate Black Belt (first degree)
  • Class Treasurer
  • AVID Tutor and Freshman mentor
  • Former waiter and housekeeper at a bed and breakfast, ongoing private tutor with 3 clients, former employee for a financial literacy website

Recommendations:
Good

Essays:
Pretty good

Other:
U.S. State/Territory or Country: competitive state
School Type: Very large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: No financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development):

Strengths: ECs
Weaknesses: Scores and GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think the peer recommendation helped me as well as the interview!
What would you have done differently?: Nothing
Where else did you apply?

Accepted: Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, UVA, and BC
Waitlisted: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Duke, and UChicago
Rejected: Princeton, Penn, Cornell, and Brown

Pretty happy with my results despite my waitlists! For anyone who is interested in how I got involved with the Huffington Post feel free to message me.

10

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:

SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 1550 C, 760M/790CRW
SAT II (subject, score): 750 Math II, 750 English Lit, 720 M Bio
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): 4 English Lit
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, Chem, English, 2 Histories
Number of other applicants in your school: At least 5, maybe more
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): nada
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NM commended

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Captain of two varsity sports, All-state in one and all conference in both. Editor of school paper, play jazz, spend a lot of time playing online chess lol.
Job/Work Experience: Worked informally landscaping in the summers.
Volunteer/Community Service: Mentored young children at a local elementary school, experiences there prompted my CA essay.
Summer Experience:

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays:
CA: pretty good, about community service was shorter than normal 8/10.
Supplements: Both were averages at best 5/10.
Other (teacher’s subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Teacher Recommendation #1: Headmaster, English teacher, brilliant guy 9/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: Math teacher, kinda had a rocky relationship with him 5/10
Counselor Rec: Probably was alright, 6/10
Additional Info/Rec:
Interview: Wasn’t anything special, 6/10
Art Supplement:

Other

Date Submitted App: The day it was due lol 1/1 i think
U.S. State/Territory or Country: South
School Type: Private
Ethnicity:White
Gender:M
Income Bracket Range: Too much for aid, not enough to pay
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): none

Reflection

Strengths: I had the scores and grades to get considered, my CA essay and my english rec.
Weaknesses: Other recs were mediocre to bad, white, ECs weren’t special, gpa trended upward but was still low, LOTS of other kids from my school applied, Subject tests were eh, supplements weren’t unique.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Just another above average white kid
What would you have done differently?: Asked someone else to write my STEM rec, spent more time on the supplements.
Where else did you apply?

Accepted: UA w/Presidential Scholarship, W&L, Grinnell, Macalester, a bunch of CTCL schools.

Rejected: Princeton

General Comments & Advice:

Dunno why I even bothered applying, never would’ve been able to afford this school anyway.

11

Decision: Accepted

(Didn’t take SAT)
ACT (breakdown): 33.
ACT superscore (breakdown): 35 English, 33 Math, 34 English, 30 Science
SAT II (subject, score): didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Weighted GPA: 4.11/4.33 (actually almost as high as you can get at my school, our system is weird)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/401
AP (place score in parentheses): Human Geo (5), APUSH (5), AP Calc AB (5), AP World (4), AP Bio (4), AP Lang (5).
Senior Year Course Load: IB Higher Level English Lit, History, and Psych. Standard Level Math, Bio, Spanish, TOK.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): State Speech Runner-up (soph. year), State Speech champion (jr.)
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): Winner of local essay contest, state AP scholar, chosen for county-sponsored mentoring program.

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Speech—4 yrs./Captain & peer coach/2 time state finalist, 3 time section champion
Debate—1 yr./Founder and Cpt./2nd at state even though I founded the team my senior year; all-state recognition; national qualifier.
NHS—3 yrs./President (elected two years in a row)/organized partnership w/ local businesses to make tie blankets for children’s hospitals.
MUN—1 yr./Founder & Cpt.
Youth In Gov’t—2.5 yrs./Presiding Officer of State Conference
I also tutored and mentored a lot of people throughout high school.

Job/Work Experience: Worked at local Target for 2+ years. Tutored for money.
Volunteer/Community service: 2 years (120+) hours of volunteering at suburban hospital. Given position as a trainer. Given award for dedication to volunteering in healthcare.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10—I wrote about taking risks and skiing; I felt like my voice was clear and my passion was present. My short answer to the Dr. Seuss prompt was (at least I think) endearingly sappy.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Written by my speech coach of 4 years/current AP Lit teacher. 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: Written by my AP calc AB/BC teacher of 2 years. 8/10
Counselor Rec: 7/10—nothing special.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went really well!

Date Submitted App: 12/30/16
U.S. State/Territory or Country: MN
Intended Major: Poli Sci and Biochem
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: $300k+
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Gay; from a rural school

Strengths: Essays, interview
Weaknesses: Scores were average for
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted?: I was passionate and honest. I come from a rural school that doesn’t have the funds nor the wherewithal to compete with richer suburban schools but I made use of every resource within my reach. I founded the debate and MUN teams to leave a legacy at my own school.

Other schools you applied to and their decisions:
Accepted: University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Minnesota
Waitlisted: Harvard, University of Michigan
Rejected: Princeton, Yale, WUSTL, Northwestern

Can’t wait to be a part of the Big Green family!

12

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1580 (790 Reading and Writing, 790 Math, 22 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): 35 Composite (36 English, 35 Math, 33 Reading, 36 Science, 33 Writing)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Biology M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 W, 4.85 UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), US History (5), BC Calc (5), Lang and Comp (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP French, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing extremely major… National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, Harvard Book Award, French Honor Society, National Honor Society, and a bunch of school academic awards.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Varsity Tennis (Captain)
  • National Honor Society (Officer)
  • Asian Culture Club (President)
  • Math Team
  • Biology lab aide

Job/Work Experience:

  • Intern at biomedical company
  • Teacher assistant at local language school (won award for best teacher assistant)

Volunteer/Community service:

  • Invention/Science Camp (Camp Counselor)
  • Volunteer at local hospital
  • Volunteer at town library

Summer Activities:

  • Internship at biomedical company
  • Summer program at Brown
  • Invention/Science Camp (Camp Counselor)
  • Hiking/traveling with family

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • Common App: 9/10, Initially I didn’t really like my essay, but re-reading it, I think it actually reflects me pretty well. I wrote about finding balance as an individual and as part of a community :slight_smile:
  • Supplements: 8/10, Pretty average I think

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: AP Bio teacher 9/10, did well in class, work as lab aide
Teacher Rec #2: AP Lang teacher 9/10, did well in class, connected with teacher
Counselor Rec: 8/10 didn’t know super well, but she definitely likes me a lot
Additional Rec: none
Interview: 8/10 did not do well. Good conversation, but nothing outstanding

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biomedical engineering
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public, small but high-ranking in Massachusetts
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): lol

Reflection:
Strengths: Grades, test scores, teacher recs
Weaknesses: Interview, Asian, interested in biology (very popular major)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Dartmouth usually accepts one or two students every year from my school, and I think my essays really conveyed my personality :slight_smile:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at Yale, Dartmouth, Duke, Vanderbilt, UVA, and McGill; wait listed at Harvard, UPenn, and Cornell; Rejected at Columbia and Princeton

General Comments: Congrats to all accepted! You have all worked so hard to get where you are. For all those who didn’t receive the good news you were hoping for, please remember that college admissions is such a crapshoot and that some random admissions officer’s decision does not reflect who you are as a person. :smiley:

13

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520
ACT (breakdown): 36 (E:36 M:36 R:34 S:36)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 98
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Government (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): History of Americas HL, Math HL, English HL, Psychology HL, Chemistry SL (6), Spanish SL (6)
Senior Year Course Load: History of Americas HL, Math HL, English HL, Psychology HL, Theory of Knowledge, Computer Programmin, Orchestra, Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cross Country All-State, Sterling Scholar (pending Semifinalist), Eagle Scout Award, National Merit Finalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): cross country (captain & varsity), tennis (varsity), student government (president), church choir, Spanish club (secretary), mariachi band (main vocal), NHS (treasurer)
Job/Work Experience: piano teacher
Volunteer/Community service: rehabilitation hospital volunteer

Essays:
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): maybe 6/10?
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, from church choir chorister
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 7/10, we talked through Skype video chat, and I couldn’t see him the whole time (I don’t know why)

Other:
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Utah
School Type: Charter
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $100K+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflections:
Strengths: scores, IB
Weaknesses: essays
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t know why. I didn’t send in a peer recommendation. Regardless, I’m happy.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted at BYU and U of U, waitlisted at Duke, rejected at Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Stanford

14

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 800/790/800
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): n/a
SAT II (subject, score): Math 2, 800; US History, 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 (strong upward trend, though- junior year was a 3.85)
Weighted GPA: 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank, but I wasn’t top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): US History (5); Chemistry (4); Computer Science (5); Statistics (5), European History (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Macroeconomics, AP Government and Politics, AP Literature, Health, AP Physics 1, AP Psychology
Number of other EA applicants in your school: idk
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Public Forum Debate State Top Speaker and 2nd Place team, Internationally Ranked, various local awards
Moody’s Mega Math Challenge Honorable Mention
Mathletes State Championship Qualifier (top 80 in state)
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Public Forum Debate, 9-12, Captain and Founder
Boys State Secretary of Governor, Mayor (12)
Internship at Congressman’s office (12)
Self-studied programmer; learned over a dozen different languages (9-12)
Technology Club (9-12), President (11, 12), taught kids from elementary to high school programming
Google Developer, made and published Android apps (10, 11, 12)
Boy Scout, Life Scout (pending Eagle) and Patrol Leader (9-12)

Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered at Soup Kitchen and local Nature Center for 100+ hours each year
Summer Experience:

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):

Essays: Wrote about debate and how it transformed my reticence into leadership

Teacher Recommendation #1: APUSH teacher, didn’t see it but I assume it was good
Teacher Recommendation #2: CompSci teacher, didn’t see it but I’m guessing it was excellent, he really loves me
Counselor Rec: she told me she wrote an excellent one, I believe
Additional Info/Rec: Debate coach, probably also very good
Interview: didn’t get one
Art Supplement: n/a

Other

Date Submitted App: Dec 16, 2016
U.S. State/Territory or Country: I’d rather not say
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): none

Reflection

Strengths: test scores and extracurriculars
Weaknesses: grades
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: probably a combination of my test scores and extracurriculars made up for my relatively low GPA (although I had a strong upward trend)
What would you have done differently?: gotten better grades freshman year
Where else did you apply? couple Ivies, UChicago, NYU

15

Unfortunately, you are one of the thousands of phenomenal candidates for Dartmouth without a “hook.” Should leave a sour taste in your mouth that you were rejected so as to allow room for the “disenfranchised” (including the marginal athletes, and legacy). Its a shame that so many super-qualified seniors waste application fees on this place.