<p>Stats:
[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2160 (740 M , 700 R , 720 W)<br>
[</em>] SAT IIs: 660 Maths 2 and 670 Lit
[<em>] GPA: 91/100 (Indian Board)
[</em>] Rank: top3 /50
[<em>] Other stats: House Captain this year- was vice captain last year- and prefect twice before that.
[/ul] Subjective:
[ul]
[</em>] Essays: Good> my friends liked them.
[<em>] Teacher Recs: > were really good - one from my housemistress and from my english teacher ( she loves me)
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Decent - spoke about leadership ability and my captainship work i had done.
[<em>] Hook (if any): That i am a US citizen and live in India.???
That i am a hindu applying to a mainly Jewish university?
[/ul]Location/Person:
[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: India
[<em>] School Type: Private
[</em>] Ethnicity: Indian
[li] Gender: Female[/li][/ul] Other Factors: General Comments: I am a prospective Economics major.</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] ACT: 33
[</em>] SAT IIs: 710 Literature, 700 US History
[<em>] GPA:3.98uw, 4.3w
[</em>] Rank: School doesn't rank, but about top 5%
[<em>] Other stats:
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: I thought they were fantastic.
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Excellent
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Excellent
[<em>] Hook (if any): I'm Jewish? (probably did me in, if they're looking for diversity :P )
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: California
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[li] Gender: Female[/li][/ul]Other Factors: Very good EC's and 450+ hours of community service General Comments: More like a question, actually. In the letter, it stated that if accepted off of the waitlist, we will be informed by mid-May, maybe even close to June. If I have to send in a SIR to my school of choice by May 1st, is it worth the risk to wait? As far as I can see, it's like a rejection unless they actually expect us to risk our first year of college by waiting for them. </p>
<p>I'm not really upset by being waitlisted, as Brandeis isn't my first choice, but I am curious about the whole process. If anyone here is more informed about the process than I am (ie, has been through the process himself or whatnot), it would be wonderful if you could explain a bit more to me.</p>
<p>my s was accepted and received a presidential scholarship - 25K which is amazing, just wondering -- the financial aid letter said ineligible for fin aid--did others receive that as well? wondering if merit aid cancelled out need based..
thanks</p>
<p>My Son also received Presidential and no need based aid . . . but our EFC is right about at what we would pay out of pocket . . . unfortunately we are not able to do that. Son will probably end up at small public LAC.</p>
<pre><code>* SAT:Did not submit
* SAT: Did not Submit
* ACT: 32, 10 essay
* GPA: 4.03 uW (4.33= A+)
* Rank: 7/340
* Other stats: AP US Government+Politics (5)
</code></pre>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<pre><code>* Essays: Great according to my guidance counselor
* Teacher Recs: 2 amazing letters from chemistry and english teachers and one from my debate coach
* Counselor Rec: Not sure-most likely a rehash of my teacher recs
* Hook (if any): not sure...
</code></pre>
<p>Location/Person:</p>
<pre><code>* State or Country:Williston, VT
* School Type: Public, considered to be one of the best in the state
* Ethnicity: Caucasian
* Gender: Male
</code></pre>
<p>Other Factors: National Honor Society, 2 time Vermont Public Forum Debate Champion, 3 Citations for Scholarly Achievement from Vermont Dept. of Education, Debate Captain, Cross-Country and Baseball, numerous clubs (key club international, scholar's bowl, student hiring committee, etc), interesting community service (I serve on a court diversion panel), awesome interview + 2 visits w/ sleepover, part time job, taken 5 out of 7 AP's offered at my school, high honor roll all 4 years of high school</p>
<p>General Comments: Congrats to everyone accepted, good luck to those waitlisted! Looking forward to meeting everyone on April 10th!</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT:
[</em>] SAT IIs:
[<em>] GPA: 3.5 UW, 4.1 W, Hardest curriculum in whole school
[</em>] Rank: top decile
[<em>] Other stats: 740 Biology, 730 Physics, 710 Math 2, AP History 4, AP Chem 4
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: Amazing
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Awesome
[</em>] Counselor Rec:
[<em>] Hook (if any): Hispanic, good essays, very well rounded, lots of comm. service
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: Hawaii
[<em>] School Type: Private
[</em>] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[li] Gender: Male[/li][/ul]Other Factors: National Hispanic Scholar, Presidential Volunteer Award, Independent Research in Science, 2n in science fair state, 1st in state for scientific sustainability, Model United Nations, Catholic Youth Leader General Comments: - I got the MARTIN LUTHER KING SCHOLARSHIP :), so completely free ride, full tuition, room and board, so I will prob go.</p>
<p>jmfehs08: my daughter was waitlisted, too. It was one of her top schools, but she got into her first choice so she was disappointed for about five seconds and recovered quickly. Here's my experience with the Brandeis waitlist: a very good friend's son was waitlisted in 2006. He went ahead and accepted Rochester (he had received a $10,000 scholarship). On something like May 2 someone literally called him on the phone from Brandeis and said if he still wanted to go to Brandeis he'd be accepted, but he'd have to let them know right away -- like that same day. It was pretty crass, and of course, the kid said no thanks. And he's very happy at Rochester.</p>
<p>Stats:
[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 680 Reading - 800 Math - 750 Writing (2230 total)
[</em>] SAT IIs: Biology (M) - 680
Chemistry - 750
Math IIC - 800
[<em>] GPA: 91.5
[</em>] Rank: N/A (school doesn't rank)
[<em>] AP Classes: BC Calculus, Computer Science AB, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, U.S. History, Law class at my local public university.
[/ul] Subjective:
[ul]
[</em>] Essays: I thought it was good. Not special, but good.
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Both were great.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Didn't read it, but I assume that it was good.
[<em>] Extracurriculars: Internship at Museum of City of New York, NYU summer program, Graphic Design Club, etc.
[</em>] Hook (if any): ...I'm Jewish? (this might have been a disadvantage... I see that a lot of the other waitlisted people are also Jewish.)
[/ul]Location/Person:
[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: NY
[</em>] School Type: Highly Selective Public School (Stuyvesant)
[<em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[</em>] Gender: Male
[/ul]</p>
<p>Other Factors: General Comments: I really don't know why I got waitlisted... looking at my grades I thought I would get in. It was disappointing, but I wasn't really planning to go to Brandeis anyway, so I guess it's alright. I just hope I have better luck with the other colleges I applied to.</p>
<p>You said it yourself: "I wasn't really planning to go to Brandeis anyway."</p>
<p>Your lack of enthusiasm probably showed.
Did you have an interview?
Did you articulate in your application what <em>in particular</em> about Brandeis appealed to you?</p>
<p>By the sound of it, probably not. Hence the result.</p>
<p>Brandeis wants students who <em>want</em> to be there.</p>
<p>
[quote]
this might have been a disadvantage... I see that a lot of the other waitlisted people are also Jewish
[/quote]
</p>
<p>i also see a lot of accepted people who are Jewish. fact is a LOT of Jewish students apply. some get in, some don't, some get wait listed. i really think people try to read too much into this -- in past years people also assumed they got merit aid because they were Jewish, while other people assumed they didn't get merit aid because they were Jewish, etc.</p>
<p>this is not directed at the prior poster since i know nothing of your circumstances -- but i have seen among kids i know -- a lot assume that being actively involved in Jewish life will help them at Brandeis -- and they maybe don't bother to show as much interest as they could -- and then they end up being surprised when the decision isn't what they assumed it'd be.</p>
<p>Brandeis is unique in that its student body is approximately 50% Jewish and Jewish religious and social culture is clearly evident there -- this results in a certain amount of self selecting among its applicant pool. But I really think people tend to read too much into admissions decisions with respect to religion there.</p>
<p>To all those who were waitlisted, remember this: you are all excellent candidates who will go on to do wonderful things elsewhere. For whatever reason this school chose to waitlist you, it has nothing to do with whether or not you exuded the "correct" amount of enthusiasm; more often than not waitlisting is simply a matter of numbers and ratios. A few years ago my friend's son, who was waitlisted, received a phone call from Brandeis offering him admission if he let them know by the end of that same day. It was May 2 and he had already accepted another school's offer. Yes, he had done his homework and visited Brandeis. He had brimmed with confidence, warmed the cockles of the interviewer's heart, and swore on his mother's life that Brandeis was the only school for him. Evidently he had always had "the right stuff." He was just the wrong number. Good luck with all your future endeavors!</p>
<p>
[quote]
You said it yourself: "I wasn't really planning to go to Brandeis anyway."</p>
<p>Your lack of enthusiasm probably showed.
Did you have an interview?
Did you articulate in your application what <em>in particular</em> about Brandeis appealed to you?</p>
<p>By the sound of it, probably not. Hence the result.</p>
<p>Brandeis wants students who <em>want</em> to be there.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, the thing is, there was no additional essay on the Brandeis supplement, if I remember right. I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to show how much I want to go to the school, if there's no where to show it. I went to their presentation at my school, talked to one of the admissions people, and filled out one of those information cards. Considering that I live in NYC and my parents don't have a car, I feel that I showed as much effort as I could in my circumstances.</p>
<p>I was never offered an interview - I don't particularly see how this is my fault. (since that's what you're implying)</p>
<p>offered an interview? For colleges, you request one and they arrange it for you. It's been my experience that if you don't ask, they don't call. It's hard to figure out what each of the schools want and it's really not worth trying to figure out what happened. It could be that they only had room for one kid from your hs, or one kid from your zip code, or one kid in your major. Try to remember that. To get as far as you have, you are extremely accomplished and should focus on your future successes. They will definitely happen, and sooner than you might imagine.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I was never offered an interview - I don't particularly see how this is my fault.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>did you request one? if so when? (i'm just trying to get facts clear for the benefit of future applicants, not trying to criticize what you did or didn't do)</p>
<p>i'm posting this really for anyone reading this thread considering applying in the future -- you have to be very proactive in requesting an interview -- fill in the info requesting one asap -- go to the website and see when on campus and off campus (ie alumni) interview are being booked -- and if you can't book one or request one when you first look, keep going back to keep checking.</p>
<p>the truth is that it is very hard to make reason out of selective college admission results -- you just have to know you've done all you could have done -- and if that is the case, just shrug and move on.</p>
<p>my earlier comments about effort was in the context of applicants who made certain assumptions as to what role their Judaism would play in admissions -- i know some kids in that situation and really do think they took things for granted and made little effort to visit or interview because they assumed they didn't need to.</p>
<p>people who are disappointed in admissions results always look for a "reason" to make it easier to understand -- they weren't the right demographic, too many from their school applied, etc.</p>
<p>Does being Jewish and applying to Brandeis give you a leg up in admissions? I assumed, since their population is more than 50% Jewish, that this could count against you. I would think that Brandeis would be looking to gain a more diverse student body.</p>
<p>I never requested one, but I had no idea that it was necessary. I didn't even know that they had interviews. I applied using the Common Application and there was nothing on the supplement to suggest that Brandeis even had interviews... if I knew there were interviews, I would have requested one. I suppose that it is partially my fault, but they really should be more informative - the college admissions process shouldn't have to be a scavenger hunt. They sent me a bunch of brochures, but not even in one of them was there ever mentioned an interview. (or the option of requesting one)</p>