***Official Harvard University 2015 Decisions Thread***

[silverturtle]

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 2400 (one sitting)
[</em>] ACT: 36 (one sitting)
[<em>] SAT II: Math Level 2 – 800, Chemistry - 800
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank: 1/425
[</em>] AP: 5’s on Chemistry, Biology, Calculus AB, and Psychology (logistically impossible to take AP course until junior year)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, Calculus II (took at community college), AP Statistics (online), AP Human Geography, AP US Government and Politics, AP English Language, AP English Literature, Spanish IV (administrative regulations precluded my taking AP Spanish), and PE (required)
[</em>] Awards: USNCO, NMSF, NHRP, state awards in English and Chemistry
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars: Piano improvisation and performance (both paid and unpaid; significant time commitment); Mock Trial; Scholastic Bowl; Peer Tutoring; Peer Leadership; WYSE Academic Team; JETS Engineering Team; Social Studies Club; Various volunteering engagements; Various leadership positions and awards in the previous activities
[</em>] Summer Activities: Vanderbilt twice, music composition program, community college
[<em>] Essays: Difficult to self-evaluate
[</em>] Teacher Recommendations: Haven’t seen them
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Haven’t seen it
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[<em>] Intended Major: Undecided
[</em>] State: Illinois
[<em>] Country: US (domestic applicant)
[</em>] School Type: Semi-competitive public (A few NMSF’s each year; about 15 students with ACT scores 33+)
[<em>] Ethnicity: 3/4 White non-Hispanic; 1/4 Hispanic
[</em>] Gender: Male
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Perfect test scores, rigorous curriculum (under the circumstances), GPA, rank, well-roundedness
[</em>] Weaknesses: Dearth of major awards, don’t attend feeder high school, no unusually compelling extracurricular activities, should have self-studied some AP tests
[/ul]General Comments: Good luck to everyone as they move forward.</p>

[impetuous]

<p>**Decision: Rejected **</p>

<p>but I got into Brown and I’m fine with it. except I won’t get any FA… oh well it’s harvard.</p>

[crimsonxx]

<p>accepted!!! ahhh :D</p>

[Chiburger]

<p>Rejected. Super reach anyways (2140SAT, 33ACT, complete cookie-cutter Asian). Congratulations to all those accepted! You’ve been given an amazing opportunity in education-don’t even think about farking it up.</p>

[schrodingerscat]

<p>ACCEPTED.</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): ~2300
ACT:
SAT II: 800s in maths and physics; 770 in French with listening
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I’m not American, but I graduated with the highest possible rank in my country.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parenthesis): /
IB (place score in parenthesis)
Senior Year Course Load: Maths, English, French, Chemistry, University Physics (at the 2nd best university in my country)
Major Awards: IPhO award, competed at another olympiad, national/state level prizes in writing and french…</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Principal/concertmaster positions in a lot of statewide youth orchestras, leadership positions at school for music, represented the country at an international leadership conference, did debating, founded/captained the science club, helped prepare students for the olympiad exams…
Volunteer/Community service: Some major concerts and other things.
Essays: Must’ve worked.
Teacher Recommendation: Lovely teachers, but I’m not sure how used they were to American applications…
Counselor Rec: Likewise
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Amazing. I loved every minute of it. 2 hours long; wished I could have talked to him for longer. </p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant): Australia!
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: /
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: /
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Female who did IPhO and music/french/writing in addition to science?</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: IPhO, female, the fact that I got the top possible graduating score in my country, music…
Weaknesses: SATs, completely unfamiliar with the system, common app truncated all of my answers and I didn’t realise because I was really stressed at the time…
Why you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted: I’m just shocked/honoured. Never thought this would happen.
Where else were you accepted/rejected/waitlisted: I hope this doesn’t sound bad, but I only applied for HYP in the US, and I got into all three (I was expecting three rejections!). I reasoned that they were the only universities that I liked more than I liked the university that I’m at in Australia (we start semester 6 months earlier), but I got full scholarships to every university here.
General Comments: I feel so honoured. I hope I’ll get enough finances to go though!</p>

[afkatm]

<p>Decision: Rejected
Don’t feel like posting much right now
Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2400 (first sitting)
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II: 2360
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 55
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load:
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A few
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): some presidencies, 200 hrs volun, etc.
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: 300 hrs.
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service:
[<em>] Summer Activities: quite a few
[</em>] Essays: decent
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: idk
[</em>] Counselor Rec: idk
[<em>] Additional Rec: no
[</em>] Interview: good
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type:
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: middle?
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): …
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths:
[<em>] Weaknesses:
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I probably should have gotten to know my teachers better[/li][/ul]General Comments:</p>

[kkamll]

<p>ACCEPTED!!!</p>

<p>objective:
sat i (breakdown):
act: 35
sat ii (if submitted): US history 710, Math II 690
unweighted gpa (out of 4.0): My school does gpa’s really weird so its a 97.17/100 unweighted)
rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Valedictorian
ap (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5)
ib (place score in parenthesis):
senior year course load: AP Calc AB, AP Music Theory, AP Gov and Politics, AP English Lit, Honors French 5, Marching/Concert Band
major awards (usamo, intel etc.):Questbridge Finalist, Harvard Book Award</p>

<p>subjective:
extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Team (4 years, VP for 2), Band (Marching/Symphonic/Jazz, 4 years, President for 1), National Novel Writing Month (2 years), Student Council (3 years), Math Team (3 years), probably others I’m forgetting
job/work experience: various tutoring jobs all four years, blogger for anti-tobacco website junior year
volunteer/community service: volunteer at local library since 7th grade, various other things, a few hundred hours
essays: good I think
teacher recommendation: really really amazing
counselor rec: unsure
additional rec: N/A
interview:N/A</p>

<p>other
applied for financial aid?: yes
intended major: Political Science and Psychology
state (if domestic applicant): MA
country (if international applicant):
school type: Public
ethnicity: White
gender: Female
income bracket: ~40,000
hooks (urm, first generation college, research, etc.): First Generation College, Questbridge Finalist</p>

<p>reflection
strengths: Grades/Test Scores/Extracurriculars/Recs/really good interview and a second interview with an admissions officer that went really well
weaknesses: unsure
why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: unsure</p>

<p>general comments:</p>

[Impero]

<p>Rejected. 2260 SAT, 3.57 GPA. I was delusional to even apply.</p>

[aarush]

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown):
[</em>] ACT: 36
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 lit, 800 US history, 780 Physics
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.05 weighted, don’t know otherwise
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 4%, don’t know rank
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Physics B, BC Calculus, English Lit, US History, Comp government (self-studied
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: 6 classes & 3 APs
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nope</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): A couple really obscure/strange things like rock climbing, unicycling, flying planes and drama, creative writing
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: one summer coaching, one summer at an iPhone app company,
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: just what is required to graduate my school
[</em>] Summer Activities: summer writing programs, jobs, travel
[<em>] Essays: common app was about writing a novel, supplement was about one of my really close friends. Also submitted a creative writing supplement
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: both should have been lovely
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Also one of my teachers–he said it was wonderful.
[</em>] Additional Rec:
[li] Interview: The guy liked me. He thought I was really enthusiastic and outgoing.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[</em>] Intended Major: no idea
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: private
[</em>] Ethnicity: mixed, no URM
[<em>] Gender: F
[</em>] Income Bracket: > 200 k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Perhaps the weird extracurriculars?</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: unusual application & essays
[</em>] Weaknesses: I don’t really do the average things in an attempt to get into college…lots of clubs, lots of community service, etc.
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m guessing the essays and probably test scores/transcript.
[</em>] What other schools have you been accepted to/plan on going? accepted at UChicago, wesleyan, tufts, duke, brown, dartmouth, princeton. waitlisted at wash u, swarthmore, stanford, harvard. rejected by yale (deferred scea…i really don’t think they liked me much.)
[/ul]
General Comments: I’m debating between Brown and Princeton at the moment, but might think about Chicago as well. Will definitely stay on the Harvard waitlist, but I doubt many people will come off it this year. But I’m not too upset because I feel so lucky/fortunate to have so many great options!</p>

[pocketsizedrambo]

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR, 770 W, 770 M
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II: 2400
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11/368
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 8 5’s
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: all APs
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): siemens semi?
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): science team, debate, nhs
[<em>] Job/Work Experience:
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: 300 hours at va
[<em>] Summer Activities: volunteering
[</em>] Essays:meh
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation:i think it was good
[</em>] Counselor Rec: pretty good
[<em>] Additional Rec:
[</em>] Interview: average
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: public
[</em>] Ethnicity: asian
[<em>] Gender: male
[</em>] Income Bracket: 150,000
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: ecs, tons of leadership positions
[<em>] Weaknesses: no major awards
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my application showed my strength in science, but my essay talked about my aspirations in business.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to stanford[/li][/ul]General Comments: Congratulations to everyone that was accepted!</p>

[physicsnut1]

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300: 800,750,750 (M/CR/W)
SAT I superscore (breakdown): Same (only taken once)
ACT (breakdown): 35 composite
ACT superscore (breakdown): Same (only taken once)
SAT II: 800 (US History), 770 (Spanish)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/220
AP (place score in parentheses): USH, Language, Statistics (can’t take AP until Junior year)
IB (place score in parentheses): Not offered
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Econ, Calc, Anatomy, AP Eng, Spanish 5, French 4
Number of other applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just some local scholarships / essay contest awards</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Boy Scouts - Eagle Scout, 46 merit badges, five Eagle Scout palms, Interpreter Strips, World Conservation Award, Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Order of the Arrow Vice Chief, etc.
Service Club: (President) Four years
Shakespeare CLub (President, Co-founder) Three Years
Job/Work Experience: Tutor (French, Spanish, Physics, Math)
Volunteer/Community service:
American Red Cross, Public Library, Lots through Boy Scouts, Eagle Project, Service Club, etc.</p>

<p>Writing (Write a brief description and Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):
Essays (Include Subjects):
Common App Main: About my experiences in Order of the Arrow (BSA). All about metamorphosis from learner to teacher. 7.
EC Short Answer: Service Club. 6.
Other essay: About my life as a rural student growing up. I liked it a lot, but it’s hard to know about one’s own writing. 8.</p>

<p>Other:
Also a Questbridge finalist.
Teacher Recommendation #1: English teacher whose daughter I tutor and who said I was “One of the top ten students she has taught in 19 years”
Teacher Recommendation #2: Physics / Math / Senior Project Instructor.
Counselor Rec: Good, I think. I know her pretty well.
Interview: I thought it went very well. It was a really long d</p>

<p>Other
Date Submitted App: 10/
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <20,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):First generation</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Scores, GPA, Boy Scouts
Weaknesses: Maybe a little random in ECs at times? Although I truly do love everything that I do.
Where else have you been accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, UC Davis. Rejected: Stanford (I thought “Take that Stanford” when I heard this one </p>

<p>CONGRATS TO THE ACCEPTEES!!!</p>

[Zorigoo1993]

<p>Decision: Accepted
Objective:</p>

<ul>
<li>SAT I (breakdown): 2160(single) CR:680 Math: 800 Writing: 680(9)</li>
<li>ACT: -</li>
<li>SAT II: German reading: 800; Math II:800; US History: 760; World History: 710</li>
<li>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.82</li>
<li>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): none</li>
<li>AP (place score in parenthesis): none</li>
<li>AP Pending: AB Calculus, AP WH, APUSH, AP European History, AP US GOV, AP Comp Gov</li>
<li>Senior Year Course Load: 3 AP classes(max are 3) plus alot of other courses adding to 18 or 17 i think</li>
<li>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
• Won bronze medal in a NFL-IDEA international Debate competition–Junior
• Won various debating competitions to get into the WSDC team–Junior
• Top 4 in the Ulaanbaatar Open Debate(regional)—NOTE not finished—Senior
• World Online debating Championship Quarter Finalist
• IQ/Logic Regional Olympics Gold— Sophomore
• City Math Olympics Silver—Freshman
• Tug of War Champion, 2nd place, 3rd place (11th,10th and 12th grade respectively) – School(YESHHH!! Hehe I cant believe I added this on my app)
• Best individual of 2009/2010 and Best Student in 2010/2011 year at Hobby School for grades, participation and extracurriculars – School 11th and 12th grade
• School Chess Vice-Champion-- Junior
• Various School Drama awards
• Various English Linguistic Awards. (Mostly minor)
• Full scholarship at my school – Senior</li>
</ul>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<ul>
<li>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Debate: Very Devoted. Have been a WSDC National Team Member in Junior Year.
Student Government: Wrote the SG constitution twice. Been Vice-President. Am Attorney General now.
TV Debates on national TV
Teaching SAT classes and counseling on college for students
School Website Editor and Designer
Journalist for the School Website
Some other minor ECs</li>
<li>Volunteer/Community service: not much rly parents dont allow me</li>
<li>Summer Activities: USAP</li>
<li>Essays: I think i did a good job.</li>
<li>Teacher Recommendation: Both were pretty good.</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: Great</li>
<li>Additional Rec: Good enough</li>
<li>Interview: Quite good i think</li>
</ul>

<p>Other</p>

<ul>
<li>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes</li>
<li>Intended Major: Political Science</li>
<li>State (if domestic applicant): -</li>
<li>Country (if international applicant): Mongolia</li>
<li>School Type: Small Private</li>
<li>Ethnicity: Asian</li>
<li>Gender: Male</li>
<li>Income Bracket: 30k range</li>
<li>Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</li>
</ul>

<p>Reflection</p>

<ul>
<li>Strengths: Essays, Extracurriculars</li>
<li>Weaknesses: SAT I Scores probably</li>
<li>Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I cannot think now my brain is just full of excitement. I promised all my classmates Pizza if i get accepted</li>
<li>Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Georgetown, Bowdoin, Cornell, Wooster, Pending Amherst;
Waitlisted: Duke;
Rejected: Yale, Bates, Davidson, Reed, Swarthmore</li>
</ul>

<p>General Comments
WILL PROBABLY STUDY AT HARVARD WOOHOO
THANKS TO EVERYONE HERE, MY FRIEND BILGUUN, MY CLASSMATES, TEACHERS, PARENTS!!!</p>

[vivawasabi]

<p>Rejected…not surprised though, and Princeton is better
lol time stamp on the e-mail was 2:05PM PST, but it popped up in my inbox around 6PM -_-</p>

[epizeuxis]

<p>Decision: Accepted!!!</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2190 (740 C.R., 790 W., 660 M.)
[</em>] ACT: n/a
[<em>] SAT II (if submitted): 740 Literature, 650 Math 1, 600 French, 580 Chem
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Only know weighted, 4.03
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9.7%
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Environmental Science, English Lit&Comp, European History
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: Challenging, with AP English Lit, AP Euro, Independent AP Enviro-Sci, Independent French VI Honors, Spanish IV Honors (1st year taking it), Latin IV Honors, Hip-Hop, Jazz/Band Combination, Independent Poetry, Music Tech IV
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nat’l Latin Exam (1 year), National Honors Society, National Society of High School Scholars
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Field Hockey & Lacrosse (Captains, Academic All-American), Jazz Ensemble (1st Chair), Wind Ensemble (1st Chair), Spring Musical (Leads in 2 shows), A Capella (Alto Soloist), FreeRide Snowboarding Team, President of Environmental Club, Active member of other clubs
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: I’ve been working since I was 13, in various jobs (farms and restaurants)
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Community service abroad (Rwanda), Volunteering at local schools, Volunteering w/ field hockey team
[</em>] Essays: I wrote about how crazy it was to work in Rwanda, and how pumped I am to be living.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Really good recommendations from Chem and Latin teachers
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Actually had my Principal write it
[<em>] Additional Rec: Recommendation from Jazz instructor
[</em>] Interview: GREAT interview at my local gas station/general store
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[</em>] Intended Major: Totally undecided… something in Music and Languages, maybe on Pre-Med track
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Vermont
[</em>] School Type: Tiny Rural Public School
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket: Lower/Middle Class
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Music & Sports, Legacy (but my mum doesn’t donate any money to Harvard)
[/ul] b]Reflection**[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Languages, Music, Writing, Athletics, Leadership
[</em>] Weaknesses: Math, Super Competitive Class
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: WHO CARES I’M IN!
[/ul]General Comments: </em>?! I’M FREAKING OUT, AND IT’S MY 18TH BIRTHDAY! BEST PRESENT EVERRRRRR.</p>

<p>oh, ps, how do you find your financial aid offer? I can’t figure it out… which is incredibly dumb.</p>

[20more]

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 2380 800-780-800
[</em>] ACT: 35
[<em>] SAT II: 800-800-780
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[</em>] AP: School does not offer but all 5s
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: Cal III, Modern Physics … Very Challenging
[</em>] Major Awards: NMF, AIME That is it
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: Good
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Did not see
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Did not see
[</em>] Interview:
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State: Midwest
[</em>] School Type: One of the best
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: Middle Class
[</em>] Hooks: Not even close
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: None
[</em>] Weaknesses: Everything
[/ul]General Comments: Rejected from HYP and Waitlisted from Dartmouth, Penn in 10 Minutes. Wow!!!</p>

[LondonGentleman]

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 - CR: 790, M: 750, W: 780
[</em>] ACT: 31… Did not submit
[<em>] SAT II: 760 Math II, 730 Spanish Reading
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 126
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Eng. Lang & Comp (5), World History (5), US History (4), Chemistry (4)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Government, AP Calc AB, AP Environmental Science, AP Lit and Comp, Student Aide :p, AP Physics B
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing “Major,” but I did place 3rd in Essay and 4th in Extemporaneous Speaking in the State Literary Competition
[<em>] Minor Awards: Bausch & Lomb Honarary Science Award, DAR Good Citizen Award, STAR Student, National Merit Commended, and numerous scholar athlete awards.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars:
Football (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) JV (9th, 10th) Varsity (11th, 12th)
Varsity Track & Field (10th, 11th) 8th in Region Discuss (11th)
Philanthropy Club (11th, 12th) Founder and President – 30+ members; Raised $1100 for Haiti Earthquake Relief and various food supplies for the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission
National Beta Club (10th, 11th, 12th) President (12th)
Math Team (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) Team Captain (12th) Individually placed in the top 10 of about 100 competitors all 4 years of competing.
National Honor Society (10th, 11th, 12th) Treasurer (12th)
Key Club (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) Vice President (12th)
Academic Quiz Bowl (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) Team Captain (10th, 11th, 12th)
Savannah Engineering Academy (11th)
Science Seminar (11th) Met bimonthly at various sites across the city for lectures and science oriented activities (constructing underwater robots, rockets, web sites, etc.)</p>

<p>[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Summer lifeguarding, neighborhood lawn service, private math tutor
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: 60 hrs total, 32 of which were at a local hospital
[<em>] Summer Activities: Football, lifeguarding, ENJOYING LIFE
[</em>] Essays: Well written. First about the fundraiser I organized in response to the Haiti Earthquake. Second about my mother’s influence on my life.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Only read one, it was very complimentary.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read
[<em>] Additional Rec: Didn’t read
[</em>] Interview: It went smoothly. Nothing spectacular, no 3 hour conversation about our mutual love of Jorge Luis Borges or anything of the sort
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): GA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): USA, baby!
[<em>] School Type: Christian Private
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: Upper Middle
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: Well rounded in all areas but…
[<em>] Weaknesses: not STAND OUT in any.
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Lack of a unique flair. Lots of talented, deserving applicants. It is Harvard, after all.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li]Accepted: Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech
Waitlisted: Harvard, Dartmouth, Duke
Rejected: Princeton, Yale
[/ul]General Comments: I gave the application process my best effort; however, I didn’t set going to an Ivy League school as a goal until last year, so I was a bit late on the whole “develop a passion” deal that adcoms seem to prefer. I was myself the whole way through the process, and I am content with my results. If you were accepted, please don’t go! </p>

[johannes1430]

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective[ul]
[<em>] SATs: 2190 = 700W + 760M + 730W
[</em>] SATIIs: 800MII 800CHE 770PHY
[<em>] GPA: 57.9/60
[</em>] Rank: top 5 / 100
[<em>] APs: CalcAB(5), CalcBC, PhysC
[</em>] Senior year course load: Sciency & nerdy
[li] Awards: NHS[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Subjective[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars: Varsity Soccer (Co-captain), Varsity Tennis (1st/2nd singles), Club Nordic, Young Liberals (Regional Chair)
[</em>] Work experience: Part-time salesman @ Electronics store
[<em>] Volunteer/community service: A lot junior & senior years
[</em>] Essays: Genuine, awkward and decent
[<em>] Teacher recommendations: One short & awesome, one long & mundane, one unknown
[</em>] Counselor recommendation: Short and fantastic!
[li] Interview: Yes, an awesome one![/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for financial aid?: Yes
[</em>] Intended major: Engineering (the academic diversity backdoor did not work)
[<em>] Country: Norway FTW!
[</em>] School type: Socialist (public) + 1 year private abroad
[<em>] Ethnicity: 100.00% Scandinavian
[</em>] Gender: XY
[<em>] Income bracket: $150-180k
[</em>] Hooks: Underrepresented nationality…?![/ul]</p>

<p>Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: SATIIs, Well-roundedness of ECs & academic interests
[</em>] Weaknesses: SATs, Volunteer work
[<em>] Why do you think you were rejected: Why not? It’s Harvard after all…
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted by Columbia, Penn, Wesleyan, Tufts, Carleton, F&M, Boston U, Carnegie Tech and Bard. Waitlisted by Colby. Rejected by Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Cornell, Dartmouth, Berkeley, Northwestern. Waiting for Amherst.[/ul]</p>

<p>General comments: Split between Columbia and Penn, and Wesleyan a little bit. Amherst still around the corner…</p>

[swimHYPW]

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): 2150- 770 Math, 700 Critical Reading, 680 Writing (but did not report)
• ACT: 34
• SAT II: Math II 650, US History 750, Spanish 700
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Weighted GPA: 4.92
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/482
• AP (place score in parentheses): ehh…they suck—only 2 5s (US History and Psych)
• IB (place score in parentheses): suckish as well…will be taking more next month
• Classes- IB program
Junior year- PreCalc, AP/IB Psychology, AP US History, AP English, AP/IB Spanish IV, AP/IB Physics B
Senior year- AP/IB Calc AB, AP/IB HL Physics C, IB HL History of the Americas, AP/IB English, IB HL Spanish V, classes at the university- study of African women in politics (one semester) and health education (one semester)
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): President’s Volunteer Service Award, Best Algebra II Student, AP Scholar with Distinction, and other minor ones…</p>

<p>Subjective:
• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses)/community service/summer activities:</p>

<p>Athletics- (swimming)
Qualified and attended summer training at the Olympic Training Center
Qualified and competed in the Southern California Grand Prix
Qualified for Jr National team
2009 and 2010 Scholastic All American
Academic All American (2010)
2009 4th place in Open Water Senior Championship
Co-Captain of HS swim team
Captain of club swim team
Finaled in regional and state meets
I have been swimming competitively since the age of 12 (around 20hours+ of weekly training and morning practices) - hope to walk-on Harvard swim team</p>

<p>Leadership-
Co-Founder and President of Unicef HS Club
Captains of swim team (mentioned above)</p>

<p>Community Involvement-
Volunteered in Mexico- School for the Deaf, worked with orphanage and street children
Volunteered in Costa Rica- Schools (ESL)
Volunteered in Malawi, Africa- teaching health education in rural schools
Volunteer at day-care for disadvantaged girls- during school year
Volunteer at the homeless shelter- during school year
Volunteer with the UNICEF club- during school year</p>

<p>Music-
Viola player (5 years) in selective county youth orchestra</p>

<p>• Job/Work Experience: private swim coach instructor</p>

<p>Writing (Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):
• Essays (Include Subjects):
o Common App Main: 8, wrote about my experiences in Malawi, how the experience shaped who and what I want to become
o Supplement: 9, wrote about “The Girl Effect” and how I hope to release it to change the world. Google it!
o Other(s):
• Teacher Recommendation: Two great recommendations, one from a Psych teacher (also the sponsor for my UNICEF club) and the other from my PreCalculus teacher. Both really highlighted my personal characteristics and high performance in their classes, and were very well written

• Counselor Rec: Great! I have gotten to know my counselor well the last two years, so she had a good idea of who I was as a person
• Additional Rec: my swim coach- really showed how much of a commitment swimming is, how I have great time management skills, and how I don’t give up (in spite of a back fracture)
  • Interview: I’m not sure… I was interviewed by an old couple. It only lasted 45 minutes, but they were very kind and said that I was highly qualified
  • Art Supplement: N/A</p>

<p>Other
• Date Submitted App: December? I can’t remember!
• State (if domestic applicant): FL
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Public (IB program within major program)
• Ethnicity: Multiracial – Asian and Caucasian
• Gender: F
• Income Bracket: around 100,000
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): not that I know of! My passion and focus?</p>

<p>Reflection
• Strengths: Passion for helping others, a strong focus—I do things because I genuinely want to, not just for my resume, pretty good GPA
• Weaknesses: Standardized testing scores, lack of leadership positions and awards
• Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: luck:)
• What would you have done differently?: Nothing at all :)</p>

<p>Other colleges: Accepted to Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and JHU. Rejected from Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown. Waitlisted to UPenn and Williams. </p>

<p>General Comments: Congratulations to everyone who got accepted! I hope you all choose to attend! I am I cannot wait to meet you all, and have a great four years together! This is just a dream! Each one of you deserves this, and I would be so happy to have you as a classmate. I got an early likely letter, and it was such a surprise when I received it. For those of you who were waitlisted or rejected, please keep your head up. You probably got into another amazing college that is the perfect fit for you! I am just so happy! And I thank God for this opportunity! Congrats again! CLASS OF 2015!!!</p>

<p>Please feel free to PM me with any questions, or if you just want to talk! I love meeting new people!</p>

[perfectpixie]

<p>I never even imagined that I would be posting this one day. Thank you Harvard, for making everyone I know so happy!
Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2230-- 730 CR, 740 M, 760 WR, 12 E
[</em>] ACT: N.A
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Chem, 790 Math 2
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): International applicant, different system
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/250 in class 12 mid terms…we have different ranking system; it’s for every year, not cumulative. Top 5 every time, except class 10.
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Nada.
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): Nada.
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Chemistry, Math, Econ (Micro+Macro), English
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nationals Table tennis, some pretty sweet money for environmentalism, A really good Science internship in the state (top 1% selected for it)…
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Table tennis (National level awards, Captain of state as well as school team), Bharatanatyam dance (Indian classical dance) for 11 years from a very famous guru, Interact Club (Vice President)-very heavy involvement), environmentalism through interact club–crazy involvement, made film on polluted river that won second prize in state, theater for a year or so, but State award in that, debate: one state award and some school stuff that doesn’t really count, but I wrote my CA EC essay on Debate and my Harvard interviewer told me that what I wrote was very touching.
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: (Coach) Summer TT coaching camp at school-class 11,12, (Teacher, unpaid) Bharatanatyam dance for short while.
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Teaching underprivileged kids for two years, plus loads and loads of Interact Club stuff, Vice President of Interact Club
[<em>] Summer Activities: Not much…just heavy training for Table Tennis, and more teaching, more every EC basically.
[</em>] Essays: Well, I’m very critical when it comes to my essays, but for my CommonApp, the guy who edited it told me that it was one of the best of ~60 others he’d edited (here on CC), my supp was one on Noddy and Harry Potter and I wrote that two hours before the deadline, and that essay I feel was what pushed me in. I also submitted another essay on Bharatanatyam dance.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Pretty nice I think. Only praises.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Generic…
[<em>] Additional Rec: From Sports coach…outstanding!!
[</em>] Interview: I’m from india, which is a “limited interview region”, so I got my interview in March. It was for a little over two hours, and we clicked really well! In fact, I’m going to call him up right now and tell him the news!
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): INDIA
[<em>] School Type:PUBLIC
[</em>] Ethnicity:ASIAN! Purely desi.
[<em>] Gender:Female
[</em>] Income Bracket: Pretty low by American standards.
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nah. I’m URM.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths:I think that essay really clicked, because it told a very different story, and that’s what made them like me. I do have a pretty good story, and I’m glad I had the courage to go through with it…I feel that without it, I’d probably be in the reject pile already.
[<em>] Weaknesses: Well, I’m URM…I actually dunno. I thought that coming from India and competing with all those mad 2300+s would be hard, but apparently SAT scores don’t matte much in the end! I dunno really. I thought I was an okay applicant. Not extraordinary, but not too bad either.
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My essay essay essay! Unique unique story!
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Princeton, UPenn Smith college and Mount Holyoke (safeties. No not Princeton and Penn! The other two!), waitlisted at Brown, UChicago, WUStL and Wesleyan, and rejected at Dartmouth, Yale and Wellesley and Swarthmore. I asked for full FA as an international, so I was glad to know that they liked me enough to waitlist me. But gotta admit, it did hurt. Now of course, it is of little consequence! :)[/li][/ul]General Comments:
I am so overwhelmed and honored at having been chosen by Harvard. I just hope that I can prove to them that they made the right choice by admitting me in the next four years. That is of course, if I decide to attend H. I’m still torn b/w Princeton and Harvard…and I would say the same for P. This is just such a big honor. I would love to attend either.
I hope to meet you all acceptees in the Fall!
And to those rejected, I can only say that I sincerely hope that you ultimately are happy at whichever place you get into. I feel so incredibly fortunate to get in…it’s just such a random process…and I don’t feel happy to see so many similarly/better qualified students rejected. Believe me, you will find your Harvard.
Good wishes, and good cheer.</p>

[Bildungsroman]

<p>Decision:Waitlisted </p>

<p>Boo hoo hoo.</p>