<p>**Decision: Accepted ** </p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): Math:620 CR:800 W:750
[</em>] ACT: 34
[<em>] SAT II: Bio:630 Lit:750
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/440
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Not available until senior year.
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load:AP Calc AB, Physics II, Law Studies, Bio II, AP European History, English 101, Psych 201, Criminal Justice 101, Sociology 101, Spanish 101, Psych 278, Poli Sci 101. (All gifted/honors except university courses)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):National Merit Scholar. (I also listed school awards, such as senior of distinction and Most Likely to be Rich like Oprah. ;-P)[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Theatre- 40+ shows and musicals with 15+ lead roles. I also wrote and directed two short and one full length production. (Lead actress, playwright, director, props mistress, sound technician, spot technician, stage manager, etc…) Also involved in theatre show choir senior year.
Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council- State wide board that advises the LA legislature about the needs of youth in our state<br>
Mock Trial- Senior year charter member. 2nd place regional, 4th place state. (Attorney)
Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter, Vice President and Cofounder, Senior year
Junior Classical League- 10-12th grade (Convention delegate, Historicus)
Band- 9th grade: Marching Band, Concert Band (First chair alto sax) 10th grade: Marching Band, Symphonic band (Second chair tenor sax, also filled in as first chair bari sax for Christmas concert. ;-))
NHS
30+ Club
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Brand Rep/Sales Rep at Justice Tween Clothing
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours of teaching youth theatre camps
[</em>] Summer Activities: See above, plus summer school, shows, and a trip to Europe last summer.
[<em>] Essays: Unique in that neither focused on any great life struggle or EC like most suggest. My commonapp was about how my messy room reflects my creative mind and my supplement was about how I enjoy spontaneous roadtripping with my best friend. I was confident with both pieces, but they were certainly more Chicago than Harvard. (In fact, my roadtrip essay was an adapted version of my Chicago “Find X”)
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: One generic, one absolutely fantastic, best I’ve ever read.<br>
[<em>] Counselor Rec: I didn’t read. Probably fairly generic but talked about my tough curriculum and unique choice to pursue classes at a local university.
[</em>] Additional Rec:None
[li] Interview:First- on campus interview, turned out to be with Mr. Dwight Miller (the man who’s worked in admissions longer that any other officer- 42 years) and was incredible. We talked a lot about Helen Keller as that was a common interest, and I’ve played her in a show. He ended up walking me to a Helen Keller monument on campus that most people don’t know about and pointing me towards a few museums (Longfellow house) based on some things I had said I was interested in. He’s a great guy, and we really clicked. [/li]Alumni interview- It was very short- he was heading out of town. The man was nice and informative, but I wasn’t sure if he took me seriously (if only because no one gets in from my town…) He did tell me about a concentration program I had not heard of and now plan to pursue, and he sent me a nice email when I was accepted. =)
[/ul]</p>
<p>Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):LA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Medium/Large public. Not really competitive. No one sent to ivies ever as far as the staff can find/remember.
[</em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>]Income Bracket: 30,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Geographic diversity? Low income?[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Reflection[ul]<br>
[<em>] Strengths: Essay, GPA, ECs, On Campus interview
[</em>] Weaknesses: Major lack of APs (only three offered), SAT subjects, low math scores across the board, didn’t take AP English, quit band and started a lot of ECs senior year, a fairly generic rec, essays didn’t necessarily talk about ECs I’m passionate about or anything conventional, also it’s Harvard…
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think my on campus interview had a lot to do with it. I also had a chance to speak with my regional admissions officer after I got a likely, and for whatever reason, I could tell she really liked me and fought hard for me. She was also into theatre and mock trial in high school, which are my two main ECs, so that could not have hurt. =P Other than that, luck, serendipity, the grace of God, whatever you want to call it.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Harvard, Vandy, UofChicago, UNC- Chapel Hill, Carleton, Drexel(Honors), LSU(Honors)
Waitlist/Deferred: WashU, Yale, and Tulane (Which was actually my safety… yikes!)
Rejected: Brown (deferred ED)
[/ul]</p>
<p>General Comments:
Looks like I’ll be getting great aid. If that comes through, I’m about 98% sure I’ll be attending. I have enjoyed this whole process and don’t regret a thing from my high school career or application process. Things have worked out in the best possible way. To those accepted, congratulations. I hope we will meet one another in the Harvard class of 2015! To those waitlisted, I hope to see you in the fall as well. Don’t lose faith, and do write a heartfelt letter. Things will work out how they are best meant to in the end. To those rejected, I am deeply sorry. I’m sure many of you are among those that have entertained me all year on this board, and I can’t say how much I hate that I won’t be meeting you in the fall. Take solace in the fact that you gave your best effort. I’m sure you will all end up in an incredible school in the fall. =)
Thank you all for all of your help in this process. I would not have done it without the advice I received on this board.
And that being said…
HARVARD CLASS OF 2015. HECK YES.</p>
