<p>So, I can’t decide between Barnard and Harvard. I went to Visitas this past weekend, and I loooveedd it, but I was not a fan of the lectures… I really don’t think I can learn in that teaching style. Barnard, however, has really small classes, with small lectures. I don’t think I can visit them, which may skew my thoughts. What do y’all think?</p>
<p>We also have some small lectures (I’m in a distribution requirement class where it’s a lecture, but there is class participation/some limited discussion). It also depends very much on your major. In all of the departments between which I am choosing: Classics, English, History, Social Studies, Hist + Lit, Folk and Myth, I don’t think I ever have to take a large class. I may, but I won’t have to. My interests tend to located in the more obscure creeks in the great watershed of man’s learning, however. If you want to do economics and really hate large lectures, go to Barnard. What are your academic interests?</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2400
ACT: 36
SAT II: 800 American History, 800 Math 2, 800 Bio E, 800 Chem, 800 Lit, 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/760
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Calc BC (5), Physics B (5), Physics C (5), Bio (5), Lang (5), Lit (5), Gov (5), Geo (5), Comp Sci (5), Euro (5), World (5), Stat (5), US History (5), Psychology (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Not offered
Senior Year Course Load: (All taken at Community college) Topics in Advanced Mathematics, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Genetics, Data Structures, Cell Biology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Placed top 4 Nationally in Mandelbrot, Placed top 5 at ARML for three years, Placed first in Calc division in HMMT in 10th and 11th grade, Top 12 scorer in USAMO, Led team to State Soccer championship, State DECA winner in 10th & 11th grade, National AP Scholar, State AP Scholar, Won a gold medal in the IBO as well as at the IChO, NMSF
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of NHS, Varsity Captain of Soccer team since 11th grade, Captain of Math team, President of YAC.
Job/Work Experience: Started a tutoring business at school, taught at local mosque
Volunteer/Community service: Helped build a Mosque in India, Started a fundraiser for underprivileged kids in India, Volunteered at NIH, Volunteered at Hospitals for 250+ hours.
Summer Activities: Nothing really.
Essays: I thought they were great.
Teacher Recommendation: One from my Calc BC teacher and he wrote a great one, and one from my Ap Bio teacher.
Counselor Rec: Great.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went Amazing
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):None
Reflection
Strengths: Incredible test scores, Set a record at my school for most AP courses taken and most 5’s. Also my placing in National Competitions and Passion for Soccer.
Weaknesses: I didn’t have any really outstanding Volunteer services. At least compared to people on this website lol. Also I didn’t take any foreign Languages in High school, other than the three years of required Spanish (took AP Spanish, but not the test) I can speak three other languages, but none are offered as classes (Hindi, Urdu, and Arabic)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My test scores and my
well-roundedness. I achieved national recognition.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Duke, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, and John Hopkins.
Wait listed: None
Rejected: NYU. Apparently I haven’t taken any foreign language Subject tests, a requirement for them.</p>
<p>General Comments: Sorry for the late post, but these are not my stats, these are my cousins. He doesn’t have an account, but asked me to post his stats. Congratulations to everyone who got in!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Accepted-Bowdoin College, Amherst College, Williams College, Swarthmore College, UC Berkeley (IAP and Regents Scholar), UCLA, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Rice University, Dartmouth College, UChicago, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, Xavier (Chancellor Scholar), </p>
<p>Waitlist-Tulane , WashU</p>
<p>no rejections
General Comments: My twin and I are blessed! I definitely have a tough decision to make in the upcoming weeks.
[quote]
</p>
<p>How did you get Berkeley Regents Scholar, isn’t that a purely academic scholarship? Good job on your acceptances, and I’m not trying to insult you, just wondering as your SAT is below the average for Berkeley…</p>
<p>@bobtheboy
No insult taken. My SATs are below average for Berkeley? They’re also below the average for Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Williams, UChicago, and pretty much all the other colleges I got into but that didn’t stop me from getting in or being named a scholar of some kind for each of these schools. </p>
<p>Berkeley Regents isn’t purely an academic scholarship. </p>
<p>This just shows that test scores are NOT everything. From the Regents website itself, the Faculty Committee selects candidates on the basis of the information available on their UC Application for Undergraduate Admission, including GPA and SAT test scores.</p>
<p>Other factors that may be considered include: the application personal statement, extracurricular activities, academic potential, evidence of overcoming personal hardship, and other academic or personal qualities that would make a distinctive contribution to the campus.</p>
<p>My application as a whole was so strong (straight A’s and 2nd in class among other things) that my test scores didn’t matter as much. What I can bring to the table is much more than my test scores which is why I was chosen to be a Berkeley Regents Scholar. Plus I explained in my application the factors that contributed to my low test scores.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 2170
[</em>] ACT: 35
[<em>] SAT II: 740 Bio, 730 Chem, 760 Math II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5), US History (4), English Comp (5); currently taking Biology, Government, Latin, Calc BC and Lit
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nat’l Achievement Finalist
[/ul]Subjective: PM for details.</p>
<p>Other:[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: AA, mixed
[</em>] Gender: Female
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>@ Shaggy007: Not to sound rude, but are you sure your cousin isn’t fabricating some of his stats? I know there are some very outstanding people out there but some of the stuff on his resume makes me wonder how many hours of sleep he gets each night. I cross-referenced the past 3 years’ results from a few things he listed (the Mandelbrot competition, IBO, IChO) and found no overlap. Just for the record, this type of information can be easily found with a quick Google search (cross-referencing those things took me 5 minutes at the most), so it wouldn’t be useful to next year’s applicants if he was really lying…</p>
<p>I think the activities are mostly spot on but the rankings seems to be embellished. This cousin may be Neil Gurram. I did some quick stalking (don’t hate) and here is what I found:</p>
<p>Gurram placed 3rd in the Mandelbrot Competition in 2009-2010 ([The</a> Mandelbrot Competition](<a href=“http://web.mandelbrot.org/dynamic/standings/?league=national&group=individual&year=2009]The”>http://web.mandelbrot.org/dynamic/standings/?league=national&group=individual&year=2009))</p>
<p>Gurram’s school “Detroit County Day” won the soccer championship in their division in 09. I’m not sure if he was captain at that time, however as he would have been a sophomore. ([Boys</a>’ Rankings](<a href=“http://www.mihisoccer.org/boysrankings.htm]Boys”>http://www.mihisoccer.org/boysrankings.htm)) You have to scroll down quite a lot…till it says “2009 Boys’ Rankings - Final Rankings” and look at Division 3.</p>
<p>Gurram placed 9th in the HMMT’s Calculus Division in Feb. 2010. ([HMMT:</a> Archive](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/hmmt/www/datafiles/results/2010.shtml]HMMT:”>http://web.mit.edu/hmmt/www/datafiles/results/2010.shtml))</p>
<p>Gurram also participated in ARML AND qualified to USAMO(look at page 20: <a href=“http://www.michmaa.org/newsletters/37_1%20Fall%202010%20Newsletter.pdf[/url]”>http://www.michmaa.org/newsletters/37_1%20Fall%202010%20Newsletter.pdf</a>)</p>
<p>OR all of this ^^ evidence is simply coincidence. But some of the numbers on these competitions don’t match up with what Shaggy said.</p>
<p>It is possible that he faked some of this, I’m going only on his word of these activities.
I’m sorry if it caused anyone inconvenience.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2380 (-20 in math)
[</em>] SAT II: 800s on physics, math II & US history
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0, Weighted: 4.4ish
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Physics B, Psych, Eng Lang, Bio, Calc BC, US Hist, World Hist
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Econ, AP Gov, AP Physics C, AP Eng Lit, AP Stats, AP CompSci, ASB
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): some small robotics stuff
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Track (team captain), Robotics (software), Student Government (senior president), other sports, some volunteering
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Research assistant over summer, tutoring during school year
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: miscellaneous
[</em>] Summer Activities: Running, relaxing, reading, internship, fun
[<em>] Essays: About a game I started at my school
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: I assume really good
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Once again, I assume really good
[</em>] Additional Rec: From my lab mentor/PI, I assume really good
[<em>] Interview: Really, really good my interviewer told me he gave me his highest reservation. We had a nice talk about philosophy among other things.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: Middle class
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I think the overall depth of my application was a great strength. I did a lot of different things pretty well. I also have solid test scores.
[</em>] Weaknesses: I didn’t really have one specialty thing that I was interested in. Not too many academic extracurriculars.
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Look at general comments.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Applied and accepted at – MIT, Harvard, Princeton, UC Berkeley (Regents) & UCLA (nominated for Regents but decided not to apply). I have matriculated to MIT.
[/ul]General Comments:
I feel that what set me apart was that I was not an archetypal applicant. I didn’t fall into one of the preset stereotypes – athlete, research drone, leader of everything. I feel that when you fall into the game and try to be something it hurts you because you compete against all of the people from your same stereotype. I did whatever I thought was interesting and I think my application came off unique in that way. The appeal in my application was that it was different than the others; it came from a different perspective. I may be totally wrong but this is just what I have surmised from my experience. </p>
<p>If you guys are looking into colleges and have any questions for me feel free to message me. I will try to get back to you ASAP though I don’t really check this account much anymore.</p>
<p>Choose One:
Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (740 CR, 700 M, 800 W)
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II: 770 US History, 750 Math II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP English Lit, AP Econ/US government, Speech, Free period
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech&Debate (Vice President for 2 years, President)- State finalist in Original Oratory, State semifinalist in Parliamentary Debate, State semifinalist in Congressional debate, State semifinalist in Original Advocacy, National semifinalist in Original Oratory, 2010 and 2011 UC Berkeley Champion in Original Oratory, Premier Distinction, National Forensic League Academic All-American. Humanitarian club (President)- Collected over 1000 pairs of shoes for Soles4Souls. Organized a 2008 mock election on campus to increase political awareness. Bowling- 182 average, leagues and tournaments
[</em>] Job/Work Experience:
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hours- Poll Worker, Adult Literary Center through city library, Lane Monitor for USBC California Youth Championships, Tutoring
[</em>] Summer Activities: George Mason Institute of Forensics, Whitman National Debate Institute, 2009 National Forensic League National Tournament, 2010 National Forensic League National Tournament
[<em>] Essays: Common App: How I’ve inadvertently let my adoption frame my identity and how I want to stop letting it define me. Supplement: How being Asian in a Caucasian family, school, community while having predominantly Asian friends with culturally Asian parents has shaped my perspective
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: English, Speech/Debate, US History- all very good
[<em>] Counselor Rec: No idea.
[</em>] Additional Rec:
[li] Interview: Went very well. We talked a lot about sexism (my Original Oratory topic this year is how sexism still exists in America).</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: M
[</em>] Income Bracket:
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Essays, ECs, Recommendations, Interview
[</em>] Weaknesses: Test scores
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See strengths.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted- Pomona College, Claremont McKenna College, Rice University (Trustee Distinguished Scholar), UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, UC Irvine. Waitlisted- WUSTL. Rejected- Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University (ERA)</p>
<p>[/ul]General Comments:
Committed to Pomona College! Small LAC is best for me! Good luck to all!</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): CR- 800 Math- 800 Writing- 770
[</em>] ACT: 34
[<em>] SAT II: US History- 740 Literature- 770 Math II- 750
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Percentile-1
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), English Language and Composition (5), European History (4), Calculus AB (4)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Economics, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, Journalism Production, Exploring Art 1-2
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCTE Achievement Award for Writing, National Merit Commended Student
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): American Red Cross, Journalism (Editor-in-Chief), Speech and Debate, National History Day, Kposowa Club (President), Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, International Ambassador
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Algebra I Tutor
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: American Red Cross, Kposowa Club, JDRF
[<em>] Summer Activities: Leadership Development Center, California’s Junior Miss, Kposowa Foundation Intern
[</em>] Essays: good? I did the additional essay on the supplement.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Comparative Western Literature (junior year) and AP US History (sophomore year) teachers
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Most likely very personal.
[<em>] Additional Rec: none.
[</em>] Interview: an hour and forty five minutes long, went very easily.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): California
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: Sri Lankan (South Asian)
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>] Income Bracket: $80,000-$100,000
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation.
[/ul]Reflection[list]
[</em>] Strengths: writing.
[<em>] Weaknesses: standardized testing, awards, etc.
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: when I met with my admissions staff representative, she said that the key is to be memorable. She could actually remember specific parts of my application.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:</p>[/li]
<p>Accepted: Princeton, Columbia, Georgetown, Northwestern, Emory, Boston, Fordham, Cal-State Long Beach, UNC Chapel Hill, Tulane</p>
<p>Waitlisted: George Washington</p>
<p>Rejected: Yale</p>
<p>Choose One:
Decision: Waitlisted—>Accepted</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): CR: 800 M:740 W: 770
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II: Math II: 740 Modern Hebrew: 800 Biology E: 730
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Heaviest
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Biology Olympiad Finalist? National Volunteer Award? Nothing truly major.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Center for Children of Foreign Workers Volunteer, Film, Student Council
[<em>] Job/Work Experience:Summer job at Department of Neurosurgery
[</em>] Essays: I would say just okay. Was overthinking what THEY would want to hear.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: one good but short, the other I didn’t see.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Great
[<em>] Additional Rec:
[</em>] Interview: Interesting conversation. He really challenged me!
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): Israel (US Dual Citizen)
[<em>] School Type: Arts. Magnet?
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian (Korean), White (European, Middle Eastern)
[<em>] Gender: F
[</em>] Income Bracket: No Financial Aid
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths:
[<em>] Weaknesses:
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I was a borderline applicant who got lucky!
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Harvard, Princeton, Duke, Dartmouth. Waitlisted (I gave up my spot): Williams, Brown. Rejected: Columbia, Stanford, Yale.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good luck to everyone!!! Especially to those in wait-list hell. Feel free to ask anything.</p>
<p>**Decision: Accepted w/ Likely Letter **</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2380
[</em>] ACT: n/a
[<em>] SAT II: 1600 (Math II, U.S. History)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.5<br>
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/400
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (5), Physics B & C’s (5), Biology (5), Chemistry (5), Environmental Science (5), U.S. History (5), English Language (5), Statistics (5), English Literature, Spanish, Psychology, Government & Politics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Government and Politics, Honors Economics, AP Spanish Language, AP Psychology, Multivariable Calculus, Leadership, Teach a Math Course at School, Visual Basic (local CC)
[</em>] Major Awards (at time of applying): USAMO Qualifier 3x, USPhO/BO Semifinalist, Congressional Award Gold, AMC Perfect Scorer, ARML Top 5 2x, AIME 3x, 10 Best/Outstanding Delegate Awards from MUN/HMC (gavels), Swimming MVP</p>
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (Class President: 9,10,11,12), Math Club (Founder/President: 9,10,11,12), Mathematical Outreach Committee (Founder/Chair: 10,11,12), Harvard Model Congress (President: 11,12, Member: 9,10), Model United Nations (VP: 10,11,12, Secretary:9), ARML (A Team Qualifier (9,10,11)), Science Research, Water Polo (JV Captain: 9, Varsity: 10,11,12), Swimming (JV MVP: 9, Varsity: 10,11,12), Recycling Club (President: 12, Member: 9,10,11 [not listed on app])
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Research, stock trading, financial analysis
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Created nonprofit organization to promote literacy, organized a variety of math contests to promote mathematical interest in local community, active library volunteer since 9th grade, elected member of many youth advisory councils at the local and regional levels. Well over 1200 hours of volunteer service.
[</em>] Summer Activities: RSI, Nonprofit/volunteer work, Science Research, College Courses (Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Ordinary Differential Equations, Physics, Chemistry, etc.)
[<em>] Essays: Heartfelt, Sincere
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Very Good (best student in 30 years)
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Better (very, very passionate)
[</em>] Additional Rec: Dont know, RSI rec
[li] Interview: Phenomenal (got likely letter within two days of my interview)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
[</em>] Intended Major: Engineering
[<em>] Country (if international applicant):
[</em>] School Type: Large Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: M
[<em>] Income Bracket: Not Relevant
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.</p>
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Awards, ECs, Grades, Recommendations, Scores (to some extent)
[</em>] Weaknesses: Jack of all trades? No Olympiad medals.
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Luck of the draw.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Harvard (likely letter), Princeton, Stanford (REA), MIT, Caltech, Duke (full-ride, likely letter), USC (full-ride), UCs, etc. Waitlisted/Rejected: Nowhere
[/ul]General Comments: Good luck!</p>
<p>^ The most impressive person that I’ve seen on CC.</p>
<p>What are some free summer competitions that are not too late to apply for?
I just finished Junior year and am mainly interested in the sciences, but would love to apply to any competitions out there. One problem: I’m having a hard time finding them :(</p>
<p>So pleeeeeease help!!</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>GREAT JOb!!! 
YOU WORKED HARD AND NOW YOU ARE REWARDED1!!</p>
<p>What kinds of schools do these kids go to? The best ranked people at my school aren’t this involved in clubs. They may be an officer is one club, and that’s pretty much it. They are smart, but they’re not nearly as involved as these Harvard acceptees/waitlistees/rejectees are. The involved people in my school are the ones with decent SATs in the 1800s-1900s and the ones with the 2200s aren’t nearly as involved. </p>
<p>Congrats to all of you, having the courage to apply is something to be commended!</p>
<p>@ThenameisBond: We all come from variety of schools. Boarding, public, private, etc. you can name it. Some of us attended some of the crappiest schools in the nation (like myself), but some of us attended some of the top schools. It all depends on what you do with the opportunities provided, and what meaning it has to you. All of these people are awesome, as these people humble me and inspire me to do better (:</p>
<p>This message was very uplifting and encouraging. I have a passion for my future career and have really done everything I can to work for it. I have founded two programs, I have a 2200 (far from the top) and I’m in the top 1% but my GPA is farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr from perfect at a 3.85. (6.31 weighted)… and I was starting to lose hope b/c of my weak stats and c.c… but as a hispanic who’s had a tough journey, your post was so inspirational… THANK YOU. God Bless.</p>