Official Harvard University 2016 RD Results

Apoc314 · March 30, 2012, 8:02pm

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 CR, 800 M, 760 W)
[] ACT: Didn’t Report
[] SAT II: 800 Chem, 800 Math II, 770 Biology Molecular
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unranked (probably top 5%)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language (5), AP Chemistry (5), AP Biology (5), AP Calculus BC (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus with Linear Algebra, Spanish 4, AP Computer Science, Honors Essay Writing, Survey of Western Humanities, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Statistics, Advanced Chemistry. Everything was AP/Weighted.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): US National Chemistry Olympiad Honors - Top 150 Nationally, USA Biology Olympiad Semifinalist - Top 500 Nationally, AIME Qualifier in Junior Year, Chemistry State Champion in a State Science competition, National Merit Semi-Finalist. [/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Bowl (Captain), ICTM Math Team, NSML Math Team, WYSE Science Team, Local orchestra, JETS Engineering Team, Kung Fu student.
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Library Volunteer (~200 hours), School Academic Tutor (~100 hours).
[] Summer Activities: Dancing, traveling, summer courses, etc.
[] Essays: Excellent Main Common App essay, decent Extracurricular Essay. My supplement essay was pretty quirky and good and probably helped me a lot.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Should have been pretty good/excellent (one of my teachers let me pre-read her recommendation before sending it out and I thought it was genuine and showcased my positive traits very honestly and well.
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see it, but probably decent.
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[li] Interview: Lasted for 40 minutes - I felt it went very well and the interviewer and I connected pretty well.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public School
[] Ethnicity: Asian American
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: $150,000-$200,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Good science focus through major awards and science extracurriculars
[] Weaknesses: Lack of a spectacular hook and not outstanding enough.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waitlisted for my scientific strength and mix of excellent essays written about science and dancing.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Duke University, Vanderbilt University, Rice University, Emory University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Purdue University - West Lafayette; Rejected by Stanford University.

[/ul]General Comments: Congratulations to everyone accepted! My advice to future applicants is to really focus on the Common App and supplement essay as they go pretty far in depth and take a while to write well. I will take a spot on the waiting list and hope for the best but I will probably make my deposit at Vanderbilt for now. Good luck!

ditalia · March 30, 2012, 8:14pm

we all look the same on paper lol

batfan · March 30, 2012, 9:06pm

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2360 single sitting (800 CR, 800 W, 760 M)
[] ACT: 36 single sitting
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Chemistry
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 (4.75w)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), Chemistry (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry SL (6), Math SL (6)
[] Senior Year Course Load: IB History of the Americas HL, AP Statistics, IB LA 12 HL, IB Biology 2 HL, IB Biochemistry HL, IB Theory of Knowledge, IB Spanish 5
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel ISEF 4th Place, Siemens Competition Semifinalist, US Presidential Scholars Candidate, National Merit Finalist, National Spanish Exam Gold Winner (96th percentile), FBLA Nationals Qualifier[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FBLA (President 2010-present, Secretary 2008-10, District Secretary 2010-present), Video Broadcast (President 2010-11), National Honor Society (Secretary), LINK Leader (2010-present), Youth Symphony (Principal Flutist 2008-10), etc.
[] Job/Work Experience: Paid research intern in clinical research lab at Children’s Hospital, research intern in chemistry lab at state university
[] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital volunteer, pianist for church, flute mentor, and smaller activities
[] Summer Activities: research internship at hospital (junior-senior), FBLA Nationals (sophomore-junior), marketing internship at bookstore (freshman-sophomore)
[] Essays: What it means to be normal (experience with family member’s medical condition), vision for future of medical research
[] Teacher Recommendation: I’m assuming they’re good! We aren’t allowed to read them, but I love both the teachers who have written me recommendations and have done well in their classes.
[] Counselor Rec: Probably decent/good, but our school has 2000 students, so I’m not sure.
[] Additional Rec: I asked my research mentor to send a supplementary letter of recommendation.
[li] Interview: My interview request came pretty late - early March - but the interview itself went well. I learned a lot about Harvard from him and felt that I was able to convey my future goals and such during the interview.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CO
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian-American
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 130k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, awards, test scores
[] Weaknesses: could have taken more AP/SAT Subject exams, got a few Bs my junior year
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Perhaps due to my research and essays? Who knows, haha. Fingers crossed!
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Dartmouth, WashU in St. Louis (full-tuition), Rice (merit scholarships), UVA, Cornell (likely); Waitlisted at Harvard, Northwestern, Hopkins, Brown (PLME), Columbia, Duke, Amherst, Williams; Rejected from Princeton, Yale, Penn (LSM Vagelos), Stanford (EA)

[/ul]General Comments: Congratulations to everyone who was accepted! I will probably be attending Dartmouth but still have hopes that a spot will open on the waitlist. And to future applicants, good luck!

hischoolstudent · March 30, 2012, 9:10pm

Decision: Waitlisted

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2340 w/ 740 Reading, 800 Math, 800 Writing
[] SAT II: 800 World History, 800 Math 2
[] Unweighted/Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96/4.74
[] Rank: 2 of 500
[] AP: 5 in Chem, Calc BC, World History, US History
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP US Gov, AP Macro/Micro, Multicalc Honors
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none, only school/AP/PSAT awards including winning school-wide math competition
[/ul]Subjectives:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: CSF <a href=“President”>like NHS</a>, Soccer, X-Country/Track, Softball, Student Council, Speech and Debate
[] Job/Work Experience: Chivas USA (MLS Soccer Team), online marketing firm, SAT independent contractor, Online sports forecasting agency (internationally published), Personal blog
[] Volunteer/Community service: PTA (State Board Member and advocate for education), CSF, Chivas USA
[] Summer Activities: Full time job every summer (see above) and x-country
[] Essays: Fun and off-beat, other was serious as relating to my volunteering
[] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t see
[] Counselor Rec: cookie cutter - huge school, few counselors
[] Interview: intense, interviewer tested my intelligence
[/ul]Etc.[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[] Intended Major: stats, math, business, undecided - depending which school
[] State: California
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Hooks: None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades, Test Scores, EC’s, Interview, Essays
[] Weaknesses: No hooks, Trite awards
[li] The most unique thing in your application: My article published on front page of Yahoo[/ul][/li]
Accepted: Princeton, Berkeley (with regents), USC (trustee candidate, didn’t get it), Northwestern (legacy), Rice (trustee), UCSD (regents), UCSB (regents), Alabama (Roll tide)
Waitlisted: Harvard, Penn (legacy), Duke
Rejected: Yale, Stanford (EA), Brown

Qualitative · March 30, 2012, 11:28pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2380
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: five tests 750-800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.8
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): five 5s, two 4s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: 4 AP courses, one academic elective and debate
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, debate stuff
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (captain), School newspaper (editor in chief), Piano (10+ years), GSA (VP), community service
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: lots
[] Summer Activities: community service/debate camp
[] Essays: wrote about community service
[] Teacher Recommendation: I assume they were good, I have great relationships with both
[] Counselor Rec: Samesies
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: Late interview, I guess it went well. Long and fairly in depth.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): FL
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Independent
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: not disclosing
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: grades, test scores, leadership
[] Weaknesses: no hook, nothing I would consider outstanding, 3.8% admit rate…
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Um. Good question. I’m pretty good all around and I guess I’m a good fit, but how I got in ahead of 96.2% of applicants beats me.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Columbia, Cornell, Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Georgetown and UF. Waitlisted a few places, rejected from Yale and Brown.

[/ul]General Comments: This process is such a crapshoot, but I am super excited. Congrats to everyone who got in, and to those of you who didn’t, it doesn’t reflect on you at all. I was definitely not expecting this at all.

momiji17 · March 30, 2012, 11:49pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2360: 800 Math, 760 CR, 800 Writing
[] ACT: n/a
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 French, 780 Bio M
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99, Weighted: 8.91/9
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/490
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5), US Hist (5), French Lang (5), Planning on taking: English Lit, Physics C, Psych, BC Calc
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Physics, AP Psych, AP BC Calc, Honors Family Singers, Honors Art Major 4, Advanced Theatre Directing Practicum (Yay for taking all the fine arts courses!)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, Massachusetts Scholastic Scholar, Yale Book Award, Symphony Hall Scholar, Gold Key in Art, some other school awards[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Theatre (director of major musical, music director of Freshman Cabaret, leadership team), Forte all-girls a cappella (director), All-State Chorus, Creative Writing Club, Church choir, Youth Group
[] Job/Work Experience: Shadowed at Shire Pharmaceuticals, Teacher’s Assistant in SAT Prep course
[] Volunteer/Community service: Led CFL fundraiser for solar panels and taught children at Boys and Girls Club about water pollution, Youth Group raised $5000 for Heifer Project International and helps out at shelters, kitchens, and walks.
[] Summer Activities: Explore Genetics at Partners Healthcare/Harvard Med., Summer@Brown philosophy and theatre courses, National Young Leaders Conference, going to China to visit grandparents annually
[] Essays: About the intersection of art and science and about the intersection of Asian and American cultures in me. Fairly strong.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Very strong. I love my teachers.
[] Counselor Rec: I’m from a big public school, so they don’t consider this much.
[] Additional Rec: n/a
[li] Interview: Surprisingly fantastic. I got interviewed two days after I sent in my application in November, because I think they thought I was applying early. He was clearly a big-shot lawyer (his firm, in the Prudential Center, had a giant black marble fountain in its lobby…) I was extremely intimidated, but he turned out to be so charismatic and easy to talk to. We connected very well, and he seemed impressed by my accomplishments/character.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):MA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: East Asian. Represent.
[] Gender: The girliest girl to ever still love the Ender’s Game series
[] Income Bracket: Up there
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not a stereotypical Asian…?[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, grades and recs/interview
[] Weaknesses: EC’s are all non-academic/not related to my intended major. Awards are parochial.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Perhaps my essay was interesting? I’m not superhuman though, so it’s still a bit surreal.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Brown, Dartmouth, Williams, Swarthmore, Northwestern, USC, UCLA, NYU, BU (I really didn’t expect to get in to all these places)
Waitlisted: UChicago, Johns Hopkins
Rejected: Yale. =[ I applied early there, and it was my dream school, but I guess things don’t always work out. Ivies are a crap-shoot, as they say. I really have no idea why I got into Harvard, though!

[/ul]General Comments:
I’m not sure whether Harvard is the right fit for me, because there are just so many connotations that are linked with the school… Prestige, yes, but also elitism and cut-throat competition. I’m probably the least competitive, ambitious person I know, so I’m not sure how I’ll fare in this environment, though of course I’m honored to have been accepted!!

momiji17 · March 30, 2012, 11:53pm

Jeez, after reading the “stats” of all these people who were waitlisted or rejected, I honestly think my acceptance was some sort of fluke. You guys are incredibly accomplished, and it really is Harvard’s loss.

I3auer · March 31, 2012, 12:35am

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (Reading 700, Writing 780, Math 760-- One sitting)
[] ACT: 31 (three times straight)
[] SAT II: USH (740) Lit (750) Math II (690)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97, 5.1 weighted
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5 / 190
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (3), World History (5), English Lit (4), USH (5), Psych (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Psych SL (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: Gov / Econ H, IB HL History of the Americas, AP / IB HL Biology, IB HL English 2, IB SL Math Studies, AP / IB SL Spanish IV, IB Theory of Knowledge
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just small local awards-- PC Fellow, National merit, Student of the Month, Youth of the Season at my youth group, Degree of Outstanding Distinction in NFL, etc.[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): American Red Cross Youth (member for 6 years; Secretary for 3, current President; CPR / First Aid certified instructor, helped the group continue after the recession took its facilitator away; hosted two successful Youth Leadership Conferences for a total of over 250 teens throughout the state; community service projects each month ranging from Special Olympics to Safe Harbor to a local nursing center), NHS / Interact (Co-President), Student Council (Senior Secretary), Newspaper (Co-Editor), Forensics (Secretary; NFL qualifier, District Champion, ToC qualifier, Degree of Outstanding Distinction), Youth in Government (4-time legislator, MUN resource staff, other conferences, selected to attend CONA), Film Club-- Upstate Youth Film Festival Assistant Director, Youth Leadership Greenville class participant
[] Job/Work Experience: /
[] Volunteer/Community service: See above
[] Summer Activities: Took Calculus at local college, attended college summer camps, Red Cross, became a CPR / First Aid instructor
[] Essays: I thought they were good. My personal essay was on red hair-- evidently they don’t like gingers. My extracurric essay was obviously on Red Cross, but perhaps I was too impersonal in that one. My supplemental Princeton one sucked because I wanted to apply early and didn’t put enough time into it. I thought my Harvard and Yale ones were phenomenal. They were about how I lived my life trying to be something greater than just me and how I wanted to start a legacy of my own.
[] Teacher Recommendations: I’d guess they were good. They love me.
[] Counselor Rec: Probably average.
[] Additional Rec: From American Red Cross CEO who I have worked with-- apparently very well written according to someone from last year who got one from her
[li] Interview: One of my best[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): SC
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: No financial aid
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None, besides a series of letters I wrote beforehand letting them know I was going to try my best to be accepted signed Legacy Man. I also transferred to the IB school after my sophomore year-- showing commitment to take opportunity.

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: The fact is none of my statistics are stellar, and that is what they are looking for. All of my application was good. Nothing was great.
[] Weaknesses: I should have taken the SAT more than once and superscored made over 2300. I should have taken more SAT IIs and retaken the Math II one because it was very low. My rank could have been higher. Also, I am not good at boasting about myself-- perhaps a problem with my application was I didn’t elaborate quite enough on my accomplishments with the Conferences I’ve organized and leadership I’ve exhibited in the community. Advice to anyone reading this: CAPITALIZE ON THE SPACE GIVEN.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My school has always had a very good relationship with Ivies. Last year, members of the senior class were accepted into every Ivy. This year, one person got into Penn. That’s it. Who knows? Maybe they had too many people from this area already. Besides that, there was just nothing above and beyond to distinguish me from anyone else. As simple as that. Even if there had been, I still would have needed to get extremely lucky to be accepted.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Princeton (EA deferred, then rejected), Brown, Columbia, UPenn, Dartmouth, Cornell
Waitlisted: Vanderbilt, UNC Chapel Hill
Accepted: Duke, USC H, Clemson H, Furman, Emory

[/ul]

**General Comments: I mean, I look at all these people who were rejected and think to myself what the hell-- how would I have gotten in anyway? Gradually the Ivies are going to lose their prestige. There are simply too many qualified people to be students at Ivies, and all of these people will end up at other schools that will become more competitive as well as time goes on. It was so demoralizing getting rejected from all 8 Ivies. I certainly wasn’t expecting much, but I thought I would at least get into one. At least I got into Duke with a 5% acceptance rate and with a ranking above some of the Ivies anyway. I look back on the past four years of my life, grateful for the opportunity I took and the decisions I made and the work I put into my community, but I have to offer some advice. It really isn’t worth all the stress just to get into an Ivy-- because you can be the best candidate they could ever possibly have and then still not get in. **

HSMCCP · March 31, 2012, 2:21am

What the…? The people rejected on this thread include Intel ISEF, Siemens, and Olympiad placeholders…

AkimboModel1887 · March 31, 2012, 5:34am

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2400
[] ACT: None
[] SAT II: 800 Chem, 790 BioM, 720 WorldHist
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of about 300
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Bio (5), World (4), Lang&Comp (5), Mechanics (5), CalcAB (5), Stats (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP USH, Leadership, online EPGY CalcBC/E&M
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Siemens AP State Winner, USAMO participant, National Merit Finalist
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student government (school treasurer), science bowl / ocean bowl (team capt 2 years), math league, AMC/AIME/USAMO, science fair (6 years, almost made it to ISEF several times >.>), lots of other small things
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Leo Club (3 years), 4-H (8 years)
[] Summer Activities: Science Fair stuff
[] Essays: I think my Common App essay was fine; didn’t send an additional essay
[] Teacher Recommendation: Good
[] Counselor Rec: Good
[] Additional Rec: Good
[li] Interview: I guess it was okay[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): HI
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Chinese/Okinawan (Asian-American)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: > 300,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Location; there’s really nothing else that many other applicants don’t have
[] Weaknesses: Asian male
[] Why you think you were waitlisted: Wasn’t fortunate enough to be noticed
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
-Accepted: Dartmouth (likely letter), Cornell, UChicago, USC, Rochester
-Waitlisted: Northwestern (umm…I really don’t know what to say but I wouldn’t have gone there anyway)
-Rejected: Stanford, Yale, UPenn

[/ul]General Comments: UChicago, Dartmouth, or Cornell? Not sure which to choose.

thomasrosal · March 31, 2012, 8:39am

Wow… I don’t even have the words to describe how brutal this cycle was. I mean look at all these… Just WOW

eyelined · March 31, 2012, 10:14am

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2060 (M: 660, CR: 700, W: 700)
[] ACT: 29
[] SAT II: Bio E: 750, Chem: 690, Math I: 640, Lit: (forgot, too lazy to check it)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/535
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Bio (5), Environmental (5), World History (3), Spanish Lang (4), Physics (3), English Lang (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Calculus II, Calculus III, Statistics, English Lit, Geology
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Hispanic Scholar, and a couple of UIL awards in Science
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Art, Science competitive team, Mathematics team, etc. President in all.
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Peer tutoring, Lab assistant, etc.
[] Summer Activities: Taking classes at a local university
[] Essays: Pretty good, I’d like to say. I worked on it for a really long time to I got it to the point where I liked it. I had a couple people look it over. I wrote about music.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Excellent
[] Counselor Rec: Good
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: Good, I think. It was 2 hours long. The last hour we were mainly talking.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Texas
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: Low
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation [/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: My strong science, English, and art background.
[] Weaknesses: SAT / ACT scores
[] Why you think you were accepted: Honestly, I have no idea. I think it’s because I took advantage of the resources offered at my school. And trust me they’re limited… Also, being a first-generation Hispanic female probably helps (a lot).
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: MIT, Yale, Dartmouth (likely letter), Cornell (likely letter), Princeton, Johns Hopkins, UPenn (likely letter), Rice, Macalester, Swarthmore, University of Chicago, UT, A&M, and two other local colleges.

Rejected/Waitlisted: None

[/ul]General Comments:
I don’t have much to say. I have a tough decision ahead of me.

nepaliboy · March 31, 2012, 1:13pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 1910 (CR - 600, Math - 670, Writing - 640)
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: Chemistry - 680, Math I - 690
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.53
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Advanced Biology, Intermediate Orchestra, AP English Literature and Composition, Advanced US History, Accelerated Algebra II, Introductory Economics
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Secretary of the intermediate orchestra (a lot of responsibility!), talent show organizer, basketball team manager, '011 fall production AV crew
[] Job/Work Experience: Intern at my father’s business for three weeks last summer. It was hard.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Almost 40 hours last year!
[] Summer Activities: None, other than the above.
[] Essays: Perfect. Paid a professional to write them.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Same.
[] Counselor Rec: Same.
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: N/A

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):
[] Country (if international applicant): Nepal
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Nepali
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: >$10,000,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nepali and legacy - both parents went there, and have donated over $6,000,000 to Harvard over the years.[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, and my parents.
[] Weaknesses: Pretty much everything else.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: GPA. Just joking; my parents.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Didn’t apply anywhere else. Dean Fitzsimmons personally guaranteed admission on a phone call.

[/ul]General Comments: I can’t wait to meet all of you who were accepted. Good luck to everybody else.

labichota · March 31, 2012, 1:56pm

Accepted with a 1970 as my composite SAT score. Goes to show you that the Harvard Admissions process is truly holistic and * encourage all who are interested in Harvard to find your niche and to highlight your strengths within your application. Given you must still work hard in High School and find a way to impress Harvard, * believe no one should be discouraged by not having “the perfect application;” if your dream is Harvard, go for it!

RawkForGod · March 31, 2012, 2:00pm

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (790 M, 740 CR, 670 W, 7 essay)
[] ACT: 36 (36 M, 36 E, 36 S, 34 R, 8 essay)
[] SAT II: 800 on Math II and Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/480
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Computer Science A (5), Chemistry (5), US History (5), English Language (4), Physics B (5), Statistics (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Biology, AP US Gov’t, AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics, British Literature, Speech, Spanish 3
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, 1st in School on AMC 10 and twice on AMC 12, qualified for AIME this year (don’t know yet about USAMO), Boys State, Candidate for Presidential Scholars Program
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Teenage Republicans, Quiz Bowl (Co-captain for 4 years), National Honors Society (President)
[] Job/Work Experience: 3 months at Target (seasonal)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Lots of stuff with my church, an essay addressed this
[] Summer Activities: nothing of note–just babysitting my siblings
[] Essays: Pretty Good
[] Teacher Recommendations: Excellent
[li] Interview: Decent[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): South Dakota
[] School Type: Large public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Low to mid
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/ul]

Kali22 · March 31, 2012, 2:06pm

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 730W/690R/570M - 1990
[] ACT: 34W/29R/26S/25M (32 Essay) - 29
[] SAT II: 700 US/670 Lit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 96%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 US/3 Lit
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish and AP Psych (among others)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Discus Award Winner[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Track and Field (Jump Team Captain), National Honor Society, Ebony Club, Yearbook
[] Volunteer/Community service: Soup kitchen volunteer
[] Essays: My Common App essay was a response to visiting the land of my ancestors.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Good, but nothing spectacular.
[li] Interview: It went well.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):New York City
[] School Type: Catholic
[] Ethnicity: African American
[] Gender: Male
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, grades and achievements in Track and Field
[] Weaknesses: Standardized test scores
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/denied: Accepted: Princeton, UPenn, Brown, Georgetown, UChicago, Emory, Williams and Swarthmore / Waitlisted: Dartmouth and Columbia / Rejected: Harvard, Yale and Stanford
[/ul]

Timmay0217 · March 31, 2012, 2:38pm

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):650 Reading, 760 Math, 620 Writing
[] ACT: 32 Comp, 30 English, 36 Math, 32 Science
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 640 Physics, 660 U.S. History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/210
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (4), Statistics (4), Government (3), U.S. History (pending)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP U.S. History, Calc I, Physics I, Intro to Business, Accounting I, Chemistry I, Microeconomics
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): FBLA Business Math State Champion
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Swimming, Varsity Tennis, Interact Club
[] Job/Work Experience: 2 years at McDonalds
[] Volunteer/Community service: 110 hours
[] Summer Activities: Summer college classes, club swimming
[/ul]Other[list]
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: >25,000
[*] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation College

pinkrocket · March 31, 2012, 5:37pm

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown):2080 (780CR, 680W, 620M)
[] ACT:31
[] SAT II:720 Bio E, 700 Lit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.7UW/4.465W
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):6/598
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):5 APUSH
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load:AP (Government, English Lit, Physics, Calculus, Statistics)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):National Achievement Finalist/National Merit Commended[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Key Club(Treasurer/Secretary), Ambassador Club(Officer), Academic Decathlon (Co-Captain)+several medals, Mayors Youth Commitee (Vice-President), Governor’s Youth Commission (Member), Library Advisory Board, Youth in Philanthropy, District College Readiness Advisory Board, National Soceity of High School Scholars, French Club (President), Deca.
[] Job/Work Experience:N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service:200+ hrs
[] Summer Activities:Library/Leadership Summer Program
[] Essays:Common App: Good/I liked it. Supplement: I don’t remember
[] Teacher Recommendation:Amazing. They should both be really positive/detailed
[] Counselor Rec:Amazing. I never saw it, but I assume it was nice
[] Additional Rec:Nope
[li] Interview:Good. We related nicely, but I mistakenly mentioned I wanted to major in business (Harvard does NOT have a business major). felt stupid after.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):AZ
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type:Public
[] Ethnicity:Black/African/Nigerian
[] Gender:F
[] Income Bracket:~60,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths:Essays/Writing
[] Weaknesses:Everything else
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:I was honestly shocked that they didn’t flat out reject me.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:Accepted: Duke, Cornell ILR, UPenn Wharton, Dartmouth, Williams (early write) Waitlisted: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia Rejected: Stanford :(

[/ul]General Comments: Harvard is harvard. I did not expect anything, so I honestly was not disappointed, I was even pleasantly suprised. To my other waitlistees, move on. I’m sure there are other amazing schools who actually accepted you, forget Harvard. :)

lcedcoffeee · March 31, 2012, 6:03pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2400 1 sitting
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 800 Physics, 800 World History, 780 Bio E
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/500
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB 5 Calculus BC 5 Physics B 5 Chemistry 5 English Language and Composition 5 World History 5
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Macroeconomics, AP Government, AP Spanish, English 4
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel STS Semifinalist, AIME 3x, USABO Semifinalist, 2nd Place California Math League, AMC12 School Winner 2x, National Merit Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rennselaer Medalist
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Local youth symphony 1st violinist (4 yrs, assistant concertmaster), private violin teacher (3 yrs), private tutor (3 yrs), school Math Team captain, Science Bowl member
[] Job/Work Experience: Research intern at Stanford School of Medicine
[] Volunteer/Community service: NHS, District coordinator for UNICEF Tap Project, School UNICEF Club Treasurer/Secretary, volunteering at local food pantries and homeless shelters
[] Summer Activities: Orchestra camp (4 yrs), biomedical research (1 yr)
[] Essays:
Common app was about volunteering at a local food pantry and how that inspired me to fight poverty in my area, and how I plan to go into health care legislation to help the underprivileged obtain affordable health care.
Supplement was about my work experience with an autistic boy at an elementary summer school and how that shaped my aspirations to be a professor.
[] Teacher Recommendation:
Math teacher for 3 yrs, and math team coach. Knew me well.
Spanish teacher for 2 yrs, saw a lot of growth in my personality and character as I tried to master a new language.
Biology teacher who helped me on my research. Knew me well and described my humor.
[] Counselor Rec: Superb
[] Additional Rec: Letter from Stanford professor. Said that I was one of the most brilliant high schoolers he has ever worked with.
[] Interview: Didn’t get an alumni interview (odd, because everyone else at my school did) but had an interview with an adcom over the phone 2 weeks ago. Went well, but I was really nervous.

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Large Public (2200 students)
[] Ethnicity: Chinese…
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 200,000+
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Solid test scores, great recommendations, overcoming some adversity?
[] Weaknesses: Ethnicity…? On paper my application looks like a cookie-cutter Asian
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Our school is rather diverse and our school district is rated one of the worst in the nation. I think it helped that no one has gotten into Harvard for the past 3 yrs.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Harvard, Princeton, Caltech (EA), Columbia (Rabi Scholar), UPenn, UCBerkeley Regents, USC Trustees Scholarship
Waitlist: MIT

[/ul]General Comments:
Harvard’s my number 1 choice! I’m so excited!!!

EndLegacies · March 31, 2012, 7:23pm

Did you get turned down by Harvard or another elite school? I’m a current first-year at Harvard, and I think the admissions policies are not fair because we admit legacies at a higher rate than regular applicants. The admissions office admits that, every year, the majority of applicants are qualified to succeed here if only their were enough spots. If an applicant seems well-qualified (like most applicants do), they have a very high chance of getting in if they are a legacy (meaning one of their parents went to Harvard). Thus, Harvard and other elite schools regularly take legacies and turn down other applicants simply because of their pedigree. They then cite that legacy students do perfectly well here as justification for the process, forgetting the fact that the vast majority of applicants would do well here if they got a chance. Legacy admissions decreases the number of spots available for other candidates.

If this bothers you, call the Harvard admissions office and let them know. The number is (617)495-1551, and they are open from 9-5 Eastern time M-F. Thanks, and I’m sure you’ll do well wherever you end up! It’s the quality of the student, not the school, that will determine your college experience.

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