<p>Choose One:
Decision: Accepted!!!</p>
<p>Oh my goodness gracious… Was not expecting this!!!</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (730 CR, 800 M, 720 W (69, 10)) (Only reported on Common Application; didn’t send scores)
[</em>] ACT: 36 (36, 36, 36, 36, 10)
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Bio-M, 800 US History, 790 Math Level II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 2% of 337
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5), US History (5), Biology (5), Calculus AB (5), US Government and Politics (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, a college 400-level political science class, Calculus II as a college class, Calculus III college class (2nd semester), AP Physics C: Mechanics (2nd semester), independent study in applied philosophy, student council, independent study in debate/leadership
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): World Champion, Irish Team Dancing; 5th in Nation, Solo Dancing; US Senate Youth Program (selected for 2013); National Merit Semifinalist; AP Scholar w/ Distinction
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
(1) Statewide Youth Advisory Council (Chair, 12; Vice-Chair, 11; co-authored legislation passed unanimously by state legislature; have done a lot of teen suicide prevention work with state government, testifying in front of committees, helping lead the state teen suicide prevention task force, etc.)
(2) Irish Dance (since 2nd grade)
(3) Speech and Debate (congressional debate national semifinalist)
(4) Student Council (President, 12; Treasurer, 10-11; Class Vice-President, 9)
(5) Band (French Horn, 4-11; 1st Chair; Section Leader; Assistant Conductor; said that I didn’t plan on doing band in college)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Experimental Economics Research Design, Chapman University, Summer 2012
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: (mostly through youth advisory council–see above)
[<em>] Summer Activities: Experimental Economics Research; (Irish dance and speech and debate carry into the Summer as well)
[</em>] Essays: Common Application (7.5/10)–Not “pass around the office” good, but generally engaging and honest, about being an identical twin and being in tune with him; Supplemental (7.5/10)–More cut and dry than flowery, elaborating on a leadership experience when testifying in front of the legislature; both were not overly polished and somewhat last minute, but they were fairly decent.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: I guess pretty dang good, apparently? I’ve not seen them, but one teacher actually offered to write one (I was surprised–I didn’t know teachers did that!), and the other I have an awesome relationship with!
[</em>] Counselor Rec: My counselor and I are incredibly close, despite him having to service some 330 students, so my guesses is that it was pretty good!
[<em>] Additional Rec: From our coordinator on the Youth Advisory Council, talking about leadership… A very good insight into personality!
[</em>] Interview: He said it was “quite enjoyable.” I think it went well! Went thrity minutes longer than planned, a sign that we hit it off talking about a number of things.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Medium to Large Public (1400 students)
[</em>] Ethnicity: White as the paint on Memorial Church.
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: $100,000 to $150,000, I think.
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: My test scores were definitely strong, and I think my extracurriculars were diverse and unique (there can’t be many Irish dancing politicians in the world…).
[<em>] Weaknesses: Essays–not as good as they could’ve been.
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: If I had to venture a guess, it was the Irish dance… It’s a lot rarer as an activity than most of the activities you stumble across. But hey, who knows?
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: University of Alabama, accepted (only other school so far)[/li] [/ul]General Comments: I am so amazed and awestruck. I don’t think the acceptance has sunk in fully yet, but I am so amazed and excited!</p>
<p>I hardly knew about college admissions and the difficulty of it until junior year. I haven’t been planning for Harvard my whole life, and in a sense, I think that helped me. When I started activities (band, student council, Irish dance, political work), I started them because I thought they were fun. And in the end, I happened to be able to put those on my college applications. I did what I really loved and enjoyed, and for me, that has made this race to the top a lot less stressful.</p>
<p>I know that everyone here will find success, no matter where he or she ends up. Good luck, for those deferred! Good luck with applying to other schools, for those rejected! And to those accepted, see you soon!!!</p>
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