***Official Harvard University Class of 2020 SCEA Decisions***

[vmh612]

**Decision:Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (710 CR, 740 M, 800 W) one sitting
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 780 Math II, 700 US History, 800 World History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.43
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 88/413
AP (place score in parentheses): AP World History (5), AP US History (5), AP Language and Composition (4), AP Statistics (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government/ AP Macroeconomics, AP Calculus BC, Academic Decathlon, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Psychology/ AP Human Geography
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, Outstanding Distinction in National Speech and Debate Association, a few others I included but don’t really care to mention.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Debate (captain), Academic Decathlon, UIL Academics, Tennis (varsity)
Job/Work Experience: Internship with prominent Houston immigration attorney (40hrs/wk)
Volunteer/Community Service: Over 100 hours community service with three organizations
Summer Activities: Aforementioned
Essays: Stellar (spent enormous time and resources on this), I also included information regarding personal matters which contributed to my low GPA and rank.
Teacher Recommendations: Stellar, Humanities and History teachers
Counselor Rec: Pretty good (I assume)
Additional Rec: Stellar, debate coach had a fantastic letter
Interview: n/a

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large, competitive public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 120,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a

Reflection
Strengths: My essays and recommendation letters were very good, I put much time, effort, and heart into explaining my personal situation and my growth throughout high school.
Weaknesses: The elephant in the room, my GPA and rank are low
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t really have the numbers to prove my worth as an admit, but I consider it almost miraculous that they deferred it
Where else you are applying or have already applied: A few other Ivies, some other T20 schools, and a couple of Texas public schools
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I’m very surprised I wasn’t flat out rejected, and it’s somewhat interesting to know that I’m still in the running for admission come March .

[Simhadri123]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (710 CR, 800 M, 800 W, 10 Essay—only sitting)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (E 36, M 33, S 35, R 35, Essay 12) —Superscored 36 with Math 36 on a different sitting
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (780) Bio M(760) Chem (730) Lit(680) Physics (720) US History (740)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (weighted 4.7, last year 4.86, this year 5.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/600
AP (place score in parentheses): European History (5) Statistics (5) Computer Science A (5) U.S. History (5) Psychology (5) Calculus AB (5) English Language (5) Art History (4) Microeconomics (4) Environmental Science (4) Human Geography (4) Physics I (4) Chemistry (3–dont ask :/)

IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Spanish Lang, AP Computer Science AB (dual enrollment), AP US Gov, AP Economics, AP Physics 2, AP Biology, AP English Literature, Behavioral Neurobiology (online), Intro to Sociology (2nd semester college course)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Honoree, National AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, JUST Poetry National Contest (3 time finalist), Pushcart Prize in Poetry Nominee (really difficult award)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Academic Decathlon (40 hrs/week), Editor of HS literary magazine and 2 other international online publications, submissions reader for 3 literary publications, Co-founder and VP of Astronomy Club, CSF, NHS, Tae Kwon Do Black Belt (since 7th grade), Published Poet (18 publications total)

Job/Work Experience: Private math tutor (10, 11)
Volunteer/Community Service: Hospital Clinical Volunteer, 200+ hours (weekly); currently doing a poetry/publication internship
Summer Activities: Summer courses, travel/family, a LOT of poetry, UCLA Stem Cell Ethics class, intensive neurologist shadowing, self-studied Spanish 3
Essays: CA Essay 9/10; Supplement 9/10
Teacher Recommendations: AP Chem teacher (amazing—he extolled my writing ability especially), AP Physics teacher (good, still personalized though), English teacher (also my advisor for lit mag, didn’t read but should be pretty good too)
Counselor Rec: She really likes me but a new counselor, so probably an 8/10
Additional Rec: Sent 4: Academic Decathlon coach (probably amazing, she loves me and is known for writing great letters for Decathletes), Physician that I shadowed (very good, about my personal traits), UCLA professor (didn’t read, should be very good), Spanish 4 teacher (excellent)
Interview: interviewed by a female attorney who went to Harvard Law School

Additional Info:
—I sent in a poetry portfolio with a wonderful cover letter from one of my publishers.
—Co-wrote new organic chemistry curriculum with AP Chemistry teacher
—Researched and writed paper on Hinduism’s incarnations of god and natural evolution
—Sole participant from Burbank High School to enter National DNA Day Essay Contest
—Personal Circumstances = autistic sibling, parent’s job transfer
—Took Intro to Philosophy and Art History in community college

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? YES
Projected Concentration: Neurobiology and English
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public (3000 kids)
Ethnicity: Asian Indian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): literally none

Reflection
Strengths: SAT, ACT, and AP scores; Course Load; Interesting combination of passions, I emphasized poetry and Academic Decathlon a lot as my biggest commitments; poetry awards/publications, letters of rec
Weaknesses: I’m Asian, woohoo! Maybe lack of leadership positions in ALL my ECs, too much supplementary materials XD XD whoops, non-perfect scores, didn’t do any lab research unfortunately
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Who knows…….I think I just did not have the X factor or maybe it was unclear?
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Cornell, UPenn, BU, Brown, Case Western, WashU in St. Louis, Duke, Rice, Johns Hopkins, USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: good luck to everyone and congratulations to those who got accepted!

[Chronos18]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (Math 800, Critical reading 760, writing 720)
ACT (breakdown): na
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (800), Spanish (790), Physics (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8; weighted 4.37
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): na
AP (place score in parentheses): Music Theory (5), US History (5), Calculus BC (5), Spanish (5), Chemistry (5), English Language/Comp (5), World History (5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Physics C AP, Advanced Spanish (post-AP), AP English Lit/Comp, Multivariable Calculus, Chinese AP, Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Conductor and principal, local (non-HS) orchestra. Music recitals, various chamber groups.
Job/Work Experience: work on landscape crew, doing gardening
Volunteer/Community Service: tutoring
Summer Activities: Spanish language immersion; 5 weeks of high school in Shanghai on exchange program
Essays: on learning languages, on music
Teacher Recommendations: from Chemistry and Chinese teacher
Counselor Rec: OK I guess
Additional Rec: from college professor (taking college Arabic course)
Interview: yes

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid? No
Projected Concentration: Linguistics
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public HS
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $100-150K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection:
Strengths: I’m not an Asian male but excel in Chinese. High math/science ability but I plan to major in humanities. Really love languages and am good at them.
Weaknesses: I only took the SAT once. No test prepping or repeat tries. 2260 is low for Harvard
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays. Unusual profile.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UC Berkeley
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: write brave essays; don’t use cliches.

[XCRat2016]

**Decision: ACCEPTED!!! **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2060 (did not submit)
ACT (breakdown): 35 C: 36 S 35 R 35 E 32 M
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math Level 2 (750), Ecological Biology (750)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93 (4.46 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/580
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB (5) English Lang (5) APUSH (4) Physics 1 (4) Biology (4) Psychology (4) European History (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Chemistry, AP Gov, IB French SL, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st Place VEX Robotics CA State Championships, Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award, AP Scholar w/ Disinction, not much else notable

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity Cross Country (Senior Captain), Varsity Track & Field, Soccer, French Club (Historian 9 Treasurer 10-11 President 12), Robotics (Captain), NHS
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: NHS Volunteer stuff, Founded Beach Clean-up club, PVSA mentioned before, tutoring, Assistant Counselor at YMCA Camp Surf
Summer Activities: Assistant Counselor at YMCA Camp Surf
Essays: 10/10, I took an essay writing class and I had a lot of very good feedback on my essays. One related my Cherokee heritage to my running, the supplement was really weird and hard to explain but basically me expressing my thoughts on life, my extracurricular was about going to Worlds for Robotics and then losing in the playoffs because our battery was fried.
Teacher Recommendations: AP English Lang Teacher 10/10: She really loves me and she is known for writing at our school for writing the best recs.
AP Physics Teacher 8/10: Not sure about this one, didn’t read. I know he liked me but I’m not sure he would consider me exceptional.
Counselor Rec: 9.5/10: His daughter was on the Cross Country team that I captained, and she probably talked a little bit about me to him, and he got to see what a true struggle that sport really is. I’m pretty sure he nominated me for Student of the Month, the luncheon is tomorrow
Additional Rec:N/A
Interview: 10/10 I really connected with her on an ideological level, she said people like me were the reason she loved doing interviews, and that I gave her hope for the future :). She also told me she would write a really good recommendation for me.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Pre-Med
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: Cherokee
Gender: XY
Income Bracket:150k-160k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM

Reflection
Strengths: Hook, essays, recommendations, interview, test scores
Weaknesses:not a whole lot of awards?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know I’m honestly so shocked right now. This is so surreal.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCR, UCSB, Vanderbilt, Stanford
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Believe and you shall achieve!!! To those who were deferred or rejected there is a college out there where you will truly feel at home! My brother goes to UCSB and he absolutely loves it there, yet I never thought he would want to go there and neither did he. There is hope! To my fellow admits, VERITAS!!! See you next year!

[dlshs16]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (800 M, 800 W, 720 CR)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 S, 35 M, 35 E, 35 R, 10 W)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Biology M 790, Math 2 770, US History 770, Chemistry 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/241
AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB (5), Chem (5), English Lang (5), Spanish Lang (5), US History (5), Biology (4)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C Mechanics, AP English Lit, AP US Gov, AP Calc BC, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Rensselaer Medalist, MUN Awards, Eagle Scout, NM Commended, several school departmental awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): MUN (President), Crew (rowing), Swimming year-round, Scouts, NHS (President), Piano (teaching, jazz band, performance).
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard at local community pool, teaching piano
Volunteer/Community Service: Completed 175 hour service project for my elementary/middle school for my Eagle Scout. I also tutor students before and after school.
Summer Activities: American Legion CA Boys’ State, Internship at local District Attorney’s Office
Essays: I put in a ton of time. 10/10
Teacher Recommendations: 10/10
Counselor Rec: 9/10
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: I had two. First was okay, talked for 40 minutes about biology and research at Harvard. Then I was emailed for a second interview. This one was much better–we talked for 1 hour 30 mins about housing and aviation. I love commercial aviation and he was a consultant, so we just talked about flying for a while.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
Projected Concentration: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 300,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy

Reflection
Strengths: Scores, academics, recs
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Combination of recs, essays, good interview, and legacy.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: CO School of Mines (accepted), Michigan, UVA, USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, University of Washington, Stanford, MIT
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I’m in shock. My parents had been telling me for years that I had no chance, so I was reluctant to apply SCEA. If you love Harvard and are thinking of applying EA, don’t hesitate; just do it. RD is a glorified lottery and you’ll have a much lower chance of being admitted.

[nutellaoreos]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 super (770m, 750cr, 680 writing), 2190 single 760m
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 790 MathII 780 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/300
AP (place score in parentheses): 5s APUSH, AB Calc, WHAP
4s Lit, Physics 1
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP (Chem, Lang, Stats, Am. Gov, Physics 2)
Spanish 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NSLI-Y (great, everybody should apply)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Swim: reg high school stuff
Ultimate Frisbee: Regional team, high school
Student Council: Started a Hogwarts-style competition based on attendance, etc, (Pres 11th, not this year lol)
Trivia Team: Monthly competitions, appear on PBS for HS quiz show
Science League: Monthly competitions
State Student Advisory Council: gather with state’s students to act as student voice, Run by MA DESE
School Improvement Council: group consisting of admit, community members, parents, student reps
Peer Mediation: student mediator w/ other students
Job/Work Experience: Snow shoveler: lol
Volunteer/Community Service: Math tutoring: middle school kids
Summer Activities: NSLI-Y, went to china, interned at chinese camp (you get the theme)
Essays: Common app-Watching jeopardy and how that explores my interests (8/10)
Short Activity Supplement-Ultimate and how it’s my passion (10/10)
Optional supplement-Talked about personal connection to harvard (9/10)
Had essays edited by friend on crimson staff (really good advice!)
Teacher Recommendations: Physics teacher-Remember it to be very detailed (10/10)
Spanish-Talked about how I lead classroom discussion (8/10)
Counselor Rec: didn’t see, but she knew i challenged myself. didn’t spend a lot of time together but she likes me
Additional Rec: Principal-Talked about student council work, probably really good (maybe one of the main reasons I got admitted??)
Interview: Had it with really nice recent grad. She seemed to like me, and we talked about our personal backgrounds after the official interview ended.

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? Yea (probably gonna be amazing–like lottery good compared to other schools)
Projected Concentration: IDK, science/int’l relations maybe
State (if domestic applicant): MA (we’re cuddle buddies with cambridge)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Rising Public (still really under achieving, but I cant imagine going anywhere else)
Ethnicity: Asian/White (so Other yea!!!)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Very Middle Class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope, maybe my grandfather’s legacy did something

[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: I really emphasized my roots and proximity to Harvard, which I know that you probably can’t do but definitely try to mention how harvard could fit into your life. i had fine grades and showed passion in specific areas.
Weaknesses: Relatively low test scores, low rank, no major awards (except NSLI-Y maybe)
Why you think you were accepted: I had swim practice right before and I had basically convinced myself that I would get deferred.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: maybe yale, princeton, carleton definitely (love that school, would seriously consider going there above other top schools, maybe even harvard we’ll see)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I make an account specifically for this. I am about as normal as you can get. I really do not why i make it. But i did. And. So. Can. You. My very unprofessional opinion is to be genuine with yourself and put a lot of time in your essays (use details like drugs). Mostly I am just happy that I can act as a model of the possible for the younger kids from the tough part of town (where I went to school). But most of all, good luck and believe!

[RandyButternubs]

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): CR 720, M 790, W 740, Essay 9
ACT (breakdown): English 35, Math 32, Reading 30, Science 33
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (800), Physics (800), Literature (760), Biology M (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78 (had health issues freshman year, almost all A’s since)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st decile
AP (place score in parentheses): Biology (5), Calc AB (5), English Lang (4), Physics 1 (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci, AP Gov, AP Stats, AP Chem, Spanish III, English 12
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, FIRST Robotics Creativity Awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Academic League (Varsity captain), FIRST Robotics, FIDM Fashion Club, Volunteer TA, 2nd violin in audition-only youth orchestra, Methodist Church Liturgy
Job/Work Experience: Diabetes-related product focus groups, Job shadowing at local hospital
Volunteer/Community Service: Working in the diabetic community through JDRF and ADA, helping people with special needs, volunteering at local library
Summer Activities: Teen Aide at camp for children with diabetes
Essays: Very good Common App, pretty decent supplemental. Common App was about my brother with autism and desires to pursue neuroscience because of him. Supplemental was about working through the obstacles of diabetes to be successful in Academic League
Teacher Recommendations: Physics teacher and Spanish teacher. Both of them love me, got 96%+ in their classes, emphasis on teamwork & people skills
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read. Probably says I had a sufficiently difficult course load.
Additional Rec: Methodist pastor, he has known me since I was 10-ish and talked about my quirky personality working with my intelligence
Interview: Very good, maybe a tad casual, we discussed my plans to study neuroscience. Interviewer was bio major, so I guess that helped

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? I marked it on the common app but missed the deadline D:
Projected Concentration: Neuroscience, second choice Psychology
State (if domestic applicant): Southern California
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public Charter, 232 graduating seniors this year
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: $200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Person with Disability, Woman in STEM

Reflection
Strengths: Passion for working with special needs persons, great SAT II’s, my rec letter teachers adore me
Weaknesses: So-so SAT’s, school doesn’t offer many AP’s, slacked a little in 10th grade
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My ok GPA and scores, only really did EC’s in 11/12 grade
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Applied UPitt, will apply UPenn, UChicago, CMU, BU, MIT
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

[expectantscholar]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 in one sitting with 800 math 780 reading 710 writing; superscore 2300 with a 720 writing in an earlier sitting
ACT (breakdown): did not take
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Biology-E (730), Literature (720), Math I (740), Biology-M (750)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): about 3.9, 4.47 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no official rank, but definitely in top 10%
AP (place score in parentheses): AP Calculus AB (4), AP Latin (4), AP Biology (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP Physics E&M, AP Physics Mechanics, Modern World History, Integrative Seminar (my school’s senior capstone class), Chorus/Instrumental Music Practicum
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Dean’s List Finalist, AP Scholar, National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar, National Honor Society

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics (founder and captain of all-girls team), flute in instrumental ensemble at school, school chorus, cross country, spring track
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: varied small-scale volunteer work through school, outreach for my robotics team (spreading STEM in the community by demoing robot to other people or getting kids to think about engineering by giving them small engineering challenges), organized talent show for nursing home to showcase talent of my peers at school, Thailand service trip (reforested trees, planted fruit trees at an orphanage, taught various schoolchildren, coastal cleanup at beach, did more robotics outreach)
Summer Activities: mostly travelling (Thailand, Italy, Colombia, China, Japan, etc, mostly family vacations except for Thailand); also CTY intensive studies camps (Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Neuroscience); competed in NICERC Cyber Discovery Challenge (a week long competition with the main goal of students learning to become better cyber citizens) and won grand prize for our school.
Essays: Pretty solid, I felt like they captured me pretty well, and were emotional 10/10
Teacher Recommendations: Pretty sure they were fine, I have a really good relationship with the teachers however they could have been just good and not outstanding because I am paranoid so 8/10
Counselor Rec: Most likely really good, 9/10
Additional Rec: my high school advisor–we have a really strong relationship, 9/10
Interview: I thought it went really well, 10/10

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? nope
Projected Concentration: undecided engineering
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: independent private
Ethnicity: white hispanic
Gender: female
Income Bracket: too much for financial aid, but not huge, upper/middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy-ish (great uncle and cousin went to Harvard undergrad, grandma, other cousin, and other grandpa went to Harvard graduate schools); my great uncle used to be really close to Bill Fitzsimmons, the Harvard admissions officer, so they emailed a little and mentioned me–I later got to meet Mr. Fitzsimmons at a info session and we talked casually for like 15 minutes (!!); Hispanic female interested in engineering who started an all-girls robotics team and got a national award recognizing leadership (Dean’s List Finalist)??

Reflection
Strengths: my essays probably, my robotics participation and the Dean’s List Finalist Award, and I have a feeling those 15 minutes talking to Bill Fitzsimmons were significant, also the fact that I am so interested in engineering
Weaknesses: lack of many AP scores, okay SAT scores, overall my extracurriculars seem to be kind of bland in comparison to other applicants I see on college confidential!!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: NO CLUE HONESTLY most likely how rigorous my schedule and extracurriculars look in context of my own school, also I think I showed a lot of “passion without saying the word passion” in my essays. I feel like I would be a perfect candidate for deferral however I think what pushed me over the edge was that quotas exist and I am a Hispanic female with an active interest in engineering, and that I had that small amount of time to actually make an impression on Bill Fitzsimmons so that he could put a human face on my application. ALSO LUCK
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Yale, Princeton, Brown, UPenn, Rice, Washington University in St. Louis, Wellesley
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Honestly I am in such shock right now that I am still not sure if this is real…! Fellow accepted students–CONGRATS!!! I can’t wait to meet you all on Visitas Weekend!!! From who I have seen on the thread so far, Class of 2020 seems to be a really interesting and dynamic group of students! I’m so excited! As for deferred and denied students–just remember everyone that you are more than just one decision, and that one decision doesn’t define you. I really 100% believe that this whole college admissions process is a crapshoot when it comes to high ranked universities and very qualified applicants, so please don’t fret. One of my favorite quotes is “everything will turn out alright in the end, and if it is not alright, then it is not yet the end,” from “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” movie, and I find it comforting to keep in mind during this whole process. We are all extremely qualified, and at the end of the day, we will all end up where we are suppose to be and it will all work out. Good luck to you all!!
Time to FINALLYYYYY buy some Harvard shirts and sweaters!!!

[KoeyJamm]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2240; 800W 700CR 740M
ACT (breakdown): 34; 36, 36, 36, 28 (Science)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 780 (Math II) 680 (US History)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99 out of 4.00
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP (place score in parentheses): English Lang. and Comp. (5), US History (4)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP English Lit & Comp., AP Microeconomics, AP Latin: Vergil, Government, Concert Choir, World Religions
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, Perfect score and multiple gold medals on National Latin Exam, Hugh O’ Brien Student Leadership Award (school)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Football, President of Latin Club, Captain of Quiz Bowl, Secretary of Nebraska Junior Classical League, Track & Field, Harvard Model Congress, HOBY Leadership Seminar
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard at Omaha Country Club; Usher/Ticket-taker at NCAA College World Series
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered over 200+ hours combined at several service organizations
Summer Activities: Lifeguarding and Football Workouts/Conditioning
Essays: First prompt (wrote about my profound interest in birds and ornithology) 9.8/10
Teacher Recommendations: 9/10 (English Teacher); 10/10 (Latin Teacher)
Counselor Rec: 9.5/10
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Yes (I thought it went well)

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Classical Studies and Pre-Veterinary Medicine
State (if domestic applicant): Nebraska
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection
Strengths: Really good essays and recommendations
Weaknesses: Not enough AP Exams and SAT II Subject Tests
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I didn’t specifically talk about what exact resources that I could take advantage of Harvard (I was too general)
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Cornell, Yale, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Boston College, Miami of Ohio, TCU, Fordham (accepted), Oklahoma (accepted), Nebraska-Lincoln (accepted),
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

[RappingInCursive]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): NA
ACT (breakdown): 33 super (36 28 34 34, 33 essay which is an 11 on the old curve)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): NA
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 15%
AP (place score in parentheses): NA
IB (place score in parentheses): NA
Senior Year Course Load:The usual, what everyone else here is taking…
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Mostly regional and local economics and business-related stuff

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): 5 major ECs (300+ hrs each), 2 unique
Job/Work Experience: NA
Volunteer/Community Service: Extensive through unique ECs
Summer Activities: See “ECs”
Essays: 9/10
Teacher Recommendations: 10/10
Counselor Rec:12/10
Additional Rec: NA
Interview: Had two, one on campus and one with an alum. On campus was 10/10, alum was 7/10.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Applied Math, Gov, or Econ
State (if domestic applicant): South
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small Private
Ethnicity: Black/African-American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Straight Racks
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
Strengths: URM, Test Scores, Unique ECs and personal essays
Weaknesses: Lack of SAT II
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See “Strengths”
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Nowhere else. Depends on my mood now
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Sorry for the vagueness. I like my anonymity. Find your passion and try to stand out through unique extracurriculars. So many of the people who applied this year were qualified, as you will see with the questionable deferrals/rejections. It really takes something special to stand out in this sea of qualified applicants. I can’t wait to get to meet my future Harvard family, and I am certain that those who were deferred/rejected will find the right fit for them.

[amyisraelchai]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300: 800 M, 750 CR, 750 W
ACT (breakdown): 36: 36, 36, 35, 35
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math I (790), Math II (800), Chem (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parentheses): N/A
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, Advanced Physics, Government and Politics, Constitutional Law, Immigrant Literature, Jewish History, Contemporary Judaism, Israeli Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): JSA (president), Mock Trial (lawyer), Israel advocacy (club president), Tutor for underprivileged kids, school store (co-CEO), sports teams (captain)
Job/Work Experience: worked at a hedge fund
Volunteer/Community Service: Leadership role in community service organization (J-Teen)
Summer Activities: interned for several different political campaigns, attended the Yale Young Global Scholars program
Essays: 10/10
Teacher Recommendations: 10/10
Counselor Rec: 9/10
Additional Rec: 10/10 (I had my congressman and my Head of School write recs)
Interview: 10/10 (went for two hours)

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
Projected Concentration: Government
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: parochial (Jewish)
Ethnicity: Jewish
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200k +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy

Reflection
Strengths: test scores, extracurriculars, strong ties to Harvard
Weaknesses: grades were on the low side, white
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: H generally doesn’t take more than one student early from my school (68 kids in my grade) and there was a stronger applicant
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Yale, Princeton, Penn, Duke, NW, Cornell, Michigan
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: make sure you start regular apps before you hear from early schools! Although I’m upset I got deferred, I think having the ability to apply regular is a great opportunity to compare several schools and to hear more what they can offer you.

[trytophan]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):2400 (800M, 800CW, 800W, 12 essay) third sitting
ACT (breakdown):36 (36 Math, 36 english, 36 science, 36 reading) first sitting
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (780) US History (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8/4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):n/a
AP (place score in parentheses): Art History (4), Biology (5), Calculus AB (5), Calculus BC (5), Chemistry (5), English Language (5), French (4), Physics (4), US History (5), World History (4)
IB (place score in parentheses):n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP government, AP macro-economics, AP micro-economics, AP Literature, AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science, Forensics, Photography
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):n/a

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): StuCo (President), M.U.N (President)
Job/Work Experience: Barista at Starbucks, tutor at Gideon math and reading centers
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteered for Red Cross
Summer Activities:Volunteered at Red Cross, Interned for an opthalmologist, tanned.
Essays: My common app essay was basically about my struggle learning English and how I was basically illeterate till i was about 10
Teacher Recommendations: I got 2 rec letters, one from my English Language teacher, and the other from my APUSH teacher
Counselor Rec: Submitted, I haven’t read it so I can’t rate it
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview:n/a

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?no
Projected Concentration: Applied Mathematics
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: F
Income Bracket: $150,000 - $180,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Generation, Handicapped

Reflection
Strengths: Test Scores
Weaknesses: Very few extra curricular activities, lack of an interview
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else you are applying or have already applied:Stanford, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:Anything can happen, I’m just glad I have a second shot at Harvard, however farfetched it may seem, it’s still a chance

[goldenmaster]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 33 (34E, 35M, 30R, 33S) 9W
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (760), Maths 2 (720)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): don’t know how to convert, German system, but extremely good for Germans
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/105
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: most rigorous
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Violin (playing for 12 years, concertmaster)
Taekwondo (11 years, regional, national and international titles)
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service:
Summer Activities:
Essays: 9/10 and 8/10
Teacher Recommendations: 9/10 and 10/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: 4/10 very generic but contains a pivotal list of takwondo awards
Interview: didn’t have one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: undecided
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Germany
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection
Strengths: dual citizenship, strong extra curriculars and deep involvement, teacher recommendations,
Weaknesses: GPA? Test scores? No hooks, no major academic awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: will edit later with more info

[sansculottes]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (800 Math, 800 Writing, 730 Critical Reading)
ACT (breakdown): -
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II 800 Physics 800 French
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): -
AP (place score in parentheses): -
IB (place score in parentheses): -
Senior Year Course Load: 4 A Levels (UK system)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Joint 1st in National Math Olympiad for Girls, National Debate Awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Debate (Captain), Math (Captain), Music (Scholar), School Magazine (Editor), School Newspaper (Editor)
Job/Work Experience: Research Placement
Volunteer/Community Service: ~50 Hours at a Charity Shop
Summer Activities: Camps, Research
Essays: Good
Teacher Recommendations: Good
Counselor Rec: Good
Additional Rec: Good
Interview: Good

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? No
Projected Concentration: Math
State (if domestic applicant): -
Country (if international applicant): UK
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: -
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): -

Reflection
Strengths: Stats + ECs
Weaknesses: Leadership? Essays? Recs?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to some UK universities
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Lots
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: -

[2020harvard]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2400 Superscore
ACT (breakdown): 36 Composite w/ 36 Writing
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 800 Physics, 800 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/177 (unreported)
AP (place score in parentheses): 5 on 14 different AP exams, 10 of which I self-studied without classes
IB (place score in parentheses): -
Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous possible (AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Physics, AP Java, AP Gov); dual enrollment in Linear Algebra at local county college
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

• Nordstrom Scholarship Finalist
• 1 of ~40 students nationwide at Youth Governors Conference (repping 60k others)
• 1 of 25 students representing YMCA at its annual National Advocacy Days
• National AP Scholar (2 years in a row)
• National Merit Semifinalist
• 3-year nominee to Conference on National Affairs (YMCA Youth & Govt. network)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):

• Secretary General of the largest student-run MUN in USA - spend 20 hrs/week planning year-round and leading a corps of 40 officers for a 2000 person conference across the East Coast; plan fundraising, social events, service events, alumni outreach, delegate outreach, site design, app development, etc.
• Founder of a tutoring charity (standardized exams and higher level courses); raised $5k for charity
• Assembly Speaker for NJ Youth & Government Program; involved in year-round planning of a conference for 600 people
• Captain of XC / Track team; led team to its greatest successes / fastest times since 1998
• President of Spanish NHS & Club; converted small, inactive club to one of the largest, most active in school w/ volunteering at food banks, clothing drives, poetry coffeehouse, tutoring, Food Fest
• Managing Editor for my school newspaper, overseeing editorial staff
• Science NHS Secretary - organize academic contests, tutoring, Science Bowl
• Science League - placed top 5 in the state for Chem II, top 10 for Chem I (NJ Science League academic contests)
• Math League - AIME qualifier, top school scorer on AMC
• NHS member, Student Council Class VP

Job/Work Experience:

• Worked as a legislative intern for a local senator / assemblyman my pre-junior year summer
• Involved in climate advocacy with 350NJ activist group; working to spread network across NJ
• Presidential campaign volunteer for one of the 2016 candidates

Volunteer/Community Service:

• Coordinate 5 annual Days of Service w/ a team of ~20 people, providing volunteer opportunities for 400+ kids across NJ, MD, DE
• Worked as a food server at a local hospital for 2 years
• Coordinated shipment of 2000 lbs of clothing to Ukraine (where I was born) pre-senior summer; subsidized it using money from self-started tutoring charity
• Other work in club activities

Summer Activities:

• NJ Scholars Program (basically TASP on state level) - well-recognized program that feeds into top-tier schools
• American Legion Jersey Boys State
• Youth Governors Conference, Conference on National Affairs
• Internship, clothing drive
• I return to Ukraine for 1-2 months every summer to visit my family

Essays:
Poured hours and hours and hours into these - I’d like to think they were very good and worked together to create a good, diverse profile – much as a portfolio

• Wrote close to 20 drafts of my Common App before I settled on a topic that perfectly captured the essence of my identity (life in Ukraine)
• Supplement was ethereal & held a different tone – about MUN and empowerment and leadership; kept reworking something I had written back in May for Nordstrom
• Short extracurricular essay was about a creative passion of mine - spray-painting / street art. Showed that I’m a human at heart even though I’m involved in so much

Teacher Recommendations:
Both likely very good

• History teacher discussed my fascination w/ learning and intellectual curiosity; said I am one of just a few in all his decades of teaching
• Chemistry teacher / the MUN advisor in my school – although she taught me only soph. year, she knew both me and my contributions to the school community in a lot of different clubs and respects

Counselor Rec: 10/10 for sure – she said she spent a lot of time on it, stressing I’m the most impressive student she’s ever seen in all her years as a guidance counselor
Additional Rec: Program director for MUN talked about working with me for 3 years and how I lead the officers in planning a 2000 person conference. One of the best he’s written, according to him
Interview: Average – nothing spectacular. Discussed random aspects of Harvard

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: -
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): No true hooks. Perhaps unique cultural background (born and raised in Ukraine)

Reflection
Strengths: I covered every area as best as I could. Scores were above par for NJ, which has the highest averages of any state. My EC pull was huge – planning the biggest MUN conference in the USA with a team of 40 officers – and was my first listed activity, the focus of my supp, and the subject of my additional rec. Other activities included a range of leadership and accomplishments not uncommon to other applicants; NJ Scholars was a good feeder program.
Weaknesses: None as far as I can tell.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I knew full well that applying from NJ was a bloodbath and attempted to stand out in every respect – academics-wise and EC-wise. I’m sure my background/worldview portrayed in my CA distinguished me from many applicants.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Applied to Rutgers, Berkeley, USC. Named finalist for UNC Morehead-Cain. Will be attending Harvard so will withdraw everything.

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
Hard work is everything; talent and intelligence are useless without work ethic. I maxed out my grades and joined every club freshman year, then began my college grind sophomore year. I pursued summer programs, self-studied 7 APs in 3 months, and did everything that was humanly possible each 24 hours. It’s been a remarkable 4-year, endless, sleepless, caffeine-driven march of progress, and I’m now looking forward to the next big thing in Cambridge. This is just another beginning and the end is now uncertain.
Future applicants: start early and think carefully. To get in, on the most fundamental level, you need 1) stellar scores and grades (bare requisite), and 2) phenomenal activities/honors with a cohesive focus (or singular activity – a spike like MUN for me). Make sure your SAT is 2350+, 2400 if possible; too many applicants disregard SAT scores, settling for complacency. I can’t stress enough how ONE TEST IS EQUATED TO FOUR YEARS of grades; if you’re willing to take a hard AP class costing hundreds of hours, you should be more than willing to put in hundreds of hours for the SAT, which will have a much greater return on investment than anything else you could be doing with that time.
Most importantly, realize that committing yourself to getting into Harvard, like anything in life, is a sacrifice. In choosing to pursue admission, you give up quite a bit else–free time, TV, sanity, sleep, social life. In my eyes, the greatest accomplishment is not getting into Harvard (simply another opportunity in the broader context of life)–but the passionate, motivated individual that I have become as a result of everything I’ve done.
I wish you all the best of luck; message me if you have any questions.
Set goals, pursue your passions, work hard–life will reward you.

[JohnB2]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180 ( 720 CR, 750 M, 710 W) highest single-sitting. 2220 superscore.
ACT (breakdown): 34 ( 36 M, 33 E, 33 S, 32 R, 31 ELA)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 740 USH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2 of 215
AP (place score in parentheses): 5’s: Calc BC, Physics C mechanics, Gov, USH
4’s: Music theory, euro
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: AP chem, AP World, multi-variable calc, choir, AP Eng
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit semi-finalist, Outstanding Citizen Award at Boy’s State, other local high school awards for extracurricular involvement.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Youth governor Ohio YMCA Youth in government program (helped expand membership from 200 to 600 over 4 years), State Chair of the Ohio High School Democrats (personally added 15 chapters to the organization across the state, facilitated 2015 city government campaign canvassing, registered a couple hundred voters total), headlining stand-up comedian in Columbus area, youth board representative on National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio, board member on Ohio Mike DeWine Teen Ambassador Board
Job/Work Experience: math tutor, legal assistant @ local law firm.
Volunteer/Community Service: Spent 250 hours lobbying local schools to implement service learning curriculums that I designed, organized a couple charity fundraisers.
Summer Activities:
Essays: 10/10 Wrote on performing stand-up comedy for a prison
Teacher Recommendations: 11/10 both my teachers’ recs said they wanted their sons to grow up to be like me.
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec:
Interview: 11/10 the man wanted to marry me off to his daughter

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration:
State (if domestic applicant): OH
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Older brother went to Harvard

Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses: Test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Tried to portray myself as future John Stewart/Colbert (highest position in 2 statewide political organizations and pursuing comedy)
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

[QueenN22]

**Decision: Accepted **
SAT I (breakdown):2120
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Biology E (720) US History (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.89
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):2/355
AP (place score in parentheses): Bio(3), Lang (5), US History (5), Calc AB (4), Macroeconomics(3)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Chem AP, Calc BC, Literature, Calc 3, Physics, Psychology AP, Gifted and Talented, Gym
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Stockholm Water Prize, Ecybermission 2nd in NJ, Ricoh Sustainable Development award, broke 2 jumping records from 11 years ago for school, All Division athlete, AP Scholar with distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):Varsity Track (4 years)-captain for 11th and 12th grade (Indoor and Outdoor), various school clubs/honor societies with some leadership, church choir and youth committee, volunteer at bible camp, some ministry, other church activities
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: maybe about 400+ for career based volunteering
Summer Activities: Church activities
Essays:9/10 or 10/10 simply because it was personal and the piece had my tone written all over it
Supplement: 7-8/10 only encouraged my tone and how my personality it
Teacher Recommendations: Waived but I assume they were at least a 7/10
Counselor Rec:6/10 it was good, nothing special
Additional Rec:
Interview:8/10, went on for 1 hour and like 30 minutes. I think my personality really showed through it

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?Yes
Projected Concentration:Biological sciences
State (if domestic applicant):NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity:African American
Gender:F
Income Bracket:100-110k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM

Reflection
Strengths: Essay definitely. I think my essay was probably the most riskiest (in terms of topic) I’ve ever written but it didn’t revealed something about me
Weaknesses: I assume test scores. My scores put me in the competitive applicant range but they weren’t anything great
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think for me it just shows that they like generally good people with interesting backgrounds. Despite my essay, I do have some activities that most kids haven’t done and could possibly me valuable to the Harvard community. Just let your personality shine through and be a good and genuine person. At the end of the day, that’s all Harvard wants.
Where else you are applying or have already applied:Rutgers (applied but still awaiting answer), not sure if I am going to apply to other schools now. I think saving a couple of hundreds of dollars will be good on my part.

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: As I said before, just be a good person! I know that is an oversimplification sometimes that’s what it comes down to. Also try to get your writing to feel as if you wrote it and include many details to make the story more and more you. I certainly do believe that I was extremely lucky and I won’t forget that. To those who were deferred/rejected, this doesn’t mean anything! You are all talented and based on the SCEA thread, good and funny people. Sometimes it just comes down to what life experiences you’ve had. I know without that one thing , I probably would have been some of your places. Keep your head high and make Harvard believe that they made a mistake in not taking you!

[ILoveRoti]

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1850 (accidentally sent it from soph year ;D)
ACT (breakdown): 33 (E-36, S-33, R-33, M-30)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II- 720
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.69 (My school only does weighted out of 4.5)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/36 (But school did not disclose)
AP (place score in parentheses): None offered
IB (place score in parentheses): None offered
Senior Year Course Load: Honors everything
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended

[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Basketball- received Sportsmanship Award junior year; invited to play in Australia for NJ
Lacrosse (Captain)- Honorable Mention at All-Stars as rookie Goalie
Student Government (President)
World Cultures Club (Founder/President)
National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: I prefer to volunteer
Volunteer/Community Service:
Big Brother Big Sister
ESL Tutor
Local Hospital
Summer Activities:
Summer League Bball
NYLF at Johns Hopkins for Medicine
Oncology center internship
Essays: 8/10 Wrote about how constantly being mistaken for Hispanic inspired me to learn Spanish and opened my eyes to the world of languages
Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t read; prob great though
Counselor Rec: She said it was “bomb”
Additional Rec: Asking my Lax coach to write one now, to help me out
Interview: Uhhh…not my brightest moment

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? Nope
Projected Concentration: Linguistics/ Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small, catholic, all-girls…need I say more?
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Lady
Income Bracket: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

[ b]Reflection**
Strengths: You tell me
Weaknesses: Refer to “Strengths”
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Have not heard back
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UNC Chapel Hill, UVa, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Columbia, Case Western, Duke, etc
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Kinda bummed, but tryin to stay hopeful

[bottomkek]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (760 M, 800 CR, 800 W)
ACT (breakdown): not taken
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 800 English Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No ranking at school
AP (place score in parentheses): Calculus BC (5), Statistics (5), English Lang (5), APUSH (5), Physics C: E&M (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psychology, AP English Lit, AP Spanish, AP Chemistry
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Debate (Captain my 11th grade year), Tea Club (co-founder), Badminton
Job/Work Experience: Work/Internship at a law firm
Volunteer/Community Service: Work on Bernie Sanders’ campaign and other progressive causes
Summer Activities: CTY (nerd camp), MIT Cryptography summer course, Debate Camp
Essays: Both 9/10
Teacher Recommendations: English teacher probably 10/10, Math probably 8/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: none
Interview: Went very well, she definitely recommended me strongly

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Philosophy
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic/White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~$200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, double legacy

Reflection
Strengths: Scores, Grades, Essays
Weaknesses: ECs (lol), everything else
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Strong scores (esp. for Hispanic students), good essays, legacy and URM status helped
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Oxford (hearing back on the 6th of January)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I was super ready to get deferred so this was a pleasant surprise. Very excited to relax over Christmas break instead of worrying about college apps. Good luck in the RD round to all deferred.

[kyradouglas]

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (750CR, 770M, 800W)
ACT (breakdown): none
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Biology M (760), Math Level 2 (770), US History (770)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t do rank, but definitely in top 5% in big public school
AP (place score in parentheses): 5s on US government, US history, French, English language & comp, calculus AB and psychology. 4 on physics 1
IB (place score in parentheses): none
Senior Year Course Load: multivariable calc, AP world history, AP lit, advanced journalism/newspaper production, intro to engineering (tech graduation requirement, 2 chorus classes (women’s and chamber ensembles)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing major, but college board AP scholar with distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Shakespeare club (co-president and co-director), literary magazine (EIC and president), newspaper (feature writer & creative writing manager), French club (co-president), member of pre-professional musical theater company
Job/Work Experience: work at local ice rink, music camp counselor, worked on independent film
Volunteer/Community Service: church outreach
Summer Activities: Johns Hopkins CTY courses (3 years)
Essays: common app essay about music/individuality/personal growth, supplement about academic interests and what I want to get out of college (not a conventional essay-- more of a series of vignettes, reads almost like a poem)
Teacher Recommendations: first one definitely amazing, second probably good too
Counselor Rec: definitely good
Additional Rec: none
Interview: very informal; I felt it went well and we got along well

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): mid atlantic
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: biracial (black/white)
Gender: female
Income Bracket: upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
Strengths: academics, leadership
Weaknesses: guess I could have always done more extracurriculars (also I got B’s in physics)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think my essays definitely helped me communicate my personality to the school–I just tried to be honest and invested in what I was saying.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Brown, Columbia, Stanford, USC, Yale, NYU
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I was somewhat surprised I got in! But I’m very happy; congrats to everyone else who was accepted and to those who didn’t: hang in there.