**Decision: Accepted **
Accepted to the Honors Program, the College of Arts, Media, and Design with a major in Communications/Media Studies, and an invitation to the Ujima Global Leaders Program.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): N/A
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 30; English -32, Math - 27 (lol), Reading - 34, Science - 26 (lol [2])
ACT superscore (breakdown):
SAT II (subject, score): US History (730), Literature (710), Math II (540)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.3
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/104
AP (place score in parentheses): AP Calculus AB (4), AP English Language & Composition (5), AP US History (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP English Literature, Art III, AP Statistics (VHS), AP US Government, Java
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 2; Both deferred
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): World’s Best Daughter (Thanks mom)
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar with Honors, My school’s History and Literature awards (Yes I know these don’t matter)
Subjective:
** Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): **
-Student Council (regular member; grades 9-12)
-Gay Straight Alliance (regular member, 11-12)
-School Council (Student Representative, 11-12, discussed and signed off on school’s policies and annual budget)
-Drama Club (Art Director, 11-12, created the sets for the school’s productions)
Job/Work Experience:
-I’ve worked at the local grocery store since 10th grade and got promoted in the summer to be in the customer service department (work about 25 hrs/week here)
-I also work at a local pizza shop (10hrs/week)
Volunteer/Community Service:
-Member of my school’s Peer Leaders group that focuses on various volunteering activities
-I volunteer at a local cat shelter when I have time
Summer Experience:
-I had an internship at the town’s chamber of commerce. It’s a really small one so everything was done in-house and I got to do everything from sending out post-event surveys to soliciting sponsors for the end of the summer fundraiser. Other than that I worked about 30 hours at the grocery store and 10 at the pizza shop.
Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Essays: Common App was a 10/10. I wrote about how at a young age I succumbed to pressure to assimilate and how I learned to love my culture by cooking with my mother. Also mentioned how I wanted to create more positive representation for POC in the media as a result. It’s definitely my best piece of writing.
Teacher Recommendation #1: First letter was from my Calc AB teacher. I talk with her like every other day after school and we have a really great relationship. She wrote about how my best grade wasn’t in Calc but that I was one of the few kids who would seek out extra help when it was needed. I’d give it a 9.
Teacher Recommendation #2: This one was from my sophomore history teacher and my current AP Gov teacher. I didn’t ask to read it because in all honesty he’s a bit intimidating, but I also talk with him frequently and I’m his best student and we have a great relationship outside of the classroom. He wrote a rec for me last year for a scholarship and if he reused that then he wrote about how I have a genuine love of learning for the sake of learning and how enthusiastic I am about history/the government. If it’s what I think he wrote then it’s definitely a 10.
Counselor Rec: I’d also give this a 9. My counselor is also the advisor for our volunteer group and wrote about how involved I get in the fundraisers and mentioned how I manage to do well in school while working so much.
Additional Info/Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A
Art Supplement: N/A
Other
Date Submitted App: Nov. 1, 2016 (Sent in as regular decision, though)
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Massachusetts
School Type: Small, Underfunded, Public
Ethnicity: African
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: ~$70,000
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athlete, development): URM
Reflection
Strengths: Definitely all of the supplementary materials, especially my essay. The recommendation letters I got to read were really touching and showed what numerical stats couldn’t so I wouldn’t be surprised if they gave me a boost.
Weaknesses: Standardized test scores lol. I was pretty sure my chances were ruined with that 540 Math II score, but I guess not!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My prospective major is Communication/ Media Studies so I think my essay, which demonstrated my creative writing skills, helped a lot. And my scores weren’t too bad when it came to the humanities portions so I guess my (lack of) skills in the STEM parts didn’t matter as much. I think my
What would you have done differently?: Nothing really.
Where else did you apply? Boston University, Brown, Emerson, Emmanuel, UMass Boston, UPenn, and USC.
General Comments & Advice:
Congratulations to all the other early but regular admits out there! And to all the other applicants still waiting, don’t stress! Honestly, I’m still in shock at getting in at all, let alone receiving an early notice and getting into the Honors Program. I don’t have any major awards and I find some of my own stats pretty laughable, but I definitely think my passion and ambition were evident in my application. So if you’re also worried about your chances just take a look at me and have some hope, and if you’re also in disbelief at my acceptance, join the club; I’m thinking of getting letterman jackets.