***Official Northwestern University Class of 2019 RD Results Thread***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

You guys know the drill.

Pick one:
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays:
Teacher Recommendation:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Short Answer Questions:
Interview:

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection:

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Notes:

2

Anyone know when they’re releasing?

3

@hungryteenager‌ Nobody knows for sure. The rumor is at 5:30 CTD (3:30 PST) today. It could be later tonight, or even tomorrow, or maybe next week. Super nervous!!

4

Well it’s 5:40 CDT and no email here…

5

@thawardask‌ Look at the GPA and stats and the previous posts. He’s posted this is in several results thread, claiming he got into the following schools: Harvard, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Middlebury.

6

They’re out!

7

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): NA
ACT (breakdown): 35 C Superscored and not superscored: (33 E, 35 M, 36 R, 36 S)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 760 M2 720 Bio M
Unweighted/Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98/4.64 I go to a highly selective magnet school that chooses around 2% of students that apply out of 9 high schools. So out of around 3100 applicants, 75 or so get in.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 3% 10/310
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus, Orgo Chem, Bio Chem, Biomedical Science, IB History of the Americas, IB Spanish, Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3rd Place Best Midwestern High School Writing Competition twice in a row. 9th Place ACSL International Coding Competition

[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): NHS, Research Team (at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Varsity Tennis for 3 years, 1st Violin in the Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Debate
Job/Work Experience: NA
Volunteer/Community Service: Over 200 hours at a local hospital, at summer science camps, a school for the mentally disabled, friends and I started charity that feeds elementary schools children on the weekends (they live in a bad part of town), I founded an interscholastic math competition for 5th graders, MATHCOUNTS coach for a local middle school.
Summer Activities: Gave talks at local hospitals to raise money for the charity I run, and why feeding poverty stricken children in elementary school is important.
Essays: Pretty strong all around. My English teacher said they were great.
Teacher Recommendations: Idk, but should have been good. One of the teachers asked me if he could write me a rec, and told me he would say I was outstanding.
Counselor Rec: She said there’s no doubt I’m one of the top kids at my school, so definitely should have been good.
Additional Rec: From the director of Lee Honors College at WMU. I worked with her to establish the math competition.
Interview: NA

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Admissions is hella random.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/list] Accepted: Wash U St. Louis, U Mich, U Miami, K College (full tuition)
Waitlisted: Case Western Reserve, Northwestern
Rejected: UChicago
Still Waiting For: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UPenn
General Comments: Admissions is really random when schools have an acceptance rate of less than 20%. Hoping hardcore for the ivies.

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Pre-med
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public Magnet
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000 +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None…

8

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): NA
ACT (breakdown): 34 C (highest), 35 E, 36 R, 34 M, 34 S
SAT II: 800 Math 2C; 780 Korean w/ Listening; 710 US History
Unweighted GPA: 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/682
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (5); Music Theory (5); Calculus BC w/ AB subscore (5, 5); US History (5); Language and Composition (5); Psychology (4); Computer Science A (3); Chemistry (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Literature and Composition, AP Government, AP Biology, Principles of Microeconomics (Community College), Intro to Sociology (Community College)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Forensics League All American Academic Award, MTAC Level 10, Various state/regional debate awards, AP Scholar w/ Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Nonprofit (Founder, CEO); Amnesty International (Founder & President); Habitat for Humanity (Founder & President); Speech and Debate program at local junior high school (Head Coach); Piano; Swimming (Varsity)
Job/Work Experience: Intern
Volunteer/Community service: Intern; Head Coach at local junior high school debate program; clubs; nonprofit
Summer Activities: Intern, Organized summer speech and debate camp for the junior high school kids
Essays:
Common App (10): Talked about how being called the B word as a compliment to my achievements and leadership incited me to become a feminist and activist and inspired me to create my nonprofit
Northwestern Statement (8): Described what kind of opportunities NU would give me, and what I want to do there.

Teacher Recommendation:
Teacher Rec #1: (10) My Calc teacher said I’m his favorite student and we love to talk about politics together.
Teacher Rec #2: (10) My Lang teacher said he put that I’m the best student he’s had
Counselor Rec: (9) He wrote a letter for me for an application to a program, and it was really awesome.
Additional Rec: (10) My piano teacher loves me.
Short Answer Questions:
Interview: (7.5) My interviewer asked me really specific questions, but I think I answered them well.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Gender & Sexuality Studies and Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Korean
Gender: F
Income Bracket: <40k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection:

Strengths: Nonprofit, Speech & Debate, feminist/activist platform, other EC’s
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Feminism, activism
Weaknesses: Grades (they weren’t straight A’s like a lot of applicants), test scores, awards weren’t particularly amazing
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My EC’s made me stand out.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Yale (SCEA), University of Pennsylvania (Likely Letter), Duke (Likely Letter), Wellesley (EE), UC Berkeley (Regents), UCI (Regents), UCSD; Waitlisted: none so far; Rejected: none so far
Notes: I hope this helps future applicants! You honestly never know what’s going to happen, so don’t give up :slight_smile: Good luck!!

9

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 620 CR 660 M 720 W
ACT (breakdown):N/A
SAT II: 670 M2 650 Physics 630 Literature
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Physics B (3) AP US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Spanish, AP Literature, AP Physics C
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN (president), jazz band, tutor, special needs aid (president), Spanish club (president)
Job/Work Experience: tutor for 4 years, Starbucks employee for 2
Volunteer/Community service: Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts/National Honor Society
Summer Activities: Secretarial assistant, Starbucks employee
Essays: Excellent general essay, decent supplement
Teacher Recommendation: (3) All very good
Counselor Rec: Good
Additional Rec: N/A
Short Answer Questions: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: McCormick
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 35,000-85,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college, female engineer

Reflection:

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: passionate about science, passionate about music, strong love for Northwestern
Weaknesses: SAT scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Low scores
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Notes:

10

Decision: Decision: Rejected

Hopefully this helps someone!

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): 2390 (790 CR, 800 WR, 800 M)
ACT (breakdown): Did not take
SAT II: 750 Math II, 760 Chemistry, 760 US History, 770 Chinese w/Listening
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chemistry: 5, AP US History: 5, AP English Language and Comp: 5, AP Psychology: 5, AP Human Geography: 5, AP Chinese: 5, AP Comparative Government: 4, AP Statistics: 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government, Japanese
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist, published a paper on Japanese Tokugawa foreign relations during the 17th-19th centuries (I sent in the first page of the journal article as a supplement) in a Stanford Institute of International Studies journal, Chinese-American Semiconductor Professionals Association Scholarship (not that major), various awards from the World Affairs Council for my passion for international relations, a bunch of awards from flute competitions

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Director of Foreign Relations for the UN International Youth Council (currently in the midst of creating a youth-run policy journal), Youth Ambassador to Finland (1 of 12 students to receive a scholarship from the Finnish govt), Stanford Reischauer Japanese and Sejong Korean Scholar (competitive program, only 25 students nationally selected), Board Member of the Silicon Valley United Nations Association (10-12), Student Ambassador for local World Affairs Council (10-12), Principal Flutist of a state-level youth symphony and school Wind Ensemble (sent in a flute supplement) (9-12), Undersecretary general for Model UN (9-12), Director of finances for National Honor Society (10-12), Founded my own financial literacy initiative after interning at a microfinance NGO in China (10-12), Business editor for award-winning school newsmagazine (10-12)

Job/Work Experience: Interning at a microfinance NGO? That was only for a summer though.

Volunteer/Community service: Many hours through the UN Association

Summer Activities: 2013 summer was spent touring Central Europe with my youth symphony for 2-3 weeks, Interned at a Microfinance NGO in Central China, 2014 summer: Received a scholarship from the Finnish government to study abroad 7-8 weeks

Essays:
My Common App was a 8.5/10, about my experiences as a student diplomat in Finland- I talked about a Finnish word that could not be translated into English and how eventually understanding the word helped me understand the Finnish spirit
Why Northwestern was a 7/10- Nothing terribly special

Teacher Recommendation: Stellar! From my APUSH and AP English Language teachers. I was a heavy participant in both these classes and they loved me.

Counselor Rec: Should have been pretty good; I visit my counselor a lot and she understands my aspirations

Additional Rec: Did not send. But I did send in a flute supplement.

Interview: Was not offered an interview

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: International Studies/Linguistics/East Asian Studies- I haven’t decided yet
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Competitive Public
Ethnicity: Chinese-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$400,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.

Reflection

Strengths: SAT I score, unique passions and extracurriculars, not a cookie-cutter Asian, international perspective
Weaknesses: GPA, SAT II scores, bad at math, demonstrated ZERO interest in the school
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: It’s a crapshoot! I was unlucky lol
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

Accepted: UPenn College of Arts and Sciences (likely), Wellesley (likely), Washington University in St. Louis, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Davis (w/ rejects and honors), UC Irvine Honors Program w/Regents
Deferred: Princeton SCEA
Rejected Northwestern

still waiting on a couple more Ivies, UC’s and privates (though not expecting much)

11

Decision: ACCEPTED

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): CR- 670 M-630 W-670
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP World
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Newspaper, Debate, Tutoring, Writing Program, Published author
Job/Work Experience: Working with kids
Volunteer/Community service: 500+ hours with children
Summer Activities: Summer Job
Essays: Pulitzer worthy
Teacher Recommendation: Amazing
Counselor Rec: Great
Additional Rec: Didn’t submit
Short Answer Questions: Wrote about how much I loved the curriculum- 10
Interview: Nope

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Journalism
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Multiracial
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection:

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
Weaknesses: SAT Score
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My letter of recommendation was outstanding and my essays were amazing.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UFlorida, UMiami, Northeastern, UMinnesota, UAlabama, SUNY Albany, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Stony Brook, Syracuse

Notes: Ladies and gentlemen, stats are not everything! If I would’ve made a chance me, I would’ve had people telling me not to even bother applying and I would’ve had people telling me I would’ve gotten rejected. And yes, there aren’t a lot of people getting accepted with my SAT score, but test scores are just a fraction of the equation. My theory is that A LOT people have sky high test scores, and then try to use that to get in. You NEED to put effort into your ECs and supplements. Once you reach a certain point academically, your SAT score means nothing. Whether it is 2300 or 2100 or 1970, at this point, they know you are academically qualified. You need to focus on the subjective, which is why I, and everyone else got in. Of course there are only so many slots, but ECs are how you truly stand out. Show your passion.

And no, you don’t need to have some sort of international recognition to get in. I didn’t.

12

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2280 (CR 740 M 790 W 750) Superscore
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math II 750 Chemistry 800 Bio M 760
Unweighted GPA: 3.82
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 27/780
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Chem (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Stat, English H, Social Studies H
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Usher at my church, JV track (9,10,11)
Job/Work Experience: Run a online business with over $200,000 in sales in the past year
Volunteer/Community service: Appalachia Service Project (11,12)
Summer Activities: Research at Penn and got a publication
Essays: probably a 7, did the failure CA essay… maybe that hurt me, put a lot of detail into the NU essay, 9
Teacher Recommendation: AP Calc teacher and AP Bio teacher, both 8
Counselor Rec: They have to write a ton, so generic, 5
Additional Rec: N/A
Short Answer Questions: N/A
Interview: Did ask for one… probably should have

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >$150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection:

Strengths: showed a lot of interest for my major in the essays and put in a lot of details about NU
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: really interested in chemistry
Weaknesses: Not many ECs, gpa is a bit low
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Didn’t show much interest (no interview or visit), need more ECs
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to Penn State, Rejected from Columbia (ED), Waiting on a bunch
Notes: I’m disappointed but I knew my chances were pretty bad because I didn’t show much interest. But congrats to everyone who got it!

13

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (770 M, 800 CR, 800 W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 780 Math II, 740 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): none, top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC, Statistics, Spanish, English Lang and Comp, APUSH (all 5’s)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Euro, AP Lit, AP Chem, Economics, Linear Algebra Honors, Calculus III (college course)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, President’s Education Award (some school awards but nothing major really)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tennis (captain, lots of district recognition), Clarinet (All-state Band, local orchestra, school ensembles), Vocal Music (Chorale, section leader 12, honors choir group, honors a cappella group), Student Council (President, Treasurer), Scholastic Scrimmage (captain, won some regional competitions), Women’s Awareness (vice-president), freshmen mentor and student ambassador
Job/Work Experience: summer SAT tutor
Volunteer/Community service: blogger for online feminist website, volunteer tennis coach, summer volunteer at boys and girls club, worked in school’s communications office
Summer Activities: Did a leadership program at Georgetown and an engineering program at Stevens Tech
Essays:
Common App Main: I thought this was okay, I wrote about Harry Potter and how the books have shaped me
Supplement: I talked about the MMSS program, mentioned some of my tour
Teacher Recommendation: one from my junior year English teacher, probably good, she likes me and writes good recommendations; the other from my statistics teacher and also my sophomore calc teacher had some input…should’ve been good
Counselor Rec: good, she knows me very well
Additional Rec: none
Short Answer Questions:
Interview: Went very well, was one of the few I felt good about

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Mathematics
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, independent
Ethnicity: Asian (Korean)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Upper
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection:

Strengths: grades, SAT I, involvement in school
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I’m interested in math and English, which is a more unique combination, so I tried to play that up. But nothing else really
Weaknesses: activities were too typical, supplement wasn’t interesting enough, no major awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I thought this one could go any way, especially since they accepted so many ED this year. I’m wondering if I didn’t show enough interest
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Admitted: Wash U, Dartmouth (likely), UCLA; Waitlisted: UChicago (from deferred EA); Waiting For: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Stevens Tech
Notes: Congrats to all those admitted! Northwestern is a great school

14

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

Hope this helps :smile:

SAT I (breakdown): 2000 (600 CR, 650 M, 750 CR)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 730 Math 2
Unweighted GPA: 3.7 (Kinda low I know, but I had a very big upward trend)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank but I think somewhere in the top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH - 2 (I obviously didn’t send this though lol)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP French, AP Calc AB, AP Physics, 20th Century Social History, Leadership Ethics and Public Speaking, String Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Achievement Award Outstanding Participant, County recognized Violinist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of hours spent in dance, Competition Dance Team Member, Varsity Soccer, Varsity Cross Country, All County Violinist, Student Ambassador, Community Service Club Member, Model UN Club Member, Mock Trial Club Member,
Job/Work Experience: Work as a private elementary school tutor
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours (jumpstarted my schools trick or treat for UNICEF initiative, worked extensively to raise money for pediatric cancer research)

Summer Activities: basically dance summer intensives and additional competition team training, community service, and working
Essays: I thought my common app essay was pretty moving (talked about how the stereotypes that came from being a male dancer) and my NU supplement gave a pretty good impression of my interest
Teacher Recommendation: I would say they’re solid. I asked my two favorite teachers who I have a very close relationship with
Counselor Rec: Really good (she let me sneak a peek)
Additional Rec: didn’t have one
Interview: didn’t have one

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yup
Intended Major: not really sure yet haha
State (if domestic applicant): ny
Country (if international applicant): usa
School Type: very small private school
Ethnicity: black
Gender: male
Income Bracket: upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection:

Strengths: I think my essays gave a good impression of who I am
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Just let them understand me
Weaknesses: Probably most of my app haha honestly so surprised I got considering all these amazing applicants
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: As if I know
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at WashU, Villanova, Northeastern, BU, and Fordham
Notes: Good luck to everyone in this whole stressful process!! I hope you all get in somewhere that you’ll be very happy :smile:

15

Decision: Accepted (McCormick)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 CR, 760 W, 800 M)
ACT (breakdown): -
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 780 USH
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/300ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 (AB, BC, English Lang, US History, Euro History, Stat) and 4 (World History)
IB (place score in parenthesis): 6 in Spanish SL, remaining exams this coming May (HL Math, HL Film, HL English, SL History, SL Physics)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Physics, Physics C, AP Macro/Micro, AP Gov, AP English Lit, IB Film, IB European History, IB Advanced Calc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 10th at the national Academic WorldQuest competition

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): My favorites were Brain Brawl (Trivia, Captain), Cricket Club (Co-Founder), and Varsity Swimming.
Job/Work Experience: -
Volunteer/Community service: Library volunteering and various tutoring
Summer Activities: Business program at Stanford, YMCA Basketball
Essays: I enjoyed writing them and thought they turned out well.
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read
Additional Rec: -
Short Answer Questions: See Essays
Interview: Loved it. Could not have asked for a better experience!

Other:

Intended Major: Industrial Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <$100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): -

Reflection:

Strengths: Scores, Interview
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Nothing specific that I can remember consciously doing.
Weaknesses: I could have benefited from participating in more STEM-related extracurriculars.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to UCLA, Miami-FL, UCD. Waitlisted at Chicago. Rejected from MIT.

Notes: Northwestern was one of the first campuses I ever visited (for a math competition back in elementary school) and I loved it. Excited to say the least!

16

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/a
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36M, 35S, 35E, 34R, 10E)
SAT II: 800 USH, 760 Math II, 730 Physics
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/443
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APUSH, 5 Bio
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mech, AP Psych, AP Euro, AP Eng. Lit., AP Calc BC
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NM Commended, nothing else really

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (4x Captain), Odyssey of the Mind (Captain), Quiz Bowl (Varsity Captain), Mock Trial (Captain).

Job/Work Experience: Worked/volunteered last 6 summers at local Cub Scout camp

Volunteer/Community service:

Summer Activities: Above ^^

Essays: Common App was solid 8.5/10, why NU was pretty generic 7.5/10

Teacher Recommendation: One from English teacher was awesome, “once in lifetime” kind of rec 9/10, AP Bio teacher was solid 8/10

Counselor Rec: It’s a big school, but I made a point to get to know him 7.5/10
Additional Rec: n/a
Short Answer Questions:
Interview: Didn’t have interview; maybe the problem.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Ohhhhhhh yeah
Intended Major: Mech. Eng.
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant): Los Estados Unidos
School Type: Big ghetto poor public
Ethnicity: Almost transparent
Gender: XY
Income Bracket: $60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen

Reflection: Didn’t put much effort into the app (EA acceptances will sap you of initiative real quick)

Strengths: Scores, Recs.
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Camp / community involvement, engineering interest/experience

Weaknesses: No interview, weak NU essay

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Very qualified applicant pool + little effort on my part
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted Princeton SCEA, PSU, Pitt, waitlisted MIT
Notes:

17

asize=4]Decision: Rejected[/size]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (800M, 800CR, 730 W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 800 M2, 750 Physics)
Unweighted GPA: 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~15% (school doesn’t report)
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Ap physics 1 and 2, AB Calc, AP Spanish Lang and Culture, English H, Engineering H
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nominated as presidential scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Board of nonprofit, tutoring in innercity, tons of sports
Job/Work Experience: Camp counselor, political internship
Volunteer/Community service: 450 hours
Summer Activities: Camp counselor
Essays: 10/10
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10
Counselor Rec: 7/10
Additional Rec:
Short Answer Questions: What
Interview: Pretty good

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undeclared
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Rich public suburb of boston
Ethnicity: W
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Little fin need
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection: Others who worked harder earned it

Strengths: SAT, recs, essays
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
Weaknesses: Low gpa, not great ecs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Too low gpa and course rigor
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Middlebury, Case Western (28k) Umiami (21k) Northeastern (16k) Mcgill UMass Amherst. Still waiting on USC, UNC, Harvard, Cornell, Carleton
Notes: If you want to get in next year apply ED or be amazing.

18

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1840 - didn’t submit
ACT (breakdown): 34 (34S, 33R, 34E, 33M)
SAT II: 700 Chem, 640 Math II - didn’t submit
Unweighted GPA: 3.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/230
AP (place score in parenthesis):5 (APHG), 4 (AP Comp, APUSH), 3 (AP Bio, AP Chem)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP English Literature, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Physics I, Economics, Ceramics I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB CPS, QB NCM Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, scored in top .1% of Math Contest - attending nationals this month

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Swimming (11 x Reserve Conference Champion, 3 x Captain, 2 x School Record Holder, Mental Attitude Award Winner, Most Valuable Swimmer Award), Equestrian (Reserve World Champion, 3rd All-Around at World Show, National Direction of Association, Multiple State High Point Awards), National Honors Society, internship at Notre Dame in the Chemical Engineering department
Job/Work Experience: lifeguarding every summer
Volunteer/Community service: 400+ hours as an assistant swim coach for our middle school, and about 100+ hours for volunteer lifeguarding at community events
Summer Activities: working, competing in swimming and equestrian events
Essays: Pretty good I think! My Common App was awesome IMO
Teacher Recommendation: Both of my teachers gave really good recommendations - I’ve had both for 3 years and one said she “made me sound like a rockstar”
Counselor Rec: Really good. I go to a small school, so she knows me pretty well! She’s very excited about my college applications!
Additional Rec: N/A
Short Answer Questions: I think good! I don’t really remember them
Interview: N/A

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mathematics and Chemistry (applied to ISP as well)
State (if domestic applicant): Indiana
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Rural Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <30,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): ???

Reflection:

Strengths: Scores, I think my EC’s
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I really focused on my hardships from my QB application
Weaknesses: GPA, probably some of my awards aren’t as astounding as some people
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: sheer luck!!!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: IU (Honors + Direct Admit to Kelly), Purdue (Honors + Direct Admit), Waitlisted at UChicago, Denied at MIT
Notes: Awesome job everyone! Keep your head up! You will find your dream college! :slight_smile:

19

**Decision: Accepted/b

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (720 CR, 750 M, 730 W) Single sitting and superscore
ACT (breakdown):
ACT superscore:
SAT II: Bio M (800), Math II (770), U.S. History (710)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP: Calc AB (5), Biology (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, Physics honors, AP Gov, AP Macro, British Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Achievement Finalist and scholarship recipient, Questbridge NCM finalist, a couple local awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): President of Muslim Student Association at school, secretary/treasurer of Race and Social Justice club, CSF, NHS, local religious sunday school and youth group, team leader of local tree-care non-profit, youth soccer referee, volunteer at public library, math and science tutor
Job/Work Experience: Worked for my dad’s business for last 2 years
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at a local library quite often among other random stuff
Essays: Overall, 9/10. I wrote about overcoming adversity growing up and immigrating from a country in Northern Africa
Teacher Recommendations: One from a teacher I’ve known for 3 years that LOVED me (9/10). The other was from a junior year who actually met me when I was a kid. lol (8/10)
Counselor Rec: He’s pretty cool. Went to his office a lot this year to talk about college so he got to know me well (8/10)
Interview: Haha, I actually didn’t do one!

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Couldn’t live without it!
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
Ethnicity: African American
School Type: Public
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: pretty low <20000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, low income, first generation

Strengths: Life story, range of extracurriculars, essays, test scores
Weaknesses: lack of research and STEM oriented activities, zero APs taken before junior year
Why you think you were accepted: Showed them what I was made of!
Where else were you accepted: Accepted to MIT, Duke, UCLA, UCSD, Cal Poly SLO and UC Davis. Waiting on Columbia, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Stanford, USC, and UCB
The most unique thing in your application: My life story
What would you have done differently?: Polished my essays a bit I guess, but I guess they liked them!
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: Congrats to everyone who was accepted! It’s too bad I won’t be attending in the fall, Northwestern is such an awesome school.

20

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 C, 36 M, 35 S, 33 R, 31 E
SAT II: Math II- 800 US History- 770
Weighted GPA: 4.41
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11/125
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP English Lit, AP Physics, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 7 different musicals throughout 4 years last of which I was a major role 9-12, NHS 11-12, Track 9-11, Math Team 10-12, JROTC Staff Position 11-12, Drill Team (Military) ranked 3rd in the nation 10-12, Color Guard (Commander) 11, MENtors (Freshman Orientation)11-12, Latin Club 9-11, Green Club 10, Drama Club 9-12, Boy Scouts (Not Eagle)1-12, School Eucharistic Minister (Director) 12, Kairos Leader 12, Life Group Leader 12, LIFESAVER (Leadership group at school) 12.
Job/Work Experience: Produce Clerk at Local Supermarket (11)
Volunteer/Community service: Boy Scouts, NHS, VBS
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays:
I can admit I’m not the best writer so I would say decently good.
Teacher Recommendation: Fantastic ones from APUSH and AP Calc. Teachers, both of whom love me!
Counselor Rec: Should have been good, Counselor is also Track coach which I was on.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Did not take interview

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, Catholic, Military
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >200K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection:

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
Weaknesses:
GPA, Lack of Leadership
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: (accepted) ACT, SAT II, Double Legacy, Grandparents were/are professors
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: (Accepted) University of Illinois- UC, (Accepted) Creighton University, (Accepted) University of Dayton, (Waitlisted) University of Chicago

Waiting on: NYU and UMich.
Notes: