Official Stanford 2018 RD Results Only Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>This thread will be opened the day of RD decisions.</p>

<p>This is a Resource thread intended to help future applicants, so please do not post comments, congratulations, questions, etc. All OT posts will be deleted.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-2018/1610157-stanford-rd-2018-discussions-thread.html#latest"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-2018/1610157-stanford-rd-2018-discussions-thread.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>*Here's the template! Please answer it fully and only post results. There is another thread for discussion and congratulations: *</p>

<p>Copy, paste, and good luck everyone!</p>

<p>
[quote]
[noparse]
Decision: Accepted
Decision: Waitlisted
Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]</p>

<p>[li] SAT I (breakdown):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] ACT:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] SAT II:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] AP (place score in parenthesis):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] IB (place score in parenthesis):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Senior Year Course Load:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]</p>

<p>[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Job/Work Experience:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Volunteer/Community service:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Summer Activities:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Essays:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Teacher Recommendation:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Counselor Rec:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Additional Rec:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Interview:</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]</p>

<p>[li] State (if domestic applicant):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Country (if international applicant):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] School Type:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Hispanic (Y/N):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Gender:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Income Bracket:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]</p>

<p>[li] Strengths:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Weaknesses:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:[/noparse]

[/quote]
</p>

2

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>]SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[</em>]ACT: 32
[<em>]SAT II: N/A
[</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
[<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/120
[</em>]AP (place score in parenthesis): English (4), Calculus (5), Biology (5), Statistics (5)
[<em>]IB (place score in parenthesis): Still haven’t received
[</em>]Senior Year Course Load: IB + AP
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Spanish club (Vice-president), Robotics (Captain), Science club (president), Math team (Vice-captain), Soccer team (captain)
[</em>]Job/Work Experience: N/A
[<em>]Volunteer/Community service: >200 hours
[</em>]Summer Activities: None.
[<em>]Essays: They were decent, especially the Stanford essays. The CommonApp essay was a story of how I recovered from a disease and how I went on to help others, not so great I guess.
[</em>]Teacher Recommendation: Probably 9/10 at the least.
[<em>]Counselor Rec: 9/10
[</em>]Additional Rec: N/A
[li]Interview: N/A</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other:[ul]
[<em>]State (if domestic applicant): GA
[</em>]Country (if international applicant): USA
[<em>]School Type: Public
[</em>]Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): Asian
[<em>]Hispanic (Y/N): N
[</em>]Gender: Male
[<em>]Income Bracket: $50-000-75,000
[</em>]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection:[ul]
[<em>]Strengths: I guess the Stanford essays, recommendations and my ACT?
[</em>]Weaknesses: My GPA, the commonApp essay, and maybe no awards? Not sure lol
[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: There were definitely well qualified applicants, much more well qualified than me, and as the letter has stated - thousands of brilliant applicants get rejected. This is just what I feel though.
[</em>]Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UCLA (accepted), Harvard (rejected), Brown (rejected), Georgia Tech (waitlisted), UGA (accepted)</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments:
Congratulations to all of you who were accepted, you guys will do great things at Stanford! I’m not disappointed by the decision, actually, despite waiting in anticipation. Especially after reading the letter that they sent to us who were rejected, I really don’t feel so bad. And for all of you who were rejected, remember one thing: Everything happens for a reason, and happens for the good. And one last thing: Don’t give up, just keep moving forward. Please take the time to read the letter written by the Dean, it’s inspirational. Congratulations once again to all of you who have been accepted to Stanford!</p>

3

<p>[noparse]
Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): None
ACT: 33
SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on 8 AP Tests
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivar Calc, AP Gov, AP Macro, AP Physics, English IV, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Siemens Semis, Intel Semis, Intel ISEF, Published author, Published Researcher, Top 5 iPhone app international, founder of biotech company (YCombinator funding)
Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: Intern at Cisco and Facebook
Volunteer/Community service: Teacher
Summer Activities: Researcher at Local university (Science awards)
Essays: All excellent
Teacher Recommendation: All excellent
Counselor Rec: I feel like he screwed this up
Additional Rec: Excellent also
Interview: None</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): Asian
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $250k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Top 5 iPhone app, published author and researcher + science?</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Everything but grades, tests
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Idk man
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Reject - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Upenn, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, Duke, Pomona, USC, CMU, Northwestern, Rice, UC Berkeley, UCLA</p>

<p>Waitlist - MIT, UIUC, Cornell. </p>

<p>Accepted - UT Austin, Stony Brook (full ride)</p>

<p>General Comments: ■■■■■■ so hard it’s not even funny[/noparse]</p>

4

<p>[noparse]
Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): i forgot individual, 2270 superscore
ACT: 35
SAT II: 800 math2, 760 bio m, 770 physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top decile
AP (place score in parenthesis): calc bc 5 macro 5 chinese 5 bio 5 apush 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: ap stat, physics, chemistry, lit, environmental science + science research/senior senate
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a
Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): tennis captain (not sure yet our coach is weird), SRF president of NY chapter (), robotics, my website, math team, science research?, piano (quit 11th grade),
Job/Work Experience: online graphics business, online trading business
Volunteer/Community service: did a few hundred hours at various places (hospital, chinese school, robotics, etc)
Summer Activities: science research (+ some summer camps lke cty/awesomemath), graphics business
Essays: some were bad, some were good. I bsed my stanford ones since I knew I wasn’t going to get in.
Teacher Recommendation: Both probably decent.
Counselor Rec: I don’t think it was very good.
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): ASIAN
Hispanic (Y/N): NO
Gender: MALE
Income Bracket: i dont know
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): NEVER</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: ACT score, some satii’s?, teacher recs, some of my extracurriculars/job
Weaknesses: no hooks, asian male, asian male, counselor rec, little leadership?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: because its stanford. Not even mad.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Stern Business School NYU accepted, Stony Brook/RPI accepted, Cornell/uchicago/brown/uwash waitlist, everywhere else reject</p>

<p>General Comments:[/noparse]</p>

5

<p>Decision: Waitlisted
Objective: </p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2250 Superscore (720 CR 770 Math 760 Writing)
ACT: 31 Composite
SAT II: 760 U.S. History, 730 Math II, 670 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.976 Unweighted. School doesn’t do weighted GPA on a 4 scale but my weighted cumulative GPA out of 100 is about a 101.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7 / 527ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Human Geography, World History, U.S. History, Lang, Calculus BC, and Physics B
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Government, AP Macroeconomics, AP Psychology, AP Lit, AP Computer Science, Advanced Calculus 2, AP Statistics</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar With Distinction, GA Certificate of Merit, QuestBridge Prep Scholar, some school awards
Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):</p>

<p>NHS (10 - 12)
NPO I work with (12)
HIstory Bowl VP (11 -12)
Interact/Rotary Club (10 - 12)
Chess Club President (9-12)
Church Youth Program (K - 10)
First Chair Clarinetists ( 9 - 10 )
Academic Team (12)
Freshmen Mentor and Tutor ( 11 - 12 )
Philosophy Club Treasurer (12)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours through service clubs, NPO, and church.</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Wrote about losing weight the summer before my junior year and about spending time with friends and family and discovering new music. </p>

<p>Essays: It’s kind of hard to rate your own essays but here goes.</p>

<p>Common app: Wrote about how one of my parents thought I was a failure and how I learned to overcome it and accept myself and that parent.</p>

<p>Short answers: Can’t really say. I was really honest about what my favorite books, movies, authors, websites, and events were. I didn’t try to sound smart or sophisticated and put things that I was interested in.</p>

<p>Intellectual development/experience: I wrote about how watching T.V. at an early age taught me various things and got me interested in learning more about the world. </p>

<p>Roommate: I wrote about my passion for video games and how they helped me develop as a person.</p>

<p>What matters to you and why: I wrote about food and how it allows me be around the people I care about.</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: I never got to see them, but they were most likely very good. I’m close to both of my teachers.
Counselor Rec: A little better than generic probably. She got some of my teachers to write comments and reflections about me and used those to write my rec.
Additional Rec: I got my best friend to write me a peer rec. I got to see it, and I believe it was beautiful.
Interview: Didn’t get one.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): GA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): Asian
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$45,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: No clue
Weaknesses: SAT IIs, ECs are a bit lacking
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I honestly don’t know. Some of my friends who were more qualified than me got rejected.</p>

<p>Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UGA, GA Tech
Waitlisted: Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke
Rejected: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Penn</p>

<p>General Comments:[/noparse]
I am VERY shocked that I got waitlisted, considering how many qualified people applied. I made a CC account just to post this and give people hope that normal people do in fact have a chance of attending a top college. If you were like me, you may have spent hours reading CC and got depressed at how many people with 2300+ SAT scores and countless ECs got rejected. Please take this advice to heart: DO NO JUDGE YOUR WORTH ON WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE DONE. They may have had more resources and easier environments growing up. Regardless though, always strive to do what you can in your given circumstances. You will get into a good college somewhere else, and at the end of the day, it is what you do with your time in college and not the college itself that allows you to succeed. Be honest in your application, especially in questions that ask you about your favorite things, because honesty is what really shines through an application and college padding and pretentiousness are easy to spot. Good luck to future applicants and remember to always try your best no matter what.</p>

6

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (760 W, 750 CR, 690 M)
[</em>] ACT: 34
[<em>] SAT II: 730 Lit, 710 US
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 1 B+ in one semester of AP Calc BC, all A’s other wise
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/325-ish
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (4), US (5), Lit (5), Lang (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Comp Gov, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, AP Physics
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Girl Scout Gold and Silver awards, Scholastic Silver Keys (writing), AMC 10 school winner, first place in a Northwest-wide creative writing competition. Nothing SUPER major, but still something![/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years varsity water polo (team second in state twice, I was first team all conference and first team all state), 4 years club water polo, 2 years varsity swimming, 2 years varsity ultimate frisbee, 12 years of Girl Scouts, National Honor Society (Executive Council member), Spanish honor society, creative writing club (founder and president)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Lifeguarding since this past summer
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Girl Scout stuff, NHS, weekly peer tutoring (I’m in charge of the program), and then I’m on the student advisory council for a local charitable organization (there are about ten of us from a pretty big region).
[</em>] Summer Activities: Iowa Young Writers’ Studio.
[<em>] Essays: 10/10. My college counselor was floored by my common app essay, and since she obviously sees a fair number of those, I was quite pleased!
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read, but two of the best teachers I’ve ever had. I assume they were awesome.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Again, I didn’t read it, but my counselor is amazing, and she really tried to write to my character as an upstanding student/person :slight_smile:
[</em>] Additional Rec: NA
[<em>] Interview: She was fantastic. I definitely didn’t walk away feeling like, “Yeah, that cinched it for me!” But she was very warm and seemed to have had a fantastic experience at the school!
[</em>] Supplementary Material:NA[/ul]</p>

<p>Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): OR
Country (if international applicant): Nope
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[</em>] Gender: F
[<em>] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Upper-ish middle
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None[/ul]</p>

<p>Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: My essays; Girl Scouts; showing passion for writing
[</em>] Weaknesses: Not a ton of leadership. No hooks.
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No idea. I think it was the writing. I showed a passion for it, Stanford’s trying to grow their humanties programs, and I took a few little risks (nothing major, but funny) with my supplemental essays. I talked about “putting on my sassy pants” to deal with the know-it-all AP physics boys.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected: Dartmouth. Waitlisted: Brown. Accepted: some safeties, then Colorado College, Boston College, Tulane, Wesleyan, and STANFORD[/ul]</p>

<p>General Comments: I’ve been floating around for the past two and a half hours, totally bewildered. I don’t know how this happened. This is the best day. Particularly after the less than great news from Dartmouth and Brown yesterday, I wasn’t expecting this one bit. I think it really goes to show you that each school is looking to fill a specific niche, and I fit Stanford’s. Needless to say, I’m thrilled. Congratulations to accepted students, and to those who were rejected, I have no doubt you will end up some place FANTASTIC that will provide you with awesome opportunities.</p>

7

<p>[size=4]Decision: ACCEPTED[/size=4]</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 SS from 2 sittings (750 CR 690 M 760 W)</p>

<p>ACT:30 [not sent]</p>

<p>SAT II: 780 Literature & 760 French with Listening</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A BRITISH APPLICANT - All A*s GCSE & A2 predictions.</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): None, but probably one of the joint #1 based on exam results</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: English Literature, French, History, Latin A-levels.</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Silver in Intermediate UK Maths Challenge, World Challenge Leadership Award, LAMDA Bronze medal, and then some school awards/music grades - really nothing big!</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Panel member for national museum youth forum; Theatre - local/regional/national productions; Music: Orchestral - soloist and ensemble; Founded/ran 2 international culture clubs at school; Co-leader of school Book Club for younger students; Chinese and Japanese language classes on weekends/evenings; Editorial writer for online blog aimed at students; 2 years of club gymnastics; 1 year rowing crew for School VIII</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: 2 years of paid work in local retailers, 10-12 hours per week.</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: Weekly commitments as senior librarian at school library, 2 hrs/week for the past 4 years</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Cambridge University essay competition; National theatre residential course of rehearsals and productions in London; Travelling with family; Internship at marketing firm; Work experience at local bookstore.</p>

<p>Essays: Common App fine I think, at least I liked it(!!!), Plus I worked really hard on my supplement essays and I loved the questions but I guess you can never tell tbh</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: Latin and History teachers - both showed to me and I felt they were pretty much ideal!!! I honestly even found them touching - both teachers have known me since I was at least 14</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: I used my head of year as a counselor since we don’t really have them in British schools! She also used to teach me Latin. She wouldn’t let me see the reference itself, but the teacher has known me for 7 years, and she led an world challenge expedition that I took part in through school - I think she could write pretty well about me from these experiences</p>

<p>Additional Rec: None</p>

<p>Interview: Felt it went well! My interviewer was so lovely but she said she probably wouldn’t affect my admissions decision that much</p>

<p>Other:</p>

<p>Country (if international applicant): United Kingdom</p>

<p>School Type: State (public to Americans) & selective</p>

<p>Ethnicity: White</p>

<p>Gender: M</p>

<p>Income Bracket: Applying for financial aid so I thought that would ruin my chances since they’re needs-aware for me but ???</p>

<p>Hooks: None</p>

<p>Reflection:
Strengths: I mean I think my ECs and academics were pretty ordinary, but still very solid so I suppose that helped; Possibly being an international applicant helped for geographical diversity? </p>

<p>Weaknesses: I felt my Math SAT component was low but apparently it didn’t hold me back!!! I just honestly thought the competition was far too tough for people like me to stand a chance</p>

<p>Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/denied: I honestly could not say, and the fact that this is just one of a lot of acceptances baffles me all the more ahhhhhhhhhhhh</p>

<p>Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/denied: Accepted Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Columbia (likely letter and then John Jay Scholarship), and Duke; Waitlisted Dartmouth and UPenn; Rejected Princeton, Brown and Amherst</p>

<p>General Comments: DONT BE AFRAID INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. I AM NOTHING REMARKABLE BUT I GOT ACCEPTED TO MORE PLACES THAN I EVER COULD HAVE IMAGINED. YOU GOT THIS.</p>

8

<p>[noparse]
Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown):
2180
Math: 730
Critical Reading: 690
Writing: 760
ACT: N/A
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
top decile (top 10%) (all my school does is decile ranking)
AP (place score in parenthesis):
Calculus BC: 4, Biology 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:
Honors Physics, AP English Literature, AP Comparative Government, AP U.S. Government, A.P. Spanish Language and Culture, Peace and Justice/ Marriage and Family (religion req. at my school), P.E. (req.)
multivariable calculus (community college), C++ programming (community college),
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Eagle Scout w/ 4 palms, National Merit Commended, State and National Scholarship Winner
Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Boy Scouts (Senior Patrol Leader)
JV/Varsity Basketball
JV/Varsity Lacrosse
JV/Varsity Football (TC)
AAU Varsity Basketball
Robotics
National Honor Society
California Scholarship Federation (won scholarship)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: </p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: (500+ hours (somewhere between 500 & 1000 hours)
Fully fundraised effort to go to Nicaragua and build a school and work w/ children
Volunteered working in kindergarten classroom (won Matt Scheckel Scholarship)
Renovated 30 benches at facility I volunteered at when I noticed they needed this service, fundraising all the money and asking local businesses for supplies and leading the project.
Volunteered in program aimed at improving reading levels of elementary school kids, serving as a one on one tutor.
Fostered kittens and worked as feline caretaker to get cats adopted
Volunteered in elderly facility for elderly w/ memory problems
Worked in various nature restoration projects</p>

<p>Summer Activities:
Went to summer camps for Boy Scouts, summer camps for science stuff, Nicaragua service, did bench restoration project,<br>
Essays: 9.5/10
Teacher Recommendation: 9.5/10
Counselor Rec: idk
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): White
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 20,000-40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Not quite.
Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths:
extracurriculars, grades, leadership (boy scouts and community service project leader), teacher recs, essays
Weaknesses: sat scores, white male
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: low sats
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
accepted: uc davis w/ regents, waitlisted Harvey Mudd College
General Comments:[/noparse]</p>

9

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>I hope this helps someone!</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown):2350 (800 M, 750 CR, 800 Writing 10 Essay)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 770 US History, 790 Physics
Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.08 (unweighted much lower)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank (but I’m around 10/100)
AP (place score in parenthesis): BC Calc, US History, Physics, English Lang, French (All 5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): 6 in IB History
Senior Year Course Load: IB Math HL, IB Economics HL, IB Chemistry, IB English HL, IB French Literature, TOK, Band/Jazz Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, National Merit Scholar Semifinalist, AIME qualifier, National Jazz Music Awards (but with my school’s jazz band not by myself), All State/Region Jazz Bands</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Lots of Music- Jazz Band competes at very high level nationally (Lead Trombone)
Newspaper (Middle School Managing Editor and Humor Editor)
Asian Diversity Club (President)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Alot of volunteerism in teaching
Summer Activities: Volunteering in China, YFU Summer Germany, Rutgers Jazz Institute
Essays: (If you want to read them PM me)
Common App - 7.5/10 (I liked it, and also didn’t like it… but most people said it was good)
Intellectual Vitality - 8.5/10 (wrote about experiences in Germany meeting new people)
Roommate - 9.5/10 (I worked so hard on this one… it was funny and enjoyable. After so many drafts I realized I had to just be myself!)
What Matters - 8.5/10 (Wrote about music and jazz and how it was important to me. It came from the heart)
Teacher Recommendation: Never read, but probably really good!
Counselor Rec: New counselor who I didn’t know long, but we bonded quickly so hopefully it was good!
Additional Rec: Sent in one from where I volunteered, and also another teacher
Interview: Wasn’t offered one</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): Asian
Hispanic (Y/N):N
Gender:
Income Bracket: Above Average
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Absolutely nothing
Other Accepted from school: 1</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Passion, Good Essays, Test Scores, Music, Unusual EC’s (volunteerism/teaching)/ Leadership, Very humorous tone to the application
Weaknesses: GPA, lack of major leadership positions, no huge awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays, Music, Community Service. I really wanted to go, I was passionate about everything I did, and I tried to show that to Stanford!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: UChicago, Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton
Waitlisted: Columbia, Harvard
Rejected: UPenn Wharton (From deferral), MIT</p>

<p>General Comments:
I hate to be cliche, but future applicants: don’t ever give up! People told me I couldn’t get in to any HYPSM school. My parents, some friends, and worst of all myself. And here I am with my dream school Stanford, and other great acceptances.
The odds were stacked against me: Asian… NJ… low GPA…sparse leadership positions…other great applicants from my school. But I just worked with what I had, put it all I had on the line, tried my hardest, and it paid off.
Also I’m sure it’s the essays that helped me get in. I worked so hard on them, I would stay up late into the night trying new drafts and perfecting them.
When you want something really bad and you work hard enough, it is possible to get it.</p>

10

<p>Decision: Deferred → Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (730CR 770M 730 W)
ACT: 35
SAT II: Chemistry 720 Biology E 750 US History 780 Math II 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~10-15/500
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5), European History (5), Human Geography (5), Statistics (5), Biology (5), Psychology (4), Environmental Science (4), Chemistry (4), US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics B, AP English Literature, AP US Government/ AP Macroeconomics, AP Comp Sci, Music History, AP Calculus BC
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nationals in Public Forum Debate, NFL All-State Top 10 (TN) - Outstanding Distinction, National Merit Finalist, National AP Scholar
Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Team (JV Captain (11), Varsity Captain (12)), Model United Nations (ICJ Justice (11), President of the International Court of Justice (12)), Youth in Government (Supreme Court Justice), Ultimate Frisbee, 12 years of guitar, 4 years of self-taught piano
Job/Work Experience: 7 week internship at a law firm
Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hours as a public library volunteer Freshman and Sophomore year
Summer Activities: Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies at the University of Memphis, Boys State, American Legion Boys Nation
Essays: I worked on them much more than all of my other schools applied to, and really put my heart into it, and it came easy to me, to the extent that writing them was fun.
Teacher Recommendation: Physics teach (10/10) and Gov teach (10/10)
Counselor Rec:Gifted counselor (11/10)
Additional Rec:
Interview:</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): TN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large pretty competitive public
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): Asian (indian)
Hispanic (Y/N): Nope
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Essays, Recs, ECs
Weaknesses: GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Marquette, Tennessee, Virginia, Michigan, Vanderbilt (CV Scholar & College Scholar), Stanford
Waitlisted: UChicago, Dartmouth, WashU, Harvard
Rejected: Northwestern, Brown, Columbia, UPenn, Yale, Princeton, Duke</p>

<p>General Comments: Just can’t believe it. This was my best app, but man I never expected to get into my top school and not get into so many others.</p>

11

<p>Late to post this but here it is. To any future hopefuls reading, I should prove that test scores don’t make or break you. </p>

<p>Decision: Deferred —> Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): N/A</p>

<p>ACT: 31</p>

<p>SAT II: 640 on both Lit and Bio E</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/270-ish</p>

<p>AP: APES (5), APUSH (4), AP Lang (4), AP World (5). These are all my school offers to 10/11 graders.</p>

<p>IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc A/B, AP Bio, Marine Bio, AP Human Geo, Adv. Band, AP U.S. Gov, AP Lit, Jazz Ensemble</p>

<p>Major Awards: Nothing huge. 2 time student of the month, three music related awards, nationally certified scientific interpreter </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Marching band (Drum Major), Concert band (1st chair trumpet), Jazz Ensemble, Key Club (President, 2 years), Pit Orchestra, Music Council (President), a math/science geared academy for top tier kids that’s within my school, and a special student/admin advisory board at my school</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Lab Intern with the CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife and Summer camp counselor with my city</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: 750+ hours, mostly with the Monterey Bay Aquarium </p>

<p>Summer Activities: Employee at overnight summer camp</p>

<p>Essays: Made sure each one addressed different topics/ideas/experiences to convey my depth of the ever so coveted “intellectual vitality.” Also aligned one with the major I indicated as my first choice. Really struggled for awhile with letter to roommate and intellectual vitality, but if you don’t struggle with some, you’re doing it wrong!</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: 9/10 (AP Hug and 7th grade history teacher) and 10/10 (AP Lang teacher)</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: 3/10 - It was so obviously form</p>

<p>Additional Rec: 10/10 (Summer camp boss who has known me since I was 10)</p>

<p>Interview: N/A</p>

<p>Other:</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Race(s): White
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100-150k
Hooks: First gen</p>

<p>Reflection:</p>

<p>Strengths: GPA, range of extracurriculars/volunteer service, and recommendations</p>

<p>Weaknesses: Test scores and some of my writing</p>

<p>Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think my internship and aquarium volunteer experience had a lot to do with it. Those are with pretty prestigious institutions. I also put a ton of passion into improving my school’s music program, so much so that my teacher recommenders noticed and validated it in their letters. </p>

<p>Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UC Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Santa Cruz, Davis, Cal Poly, Santa Clara. Waitlisted at UCLA (lol)</p>

<p>General Comments: Can’t wait to go! I still can’t get over the shock and I never thought that this would really happen. Future Stanford applicants, start thinking about it early and strategically plan out your essays to cover lots different stuff and make yourself as interesting as possible. If it’s your clear first choice, I recommend applying early as long as you can have your ducks in a row by October. That way, you’ll be out of direct competition with fellow classmates at your school (assuming few others apply early) and if you are deferred you’ll have a leg up on those who apply regular. </p>

12

<p>Decision: Deferred –> Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2340, M:800, R:740, W:800 (Essay 12)
ACT: 35 E:35, M:35, R:34 S:36 (Essay 9)
SAT II: Math II:800, Biology 740 Chemistry 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.984 (Got first B senior year…:frowning: )
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unweighted in the top 3
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB(5), APUSH(5), APGEO(5), Stats(4), AP Calc BC(5), AP Biology (4), AP Chemistry (4), AP Macroecon(4), AP American Literature (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, Engineering, AP Language, Latin IV, AP Physics, AP Government
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): SIEMENS Semi-Finalist, ISEF 1st Place Team Awards, Published science paper in Harvard’s Journal for Emerging Investigators, project presented at NA-ISMET (international science conference) among other small local/state awards</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
President of school science club and worked hard to help setup student-run lab for other students, captain of Swim/Dive, Rowing, Vocalist for Choir at one point, founder of nonprofit (inspiration from my science fair)
Job/Work Experience: Interned at local research center for experience, Habitat for Humanity council
Volunteer/Community service: Hospital volunteer for 2-3 years, church stuff
Summer Activities: theater camp, science fair, running, counting cards, raspberry pi stuff, documentary filming and other cool things :)))
Essays: Common App: Talked about an how an accident changed my outlook on life (8), for extracurriculars, I talked about my involvement and leadership in the science club (8), Intellectual Vitality: Talked about my research with fuel cells and how I was so driven internally to figure it out (9-10), Roommate Essay: Super laid-back and talked about how I take 30 minutes showers and sing taylor swift among other random details that defined me. Ended with #Stanford2018 haha (8), What Matters: I said people matters and our relationships with each other. It doesn’t matter what one does in life, as long as it benefits someone else and is driven from a passion for humanity. I was super transparent and didn’t hold back my inner thoughts (9). I also submitted an optional update which emphasized my research and current activities, pretty much reinforcing what the Adcoms already knew
Teacher Recommendation: Biology Teacher (7-8?) She was nice about it and knew of my research experience and was enthusiastic to help, History Teacher (8-9) Loved me and is an excellent writer so that definitely helped a lot
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read but probably pretty generic
Additional Rec: From the professor who gave me lab space in Sophomore year, and worked with me on building up the lab and science club - assumed it was professional and praiseworthy
Interview: Talked for 90 minutes at Caribou! She was super friendly and nice (it was my first college interview) and was super bubbly! She wore ALL Stanford gear! We are still in touch!</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): Asian
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100000-120000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Absolutely none, maybe science research and passion for humanities as well?</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Research, open-mindedness, intellectual vitality essay, not your typical asian american
Weaknesses: Asian male, engineering major (probably will change),
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I honestly think that Stanford saw my passion for energy and impacting the world. All my essays revolved around this. I loved my research and wanted to make the world better and my activities and extracurriculars backed it up.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: State school full ride, USC (presidential scholar), UC Berkeley, Duke
Waitlisted: UPenn
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT</p>

<p>General Comments: Guys, dreams do come true. Thank you, College Confidential Community, for being such a support through the years. You are part of the reason I got into Stanford. To those who were denied admission, I totally empathize with you - all the ivies denied me too and I was so depressed with life, believing I had no chance at Stanford. During my time in limbo, I cried, mulled, and kept asking why why why why why…? And I realized that it ultimately wouldn’t matter where I went, as long as I had a direction in my heart. Most of the world’s most successful people like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs didn’t need the Ivies or Stanford to change the world, because they had the passion and drive to succeed, which is ultimately what is matters. And that starts with you. Of course I can’t complain - Stanford is definitely a great platform and I am so humbled to have gotten in, but I also realize that my undergraduate education should not define me, even if that undergraduate education IS Stanford, one of the best schools in the world. So I guess in parting, rejects: don’t get down on yourself; there is a full life ahead of you and once your make millions, it won’t even matter where you went to college. Waitlist peeps: Keep your head up in case Stanford calls you, but be realistic at the same time so you go to college next year. Admits: Congrats! We made it! It’s be a wonderful rollercoaster of a journey and I am so glad it’s over. Time to change the world :slight_smile: (btw if you need help with essays, definitely check out chalky.co. They have real essays that worked!)</p>

<p>NB: I was deferred before but accepted now. It was really depressing at first but I realized it was an opportunity to really showcase myself (even though I got a fricken B first semester of senior year). But passion trumps everything - do what you love because you love it, not because colleges “think” it’s cool. Here’s a great article for future deferees: <a href=“Deferred gratification”>http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/03/06/deferred-gratification/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Peace out homies </p>

13

<p>** Decision: Waitlisted Major: Chem E **</p>

<p>Objective: [ul]</p>

<p>[<em>]SAT I (breakdown): 2250 740/770/77-
[</em>]ACT: nope
[<em>]SAT II: Chem: 710, Spanish 670 (ouch), Math II 770
[</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/380
[</em>]AP (place score in parenthesis): All 5’s: Chem, Calc B/C, English Language Spanish.
[<em>]IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>]Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Literature, AP Gov/Econ. Physics H
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]</p>

<p>Subjective:[ul]</p>

<p>[<em>]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Badminton team (9-12, Captain 11-12), Robotics Team (10-12, Founder/Team Leader), Environmental Club Member, Students Against Human Trafficking Member, Art Club Member
[</em>]Job/Work Experience: worked as camp counselor at science/tech summer camp for 2 years, interned at same camp for 2 years before that.
[<em>]Volunteer/Community service: uhhhh tutoring? some relay for life, nuthing much.
[</em>]Summer Activities: my job experience
[<em>]Essays: reallllyyyyy gooood. they showcased my personality and my writing skills
Common App: talked about my summer job, and how I find it really fulfilling to excite kids about technology. fit into the “place where content” one.
expand on EC: robotics ----> teamwork
Idea important to intellectual vitality: DFTBA and nerdfighteria. go look it up. :smiley:
Note to roommate: fun, about how I like to try new things
What matters, why?: nature, earth, environmental protection, etc. cute anecdote about me as a kid saving pillpugs.
the short answers: just had fun with them.
[</em>]Teacher Recommendation: one was really good, the other was ok, i think
[<em>]Counselor Rec: generic
[</em>]Additional Rec: employer rec from summer job. quite good.
[li]Interview: nope[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Other[ul]</p>

<p>[<em>]State (if domestic applicant): CA
[</em>]Country (if international applicant):
[<em>]School Type: medium sized, noncompetitive
[</em>]Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): asian indian
[<em>]Hispanic (Y/N): N
[</em>]Gender: F
[<em>]Income Bracket: 150,000
[</em>]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first gen
[/ul]</p>

<p>Reflection[ul]</p>

<p>[<em>]Strengths: strong GPA, acceptable test scores, PERSONALITY IN ESSAYS. also i am consistent in my EC’s, having done robotics for like 5 years and then teaching it over the summer.
[</em>]Weaknesses: not a ton of leadership. I don’t have a laundry list, no impressive awards or cool EC’s.
[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I place it on my essays… What else could it be? I don’t have the strongest EC’s, so I put full responsibility of me even getting a waitlist on my personality in my essays.
[</em>]Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: UC Berkeley, Davis, LA, SB, SC, Cal Poly Slo. Rejected: MIT Caltech
[/ul]</p>

<p>General Comments: Will not be taking the waitlist spot haha someone else can have it. I’m probably going to Davis for financial reasons. Also I was not at all expecting a waitlist! It’s a pleasant surprise that they think I’m worth at least some time, and I think its proof that normal people have a chance. Congrats to those who got in, don’t worry to those who didn’t. It’s gonna be ok, you’re gonna be happy. :D</p>

14

<p>[noparse]</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): Reading 600 Math 730 Writing 610
ACT: 28
SAT II: Bio-M 680 Math II 680 Literature 550
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/562
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (2), English Language (3), US History (3), Euro History (3), Biology (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: English 4 AP, Studio Art AP, US Gov AP, Macro Econ AP, Calc AB AP, Physics AP, Spanish 4 AP, Mock Trial
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Lots of state level awards</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Academic Decathlon (president), MESA, California Scholarship Federation (treasurer, fundraising/volunteer chair, publicist), Mock Trial (captain), Key Club, Track & Field, Cross-Country, Tennis, Leading the Youth, Care Givers
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: >200
Summer Activities: 5 community college courses over the past 4 years, 4.0
Essays: Very strong common app essay about my fish tank/aquarium, my letter to my roommate supplement essay was EXCELLENT (in my opinion and that of my friends and teachers), the second two supplement essays were weak
Teacher Recommendation: I guess these were strong, from my mock trial coach and from my bio teacher who recently moved across the country, emailed him for a letter
Counselor Rec: Strong, she knows me very well through my involvement in school
Additional Rec: Average, my art teacher who I had just met
Interview: None</p>

<p>Other:</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI):
Hispanic (Y/N): Yes
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 30K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation, however I didn’t mention this (other than the questions about my parents and their education) or play off it</p>

<p>Reflection:</p>

<p>Strengths: Extra curricular involvement in clubs of every type, especially volunteering organizations. I attempted to portray a strong sense that I know what I want to do in life and have gone out of my way to get experience and learn more about the field (biology, college courses).
Weaknesses: Comparably lower scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Involvement and dedication despite limited resources
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected from Princeton. Waitlisted for Harvard and Columbia. Accepted to UCSD, UCSC, Berkeley, UCI, Cal Lutheran, Cornell, uPenn, and Stanford.</p>

<p>General Comments: Seeing this discussion and knowing many qualified students, I am amazed at the amount of outstandingly brilliant students who are not accepted into their top choice schools despite effort and dedication. However, I think these students cannot be deterred from succeeding regardless of rejections and setbacks. </p>

<p>[/noparse]</p>

15

<p>Decision: ACCEPTED!</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2210 SS: 770 CR, 740 Math, 700 Writing
SAT II: 780 Biology M, 730 Math II (Later improved to a 780, but didn’t send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99 (1 B+ Freshman Year)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st Decile, class of 601
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (5), AP Computer Science (4), AP Composition (5), AP Biology (4), AP US History (5), AP Calculus AB (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Government, AP Statistics, AP Literature, AP Psychology, AP Physics B, and Student Gov.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major. AP Scholar with Distinction, Torch of Excellence in U.S. History, 3rd in District Rotary Speech Competition</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Whiteboard Education (Founder and Developer, <a href=“http://whiteboardeducation.org”>http://whiteboardeducation.org</a>, 3,000 students registered), The Investing Academy (Founder and Developer, <a href=“http://theinvestingacademy”>http://theinvestingacademy</a>, over 14,000 users worldwide + top ranked iPhone app in Finance), Student Government (Technology Director), National Honor Society (Tutoring Coordinator), Model United Nations (Secretary General), Mock Trial (Prosecution Attorney), Speech and Debate (Treasurer) </p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Paid Engineering Intern at Quip (<a href=“http://quip.com”>http://quip.com</a>). Moved up to SF, rented an apartment, and lived and worked on my own throughout the summer. Developed the core “mentions” feature of the Quip app, which allows you to link documents, users, and folders together in threads.</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: Organized after school tutoring weekly and developed an entire online tutoring system (part of the “Whiteboard” project), with a free National Honor Society tutor available in any subject.</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Summer Internship @ Quip and Living in San Francisco, Teaching Myself To Code, Developing Whiteboard and The Investing Academy</p>

<p>Essays: </p>

<p>Common App - What drove me to develop Whiteboard and how originally it was a catastrophic failure, but how I grew and learned from it and turned it around years later. Honestly this one went through so many revisions that eventually it lost my voice and sounded generic. (6/10)</p>

<p>Stanford Extracurricular: Explaining what Investing Academy was and how it grew to have worldwide impact, and how we used it on campus. This too lost my natural voice as I was trying to fit so much into 150 characters. (6/10)</p>

<p>Stanford Intellectual Vitality: How I first learned to code, as it was pretty unconventional (no KhanAcademy or edX at the time). Described more my philosophy towards learning. It had some typos though, and may have come off as naive. (6/10)</p>

<p>Stanford Future Roommate: How my desk and my notebook reflect who I am and how I think. This was my personal favorite. (8/10)</p>

<p>Stanford “What Matters?”: How, as an agnostic, I derive meaning in impact in change, and how that relates to everything I have done, especially in technology. Probably the best Stanford essay I did. (8/10)</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendations: </p>

<p>APUSH Teacher - Most likely very good. He knew me the most personally and academically (got the academic award in his class, after all), and was also my MUN advisor, helping me increase membership 5x and take us to our first conference. He does write TONS of letters though, so theres a chance it was generic, and I wouldn’t blame him though. </p>

<p>Biology Teacher - Unsure, hope it was good! I didn’t know her very personally, but was a top student in her class. </p>

<p>Counselor Rec: Should be pretty good! Didn’t know each other very personally, but have been talking to her and getting advice since freshman year. Also did a lot of tech. stuff for the guidance office, and she wanted to write about the impact Whiteboard has had on our campus.</p>

<p>Additional Rec: Fantastic. From Bret Taylor, the CEO of Quip and Ex-CTO of Facebook (also, inventor of Google Maps). I got to know him pretty well over the summer, and he thought I was better than any college-level intern he’s had at Facebook or Google. Also, being an alumni of the Stanford CS department always helps :)</p>

<p>Interview: CA Resident, so my interview was waived.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Race: Iranian
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $130,000-$140,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Internship in Silicon Valley, Whiteboard</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Definitely my EC’s. A lot of CS projects that showed my passion, initiative, and determination. My grades and coursework were very strong too. Also my letters of rec. I think were great overall.</p>

<p>Weaknesses: Test scores (pretty low for Stanford, at least) and essays</p>

<p>Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My extracurriculars (esp. Whiteboard and my internship at Quip), and the personal vision I portrayed in my essays. </p>

<p>Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waitlisted at Dartmouth, Princeton, MIT, and Harvard.</p>

<p>General Comments: I found out yesterday, and the excitement has far from worn off (I’m finally calm enough to type this out though). After getting waitlisted by all the Ivy’s I didn’t even think this was a possibility. Stanford’s been the dream for such a long time, and getting in is still surreal. My only advice would be to do what your passionate about - Stanford will notice. Also, spend as much time as possible on your essays, but don’t freak out if you don’t feel their not perfect. Mine where somewhat generic and even had a few typos, and I was freaking out the last three months thinking I blew it. As long as your essays convey who you are and what you want do in life, Stanford is within your reach. </p>

<p>I’ve been lurking for the last four years, but made this account just to post. If you’re a future applicant reading this, I hope it helped somehow, and good luck! It’s been good CollegeConfidential. Time to finally move forward. :)</p>

16

<p>Socalpapa - Sorry! I should have caught that error. I copied my post almost exactly from another RD decisions thread, and while I did remember to change some Stanford-specific things, I missed the detail about my ACT. Yes you’re correct - I did send my ACT to Stanford, and I sent it to Brown too, however those were the only 2 schools. :)</p>

17

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<pre><code>SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT: 35 (35 E, 36 M, 33 R, 36 S)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Music Theory (5), APUSH (5), AP Micro (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Stats (4), AP Lang (4), AP CS (5), AP Comp Gov (5), AP Chem (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, AP Lit, AP Bio, Spanish 5, AP Physics, AP Gov, AP Macro, Psychology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
</code></pre>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<pre><code>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years on the boys’ high school swim and dive team, senior year NHS
Job/Work Experience: Kumon over the last summer, recreational soccer referee since freshman year
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at local library since sophomore year
Summer Activities: Swimming and programming
Essays: In my opinion, really, really good. It’d make for some great sample essays in the typical “How to Write A College Essay” book. Too bad they apparently weren’t persuasive enough. I thought the essays had more weight than that.
Teacher Recommendation: I knew one of my recommending teachers since sophomore year and met the other at the end of junior year. Haven’t seen the rec letters.
Counselor Rec: Haven’t seen the counselor rec
Additional Rec: None
Interview: The interview went well. The interviewer was an engineering major and we really “clicked” on a lot of topics. It couldn’t have gone better.
</code></pre>

<p>Other</p>

<pre><code>State (if domestic applicant): MN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public school that graduates ~800 per year
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): Asian
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~200K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
</code></pre>

<p>Reflection</p>

<pre><code>Strengths: Objective stats, Essays
Weaknesses: Lack of leadership positions, typical Asian applicant
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I wasn’t impressive enough.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to U Minnesota, U Wisconsin, U Illinois, UCLA, USC; Waitlisted at CMU (SCS); Rejected from Duke, Harvard, MIT (deferred EA), Princeton, Berkeley, UChicago (deferred EA), UPenn
</code></pre>

<p>General Comments: College admissions does NOT favor the late-bloomers. (I might write up a thread about this.) I was a freakin’ introvert freshman and sophomore years and neglected to try new things. The result? The best I could be was a boring applicant with great test scores. I wish I could travel back in time and tell myself to snap out of my introverted shell and do stuff like get elected to the student council or join speech and debate, but now I only have the future to look forward to. Anyways, congrats to those admitted.</p>

18

<p>Decision: Waitlisted </p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t send.
[</em>] ACT (breakdown): 35 (36M, 34S, 34E, 34R, 12 essay)
[<em>] SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 (Math II), 740 (Chemistry)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0. Weighted: 4.59
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
[</em>] AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry (4), U.S. Gov (self study 4), English Language (self study 4), Spanish Lang (4), Biology (3)
[<em>] IB (place score in parentheses):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs, 1 Honors, and 1 elective
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended, some other local awards.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): President of National Honor Society, President of Tutoring Club, President of Cultural Club, Founder/President of Technology Club, Work at consulting firm, research at university lab and published abstracts, section leader of section in band, tennis team, and a lot more.
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: I have had 3 jobs. 1 or 2 pretty unique ones.
[</em>] Volunteer/Community Service: Listed above.
[<em>] Summer Activities: Research internships, work, volunteering, and intern at NPR.
[</em>] Essays: Common app essay: 9.5. Stanford supplement: 9.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendations: English teacher of two years: 10. AP science teacher: 9.5
[</em>] Counselor Rec: probably better than any other recs she wrote, so in relation to other applicants from my school, probably 10. But, since it’s a public school, the rec probably doesn’t compare to some of the ones that private school counselors write.
[<em>] Additional Rec: from research mentor, he doesn’t really know how to write a rec, but besides that: 10.
[</em>] Interview:
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: below 50k.
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy, Dad got PhD from there.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: GPA, ACT, extracurriculars, Common app essay.
[<em>] Weaknesses: AP scores, awards.
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: [li] Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted: Columbia, Cornell, Berkeley, UCLA, WashU, and Rice. Waitlisted: Northwestern, and Stanford. Rejected: Yale, Penn, Duke, Harvard, and Princeton. [/li][/ul]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
Everyone has a chance, just apply to see what happens. For the ivies, make sure you spread yourself and do not apply to just a few schools, because they are so random. Kinda annoyed that the legacy didn’t get me in because I thought that I was a competitive applicant but I guess that being legacy does not actually help that much.</p>

19

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (680 CR, 690 M, 730 W)
[</em>] ACT: 29
[<em>] SAT II: Spanish 800, Math L2 630, and US History 610
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/327
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Spanish Language (5), AP Spanish Lit (5), AP Calc AB (4), AP English Lang (4), & AP US History (3)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Chemistry, AP Calc BC, AP Literature, & regular Economics/Gov.
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge Finalist, National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar, AP Scholar w/Distinction, & the President’s Volunteer Service Award
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Tennis (4 years, varsity for last two, several awards from coaches)
Track & Field (4 years, varsity distance runner)
ASB (last 2 years, current), Senior Class Vice President, HOBY and Camp Royal leadership camps
Piano (2 years -received a 2-year scholarship for lessons, self taught afterwards)
Church worship group (lead vocalist, participated for two years)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: About 150 hours in varying projects (230 if my worship group involvement is counted as service).
[<em>] Summer Activities: Stanford EPGY
[</em>] Essays:
-Questbridge: I’m a native from an under-developed country (not specifying). Barely moved to USA four years ago. Wrote my essays about growing up in such country and about how moving to USA redefined my character.
-Common App: Used a polished version of my shorter Questbridge essay.
-EC essay: Wrote about my passion for tennis.
-Intellectual vitality: Wrote about my first piano recital.
-Roommate note: Rushed it the night of the deadline (Quesbridge National Match deadline, same as SCEA). Came out weird, could’ve been better.
-What matters to you and why: Wrote about my religion. Same situation as roommate essay.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read, but good.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read either. Good as well.
[<em>] Additional Rec: From my tennis coach. Definitely good.
[</em>] Interview: N/A
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State: CA
[</em>] School Type: Public. About 1500 students total.
[<em>] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket: $50-$80k
[</em>] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): URM, Questbridge finalist, & resident of a rural/underrepresented area
[/ul]Reflection[list]
[<em>] Strengths: Some thoughtful/unique essays + high GPA + decent ECs that I care about. I did the best I could given my background.
[</em>] Weaknesses: Some rushed essays + low test scores + no outstanding ECs + no big awards
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: See weaknesses. Also, God didn’t want me there. I believe He could’ve gotten me in if He wanted to (despite my weaknesses), but I guess He has different plans for me. :stuck_out_tongue:
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at USC (Trustee Scholar :D), UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara (Honors Program). Waitlisted at Berkeley (chemical engineering), Princeton, and Brown. Rejected at UCLA (chemical engineering), Pomona College, and Harvard.
[*] General Comments: Stanford was my “dream school.” Everyone thought I’d get in, but I knew better. I feel like other people are more disappointed than I am; I’ve made my peace. After receiving my early acceptance notice from USC, I gradually fell in love with the school. I’m confident that God has a purpose for me there, and I couldn’t be happier to become a Trojan. :smiley: Congrats to all Stanford admits! :)</p>

20

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2160 didn’t send
ACT: 35 composite 33 english, 34 math, 35 reading, 36 science
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 770 Physics and US history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/174
AP (place score in parenthesis):US History (5), Calc BC (5), Physics B (5), English Language (5), Microeconomics (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP English Lit, AP Physics C, AP Stats, Band, Spanish III
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): High altitude ballooning club, lighting for shows
Job/Work Experience: worked at a Caltech facility over the summer
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer lighting
Summer Activities: Stanford’s EPGY for 3 summers before my Caltech job
Essays: Most were pretty good, talked about my ballooning stuff and just who I am as a person.
Teacher Recommendation: A great one from my English teacher who likes me and who also coached me in cross-country for two years and a pretty good one from a math teacher who thinks I’m the best math student in the school.
Counselor Rec: Don’t know but probably pretty good
Additional Rec: NA
Interview: NA</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Rural Public
Race(s) (White, AA, AI/AN, Asian, NH/PI): White
Hispanic (Y/N): N
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~100-150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not really, just a well rounded candidate.</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: ACT score, good extracurriculars
Weaknesses: Essays weren’t the best
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: literally blind luck
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Caltech, Berkeley, Stanford (by date), Rejected: MIT(after being deferred)</p>

<p>General Comments: So happy. I am very glad to have gotten in, but really don’t know why they chose me over some of the rejected applicants in this thread. With a 5.07% acceptance rate I just got lucky.</p>