***Official Stanford Class of 2019 RD Results Only Thread***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
41

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

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (800 Math, 800 Reading, 750 Writing)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 in everything)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 790 Bio M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.83
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s in everything - Calc AB/BC, Bio, Chem, Physics B, Euro, APUSH, Lang, Compsci
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Physics C, AP Gov/Econ, AP Chinese, IB Compsci HL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Science Olympiad National Champions

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girl Scouts (Gold Award), Science Olympiad (team captain), Aikido (Black Belt, 1st Dan)
Job/Work Experience: Interned at Caltech Kavli Nanoscience Institute
Volunteer/Community service: see Gold Award
Summer Activities: see internship
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Most of my essays were average (6-8), but I had one extremely witty and standout one.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 9-10

Teacher Rec #1: 10 (my Calc teacher, who I had as a freshman, and I ate lunch in his class with a bunch of other kids like every day)
Teacher Rec #2: 8-9 (my APUSH teacher. I think he liked me because I was one of the few kids in 0 period that didn’t fall asleep)
Counselor Rec: 7 (she liked me, but we didn’t know each other too well)
Additional Rec: 8-10 (AP Physics B teacher; he has a bit of an unfair habit of spoiling the Scioly kids - which worked out in my favor, I guess)
Interview: X

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, but probably won’t get anything
Intended Major: Compsci/Electrical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: High

Reflection

Strengths: Great numbers/recs, plus a solid essay, and a few extracurriculars that I really loved
Weaknesses: Most essays were average - probably would be tossed in the pile with the rest had it not been for the one awesome one
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably that essay, since I had friends with similar awesome numbers who were rejected
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UC Berkeley (going there), Caltech, UCLA; waitlisted at MIT (again, the essays were mediocre)

42

Decision: Accepted!!!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (750CR 800M 760W; 8E), only took once
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math2, 780 Chem, 690 USH (can’t remember if I submitted the last one or not)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98; weighted 4.70
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/~180
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5), Chem (5), Calc BC (5), Lang (5), USH (5), Psych (5, sef-studied), Euro (3 whoops) Physics C: Mech, Lit, US Gov, Spanish Lang
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mech, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Spanish, Honors Religion, Honors Music Theory, Writing elective (first semester), free (second semester cause senioritis?)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/distinction; AIME qualifier, USABO semifinalist, TEAMS national competition qualifier, maybe some other stuff-- don’t remember

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): youth orchestra 3 years (principal flute), mock trial 3 years (captain), biology olympiad (founder/president), math club 4 years, random chamber music groups with friends
Job/Work Experience: mainly tutoring, brief paid internship w/research mentor
Volunteer/Community service: tutored underprivileged kids in community, played flute at community events
Summer Activities: 8-week course @ UC Berkeley, biology research @ my high school, volunteering/tutoring
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app 8 (first prompt, really showed my love/appreciation for opportunities and awareness of privilege); supplements 6-8 maybe? (most of my essays were written about my love for music and desire to delve deeper into everything I learn, so consistent themes throughout, definitely)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: I read it-- 8/10? short but sweet, really focused on my personality and awareness of the world around me
Teacher Rec #2: Probably really good-- biology teacher freshman & juniors years; I started bio olympiad with her as moderator, and she also really saw my development as a person over the last 4 years
Counselor Rec: Probably pretty good-- I’ve talked to her a ton, and she knows how focused I am/was on the college process haha
Additional Rec: Actually not sure if Stanford received it, but it was from my research mentor and basically outlined my work ethic and the project I did over the summer
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Parochial
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Umm female-ness? More anti-hooks than hooks tbh

Reflection

Strengths: Objective stuff, passion for music and learning (reflected in my essays), essays not being super polished/structured and reflecting my own voice/stream of consciousness, not being a shitty person, idk?
Weaknesses: Leadership (lack thereof), maybe teacher recs, general involvement in the school community
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Roommate essay maybe? Consistent themes in my essays? Work ethic? To be honest I really have no idea
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Cornell (CAS), Berkeley (Engineering), UCLA (Engineering, Regents), UCSD (Bioengineering), UC Davis (ChemE)
Waitlisted: Columbia (Engineering), UPenn (Eng), JHU (Biomed)
Rejected: Princeton, MIT
General Comments: Seriously still in so much shock/awe that I got in-- definitely hasn’t fully sunk in yet, and probably won’t until move-in day in September. On the admit packet, there was a quote about learning things for the sake of learning them, not because it would be on the test; I think my high school experience was basically that, and it really reflected in a lot of my essays, so maybe that’s why they liked me? What scares me though is that I almost didn’t apply-- on the day the app was due, I had one more essay to write and was generally super not down to do it, so I almost quit altogether (so thanks Mom for yelling at me for 2 hours after I told you I wanted to not apply to Stanford haha)… and then I was going over my app and realized I almost submitted 2 of the same essay whoops… Anyway tl;dr I feel so blessed and privileged (and shocked) to have been accepted to such a fine institution-- Stanford 2019!!!

43

Decision: Rejected

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: Awesome! My interviewer really liked me!

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mathematics
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:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: IU (Honors + Direct Admit to Kelly), Purdue (Honors + Direct Admit), Northwestern (ISP), Notre Dame (Mendoza Pre-Approval), Waitlisted at UChicago and Penn, Denied at MIT, Princeton, Yale, Harvard
Notes: Awesome job everyone! Keep your head up! You will find your dream college!

44

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): Almost 2300 (one sitting, junior year)
• ACT (breakdown): 35 (one sitting, junior year)
• SAT II: 800, 800
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1%—school doesn’t rank, but one of the top 3 students, possibly the top
• AP (place score in parentheses): Five 5’s, two 4’s (plus will take five more in May)
• Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous possible (and beyond highest AP level in math and one other subject)
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Yes, with very large financial award

Subjective:
• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Two main ECs, one unique and the other typical (both involving leadership)
• Job/Work Experience: Yes, extensive, paid, and unique
• Volunteer/Community service: Yes, extensive and unique
• Summer Activities: One short summer program each year (1-3 weeks), plus work involving unique EC each summer
• Essays: Very good, and main one was unique
• Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t see—probably great
• Counselor Rec: Didn’t see—probably great
• Additional Rec: Yes—great, and from foremost person in the world qualified to address unique EC activities
• Interview: No Stanford interview because we live in California, but great elsewhere—all interviewers were fascinated by and focused on unique EC
• Supplementary Material: Yes—examples of unique EC

Other
• Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
• State (if domestic applicant): California
• School Type: Very large public school
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male
• Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Upper middle class
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None (except unique EC)

Reflection
• Strengths: Unique, extremely well-developed EC outside of high school
• Weaknesses: Only a couple of EC’s at high school (little time because of outside commitments)
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Unique EC (with top level of achievement possible, either for a teenager or an adult, in various areas)—know this for a fact
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Harvard, Yale (early), Princeton, and Stanford—chose Stanford

General Comments: I filled this out for my son, who preferred not to have all details posted, including a fifth top-tier private school he was accepted to. My advice: Be yourself; follow your “passion” (if you have one—if not, don’t fake it); take the most rigorous course load you can; get top grades; do well on the SAT and/or ACT (aim for 2250+ on former and 35+ on latter, but no matter what, don’t take either one more than twice!); enter local, state, national, and international competitions and hope to place in some; don’t worry if you’re not an athlete; don’t get your heart set on one or two schools—keep in mind that you can be happy and successful anywhere. My son had several other less-than-top-tier schools he was very interested in and would have been happy to attend—and, because of his EC, we (his parents) actually wondered whether he should put off college or even skip it altogether. But he really wanted to go, and we think he’ll get a lot out of it (though it will slow down his EC career, as high school did). Please don’t private message me asking for further details about his EC, since he would prefer to keep that information confidential. Good luck, everyone—even with his outcome, we found this process very stressful and difficult, right up to and including making the final decision about which school to attend. The good news is, no matter where you end up, you’ll be happy the college admissions process is over!

45

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

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 730 R/ 770 M/ 800 W/11 E, 2300 Combined 1st sitting
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: 750 Chem, 750 Math 1, 760 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.33
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/220
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 in Chem, AP Lang and US History. 4 in World History.
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 2, AP Calc BC, AP Literature, Psychology (took AP), Anatomy, Religion
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, Gold award for a tournament, excellence awards in subjects and musics.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Guitar Ensemble, Jazz Band, Rocket Club, Track and Golf
Job/Work Experience: internship at WTC
Volunteer/Community service: Hospital
Summer Activities: Origami, Guitar, Piano, Running.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Favorite Books, etc: 7 or 8/10. Kept it simple.

What I enjoy: 6-7/10, once again simple and honest. Math based (numberphile, youtube watching)

Significant Challenge: 8/10, talked about how the infinite potential of nuclear development and the desire for power can cause disaster, and how science today is contributing primarily to developing weapons of mass destruction.

Spending summers: 6/10, made short points about various activities (internship, vacations, running, origami, music)

Favorite Events: 7/10

Historical Moment:8/10

Intellectual Vitality essay: 8.5/10. Talked about how one of my teachers can do a certain odd math trick and how that intrigued me. Used it as a basis to convey my passion for math.

Letter to Roomate: 10/10. Used different scientific and mathematical principles to describe myself and my anticipated future activities at Stanford.

What Matters to You and Why: I’m not entirely sure how this essay was received. It’s probably what turned off admissions. I wrote about how my parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I decided to be an engineer. Then I talked about individuality and why it matters to me. I thought it was like a 7/10 when I submitted it, but looking back its more like a 6/10.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 for both Math and AP US teachers. Great recs,

Teacher Rec #1: Math teacher for 2 years, got 100 on both regents so he loved me.
Teacher Rec #2: AP US, he was awesome.
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read.
Additional Rec: Didn’t have.
Interview: Good, lady was nice. Had interesting talk for about an hour while walking and hanging out at a cafe.

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yup
Intended Major: Engineering, Math, Computer Science.
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, Catholic
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.

Reflection: Honestly, Stanford is a very selective school and I was down to have not gotten in, but later I realized it may have not been the best fit for me. I got into Cornell and plan to go there, so I’m excited and was able to get over my rejection. Applying to Stanford was a great experience.

Strengths: Good SAT, academics, some essays were good.
Weaknesses: Awkward “what matters to you essay”, maybe didn’t have enough international competition awards (still have no idea how people get those)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It’s very competitive and can be arbitrary at times. Many people who assume they won’t get in will get in, and many who think they have a good chance end up getting rejected. It’s a part of the process lol.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: GIT, RPI, RIT, Cornell
Waitlisted, later rejected: MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon. Waitlisted UPenn but didn’t accept waitlist.
Rejected: Princeton, Stanford.