**Decision: Likely! **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 780/770/800/9
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Same, 2330 (I took it twice but EVERYTHING was better the second time. I went from a 2040 to a 2330 in 1 month because my writing went from a 600 to an 800!)
SAT II (subject, score):
Math 2: 790
Biology E: 760
Chemistry: 730
English Language: 730
US History: 720
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: like a 4.4? don’t quote me on this haha
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/1, I’m homeschooled (I take online classes and classes at a charter school though, so my grades are official)
AP (place score in parentheses):
AP Human Geography: 4
AP Biology: 4
AP English Literature: 5
AP USH: 5
AP English Lang: 5
AP Macroecon: TBD
AP Physics C MEM: TBD
AP Calculus BC: TBD
AP Environmental Science: TBD
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Macroecon
AP Calc BC
AP Environmental Science
Spanish 4
British Literature
AP Physics C MEM
Number of other EA applicants in your school: 0
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Nothing big in this category, I did win the President’s Gold Volunteer Service award though
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): A bunch of senate certificates for pageantry, hosting my own benefit concert, volunteer service, etc. AP Scholar with honors, can’t remember exactly what I put down (sorry).
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description):
Robotics (9th and 12, mentored a team this fall), Piano (9-12), Violin/Youth Symphony (9-12), Speech and Debate (9-12, taught a speech class to junior high kids), Kickboxing (11-12), Beauty Pageants (10-11?), plus all my internships. (There’s probably more I’m forgetting here, sorry)
Job/Work Experience: Worked at Subway the summer after Sophomore year, JUST got a job at Starbucks (not on my application though)
Volunteer/Community Service: Over 900 hours, I had a ridiculous amount of volunteer hours mainly from my internships
Summer Experience:
Summer 2011:
Organized and hosted my own benefit concert, raised over $3k
Interned for a local senator, gave presentations in the community and networked with officials
Summer 2012:
Went to China for a month on my own for a summer camp at a university
(I feel like I did something else this summer, but I can’t remember it right now. If I remember, I’ll add it later)
Summer 2013:
Worked at Subway
Interned at a local Chamber of Commerce
Summer 2014:
Interned at the UCSD Supercomputer Center
Interned at Kramer Engineering
Attended an all female construction camp!!!
Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Essays:
I thought my common app essay was okay, probably about an 8. The intro was catchy and cute, but didn’t totally flow with the rest of the essay. My Wellesley supplement was absolutely stellar though, one of the best applications that I’ve submitted. I wrote about Cirque du CS and studying abroad, and I wrote from the perspective that I was already studying in Spain. It was cute, funny, expressed my love of the school, and just all around one of the most incredible college essays I’ve written!!
Teacher Recommendation #1: Math teacher - he tends to write very brief recommendation letters, but he thought I was one of the best students he ever had, if not the best. I also had him as a biology tutor during my freshman year, so I’ve known him for a while.
Teacher Recommendation #2: Spanish teacher - she absolutely ADORES me. She texts me all the time and we have so many inside jokes (“I louuuve it”)! She’s honestly like a mom to me, and she considers me her third daughter. I’m sure this was really great.
Counselor Rec: Written by my mom (I know, awkward). She wants me to be happy and do well, so I’m sure it was phenomenal.
Additional Info/Rec: I asked my mentor at UCSD to write me a letter of recommendation, and he did. Really nice guy, he was incredibly impressed with our project and the progress my team made, so he probably wrote something nice.
Interview: My favorite interview so far! Turns out, my interviewer almost attended a concert by my favorite singer, and we both freaked out about how awesome she is! She was so nice and I just felt very comfortable.
Art Supplement: I submitted an art supplement, and I really thought it was great. I spent so many hours working on it after I submitted my main application, and I think I turned in some of my best work. I know I’m not a STELLAR artist, but it’s something that I enjoy and something that I spend time on, so I thought I would submit a supplement anyway. I really worked hard on it and I thought it looked good.
Other
U.S. State/Territory or Country: California
School Type: Homeschooled!
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: High
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Really, nothing. Although, I am pursuing a career in engineering/computer science, which isn’t one of the most sought after majors at Wellesley, so maybe that helped me.
Reflection
Strengths: Scores, summers, community involvement, I also would like to think that I’m an interesting applicant and person.
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars (no real clubs)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I worked really hard. And I continue to work really hard. I think I would fit in really well at Wellesley (heh, a pun!) because I think the women there are extremely driven, and so am I. I’ve been so bored after completing all of my applications that I got a job and started competing in math competitions. Not that my work load isn’t challenging, but I enjoy being continuously challenged.
What would you have done differently?: I would have worked harder my sophomore year, and started math competitions sooner!
Where else did you apply? Oh gosh, too many places. UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSB, Stanford, Olin (invited to candidates weekend/preliminary acceptance), Yale, Rice, MIT (deferred EA), Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, RIT (accepted!), Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard, USC, and Yale-NUS. Don’t ask me how I had time to get all these essays done. I started in frickin August.
**Other Factors: **
I have a lot of experience in the field I want to go into, and I tend to connect with people very easily and well.
General Comments & Advice:
High school can really burn you out. My freshman and sophomore years were absolutely MISERABLE. I hated school. I honestly almost dropped out. Thankfully, I realized that I needed to make a change, and I switched my learning format and mixed studying with free time. If there is anything that I’ve learned in high school, it’s how to manage my time and make the best of any situation. I absolutely LOVE learning (which is why I’ve taken the classes that I’ve taken), but my classes and especially trying to learn from online classes took most of the fun out of it for me. If you’re a parent, listen to your child and respect their opinions. If you’re a student, try many different things and don’t underestimate yourself. I thought I was terrible at math until I spent a little more time on it, and now math is my favorite subject. More than anything, I used my time in high school as a time of self development and intrinsic reflection. I’ve been through a lot of extremely tough situations and problems, and I learned from every single one of them. Don’t treat your high school years as an audition for college! As Sailor Moon would say, don’t waste your youth!
P.S.
Sorry this is so long, I know no one really cares that much! I’m just really excited!