Pomona Stats/Decisions Thread for the Class of 2019

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
21

<p>Decision: Accepted
Program: Pomona College ED1</p>

<p>Objective-
SAT 1: did not take
SAT Subject Tests. Did not take
ACT: 31
GPA: 3.76 out of 4.00 UW / 4.55 W
Rank: school doesn’t rank
AP: US history, chemistry, economics, physics, statistics, ,
IB: English, Latin
Senior Course Load: AP Physics, AP chem, Calculus, IB English, AP Stat, AP Econ,
Major Awards: </p>

<p>Subjective-
Extracurriculars:
Local Govt Member, Environmental Preservation Committee
American Heart Assoc fundraiser
Assistant coach for football camp (coached third graders)
Volunteer ref for little league baseball
American Football 3 year varsity starter
Job: started and ran a landscaping business
Essays: freedom
Applied through: ED1
Hooks: recruited to play football
Interview: none unless coach interview counts </p>

<p>Location-
State/country: New Jersey
School Type: public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male</p>

<p>General Comments/Reflections/etc.: </p>

22

<p>@schoko231 Thanks, but I was flat out rejected. Like bean735 said, they do defer but very few are. I submitted my ACT score after the deadline since I took the October one, so the scores weren’t released until after the deadline (not sure if they took that into account :neutral_face: )</p>

23

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 31 Composite (32 E, 34 M, 29 R, 30 S)
SAT II: Didn’t submit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75 (bad grades freshman year, mostly A’s since)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top decile
AP (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t offer
IB (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus, Lang. Arts, Anatomy, Macroeconomics (school doesn’t offer much for seniors)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 5x Principal’s Honor Roll</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Cross Country 9-12 (Team Captain 11,12), Track and Field (Team Captain 11,12), Unity club 10-12 (Activities Director 11, VP 12)
Job/Work Experience: Worked at convenience store over the summer 9-12
Volunteer/Community service: Church Discipleship group leader (10-12), 100 Mile Club (10-12)
Summer Activities: Cross country training, work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Since I used my Questbridge application (Non-finalist) I got to submit 2 essay with high word limits. I feel like I really got to explain myself in those. 10 on the first, 9 on the second one.</p>

<p>Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 (really good connection with this teacher)
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10 (GREAT connection with this teacher but she wrote it and had it in after 1 day, so she may have either rushed it or just really had a lot to say about me… for all I know it could’ve been a 10/10)
Counselor Rec: 10/10 (Really liked me wanted me to get into a really good school)
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: EXTREMELY well. I did it on campus back in October and I feel like I fully expressed myself in the best way possible to the interviewer. The conversation just really flowed.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): Cali
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, JuCo next door and students are allowed to take classes there
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First generation, Legacy (my brother currently attends)</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: A lot of hours for EC’s, Personal Statement, Interview
Weaknesses: Subpar GPA and senior year courseload
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think one of the biggest reasons is because I attended the Fall Diversity Weekend Fly-In Program back in October. This program allowed the AdCom to get to know me a lot better and really allowed the attendants to show why they deserved to go to Pomona.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: N/A</p>

<p>General Comments: Though I had minimal ECs, I was VERY committed to them and registered A LOT of hours. I feel like my GPA was also not regarded as being bad since I only had bad grades freshman year (due to family problems) and improved A LOT since.</p>

24

<p>I’m planning on applying rd, and am totally happy with the gpa s that I’m seeing accepted since they’re not all 4s. Also this thread is way less depressing than the CMC ED thread!</p>

25

<p>My GPA was 3.9 unweighted and 4.23 weighted, and ACT was 33. I think it says a lot about what kind of student they’re looking for considering people with higher GPAs and test scores were denied and I was accepted. You should feel confident as long as you have true passions that you’ve made clear you will contribute to Pomona! @Giuliana1821 </p>

26

<p>It’s definitely a holistic process. AdCom is looking for someone exceptional in all aspects, not just someone who’s perfect in a few and lacking in others. </p>

27

I’m going to bump this since EDII just came out.

28

Decision: Accepted
Program: ED 2

Objective-
SAT 1: 2210
SAT Subject Tests: 800 Math II, 720 US History
ACT: N/A
GPA: 3.9 out of 4.00 UW / 4.8 W
Rank: N/A, but top 5%
AP: Calc BC: 5, AB subset: 5, US History: 5, European History: 3, Physics B: 4
IB: N/A
Senior Course Load: AP Language, AP Physics C, Adv Calc, ASB, AP Econ, AP Gov
Major Awards: AP Scholar with honor, CSF if those count as “major”

Subjective-
Extracurriculars:
Football, Baseball, Associated Student Body Commissioner of Spirit, SSAC South Bay Organization (President’s Volunteer Service Award), Torrance Memorial Medical Center Volunteer, Palos Verdes Assembly, Model United Nations, Native American Student Union co-President, National Honors Society, Pony baseball volunteer coach
Job: N/A
Essays: Critical Inquiry
Applied through: ED2
Hooks: Recruited for football
Interview: None except with coaches

Location-
State/country: California
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White/Asian
Gender: Male

General Comments/Reflections/etc.: Excited for the next four years and good luck to everyone applying!

29

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (730 R, 730 M, 800 W)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 760 Literature; 700 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chinese (5); APUSH (5); Psychology (5); English Literature (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Honors Classical Literature, AP AB Calc, Honors Social Psych, Use/Abuse of Power, Modern Middle East (H), Rise of Modern China (H), Political Ideologies, Arabic 100, Acting 100, Spiritual Journeys

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): International Student Society (President/founder), Equestrian (senior member), School Newspaper (graphics editor); Magazine Publication (layout editor)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Therapeutic Riding (3 hr/wk); Chinese tutor (1 hr/wk)
Summer Activities: academic summer programs, CIT at horse camp, volunteer/student at Yale-Tsinghua Quantitative Workshop in 2014
Essays: Common App essay was on riding; Critical Inquiry essay -> “Power Dynamics of Women”
Teacher Recommendation: English and Psych teacher; both knew me pretty well–one was an adviser in my dorm.
Counselor Rec: Very good. I can’t read any of my recs but I assume they were all great.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private New England boarding school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection:
Strengths: Strong GPA, Essays, and Recs; ECs truly reflect who I am and what I care about
Weaknesses: Not as good scores, especially considering my ethnicity; don’t have as many EC leadership positions as many other applicants
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: well-rounded student with true academic passions; demonstrated social responsibility and academic skills;
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Applied EA to Stanford and got rejected :frowning:

General Comments: It still feels very surreal to me: I got accepted to Pomona! Throughout the application process I often worried about my stats (test scores and ECs) because I felt that they weren’t as strong as many applicants. I do believe that I made up for it though through my essays, which I think honestly portrayed who I am and what I care about. Ultimately, I think that’s maybe why Pomona wanted me? This entire process has been a long and tedious one, with moments of self-doubt and a lot of self-reflection. Congratulations to everyone else who will be a Sagehen next year, and good luck to those who will end up in other spectacular institutions!

30

Decision: Accepted!
Program: Early Decision II

Objective:
ACT: 35
SAT & SAT Subject Tests: Didn’t take
GPA: 4.0 Unweighted - my school doesn’t weight GPAs
AP: 5s on Psychology, Lit & Comp, and Calc BC. I’m taking Chemistry this year.
Senior Course Load: AP Chemistry, Human Body Systems (PLTW, dual credit) - both full year. I took World Religions, Contemporary Literature, and tutored art foundations first semester. This semester I’m taking Advanced Physics, Creative Writing, and Advanced Art III. My high school is about 20 minutes away from UW Madison, so I take math classes there in the morning - multivariable calc last semester and linear algebra this semester.
Awards: National AP Scholar, National Merit Commendation, and I won some random German essay writing contest

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Art club, Philosophy club, serious yoga practice, went on a foreign exchange to Germany for a few weeks
Volunteering: Nearly 100 hours at a museum, about 30 total for various projects through my art and German classes
Job: I’ve been a waitress at the same restaurant for 2 years and I tutor calculus.
Essays: Probably what got me in. Wrote my common app essay about my messed up family and how my mom and dad shaped my aspirations. My supplemental essay wasn’t as strong, but it was still pretty good; I chose the freedom prompt and wrote about how I feel free when I do yoga, and I think that helped to show a different side of me.
Teacher Recs: Haven’t seen them, but I’m assuming they’re good. One was a social studies teacher who I had for 2 years, the other was my calculus teacher from last year, who I still get help from and occasionally help him tutor during study halls.
Counselor Rec: Probably good but generic.
Hooks: I’m legally an orphan or something along those lines (my mom is alive but the court ruled her unfit to take care of me) and I live with my grandparents. My mom has serious bipolar disorder and has drug issues, and my dad committed suicide when I was a kid.
Interview: Decent. I probably didn’t prepare enough so my answers were a little awkward, but as a waitress I’m really good at being friendly and making good impressions on strangers haha, so I think that saved me

Location:
State: Wisconsin
School Type: Top-ranked high school in the state, pretty competitive
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female

General Comments/Reflections/etc.: I didn’t think I would get in, but I guess dreams do come true!! I definitely wish I had stronger extracurriculars, but I know Pomona places a lot of value on essays and letters of recommendation, so those must’ve been enough to get me in. I’m still super blown away and I keep re-checking the admissions portal to make sure I didn’t read it wrong. Congrats to all the other members of the class of 2019!!

31

Decision: Accepted
Program: EDII

Objective:

  • ACT: Highest Composite: 34 Superscore composite: 35 (35 E, 35 M, 34 R, 34 S)
  • SAT Subject Tests: Math II 770 Chemistry 740
  • GPA: 3.89UW 4.28W (most B's from freshman and sophomore year/got all A's the past 3 semesters/upward trend)
  • Rank (UW): Top 15%
  • AP: not offered
  • IB: Full IB Diploma Student (EE in Chemistry)
  • IB Classes taken/taking: IB Chemistry HL (2 years), IB Physics HL (2 years), IB English HL (2 years), IB German HL (2 years), IB 20th/HOTA (2 years), IB Math SL and HL (3 years), IB Theory of Knowledge (1 year)
  • Senior course load: IB Physics HL 3-4, IB Senior English HL, IB Theory of Knowledge (1st semester), IB HOTA HL, IB Math HL, IB German HL 9-10, Peer tutor, International Studies Center (4 year-long outside of school)
  • Awards: National Merit Commended Scholar, National Honor Society, Outstanding Water Polo Academic All American (x2)

Subjective:

  • High school and club Water polo (varsity 4 yrs) - year round
  • High school and club Swimming (varsity 4 yrs, captain senior year) - year round
  • Intern during the summer at a Neurobiology Lab (unpaid)
  • Clubs: Medical club, food club, robotics club, programming club, penpal club, MUN, Mentor to Freshman students
  • Classical piano player (13 years)
  • Camp counselor for 6th graders (volunteer/unpaid)
  • Job: Swim Instructor and lifeguard at local community center
  • Swim and robotics mentor (unpaid)
  • Common App Essay: wrote about a life changing moment that made me want to become a physician
  • Supplement: Critical Inquiry Course about food and the changing culture around it.
  • Teacher Recommendations: Both of my teachers love me (I have had both for 3 years - chem, german)
  • Counselor Rec.: Probably good (she had to do a lot of them)
  • Extra Rec.: From my research advisor during my internship at the Neurobiology Lab -
  • Interview: Great! It felt more like a conversation than an interview.
  • Submitted a science supplement (from my internship work)
  • Brother goes to Pomona right now
  • Being recruited to play water polo at Pomona
  • Speak English and Swiss-German fluently (My parents immigrated here from Switzerland)
  • Location: Oregon
  • School: Public
  • Ethnicity: White
  • Gender: Female
  • Intended Major: Neuroscience

Wow this is really long sorry guys… Although I got 6 B’s, which lowered my GPA and hurt my class rank, I still did what I love --> learning more about the brain/science/medicine (and many other things that interest me!). My advice would be to not worry too much that you have several B’s or that your scores aren’t ‘good’ enough. Instead, focus on what you are interested and passionate about. Commit yourself to something and show colleges you really care. In the end, you will end up at the college that fits your interests and your personality and you will be WAY less stressed leading up to that point. Good luck everyone and congrats to everyone else!! :smile:

32

Decision: Accepted
Program: EDII

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (800 CR/770 Math/780 Writing)
ACT: Didn’t take
SAT II: 740 Lit, 770 Chem, 800 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesnt rank, but probably top 5 out of 150
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on Lang, Stats, Calc AB, Physics B, USH
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Psych, AP Lit, self-study AP Calc BC, Spanish 5, US Gov, String Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): made it into the AIME last year? Wordwright national top 10, qualified for the invitational north american computational linguistics olympiad, national merit

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: EIC and founder of school lit magazine, lots and lots of small awards for orchestra competitions, chamber ensemble groups, and piano accompanying for school choir and competition solos, keyboard player in church band, music club VP, policy debate for a little while
Job/Work Experience: Tutoring a bit
Volunteer/Community service: Went on school-sponsored service trips to Mexico and the Philippines
Essays: Wrote common app about being a troubled kid in Chinese school due to sexism and cultural/generational issues and how I came to terms with it as I grew up. Pomona essay I did the critical inquiry prompt and wrote about recursion and self-reference in art, music, philosophy, and CS.
Teacher Recommendation: One from my junior year eng teacher who i knew really well and often went out to lunch with, and one from my soph chemistry teacher who I’m also taking this year for ap. not really sure about that one.
Counselor Rec: Most likely quite good, we understood each other very well
Additional Rec:
Interview: On campus. Probably the most unusual and enjoyable interview I’ve had, cause she didn’t have a list of prepared qs she had to go through and instead we ended up getting in a really intense convo about literature, empathy, and the importance of seeing other perspectives…I’m honestly pretty reserved usually but the interviewer and I really connected.
Other:
Intended Major: Linguistics and minor in English or CS
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small religious private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): None whatsoever lul…middle-class ORM from an overrepresented state
Reflection:
Strengths: I think I really demonstrated that intellectual curiosity through my essays and the interview, especially since Pomona values those so much. Quantitative stuff in general probably didn’t hurt me either.
Weaknesses: EC’s are not really unique, rather weak leadership positions. Also I didn’t take a math course at school these past two years cause of scheduling conflicts so that was kind of awkward

General Comments:
Congrats to everyone who made it ^^ As unbelievably excited as I’ve been, I always keep getting the haunting feeling that I don’t deserve to be in such an amazing place…but either way, through this entire process I’ve learned so much. To any of you guys reading this in the future, everything’s going to be okay. I got deferred from Brown ED1 after pouring my heart into those essays and it was a pretty big disappointment. But I realized later that Brown really didn’t have that liberal arts, small class feel I valued so much, and things ended up probably for the better, really.

So excited to meet you guys!

33

Wow just looking at everyone’s high gpa and Sat scores I’m lucky I got accepted!

Gpa 3.17
Sat 1380

34

Decision: Accepted - Chirp Chirp

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 670/670/690 2030
ACT (breakdown): 31, 32 superscored. 11 and 12 on essays
SAT II: 750 ush, 700 wh, 660 math 2, 630 spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): probably 3.98 or 3.97 my school does it out of 4.3 but I only have 2 A-
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): currently 1/165 when they saw it on my midyear but 2/165 during decisions
AP (place score in parenthesis): apwh (5) APUSH (5) ap eng (5) ap spanish (4) ap calc, ap english lit, ap chem
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: ap calc, ap eng, ap chem, advanced chem and physics, korean independent study, college scholarship independent study, fitness CLEP, econ and government
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NSLI-y korean summer, SPI abroad scholarship, CIEE korean scholarship ( back when they had it) National hispanic recognition, girls state, hamilton citizenship award, QB but I didn’t do anything with it so I doubt it helped me that much. A bunch of school awards too, like MA history day ( national history day) regional first place, state honorable mention.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): student advisory council 4 years ( Vice President) best buddies type club 4 years ( co founder and president) political discussion club 3 years ( secretary) NHS, guidance assistant, math club/ tutor, interclass plays, president’s council, model un ( only one conference at my school), unified track and field 2 years ( varsity and I think co capitan this year if we have the position)
Job/Work Experience: personal tutor starting in feb but the didn’t know that. Worked at Kmart junior year for the holiday season ugh
Volunteer/Community service: NHS and guidance assistance plus I guess student advisory council could be considered some volunteer work.
Summer Activities: went to seoul with NSLI-Y to study korean
Essays:
i forwarded my QB app. Diversity essay was my common app essay and it’s done me well for other colleges :wink: my bio essay was pretty much my depressing but empowering life story about how I grew up, bullying for being in advanced placement as a minority, and then my mother kicking me about. It also talked about forgiveness. There were a lot of other wb specific questions and short essays haha

Teacher Recommendation: ap spanish teacher from sophomore year ( junior class but I fought to take it, and it showed my maturity and love of languages. She wrote a beautiful letter) 8/9
Counselor Rec: she knows me well since I work in her office every day haha. She touched about my special circumstances and passions 8
Additional Rec: APUSH/APWH teacher. Not my facorite rec in terms of length but the content was very touching 7
Interview: I thought it went well :slight_smile: had it last October during their fly in. We talked about my interest in korea :slight_smile:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yup.
Intended Major: east asian studies
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: rural but upper middle class public school of about 700 kids
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 65k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM. Probably but interests that seem to make everyone stare at me like I have two heads lol. Puerto Rican and loves korean <3 probably my language scholarships and prior coursework. Also the fly in program

Where else have you been accepted? Gtown, uchicago, columbia, northeastern, umass amherst, penn

35

Decision: Waitlisted

ACT: 34
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
APs: US History (5) Biology (4) Calculus AB, Chemistry, Lit, and Government
Rank: 1/183 (28 other students are tied with me though)
Awards: 3rd place state debate, multiple school awards (nothing amazing)

Extracurriculars: School volleyball 2 years, club volleyball 4 years, last year I played on my club’s national team which involved a lot of travel (Volleyball took up a huge majority of my time), debate (3rd state 2015) bellydancing, scuba certified, international club
Jobs: Retail for a season
Volunteer 250+ hours: Humane Society, Watershed, service trip to Belize and continued internship, local aquarium
Summer: Summer research camp in Caribbean

Essays: Common app was very good (in my opinion :wink:
Pomona supplement was good, maybe not spectacular
Recs: Both teachers were quite good. Both asked me to go to banquets with them back in November :slight_smile: I also had my volleyball coach of 4 years write me a rec, which was very good, but I don’t remember if Pomona takes outside recs.

Also, white female from a not-so-known state.
I have no hooks.

I don’t think I will accept the spot on the waiting list. Pomona was one of my very top choices, but I suppose things happen for a reason. Congrats to those who made it! This year was tough.

36

Pomona has posted stats on Class of 2019 acceptances here http://t.co/fWfNaedTPW.

32% Valedictorians, 10% Salutatorians. Ouch.

37

I found that part dizzying to read… 42% are either #1 or #2?? :pensive:

38

Here’s mine

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t report
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 CR 36 E 36 S 31 M 7/12 Essay)
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.73
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): None
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: All honors, very rigorous (but no calc, humanities heavy)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Achievement Semifinalist (does this count?)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Soccer (9-11), Varsity Track (10-11), JV Basketball (9-10)
Theatre/Drama (10-12) - Actor, Director, and Playwright
Bassist (6-12) in various local bands.

Job/Work Experience:
Camp Counselor, 2 yrs
Volunteer/Community service:
Camp Counselor, 2 yrs (same job but I didn’t get paid lol)
Habitat for Humanity, 1 yr
Summer Activities:
See above, Music
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Probably pretty good, I wrote about being mixed race and baking as interrelated. I have no real way to rate this. My english teacher and counselor really liked it? Also I thought my supplement was good at the time, but I also wrote about my ideas on freedom which have changed since, so I’d probably cringe if I looked back at it.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): The x/10s are total guesses

Teacher Rec #1: English teacher (Creative Writing, Poetry), Taught me to love poetry as an anti-art sophomore. 8-9/10
Teacher Rec #2: History teacher (USH), He’s one of the only people who isn’t in my family who I’ve ever told that I loved. 10/10
Counselor Rec: Probably very good, I have a great relationship with her. 8-10/10
Additional Rec: 2nd English teacher (Modernism & Post-modernism) I didn’t want to ask him at first because I didn’t have him until senior year. I’m glad I did though, he’s probably my second if not first favorite teacher of all time. 9-10/10
Interview: Didn’t get one, should have

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Philosophy
State (if domestic applicant): IL
School Type: Public selective lab school
Ethnicity: biracial
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~150k, I think
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: ACT, Essays, recs, maybe job experience/ECs, although IDK how seriously they take non-classical music. They should take it very seriously. Diversity, too.
Weaknesses: Not very well-rounded (3 humanities recs, no stem, 31 Math ACT vs 36s) GPA, maybe? I mean, a few Bs seem like not that big of a deal to me. Interview. Bad essay on the ACT.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Good tests, essay, recs, ECs (IMO), diversity.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Swarthmore accepted, Macalester accepted, U of Minnesota Twin Cities accepted

General Comments: Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t bow to academic pressure–I probably could have gotten a 4.0 and 36 ACT, but I would have killed myself doing it, and lost out on extracurricular opportunities (or the ECs I actually want to do). Choosing between Pomona and Swat and Mac is going to be a killer. But I’m damn happy that I got in.

39

For future applicants to reference-

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (superscored), 750 M, 800 W, 690 CR
ACT (breakdown): 32 (35 R, 30 E, 32 S, 31 M, 10 Essay)
SAT II: 720 Chem, 610 Math 2, 680 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.24
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): 3 Chem, 4 Spanish Lang, 4 APUSH, 4 English Lang
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs, 1.5 college courses, internship
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
J-V Volleyball (9-10)
Stage Crew (11)
Stage Crew Manager (10-12)
Band (concert 9-10, wind ensemble 11-12, pep 9-12, band council 10-12)

Job/Work Experience:
Babysitting/Dog walking/House sitting
Front Desk at a flying club during senior year, 12hrs/week
Volunteer/Community service:
Worked at various science festivals since elementary school
Community service at/through church
Summer Activities:
See above, Music
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Probably pretty good, I wrote about being mixed race and baking as interrelated. I have no real way to rate this. My english teacher and counselor really liked it? Also I thought my supplement was good at the time, but I also wrote about my ideas on freedom which have changed since, so I’d probably cringe if I looked back at it.

Recommendations:

Teacher Rec #1: English teacher (Honors Eng, AP Lit), says I’m one of the best writers in my grade.
Teacher Rec #2: AP Govt/Econ teacher and advisor
Counselor Rec: Pretty good, we have a nice relationship, but she had to write tons of letters
Additional Rec: Chemistry teacher (AP Chem, Lab internship) I’m one of his favorites
Interview: Didn’t get one, should have

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Undecided/Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public school
Ethnicity: multi
Gender: F
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Private Pilot

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, essays (my common app ones were pretty darn good, and I put a lot of thought into the Critical Inquiry one), recs, interesting/unusual hobby (flying)
Weaknesses: Test scores, interview probably could’ve gone better
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Test scores/GPA competitively, I guess just standing out from the pool of really amazing applicants
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at UCI/UCSC/Cal Poly SLO, Waitlisted at Kenyon/UCD

General Comments: I’m kind of bummed, as this is the first rejection, but not too disappointed. Pomona would’ve been really nice to go to, but it is really expensive (so maybe its good I can’t even consider it), and wasn’t my top choice. I’m just nervous because I really want to get into Scripps, and I’m not sure how this rejection might reflect upon that admission decision.

Congratulations to the Pomona Class of 2019!

40

[ size=+2][ color=green]**Decision: Accepted **[/color][/size]

**College and Program: RD **

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I (by section): 1750 (Can’t remember the exact scores for each section but none of them were higher than 600)
[] SAT IIs: 780 Spanish Language, 650 US History (idk if they even consider these since I sent them out a week before decisions came out.)
[] ACT: 30 ( English 31 Math 27 Science 27 Reading 34)
[] APs: AP English Language (3) AP US History (2)
[] IBs: None
[] GPA (UW, W): (3.75 UW 4.3 W)
[] Rank: 12/304
[] Other stats: I am a CTY Scholar and I have been participating in academic summer programs the last four years. Every course that I have taken, except for the first year, have had some sort of influence to what I want to study in college. I also participated in the Yale Young Global Scholars Program this last summer and I think that really boosted my app.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] ECs listed on app: I had a lot [/li]ASB Class Secretary and ASB Representative (4 years)
MUN Founder and President (2 years)
Editor and Founder of my Schools Online News Site (1 year)
Math tutor for the last 4 years
French Honor Society (3)
School Site Council Representative and then Vice - Chair Person (2 years)
Soccer (2 years won 2 or 3 awards and I was the captain for one year JV)

[li] Job/Work Experience: I am a peer mentor for a local organization that helps develop the skills of children with differing needs (down syndrome, autism)[/li]I volunteer at my church every week as either an Altar Server or a Lector and I have been since I was in the fourth grade.
I had a summer job with the same organization mentioned above where we ran a day camp and taught children how to swim and do other activities.
I volunteer every thanksgiving at my local YMCA for a dinner that the Lions Club puts on. I spend all day there from early morning to late night.
I volunteer for another event for christmas where we hold a dinner and give toys to children.

[li] Essays (subject and responses): I used my Questbridge app instead of the common app and my questbridge essays were pretty good. I wrote about the area that I am from and how the people around me have influenced the way I see the world and live my life. I also talked about my family’s origin and how that has also shaped me. [/li]
[ *] Teacher Recs: I didn’t get to read them but I’ve known both of the teachers since I was a sophomore so I think they were pretty good. I had read a rec that one of the teachers had written for me in the past and it was good. I also had recs from a class advisor who moved schools my junior year, he knew me very well. I aslo had another rec from my CTY Academic Advisor.

[] Counselor Rec: Probably generic? idk my school switched counselors this year so I only had her a short while and she has a lot of students under her belt.
[] Applied on (EA?): Questbridge and then used that app for RD
[] Hook (if any): URM, I’m from a rural area with a lot of focus on ag,
[/ul][ b]Location/Person:**[ list] Central California
[] State or Country: CA
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: Hisapnic
[] Gender: Female
[] Accepted anywhere else: accepted to Amherst College, Wesleyan University, Middlebury College UCLA, UC San Diego,
[] Defered from Columbia ( i applied ED)
[] Waiting for: alot of other schools.

[/list]**General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: [/b] honestly I didn’t think and I kind of didn’t want to get in. I had gotten a pamphlet from them with their average financial aid packages per income and I did NOT like what I saw, so right away I ruled them out and I didn’t even think about the school for a while. It wasn’t until Friday afternoon that I read on facebook that Pomona released their decisions that day, I was waiting on UCLA. Now that I’ve been accepted I am going to seriously consider it because I would get more FA since I live in Ca and I would qualify for a Cal Grant that would cut my EFC in half.