***QuestBridge Finalist Results Thread 2015-2016***

[YoAdriaaaaan]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 2030 (CR 690, M 640, W 700)

•ACT: never took it

•SAT II: US History (710) and Spanish (640)

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): we don’t rank (honestly thank god)

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Psych (5) and AP US History (4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): I’m not even entirely sure what IB is

•Senior Year Course Load: Creative Writing, Calculus (which is honestly rustling my jimmies right about now), Political Science, Alternate History, Spanish IV, Advanced Biology

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Spanish Exam Bronze and Silver Medals, a Gold Level Community Service Award, Salem College Book Award

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girl Up Club (Co-President and Founder), Fine Arts Association (VP last year and Prez this year), International Relations Council/Model UN, I’ve acted in 6 plays and musicals at my school since 8th grade, I played softball for three years up until freshman year, Community Service Board, Peer Counselor

•Job/Work Experience: Intern during two summers (before junior year and before senior year) at a foster care facility and then at a local performing arts theater. I also work at the after-school care program at my school year round (we’re a 1-12 grade school).

•Volunteer/Community service: last year I had over 100 hours of community service and before that I didn’t really count the hours. I just did it for fun.

•Summer Activities: My internships and last summer I attended the VA Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9. I honestly worked my butt off on those and got the best English teacher I know to read them

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: Probably a 10. My English teacher from last year who was just amazing and would never say anything wrong about anyone. He was one of my favorite teachers that I’ve ever had.

•Teacher Rec #2: 9. My pre-calc teacher who is an absolute angel

•Counselor Rec: 10. I lucked out honestly. I loooooooove my counselor.

•Additional Rec: none

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): VA

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: private, 1-12 grades

•Ethnicity: quite black

•Gender: (it’s a social construct) but I’m female

•Income Bracket: about 50,000 with child support

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, my dad is essentially homeless, idk

Reflection
•Strengths: I really made sure my voice was heard through my essays and they showed the real, slightly unhinged but (I guess) likable me. Also my extracurriculars. I like staying busy all the time

•Weaknesses: My SAT and not very many APs, but Questbridge doesn’t really rank those at a high importance anyways I suppose

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I was clearly very

Colleges ranked:
Amherst College (bae)
Tufts University
Brown University

General Comments: I’m hype. Didn’t know if I’d become a finalist or not but I’m just so, so happy it worked out. This is such a great day. To those who didn’t make it, the universe has something better in store for you, don’t give up!!! You’ve got so many people, including me, who are rooting for you at every step of the way

[icrievrytiem]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown):

•ACT: 32 (35 E, 31 on rest, 10 out of 12 Writing) retaking soon

•SAT II: scores come out tomorrow

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 18/481 weighted

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Macroecon(4), Psychology(4), APUSH(4), Chem(4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, French 5 H, Calc BC, AP Comp, AP Gov, Investments, and 2 gym classes because I foolishly left my gym prerequisites for senior year

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP scholar w/ Distinction(I think), not sure of this qualifies but I placed first at State DECA competition, top 20% at international DECA competition, 2nd place at statewide technology competition

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
DECA
Project Manager for IT Innovation Cup(leadership)
Orchestra
NHS
French NHS

•Job/Work Experience: work at Firehouse Subs

•Volunteer/Community service: Camp Munroe, essentially an after school program for mentally disabled kids that is year long(150+ hours), volunteer in a lab at University of Nebraska Medical Center(146 hours or something)

•Summer Activities: work and chill

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Essay 1: suuuuper personal, I would give it a 7 talks about divorced parents, depression, some dark childhood stuff. Then I sort of talked about how it affected me academically. After, I dicussed how I overcame these obstacles.
Essay 2: waited until last minute to write it, pretty much spent 3 days writing the worst possible essay I could and called it good, probably a 5 or 4

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: Honors chem teacher, him and I are pretty tight. I participated in is class, talked to him outside class, etc… He’s also my homeroom teacher so I see him pretty much everyday. Not sure how well of a writer he is though, probably a 7 or 6

•Teacher Rec #2: Precalc teacher, super tight with him during my junior year, but kinda drifted apart after first semester(got a different teacher). I talked to him outside of class a lot, mainly for math help. Probably a 6 or 7

•Counselor Rec: she knows me pretty well, and also knows that I work really hard. Also a reeeeaaallllyyy nice person. But throughout my high school career, I’ve tried to drop some classes to add harder ones, and she usually can’t add them. So I think that there might be a mutual annoyance between us. Probably an average letter of rec, I would guess a 5

•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): NE

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: large public (2000 students)

•Ethnicity: Asian

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket: ~ 37k

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): idk really, I’m a minority?

Reflection
•Strengths: good essay and decent test scores? Also rank, grades, and volunteer work

•Weaknesses: essay 2, counselor rec?, lack of ECs,

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I honestly have noooo idea why… I would guess because of my background(other family problems besides money), grades, and a decent ACT score

Colleges ranked: 1. UPenn 2. UChicago 3. University of Virginia 4. Stanford 5. Emory
*messed up rankings, wanted to rank Stanford as 3

General Comments: Congrats to all the finalists! And to the future QB applicants, don’t get discouraged if other finalist profiles have really good test scores, EC’s, awards, etc… My application is pretty much dodo (i cri evrytiem), but I still became a finalist. Try to write really good, personal essays that reflect your background and what you value.

[tre4wood]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 2020 single sitting 710 CR 660 M 650 W
(Retaking)
•ACT: 33 single sitting 35 W 30 M 35 R 33 S essay 8

•SAT II: haha nope

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 4.4ish weighted

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/170

•AP (place score in parenthesis): will take calc+chem

•IB (place score in parenthesis): IB math studies 5. Will take 8ish more

•Senior Year Course Load: full IB- psych, English, AP chem, Bio, AP calc bc, spanish, history, theory of knowledge. (All IB except for noted as AP

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national merit commended, QuestBridge college prep scholar,

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 varsity sports- water polo. Cross country, soccer, swim. (Captain of swim and soccer) California scholarship federation( life member, president) key club, interact, academic decathlon.

•Job/Work Experience: worked at the local pool to help pay for family stuff and eventually IB tests+college

•Volunteer/Community service: CSF key club interact- really not that much. 2-4 hours ever 1-3 weeks probably. It’s hit and miss at my school

•Summer Activities: travel soccer. Worked.

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): wrote about being an identical twin and the struggles of that (embellished of course. (8) I tried to really make it clear that I had a twin who would also be in college and was in questbridge bc I thought it would help my case. The other was about my fascination with particle physics. (9-10) this one was pretty good. Tied in my dads death for the sympathy card. Sorry not sorry

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: Spanish teacher. (9) I read it and sort of asked him to put certain things in it so we came off as best buds as well as confidants and paternally related.

•Teacher Rec #2: English teacher (9) didn’t read but this guy is a genius and I think he likes me. Hard to tell he’s enigmatic.

•Counselor Rec: (9) really surprised me. It was just what I wanted qb to know.

•Additional rec: nope

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): ca

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: public 650 kids

•Ethnicity: white but you know I checked that Filipino box in the “all that apply” section.

•Gender: male

•Income Bracket: ~50,000. Made better by two kids doing qb and three in college. Mom doesn’t work and my oldest brother has Down syndrome and lives at home.

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): twin, unusual financial situation

Reflection
•Strengths: test scores I guess. Recommendations and essays were pretty good.

•Weaknesses: If I didn’t get the weird financial situation across then 50,000 is sorts high for this. No sat 2 scores

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: good essays, twin also finalized so maybe they want that buy one get one action.

Colleges ranked:12. Columbia,Stanford,uchicago,northwestern,UPenn,Princeton,Yale,brown,usc,Pomona,Williams,Amherst.

General Comments: even if you didn’t finalize, the financial aid officer I spoke with at penn during PEEP made it seem like most people in the average qb financial situation will receive a “full ride” at the big privates and Ivies no matter what.

[WannaGoToUPenn]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1920 700(CR) 590(M) 630(W)

•ACT: Composite:31 Breakdown:25,33,30,36 Superscore:32 Breakdown:30,33,30,36

•SAT II:

•Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.3 I let them know that this is the highest GPA my school can get… Unweighted:4.0

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/170

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Will be AP Calc BC and Chem - I think

•IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Math Studies:6 I am a Full IB Diploma Candidate and will test in the spring

•Senior Year Course Load: IB Psych HL2, IB English HL2, Ap Chemistry, IB Biology HL2, AP Calculus BC, IB History HL2, IB Spanish HL1
•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge College Prep Scholar
Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club President, Varsity: Soccer (Captain), Cross Country and Swimming (Captain), CSF (Life Member), Academic Decathlon (I’m mainly doing it for an application booster)

•Job/Work Experience: Worked at the local pool
•Volunteer/Community service: Key Club and a summer camp for lil chillens
•Summer Activities: Sports and Work

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Personal- 9 - I talked about my dad dying of a heart attack making me want to pursue a career in medicine. They made notes on the CPS application saying that they really liked it when I tied in my life’s hardships and my actions to what I want to do.
2nd one- 8 - Not quite as heart wrenching but I talked about how not being able to afford to get braces made me feel self conscious-- I think any time you have the opportunity to spin a QB essay towards you being poor is good, but that’s just me.
•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: No idea how I tell because I don’t know what to compare to- probably pretty good because she’s really smart - 9?
•Teacher Rec #2: Same but not as smart so 8?
•Counselor Rec: 10 She let me read it and she embellished a lot.

•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): CA

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Filipino and White

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket:~ 50,000 But all of it is social security from my dad dying and most of it will be gone when me and my twin brother (also a finalist) turn 18

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): 3 kids in college, one a sophomore and next year me and my twin. Also dad dying and my mom cannot work because my eldest bro has Down syndrome

Reflection
•Strengths: My hooks and my ACT is alright. I’m ranking UPenn first and I won a fly-in to there, not sure if that helps
•Weaknesses: I’m not taking any SAT II’s

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Three kids in college, one is my twin. The fact that my income will decrease a lot when I turn 18. My older bro has Down syndrome so mom can’t work and dad died.

Colleges ranked: UPenn, Columbia, Stanford, NorthWestern, Yale, Princeton, UChicago, Brown, Amherst, Williams, Pomona, USC

General Comments: Start your app early and take subject tests. Also do fly-ins, they’re free and look good, I think.

[deedee23]

Decision: Rejected

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (800 CR, 780 W, 740 M)

•ACT: n/a

•SAT II: 720 Math II

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Government (5), AP Comp Sci A (4), AP World History (4), AP Biology (4), AP Stat (5), AP Lang (4), AP Calculus (5)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Psychology, Mathematical Logic, Sociology, School Newspaper, Creative Writing, American Studies (specific honors english 12), and Research

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NSPA Finalist for Feature of the Year, WEB DuBois Award for Academic Excellence, Student of the Month, Certificate of Straight A’s (not all the time lol)

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Performing Arts Club (president), Theater, Magnet Arts Night (senior director),

•Job/Work Experience: safeway cashier & tutoring afterschool

•Volunteer/Community service: community activism for Black Lives Matter

•Summer Activities:

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biographical – 9, I thought it was really strong honestly, detailed the problems I’ve had with my family life/finances and how I’ve grown from it. It was sad I guess but not just me complaining about my life.

other one – 10, I used my common app essay, it was about how I got started organizing in the Black Lives Matter movement, really good essay.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 10, my teacher really likes me and has known me for 3 years; knows about my organizing, theater, family struggles, etc. definitely a great rec

•Teacher Rec #2: 10, this teacher also really likes me, don’t know her as super well as I know the other teacher, but she knows I’m a good student, hardworking, and passionate

•Counselor Rec: 8, counselor doesn’t know me as well as the other two, but he likes me and thinks I’m a good kid.

•Additional Rec: n/a

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Maryland

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: public (in STEM Magnet program)

•Ethnicity: African-American

•Gender: female

•Income Bracket: <100,000 (this is tricky b/c I had to say the income for 2014, which was WAY higher than our current income of <60,000 because my parents recently separated )

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
•Strengths: GPA, test scores, essays, and recs were all really good; it was clear that I’m a dedicated student who’s really wants to contribute to society.

•Weaknesses: I think the income thing really messed me up; it seemed like my family makes way more money than we actually do. I explained this in my essay, but idk if they even read it considering how high our income seemed.

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Income

Colleges ranked: not really important lol

General Comments: Make sure you use the additional comments box!! I neglected to do that and I think it might have cost me in the end; I just explained my finances in my biographical essay and thought that was good enough.
Spend a lot of time on your essays, pick the right teachers to do your recs, and MAKE SURE YOU DO THE REQUIRED TESTING FOR THE COLLEGES YOU WANNA RANK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!! This is another mistake I made along the way – doesn’t matter too much since I’m not a finalist, but definitely something to keep in mind!
Good luck to future applicants and congrats to all the finalists!!

[lesleymmm]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1940 CR: 680 M: 680 W: 580 (Retaking)

•ACT: 29 Composite Score E: 25 S: 25 M: 33 R: 31 (Retaking)

•SAT II: Math level 2: 620 Chem: 570

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78 Weighted is 4.262

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/35 (super tiny school)

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Spanish (4) AP English Lang (4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP English Lit, AP Calc (School doesn’t allow for any other classes so this is the most rigorous course load) taking English Composition at Rutgers

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Rutgers 4-H Teen Council from 10-12 grade, JV tennis in 10th, Varsity tennis from 11-12, ODASIS SAT Prep Program 11

•Job/Work Experience: Intern at Assemblyman’s Office last summer and I am a work assistant in a cancer research lab

•Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at the hospital from 10-12, Volunteered at the library over the summer, do a few walks and help out at special Olympics events adding up to 250 hours, tutored physics after school last year and will tutor again this year which I didn’t ask to get the hours for

•Summer Activities: Worked at the lab, volunteered, had the internship, prepared for the Rutgers English course

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): I feel my biographical essay was an 8. It tied in important lessons in tennis to a few important aspects of my life such as why I wanted to be a doctor and the importance of being humble.

I give my second essay a 7. I explained how the loss of my father in my life for the last 2 years because he was deported and how it affected me mentally and physically

Short Answers: 7
I tried to not take myself too seriously when answering them. I wrote about climate change for the subject that intellectually excites me and I explained why I wanted to meet Percy Jackson

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 8 PreCalc teacher- I know that she was pretty fond of me and I worked the hardest in her class.

•Teacher Rec #2: 5 physics teacher- I am pretty sure he wrote good things but I did not know him too well and he is known to write very generic recommendations

•Counselor Rec: 7 She had a meeting with us to find out more about us personally so she basically wrote what we
said

•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant):NJ

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Magnet High School

•Ethnicity: Hispanic (Mexican)

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: <$15,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection
•Strengths: I feel my essays really showed what motivates me to succeed and shows a whole picture of my life and my challenges. I also had a unique situation and am URM.

•Weaknesses: Well my scores are not too high and not having any leadership didn’t help me

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I’m not really sure, I was shocked, but my story was a very unique one and I guess the essays

Colleges ranked: Princeton, Brown, Amherst, UChicago, Haverford, Oberlin

General Comments: I am extremely happy I’m a finalist because I didn’t feel I would be chosen or was qualified. I am one of the few people that applied to QB in the past few years from my school and I hope others will take the opportunity to apply even if you have lowish test scores. I’m just going to continue to be happy for the rest of the week!

[JMANNO33O]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): N/A

•ACT: 35

•SAT II: Physics 750 Math II 780

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.675

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/600

•AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4) AP Eng Lang (4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng Lit, AP Calc AB, We the People, AP Bio, AP Physics II

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Commended National Merit Scholar, National Hispanic Recognition.

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Robotics (Programmer, driver, officer), National Honor Society.

•Job/Work Experience: IT intern over summer.

•Volunteer/Community service: IT volunteer school year. Tutor in math.

•Summer Activities: N/A

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biographical I was a bit specific, not exactly talking about my life but a specific event I learned from. I guess they kinda liked that so maybe an 8. Other essay was the “Change my mind” essay which IMO was garbage, so 4.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: Math teacher for 2 of my high school years. Most certainly a solid recommendation, knowing how they write and how well they know me. 9.

•Teacher Rec #2: APUSH and We the People teacher. Also probably a great recommendation. 8

•Counselor Rec: She said she’d make me seem like I’d walk on water, maybe 8 or so.

•Additional Rec: N/A

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Arizona

•Country (if international applicant): N/A

•School Type: Public ~2400 students

•Ethnicity: Puerto Rican

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket: Household parent makes ~36k

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, 1st Generation, parents recently divorced.

Reflection
•Strengths: I excel academically and have the extracurriculars to back that.

•Weaknesses: Essay writing.

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Don’t really know. I’m in a fairly normal household, maybe it was just a combination of everything.

Colleges ranked: Stanford, Caltech, Yale, Princeton, MIT

General Comments: I almost didn’t want to do Questbridge, even though a friend got a full ride to Yale from it. But to me it’s always worth it to apply, even if you don’t think it’s worth your time. Trust me, it is.

[Som3Asian]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown):1870 (Didn’t send for obvious reason)

•ACT:34

•SAT II:

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.81

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/326

•AP (place score in parenthesis):Biology(4), Chemistry (3), (Physics 3), European History (4), Calculus AB (N/A), English Lit (N/A), English Language (N/A)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):Math SL (5)

•Senior Year Course Load: IB English HL, IB Spanish SL, IB Biology HL, IB Chemistry SL, AP Calculus AB, Theory of Knowledge, IB History HL

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): IU PEPP Research: 1st Place, Congressional National Qualifier, Speech and Debate State and District Finalist, AP Scholar, other small school awards

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (Captain), Interact Club, Student Renaissance (Leader), Seismic Club (President)

•Job/Work Experience: Worked at my parents’ restaurant since I was 5. I now work 32+ hours/week

•Volunteer/Community service: Interact Club and Student Renaissance

•Summer Activities: Reading books on how to write college essays

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9. I bought multiple how-to books for writing college essays after my failing cliche essay I wrote for the Questbridge College Prep Scholarship. Spent the summer reading these books and spending over 100 hours writing and revising my Questbridge Essays. However, I caught some small mistakes on the essays after the deadline. (Despite displaying interests in a topic, I stated that I was interested in a specific topic…)

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 9. My English/TOK teacher loves me. We have a great relationship and the essay is excellent.

•Teacher Rec #2: 5-7? My biology teacher is okay with me…I think. Even if she hates me, she is not mean enough to write a bad recommendation. …

•Counselor Rec: 5-7? I have no idea…

•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Indiana

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Asian-American

•Gender: M

•Income Bracket: >$40,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):First generation college, First generation American

Reflection
•Strengths: Essays, Test Scores, Class Rank

•Weaknesses: Could edit my essays a little bit more. My parents’ income is leaning towards the higher end and we have a $200,000+ house (which I thought would get me rejected)

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I explained my circumstance of working at my parents’ restaurant and how I grew because of it. It was essentially a pity essay that turned into one where I explained how it affected me.

Colleges ranked: 1) Rice 2) Columbia 3) Yale

General Comments: I was surprised that I became a finalist…I thought I didn’t have a chance because of my family’s income and our house. Nothing devastating happened to me (i.e. hospital bills, parents fired from job, ect.). But I was able to present my situation in a way that shows how dedicated I was to school and work. Don’t give up on Questbridge! Spend as much time as you can because it will pay off either by becoming a finalist or finishing your college essays early! :bz :bz

[RahaRahas]

Result: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): R 690 M 720 W 700 (new scores coming out soon)

•ACT: n/a

•SAT II: Biology 770 US History 780

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a

•AP (place score in parenthesis): 12 APs in total: Three 5s Two 4s One 3 Others Not yet taken

•IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit and Comp, AP Calc BC, AP Stats, AP Physics C E&M, AP Studio Art, Government, Macro Econ Accel, Engineering Foundations, Outdoor Rec

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Commended Student, AP Scholar with Distinction, High Honors (generic stuff)

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (SCHOOL ONLY) Marching Band Front Ensemble (section leader), Chinese Language and Culture Club (Secretary)

•Job/Work Experience: Artworks (2 month mural project for Duke Energy), CKAS Camp Counselor

•Volunteer/Community service: Relay for Life (all years), Beta Club and NHS participant, make art for Children’s Hospital, Sunday School Teacher, Church website/brochure manager

•Summer Activities: work listed above, attended Schain Art Studios, went to NYC leadership conference for humanitarian missions, traveled

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biographical (10/10)- beautiful, sounds mature and intelligent, Other (8/10)- sounds rushed a bit at the end but overall great, talked about art’s role in my life

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: Chinese Teacher- had her for 5 years, she wrote a great rec letter for my sister so she probably did the same for me, I also am very active in Chinese Club (10/10)

•Teacher Rec #2: Physics Teacher- really chill person, thought I was a great student, don’t know her as well though (8/10)

•Counselor Rec: Didn’t know her as well but I gave her lots of information. Answered some deep questions for her so that she could get to know me better. (9/10)

•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): OH

•School Type: Fairly Large Public

•Ethnicity: Asian

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: <40,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
•Strengths: Bio Essay, Rigorous Courseload

•Weaknesses: SAT1 score, no MAJOR awards

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I truly expressed my personality. I tried to be thoughtful about everything I wrote. I had a rigorous courseload and participated in diverse activities outside of school.

Colleges ranked: 8

General Comments: Hope I get matched!!! Good Luck to all nonfinalists and finalists on their college admissions journey!

[thenonGreat]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): Superscored 2270, but 2150 highest at-one-sitting out of 3 tests

•ACT: 31

•SAT II: n/a

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Around 3.87 or sth

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~6% top

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Lang (5), World (4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Stats, graphics, orchestra, music theory

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Bunches of church stuff (leadership) and stuff with children (teaching)

•Job/Work Experience: n/a

•Volunteer/Community service: Again, church and children stuff

•Summer Activities: Knitting haha

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biographical, a 8/9-ish. Wrote about my love-hate relationship that always ends up into the adoring love with children. Second one, another 8/9-ish. Wrote, in once-upon-a-time style, how I gave up art and then started back again.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: AP World teacher, probably a 7/8 or so. She didn’t particularly love me, but she knew me.

•Teacher Rec #2: Honors Bio teacher, probably a 8/9. She didn’t really love me either, but she did a mini interview with me so she knows me too.

•Counselor Rec: Eh, probably not outstanding: 7? But who knows??

•Additional Rec: n/a

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Hawaii

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Korean

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: around 24000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Well, first to go to college in US…

Reflection
•Strengths: My short answers and essays? Probably the recommendations too? I don’t know what they’re thinking. Maybe it was my consistency in my loves (children).

•Weaknesses: The counselor rec and my lack of summer activities haha

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I don’t know. I really don’t. My passion for children maybe showed, and that’s what really got them to accept me?

Colleges ranked: Stanford, Yale, Princeton (aim for the stars)

General Comments: As you could probably tell from all the question marks, I really do not know why in the world I was chosen. As the Christian I am, though, I would say it was God helping me, but if you’re nonreligious then take it with a grain of salt. I didn’t really want to post, but I remember scouring this site for stories such as mine, so here I am. Anyways, people, I am blessed and I hope you gained confidence from my very mundane application. Just let your passions flow, and share yourself the best you can. Good luck, future applicants!!

[Igotbighair]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I: 2100

•SAT II: I will take them in November haha

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83 w gpa is 4.5

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13th/502

•AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 AP English, 5 AP US History, 4 AP World, 3 AP Physics 1

•Senior Year Course Load: 6 classes, 4 AP, honors spanish 4, and speech and debate

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Errrr not really, I got the Mayor’s Citizenship Award last year, and I am ranked top 20 in Prose in 2nd State Division Tournament

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Speech and Debate coach, President and founder of UNICEF Club, VP of International Culture Club (European Club), Mayors Youth Advisory Council, Senior Editor of School Newspaper

•Job/Work Experience: I cleaned apartments briefly,

•Volunteer/Community service: mission trip with church, A LOT OF CHINESE SCHOOL VOLUNTEERING LOL

•Summer Activities: foster care organization, 20 hours, and an biophysics internship at state university

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): my first biographical I definitely enjoyed, give it a 9. Second one was a 6-7 at most, surprised i got in lol

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 10. He still wrote it for me after he left for another school.

•Teacher Rec #2: 9. She likes me, i stand out to her.

•Counselor Rec: REALLLY good. I was one of the few kids who stuck around and actually seek out resources,so I stood out to him. definitely a 10.

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): AZ

•School Type: public, notorious for horrible school funding

•Ethnicity: Middle Eastern/Taiwanese

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: 20,000, two people in family.

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I guess we’re just broke?

Reflection
•Strengths:I guess I stand out?

•Weaknesses: I got a C in math one semester my Junior year, so reallllly surprised I got in.

Colleges ranked: I decided to do regular decision, since the only college I was interested in was USC, and I just hated the binding notion

General Comments: dude, I am SURPRISED. I was not a questbridge scholar, so to have this happen really surprises me. I sooo thought I was going to get rejected cold.

[101101]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown):

•ACT: 29 (Supercore 30)

•SAT II:

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72 ; weighted 4.55(out of 5.0)

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20/700 (my counselor made a not that ranks were not updated, likely in top 10)

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc BC (5) , AP Calc AB (5) , AP US History (5) , AP Psych (5), AP Stats (5), AP Environmental (5), AP Chem (4) , AP Lang (4), AP World (5)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP econ , AP Physics C , AP Computer Science , AP Lit , AP Bio , Spanish 4 H

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholor ( and the ones below) a few school awards nothing major

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President (Mathletes , Physics and Chem club) Secretary (Student Gov) and some other smaller club

•Job/Work Experience: Private Tutoring and retail

•Volunteer/Community service:

•Summer Activities:

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Biography - 7? I’m not sure it was a sad essay but I don’t know how well written it was. Grew up in colombia really poor and had faced many harships in this country (father leaving, abuse, etc)
Short essay - 10 I really liked this essay as I chose to write about what I would change about the latino community

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 10 this is my calc teacher that I had for two years and frequenlt visit despite already finishing the class

•Teacher Rec #2: 7 my sociology teacher than I had for one year but she loved me

•Counselor Rec: 10 really liked me and was reallt excited that I was applying to questbridge

•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): AZ

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Hispanic / Latino

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket: ~25,000 family of 4

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first gen college and first gen immigrant (born in colombia)

Reflection
•Strengths: I guess the number of AP exams I took and the hooks

•Weaknesses: My ACT score is low and my unwieghted GPA is low

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Selected because of my sad essays and making a point of changing the history of my culture

Colleges ranked: 10 colleges Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Colombia , Brown, UPenn, Vanderbilt ,Northwestern, UChicago, Rice University

General Comments: Most likely I won’t get into the ranked colleges but its free and I might as well take the chance. My advice would be just to go for it, don’t be afraid of rejection because there is nothing to lose.

[Camilouisee]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1970: 630 CR, 640 M, 700 W

•ACT: 32

•SAT II: 720 Bio M, 690 math 2, 700 US history

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11/932

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology (4), AP Euro (2), AP Physics C (3), AP Calc AB (5), AP English Lang (4), APUSH (4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load:
Chemistry
AP Econ / AP Gov
Student Achievement
AP English Lit.
AP Psychology
AP Statistics
•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): College Prep Scholar

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): CAST ( treasurer), Red Cross ( Historian), Foster Friends ( co-founder and secretary

•Job/Work Experience:
Babysitting
•Volunteer/Community service:
Library/ various fundraiser walks
•Summer Activities:
College road trip, volunteering
•Essays (rating 1-10, details):

• 8?, I wrote about living in a hotel for 2 years and how that shaped me
  -7-8?, I wrote about one time when my family went to Vegas and my dad gambled away all our money and how that changed my perspective on my parent’s capability of making mistakes.
  •Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
  •Teacher Rec #1: AP calc teacher, 8-9.
  She watched go from failing the class to getting a 5 on the exam, so I’m sure it’s pretty decent.

•Teacher Rec #2: 9, my sophomore English teacher who I’ve still kept in touch with and am close to.

•Counselor Rec:
7, probably pretty typical
•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant):
California
•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type:
Public
•Ethnicity:
Hispanic / white
•Gender:
Female
•Income Bracket:
Less than 10,000
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
URM, first gen.
Reflection
•Strengths:
I focused quite a bit on the obstacles I had to overcome while still letting a positive tone shine through. My grades are pretty decent.
•Weaknesses:
-test scores
-EC’s?
•Why you think you were selected/rejected:
I feel like they may have just enjoyed the way I presented my obstacles and situations.
Colleges ranked:
Pomona, Stanford, USC, Scripps, Rice, Columbia, UPenn
General Comments:
Don’t let the test score ranges or this thread deter you from applying to Questbridge. It’s an awesome experience whether you get the award or not.

[cierramist]

I’m so excited to fill this out! I’ve spent so much time reading other people’s!
Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): not taken

•ACT: 29 composite (E 31) (M 25) (R 35) (S 25) retaking this saturday… also i didn’t even submit any ACT score, but I’ll have to by nov 1st since im a finalist

•SAT II: not taken

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): My school only offers the weighted GPA out of a 4.0. I have a 3.8

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 23 of 269

•AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP Psych (5), AP English Lang (4), WHAP (didn’t take test)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP English Lit, government/econ, marching band, college and career composition, Writing for Publication (would’ve taken AP French V and AP Gov, but they got cut this year cause not enough people signed up, but I included that in my application so they would know I wasn’t slacking)

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar is the only big one from high school

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): member of the Wisconsin AAA Marching Band State Champions for nine consecutive years, we also go to nationals every year (Drum Major- 12th), helped restart our school’s newspaper, drama club (9th, 10th), Wind Ensemble (highest band at my school, 9th, 10th, 11th), debate team that went to state (9th, 10th) forgot to put the debate/drama thing on my app though

•Job/Work Experience: babysitting every summer since I was 12, also life guarding year round at an indoor water park 25hrs/week during the school year, 35+hrs/week during the summer

•Volunteer/Community service: started and ran a tutoring program at my school to help kids study for the AP English Lang test since there was no help available before hand, started a free lesson program at local middle school where members of my band volunteered to teach kids music lessons for free, volunteer at Prolife Wisconsin and the American Diabetic Association

•Summer Activities: volunteering, working, babysitting, marching band

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):

1- Bio essay was a 10 honestly, writing is my strong suit. I wrote about the moment I left childhood (which happened to be a common app prompt too so I guess two birds with one stone??!?!) I'm the oldest of 5 kids and my mom has Borderline Personality Disorder and was admitted to a mental hospital for overdosing on her medication and getting involved in risky behavior (to put it lightly) my sophomore year, and my dad works full time, so I was left to raise my four younger siblings. I wrote about how the official end of my childhood was when I taught myself how to hold my baby brother because it was the beginning of me having to raise myself and my brothers, and how i was able to remain successful and optimistic despite. I had my two english teachers revise it and they loved it

2- I'd give it a 9, only because I didn't love it as much as my other one, but it was still well written. I wrote about my favorite accomplishment which was the Smiley Award in second grade because I was always smiling. It was unique (not like winning team captain or class president) and it showed the value of optimism to me

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 10, it’s from my band director who moved to Texas actually this past summer, but he still wrote the rec. He helped me through my mom being admit to the mental hospital, saw me sleep in the band room during my release cause I wasn’t getting sleep at home, and had been my rock my whole junior year. I had just transferred so I was the new kid. He also made me the leader of our state winning, nationally recognized marching band after literally being at the school for only six months because he saw the leadership and potential in me. I waived my right to read it but I know it was amazing

•Teacher Rec #2: 8-9, from my AP Psych teacher who is the favorite teacher in our whole school and also was like a second dad when it came to helping me through my family problems. It just wasn’t as emotional as I would’ve liked it to be (he emailed it to me even though I waived my right to view it) but it still was very good.

•Counselor Rec: 7-8, talks about all my unique strengths and circumstances, but he didn’t know me as much as my other two teachers did. Thinks very highly of me though because I did online school my sophomore year and he knows that it was me teaching myself. I am also the first kid from my school to apply through QB so he was excited I was taking initiative

•Additional Rec: none

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Wisconsin

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: on the small side, public

•Ethnicity: white

•Gender: female

•Income Bracket: 73,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): autistic brother, mother with borderline personality disorder who is also mentally/emotionally abusive which I touched upon in essay, my mom is an immigrant from Ireland and no college education (dad does though), lots of money going to my mom’s two knee surgeries and open heart surgery, also special schooling for my brother. i also did online school through a program where you hardly contact your teachers and practically teach yourself, something i touched upon in app

Reflection
•Strengths: interesting family situation, sort of interesting extra currics, and most importantly, my essays and recs. ESPECIALLY my essays, i’m certain i would’ve gotten rejected without them.

•Weaknesses: GPA/test scores (although i explained in app how the reason for my low GPA is only my first semester sophomore year when i was in online school, had mono and my mom was admitted to the mental hospital. I got a 3.33 and every other semester I’ve had a 3.8-4.33 out of a 4.0, so obviously sophomore year was an anomaly), income (but we have a lot of expenses, plus the average is like 60,000 for a family of four and we’re only slightly over with a family of 7 so…)

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Able to explain away my slightly lower than average GPA and also my higher than normal income, had amazing essays that really showed my voice and my circumstances without seeming needy or pretentious, was able to be original in essays as well. Also those recs really helped. it’s not all about test scores apparently…

Colleges ranked: (in order) Wellesley, Pomona, Brown, Columbia, Yale, Dartmouth, UNotre Dame, Stanford, Vassar, Swarthmore
I know I won’t get into any Ivies or even ND but I just like seeing them on my list Wellesley is my baby, anyways

General Comments: Stellar test scores won’t get you in, and average ones won’t keep you out. Make your essays your number one priority, as it’s where you show yourself. Also, just try! I really didn’t know how it’d pan out, but I just need to get into Wellesley and life will be good… believe, I guess. Also sorry this is full of runons and grammatical errors, it’s midnight but I just wanted to get this out there. Good luck, and this seriously doesn’t prove your worth.

[WolfOfBrookAve]

Great job on the thread guys, just make sure you are not making yourself look to egotistical.

Just wanted to make someone’s day and tell them my friend is a finalist with a score around the 1700s, while our school’s valedictorian, did not become a finalist.

Scores really do not define who you are. I see guys here crying over the fact that they got a 1950… Stop lol

Be humble, work hard and put your heart into your essay. Good Luck!

[IbrahimMoizoos]

Decision: Finalist

Objective:
•SAT I (breakdown): n/a

•ACT: 34 (36 Reading, 34 Math, 34 English, 33 Science)

•SAT II: 790 Math II, 710 Physics

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/438 (3%)

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Statistics (5), US Gov (5), Lit (4), Euro (4), USH (3), Lang (3)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): Psychology SL (4)

•Senior Year Course Load: IB Spanish, IB Contemporary History, IB Theory of Knowledge, IB Mathematics, IB Psychology, IB English, IB Physics

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, AP Scholar with Distinction, Questbridge Prep Scholar, other small school-level stuff

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Cross Country
Track
JROTC (Commander)
Community Service Club (Treasurer)
Helper at Church
NHS
•Job/Work Experience: Micky Dee’s

•Volunteer/Community service: JROTC stuff, community service club

•Summer Activities: summer program for JROTC, working at McD’s

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biography essay was alright, had weak conclusion though (8)
Additional essay was good, a little cliche though (7-8)

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: Physics teacher, i think it was pretty good 8 or 9

•Teacher Rec #2: Math teacher, no idea

•Counselor Rec: no idea

•Additional Rec: JROTC instructor, really good, probably 10

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): FL

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Medium-sized? a little over 2000 students

•Ethnicity: Asian

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket: 30000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
•Strengths: Income, GPA, ACT, extracurriculars

•Weaknesses: One parent has a phD

•Why you think you were selected/rejected:

Colleges ranked: 10

[PolishLife]

Decision: Finalist

Objective:
•SAT I (breakdown):
didn’t take

•ACT:
35 (36 E, 36 M, 35 R, 34 Sci)

•SAT II:
800 Math 2, 660 Physis

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
3.76 (4.29 weighted)

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
school doesn’t rank

•AP (place score in parenthesis):
Human Geo (4), World History (4), Macro (3), English Lang (4), Statistics (5), US History (5)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):
didn’t take

•Senior Year Course Load:
AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C (E&M, Mech), AP Engligh Lit, AP Spanish Lang, AP Comp Sci, journalism in place of lunch

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
I had a national award in a journalism competition

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Editor-in-chief of school newspaper, math team, church choir, folk dance, DECA, babysitting nephew/niece, tutoring, district committee (school representative)

•Job/Work Experience:
I work at my church office

•Volunteer/Community service:
I tutor. Not much else here.

•Summer Activities:
I had a summer math program (that I absolutely loved. I’ll leave it at that, but I can talk about it for hours)

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Biographical Essay: 6 or 7 — I think I had good stuff to say, but the essay itself wasn’t very focused.
Second Essay: 7 — I wrote this one sort of late. Once again, I think the content was good, but could have used more editing.
Short Answers: 5 — I wrote these a few hours before submitting the application.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1:
9 — my math teacher loves me.

•Teacher Rec #2:
9 — my english teacher likes me a lot as well

•Counselor Rec:
7 — I’m not very close with her, but I’m always on top of everything I do, and I think she generally likes me? I’m not really sure about this one

•Additional Rec:
didn’t have one

Other
•School Type:
Public

•Ethnicity:
White

•Gender:
Male

•Income Bracket:
<40,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
first generation

Reflection
•Strengths:
I have high test scores (except for SAT II), and I do a lot outside of school. I think my essays were sort of unique, though they weren’t where I wanted them to be.

•Weaknesses:
In comparison to the rest of my school, I have a pretty low GPA. Also, my essays could have used A LOT more work with editing.

•Why you think you were selected/rejected:
I had an interesting story to tell? My test scores are high, and my teachers for sure wrote great letters of rec.

Colleges ranked: Stanford, MIT, Princeton, uChicago

General Comments:
I’m honestly really surprised that I was named a finalist! I didn’t expected it at all because I still wanted to work on my application a lot when I submitted it. And I wrote my short answers a few hours before submitting the application. Congrats to everyone else who was selected! And to those of you who didn’t, I know I’m not in the best spot to say this, but don’t take it to heart. You are all fantastic and will do great without Questbridge. And if something, use this as motivation to perfect your applications. Good luck to everyone in these next few months!!!

[worhexiz]

I don’t really think it matters…
Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 2050 (and I’m asian too)

•ACT: 30 (lol, what a joke I am)

•SAT II: History 700, Biology 650 (it really isn’t about scoores)

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3. something

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): haha… get a calculator… 18 or something

•AP (place score in parenthesis): History (5), Govt (5)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load: Physics, English, Biology, Chemistry, Spanish, Math

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing…

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Shopping, tennis, playing with puzzles, listening to music.

•Job/Work Experience:

•Volunteer/Community service: Animal Shelter

•Summer Activities: VACATION!!

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8ish. I was really just being myself.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 8
•Teacher Rec #1: English teacher probably thinks I’m awesome

•Teacher Rec #2: Spanish teacher is crazier than me.

•Counselor Rec: …Don’t really talk to her.

•Additional Rec: wut?

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): VA

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type:

•Ethnicity: ASIAN (Chinese)

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket: $40,00

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation

Reflection
•Strengths: being unique

•Weaknesses: SCORES REALLY DON’T MATTER

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I did not try to disguise myself at all.

Colleges ranked: 2

General Comments: I cannot emphasize this enough, but I think people should stop comparing with each other and start self-reflecting.

[grlpwr]

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1890 (610 CR, 590 M, 690 W)

•ACT: 28 (32 W, 27 R, 27 M, 24 S)

•SAT II: not taking (refuse to give more money to college board so they can determine my future)

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 (5.25 W)

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/141 (super competitive hs, used to be #1 once upon a time but then i got a 89%)

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (3), Psych (5), World His (3), Enviro (3), Spanish Lang (5), US His (4), English Lang (3), (have taken all AP classes available to me, except for the two senior year which i don’t plan to take)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered at my hs

•Senior Year Course Load: Physics Hon, Bio&lab Dual, English Lit Hon, Gov/Pol Hon, Microeco Hon, Stats Hon, Vocational Program (Magnet HS, Medical Assistant) not feeling the stress that comes with AP this year

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction (twice), Wellesley College Book Award, School Awards for Algebra 2 & Pre-Calc (even tho I suck at math…lol), & Vocational

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Enviro Club, Psych (Historian), Athletics Club, Future Educators of America, NHS, First Priority

•Job/Work Experience: Sales Associate

•Volunteer/Community service: 501 hrs

•Summer Activities: HSF’s YLI at UChicago, Dual Enrollment at Community College

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Background: Not really a background essay…didn’t put anything super personal/challenges/circumstances etc (leaving that for common app) Wrote about dreams and how my family’s dreams, and lack of, impacted how i view, and wish to pursue, life (not as cliche and sappy as it sounds) I would say one of the best essays i’ve ever written (10)
Perspective: Wrote about latino community and how YLI (^) changed how i view my fellow latinos and how much we’re really capable of despite what society views us as (8…idk i felt like there was so much more i should have said but ran out of words)
Historical Figures: Mirabal Sisters, bada** revolutionary sisters, died fighting against trujillo dictatorship in DR (home country)
Intellectual Subject: Multiverse Theory, probably not smart enough to fully understand it, but the concept of anything being possible in different universes is pretty cool
Short answers: had fun with these, pretty quirky, lots of bad jokes that are funny just because they’re bad

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
(waived right to view all)
•Teacher Rec #1: English teacher, known for 3 years, love her! pretty personal, she really gets to know you

•Teacher Rec #2: Math teacher, about to have him as teacher for the 3rd year in a row(different level maths, of course), awesome guy! said he modeled my letter after a presidential candidate nomination, honestly best guy you’ll ever meet

•Counselor Rec: Pretty standard, not personal at all, kind of like a resume, she’s nice tho

•Additional Rec: n/a

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Florida

•Country (if international applicant): USA

•School Type: Magnet/Tech/Vocational (everyone calls it something else)

•Ethnicity: Hispanic

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: 15,000-20,000 (family of 5)

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
URM, first gen, us immigrant

Reflection
•Strengths: essays for sure, only thing that kept me confident waiting for finalist decision

•Weaknesses: test scores (ughhhh…retaking act but that’s it)

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Essays, you can’t tell who a person is by averages on a paper. Everyone that became a finalist got here because of who they are, not how well they test. I’m 100% confident of that.

Colleges ranked: 12
Princeton
UChicago
Columbia
Brown
Yale
Penn
Stanford
Northwestern
Wellesley
Tufts
Notre Dame
Emory

General Comments: really glad I applied, there were times when i felt like maybe it wasn’t worth it but I’m so happy to have been wrong lol

[sharkgirl]

Remember to remove spaces in brackets before posting!!

Status: Finalist

College Match List:

• []Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  []California Institute of Technology
  []Stanford University
  []Princeton University
  []Columbia University
  []Yale University
  []Northwestern University
  []University of Chicago
  []University of Pennsylvania
  []Brown University
  []Dartmouth College
  []University of Virginia
  
• Objective:*
  [list]
  [] SAT I (breakdown): CR 680; M 670; W 710; Overall 2060
  [] ACT: 34
  [] SAT II: N/A
  [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A, weighted is 4.349 (I usually get B’s or C’s, but take a lot of AP classes)
  [] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 25%
  [] AP (place score in parenthesis): APCSA (4), AP GoPo (3), AP Psych (5), AP Lang (5), APUSH (4), AP Physics 1 (2), AP Physics 2 (2), AP Statistics (4), AP ES (4).
  [] IB (place score in parenthesis):
  [] Senior Year Course Load: Engineering STEM, AP Physics C, AP Lit, Advanced Strength Training, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP Micro/Macro
  [] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st in State for SkillsUSA Technical Drafting competition, 13th at Nationals for the National SkillsUSA Technical Drafting competition.

Subjective:

• [] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): SkillsUSA (Club President/Representative), NTHS. Used to do I.D.E.A., NHS, Science Olympiad, Math Team, Scholastic Bowl.
  [] Job/Work Experience: Engineering Internship
  [] Volunteer/Community service: N/A
  [] Summer Activities: Modeled mechanical puzzles
  [] Essays: 10/10 my financial situation is pathetic and I wrote about the surfaces of a mechanical puzzle
  [] Teacher Recommendations: 10/10 both teachers loved me
  [] Counselor Rec: 10/10 my schedule rigor is crazy

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: East Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 16,000
[] Assets: Nothing
[] Property: Renting a house
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Parents are not permanent residents
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Brother went to IVY League[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were a finalist/not a finalist and general comments: Poor income, weird circumstances, great essays. I thought I wouldn’t get in, because of my crap GPA and uneventful test scores. Congratulations, everyone!