Decision: Matched
Matched to: UChicago!!!
Schools Ranked: in order - Chicago, USC, Northwestern, UPenn (I ended up having a mental breakdown and not doing any supplement requirements for them), Stanford
State (if domestic applicant): OH
School Type: Charter
Ethnicity: African (permanent resident)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: EFC: 3052 → does not take into account the current year (>35k/ family of 6; medical bills; other extenuating circumstances). I also grew up poor, but FAFSA only takes into account the previous year so…
Hooks: Single Parent, permanent resident
SAT (breakdown): 1480, 730 Math, 750 English
ACT: 32; 36 English, 35 Reading, 29 Math; 27 Science
Never took SAT subject tests
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Weighted GPA: 4.1304
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 or 2/84
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH (5), Lit (4), USGov (4), Comp Gov (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Sem 1: AP Calc, CCP @ OSU: Environmental Science, Af Am Lit, Af Am & African Studies, Development Studies, Sem 2: AP Calc, CCP @ OSU: Social Stratification, Sociology of Terrorism, Ethnic Development in SubSaharan Africa. Second semester classes are all 3000/4000 level classes
Major Awards: BBB Scholarship (Ohio ppl, where you at???). My school doesn’t give awards
Intended Major + Premed or Other Track: International Relations;
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis +years):
- the Sunrise Movement ( National Data Entry Coordinator 10-12)
- Model UN (VP 9-12)
- Glee Club & Choir (9-12)
- Musicals (10-12)
- NHS ( 11-12 )
- Taking care of younger family (10-12, took up a significant amount of time)
I don’t have a crazy amount of extracurriculars, but they were all ridiculously time-consuming (except NHS and choir). I also had to juggle working and taking care of family after single mother was put on disability
Job/Work Experience:
- Worked at Panera, Chipotle, and Target (>40hrs/week during summer; 20-30 hrs/week during school year)
Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteered through NHS and significant hours w the Sunrise Movement
Summer Activities:
Work. Take care of family.
Essays: (9/10)
Wrote about the role of the church in the W African immigrant community, biographical, and international and national class and racial inequalities. My UChicago essay was about ketchup and fake news and I’m very proud of it. It was absolutely ridiculous, but I’d argue very relevant and well written. I honestly think it is the only reason I got in.
Teacher Recommendation: (10/10) APUSH teacher, DE Af Am Lit teacher, World History teacher, Model UN advisor. I absolutely adore this woman, she has grown to be like a mother to me; (7/10) Anatomy & Phys teacher; biology teacher; (6/10) AP Calc teacher and Geometry teacher. I told him very last minute.
I will say, the last two teachers don’t know me very well because I’m a very anxious person and have a hard time talking to teachers. I only got to know my 1st recommender bc I excelled in her classes, showed passion about the subject (but only through writing bc ANXIETY), and was involved in so many things that she also led. However, all my recommenders had me freshman year AND junior/senior year, so they saw my growth. I was also consistently one of their highest achieving students
Counselor Rec: 9/10 (they just love the fact that I’m going to college and proactive about it; not exactly common at my school, but once again, I’m always anxious so we don’t interact much)
I’m sharing because I know I spent hours perusing the internet for stats like mine, so hopefully this will help others! I didn’t think I would get in because in comparison to a lot of others, I don’t have nearly as good test scores or extracurriculars. Moreover, it’s hard to prove “our type of poor” through stats. However, remember that most of these colleges claim to utilize holistic admissions processes and also have their own financial aid forms, separate from FAFSA. Had I not gotten this, my alternative would’ve been to take a gap year, so I’m eternally grateful.
Definitely do not attempt to put on a masquerade; obviously highlight the things about you that you’d like, but don’t try to be what you think they want you to be! I was not hesitant in the slightest to call out systematic racism and classism in the US and the complacency of institutions such as high-end universities such as these because I know that is something I’m very well aware of (that was a good chunk of common app PS and alluded to in my UChicago essay). I did not want to be matched somewhere that thought I was anything but what I was, and at the end of the day, I think that’s what matters.
Lots of love to you all, and best of luck in your future endeavours! I’m excited for y’all!!