<p>Accepted! I’m an international student from Bangladesh</p>
<p>Stats:
SAT - 2100 (M 710 CR 670 W 720)
SAT II - Chemistry 800 Math L2 730 Physics 710</p>
<p>Cambridge IGCSEs (Secondary Leaving Exams) - 8 A*s (country highest in IGCSE Geography)
Cambridge AS Level - 4 As (Physics, Chem, Math, Applied ICT)
Cambridge A Level (Senior Secondary Leaving Exams) - 4 As (predicted grade)</p>
<p>ECs:
-Duke of Edinburgh Silver
-Science Club (9-12)
-Chess Club (11-12)
-Freelance contributor at 2 local newspapers
-Discovering Young Leaders Program (DYLP) 2013 hosted by commonwealth
-Lots of math and science olympiads. Helped organize my school’s first ever science week
-Lots of Volunteering (including 3 months for Bangladesh Red Crescent Society)
-Hiking and trekking
-Soccer (7-12)</p>
<p>School doesn’t rank or use GPA systems, but I stood in the top 3 in my class and country in IGCSEs and top 5 in my class in AS</p>
<p>Requested near full financial aid</p>
<p>I think my “Why Reed” essay made the biggest difference</p>
<p>Rejected
2170 SAT
3.5 uw/4.3 w GPA
Need fin. Aid
Highly Competitive public stem magnet hs
Physics USA semifinalist 2014 (but didn’t send this updated news to them yet)
Eagle scout candidate
Other clubs & hobbies</p>
<p>Still waiting to hear from other schools
Accepted: University of Md, UMBC
Deferred: Case Western
Rejected: HMC, UVA</p>
<p>Rejected too breaks my heart, I really like Reed T_T</p>
<p>2210 SAT
GPA about 4.00 (I’m doing the IB, and I’m not sure about my predicted grades, this is my guess)
International (European), needed pretty much almost full ride
I don’t know what I’ve done wrong, I thought I had a fairly good chance :(</p>
<p>@notloureed Email the financial aid office with your complaint if you like Reed because it sounds like they definitely miscalculated your aid. Offer to send a letter explaining your situation in detail and tell them in no uncertain terms that your fin aid offer would preclude you from attending as it is now. That shouldn’t happen at a school that purports to cover full need!</p>
<p>To everyone who’s been waitlisted, don’t lose heart! This year Reed received more applications than ever before and the admission office has already come out and said that figuring out how many to accept and what yield to hope for is going to be a challenge. I expect they low-balled their acceptances and waitlisted a lot of people whom they may later accept. I also don’t think it’s true that people accepted off the waitlist don’t receive financial aid.</p>
<p>To the rejectees, I’m sorry I’m sure you’ll end up somewhere great, however!</p>
<p>And good job to the accepted students! Every single one of you deserves it.</p>
<p>Accepted! I thought the email was really cool with the video! My sats were pretty low 1780 and my gpa was 3.9 but I think I had a “good fit” with the school</p>
<p>SAT: 2270 (CR: 800 M:710 W: 760)
SAT II: Lit: 740 and US History: 760</p>
<p>Strengths: EC’s (Editor-in-Chief at School Newspaper, Competition Gymnast for 8 years, a couple clubs) and Interview (lasted 90min+, best interview I’ve ever had!)
Weaknesses: Why Reed Essay (started late) and lack of prestigious awards
Hooks: A couple family issues (mother and twin sister w/ mental illness)</p>
<p>Denied but it’s all good since I got into my main school (Holy Cross).</p>
<p>I did an overnight visit at Reed in February and felt that it really wasn’t for me. However, the professors that taught the classes I visited were amazing. The culture of Reed is just something I wasn’t ecstatic for after visiting.
But for those who love the environment and got accepted… Congratulations!!!</p>
<p>Son was accepted!!
SAT 2230
ACT 34
No interview
Strengths: Essays
Weaknesses: Almost no ECs
Need financial aid but don’t know yet what will be offered because computer issues when trying to view… had to request that the financial aid login be reset.</p>
<p>Accepted!! Thank god for interviews, essays, and teacher recs. Congrats to those accepted, and good luck to those on the wait list. Hope it works out!</p>
<p>A few things to consider, for those of you wondering endlessly about applicant pool and being waitlisted and whatnot-- Reed did NOT have an application fee this year, so the size of their applicant pool should have gone up significantly, creating way more competition than past years. Also, Reed has struggled in the years since the market crash in 2008-- their endowment decreased significantly, they do not have as much money as some schools of their caliber. They do meet 100% of demonstrated need, but they are NOT need blind, so if you had significant need, they may have decided they cannot afford to admit you. I was admitted, but I did not qualify for financial aid. That would be over $200,000 in loans, and I have four siblings in college. Sort of like getting a rejection, I had to cross them off immediately. I’m sorry to those of you waitlisted and waiting in limbo, I wish you the best of luck. I would not take it personally, if you need financial aid, I suspect they are struggling to give out all the financial aid based off past years, and have to reject or waitlist people because of that. </p>
<p>I am aware that their endowment has increased, but that is largely part of a recovery after the significant hit they, and many other schools, took. Still they do not have the endowment that some schools of the same level/price have. </p>
<p>Ah… I’m sorry to everyone who got rejected/waitlisted because my scores were low… But I think my essay helped (it was kinda different, I wrote about something that I think got me rejected from the other schools I applied to)!
Cumulative GPA: 4.077
SAT:2060 (reading 650…haha)
Math 2: 730
Physics: 700
AP Comp Sci: 4
ACTs:
Combined: 33
Reading: 32
Math 36
Essay: 9</p>
<p>EC: Band (section leader and treasurer), Japanese National Honor Society (secretary), Cat/Dog Huggers (VP), Ted Talks Club, Physics Club, Key Club, piano (11 years, live pianist for two drama productions), honors science research</p>
<p>Dude, don’t ever apologize for getting into college, that’s ridiculous. The adcom liked your application, you got in.</p>
<p>Some high school students struggle with the idea that college admissions at selective private colleges aren’t about your ‘qualifications’ but about whether your application presents a person the admission people would want to have on their campus. But that’s exactly what it is about. Your scores mean nothing by themselves. They are important because, when taken together with the rest of your application, they paint a fuller picture of who you are: smart, rich, dedicated, scatterbrained, disadvantaged, hyperambitious, well-read, unprepared, stand-out, blend-in, self-directed, over-tutored, whatever. They corroborate, flesh out or contradict the story told in the rest of your application materials. They do not ‘qualify’ you for anything.</p>
<p>Conversely, your test score alone cannot make you unworthy of or underqualified for acceptance. Again, that’s not what admissions is about. It’s a subjective process and the only box you need to tick in the end is “desirable candidate.”</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say is that the adcom liked you and that’s all there is to it. They didn’t like some people with higher test scores. It sucks for those kids–and I do genuinely have a lot of sympathy for college rejects because the subjectivity of the process means it’s almost inevitable that rejection will feel like a personal slight–but you don’t ever have to apologize for having made a better impression.</p>
