The day is almost upon us guys!! Remember, this thread is for decisions only; keep discussion in the designated thread! Please provide results in the following format, and remember to take out the spaces!
noparse]Choose One:
[ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ /b][ /color=green]
[ b]Major:[ /b]
[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT I (breakdown): NA
[ *]ACT (breakdown): 33 E35M29R33S34
[ *]SAT II (place score in parentheses): NA
[ *]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/169
[ *]AP (place score in parentheses): NA
[ *]IB (place score in parentheses):NA
[ *]Senior Year Course Load: Spanish IV, Soc, Forensics, Choir, Gov, Econ, Calc, Physics
[ *]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list] National Merit Commended Scholar
[ b]Subjective:[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): StuCo (Secretary), NHS (VP), Scholars Bowl (Captain), PoliSci Club (Founder, President), Spanish Club (Treasurer), Varsity Tennis, Musical Theater, Chamber Choir (President), Forensics
[ *]Job/Work Experience: NA
[ *]Volunteer/Community Service: Lots at the local library then lots of little things
[ *]Summer Activities: Duke TIP, Brown Summer Studies
[ *]Essays: Extracurricular Activities Essay- I talked about forensics and how I was pushed out of my comfort zone.
What Motivated me to Apply- I talked about my tour and how amazing and happy the students are.
What do I bring to Rice Essay- Talked about my experience in a small town and not being supported in the arts but how I grew to appreciate my town.
[ *]Teacher Recommendations: One good, one probs. amazing.
[ *]Counselor Rec: Okay?
[ *]Additional Rec:NA
[ *]Interview:[/list] Didn’t have one
[ b]Other[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]State (if domestic applicant): Kansas
[ *]Country (if international applicant): US
[ *]School Type: Public
[ *]Ethnicity: White
[ *]Gender: Female
[ *]Income Bracket: High
[ *]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] None
[ b]Reflection[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]Strengths: I really liked my essays.
[ *]Weaknesses: ACT score? and no interview
[ *]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know, I’m just so happy I love Rice so much
[ *]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[ /list] WashU (accepted) Middlebury (accepted) Brown (not out yet)
[ b]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[ /b][/noparse]
Believe in your dreams kiddos, because they just might come true. Also, I literally screamed and like ran up the stairs.
** Decision: Rejected to COE**
Major: Electrical Engineering
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): None
ACT: 31(E:29:M:33:R:30:S:32)
SAT II: 770 Math II, 700 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): A/B student(School does not give Unweighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): None.
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APW/APUS, 4 APCS/APHUG, 3 AP Lang
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc, AP Physics II, AP Stats; ROTC I, Honors Economics/Civics, Honors Engineering I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st place at several local math competitions, Top ten in city-wide math competitions, Quarter-finalist/Semifinalist in Robotics all three years, and was invited to demo robot at a few international conferences.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team and Robotics, leader in both
Job/Work Experience: None.
Volunteer/Community service: A couple times every month for a few hours
Summer Activities: Freshman: None; Sophomore Year: EDx: Intro to Python;Junior: Pre-Calc Class/SMP
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App Essay: 8
EC Essay: 9
Perspective Essay: 7-8
Why Major: 6-7
Why Rice: Either 2-3 or 7-8; Accidentally uploaded the wrong draft and I’ll never know if they replaced it.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 8; Math Team Coach/Calc Teacher
Teacher Rec #2: 10; Physics Teacher
Counselor Rec: 8; She seems to have a handle of writing good recs
Additional Rec: None.
Interview: None.
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid:Yes
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: AA
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
Interview: None
Reflection:
Strengths: Awards
Weaknesses: Grades, Essays
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
[color=Red]Decision: Rejected[/color=Red]
Major:
[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (800M, 720R, 780W)
[ *]ACT (breakdown): 35 (36M, 36E, 35R, 34S)
[ *]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800M2, Physics, Biology, 790 Chemistry, 750 USH, 730 Literature
[ *]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72
[ *]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
[ *]AP (place score in parentheses): BC Calculus (5), Biology (4), USH (4), Physics B (5), World History (4), NSL (5), English Lang/Comp (5), Chinese Lang/Comp (5), Chemistry (5)
[ *]IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *]Senior Year Course Load: MV Calc, AP Statistics, AP Environmental Science, AP Literature, Mol. Biology, AP Physics C, AP MacroEcon
[ *]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Some Chess Awards (Expert rated USCF)/Math Awards
[ b]Subjective:[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Chess, Math, Ninja Warrior, Piano, Some other smaller things
[ *]Job/Work Experience: NIH, Chess coaching,
[ *]Volunteer/Community Service: Chess Coaching
[ *]Summer Activities: Chess, NIH, Ninja Warrior Training
[ *]Essays: These were definitely decent… however, they may have reflected my poor fit for Rice.
[ *]Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t See
[ *]Counselor Rec: Didn’t See
[ *]Additional Rec: Didn’t See
[ *]Interview:[/list]: None
[ b]Other[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]State (if domestic applicant): MD
[ *]Country (if international applicant):
[ *]School Type: Public, Large, Top 100 Nationwide (USN)
[ *]Ethnicity: Asian/Chinese
[ *]Gender: Male
[ *]Income Bracket: 250K/y
[ *]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): haha
[ b]Reflection[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]Strengths: Test Scores, Unique Awards/Activities
[ *]Weaknesses: GPA, poor fit, lack of demonstrated interest
[ *]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I simply wouldn’t be a good fit at Rice. Furthermore, I didn’t demonstrate interest… I had no interview and had no visit or contact with Rice. Also, Rice cares a lot about cumulative GPA, and my ninth grade really hurt there.
[ *]Where else have you been admitted/rejected/waitlisted: Accepted: UChicago, UMDCP, Emory U, UMBC, GaTech, UCLA, UC Berkeley Waitlisted: Vanderbilt Rejected: Rice
[ b]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[ /b][/noparse]
I was simply not a good fit for Rice… It was better that I was rejected, and my spot given to someone else who would truly thrive at Rice, than for me to be accepted to a university I’d be unlikely to attend.
I’ve received generous merit aid from UChicago, and I think I would most likely attend there anyways. This decision was for the best!
**Decision: Accepted
I hope this helps someone!
Major: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (750 CR/800 M/800 W/10 essay I think)
[]ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
[]SAT II: Math II 800, Molecular Bio 800, Chem 800
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/189
[]AP (place score in parentheses):
-Sophomore year: Stats (5), World History (5)
-Junior year: Bio (5), Cal BC (5 - Cal AB subscore (5)), Chem (5), English Lang/Comp (5), Human Geography (5), US History (5)
[]IB (place score in parentheses): not offered
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP Macroeconomics 1st sem/AP US Government 2nd sem, AP Computer Science A, AP Physics 2, AP Psychology 1st sem/JHU CTY Multivariable Calculus 2nd sem, AP English Lit/Comp, mandatory health science thing
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none[/li]More common awards: National AP Scholar, NM Finalist, state-wide math competition honorable mention, school-wide things
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): didn’t do leadership in parentheses because I copy pasted from another format
Multiple leadership positions in each of All-State orchestra (9-10), All-Region orchestra (9-11), award-winning youth orchestra with large time commitment (9-11); associate concertmaster on youth orchestra’s national radio performance (9); top marks in state-wide music contest (9-10); 2nd place in state-wide special talent competition (10); Beta Club school chapter president (12); 2nd place HOSA state (11); NHS member (11-12)
[]Job/Work Experience: none
[]Volunteer/Community service: ~50 hours food bank (10); ~100+ hours hospital (11); some stuff with NHS that I didn’t list hours for specifically (11-12)
[]Summer Activities: Organic chemistry research through full-scholarship 5-week program (12); merit scholarship to invitation-only chamber music festival (11)
[]Essays:
-Common App: My life story told in a ~deep, creative, metaphorical~ way, turned out decently, 8/10 or so
-Why Rice: Wrote this at 3 am, 5/10
-What do I bring to Rice: Literally one of my UT essays, about my culture, 6/10
[]Teacher Recommendation:
-AP chem teacher - likes me, known for writing good recs, 8.5-9/10
-AP English Lang teacher - see above, likes me more than AP chem teacher does, 9/10
[]Counselor Rec: Due to my former counselor leaving I got a new counselor last minute, so 5-6/10, probably really generic
[]Additional Rec: I’m not sure if Rice accepted one through common app, but if so:
Violin teacher sent in a rec - I actually teared up after reading it, 10+/10
[li]Interview: eh, decent, I’m not that enthusiastic about Rice and I think it may have come through a bit, 6/10[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): TX
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Smallish public magnet
[]Ethnicity: Korean-American
[]Gender: F
[]Income Bracket: ~120k (idk what the ranges are)
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None (other than female in engineering, which I doubt really counts)[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[]Strengths: Academics in general, test scores, recs, focused ECs
[]Weaknesses: Very few STEM-related ECs, lack of national/international achievement in violin, lack of traditional club/class leadership role, essays just for this school (strength for other schools)
[]Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Personal history with school (not legacy), strengths
[]Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
-Accepted: Cornell (likely), Johns Hopkins (Bloomberg scholarship), Wellesley, UT Austin (engineering honors, scholarship, Plan II honors)
-Deferred: Princeton SCEA
-Waitlisted: Case Western, Harvey Mudd
-Rejected: Stanford
-Waiting: Harvard, Yale, Princeton RD
[/ul]General Comments:
Congrats to everyone else who was accepted, and to those who weren’t, you’ll have other amazing options!
[color=orange]Decision: Waitlisted[/color=orange]
Major:. Psych/Neuro
ACT 35
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3 8’ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 2%
AP (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: anatomy, AP Latin, AP Euro, Honors Calc, orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Blue Key, Fine Arts Society
Subjective:
[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Equi Team(Captain) Speech( competing at State )
[]Job/Work Experience: none
[]Volunteer/Community Service: zip
[]Summer Activities: Duke TIP, College courses
[]Essays:very good
[]Teacher Recommendations:excellent
[]Counselor Rec: Excellent
[]Additional Rec: Outatanding
[li]Interview:[/ul] none[/li]
Other
[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): TX
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Private Board
[]Ethnicity: White / Asian
[]Gender: F
[]Income Bracket: high
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/ul][/li]
Reflection
[ul]
[]Strengths: ACT score, essays, great HS Resume
[]Weaknesses: Zip community service
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Advisor told me Texans would being waitlisted mostly
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[/ul]
Accepted: Wash U, Vanderbilt, Tulane, U of Rochester, UT Austin, A&M, SMU, Case
Rejected: Duke, JHU
Deferred:'Columbia (dream school)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
I’ll probably go to Rice if eventually accepted and rejected at Columnia. Or else Vandy, I dont even know.
[size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ b][color=green][size]
Major: Biology
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (780 CR, 660 M, 730 W)
ACT (breakdown): 30 Did not send
SAT II: 740- Biology E, 720- US history, 670- Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 26 out of 619
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology, Environmental, Lang, French V, Us History 5s
Chem, Lit, Calc, Euro not yet taken test
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Calc ABBC, AP Euro, AP Lit, Latin 2, Honors French 6
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Umm Bronze Presidential Service, AP Scholar with Distinction, 2cnd place at HOSA States
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): HOSA
Job/Work Experience: Referee for the past three years in sports league
Volunteer/Community service: Tutor at peer tutoring center at school, tutored at middle school during the school year and the summer, other random one time deals
Summer Activities: Governor’s School in NC
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 5-7 in retrospect I should’ve have done more research about Rice before applying , felt like it was quite broad
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: English Teacher known 1 year, 7-8 probably above average but not amazing
Teacher Rec #2: Bio Teacher known 1 year, same as before
Counselor Rec: Maybe slightly above average, she deals with many students but she at least knew my face and name!
Additional Rec:
Interview: Pretty basic interview, the lady had a lot lined up that day. Definitely not the most amazing interview but she told me the interview is just a footnote on the application.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major:Biology and French
State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
URM interested in the sciences
Reflection
Strengths: I think my common app essay gave them good insight to who I was. URM, Vision partcipant
Weaknesses: My GPA and my scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think they saw that I would be a good fit for their school and that I was passionate about entering the medical field! But I the end college admissions remains a randomized process.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: UNC Chapel honors college, Washington and Lee, USCarolina Honors College, Emory, Davidson, Swarthmore
Waitlisted: Duke
Applied: Harvard, Brown,
General Comments: I was a vision participant and I fell in love with Rice!!! I was also award the Trustee Scholarship, but tuition remains pretty steep! I pray I end up here. Congrats to all!
**Decision: Accepted
Major: Computer Science/Engineering and Pyschology
Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2290 One sitting 790 (CR) 770 (M) 730 (W)
[]ACT (breakdown): None
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 (Math II) 730 (Lit) 740 (Physics)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/673
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Cal BC(5 AB subscore: 5 ) Chemistry, English Language & Composition, US History, World History (4)
[]IB (place score in parentheses): None
[]Senior Year Course Load: Linear Algebra and Calculus III at university, AP Computer Science, AP Physics C: E&M, AP Biology, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Government, Symphony Orchestra, Teacher’s Assistant
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semi-finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Clark Scholar, Regional/State UIL Literary Criticism team awards, Regional Cardboard Boat Regatta 2nd [/ul][/li]
Subjective:
[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Overseas Peer College Counseling (Founder), Science Club(Founder/President), Math Club/Mu Alpha Theta(VP), Engineering Club(Treasury), Symphony Orchestra(Social Chair), Comic Translation Organization: The Faiien Scans(Founder), Tennis(2 years, won a few regional awards)
[]Job/Work Experience: Research Intern for 6-7 weeks at Clark Scholars
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Reading Corp, Teacher’s Assistant, Tutor
[]Summer Activities: First Bytes Computer Science Camp, Clark Scholar research program (Both free)
[]Essays: CA Essay: 5-6/10 Teacher and Harvard friend said it showed nice character; it is a very cliche immigrant story though; strength; Supplements: 7/10 Not phenomenal but pretty good
[]Teacher Recommendations: Read 2 of them, 1 were great and the other were okay; the 3rd one was written by a teacher who has never written recommendation letters before and I didn’t see it
[]Counselor Rec: Her recommendation sounds awesome but look like a template at the same time…not sure how to rate; pretty impersonal
[]Additional Rec: One from research mentor (didn’t read)
[li]Interview:Accidentally missed the deadline to schedule one, oops. >.< [/ul] [/li]
Other
[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): TX
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Large Public (6A)
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: F
[]Income Bracket: $80,000-90,000
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None except for maybe female interested in CS[/ul][/li]
Reflection
[ul]
[]Strengths: Summer Activities and GPA/Transcript
[]Weaknesses: Standardized Test Scores, Awards, Maybe essays and rec letters
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My Why Rice essay was cute, creative and unusual (described by some friends who read it)
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:Accepted: Likely letter from Cornell, Carnegie Mellon U, UT Austin, Texas A&M Rejected: MIT, Yale-NUS, Northwestern, Stanford, Duke Waitlisted: Washington U at Saint Louis Waiting: Harvard (Deferred SCEA), Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth [/ul]
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I believe everyone should just be themselves in their application process and the right school for you will accept you in time. Every university seems to look for different qualities in their students, so don’t be too disappointed if [insert dream school] doesn’t treasure your qualities - others definitely will. 
[ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ /b][ /color=green]
[ b]Major: Biomedical Engineering[ /b]
[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *]SAT I (breakdown): 2350 - 800 Math, 760 Critical Reading, 790 Writing
[ *]ACT (breakdown): N/A
[ *]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 760 Chemistry, 720 World History
[ *]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[ *]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/563
[ *]AP (place score in parentheses): Calculus AB, Psychology, English Lang, Statistics, Biology, World History, Chinese Lang, Physics B, Human Geography (all 5’s), Chemistry and Spanish Lang (4’s)
[ *]IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
[ *]Senior Year Course Load: n/a
[ *]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/list]
US Presidential Scholars Candidate, National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar - no competitions like Siemens or Intel - played with a symphony because I won their concerto competition (piano)
[ b]Subjective:[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Red Cross (President), HOSA (Secretary), MUN, National Honor Society, Cross-country (only 9th grade because of injuries), Dance, piano since 5 years old
[ *]Job/Work Experience: over summer 2014
[ *]Volunteer/Community Service: Lots of little stuff I don’t even know
[ *]Summer Activities: Dual credit courses, work, piano competitions
[ *]Essays: Felt they were mediocre and cliche. I don’t know if that’s what admissions thought though.
[ *]Teacher Recommendations: One was really good the other was a bit bland…if I knew beforehand I would have never used the 2nd one
[ *]Counselor Rec: Pretty good
[ *]Additional Rec:
[ *]Interview:[/list] None
[ b]Other[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]State (if domestic applicant): Texas
[ *]School Type: public, and a very bad one at that. Just had a stabbing a few days ago
[ *]Ethnicity: Asian
[ *]Gender: Female
[ *]Income Bracket: 100k
[ *]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] none?
[ b]Reflection[ /b]
[ list]
[ *]Strengths: Academics and extracurriculars
[ *]Weaknesses: That one rec letter and possibly my essays.
[ *]Why you think you were accepted: It’s hard to say. I have strong academics and although I don’t have as many leadership positions as other people, I put much more of my effort and time into those few clubs. However, nothing extraordinary like Siemens. No internships. No papers published.
[ *]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[ /list]
UT Austin, A&M, UC San Diego, accepted
Stanford, JHU, Duke, Berkeley rejected
Wash U in St. Louis waitlisted
Waiting from UPenn, Columbia, and Harvard (likely will all get rejected)
[ b]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[ /b][/noparse]
Your admissions decision depends on what state you’re from and what major you applied to. I applied Biomedical Engineering to all my colleges except Wash U. (biology), which was probably a big mistake, because of their BME programs are incredibly good…so yeah, big mistake. UPenn is a big business school and my friend said she knew some people who wanted to get into business at UPenn, but instead they applied to different majors and waited until they got in before transferring to business. Wish I knew that beforehand…
[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Objective:[ul]
[li]SAT I (breakdown): 2350 - 800 Math, 760 Critical Reading, 790 Writing[/li]
[]ACT (breakdown): N/A
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 760 Chemistry, 720 World History
[li]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0[/li]
[li]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/563[/li]
[li]AP (place score in parentheses): Calculus AB, Psychology, English Lang, Statistics, Biology, World History, Chinese Lang, Physics B, Human Geography (all 5’s), Chemistry and Spanish Lang (4’s)[/li]
[]IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
[]Senior Year Course Load: n/a
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] [/li]US Presidential Scholars Candidate, National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar - no competitions like Siemens or Intel - played with a symphony because I won their concerto competition (piano)
Subjective:
[ul]
[li]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Red Cross (President), HOSA (Secretary), MUN, National Honor Society, Cross-country (only 9th grade because of injuries), Dance, piano since 5 years old[/li]
[li]Job/Work Experience: over summer 2014[/li]
[li]Volunteer/Community Service: Lots of little stuff I don’t even know[/li]
[li]Summer Activities: Dual credit courses, work, piano competitions[/li]
[li]Essays: Felt they were mediocre and cliche. I don’t know if that’s what admissions thought though.[/li]
[li]Teacher Recommendations: One was really good the other was a bit bland…if I knew beforehand I would have never used the 2nd one[/li]
[li]Counselor Rec: Pretty good[/li]
[li]Additional Rec:[/li]
[li]Interview:[/ul] None[/li]
Other
[ul]
[li]State (if domestic applicant): Texas[/li]
[li]School Type: public, and a very bad one at that. Just had a stabbing a few days ago[/li]
[li]Ethnicity: Asian[/li]
[li]Gender: Female[/li]
[li]Income Bracket: 100k[/li]
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] none?[/li]
Reflection
[list]
[li]Strengths: Academics and extracurriculars[/li]
[li]Weaknesses: That one rec letter and possibly my essays. [/li]
[li]Why you think you were accepted: It’s hard to say. I have strong academics and although I don’t have as many leadership positions as other people, I put much more of my effort and time into those few clubs. However, nothing extraordinary like Siemens. No internships. No papers published.[/li]
[li]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[ /list][/li]UT Austin, A&M, UC San Diego, accepted
Stanford, JHU, Duke, Berkeley rejected
Wash U in St. Louis waitlisted
Waiting from UPenn, Columbia, and Harvard (likely will all get rejected)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/noparse]
Your admissions decision depends on what state you’re from and what major you applied to. I applied Biomedical Engineering to all my colleges except Wash U. (biology), which was probably a big mistake, because of their BME programs are incredibly good…so yeah, big mistake. UPenn is a big business school and my friend said she knew some people who wanted to get into business at UPenn, but instead they applied to different majors and waited until they got in before transferring to business. Wish I knew that beforehand…
[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]
Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): Reading 770; Math 790; Writing 670
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chem 720; Math II 780
[]IB (place score in parentheses): Predicted 41 (out of 42) but actual will be much lower… I don’t plan on studying as I have committed somewhere already (38 on mocks)
[]Major Awards: PSAT Commendation and school stuff-- best student in grade math/chem/english[/ul]
Subjective:
[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): soccer and volleyball at school, club volleyball, newspaper (editor), model un (pres.), tech theater
[]Job/Work Experience: baked cakes for a bakery for a year
[]Volunteer/Community Service: tutoring in english and math
[]Summer Activities:
[]Essays: My common app essay and my Rice ‘what makes you diverse’ were both excellent. the rice supplement was my favorite essay that i wrote, so i used as the “Extra information” for all my other common app schools.
[]Teacher Recommendations: math and english, both teachers really like me
[]Counselor Rec: amazing, she fucked up my transcript so she owed me a hella good letter of rec
[]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview:[/ul][/li]
Other
[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant):
[]Country (if international applicant): Italy
[]School Type: small, international (37 kids in senior year)
[]Ethnicity: half indian; half white/jewish
[]Gender: F
[]Income Bracket: idk
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): lived in italy and in kenya, but i’m an american citizen. also is biracial a URM?[/ul][/li]
Reflection
[ul]
[]Strengths: essays/ diversity
[]Weaknesses: idk.
[]Why you think you were accepted: they look for diversity and i definitely fit the bill. all my essays were about the languages i speak, hinduism/judiasm, race and ethnicity, the countries i’ve lived, etc.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted: Tulane, UNC-CH, Johns Hopkins, Rice. Waitlisted: Claremont McKenna. Rejected: MIT[/ul]
[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Objective:
ACT: 35
GPA: 4.75 w 4.0 uw
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): I think tied for #1, school doesn’t officially release
AP (place score in parenthesis): 7 so far, all 5s, AP Scholar with Distinction
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci, Calc 3/Linear Algebra, AP US and Comparative Gov, AP English, AP Latin, AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Latin Club (Secretary), Speech Team (Communications Director), Church Group (Senior Leader), JCL (Delegate), FCA, various other clubs
Job/Work Experience: Political Internship (senior year)
Volunteer/Community service: 4 hr/month with toddlers at church
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I think they were good, I worked hard on them
Teacher Recommendations: Should’ve been pretty good.
Counselor Rec: Probably pretty nonpersonal
Additional Rec: Really good
Interview: I didn’t interview, but I did go for an overnight visit in February
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
School Type: Highly ranked public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Reflection
Strengths: Test scores, GPA, NM
Weaknesses: Not a ton of impressive leadership
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Good scores/GPA? I’m not sure, I’m kind of shocked
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: University of Southern California, Purdue, CWRU, Miami (full tuition), UIUC, University of Oklahoma
Waitlisted: WashU (lol)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
So excited and honored! I think I made my passion for Rice clear in my essay, which I think was important. Rice has been my #1 for a long time, but I doubt I’ll get any aid so I’m not sure what I’ll do.
Choose One:
[color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted**[/color=green]
Major: College of Humanities
• SAT I: 2150 (680R/710M/760W) did not send
• ACT: 34
• SAT II: 750 US History, 800 English Lit. did not send
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2 out of 169
• AP scores: US History (5), WHAP (5), Biology (4), English Lang. (5)
• IB scores: N/A
• Senior Year Course Load: First semester - half of courses are writing, academics are AP Psych, AP Government, AP Physics, AP English Lit, and AP Microeconomics. Second Semester - half of courses are writing, AP Physics, AP English Lit.
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar With Honor, National Merit Commended Student
• Extracurriculars: National Honor Society, Literary Magazine Juror, Literacy Club, tutoring for AP World History, Principal’s Advisory Committee
• Job/Work Experience: Teacher Assistant at a religious Sunday school (working with 1st graders)
• Volunteer/Community service: Anti-Defamation League intern, intern for a local newspaper
• Essays: Fairly good, I thought, but nothing Pulitzer-worthy. I wrote the main common-app essay as more of a narrative than expository, which I think helped.
• Teacher Recommendations: I didn’t read them, but I believe they were pretty strong. AP World History teacher and AP English teacher, both of whom I have a pretty close relationship with.
• Counselor Rec: Probably fairly generic
• Additional Rec: N/A
• Interview: I thought it went really well - the student who interviewed me and I seemed to share a lot of interests - I really liked her and she seemed to enjoy the conversation as well.
• State (if domestic applicant): Texas
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Small public school for the arts - audition is required for acceptance.
• Ethnicity: Caucasian
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: $80,000 - $90,000
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy at Rice
Reflection
- []Strengths: Class rank, interview, lots of demonstrated interest, and I think the essays discussed different facets of my life.
[]Weaknesses: Texas resident, test scores are fairly average for Rice, and not much in the way of leadership positions
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think it’s because I demonstrated a lot of interest in the humanities field with my extracurriculars, essays, and work, so they knew that it was something I was genuinely invested in.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted to Washington University in St. Louis, Bryn Mawr College, and University of Texas Liberal Arts Honors. Waitlisted at American University. Still waiting to hear from Brown University, Reed College, and Tufts University.
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I think it’s important to show a strong interest in a concentrated area rather than trying for a little of everything - if you can do both, that’s great, but I think that having some sort of focus gives a better idea of who you are. It’s in the essays that I would try to show versatility.
Decision: Accepted
Major: Biology/Environmental Science
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2260 - 750 Math, 760 Critical Reading, 750 Writing
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 730 Math II, 730 Bio M, 750 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parentheses): US Hist, , English Lang, , Biology, (all 5’s), European Hist (4)
IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Calc AB, Physics, Eng IV, Gov/Econ (AP’s)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
National Merit Commended, AP Scholar w/Honor-
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Club Soccer (top team in state), Varsity soccer (state champions 2014), High School mentor, Retreat leader, Tutor Math/Science, Men’s Honors Choir
Job/Work Experience: Research Internship Barrow Neurological, Youth Soccer Referee
Volunteer/Community Service: 200 plus
Summer Activities: mostly summer school, volunteer hours, research
Essays: Struggled with this one and ended up re-writing it…felt it was OK
Teacher Recommendations: didn’t see but think they were probably pretty good
Counselor Rec: SAA
Additional Rec: Research Mentor…this one probably really helped as he is well known in his field and very well respected
Interview: yes, and I think it went ok
Other
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
School Type: Catholic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >200,00
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
none
Reflection
Strengths: Not sure, compared to everyone else I can’t identify any
Weaknesses: Not sure I had any real weaknesses either though
Why you think you were accepted: I really don’t know
Where else you are applying or have already applied:[ /list]
WashU, USD, Rhodes, Occidental, Barrett Honors (ASU) accepted
Vanderbilt, Emory waitlisted
CMC rejected
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight…Very excited to be admitted! It will be a tough decision
[noparse]Choose One:
[color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted**[/color=orange]
Major: mechanical engineering minor in studio art
Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2230, 730 CR, 800 MA, 700 WR
[]ACT (breakdown):
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2 (790), Physics (800)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 360
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Calc AB & BC (5), Physics B (5), Lang (3) taking this spring: Lit & studio art
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Software Design & Gaming, AP Lit, IB Physics High Level, Graphic Design, Sustainability & energy (part of the 33 college credits earning senior year)
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] MIT WTP’s mechanical engineering program (20 int’l females for 4 weeks), HiMCM team paper in top 20% of world, MAA Math Madness team Div IV national champions, AAPT fall 2014 presenter, NMF, 2015 US Presidential Scholars program candidate, … nothing too spectacular honestly. [/li]
Subjective:
[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Tennis team (varsity, dedication award, CIML team), NHS, International touring audition-based city choir, Harvey Mudd FAST program, Math Club, Video game club (founding member)
[]Job/Work Experience: self-employed - lawn work, babysitting, selling homemade jewelry and art, playing flute gigs
[]Volunteer/Community Service: church youth group and special needs classroom leader, Tourette’s Youth Ambassador and Counselor’s Aide,
[]Summer Activities: choir tours (Italy and sang at St. Peter’s), Music/Art/Media camp, MIT’s WTP, art lessons, mission trips.
[]Essays: I worked really hard on the essays and Rice application. I felt good about it.
[]Teacher Recommendations: Very strong (I’ve seen one of the LoR and the other said she tried really hard not to over gush)
[]Counselor Rec: I think strong
[]Additional Rec:
[li]Interview:[/ul] Didn’t do an interview. By the time Rice seriously came on the list, the deadline to sign up for the interview had just passed. [/li]
Other
[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): Iowa
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Public Gifted magnet
[]Ethnicity: W
[]Gender: F
[]Income Bracket:upper 60,000-low 70,000
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] female in STEM? [/li]
**Reflection[ /b]
[list]
[]Strengths:Excellent high school and college transcripts, 4.0 gpa, summer MIT program
[]Weaknesses: No national awards really
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Rice was a late edition to my college list so I didn’t visit or do an interview. In hindsight, I should have contacted admissions several times to express interest and ask about missing the interview.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[ /list] Accepted: Baylor, Tulsa, Bradley. Waitlisted: Case Western (see above mentioned weakness for Rice - didn’t visit CWR) and MIT. Waiting to hear about Princeton (DID visit and interviewed so crossing my fingers!).
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/noparse] Good luck to all! I learned I should contact the school even if I haven’t been able to visit to make sure to express my interest. Too late to do any good now but lesson learned for future.
[color=red]Decision: Rejected[/color=red]
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Submit
ACT (breakdown): 27
SAT II: Didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.90
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/501
AP (place score in parenthesis): 3 APUSH, 3 AP Language Comp, 3 AP English Lit, 4 AP US Government
IB (place score in parenthesis): 6 IB Business and Management SL (Junior Year)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Diploma - IB Math Studies, IB English, IB French AB Initio, IB Biology, IB History of Americas, IB Theory of Knowledge (first semester), 2 Free period second semester.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): IB Biology Award of Excellence, Science National Honor Award, French National Honor Award, Presidential Superlative Award, AP Scholar Award, English National Honor Award
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Key Club (Vice President - 2 Years), French National Honors Society (Projects Committee Head), IB Student Union (Historian), Seventh-Day Adventist Youth Society (Director & President - 6 Years), Seacrest Seventh-Day Adventist Choir (Secretary & Event Coordinator), C12A Distributions LLC. local start up company (Vice President),
Job/Work Experience:
Babysitter (2011 June, July, August)
Volunteer/Community service:
Patrick Murphy Campaign (Non-Paid Intern), Seacrest Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Assistant Treasurer), Habitat For Humanity (Volunteer)
Summer Activities:
Internship at Patrick Murphy (June, July, August, September, November)
Essays: 10/10 - Wrote a seven stanza autobiographical poem about my perfect place, then did a literary analysis on it. I thought it was good, but my English teacher raved about it.
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10 - My dual enrollment Statistics professor and my IB History teacher, and my IB French teacher. It really looked good that I had a college professor write about me.
Counselor Rec: 10/10 - She loves me and I knew she’d write an amazing letter of rec.
Additional Rec: 10/10 - IB Business & Management Teacher and my Key Club Advisor
Interview: 9/10 - The lady who interviewed me said that I was qualified and that she hoped that I got in because I’d be an asset to the school.
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Business Administration (Entrepreneurship)
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <25,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Generation American
Reflection
For sometime, I thought I really wanted to go to Rice - it’s an amazing school. At this point, I know that I’m probably going to Cornell, Berkeley or Northwestern (It’s just a matter of choosing). Even if I had been accepted, I probably wouldn’t be going here so it’s definitely okay. Congratulations to everyone who got in!! This school rocks! Good luck to future applicants.
Strengths:
Essays, Extracurriculars (but not amazing!), GPA, hooks.
Weaknesses: ACT scores, didn’t take or submit any SATs or SAT II.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know really. It was up in the air from the beginning.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: University of Florida, University of California- San Diego, Cornell University, Emory University, University of Notre Dame, Northwestern University, UNC, University of California - Berkeley, USC
Waiting on Acceptance notification: None
Rejected: University of Texas - Austin, UCLA, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Rice, NYU
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Not really sure. Maybe the essay!
Decision: Accepted
Major: Undecided (possibly Mechanical Engineering)
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): Total 36 Math 36 Reading 36 English 35 Science 36 Writing 8
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II 800, Chemistry 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): not ranked but probably 1 or 2
AP (place score in parentheses): Cal BC 5 AB subscore: 5 Chemistry 5, English Language & Composition 5, US History 5, Psychology 5, Econ (Micro 5 Macro 4)
IB (place score in parentheses): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics Calc-based, AP Lit and Comp, Anatomy&Physiology, AP French, AP Government, Operations Research, Calc 3 Dual Enrollment
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semi-finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, MMPC finalist 3 years, US Presidential Scholar
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity Cross Country, JV Tennis
Job/Work Experience: Babysitter/Nanny, Art Class assistant teacher
Volunteer/Community Service: Science Center/ Art center regular volunteer, Sunday school teacher, historical museum volunteer, several volunteer-based clubs
Summer Activities: nothing impressive
Essays: CA Essay: decent, wrote about a book that inspired me; Why Rice was weak but what I bring to Rice was one of my best
Teacher Recommendations: Pretty good, probably fairly standard
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read but my counselor loves me so probably pretty good
Additional Rec: none
Interview: Decent, didn’t have a lot in common but had a fine conversation
Other
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Medium-sized public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: $300,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Female in engineering? All I’ve got
Reflection
Strengths: Test Scores, Grades, and possibly essays
Weaknesses: Activities/Leadership for sure
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Really good grades and test scores, good essays
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted: University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, UNC, UVA Waiting: Dartmouth and Yale (but deferred early action from Yale so probs rejected)
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Haven’t visited so excited for Owl Days! Didn’t see any financial aid though so unless it gets updated probably won’t attend because its just too expensive
[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]
**Major: Political Science (Social Sciences) **
- Trustee Distinguished Scholarship
Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (710 M, 730 W, 760 R)
[]ACT (breakdown): 34
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): US History (770), Literature (760)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 12/350
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Euro (4), Stats (4), Psych (5), Chinese (5), APUSH (5), Biology (5), Lang & Comp (5)
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit & Comp, AB Calc, Spanish 5, AP Macro, AP Gov
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, Scholastic Writing Awards - Silver Medal (poetry), National Student Poet Program Semifinalist, published poet[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): varsity tennis (state top 8), NHS, orchestra/musical, school newspaper (exec editor), cultural, forensics/speech, published poet
[]Job/Work Experience: medical transcriber
[]Volunteer/Community Service: a lot of cultural/Chinese community work
[]Summer Activities: 2013: Civic Leadership Institute (Northwestern); 2014: ALA Bager Girls State; Global Health - World Affairs Seminar (GE Scholar)
[]Essays: I think they were pretty good - specific, and conveyed my interest well
[]Teacher Recommendations: I’m sure they were spectacular - had them junior year and did well in their classes.
[]Counselor Rec: No clue. Probably good.
[]Interview: N/A [/ul]
Other
[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): WI
[]School Type: public
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: 150k+
[]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/ul]
Reflection
- []Strengths: Definitely my writing. That’s the reason they gave in the scholarship letter, at least.
[]Weaknesses: Definitely test scores, class rank/GPA were comparatively weak, since we have a pretty strong class. My math is definitely not great, either.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I would say it’s because of my writing accomplishments, but maybe also my essays? I never had a visit or an interview, but I think I demonstrated interest pretty well, and I was specific when answering the question about why I chose my particular major/division.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:
Accepted: UCLA, UW-Madison, USC, NYU
Waitlisted: UChicago, Vanderbilt, UC-Berkeley
Rejected: Northwestern, Stanford
Waiting to hear from: Columbia (deferred ED), Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, UPenn
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Honestly, before admissions decisions were released, I saw the ‘waitlist update’ option on the drop down menu and pretty much gave up. I’m still kind of in shock, since this has been one of my top schools since forever, and I would’ve considered just getting in a dream. The scholarship was completely unexpected, and I didn’t even know it existed beforehand. And after a lot of waitlists from more selective schools, I wasn’t too optimistic, but barring a miracle Tuesday, I’m headed to Rice!
I think it’s most important to take all the waitlists and rejections in stride, since these admissions officers ultimately know who fits their school best (and more and more people apply each year). It’s been a long and often painful process, but I think in the end everything will work out fine as long as you approach it with an open mind.
Decision: Accepted
Major: Anthropology
SAT I (breakdown): 2160, 760 Cr, 720 ma, 680 wr
ACT: 32 (E:35:M:27:R:36:S:31)
SAT II: 680 Chemistry, 780 History, 770 literature
Unweighted GPA: 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/330.
AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics (5), Language and Composition (5), US History (5), Chemistry (4), Calculus AB (4), US Goverment (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Physics AP psychology, German 4, Studio art II, gym
Awards: National Merit Commendation, AP Scholar with Distinction, Nominated Teen Arts Festival, Nominated State Art Exhibition, School Varsity Scholar with distinction.
Subjective: •Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Council, Academic Team (Captain), NHS, Interact Club (Volunteer work)
•Job/Work Experience: None
•Volunteer/Community Service: year round at animal shelter
•Summer Activities: 2013: Volunteer no kill animal shelter
•Essays: Should have put more time into the Rice essays
•Teacher Recommendations: Never saw
•Counselor Rec: Never saw.
•Interview: Went well; the alumni interviewer wanted to talk about partying a lot though
Other •State (if domestic applicant): NJ
•School Type: Public
•Ethnicity: White
•Gender: Female
•Income Bracket: 80k+
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection •Strengths: Class rank and test scores were fairly good. I also submitted an art portfolio. I think my general essay for the common app was pretty good too.
•Weaknesses: Not too many leadership positions.
•Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No idea really- everything seems so hit and miss
Accepted: Smith, Colgate, Grinnell, Brandeis, Emory at Oxford, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Waitlisted: Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Emory (the university proper)
Rejected: UChicago, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Amherst, Oberlin (for some reason)
Waiting to hear from: Not too many now
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
College decisions sometimes feels like they’re just throwing darts at a board and picking who it lands on so I guess don’t get too down about certain decisions. Some good schools are bound to accept you and you never know which school you’ll end up liking the most. Anyway, don’t stress too much especially if you’re still waiting for decisions! Be excited instead.
Decision: Accepted
I hope this helps someone!
Major: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (750 CR/800 M/800 W/10 essay I think)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Math II 800, Molecular Bio 800, Chem 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/189
AP (place score in parentheses):
-Sophomore year: Stats (5), World History (5)
-Junior year: Bio (5), Cal BC (5 - Cal AB subscore (5)), Chem (5), English Lang/Comp (5), Human Geography (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): not offered
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP Macroeconomics 1st sem/AP US Government 2nd sem, AP Computer Science A, AP Physics 2, AP Psychology 1st sem/JHU CTY Multivariable Calculus 2nd sem, AP English Lit/Comp, mandatory health science thing
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none
More common awards: National AP Scholar, NM Finalist, state-wide math competition honorable mention, school-wide things
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): didn’t do leadership in parentheses because I copy pasted from another format
Multiple leadership positions in each of All-State orchestra (9-10), All-Region orchestra (9-11), award-winning youth orchestra with large time commitment (9-11); associate concertmaster on youth orchestra’s national radio performance (9); top marks in state-wide music contest (9-10); 2nd place in state-wide special talent competition (10); Beta Club school chapter president (12); 2nd place HOSA state (11); NHS member (11-12)
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: ~50 hours food bank (10); ~100+ hours hospital (11); some stuff with NHS that I didn’t list hours for specifically (11-12)
Summer Activities: Organic chemistry research through full-scholarship 5-week program (12); merit scholarship to invitation-only chamber music festival (11)
Essays:
-Common App: My life story told in a ~deep, creative, metaphorical~ way, turned out decently, 8/10 or so
-Why Rice: Wrote this at 3 am, 5/10
-What do I bring to Rice: Literally one of my UT essays, about my culture, 6/10
Teacher Recommendation:
-AP chem teacher - likes me, known for writing good recs, 8.5-9/10
-AP English Lang teacher - see above, likes me more than AP chem teacher does, 9/10
Counselor Rec: Due to my former counselor leaving I got a new counselor last minute, so 5-6/10, probably really generic
Additional Rec: I’m not sure if Rice accepted one through common app, but if so:
Violin teacher sent in a rec - I actually teared up after reading it, 10+/10
Interview: eh, decent, I’m not that enthusiastic about Rice and I think it may have come through a bit, 6/10
Other
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Smallish public magnet
Ethnicity: Korean-American
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~120k (idk what the ranges are)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None (other than female in engineering, which I doubt really counts)
Reflection
Strengths: Academics in general, test scores, recs, focused ECs
Weaknesses: Very few STEM-related ECs, lack of national/international achievement in violin, lack of traditional club/class leadership role, essays just for this school (strength for other schools)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Personal history with school (not legacy), strengths
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
-Accepted: Cornell (likely), Johns Hopkins (Bloomberg scholarship), Wellesley, UT Austin (engineering honors, scholarship, Plan II honors)
-Deferred: Princeton SCEA
-Waitlisted: Case Western, Harvey Mudd
-Rejected: Stanford
-Waiting: Harvard, Yale, Princeton RD
General Comments:
Congrats to everyone else who was accepted, and to those who weren’t, you’ll have other amazing options!