Decision: Rejected
I wrote the following before my decision was released to remain as unbiased and objective as possible.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (770M/750E)
ACT (breakdown): Did not report
SAT II: 780 Molecular Biology
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA: 4.29
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Psych, 5 AB Calc, 4 World, 4 Stats, 3 Lang
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP (BC Calc, Bio, Human Geo, Gov, Lit), Research, African History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
-Honorable Mention National Toshiba ExploraVision Competition, 9th grade
-1st place in School Symposium, 11th grade
-1st place in School Rube Goldberg Competition, 9th grade
-3rd place Regional International Society Science Fair, 9th grade
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Founder of cocoaandraspberries, a cosmetic company that registered with the IRS, contacted Russian and Chinese manufacturers to sell products, became an Amazon Affiliate. [I did not report revenue]
-Member of Philosophy Club, no ranks designated
-Internationally collaborated with Singaporean students for “investigating the optimal pHEMA-VP hydrogel nanoparticle design for increased loading of aspirin”. This was laboratory research.
-Did research on “investigating aspirin on VEGF production, cell viability, and metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma”
-Ongoing Persian-English translator for microscope company, desired to help Iranian children learn about their biological realm
-Participant and Leader in “UNICEF for Children” fundraiser, protested Saudi bombing of Yemeni school bus
-Member of the Persian Cultural Center
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Participant and Leader in “UNICEF for Children” fundraiser, protested Saudi bombing of Yemeni school bus
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
What makes me love learning – I wanted to be unique, so I wrote about my love of philosophy (broad), then narrowed it down to how I investigated (and eventually spoke publicly) about Iranian contemporary art as a reflection of political intellectualism (narrow). Very descriptive about what I did, and how much fun I had learning about it. I also detailed that learning about art made me experience a “spiritual transformation”. Quite honest about how I “no longer treat art as a mere subject, a mere entity that must be learned” and now use art “as a means by which I learn everything-- from politics to philosophy and design-- all into one education which I can love indefinitely”.
What is meaningful to you – I wrote, quite graphically and passionately, about the terrors and cruelty experienced by Middle Easterners in their fight against tyranny and despotism. I wrote that, these people, who “are eternal lovers of wisdom”, “provide my life with meaning”.
Roommate - very silly and fun. I wrote about how I’d share my fruits from the farmers market, my K-beauty skin care products, and how I’d love to go on roadtrips, political lectures, and bodybuilding classes with her.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 1000. This woman is the light of my life, and I think we love each other. I’ve planted gardens with her, spoken publicly in front of hundreds about how amazing she is, how she’s changed my life. It’s blatant that we love each other. She’s called me a genius to her co-workers, bragged about my speeches to other students….we love each other. I even told my Stanford interviewer about how beautiful she is. No doubt, 1000/10.
Teacher Rec #2: 8. From an AP Lang teacher who knew I was very intelligent, and maybe her top 5 brightest that year, but maybe not a top in her career. I wrote satires she decided to publish in my school’s magazine, and she would support me 100% in Socratic seminars. But, I did get a 3 on her exam, and I wasn’t stellar at English like other students.
Counselor Rec: 8. We love each other, I gave her presents and things, but sometimes I hoped I didn’t offend her (sometimes I accidentally would turn my back on her and then hate myself for it). I think she gave me a glowing recommendation, but she probably did the same for some others too.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: My interviewer seemed a bit bored, but at the end she could recall everything I said with precise detail. She definitely did want me to be specific and unique, though, mostly because my answer to every question was something related to human rights and basically nothing else. For those of you who want the exact manuscript of all her questions and all my answers, DM me. I made that immediately after I had the interview.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Philosophy, Political Science, Biology
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: I go to two schools, a Public school, and a magnet science-research school. I alternate where I attend every day.
Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I detailed that both uncles and one grandfather both graduated and taught at Stanford. I’m also a Middle Eastern female.
Reflection
Strengths: Unbridled passion for learning expressed in essays, but because my passion was excessive and everywhere, it could be perceived as try hard and fake.
Weaknesses: My essays were a bit generalized, not extremely unique, and my class rank isn’t stellar (11%).
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
General Comments: Be specific to Stanford. Your best bet is to be unique, but sometimes being unique can still be too broad. If you love fighting climate change, what about it do you love fighting for? Oil spills? Rising sea levels? Then talk about that specific thing in your essays, or use your extracurriculars to specifically do that. There are many people who love climate change, or art, or english, but too many don’t know how to be specific about what makes them blossom and glow with unbridled passion. I loved philosophy and politics, but instead of generalizing to say that “philosophy” or “political science” excites me, I described how fun “iranian contemporary art as a reflection of growing political intellectualism” is. Class rank, GPA, SAT, these are small things that give you a nice edge, but passion and specificity is what truly sends you soaring.
Comments after Rejection: Make sure each essay reveals something new about you, and that your extracurriculars match up with your interests represented in your essays. And be happy. 
