Stanford Class of 2023 REA Results Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
41

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (750EBRW/800M) (took it once)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take it
SAT II: 800 Physics, 790 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): uh we don’t have that at my school but I generally get all As-As
Weighted GPA: -
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not ranked now but we were in my sophomore year and I was 1/300ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): Don’t take 'em
IB (place score in parenthesis): Don’t take these either. I took O-Levels and I’m currently doing A-Levels (11As and a distinction at O-Level, 4As in my AS Level and predicted 4A*s in my A Level)
Senior Year Course Load: Subjects I took in AS (math, physics, chem, local language etc. + further maths privately i.e. self-studying)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Best in my country for a subject, twice national best speaker (debates), 4-time national champion (debates), Duke of Edinburgh Award (bronze), I won an art competition in the 9th grade that I’m proud of but didn’t mention lmaoo

Subjective:
Extra-curriculars:

  1. Debate Team (Captain)
  2. Astronomy Society (president)
  3. STEM Society (exec council) (wanted to start a women in STEM one but school shot me down rip)
  4. National Reserve Team (debates)
  5. Shortlisted for IPO team but couldn’t attend camp because it was during EA deadline rip
  6. Space Camp (where I was the youngest and only female student leader)
  7. One of the two people to represent my country/school at a super fun international conference about the environment.
  8. Organised a national science competition, particularly the astronomy module
  9. Deputy Head Prefect at my school
    Job/Work Experience:
  10. Interned at an Eng. Company
    Volunteer/Community service:
  11. Social Justice work in my very conservative, very regressive country (actually did some good stuff like helping draft and apply an anti-harassment policy)
    Summer Activities:
  12. Sleeping
  13. Watching Leonard Susskind and crying with sheer joy
  14. Doing Math
  15. Writing

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Jesus…this is hard.
Common App (8.5/10). Rewrote on Oct 31st and I’m fond of it. Nice hook in the beginning but not that unique.
Curiosity Essay (9.5/10): It was gonna be my common app originally but then I decided nah. It’s really nerdy and weird and I think fairly unique.
What matters to you essay (9/10): fricking nerdy once again but that’s who I am
Roommate Essay (8/10): Funny, random stuff about me.
Short Answer Responses (7.5-8/10): Some were good…I think. Like why stanford and my 5 word were fine but the rest were eh.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Haven’t read them so idk. I’d say they’d be around an 8 at best because my teachers barely know except for one of them.
Interview: Not available in my country

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
Intended Major: Physics
State (if domestic applicant): -
Country (if international applicant): South Asia for the sake of anonymity
School Type: Private + religious
Ethnicity: Brown
Gender: who knows m8?? But non-binary AFAB
Income Bracket: 450k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Queer, STEM and female

Reflection

Strengths: Essays I guess and I’m paying full haha. Honestly, I talked about stuff I cared about and tried my best.
Weaknesses: No particular ‘spike’ area, could’ve done more volunteer work
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I stayed true to myself throughout. I think they appreciate honesty. If you come across as a genuinely curious and driven person then you should be good. I also write decently well.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Had a cambridge interview rn but got destroyed. My mom wants me to apply to some other places tho.

General Comments: Uni admissions are a crap shoot. Just do your best and good luck everyone!!

42

Decision: Accepted

I wrote this before to make sure that I am unbiased

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1460 (760EBRW/700M) (took it once)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (didn’t submit, 4 is unlucky in my culture)
SAT II: Molecular Biology 650
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20/100
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Studio Art (5), AP Human Geography (4), AP Biology (3), AP Chemistry (2), AP Language (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Yearbook, AP Literature, Pre Calculus, Spanish 1, French 1, AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): I would have qualified for the Junior Olympics in track if I had continued with track but I quit at 13 because I developed a passion for dissecting, so nothing I guess??

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): I write 5 articles a month for Buzzfeed through their Buzzfeed Community program, President and founder of both the French and Spanish Clubs, started this year, staff writer for school yearbook (I would be an editor but the upperclassmen really hated me last year), Dissection and Anatomy Club for all four years, Track runner (until age 13)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: I volunteer at the kitchen of the local retirement center, I help cook dinner (10 hours a week)
Summer Activities: Buzzfeed journalism internship, I attended a $3,000 ACT and SAT bootcamp the summer before my freshman and sophomore years

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common 11/10 Incredibly inspiring essay (my mother cried reading it) about how attending an elite SAT/ACT camp made me cognizant of the economic imbalances of our education system and the ways in which the wealthy act as an aristocracy in the U.S. My supplements something that’s meaningful to you 9/10: talked about how I dissect small animals (rats, squirrels, rabbits) that I capture with traps around my parent’s house and how I gave up track to teach myself the anatomy of animals
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 7/10: This was my yearbook adviser, she heard me say some pretty racist things before so idk how good the letter was
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10: My English teacher wrote one about how I’m his favorite student and how he starts his day reading my Buzzfeed posts

Counselor Rec: 8/10 she’s super strict with FERPA so I couldn’t see it
Additional Rec: My boss at Buzzfeed 10/10: She talked about my viral posts and how much I’ve changed over the years, the ability to meet deadlines
Interview: I met with an alumni who also ran a successful Congressional bid (Mike Levin) and it went pretty well, I told him I was a Republican but he didn’t seem to mind too much, went on for an hour

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biomechanical Engineering + English, I want to also minor in French but unsure if this is possible
State (if domestic applicant): Arkansas
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Small, Private
Ethnicity: Chinese and Korean (rip)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $65,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Low income, my school sends a lot of kids to Stanford, BUZZZYFEED

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, extracurriculars, LOR, SAT score
Weaknesses: ethnicity, lack of engineering ecs,
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m really unique and I break the mold for asians
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments: I AM SHOOKETH OMGOMGOMG JESUS GAVE ME THE W ahhhhhhhh. I can’t believe it. I was too afraid on Friday so I opened it on Sunday after church and I am CRYING ppl. My advice is: find unique things that make you stand out. Buzzfeed doesn’t even have a real pathway for high schoolers to work for them but I cyberstalked a bunch of employees there through LinkedIn and made the connections that brought me to where I am today. If you want something, GO AFTER IT. I also think the fact that I self taught myself so much about muscle structures in animals was cool. ASIANS: try and break the mold

43

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1350 (660R/W, 690M)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t submit
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Weighted GPA: 4.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/391
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AICE Business, Intro to Biology, Intro to Sociology, Intro to Humanities, Intro to Environmental Science, Applied Ethics, AP Macro, AP Stats, AP European History, AP English Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cambridge (AICE ) Diploma, Cambridge Learners Award, Junior Marshall, Honor Roll (I really put that)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of Cambridge Ambassadors (service club), School Advisory Council, National Honors Society, Literary Club
Job/Work Experience: TJ Maxx
Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for Humanities, Tutoring, Cambridge Volunteer
Summer Activities: Travel to Africa to visit fam and college classes at CC
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app 9- talked about identity with my name
Extracurricular 7- leading my service club
Learning 9- talked about being a dual enrollment student. Graduating with an associates degree (doubt Stanford will take my credits rip)
Roommate 6- talked about coffee addiction, and how I’m excited about tailgating and living the college dream
Meaningful- 2018 women’s march

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 7

Teacher Rec #1: 8 English teacher. Had for 2 years in a row
Teacher Rec #2: 9English and Social studies teacher had for 2 years
Counselor Rec: 7 Never read. Were close and she’s the sponsor of my club
Additional Rec: 9 Coordinator at work. Wrote about my efficiency
Interview: 8. We really vibed together. I was lucky that I was quick on my feet. He asked questions like what do I think about school shootings as a student and what my friend group like

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Kindof. I’m an idiot who assumed FAFSA was all I had to do. So I recently submitted my CSS
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public; Cambridge school it’s like a British curriculum and rivals IB in rigor ( that could’ve helped because its big in Florida)
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: upper middle class for sure big rippppppp. I’m actually scared for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen American (not student). African not African American

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, essays, unique educational program with Cambridge community college and AP courses.
Weaknesses: SAT for sure. Everyone’s probably looking like how’d I get in.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I have really good language skills. I think I told a unique narrative and had a good intent for wanting to be at Stanford. Research school’s assets before applying. Also, I’m in a unique program.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: University of South Florida

General Comments: I took the SAT five times and I got my score by super scoring. Chill everyone it really be like that sometimes

44

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1560 (760 ERW, 800 M, 17E)
ACT (breakdown): Did not take
SAT II: 800 Math II, 730 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: School didn’t weight, but 4.5ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/400ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): Computer Science A (5), AP English Lang (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Physics I (5), AP Human Geography (5), AP European History (4), AP Seminar (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, Latin 5/6, AP US Gov, UW Chemistry, UW Biology, AP Research, Sports Medicine
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist, Regional math contest wins

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • 4 years Varsity Tennis
  • 4 years Varsity Track/Field
  • 4 years Math Team (Captain)
  • 3 years National Honor Society
  • 2 years Calculus Club
  • 2 years Computer Science Club
  • 1 year Sports Medicine student trainer
  • 1 year Member of city council committee
    Job/Work Experience:
  • None
    Volunteer/Community service: ~50 hours
  • Peer tutoring in math/science
  • Local food bank
    Summer Activities:
    -Not really anything worth bragging about
    Essays (rating 1-10, details): I really don’t know, probably between 6-8ish for all of them, I’m not a great creative writer, but not really a bad one either.
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    Teacher Rec #1: 10/10, science teacher 11th/12th grade,
    Teacher Rec #2: 9/10, language arts teacher 10th/11th grade, not my best subject, but I think teacher really likes me
    Counselor Rec: 9/10, he has been my counselor for 6 years, knows what I’m about, but he also has 400ish other students to keep track of so I don’t know how personal it was.
    Additional Rec: None
    Interview: Was offered interview but turned down (I’m pretty awkward talking one-on-one with strangers)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Bio
State (if domestic applicant): Washington
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian/White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): NONE lol

Reflection

Strengths: Test Scores, GPA, good (but not amazing) ECs, probably teacher recs (Didn’t read them)
Weaknesses: No hook, Asian male in STEM, not a lot of leadership roles, probably mediocre essays
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Well, I think I was definitely good enough to be accepted, Stanford just has too many good applicants and not enough spots.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: None yet

General Comments: To those that got accepted, congratulations; to those that got rejected, remember this isn’t the end of the road. Odds are you were good enough to be accepted, but fate was simply not in your favor.

45

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
ACT (breakdown)- 36
SAT - 1590
SAT II - Bio M: 800 Math 2: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0)- 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable)- 3/460 (UW)
AP (place score in parentheses)- AP Comp 5; AP Bio 5
IB: Sports - 6 Spanish - 6

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis)-

  • Speech and debate - Captain, won state 10th grade in Policy
  • Swimming, varsity
  • Boy Scouts, Eagle
  • Founder of Bee Club, and environmental club about saving bees
  • I also founded a speech and debate team and coach it for middle schoolers.
  • 120 volunteer hours going around the streets of my city giving out food to the homeless w/ my church

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Activity essay- 9/10
50-word essays- 8/10
Short essays- 8/10
Personal statement- 9.5/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1- Math teacher, 10/10
Teacher Rec #2- English teacher, 8.5/10
Counselor Rec- Really close w/ counselor, 10/10
Interview- 9/10 the guy was really cool

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?- yes
Intended Major- Biology - rip
State (if domestic applicant)- Kentucky
Country (if international applicant)- USA
School Type- Public
Ethnicity- White (actually white, not jewish)
Gender- Male
Income Bracket- > $400k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.)- ------------> NONE <-----------

Reflection:
Strengths- My ECs were good, should have been enough to get me in. Were they slap you in the face great? No, but they were enough to get me in (at least 50th percentile at Stanford). My academics are great, I am also a NMS. Stanford is an academic institution, not a sports team or record label so that should I gotten me pretty far.
Weaknesses- I’m seriously not bragging here but I won’t say my application is weak in any way. I am confident enough to say it should get me in to any school with a fair, legitimate admissions process. Do I think I’m better than everyone else? Hell no! But I know my friend’s applications and I know mine and I would be lying to you if I said I thought my application wasn’t 99+ percentile among all the 12th graders’ this year. Is it the best? No, but 99+ percentile or I’m a liar.

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected- I am a WASP. I do not share Stanford’s politics in any way. Basically, I got rejected because I am white, male, and not dirt poor.

General Comments: A note for all you other white males out there (there’s a lot but not at Stanford): https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-myth-of-american-meritocracy/

46

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Did not report
ACT (breakdown): Math: 36 English: 36 Reading: 35 Science: 36
SAT II: Math: 790 Chem: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.2ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 1% (not actually reported), class of 900
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro, Chem, Calc AB, Calc BC, US History, English Lang and Comp., (all 5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: Dual enrollment at state college, Multivariable Calc, Calc 4, Ochem 1, Intro Comp Sci, plus some shite classes to meet my HS grad requirements
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar, AP scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Member of Quiz Bowl team grades 9-12, was made captain as junior and senior
Job/Work Experience: worked every friday night for ~6 hours from grades 10.5-12
Volunteer/Community service: ~50hrs/year grades 9 and 10, literally 0 after that
Summer Activities: Travel, Summer camp thing at Cambridge one year, and most importantly self-taught storm chasing
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10 for most–spent literally hundreds of hours writing, planning, rewriting, brainstorming, etc. The same teacher mentioned down below has told me that I’m one of the best young writers she has ever met after almost 10 years of being an AP Lang teacher.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10: Teach was coach of the quiz bowl team so she knew me since 9th grade, and then also was the AP Lang and Comp teacher (a notoriously difficult grader but amazing teacher) and I tried my ass off in that class. I also overheard her saying that for a few students she writes an extensive 2-4 page rec. (pretty sure she did that for me)
Teacher Rec #2: 9 or 10, was apchem teach, I tried really hard in that class too and was successful, Teach. #1 told me that this teacher had asked for her to help write better letters of rec.
Counselor Rec: 9ish: Wasn’t super close with him; did take a lot of time to fill out a big questionnaire that the councelors use to write recs about kids…
Additional Rec: None
Interview: I thought it went poorly but my person was kinda weird so who knows what was going on in her head.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Minnesota
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m sure that my “it-factor” was my storm chasing, which I wrote about in my primary personal statement.

Reflection

Strengths: Essays are everything, Leadership position, Work, Letters of Rec., and Unique interests
Weaknesses: Not a lot of volunteering or extracurriculars beyond a focus on quiz bowl.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted due to a combination of luck, great essays (by AO standards), teacher recs., and storm chasing (lol, only had to literally put my life on the line to get into Stanford)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Was going to apply to other places but not anymore. Essays are way too much work.

General Comments: Still wake up in the morning thinking my admission was a dream…

47

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1440 total, 700 m, 740 e
ACT (breakdown): 32 composite
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/546
AP (place score in parenthesis): calc bc (5), environmental science (4), world history (4), us history (3), lang (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: adv band, ap comp sci principles, ap microeconomics, ap lit and comp, ap macroeconomics, ap statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): ap scholar w distinction, national Hispanic scholar, president’s volunteer service award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
band 4yrs (band room manager, flute section leader)
dive 2 yrs
math honor society
art club
wind symphony 3yrs
symphonic orchestra 1yr (first chair flute)
Job/Work Experience:
tutoring 1yr
Volunteer/Community service:
national honor society 3yrs
spca 1 yr
Summer Activities:
UCLA architecture summer camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
common app essay: 7/8 I talked about my relation to television and how it has shaped me into who I am today. I liked
it since it’s a more unique essay compared to my other drafts for my common app essay

roommate: 6/7 i mean it was alright, it was a normal essay. there was some snark and personality in it

meaningful: 7 the people I showed it to really liked it and thought it was a good representation of me. I talked about
my relationship to art and how it helped me to become more confident in myself even with my imperfections

intellectual vitality: 8 i honestly loved this essay. it was about how when i was young i had to build my own computer
as a punishment for breaking the family computer and how it taught me how to persevere through challenges and
discipline.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 6, i got one from my math teacher. i know i was one of the top students in her class but i also didnt really talk to her much until the last day
Teacher Rec #2: 7/8, this one was from my apes teacher and i knew that she knew me really well since i would often talk to her during class and such about personal topics
Counselor Rec: 6? honestly idk what to rate this because I know she likes me but in general she writes really bad recs
Additional Rec: 9, this was from my band director who i’ve known for all my years in high school. i joke around with him a lot and i often stay afterschool/other events to help clean up and stuff
Interview: 7/8, I thought it went very well. it lasted around an hour and we talked about a wide range of topics

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yeah but im not getting it
Intended Major: management science
State (if domestic applicant): california
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public, but im from a v undereducated city
Ethnicity: white / hispanic
Gender: white
Income Bracket: > $200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): hispanic, legacy

Reflection

Strengths:I think my extensive legacy status got me through the door as well as my unique / weird answers to the short answer questions. Also my gpa was as good as it could get so there’s that too
Weaknesses: My test scores are lacking,
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think my application was decent but it wasnt like amazing. I haven’t done much/ had the opportunity to do much due to my location. I did the best that I could given my circumstances.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to both columbia college of chicago and ithaca college

48

Rejected
SAT 1590
SAT Subject Math2 800
SAT Subject Physics 750
5 AP Courses - 4 5’s, 1 4
Varsity sports (four years in each)
GPA 98
First in class
Designed and programmed an app as a community service project
Schedule loaded with AP and college level courses
Lots of extra-curricular activities
Summer job in tech
Summer camps in tech
Excellent essays as rated by others
Excellent letters of recommendation
Skype interview (only choice) seemed to go well but who knows.
Did not apply for financial aid.
White male

49

Corrected:
SAT 1590
SAT Subject Math2 800
SAT Subject Physics 750
6 AP Courses - 4 5’s, 2 4’s
Three varsity sports (four years in each)
GPA 98
First in class
Designed and programmed a website and app for a local food pantry
Schedule loaded with AP and college level courses
Lots of extra-curricular activities
Summer job at large tech company
Summer camps in tech and literature/creative writing
Excellent essays as rated by others
Excellent letters of recommendation I’m told
Skype interview seemed to go well
Did not apply for financial aid
White male

50

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (730 EBRW, 800 Math)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 Eng 36 Sci 32 Read 35 Math)
SAT II: 800 Math L2, 710 Bio M, 730 Phys
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.31
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): We don’t rank, but top 1%
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH, AP English Lang (4), AP Spanish Lang (4), AP Stats (5), AP Calc AB (Self Study BC 5), Self-study AP Chem (3), Self-study APWH (4), Self-study AP Phys C Mech (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP US Gov, AP Envi Sci, Honors Differential Equations (Community College), Honors Linear Algebra (Com. Coll.), Wind Ensemble (Com. Coll.)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Student, AP Scholar with Distinction, Student of the Year in Biology, A bunch of student-of-the-month stuff (not too big)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Freelance Tutoring (Elementary School to College Level Math, Up to Calc III, 4 years)
Student Senate (Academic and Administrative Lead, 2 years, 3 total)
Principal Trombone (Youth Orchestra, 6 years, Community College Band, 4 years)
Lion Dancing (For Local Kung Fu Studio, 4 years)

Job/Work Experience:
Acai Bowl Place (Shift Leader, 2 years, current)
Sports Concessions (School Lead, 1 year, current)
Internship at City Hall with Transportation Manager (1 year, current)

Volunteer/Community service:
Young Dreamer Network (Administration Lead, 3 years, 4 years total)

Summer Activities:
UC Davis COSMOS: Sustainable Transportation
Mentoring Young Trombonists at Summer Camps (2 summers)

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Extracurricular: 9/10
World Challenge: 7/10
Summer: 8/10
Historical Moment: 9/10 (Dandy Horse :D)
5 Words: 8/10
Listen To: 7/10
Why Stanford: 10/10
Xtra Hour: 10/10
Curiosity: 8/10
Roommate: 9.5/10
Meaningful: 9/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: AP Stats Teacher (10/10)
Teacher Rec #2: AP Spanish Teacher (8/10)
Counselor Rec: Passionate and Caring (9/10)
Additional Rec: Acai Bowl Boss (8/10)
Interview: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Civil Engineering/Environmental Systems Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): California
School Type: Public Charter
Ethnicity: Filipino
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 70,000-100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Gen

Reflection

Strengths: Test Scores, Grades, XtraCurricular Focus
Weaknesses: Asian?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Good Fit
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere yet

General Comments: Have fun writing your essays. Don’t think of them as a chore.

51

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):1580 (790 Math, 790 R/W, 7,7,7 essay)
ACT (breakdown): 36; 36 Math, 36 English, 36 Writing, 36 Science; 10 on essay
SAT II: 800 Math II; 800 Physics; 800 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.7

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t do rank, 1 from class profile.
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Stats (5), AP Physics 1 (5), AP Physics 2 (5), AP Phys C: Mech (5), AP Phys C: E&M (5), AP Chem (5), AP Comp Sci (5), AP English Literature (5), AP Bio (5), AP US Govt (5), AP MicroEconomics (5), AP MacroEconomics (5), APWH (4), APUSH (4),
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel ISEF 4th place, NSA 1st place, SUMAC, TOC qualifier, NMSF

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Secretary of Speech & Debate team, 3 year internship at premier neurological institute
Job/Work Experience: founded a company
Volunteer/Community service: several fundraising events to help educate children
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Wrote pretty well I think.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: English IDK
Teacher Rec #2: Math IDK
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went very well.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: IDK.
State (if domestic applicant):CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private
Ethnicity:Indian
Gender:male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths:test scores, academics
Weaknesses: race
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Academics
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Applying to MIT, CalTech and UCB.

52

[acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (1540 superscore)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math 780 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Weighted GPA: 4.58
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%

AP (place score in parenthesis):
Calculus BC Score: (5)

Chemistry Score: (4)

United States History Score: (4)
Biology Score: (4)
Human Geography Score: (4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load:
Chamber Orchestra
AP Physics 1
AP US Gov
AP Micro
AP Lit
French 4H
AP Stats

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
VEX Robotics South San Diego Regional Tournament, Robot Skills Champion
VEX Robotics South San Diego Regional Tournament, Think Award
VEX Robotics 9th Annual Chula Vista Tournament, Tournament Champion
VEX Robotics 9th Annual Chula Vista Tournament, Robot Skills Champion
VEX Robotics 9th Annual Chula Vista Tournament, Excellence Award
National Merit Commended Scholar
American Chemical Society Chemistry Olympiad Third Place Team, Local Exam
VEX Robotics World Championship Division 5th Seed Team
VEX Robotics Bakersfield State Championship, Sportsmanship Award
VEX Robotics Bakersfield State Championship, Tournament Semi-finalists
VEX Robotics Corona Regional Tournament, Tournament Champions
VEX Robotics Tustin Unified School District December Regional Competition, Design Award
Music Teacher Association of California Certificate of Merit Level 10 Violin, Branch Honors
VEX Robotics Bakersfield State Championship, Tournament Champions
VEX Robotics February Regional Competition, Excellence Award
VEX Robotics January Regional Competition, Excellence Award
VEX Robotics Regional Competition, Design Award
Beckman Freshman/Sophomore Track and Field Scholar Athlete Award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

12th grade
(Concertmaster), Beckman High School Chamber Orchestra
Violin 1, Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
(Leader), Patriots for Progress Program
(Team Lead), Irvine CubeSat Program, Beckman Avionics Sub-team
Publicist, Echo foundation
Secretary, Beckman High School Strategy Club
Board Member, Beckman Magic Society
Board Member, Beckman Cube Association
Member, Beckman High School VEX Robotics Program
Member, Beckman High School Math Club

11th grade
(Assistant Principal Second Violin), Beckman High School Chamber Orchestra
Member, Beckman High School Musical Pit Orchestra
Board Member, Beckman Cube Association
Chess Club Representative, Beckman High School Strategy Club
Secretary, Mind over Matter
Leader, Link Cru Freshman Orientation Program
American Chemical Society Chemistry Olympiad Team
Website team lead, Irvine CubeSat Program
Member, Beckman High School VEX Robotics Program
Member, Beckman High School Math Club
Member, Echo foundation

10th grade
Violin 1, Beckman High School Chamber Orchestra
Violin 2, Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra
Violin 1, Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra China Tour
(Website team lead), Irvine CubeSat Program
Member, Beckman High School VEX Robotics Program
Member, Beckman High School Math Club

Member, Beckman High School Strategy Club
Club Manager, Beckman Chess Club
Member, Echo foundation
Member, Chinmaya Mission of Los Angeles

Member, Beckman Freshman/Sophomore Track and Field

9th grade
Member, Irvine CubeSat Program
Member, Chinmaya Mission of Los Angeles

Violin 1, Beckman High School Concert Orchestra
Violin 1, Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings
Member, Beckman High School VEX Robotics Program
Member, Echo foundation
Member, Beckman High School Math Club
Member, Beckman High School Strategy Club
Member, Beckman Freshman/Sophomore Track and Field

Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service:
May 2012 - present Brown Bag Brigade (350 hours)
May 2017 - present Echo Foundation (20 hours)

Summer Activities:
July 2018 Tustin Unified School District Summer Robotics Middle School Mentoring Program
July-August 2018 UC Davis COSMOS Program: Quantum Mechanics and Applications to Nanotechnology
June-August 2017 Computer Science 36: C Programming Course, Irvine Valley College, Grade: A
June-August 2016 Computer Science 38: Java Programming Course, Irvine Valley College, Grade: A

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7 About music, robotics, roommate essay about Communism(partly joke)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Calc teacher, Math club advisor, Strategy club advisor, known him for 4 years; 9
Teacher Rec #2: Orchestra director, known for 4 years, first row for 2 years, 9
Counselor Rec: Knew my brother, liked me 9
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Said I was the most impressive candidate he has interviewed. Lasted 45 minutes. Left a good impression.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
Intended Major: Electrical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant: US
School: Large, competitive, public
Ethnicity: Indian (that’s why duh)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

Reflection

Strengths: Good extracurriculars, didn’t have any other place to say this but lead of first high school team ever to launch 2 satellites within 30 days. Also doing Indian Classical vocal music for 12 years and submitted arts supplement in that.
Weaknesses: Indian applying for engineering. Not 4.0 or 1550+.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Indian applying for engineering.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It’s a secret shhhh.

General Comments:
Low-key salty but hey it’s aight.

53

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 (English 35 Math 33 Reading 36 Science 33)
SAT II: Chemistry (710), Math II (680), US History (680). I lowkey submitted these by accident AHAHAHHA.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9524
Weighted GPA: 4.38
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school ranks us but I have literally no idea what mine is.
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5), US History (5), English Language and Composition (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Biology, AP US Gov, AP French, Advanced Strings Honors, World Religions Honors (I go to a Catholic School and we are required to take Theology courses all 4 years), Foundations of Catholic Worldview, and English Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad (Varsity Co-Captain, Equipment Manager, Member of the Leadership Council), Boy Scouts of America- Life Scout, Eagle Scout Candidate (Patrol Leader, Scribe, Member of the Senior Patrol Council), First Viola of my School’s Strings Ensemble, French Club, Camp Counselor at a Science Summer Camp at my School, NHS Member, and a Translator for my Mom
Job/Work Experience: I’ve worked at McDonald’s for two years.
Volunteer/Community service: A lot of my extracurriculars had volunteer work as part of the organization, so I didn’t do much on my own.
Summer Activities: The summer before my Junior year I worked a lot and the summer before my Senior Year I took part in a 6-week summer program at UNC-Chapel Hill centered around diversity. We conducted our own research, took an English Class for credit, and stayed in a dorm (honestly, the most fun 6 weeks of my life).
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App- I would give an 8 or 9. It revolved around my being a gay student in a very conservative Catholic School and how my self-loathing started to affect how I treat others around me. Talked about how I was forced to grow to not care about what people think about me, while still disclosing how little self-confidence I have as a result of my upbringing.
Intellectual Vitality Essay: I would give a 7 or 8. It wasn’t amazing, but I feel like it was somewhat unique as I talked about how music has inspired me to learn more about the world around me. In specific, I talked about how Clean Bandit’s " Rather Be" got me into playing Violin and later Viola, and how Celine Dion’s “Ne partez pas sans moi” and Gfriend’s “Rough” got me to start learning French and Korean, respectively.
Roommate Essay: I would give this a 10. It honestly was just me having fun with the prompt and talking about how I listen to so much KPOP to the point that my roommate may find me at 2 AM reacting to the latest video releases. I also delved deeper into my language learning and how I will be practicing a lot during my free time.
Meaningful to Me Essay: I would give it a 9. I talked about my mom and how important my Colombian Heritage is to me as a person, how my knowing Spanish has allowed me to help my mom who doesn’t know English, and influenced my love of hugs.
Short Answers: My short answers I feel were really unique and I just had fun with them. I would give them an 8-10.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10. My Sophomore and Junior Year Chemistry Teacher who I have a really good relationship with. I talk to her almost every day after school and she even asked me to play at her wedding.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10. My French Teacher who I’ve had for 3 years. I’m not as close with her, but she definitely wrote me a good recommendation.
Counselor Rec: 8/10. We are pretty close and I know she took her time to write a really good one. I know she wrote about my being gay and my situation with that at home (I turned in a sheet with a bunch of information about myself).
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: 10/10. This interview went so well. We talked about so much ranging from Korean History to the influence of AAVE on the gay community. At the end, he more or less told me he thinks I should get in, which made me feel really good about my chances.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Linguistics or Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): North Carolina
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~125k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): LGBTQ+, Hispanic (?), speaks 3 languages fluently (?).

Reflection

Strengths: My essays, my recommendations, and all my leadership.
Weaknesses: My subject tests were straight trash and my GPA is not the best that they have been.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Honestly, I think my personality really showed through in my essays and short answers and apparently that is what Stanford wanted. I really have no idea how I got in.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UNC-Asheville (where my sister goes and is one of my safety schools).

General Comments: I definitely did not have the stats that I thought I needed to get into Stanford, but I decided to apply and it worked out. If you are thinking of applying, DO IT. To all those who got in, I can’t wait to meet you! To those were rejected, I’m sorry, but I know that where ever you go is gonna be an amazing fit for you.

54

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Superscore 1540, R 760, M 780
ACT (breakdown): 35
SAT II: 780 Literature
Weighted GPA: 4.70/5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3 /563
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics I 3, World History 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): Math SL 3, ESS 5
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National German Exam Bronze Award, 1st Place Goethe Institute Theatre Competition

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): German Club President, International Thespians Society Secretary, founder of several clubs
Job/Work Experience: I worked two jobs my junior year.
Volunteer/Community service: Minimal
Essays (rating 1-10, details): My essays were all 9.5-10. I put a lot of work into them. I recommend starting early, as I started all of my essays in May 2018.

Teacher Rec #1:10. My German teacher. Very kind things (assuming, I waived rights)
Teacher Rec #2: 10. My english teacher. I love her.
Counselor Rec: 8. Impersonal, but that’s to be expected.
Interview: 7. I didn’t really click with the guy, but I think it went alright.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Of course.
Intended Major: Linguistics + Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): TX
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Native American
Gender: F

Reflection

Strengths: Very “pointy” applicant. I am very good in a specific area.
Weaknesses: I haven’t won any large STEM awards…
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was passionate and honest in my essays. I met the requirements. I started early and put a lot of energy into the application.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: University of Texas at Austin, accepted.

General Comments:
Begin your application early! Don’t put anything off. Don’t show off, just be honest. This shows that you don’t have to have perfect scores to get accepted, but showing interest in a field and interest in Stanford helps you a lot. I think I demonstrated that I love to learn and I know how I’ll apply my Stanford education. Good luck y’all :slight_smile:

55

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1470, CRW- 740, Math- 730
ACT (breakdown): 34, English- 34, Math- 31, Reading- 36, Science- 36
SAT II: Math II: 720, Biology M: 700, Chemistry: 680
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.01/4
Weighted GPA: 4.802/5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 24
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History-4, Biology-5, Calc A/B-5, US Gov-5, Calc B/C-5, Chemistry-4, Computer Science Principles-5, English Lang-5
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish V, AP Physics, AP Statistics, AP Art History, AP Literature, Symphonic Band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A?

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad (Captain), Policy Debate (Captain), Academic Challenge (JV Captain), Band (Clarinet),
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: NHS, hospital
Summer Activities: MOSTEC, band camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app 9.3- really creative?, supplementals 8.5-10 some I put a lot of effort and others I took the L
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Lang teacher, 7/10, I was one of 2 juniors in her class so maybe she knows me
Teacher Rec #2: Physics teacher, 6/10 he basically said my resume but I’ve also had him as my Academic Challenge coach since the 8th grade.
Counselor Rec: 7/10 I give him presents every year so bribery?
Additional Rec: Science Olympiad Coach because she’s been a mentor and close friend
Interview: 25 min long if that tells you anything.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: N/A
Intended Major: Biomechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: idk
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, legacy

Reflection

Strengths: common app essay? MOSTEC
Weaknesses: test scores, some of my half assed supplementals, interview…
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was deferred probably because they want to see if my grades can be a bit better than 2nd semester last year? Also because of aforementioned weaknesses
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: N/A

General Comments: Don’t be afraid to be creative and have fun with the application. If you’re comfortable, show your essays to others so you can get feedback, but stay true to yourself.

56

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 33 (35 English, 34 Math, 34 Reading, 30 Science)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Full-IB Diploma Candidate
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School language Club (President), FBLA (President)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Local Hospital Volunteer for 1 year
Summer Activities: Founder of educational resource website, took a computer class at my local college

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Activity essay- 7/10 (wasn’t unique)
50-word essays- 9/10 (loved my answers)
Short essays- 8.5/10 (above average)
Personal statement- 8/10 (writing style was average)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

*I never read my teachers’ letters, so my comments are just based on my past interactions with them (how much they like me) and how strong of a writer they are in general.

Teacher Rec #1: Computer teacher (likes me, decent writer), 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: Chinese teacher (I’m her favorite student but her writing isn’t the best), 8/10
Counselor Rec: (I’m not that close with my counselor but she said it was a good letter) 8.5/10
Additional Rec: Science teacher (he likes me but he is an average writer), 7/10
Interview: (I talked for over an hour with my interviewer) 9/10

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Undeclared
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public School
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: I don’t know
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Both parents went to respectable four-year universities

Reflection:

Strengths: I felt that my interview was really strong in comparison to my other peers who applied to Stanford. Although we didn’t discuss that much about Stanford itself, we had a really insightful conversation about other stuff.
Weaknesses: Test scores were only average (many of my peers had 34+ ACT and 1520+ SAT scores)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My 50-word essays and interview
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: N/A

General Comments: If you have the opportunity to have an interview, do it. It gives someone a chance to see you in-person and actually puts a face to your application, which might increase your chances of getting in.

57

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): never took
ACT (breakdown): 32 (32, 32, 32, 31)
SAT II: never took
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank, but i would guess top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): in progress, predicted all 7s
Senior Year Course Load: all IB and one regular class
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing major in the US, mostly international awards… math, music and school awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): most things that you could think of; all the honor societies, all of the funky school clubs… created a club after my application was submitted.
i did create a charity committee at my school and raised over $10k for breast cancer.
Job/Work Experience: manager at retail job - corporately recognized for high performance
Volunteer/Community service: 500+ hours doing everything you could think of
Summer Activities: n/a
Essays (rating 1-10, details): common app: 10/10 not biased… this really is what i thought might be able to push me over the edge with my lower than average stats
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: precalc teacher 4/10 really last minute request
Teacher Rec #2: physics teacher 10/10 he was my fav teacher ever, and saw me grow
Counselor Rec:5/10 probably very generic
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: 100000/10 interviewer told me i would change the world but yeah

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: finance
State (if domestic applicant): va
Country (if international applicant): usa
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: <4k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): eh idk

Reflection

Strengths: essays, gpa maybe? recs idk
Weaknesses: test scores and no major awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: duh my act and ecs
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: i just heard back from UCSB and i was invited to the chancellor’s reception (top 15% of applicants) so i’m happy

General Comments: applied cuz i genuinely thought my personality might shine through and i could be a match for stanford but it’s ok that i didn’t get in… now onto berkeley :stuck_out_tongue:

58

congrats!

59

congrats

60

it’s ok