The Official Harvard University 2013 Decisions Thread

shayonsaleh · April 5, 2009, 11:35am

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (800M, 730CR, 640W)
[] ACT: 35 (35W, 35M, 32R, 36S)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Bio E, 780 US History, 650 Spanish w/o Listening
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/495
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), US Gov (5), English Language (5), Environmental (5), Calculus BC (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Psychology, AP European History, AP Biology, AP English Literature, AP Comparative Government, AP Statistics, Honors Research Methods, Honors Special Interest Seminar
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar
[/ul]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad (Captain), Key Club (Sergeant-at-Arms), Math Team (President), Green Hope Ambassadors (President) Environmental Club, National Honor Society, Quiz Bowl, Tennis, Taekwondo
[] Job/Work Experience: Internship at NCSU's Chemical Engineering Lab Over A Summer
[] Volunteer/Community Service: About 300 Hours From Various Clubs
[] Summer Activities: Internship Stated Above; Summer Science Program
[] Essays: Pretty Good (One Person Said Best out of a Hundred He Read)
[] Teacher Recommendation: Probably Good; Waivered Right
[] Counselor Rec: Probably good; I am the president of the club she advises for.
[] Additional Rec: From Professor at NCSU whom I worked under at internship.
[] Interview:[/ul]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): North Carolina
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian (South Indian)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Highest
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: My academics were definitely my best point. I took the hardest courses that I could possibly take and kept straight A's through high school.
[] Weaknesses: SAT, Little Extracurriculars Outside of School
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Harvard is Harvard. Plain and simple.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I got rejected from Yale and MIT. I got waitlisted at Johns Hopkins and Columbia. I got accepted at NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, WashU at St. Louis, Cornell, Duke, and Stanford.[/ul][/li]*General Comments: Congratulations to everyone that was accepted or waitlisted! *

methionine · April 5, 2009, 10:38pm

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (740M)
[] SAT II: 3 750+s
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I don't know, but not bad
[] Rank: probably around top 1-2%, school does not rank (I put top 3% to be safe on the supplement though.)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): National AP Scholar
[] Senior Year Course Load: 7 APs (total of 15 APs by graduation)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar, some science, writing, national/regional photography/art awards, and other random academic things that cannot really be considered "major."
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad, Science Research, Literary/Art Magazine, photography, varsity swim... and others. I had leadership in most activities.
[] Summer Activities: reading, travel, research, lab courses... reading
[] Essays: I thought they were okay when I sent them out, but... I don't know. I know I'm not that terrible a writer, but I might be a very boring person, who knows?
[] Teacher Recommendation: probably very good
[] Counselor Rec: probably good, perhaps a bit generic because he has so many to write
[] Additional Rec: probably very good
[] Interview: My interviewer was SO SCARY. I couldn't tell if he liked me or not, but it was all discussion on various theories and whatnot, and analyzing trains of thought, etc. It was the weirdest interview of all my interviews. At the end he said something that, thinking about it now, probably implied that he liked me, but I was so frightened that I can't even be sure.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: high
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Hahahaha
[] Weaknesses: SAT math, not standing out: being yet another high-income-bracket Asian female interested in science and somewhat competent at art and writing. Both my essays focused on biology because I really do love biology, but perhaps they thought, "Ewww, this girl thinks that she became a better person by working with microbes. She must have no friends." Honestly, I don't know. Of course things could have been better, but at the same time, they just were what they were.
[li] Why you think you were waitlisted: I don't know why I was waitlisted, but doesn't Harvard waitlist a lot of people without much rhyme or reason?[/li][/ul]General Comments: Best of luck to all of those on the waitlist! To those who were rejected, it's really nothing to take personally. I'm sure that if I had to read 2,000 applications I'd reject people for catharsis, too :P. You will all be successful as long as you love what you do and put effort into it!

Azarion · April 6, 2009, 1:43am

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2200 - 700 CR, 800 Math, 700 Writing
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: 800 Chem, 800 Math II, 790 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): My school doesn't do GPA, but I get high straight A's.
[] Rank: I know I'm in the top 5% for sure, probably 1%
[] AP: Calc AB (5), Phys B (5), Chem (5). Taking Calc BC, Phys C - Mech & ElectroMag, Eng AP and Bio AP this year.
[] Senior Year Course Load: As difficult as possible
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel Finalist this year (But I didn't update Harvard with it before admissions came out), AIME - ~ 5 - 7 right.

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Challengers Coach, Debate Club, Musical Theatre (Pit Orchestra - Lead Violin), Violin for 10 years (not seriously for the last two though), Rugby, and Student Council Rep are probably the biggest ones I have. Was a leader in all of these clubs, except for Rugby. Most significant one would be the MC Coach, where I was the one who actually planned the lessons and delivered them to Gr. 8's and 9's for two years.
[] Job/Work Experience: Tutoring for 2.5 years, mostly Senior Sciences and Math.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Part of the Community Music School Orchestra for several years, gone on several philanthropic trips with church or school groups.
[] Summer Activities: USA/Canada MathCamp! Took a summer writing a small text on Math (finished it... but it was pretty horrible --), CTY.
[] Essays: My essays were pretty good I thought, but I know they weren't outstanding like some others are.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Great!
[] Counselor Rec: Can't tell. She sees me in a good light, but she's too used to generic universities to put much effort into this one I think. One of the few times she's done letters to the Ivies.
[] Additional Rec: None
[li] Interview: Went well, though I was a tad late unfortunately -- A crash occurred on my way there, and I was late by 5 minutes. Otherwise, it went well.[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): N/A
[] Country (if international applicant): Canada
[] School Type: Public - 2000 students
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Less than $50,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not quite sure what constitutes a hook.[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: My abilities in not only Math, Science & Music, but in Debate as well, hopefully made me stand out from the typical "nerdy" Asian. I've attended several major events and made my mark on a few, but nothing too to major. My teacher recs I thought were amazing, and my test scores were probably around middle range. I have also been with my major clubs since Gr. 8, though most of them, I've taken a year off except for Debate and Math Challengers.
[] Weaknesses: Probably my essays and councilor recs. Perhaps also the relative "standardness" of most of my achievements. Only my Math ones really stick out I think.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably the mass influx of contenders this year, along with the fact that I probably didn't stick out enough in the achievements I have. I think my essays portrayed who I am well enough, though I think I was a tad... "nonchalant" in the end of my Common App one and that might not have been viewed too favourably :P
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rejected at all other major Ivy schools.
[/ul]General Comments: I've recently got a whole bunch of stuff thrown my way, such as the GYLC (Global Young Leaders Conference), being an Intel ISEF Finalist, and some National Honours Scholars Committee/Society thing I just read today. I'm hoping that it'll push me over the edge out of the waiting list and into the honours of acceptance in May :P Congrats to all those who got in, and good luck to other waitlistees. For those rejected, good luck on wherever you go next!

ash-ash · April 8, 2009, 1:42pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): CR 670/M 700/W 680
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: Bio(E) 760/Math I 690
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1% of 650
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), Bio (5), Chem (4), Lang (3)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Half AP Classes, Internship
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Achievement Scholar, Maryland Distinguished Scholar, AP Scholar w/Distinction, several other minor/local awards. Recently - Elk’s Lodge Most Valuable Student, Gates Millenium Finalist
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honor Society (Chair of Community Service Committee), Symphonic Orchestra (Section Leader and First Chair Viola), Black Student Association, NAACP Youth Chapter, Christian Bible Club, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Junior Civitan/Environmental Science Club, Upward Bound (UB) Program
[] Job/Work Experience: Reserach Internship @ Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
[] Volunteer/Community service: Very active volunteer at local community center, mentor to disabled students, others in school
[] Summer Activities: MITES Program @ MIT, Upward Bound, Volunteer Work
[] Essays: pretty good, personal, about hardships motivating ambitions
[] Teacher Recommendation: 1st - super amazing, 2nd - good. teachs <3 me lol
[] Counselor Rec: good
[] Additional Rec: none
[] Interview: i thought it went well, kinda nervous
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MD
[] Country (if international applicant): USA
[] School Type: suburban, public with magnet program
[] Ethnicity: African American
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: <60,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: great grades. i think my community involvement is outstanding. internship & MITES showed dedication/experience/strong interest in science& engineering.
[] Weaknesses: SATs weren’t perfect…
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: idk, rly surprised & never expected it
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, Cornell. Rejected from Stanford and Yale.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Congrats Everybody

Xi_926_iX · April 8, 2009, 3:11pm

Decision: Accepted w/Likely Letter

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 700 CR, 770 M, 710 W
[] ACT: 34 E, 35 M, 31 R, 30 S
[] SAT II: 800 MII, 760 Bio-E, 770 MI, 670 Chem, 650 USH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/507
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5,4,3,3 ■■■
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[] Senior Year Course Load: Psych, English IV, Calc BC, French II, Chem
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): i’m lazy, very generic, a few leadership stuff
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: generic volunteer things
[] Summer Activities: SSP Socorro '08!! (not the one at Harvard btw)
[] Essays: ok
[] Teacher Recommendation: idk
[] Counselor Rec: crap
[] Additional Rec: none
[] Interview: bad
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): IL
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: bogus public, average ACT 17
[] Ethnicity: half black, half mexican
[] Gender: boy
[] Income Bracket: $0, independent student with special circumstances
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generations
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: nothing
[] Weaknesses: many
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: i have no idea how i got a likely, but it felt really good
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Princeton, MIT, and Caltech. Waitlisted at Yale, but who cares?[/li][/ul]General Comments: yeeeess!!!

Slt10T · April 8, 2009, 7:21pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2180: 670 M/750CR/ 760 W
[] SAT II: 740 Bio M/ 730 U.S. History/ 730 Lit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/280
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (4), Literature (Taking in May)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): Not offered
[] Senior Year Course Load: Environmental Science AP, Biology II AP, English IV AP, Statistics AP, European History AP, Italian V Honors (toughest possible)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): RI Teacher to Remember Essay Contest (First Place), Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award, United States Senate Youth Finalist, Memorial Day Student Speaker, Student of the Month, Global RI Delegate, National Merit Semifinalist (I didn’t mention this one on the application, but when Collegeboard asked which three schools I wanted to inform, I included Harvard)

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Club (Founder & President), Class Office (Representative), Student Council (Treasurer), Outdoors Club, Political Youth Group (Vice President), National & RI Honors Society
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Food Drive Organizer and volunteer at food pantry
[] Summer Activities: Boys State, Harvard Summer School (grade of B+), Community Service, Tennis
[] Essays: My Common App one was quite good, I feel. I wrote about a vacation during a large blackout and how it brought me closer to my mother. For my supplement, I wrote about the Harvard Summer School which I worked on for quite a while, and I think it helped significantly. I pinpointed certain parts of my experience beyond the classroom to show what I got out of the program.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I got to see one and not the other. The one I saw was from my English III AP teacher and she literally beseeched them to accept me, saying she had never met a student more worthy (which was incredibly nice of her). I didn’t get to see the other teacher’s recommendation but he and I are close and he is a fantastic writer, so I think it was probably good.
[] Counselor Rec: A bit boiler plate, it focused on my contribution to the school and some academic or extra-curricular achievements.
[] Additional Rec: None
[li] Interview: Had one, it went very well. I was able to discuss a lot of college life having spent the summer at Harvard, and I want to be an attorney (which my interviewer was). I could sincerely talk about why I loved Harvard and wanted to attend. [/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): RI
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Low to Middle
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college, single parent[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: My essays, extra-curriculars, and very nice and genuine recommendations. My test scores were pretty solid (except for my math one which was below par), and my ‘socio-economic diversity’ probably helped.
[] Weaknesses: No sports, no instruments. I messed up once in freshman year, but I explained it to my interviewer and he understood. Also, I come from a very average public school (which actually may have helped), and my awards were nothing compared to many others
[] Why you think you were accepted: I don’t know. I really thought I had no chance, and I’m not just saying that. When the email came I was as shocked as I was excited. Harvard was my ‘shoot for the moon’ school, and I think I conveyed a lot of that when I wrote my supplemental essay about the Summer School. Also, I put a great deal of emotion into my Common App essay, and I think it showed. I got in but I still don’t know what it takes to get into HYP
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at GWU, NYU, Georgetown, Brown
Waitlisted: Brandeis (???)
Rejected: Columbia
[/ul]General Comments: I can’t believe it! Best of luck to everyone who applies in the future! To everyone else, you are all highly talented and will no doubt make it wherever you go!

CCPWNZ · April 9, 2009, 1:06am

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2270 - 730R, 780M, 760W (71 gram 12 essay)
[] ACT: 34 - 35 Eng, Sci, Math, 30 Read, 32 Eng/Writ
[] SAT II: 760 math II, 770 chem, 780 phys, 790 korean w/list, 117 TOEFL iBT
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 100 weighted
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): world hist, eng lang/comp, physics b (5), us hist (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered
[] Senior Year Course Load: ap chem, calc bc, eng lit, comparative gov/pol, spanish
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): intel semi, national merit commended, ap scholar w/honor
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): science olympiad, tae kwon do (junior master), newspaper (editor), etc…
[] Job/Work Experience: tutoring
[] Volunteer/Community service: nursing home
[] Summer Activities: intel research
[] Essays: alright
[] Teacher Recommendation: pretty good
[] Counselor Rec: good but prolly bland
[] Additional Rec: rec from research mentor good
[] Interview: was nice, slightly far from home
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] Country (if international applicant): moved here 6th grade from korea, got moved to us permanent resident later
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: korean
[] Gender: male
[] Income Bracket: ~$130k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: move from 6th grade, focus on mech. engineering (intel)
[] Weaknesses: grades, essays (?)
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: meh, i suck
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: accepted to yale, uc berkeley, and stony brook so dont really care, but i got waitlisted to harvard, mit, columbia, penn, cornell, johns hopkins, and cooper union, so im kind of wondering what i may have done wrong with my application(s) that caused so many (SEVEN out of 12) waitlists… oh and rejected from princeton/stanford.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good Luck!!

Arch3r25 · April 10, 2009, 4:33pm

Waitlisted

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT Reading: 760
[] SAT Math: 770
[] SAT Writing: 800
[] SAT Total: 2330
[] SAT II: 800 Physics 800 Math 2 760 US History 750 Chemistry
[] TOEFL (if applicable): Nay
[] ACT (if applicable): Nay
[] AP/IB taken/scores: This year: AP Bio, AP Calc BC, AP Euro Hist, AP English Lang, AP English Lit. Last year: AP French Lang (5), AP US History (5), AP Macroeconomics (4), AP Microeconomics (4)
[] GPA weighted (if applicable): 103.3 – 4.0
[] GPA unweighted: 96.2 – 3.91
[] Rank or % estimate (if applicable): 1 out of 770
[] Academic Awards: National Merit Finalist, Presidential Scholars Candidate, AP Scholar with Distinction, Xerox Award, Junior Achievement Titan Business Competition State Champ, Tri-State Math League Top 3 Award

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: I like my essays a lot. Main commonapp one about professional wrestling, another about family heritage, and a third about my research interests and where I want to take them.
[] Teacher Rec #1: I didn’t read it. I assume it was good.
[] Teacher Rec #2: I didn’t read it. I assume it was good.
[] Additional Rec: Two research mentor recommendation letters from MIT Nuclear Engineering and Harvard SEAS professors. The MIT one was phenomenal. I didn’t read the Harvard one.
[] Counselor Rec: I didn’t read it. I assume it was crappy. I go to a massive school, and I barely know her, although we are on really friendly terms and I provided her with ample material for any sort of rec letter.
[] Hook (if any): Research is most definitely my hook.

[/ul]Location:[ul]
[] State or Country: New Hampshire
[] School Type: Private (Realistically, it’s public though)
[] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[] Gender: Male
[] Legacy: Wustl, Harvard Legacy
[] Recruited Yes/No: Nay…I wish. Anyone wanna hook me up with a ping pong coach?
[] Important ECs: Microfluidics summer research internship @ Harvard SEAS, Nuclear Engineering summer research internship @ MIT, Hospital Volunteer, Varsity Math Team Captain, Solo & Orchestral Violin, Granite State Challenge/Quiz Bowl Team, and Greater Manchester Red Cross. On resume: Obama for America volunteer, Community Alliance for Teen Safety Youth Board, and local State rep candidate’s campaign manager.
[] Work experience: Freelance PHP Programmer/Website developer

[/ul]Other Factors: A sweltering degree of awesomeness? I sent in my research abstracts, two mentor recs, a resume, presidential scholars candidate update, etc. Loads of supplementary material for them to judge. I have also self-taught myself around 7 programming languages and am fluent in French, proficient in German.

Why do you think you were accepted/rejected/waitlisted/offered guaranteed transfer: Waitlisted by Harvard & Accepted by Yale, Princeton, MIT, UPenn, Dartmouth, UChicago, Brown, Cornell, Tufts, BU, and WPI.

General Comments/Congratulations/etc: Good luck to everybody in college! I’m going to stay on the waitlist but will probably commit to Yale or MIT in the meanwhile. Harvard remains my top choice, and I’m pretty bummed that I didn’t get in with both legacy and Harvard summer research.

km45 · April 10, 2009, 8:52pm

Decision: Accepted!!!

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2250, 800 Math, 760 Reading, 690 Writing
[] ACT: 35 Composite, 36 Math, 36 Science, 35 English, 31 Reading
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 750 Lit, 700 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83 UW, 4.08 W
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/300
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Stats (5), Lang & Comp (5), Art History (5), Chemistry (2)… shi+
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov, AP Physics B, Calc II (At the local university), Spanish III, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Public Speaking, American Literature
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Top scorer, State Academic Decathlon competition.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Academic Decathlon (10-12) Captain (12), Debate (12), Varsity Basketball (10-11), Senior Class VP (12), Link Crew (12), NHS (11-12), Piano (1-12)
[] Job/Work Experience: Local Grocery Store, maybe 6 hrs per week
[] Volunteer/Community service: Various church volunteer trips (guatemala, michigan)
[] Summer Activities: Work, basketball camps, vacations
[] Essays: One was on my decision to quit basketball… I won’t say more because it’s so specific that it could give away who I am, but my Yale admissions officer told me that the committee “loved” it. I guess Harvard liked it too… My other essay was about my trip to Guatemala several years ago.
[] Teacher Recommendation: One was exceptional, the other was cookie cutter but very complimentary.
[] Counselor Rec: I didn’t see it, but I know it was very very good.
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: Excellent… somebody told me later that he really liked me
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Upper Midwest
[] Country (if international applicant): USA!
[] School Type: Medium size, non-competitive, decent public
[] Ethnicity: Cracka
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: not really sure… our situation has changed recently- for the better
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Absolutely NONE!
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Apparently my essay was really good… it was really unique and very personal. Also geography may have played a role.
[] Weaknesses: GPA, Writing SAT could be better.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essay, interview, recommendation
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Carleton, St Olaf. Rejected at Stanford and Princeton.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Very grateful for this unexpected acceptance. After seeing all of these super-legit people on CC get rejected, I know I will try to make the most out of this opportunity.

DoraPwns · April 13, 2009, 6:01pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 690 CR 650 M 800 WR
ACT: 30
SAT II: 790 Spanish 670 Physics 740 LIt
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/590ish
AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (4), Spanish Lang (5), Eng. Lang (4), Spanish Lit (5), Physic (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): not applicable
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, English Lit, U.S. Gov, Statistics 
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Some kind of AP Scholar, Elks of the Month, Hispanic Heritage Award in journalism, a few minor academic and artsy awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Ed-in-Chief of school newspaper, work at a local newspaper - manage a weekly column, prez of Friday Nite Live, prez of AVID, mentored younger students since sophomore year
Job/Work Experience: local newspaper
Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, random key club events
Summer Activities: leadership program in Montana + leadership program with Future Leaders of America (after freshman year); Research Mentorship Program (sophomore year); journalism program at an ivy, class at a local community college (junior year)
Essays: the main essay was fine, i loved my supplemental essay
Teacher Recommendation: both great
Counselor Rec: never saw it but i see her twice a day - i’m sure it was great
Additional Rec: nope
Interview: He was a very nice guy, but I was so crazy nervous. My hand was literally shaking throughout the interview. I was sure that he thought I was crazy… We mostly talked about the factory-like nature of education and my work in restructuring my school’s overall system. Fight the power. =P

Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: low-achieving public 
Ethnicity: of Mexican descent
Gender: female
Income Bracket: > 60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation, fit the profile of an activist

Reflection
Strengths: productive summers despite lack of resources (all programs were full scholarship), second essay, interview, maybe they saw my FB photo…
Weaknesses: numbers
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I would love to know.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at UCLA, Berkeley, Brown, Penn// Wait: MIT, Princeton, Columbia
General Comments: Woot.

hotjava64 · April 13, 2009, 8:46pm

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (800 CR, 780 M, 740 W)
[] ACT: 32
[] SAT II: 780 Bio M, 730 Lit, 720 Math Level 2
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 24/390
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio 5, US Hist 4, Calc AB 4
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, Spanish 3, Honors Concert Band, Government, AP English, Physics
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, National Achievement Scholar, AP Scholar
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad 4, Science Bowl 2, Math Club 2, JV Soccer 1, Band 4, Club Soccer 9 (Captain for 3 years)
[] Job/Work Experience: Academic Tutor
[] Volunteer/Community service: Mostly Musical Stuff, Caroling and Playing at Nursing homes, Library, etc.
[] Summer Activities: Summer School (Economics, PE, Computers)
[] Essays: They were ok, my supplemental was a bit weak I’d say.
[] Teacher Recommendation: good/great
[] Counselor Rec: good
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: Rather poor, in my opinion
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public, sends 3-8 kids to HYPSM a year, plus 7-10 to Berkeley/UCLA
[] Ethnicity: AA/Black
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 120K
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Testing, W GPA
[] Weaknesses: W GPA
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I didn’t really stand out too much among the pack, I guess. I think I would have been rejected if not for the URM thing
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted @ Stanford, Duke, Berkeley, other state schools. Rejected at Yale + a couple of UCs[/li][/ul]General Comments: Ah well… I only applied because my parents wanted me to, plus I wanted to see what would happen, so I was expecting a rejection. But for some reason, my dad made me stay on the waitlist. :<

stoompy312 · April 15, 2009, 6:04pm

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 800 Math 800 CR 790 Writing (1 Sitting)
[] ACT: 36
[] SAT II: 800 Bio 800 Math 2 760 World History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/392
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Chem, 5 USH, 5 BC
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: MVC, AP Spanish, AP Eng Lang, AP Art History, AP Bio, AP Physics
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USAMO and Intel Semifinalist, National Merit Winner[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Tennis 4 years, captain 3 years. Varsity XC 3 years. Varsity Fencing 3 years, captain two years. Public Speaking/Forensics captain 3 years. Orchestra 1st chair 4 years, multiple Carnegie Hall winner/performer. Karate Black belt 4 years. Editor of School newspaper 2 years, worked for 4. President of two clubs for a total of 3 years each.
[] Job/Work Experience: Worked as a camp counselor for two years.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at Public Library, Hospital, and Animal shelter heavily. 500 hours +.
[] Summer Activities: Harvard summer camp, CTY, other camps.
[] Essays: Great
[] Teacher Recommendation: Perfect
[] Counselor Rec: Okay
[] Additional Rec: Decent
[] Interview: Both were great. Said I’d have a good shot.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[] Country (if international applicant): US
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Black
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 50,000 – 75,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m black.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: ECs, test scores, recommendations.
[] Weaknesses: Maybe counselor rec?
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No clue =[
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Princeton, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Emory (full ride), Vanderbilt, and Dartmouth.
[/ul]General Comments: ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ =[

Ichigo · April 18, 2009, 8:57am

I was admitted with no where near the statistics mentioned by others. My SATs were over 2200. I took them one time. My PSATs were similar. I did not take any test prep, but I did borrow several test books from the library and did most of them. (I kinda thought they were fun.) We could not afford to hire a coach, even if we could find one locally.

No one at my school has ever been admitted to Harvard before, or at least not since the 1960’s, which is as far back as anyone has been teaching there.

I had good essays that my composition teacher read and helped me with, but they were 100% my ideas, just organization help.

I decided I was going to Harvard in 9th grade, so I took the hardest classes I could find, hoping they would prepare me. My school doesn’t offer many APs, so I took many of mine through distance learning that my school arranged. The APs I took at my school weren’t great: 3 on US history, 4 on both English, 5 on Calculus AB.

I’m sure my application looked kind of rough compared to others, but I did what the Harvard college night people said to do- took the toughest classes I could get.

I got a letter from QuestBridge to participate in their program, but we were just over their normal maximum income. They continued to send me their emails which had really good advice and timelines in them. QuestBridge sent me the letter based on my “high” SATs and the socio-economic status of my zip code. If you get an offer from them, take it. At first we didn’t know if it was legitimate, but a friend researched it and found it was. Their emails alone were really good.

I chose extracurriculars based on my interests, not what I thought would get me into college. The only thing I didn’t really want to do was a team sport, but my mother talked me into it so I’d feel like part of a group. It worked and I stayed with it for 4 years- probably more to be on the team than to participate in sports.

I am awed to be accepted at Harvard, and my family is excited that Harvard’s financial aid is pretty much what they said it would be from reading their site. (That was not the case with the other “elite” schools I was accepted at.)

The best thing that has happened to me is I now feel like a real role model at my (lower middle class) school. Once people found out (and it was a really big deal once they realized it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke), girls started coming up to me saying they were inspired by me and were going to put more effort into school. I felt really proud to have people say that to me and hope I can live up to everyone’s expectations.

XX55XX · April 25, 2009, 10:22am

Never too late to add some statistics, right?

Decision: Rejected

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 670 Reading, 630 Math, 590 Writing, 1300/1890
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 610 Latin, 600 English Literature, 800 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 12% out of a class of 254
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (5), AP English Language and Composition (3)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Economics, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Statistics, CISCO, World History II
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Treasurer of the Student Forum, Member of the Senior Class Fundraising Committee, Participant in the Museum of Fine Arts Rhetoric Competition, Member of the Classics Club.
[] Job/Work Experience: One summer job, looked after small children.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Worked as a volunteer librarian at the local Taiwanese Economic and Cultural Center, also worked as a math/chemistry tutor at school.
[] Summer Activities: None, really.
[] Essays: Wrote about what I wanted to do one day. My English teacher thought it was good, had strong personal voice.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I was certain that they were kickass. I reviewed one of them, and it wasn’t generic. I had one from my Biology I teacher (who went to Harvard for her graduate studies) and one from my AP English teacher last year.
[] Counselor Rec: Generic, but good enough.
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview: I had my interview with an employee at Credit Suisse. I thought it went pretty well. It was very congenial. No awkwardness whatsoever.
[/ul]Other:[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Massachusetts
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public, Magnet
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: >$30,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college student?
[/ul]Reflection:[ul]
[] Strengths: Recommendation letters, essay.
[] Weaknesses: SAT scores, relative lack of extracurriculars.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It’s Harvard, and my numbers don’t quite match that of other candidates. Overall, for an Ivy League school, I was a pretty weak candidate.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was accepted by other nearby universities, which included Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern University, to name a few.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Oh well… I’m headed to Boston College.

CCPWNZ · May 31, 2009, 1:05am

just wanted to update that i got rejected from the waitlist. my stats are on page 10, post #142, obviously not nearly good enough for a place like hahvahd. so any 2014 hopefuls, make sure you dont fail like i did.

rach_03 · August 8, 2009, 7:21pm

Decision: Accepted :)

This post is meant for encouragement to Jr.s/Sr.s applying to college who scan through these things to compare themselves (I know, I was one of them):
It’s not to boast or let other ppl in my business (notice I have left some specifics out)

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): over 2000
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3
[] Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Step team, dance team, Building Leadership Team (Class Represetative), Karate, Odyssey of the Mind, French club, Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Rep. - other small awards
[] Job/Work Experience: Summer camp positions*
[] Volunteer/Community service: Midnight Run to NYC, tutoring, various opportunities
[] Summer Activities: *
[] Essays: Did both required and optional essay
[] Teacher Recommendation: Great relationships with both - one was my school’s IB Coordinator
[] Counselor Rec: Excellent relationship with her
[] Additional Rec: Nope
[] Interview: Went well
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): New York, baby!
[] Country (if international applicant): US of A
[] School Type: Public (and kind of in the country)
[] Gender: F
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM? Legacy and 1st person to go from my school in about 30 years - so if your school’s mentality is Community College, don’t fear - there’s hope!
[/ul]Reflection[ul]

[/ul]General Comments: Basically, believe in yourself - and make your teachers, counselors, interviewer, and college(s) of choice believe in you too

To those aforementioned ppl for whom this post is for:

If you are feeling unsure of yourself/your stats and have any specific questions (about my application of your own), please direct them to me and I’ll be happy to help - and honest.

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