Wellesley Class of 2023 Results Only Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
1

Congrats to everyone accepted to Wellesley for '23! I thought it’d be nice to get to know each other and put some stats out there for future years (something I found really helpful when I was applying). Here’s the template:

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:

2

CLASS OF 2023: ED 1
ACCEPTED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (760 split)
ACT (breakdown): 35
SAT II: Didn’t send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Weighted GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): We don’t rank but my assistant principal said in my additional rec letter that I was in the top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Eng Lang (5), APUSH (5), Spanish (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Eng Lit, AP Stats, AP US Gov & Pol (no Spanish because no classes offered at my school)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nationally recognized within the Unitarian Universalist Association, National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School paper (Editor-in-chief for 3 years), National/regional leadership within my church (highest position nationally)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club, officer positions
Summer Activities: Rotary monthlong summer exchange
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (9, my AP Lit teacher is a super harsh grader and he gave me an A-), Wellesley supplement (7, it was good but the second response wasn’t up to my standards)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details)
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
8 Chemistry & AP Chem teacher, we have a good relationship and I was the second letter he wrote this year so he wasn’t burnt out yet
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
8 Psychology & APUSH teacher, she’s amazing and I did really well in her classes
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
9 We have a great relationship across the years, she knows how high achieving I am
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
9 Assistant principal she knows me well, I organized the gun violence walkout and some voter reg drives at my school, she knows how well I do academically too. I read her letter, it was really good
9 Youth ministry associate for the Unitarian Universalist Association she’s the #2 spot in my church’s youth ministry programs nationally and we have a very close relationship. She’s my boss for a two-year leadership spot and she’s led some weekend/weeklong activities I’ve participated in.

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 6 I had it with a current Welleslely student when I was there in October, I think it’s one of the weakest parts of my app… That might just be because I didn’t feel as much of a connection with her though.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political science & religion
State (if domestic applicant): Oregon
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Multiracial (South Asian & white)
Income Bracket: upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections:
Strengths: Test scores, recommendations, essays, and I go to a public school in Oregon. No one from my HS has gone to W in the last couple of years, I think 1 person applied and was accepted, and 1 person applied and was waitlisted.
Weaknesses: Interview and progress report (my school doesn’t do quarters so the grades weren’t final at all but I had 2 Bs. But in AP Chem and AP Stats which aren’t my strengths so I think it was okay?)

Good luck to everyone applying ED 2 and RD this year, and good luck to everyone in the future! I’ll be back next year to answer questions.

3

Accepted ED

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (760 English, 750 Math)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA: 3.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (3), MacroEcon (5), MicroEcon (4), US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Gov, AP Stats, Honors Japanese 4, Japanese Language and Culture, Short Fiction
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Young Arts Finalist in Short Story, a few local writing contests, AP scholar w/ Honor, Mission of the School Award, Gold Presidential Service Award

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): creating writing community service club 11-12 (co-prez), 4 year varsity player for softball, basketball, water polo, club softball, Japanese National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: job as Japanese translator for English language learning students
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer Japanese tutor for middle school students

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9/10, I really liked this essay, I was able to use my creative writing skills but I think my like “take-away” was pretty generic
Why-Wellesley: 8/10, generic i guess, but i was able to incorporate my interest in Japanese which was good i think
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, bio teacher who’s class I did well in but didn’t know him too well. I’ve heard he’s a good rec letter writer though
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, japanese teacher who i’ve had for three years, i was happy to include her b/c japanese is like my main thing
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, not very many students, so pretty personalized, she’s supposed to write good recs
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): none
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 6/10, i was nervous about this bc i didnt feel like i connected with the interviewer super well and i stumbled over the like why a womens college question (ahhh yikesss), but i mean it wasn’t like terrible

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: japanese
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: small, super competitive private school
Ethnicity: white
Income Bracket: a lot
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope

Reflections: YAYAY im so happy it was my first choice:))))))) cant wait to meet everyone in the fall
Strengths: being interested in something kinda different and having the activities to back that up, creative writing, common app essay
Weaknesses: GPA (oof)

4

Decision: Accepted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): (did not submit)
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II: did not submit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83
Weighted GPA: 4.15 (out of 4.5, my school’s weird)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): does not rank (class of 515 students)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chemistry (3), AP Calc AB (5), AP Spanish (5), AP English Language (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Environmental Science (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP US Gov, AP Biology, World Lit 1-2
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar/with distinction, I’m not that talented

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Founder and President of local art publication: I wrote my CommonApp essay on this and was extremely passionate about this project. Students, faculty, teachers, and community members know me for this.
  • Founder and President of graphic design club: we provide a design service to organizations on campus, it’s pretty much a business I run but don’t get any money out of
  • 4-year Varsity High Jump Captain: I’m really not that great at high jump, but I’m the most mature and down-to-earth person on our crew so I make sure everyone is staying focused and I give advice to learning jumpers
  • Vice President of my temple’s youth division: I mostly run communications and attend meetings
  • Choir librarian and alto section leader of a choir I’ve been in for 12 years (I have no talent in choir though)
    Job/Work Experience: I had an internship at a world famous zoo. 16 people were selected and we got a behind the scenes experience of various careers for 7 weeks. We wrote blogs that were posted on the zoo’s official publication website. I included links to my blogs in my additional comments section of the CommonApp
    Volunteer/Community service:
  • for the past two years I have traveled to Taiwan solo for a total of 8 weeks to volunteer at an orphanage in a monastery
    Summer Activities:
  • administrator and group leader of my temple’s summer camp
  • traveling to Taiwan, as listed above
    Essays (rating 1-10, details):
    CommonApp: 8 I’m not the best writer and it wasn’t the most interesting topic. I talked about my struggles starting the art publication and, although it detailed my personal journey, it wasn’t as interesting as some others I’ve read
    Why Wellesley: 9 Again, I’m not the best writer, but I had a campus visit and it gave me lots of really unique personal experiences which I referenced. I think I showed that I knew what Wellesley stood for and how I could play into that picture, so this portion definitely helped me.
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
    Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
    10, AP Lang Teacher - although I’m not her favorite student, I went from the essay she put on the powerpoint of “What not to do” to being the star essay that was read aloud at the end of the year. I would sit down and she and I would go over my essays line by line every week, so she really helped me and I think she could see I was trying really hard in that class.
    Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
    8, AP Spanish Teacher - I’m not the favorite student, but I could say I’m a close second. I am a big person on traveling and I always tell this teacher about my travels. He finds me very globally aware and active in my community (I’m starting a chinese, english, and spanish class at my temple). I also got a 5 in spanish as the only chinese kid in class.
    Teacher Rec #3 (rating 1-10, details):
    6, AP Calc AB Teacher - I’m also not her favorite student and I haven’t had her in a few years, so I’m not sure if she remembered much about me. But I was always completing my homework, doing well on my tests, and asking her questions when I needed. I also would make small talk with her occasionally about my personal life and she loves students who do that.
    Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
    7 - my counselor has tons of people’s recs to write, but I have been getting to know her and she embedded links to websites for my graphic design club and art publication. She was really impressed with my art publication and knows me for that.
    Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
    7.5 - my high jump coach for the past 3 years wrote about my leadership, character and maturity. It wasn’t the most fancy letter, but he knows me and my personal problems pretty well, so I was glad to have that extra perspective.
    Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
    10 - I actually didn’t know my interview was official until half a year later when I called the admissions office. But, my interviewer and I connected instantly and we talked about really personal subjects. I talked about my passion and vision for my graphic design club and she was extremely impressed. I also asked her questions that she found really impressive. It’s hard to explain, but I think she thought I was a critical thinker, very intuitive, passionate, ambitious, and very similar to her when she was applying to Wellesley. I honestly think my interview alone could have gotten me into Wellesley.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: International Relations (maybe double in Environmental Studies)
State (if domestic applicant): California
School Type: Public

Reflections:
Strengths: I felt like I fit the Wellesley mold (after reading through several College Confidential posts) and I think I really emulated that in my Why Wellesley essay. I also had an amazing interview where I connected with the interviewer instantly, to this day I remember what we were talking about. I also went on a campus visit where I had: Lunch with a student, junior on-campus interview, chatted with the track coach, and sat in on a class. Also, starting my club and founding my art publication really came off as ambitious and passionate, something my interviewer really liked in me and something characteristically Wellesley.
Weaknesses: My grades aren’t the best, my ACT score isn’t stellar and I did get a 3 on AP Chem. I also am not that talented (I didn’t win an award or develop a cure for cancer) or that great of a writer. I also realized my passion for policy late in my high school career and was not able to do any activities that pertain to my major.

Wow, that was long. Sorry to put you through all of that. But to all future applicants, I wish you the best of luck and I hope all this info helps!

5

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (780 Reading 750 Math 19 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 760 Literature 750 Math II 800 Chinese
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Predicted Grades (total of 40):

  • English Literature HL (7)
  • Chinese Language and Literature HL (6)
  • Psychology HL (7)
  • Biology SL (6)
  • Math SL (6)
  • Music SL (5)
  • TOK (B)
  • Psychology Extended Essay (A)
    Senior Year Course Load: ↑
    Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Not much, to be honest. The only international ones are our team’s rankings at World Scholar’s Cup Hanoi (7 in Australia and the Americas, 60 overall), which I only added to fill up the entirety of the 5 spaces on the CA…

Subjectives:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Chinese to English translator at various groups. ExR Scans: Cofounder of Chinese team and Head of Recruitment, translator of a popular Chinese novel and its adapted comic/manhua, published online, ~100k views/day. General: 3 comics/manhua, subtitles to a 3-season animation series, 1 short story, few poems here and there.
  • Writer for school literary magazine. 7 years of general creative writing in both English and Chinese (poetry, short stories, short drama pieces), 1 Chinese piece published in a magazine.
  • Head of Finance at VRF, an organization focused on assisting children in rural areas with proper eye care. Currently assisted 500+ children in China, working on expansions to Pakistan and the US.
  • First Flute at school band, used to be in pit band as well before I transferred out of that school.
  • Piano RCM 10 (which doesn’t actually matter when you’re Asian but I needed that 10th activity you know…)
    Job/Work Experience:
  • Paid translation at Bayi under official contract with NetEase Comics.
    Volunteer/Community service:
  • School GSA, just general member, helping to organize events and speaker series and all that
  • Book Buddies at library, reading stories to children, helping international students with English, arranging summer reading award ceremonies
  • Cadet Flight Corporal at Royal Canadian Air Cadets, accelerated program, at this point I don’t even know what I do there tbh

Summer Activities:

  • Brown summer program, 3 week, no credit, participated in a personality psych course
  • Yale summer program, 5 week, yes credit, Intro to Creative Writing (A-) and something about criminal psychology (B-), guess who forgot to work hard during the summer :’(
    Essays (rating 1-10, details): Pretty damn good/10. I do have confidence in myself as a writer, and my counsellor complimented them multiple times, so I guess they should be above 7.5 (though in my opinion they are 10/10). My PS was about a plane ride, where I talked about having flown so many times between Canada and China, searching for identity, doing my translation project, while sneakily adding in personality traits/cool facts that I wanted them to pick up on, all in an extremely stream-of-consciousness way. It was kind of risky. In my supplement I talked about writing my Psych EE on a topic on which two of Wellesley’s professors did really good research. Also diversity.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Quite good/10. English teacher, had to leave our school last year due to personal reasons, I communicated with her a lot and tried my best to break through the introverted-Asian-girl stereotype. I wrote her a letter when she left and she said it almost brought her to tears which, you know, probably doesn’t mean anything at all, but I’d like to believe that we ended on a good note.
Teacher Rec #2: Possibly good?/10. Chinese teacher. She’s a translator+interpreter though so I think her English is fine. I don’t really pay attention in her class (RIP me), but since we’re both translators I think that makes up for some of it. Also I accepted one of her old students into one of my translation groups due to pure chance. Also we attended Chinese fortune-telling classes together.
Counselor Rec: I have no idea/10. TBH I worked with an outside counsellor most of the time so I have no idea what my school counsellor thinks. He complimented my somewhat unique EC’s quite a couple of times, so I think that ended up fine?
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: It was chill, but I was pretty scared. I think I seemed a bit too enthusiastic.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): Canada
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Cis female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): LMAO… I think I have what’s just the opposite of a hook

Reflection:
Strengths: I think my EC’s definitely make a statement and differ me from the other Chinese girls, while my supplements work with my EC’s pretty well, and my general stats aren’t too bad either.
Weaknesses: I legit don’t know how good my recommendations were, also my interview was meh. Lack of awards, bad SAT essay score, could’ve gotten 2 extra IB points but there wasn’t enough time.
Why you think you were accepted: Probably above-average supplements along with decent everything-else’s
Where else were you accepted: Haha ED ftw

General Comments: Typed this up way past my bedtime, don’t arrest me for grammar mistakes please… To anyone who’s applying to Wellesley, good luck and hmu if you have any questions!

6

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): did not submit
ACT (breakdown): 29 (34 English, 30 Reading, 26 math, 26 science)
SAT II: I don’t think I submitted them but 610 lit and 720 Spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/387
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus, English, German, Econ, Philosophy, Art History, Latin, History, Issues in Globalization, European seminar, PoliSci (I go to a French lycée)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Concours général nominee (the most prestigious academic competition in France), Europe begins in Lampedusa (contest winner)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Presidential campaign (national team organizer):
Organization of rallies and campaign events, work at campaign HQ, organization of political activities, campaign trips

National Politics, Communications team:
TV/radio intws,drafting official statements, researching new communication strategies, making communication tools&guides for activists and politicians

Legislative elections, (regional youth leader):
Campaigns (5 candidates): organizing leafleting&canvassing activities for volunteers, prep/set up for large rallies, gatherings& other campaign events

Activist, (regional Youth leader)
Group coordination, political communication, organization of meetings and activist activities

School disciplinary committee
School debate team (founder)
Foreign Exchange: Italy + made a documentary about refugees)
Tutoring

Job/Work Experience: Paid tutoring, Part-time job at a grocery store
Volunteer/Community service: national food collection
Summer Activities: none

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
CA essay: 9/10 I’d say. Wrote about how my hyphenated identity made me want to make a change. Then wrote about the 2017 presidential campaign.
W100: 8/10 I’d say (the first paragraph was a 10 but not so sure about the second one). HRC was my first reason, I said that even though I wouldn’t have campaigned for her during the primaries (I would’ve campaigned for Bernie), she is a powerful politician and as a woman who wants to get into politics, I would love to be at Wellesley, a school that empowers women. The second one was about the curriculum: listed a few classes I would love to take and explained why I wanted to take a class at Brandeis.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): English teacher, 9, I don’t really know what she wrote but I heard it was really good
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): History and Geography in English teacher, 7 or 8, I heard it was a bit rushed but good, she’s the teacher who knows me best (she’s had me for 3 years now)
Teacher Rec #3: 10/10, a History teacher who never was my History teacher but was my supervisor for a project (a documentary and my European seminar). Heard her recommendation was awesome.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, she wrote an AWESOME rec in which she said that it wouldn’t surprise her if I ran for president one day.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): I’d say 8 or 9. The former president of my (well, former) youth movement who is now a member of the national board of our movement. She was also a member of the national campaign team in 2017 and knows me well. She’s only 23 and we get on really well. She wrote about everything I did during the presidential campaign and about the work I’ve done for the movement.

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): Definitely a 10/10. The alumna was really nice, we spoke about a lot of things (politics, tv shows, Wellesley ofc and other stuff) and the interview lasted 2 hours and a half.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, asking for a near full ride
Intended Major: Middle Eastern Studies and International Relations
Country (if international applicant): France
School Type: public
Ethnicity: mixed (black and white, African and Middle-Eastern descent)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen

Reflections:
Strengths: Extracurriculars, GPA, recs, essays, interview
Weaknesses: ACT Score

7

@imaaanes did Wellesley give you the nearly full ride scholarship you applied for ?

8

@imaanes I am curious about the financial aid aspect too. That is why my daughter didn’t do any ED applications. We are Americans who live in Japan, and many schools don’t seem to account for the difference in living expenses and taxes outside the US.

9

@Sofia101 @filmmomvt , yes they did! Also a small amount will be paid by a French government scholarship I qualify for.
The difference in living expenses definitely factors in! You have to fill in the CSS in your local currency and they ask you about all kinds of expenses

10

Decision: Accepted in the EDII Round!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1470 (780 R/W; 690 Math)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89/4
Weighted GPA: 4.55/5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3rd, potential to bump up to 2nd
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography (4), AP Psychology (4), AP World History (4), AP European History (4), AP Microeconomics (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP Art History, AP Government, DE Introduction to Astronomy, DE Applied Ethics, DE Introduction to Statistics, DE Lifespan Development, DE Adolescent Psychology, DE Introduction to Anthropology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge College Prep Scholar, QuestBridge National College Match Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Gates Semifinalist, : National History Day Outstanding Entry (State), various school awards from both community college and high school for grades/GPA

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honor Society (Historian, Head of Education Committee, Co-Head of Fundraising Committee), Mathematics Team (Founder and Lead Researcher), National History Day participant (competitive for 5 years), Writer and Editor for The Student Scientist, Cooking for family most of the time, Taking care of family pets (7 animals with heavy emphasis on making sure they get their medications on time)

Job/Work Experience: N/A

Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at the Humane Society of Pasco County, NHS community project is cleaning up our local areas

Summer Activities: Working on my NHD research project, volunteering at Humane Society, reading, family responsibilities.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): QUESTBRIDGE APPLICANT
Biographical (8/10)-I discussed moving around a lot and having to adapt to different places and people (which ties into my love of psychology and learning about people). Quite personal but nothing crazy, it was a pretty solid essay.

Topical (9/10)-I chose to talk about a shift in my perspective and how driving with my dad and the phrase “It isn’t rocket science” caused me to have a different way of seeing obstacles. Personal to me, representative of my character, and a good insight into how I’d handle a college environment

Historical Figure (10/10)-Talked about Dorothea Dix and how I would have asked her how she felt about her accomplishments being swept under the rug even now and how much she inspired me as a woman having to face sexism when all she wanted to do was make things better for the incarcerated and mentally ill.

Best Accomplishment (8/10)-I talked about earning an official volunteer shirt from my Humane Society and how much that meant to me.

Wellesley Supplement: (8/10)-I talked about my personal experiences at Wellesley with my Discover Wellesley Host, Jackie, and how that showed me the vibrant community that is Wellesley. After, I discussed how awesome (in much better words) the first-year writing seminars are and gave them an idea of what types of first-year writing classes I would have taken if given the opportunity!

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): My AP Gov/AP Art History/DE US History teacher-I’ve had him for 2 years now and I think that he knows me extremely well, especially because he and I discussed pretty much everything when I had to stay at school a lot (lack of a ride). He also writes amazingly so I have complete faith (10/10)

Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): My AP Human Geo/World/Euro/NHD coach-I’ve had this teacher as a teacher for 3 years but will have interacted with him regularly for all 4 years. He’s seen what I can do with research and has encouraged me through everything. His classes are what taught me a work ethic. He was also my recommender for CPS so I think he did excellent (9/10)

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): My counselor is my 2nd recommenders wife so any info she needed she asked him about to write a thoughtful recommendation. She was also in contact with me most of the time to ensure she got details right! Regardless, I also know that her workload is super heavy at my school and could affect things like this (8/10)

Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): (10/10) The interview was amazing and relaxing! Her and I connected quite well and she only outright asked me 4 questions while everything else flowed naturally (how I heard about Wellesley, what my school is like, what I want to study, and what I do outside of school). Anything else just came up in conversation. It lasted for an hour and a half, which honestly didn’t even feel like that long!

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Psychology and Spanish
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant): United States
School Type: Public School
Ethnicity: White Hispanic from Peru
Income Bracket: 35,000 or so
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation college, first generation in US on my dad’s side, LGBT

Reflections: I honestly think I showed myself in every possible way in all of my essays. Despite the lack of opportunities at my school I have made the best of everything and have worked extremely hard with what I’ve got. Not only did I write the Wellesley supplement following the match, but I also wrote a Letter of Continued Interest to them so that I could really show admissions that Wellesley was, and is, my first choice school. I am SO thrilled that I got into my 1st choice school and can’t wait to meet the amazing women that make up Wellesley’s campus now and those who will make up the class of 2023! :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

Strengths: GPA, Test Scores (I had a high jump from my previous SAT of 1340), essays, rec letters
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars, courseload (while I have taken a lot of DE classes, I was so genuinely worried about not taking 4 years of a language or having more AP classes available)

11

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 30
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): I’m not sure because our school usually doesn’t give our GPA but I’m guessing around 3.9
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top tenth percentile
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Maths and Computer Science (Cambridge A Levels)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Student Govt./Politics: G9 (Member), G10 (Asst. Secretary), G12 (Class Rep)
Volunteer at my cultural/community centre (Active all of high school)
Yearbook (Co-President & Design Committee member) G9 & G10
Model United Nations Delegate G11 & G12

Job/Work Experience:

Interned at Neptune Architects (G11 Summer)
Assistant photographer at VisualSnap Photography

Volunteer/Community service:

Vice President of Community Service Club G10
Volunteer at Sifa Threads G12: An artisanal schooling centre for women with little or just moderate education,
Volunteer at Nuru Centre G11 & G12: A centre for physically disabled individuals who make and sell crafts.

Summer Activities: Global Youth Leadership Summit Ambassador G10 (I received a grant from the foundation to attend this but I didn’t mention that).

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

CommonApp Essay - (9/10) I wrote about living in a multi-cultural society and how it has shaped me

Wellesley Essay - (8/10) I wrote about Mamaland & Nancy Drew (I’d personally give it a 10/10 but it might have been cliche)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, My physics teacher in my junior year. He is a great person and he really got through me and he understood how I learnt stuff so he did know me pretty well.

Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, My Maths teacher in my junior year. He was my first choice and he REALLY knew me well so I’m glad he was able to write me a rec. I’m pretty sure it was a solid one.

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 8/10. Giving it an 8 because my rec didn’t know VERY well personally but he is a solid writer!

Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, My art teacher. He knows me really well but I think he wrote less about my art and more in terms of what other activities I do.

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): I had one with an alumna and it was GREAT 10/10

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes. Almost 80%
Intended Major: Architecture
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Tanzania
School Type: Religious (Christian)
Ethnicity: African
Income Bracket: 20,000 or so
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-Gen

Reflections: Clearly, my application wasn’t strong enough. I feel like my combination of test scores and request for financial aid didn’t make the best combination.

Strengths: My ECs and essays especially community service and student government. I’ve been doing these for quite a few years and with my essays, I described the cultural diaspora.

Weaknesses: I am an international student which means they are “need-aware” just made things harder for me and my scores just weren’t strong enough. I think I was just really hopeful. That combined with the fact that I live in a joint family and resources are scarce so I had to make the best of the opportunities which weren’t too many.

12

Applied: ED I
Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1340
ACT (breakdown): 31 (super score is 32)
SAT II: (took two but decided not to send them)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8509
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.4455
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 16th out of 432
AP (place score in parenthesis): WHAP: 5, APHG: 5, APLang:4
IB (place score in parenthesis): SL Chemistry, SL French B, SL Math Studies, HL History, HL English Lit, HL Dance
Senior Year Course Load: JROTC IV, IB History of the Americas, IB French B, IB/Varsity Dance, IB English, IB Chem, IB TOK
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Dallas ISD Student School Board (President). Senior Class President (Junior Year as well), JROTC Battalion Commander, Drill Team (Manager), Varsity Dance Team, Model UN, NHS
Job/Work Experience: Intern at a financial services company for summer and winter breaks
Volunteer/Community service: volunteered once a week at a home for the elderly and teach ballet lessons to kids at local elementary schools, and a LOT of political organizing and block walking
Summer Activities: worked on a major U.S. Senate campaign and was in a Dallas Mayor’s intern.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 wrote about organizing my school walkout and the challenges we faced

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 Math teacher from Sophomore year but knew me really well
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9/10
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): my Vice Principal 8/10 it was great but it wasn’t terribly specific
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 she was super nice and we got along really well, talked about my political experience and aspirations

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: YES (and received great aid)
Intended Major: Political Science-International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large, public (IB program)
Ethnicity: White
Income Bracket: 80,000 -100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): single mom, twin sister

Reflections: always interview when given the choice! it will definitely help you
Strengths: Leadership roles and recommendation letters
Weaknesses: test scores, I’ve never been a great tester

13

Applied: Early Evaluation
Decision: Likely

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1560 (did not submit)
ACT (breakdown): 36 (scored 36 twice, the first time without writing and the second time with writing)
SAT II: World History 760, Math II 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): ~4.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(5), Human Geography(5), Biology(4), Chemistry(4), European History(5), Psychology(4), Calculus BC(4), Calculus BC - AB Subscore Grade(5), Computer Science A(4), English Language & Composition(5), Statistics(4), United States History(4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Vector Calculus (taken in local State University), AP Literature, AP Government, AP Art History, Honor Spanish, Student Government
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Student Government (leader of Public Relations Committee and Prom Committee, member on Principal’s Committee)
School Site Council (student representative)
Mock Trial (Secretary)
Math Club (Treasurer)
Future Business Leaders of America
Swimming Team

Job/Work Experience:
Every summer spent 4 weeks being summer school teaching assistant who helps low-income-family students of local middle and elementary schools

Volunteer/Community service:
Teen Advisory Board at local library (4 years, over 300 hours)
Volunteer to local Boys and Girls Club chapter
local Democratic Party Volunteer (helped Hillary Clinton campaign)

Summer Activities:
Wellesley summer writing program

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: wrote about magic cycle (a game theory concept) and how a new-century teenage live through the bounary of reality and imaginary world.
Why Wellesley: computer science study in Wellesley and the uniqueness of being a member of women’s college

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): English teacher, never see content, but must be great
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): Computer Science teacher, never see content, but must be great
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): very familiar, never see content, but must be great
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 on-campus interview, the best of all the college interviews

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: YES
Intended Major: Computer Science and English (intended to double major)
State (if domestic applicant): Arizona
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large, public
Ethnicity: Asian
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflections: if possible, always choose on-campus interview

Strengths: definitely academic strength, very rigorous course load and succeeded. In addition, the persistence of being a contributor to the local community must be another strength.

Weaknesses: lack of major awards

14

Decision: Likely from EE (which I hear is basically yes as long as your grades are good and you don’t commit a crime)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 680 Math and 690 Reading (1370 total)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Weighted GPA: 5.082
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

EXTRAAA: Instead of IB/AP, my school does dual enrollment at a local college. My GPA is high because I will graduate with about 36 college credits. I got As in every college class except 1.

Senior Year Course Load: Physics Honors, Senior Project (like a capstone project), Leadership through the Humanities (Dual, 1st sem), Prob and Stats (Dual, 1st sem), American Government (Dual, 1st sem), Macroeconomics (Dual, 2nd sem), Personal Finance (Dual, 2nd sem), and Interpersonal Communications (Dual, 2nd sem)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): college where I take Dual at Dean’s List for 5 consecutive semesters, Jefferson Awards Foundation’s Certificate of Excellence, Ronald Reagan Student Leader Award, Junior Marshall for Class of 2018, Grant from South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Academic Team (Captain), Recycling Initiative (Founder and Leader), Red Cross Club, college where I take Dual at Honors Program, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, involved in church

Job/Work Experience: 2 summer internships at local Democratic party, art teacher’s assistant
Volunteer/Community service: regular volunteer at an arts center, regular volunteer for church’s community service and mission work, school required 50 per year service hours so I will graduate with 200+ hours
Summer Activities: 2 internships (shown above), church camp/missions, Girls State

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App essay was great (9, I wrote about sustainability which is the field I want to work in) but Wellesley specific essay (6 or 7) I felt meh about because I don’t know what to say that doesn’t sound like literally every other applicant.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details):
(bio teacher and club leader for 1 ECs) i’m sure it was nice, but she is just overwhelmed by life in general so I doubt it was very depth tbh
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details):
(taught me english and creative writing) didn’t see it but probably 8/9, was one of her fave students

Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):
didn’t see it but probably 8. she really likes me but has to basically write a rec for everyone at school

Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
school nurse (she is club leader for 2 of my ECs): 9 and the only one I saw. Really great letter
honors program director: didn’t see it but probably 9/10. She’s written the most rec letters out of everyone and is a good writer in general.

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 11, it last liked 2.5 hours (longest one I had by far) and conversation flowed really well

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: YES pls give me money!
Intended Major: Economics or Environmental Studies, and interested in Sustainability Certificate
State (if domestic applicant): SC
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: public charter
Ethnicity: white Hispanic (Colombian parents)
Income Bracket: middle middle-class, enough money for regular expenses but no money for college
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): child of immigrants (but white), I think SC would be underrepresented in North Eastern schools prob (and I’m not from fancy school areas of SC)

Reflections: ALWAYS INTERVIEW!!!
Strengths: main Common App essay, academic, interview
Weaknesses: SAT (for South Carolina are great, but I can’t compete with Northeastern or West Coast education haha), maybe extracurriculars because none of them are incredibly fancy or nationwide recognizable (but I did the best I could with opportunities I had, I guess), second Wellesley specific essay

15

Applied: Early Evaluation
Decision: Likely

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1390
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank
AP Scores (the ones I submitted): AP French (5), AP Psych (5), APES (3); also took AP Euro
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc A/B, AP Bio, AP chem, Honors US History

Subjective:
Extracurriculars:

  • Chinese lion dance (lead drummer)
  • kung fu demonstrator
  • varsity cross country (every high schooler is V lol)
  • Duke Tip Summer Studies
  • summer study abroad
  • creative writing summer workshop
  • dog walker
  • science olympiad (jv and v)

Job/Work Experience:
Dog walking/sitting every day

Interview:
I interviewed off campus with an alumni. It was my first interview ever, so I was kinda nervous but I guess it went ok. I would recommend off campus alumni interviews over other types because it’s really casual and they might even buy you coffee/ice cream :slight_smile:

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: English
State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: very small K-12 charter
Ethnicity: Black
Income Bracket: low income

16

Applied: Early Evaluation
Decision: Likely

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1450
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: French: 780 Spanish: 770 Literature: 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85 I think. I’m not really sure because I only know my sophomore year GPA (long story)
Weighted GPA:3.96 (once again, not really sure but I think this is it.)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): French (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Theatre, Creative non-fiction, US History, Forensics, Advanced Honors French, Drawing, AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP Calc AB, Speech and Debate
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, two-time Presidential Service Award Recipient

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): tennis, lots of debate, I run an affinity group, editor for school paper
Job/Work Experience: Jr. Camp Counselor
Volunteer/Community service: 250+ hours
Summer Activities: camp counselor
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App- 10. My college counselor reads essays for a prestigious university (won’t say which one due to privacy reasons) and she said my common app essay was probably the best she’s ever read so I’m going to assume it was good lol. Why Wellesley - 9. I’m really proud of that essay and had fun writing it.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): Math teacher (7) - she didn’t know me that well when I asked her but we got along so I just rolled with it.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): Politics teacher (10) - I went to school in France last year and he was my favorite teacher and knew me really well so I know this one must have been great.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Counselor (8) - she writes letters for dozens of kids so probably not the most personalized but she still knows me well.
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): I’d give it a 6. She was really nice but we had none of the same interests so it was hard for her to answer a lot of my questions and also, she went to Wellesley a long time ago. I still keep in contact with her though. In fact, I texted her yesterday lol.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: YES! Wellesley isn’t cheap lol
Intended Major: Political Science - International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private and EXTREMELY competitive
Ethnicity: Latina
Income Bracket: 100,000 +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflections: Wellesley is one of my top schools so I am beyond excited. Always try to do an interview. Even if it doesn’t go perfectly, it is important to demonstrate interest so I did a lot to show how much I love the school.
Strengths: I did a year abroad which shows independence and a willingness to try new things I guess. I have lots of regional debate awards. My essays were also pretty good in my opinion because I think my passions really shined through.
Weaknesses: Test scores (I’m not a great tester), low GPA, not many APs, weak course load compared to most kids from my school

17

Waiting on other results and financial aid offers but I’m seriously considering Wellesley. I don’t wanna be too identifiable so I’m leaving out some details but you can PM for more info!

EE: Likely

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (770 reading, 780 math)
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take.
SAT II: Math II (800), Molecular Biology (780), Physics (650), French (580). Submitted all of them, even the 580 lol.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Weighted GPA: 4.41
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), Euro (5), Art History (5), Lang (5), Calc BC (5), Physics C Mech (4), Chem/US Gov/Lit (planned)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, US Gov, Lit, and then just basic classes I need for graduation credits.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): LOTS of academic-ish competition type ECs with leadership positions and a few high placement academic olympiad-style competitions.
Job/Work Experience: None :frowning:
Summer Activities: Not too great, just volunteered at a summer camp for a few weeks.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Honestly, I thought my common app was pretty generic (6/10) before I rewrote it but I guess they liked it enough? My Why Wellesley was unique though (8/10), so that’s probably where I shined. I talked about two things from the 100 that I don’t think many applicants write about that went beyond my interest in biology.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): (8?/10) Either really good or really bad; the teacher I asked is apparently really hit or miss with her letters, but I think she wove in a lot of stuff about how I have a strong voice in class/leadership skills.
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): (7?/10) SciO coach, so probably nothing outstanding but she probably wrote about how I joined SciOly in junior year and worked really hard to do better than was expected of me.
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): (5/10) I don’t really know my counselor or talk to him as much as I should.
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): (Solid 9) I had a great time with my interviewer who made me feel really comfortable and we talked about CRISPR for a quite a bit.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Southeast Asian/White
Income Bracket: 100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope.

Reflections: Rereading this it looks like I only have objectively good stats going for me but I swear I have good ECs! I’m just paranoid about someone from my school reading this lol and asking me about it.
Strengths: Objective stats, and personal interests beyond just biology that I talked about in my Why Wellesley essay.
Weaknesses: Lack of good internships/job experience, Common App essay.

18

CLASS 2023: ED II = Waitlisted, RD = Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 30 (33 English, 27 Math, 32 Reading, 27 Science)
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Weighted GPA: 4.15
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 67/525
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (3), World History (4), APUSH (3), Spanish Lang (4), Physics 1 (1) AP Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: band, AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Music Theory, AP Gov, AP Macro, Chinese II
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 2 Time NSDA Nationals competitor

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Marching Band (Drum Major)
  • Speech & Debate (Top Speaker & Student Leadership)
  • Sociedad Honoraria Hispanic (VP)
  • Model UN (charter member)
  • NHS
  • Beta Club
  • Students Demand Action Cherokee County (Spokesperson & Student Leader)

Job/Work Experience: Six months at Zaxby’s, currently at Chipotle for a year.
Volunteer/Community service: 20 hours a semester
Summer Activities: Marching Band and NSDA Nationals and work take up everything

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • Common App: 7/10, rewrote it very very very quickly and it was a free-write, spoke about my history with words
  • “Why Wellesley”: 9/10, I spent hours on it and finished it after my interview so it was more focused, think it really showed how I look to the future

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

  • Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 7/10, 2 time lit teacher who is like my father but we have our ups and downs
  • Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 5/10, speech & debate coach who I was fighting at the time but she wants me to come back and judge so she gave a good attempt
  • Teacher Rec #3 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, my band director of 4 years who is my biggest mentor
  • Teacher Rec #4 (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, my AP Span teacher of one year who wrote me a beautiful essay about how I use my Spanish skills to ease young bilingual marchers and victims of domestic violence
  • Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 5/10, I don’t know her but I am her most successful student so she tries her best
  • Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): n/a
  • Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10, I really think she is the reason why I got in. It was super natural and informative and we vibed well.

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: International Relations
State (if domestic applicant): GA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Hispanic, Mexican
Income Bracket: $60k-80k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): LGBT, URM

Reflections:
Strengths: I think my essays and my interview are what really sealed the deal! I got rejected from Barnard a month before the deadline so I THREW my time at my Wellesley app. MY EC’s are also better than a lot of applicants with my grades.
Weaknesses: My grades and my ACT score are very low compared to the averages.

Still can’t believe I got in!

19

RD: Accepted
I was deferred Harvard SCEA, still waiting to hear back from several other RD schools

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35 superscored (36e, 35m, 35r, 32s)
SAT II: 750 math 2, 780 lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA: 4.3 (I think? my school does funky things with transcripts)
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: advanced courses (my school’s AP equivalent) for physics, Spanish lit, calc BC, English, international film, I’m also in a very intensive drama conservatory program.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-MUN (president, a few awards, organized first conference at my school)
-Cross-country (4 yrs varsity)
-costume design (one regional award)
-independent research in sustainability through a school program
-involved in various LGBTQ activism
-invited to speak at a literary conference.

Job/Work Experience:
-Camp counselor at a cultural program for kids
-intern at a jewelry distribution company
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer tutor at an org. that fosters writing development for kids in an underserved area
Summer Activities: Arabic classes/programs, work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): personal essay: 9- I’m really proud of it. I wrote about frogs. Wellesley supplement: 9- also feel like content/expression was solid here- wrote about my interests in diplomacy and linguistics and did a lot of research so I referenced specific Wellesley things.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 10 (he had known me because of xc for a few years, really liked me)
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 9 (this was the teacher I went to the literary conference with, I know she liked me and I a pretty sure the rec was good)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9 (I had this teacher for 3 yrs and my counselor told me her rec was great)
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details):
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): no interview

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Environmental Studies
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Income Bracket: ~150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflections: Almost no one had applied to Wellesley from my school before and my school is kind of unique, but it all worked out! I feel like most of my activities were very niche so I had a hard time predicting how I would do but hopefully posting this will help someone.
Strengths: I think I’m a strong writer, my stats and extracurriculars are solid.
Weaknesses: Submitted my app very VERY last minute.

20

WAITLISTED

SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (780 ERW, 750 Math) ~ didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 35 (34 M, 34 S, 36 R, 36 W)
SAT II: 780 (Bio E), 760 (Math II), 750 (US History)
Unweighted GPA: 97/100
Weighted GPA: 103.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): at least top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (5), Psychology (5), Biology (5), Chem (4), Lang (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Gov and Politics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Spanish, AP Lit and Comp
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

  • Regeneron STS Semifinalist
  • AP Scholar with Distinction
  • Commended National Merit Scholar
  • MIT Inspire Semifinalist
  • Several awards at local research competitions
  • Published in a secondary psychological journal
  • Won an essay contest, published online
  • Regional and state championship Science Olympiad awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Science Olympiad (Captain for two years)
  • Newspaper (Editor for two years)
  • Science National Honor Society (Treasurer)
  • National Honor Society
  • World Languages Honor Society
  • Mentor in school research program
  • Editor of a research journal my school puts out

Job/Work Experience: N/A

Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at hospital for two years, shadowed doctors at a medical practice, worked at art school for a year (w/young kids)

Summer Activities: Intern at medical school between my junior and senior year (worked on a research project w/a professor), did a science program at Columbia between junior and sophomore year

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App Essay (9/10, solid but not my best writing), Wellesley Essays (8/10, written quickly)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 8/10 (liked me, but she wrote a lot of recommendations and I wasn’t one of her absolute favorites)
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 (loved me, close to him and did well in his class)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 7/10 (maybe doesn’t know me that well)
Additional Rec (if any) (rating 1-10, details): 10/10 (research coordinator who I’ve worked w/for 4 years)

Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A (should I have interviewed?)

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Southeast Asian
Income Bracket: > 100 K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflections: I wasn’t optimistic since I only got a Possible EE… honestly college admissions has been going pretty terribly for me so I’m just not feeling great
Strengths: GPA, research
Weaknesses: Didn’t interview, lack of community service, maybe my essays were not the best