**WUSTL RD 2019 DECISION THREAD**

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
81

Decision: Waitlisted SEAS

Objective:

  • [] SAT I: 2180 (800:Math / 730: Cr / 650:Writing
    [    ] ACT: NA
    [] SAT II: Math II (800) Physics(710)
    [    ] TOEFL (breakdown) 109 ( R 27 S 27 L 29 W 26)
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 17.77/20 (the highest in Tunisia)
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/252 (most competitive high school in the country) + Top of the high school in Math and Physics
    [] AP scores: NA
    [    ] IB scores: NA
    [] Senior Year Course Load: Arabic, French, English, Spanish, Philosophy, Math (Very advanced), Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Physical Education, IT

Subjective:
[ list]
[] Extracurriculars:
-Winner of an international educational program organized by ENI and MIT about Energy (My major). Interacted with Professors at MIT and had a test after every lecture (16 lectures). Had the highest scores.

  • Kung Fu Trainee for 4 years (1056 hours): Vice-Champion of the state in heavyweights.
  • Participated at the second edition of the theatre festival at our high school attended by more than 300 persons and had the major role in the main play. Nomination for the best actor award.
    – Taking part in an international written-debate contest (the Public Policy International Forum) Organized by New York University. Received a certificate of excellence.
    – Received the national certificate of First Aid after taking part in a training.
  • Co-Founder of Theater Club in my high school (mentionned only in counselor’s recomm)
  • Founder of the Civism Club in my high school (mentionned only in counselor’s recomm)
    [] Job/Work Experience: Working in a factory during two summers. 30 Hours per week for 6 weeks every summer. (360 hours)
    [    ] Volunteer/Community service: Different activities (10) with the Red Cross More than 900 hours
    [] Essays: ersonal Statement 10/10 Read by more than 10 people including education USA advisors and teachers that rated it extremely Good. Wrote about getting knocked out at the kung-fu state championship. Emotional :wink:
    [    ] Teacher Recommendations: 10/10. Very good with strong statements like the best student ever.
    [] Counselor Rec: 10/10. Outstanding. She rated me as the best student in the history of the high school
    [    ] Additional Rec: WUSTL takes only two
    [] Interview: Waived [/list]
    Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NA
[] Country (if international applicant): Tunisia
[] School Type: Small Public
[] Ethnicity: North African
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 22k$
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Tunisian[/ul]
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: I’ll let my profile speak for me
[] Weaknesses: Massive need / Did not demonstrate any interest.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t know why. Can anyone please tell me? [/li][li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul] Admitted to Upenn (likely letter) + Duke admitted ( Karsh Scholarship Finalist) - Waitlisted UDenver (they do not want to harm their yield)[/li]General Comments: Didn’t see that coming!

82

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2350 (800 CR, 780 WR, 770 M)
[] SAT II: Math II: 790 Chemistry: 770
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
[] School does not rank
[] AP scores: 5 on Calculus AB/BC, Chemistry. 4 on Word History
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Macro, AP Micro, and school specific English and science classes
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing really major. Published independent research in a minor research journal. Few minor national awards and presentation at a minor international research conference. [/li][/ul]

Subjective:

  • [] Extracurriculars: President of 2 clubs. Vice president of 2 clubs. TA for biology class. Also work as a reporter of science news.
    [    ] Job/Work Experience: Paid Art teacher, Paid summer intern at NIH
    [] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer hours from clubs. Prob 100-200 hours in 4 years.
    [    ] I probably had pretty good essays and recs.
    [] Interview: I requested an interview but I didn’t actually get one…
  • Other*
    [list]
    [    ] State (if domestic applicant): A southern state…
    [] School Type: Public
    [    ] Ethnicity: Asian
    [] Gender: F
    [    ] Income Bracket: less than 100,000
    [] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
[ list]
[] Strengths: test scores, essays, research experience, leadership experience
[] Weaknesses: everything else
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I showed interest and had a pretty good essay
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:Deferred form Harvard, Accepted early by WashU and UNC-CH. Waiting for 8 more schools. [/list][/li]General Comments: I applied SCAE to Harvard and was deferred. I applied regular decision to all other schools. I received early acceptances to UNC-CH and WashU due to selection as finalist for a scholarship/program at each school.

83

Just wanted to post this to show that you don’t have to have the highest test scores to get in.

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:
SAT I: 1910
ACT: 29, 30(Super scored)
SAT II: 570 Math I 570 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84, 4.26(Weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 3%
AP scores: 3 Statistics, 3 World History, 3 Literature
IB scores: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Full Course Load: AP Computer Science, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, Emergency Medical Training Course (EMT Course), Anatomy, Nutrition, Dual Economics/ Government
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): The President’s Volunteer Service Award, AP Scholar, National Achievement Scholar Outstanding Participant, National College Match Scholarship Finalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Health Occupations Students of America(HOSA), Student Council, Interact Club (President), Swim Team, Piano, National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Junior Volunteer at Methodist Hospital (about 400 hours), various events with Student Council & Interact Club (over 100 hours)
Essays: Good
Teacher Recommendations: Really good i’m assuming,
Counselor Rec: Really good, I’ve seen a copy.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: None

Other
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public Career High School, Medium sized
Ethnicity: African
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 50k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college student in U.S., URM
Reflection
Strengths: School Grades, Teacher Recs, Extra Curriculars, Showed interest i.e. attended information sessions in area, called the school
Weaknesses: Test Scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Showed dedication to community service & other extracurricular activities, strong grades and high standardized testing scores compared to those in my school district
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Texas Tech, University of Texas at Dallas, Austin College, Trinity University, Baylor University
General Comments: Like I said before, don’t be afraid to apply because of lower SAT/ACT scores. Exemplify your other strengths in your application.

84

Decision: Waitlisted Olin

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2310 superscore 800 CR 790 M 720 W
[] ACT: didn’t take it
[] SAT II: 790 US History 760 Lit 740 Math 2
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/230
[] AP scores: 5 on Calc AB, Euro, World, English Lang, US Gov; 4 on APUSH and Stats
[] IB scores:
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental, AP Spanish, AP English Lit, DE Calc II, DE Religion in America, Finance (required), Adv US Foreign Policy, Adv Latin II
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] nothing too big, a couple of very selective regional awards/scholarships
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Captain of Golf and Quiz Bowl teams (4 years), Tennis, Debate, Latin and Spanish Clubs, a few highly selective summer programs
[] Job/Work Experience: interned on two congressional campaigns
[] Volunteer/Community service: mentoring program at my school, church, volunteered with local concert series for 7-8 years
[] Essays: good, very unique, definitely not boring
[] Teacher Recommendations: very good, one considers me one of the best students he’s taught in 40 years
[] Counselor Rec: she really likes me but it was probably somewhat generic
[] Additional Rec: solid
[] Interview:[/ul] didn’t do one
Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): VA
[] School Type: public, minority-majority
[] Ethnicity: white
[] Gender: male
[] Income Bracket: <100k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] nothing special
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: academics, leadership, recs
[] Weaknesses: didn’t visit campus for interview, didn’t demonstrate any interest
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: no demonstrated interest. Almost willing to bet that I would’ve gotten in had I visited for an interview.
[li] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul] UVA, W&M (likely), UGA[/li]General Comments: Applied on a whim because there wasn’t a supplemental essay. Was never one of my top choices but I figured I could get in from a numbers perspective. For anyone applying next year, I would say it’s imperative to do an interview and fill out the scholarship apps. Onto the Ivies now.

85

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2060 (700CR/700MATH/660W)
[] ACT: N/A
[] SAT II: 700 Math II, Chemistry 780
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.91 (weighted: 4.15)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1%
[] AP scores: Gov-5, World-5, Lang-5, Chem-4, Physics B-3
[] IB scores: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng. Literature, AP Biology, AP Calc BC, AP Psychology, Research Practicum, Internship at University of Maryland
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
Subjective:

[list]
[] Extracurriculars: JV and Varsity Soccer, Japanese National Honor Society, National Honor Society
[] Job/Work Experience: Intern with professor in Bio/Psych department at UMD
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer work in my neighborhood (since 2010) and local food banks
[] Essays: Strong essays, addressed things I was passionate about
[] Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t see them, but probably good, did well in the teacher’s classes. Had one for 2 years.
[] Counselor Rec: N/A
[] Additional Rec: Soccer coach
[] Interview: N/A
Other:

[list]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MD
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: African-American
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 150,000ish
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul]
Reflection

[list]
[] Strengths: Pretty good test scores and GPA, decent ECs
[] Weaknesses: Could have done more ECs
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Good recs, and GPA. showed strong interest
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UMD accepted, St. John’s accepted, Agnes Scott College accepted, U Pitt accepted, Princeton deferred (still waiting to here back from rest of RD)
General Comments:
Very excited! Plan to major in Political Science.

86

Decision: Waitlisted CAS

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2200 (CR: 750, M: 700, W: 750)
[] ACT: 33 (M: 36, R: 34, W: 35, S: 28)
[] SAT II: M2: 800, M1:670 (taken in sophomore year), Latin: 750
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95/4.79
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[] AP scores: n/a (school doesn’t offer)
[] IB scores: n/a (school doesn’t offer)
[] Senior Year Course Load: H. Humane Letters IV, H. Calculus II, H. Physics II, H. Greek II, Studio Art IV/Drama II
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] CAMWS Translation Contest: Letter of Commendation, National Commended Scholar
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: 3 choirs, Varsity soccer, Mock Trial, Improv team, Latin Reading Club, founder of Caroling Club, Lead in school’s first musical, Mentor, etc.
[] Job/Work Experience: n/a
[] Volunteer/Community service: Tutor, On the board of a nonprofit, Volunteering with my church
[] Essays: I liked my common app essay, my counselor said it was beautiful.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t see, think they were pretty good
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see, but was told it was very good
[] Additional Rec: I sent in a peer recommendation. My counselor and I thought it was really good.
[] Interview:[/ul] nope
Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): AZ
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Charter
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: <40,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] None really. Applied as a Classics Major?
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Scores, Letters, EC’s.
[] Weaknesses: Didn’t show interest.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I consider myself a solid applicant, but didn’t show interest really at all.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul] Barret Honors College at ASU, Willamette
General Comments: It wasn’t my top choice, and my counselor mainly encouraged me to apply. I’m not sure yet if I’ll take a spot on the wait list, I’m going to wait until I hear back from everyone else. I think demonstrated interest played a role. Congrats to all accepted!

87

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:
SAT I: Didn’t take
ACT: 35
SAT II: Didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/315
AP scores: AP Human Geo: 5, AP Stats: 4, AP US History: 5
IB scores: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng. Literature, AP Biology, AP Calc BC, AP Art History, Honors Latin, Honors Speech, Zoology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, Illinois Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: JV and Varsity Scholastic Bowl, Latin Club, Journalism (Springfield, Illinois newspaper)
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer work in my school district
Essays: Strong essays, addressed why I became interested in journalism and writing
Teacher Recommendations: Didn’t see them, but probably good, did well in the teacher’s classes. Had one for 4 years, the other for 2
Counselor Rec: Probably good, I know him well personally
Additional Rec: Newspaper editor
Interview: N/A
Other:
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 500,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: Good test scores, good essays and letters of rec, i assume
Weaknesses: Could have played sports probably
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Strong test scores and GPA most likely
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: UC Irvine, U of I, and LSU accepted, Stanford rejected, waiting to hear back from the 8 other schools I applied to in California haha
General Comments:
This is my favorite Midwestern school, and it might convince me to stay in the Midwest rather than travel to Cali!

88

Decision: Waitlisted SEAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (800 CR, 770 M, 800 W)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Math II, 800 Latin, 800 US History, 790 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA (I’m homeschooled)
AP (place score in parentheses): US Gov (5), US History (5), European History (5), Macro (5), Micro (5), English Lit (5), English Lang (5), Chemistry (5), Calc BC (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): didn’t take
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Comp Sci, Discrete Math, Asian History, Asian Literature, Front-End Web Development, Machine Learning, Personal Finance
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): major writing award (not naming to protect identity), National Merit, National AP Scholar, an award for girls in computing.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Lots of leadership (founded and taught economics class, mentor at Coder Dojo, teaching assistant for several AP classes), paid job at library, various computer science extracurriculars (Google Code-In, volunteering with CS competition for girls, volunteering at startup, etc.), music (piano, choir).
Job/Work Experience: Library page
Volunteer/Community Service: See ECs, plus 400 hours volunteering at the library from ages 12-16.
Summer Activities: Economics seminar, government/business camp, taking care of grandparents, working
Essays (rating 1-10, details):: good Common App essay (9/10).
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):: 10, 6 or 7 (I’m not as close to this teacher)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 10/10 (written by my parents, since I’m homeschooled)
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details):: 7/10 (complimentary rec from my boss)
Interview: none

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes. Also applied for Ervin, Rodriguez, Entrepreneurial, and Langsdorf scholarships.
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Homeschool
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $70-80k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
Strengths: high stats, leadership, good essays, difficult courseload
Weaknesses: I still feel like my ECs and awards were slightly weak. (It was harder to participate in extracurriculars since I’m homeschooled.)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No idea. I visited campus, emailed an update to my regional admissions officer, and applied for most of the scholarships that I was eligible for. I don’t know what I could have done differently! Oh, well - such is the college admissions game. :wink:
Where else you are applying or have already applied: likely letter from Columbia; accepted to University of Michigan, Alabama (with full-tuition+), Maryland (with 48k scholarship), George Mason (with 40k scholarship), Rochester (with 19k scholarship); deferred from Princeton. Still waiting to hear from UChicago, Rice, Stanford, WashU, Harvard, and a few others.

89

@slights32‌ That actually happened at my D’s private school. It was an Ivy that made a mistake, the girl received acceptance email to her cherished dream school and a few days later a rejection snail mail, the latter being the decision. Advisors and school administration raised hell X(

90

@slights32‌ That actually happened at my D’s private school. It was an Ivy that made a mistake, the girl received acceptance email to her cherished dream school and a few days later a rejection snail mail, the latter being the decision. Advisors and school administration raised hell X(

91

@Jimkingwood‌ Are you sure it was an ivy? I heard about JHU, Carnegie Mellon, UCSD, Fordham and a plethora of others… but no ivy. Unless you’re talking about Cornell is 2003?

92

I got accepted. I don’t feel like filling out the chart, so I’m not going to. I just wanted to let you guys know that they accepted 1,650 out of over 29,000 applications. That’s a 5.7 acceptance rate.

93

Decision: Accepted SEAS

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2090
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: Math 2 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.67
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP scores: AP Statistics 5
[] IB scores: N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Honors Ethics, AP Calculus BC, AP Spanish, Senior English, AP Physics Mechanics
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):National Spanish Exam Silver [/ul]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Swimming, Managing Editor of award winning school newspaper
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Athletes Serving the Community, President of N.E.W. club (raised $3000), Newton Wellesley Hospital, Global Leadership Adventures, Academic Student Center (total of 500 hours)
[] Essays: Pretty good
[] Teacher Recommendations: Not sure
[] Counselor Rec: Not sure
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: N/A [/ul]
Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MA
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Colombian Chinese
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: 500k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none [/ul]

94

@themiah06‌ Where do those numbers come from?

95

Decision: Waitlisted SEAS (ChemE)

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2390 (800M, 800R, 790W, 11 Essay) second sitting, sick for first
[] ACT: 36C (36E, 36M, 36R, 36S, 12 Essay) one sitting
[] SAT II: 800 MII, 800 Chem, 790 Phys, over two sittings
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96 (3.97 Midyear) (4.44 Weighted, 4.51 Midyear)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 2% (Top 1% Midyear) class of ~600
[] AP scores: AP Chem 5, AP Span Lang 5, AP Human 5, AP Euro 5, AP Eng Lang 5, AP Macro 5
[] IB scores: IB SL Chem 7, IB SL Span 6
[] Senior Year Course Load: (Full IB diploma schedule) Band, IB SL Math (School doesn’t offer HL Math, or HL Chem for that matter. SL is pretty much Calc AB), AP Comp Sci, IB HL Bio, AP Micro, AP Govt, IB HL English, IB HL History Americas, IB TOK
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] Nothing major… AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist, various UIL things
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars: Marching Band 9-10 (state qualified, regional champs), Concert Band 9-12 (state qualified, various minor awards), Jazz Band 10, 12 (various minor awards), UIL Math 9-12 (Captain, various awards, some notable), UIL Science 11-12 (Co-captain senior year, various awards, some notable, top score districts) High Q 11-12 (nationally qualified), 11-12 Business plan competition (co-founder, 2nd place), minor clubs (Span club, etc)
[] Job/Work Experience: Tutor at a tutoring center since January
[] Volunteer/Community service: Co-founder of org that cleans walking paths 11-12, minor clubs like NHS, Key Club, probably around 150~ hours total
[] Essays: Common app was fine 8.5/10, supplements for scholarships were hastily done 5/10
[] Teacher Recommendations: I’m sure they were fine, had both teachers for 2-3 classes each, didn’t read 8.5/10
[] Counselor Rec: Knows me well, 9/10
[] Additional Rec: Nope
[] Interview:[/ul] Declined to go to interview session
Other
[ list]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Texas
[] Country (if international applicant): U.S.A!!
[] School Type: Large competitive public
[] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 60-75k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] First gen in America? lol more anti-hooks than hooks for sure
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Scores, varied/difficult schedule, GPA, EC’s are decent (though I regret not doing more over summers)
[] Weaknesses: No major awards, very little demonstrated interest, classes not engineering focused
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Probably my lack of interest (refused interview, subpar scholarship apps) and needs aware admissions
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/ul] Presidential Scholar at USC, Engineering Honors+full tuition scholarship at UT Austin, UMich Ann Arbor, deferred from MIT
Still waiting on the Ivies/Stanford/Gtech/UC’s

General Comments: To be quite honest I was expecting to coast in with my scores/gpa and was surprised by the waitlist; I guess WashU saw right through that and refused to admit someone who wasn’t interested in the school. Well, they were right! Looks like I’ll be heading to UT unless I miraculously get into one of my reaches. Best of luck to everyone else, and, for the record, no hard feelings, WashU.

96

@themiah06 Really? Because that would be a 10% drop from last year. Any source on this?

97

@themiah06‌ pics or it didn’t happen

ooh, I’m not sure where you got that information from, but you’re not taking into account the waitlist.

98

I got waitlisted too… did most people get rejected or waitlisted? I feel like so many are on the waitlist

99

@Marisa58‌ I think @themiah06‌’s numbers are just for regular decision, while the 15.6% that WashU posted last year was a combination of RD and ED statistics

100

@aydee115 Ah, I see. Thanks.