Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2090 (CR: 650, M: 770, W: 670)
ACT: 31 (English: 32, Math: 30, Reading: 30, Science: 31, Composite: 31)
SAT II: US History (750), Math Level IIC (720), Physics (640), Chinese (800), Biology (690)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.82
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP Chinese (5), AP Calc BC (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Regionals Science Fair Honorable Mention
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Animal Lovers Society Co-Founder,marching band, Founder/President of Card Games Club, Vice President of Plano Fooseball Committee
Job/Work Experience: Zookeeper with my brothers
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer every week at the aquarium
Summer Activities: Farming in Montana (growing corn and wheat)
Essays: Written about being one with animals
Teacher Recommendation: 2. One from Animal Science teacher, one from P.E. Team Sports coach.
Counselor Rec: Commended me on my passion for animals and my effort to promote animal awareness in our school.
Additional Rec: Operational Manager of DFW zoo
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Plano West
Ethnicity: Mixed
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~$180,000-$200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I LOVE ANIMALS!
Reflection
Strengths: My all-consuming passion.
Weaknesses: I spent so much time with my animal friends, I had no real friends at school.
Accepted: UT Abeliene Christian, OU, Texas Womens University; Waitlisted:Rice University, Cornell University, UChicago; Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Princeton
General Comments: I'm still in shock at my acceptance! It must be because I love animals!
AP (place score in parenthesis): World Hist (5), US Hist (5), English Lang (5), Music Theory (4), Physics B (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Symphonic Band IV, Calc BC AP, US Gov AP, Mico Economics AP, Independent Study Mentorship Honors, English Lit AP, Physics C AP, Spanish III
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge Finalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, UIL State Music - Superior Ratings on a Snare solo 2 years in a row, State Farm Original Score Competition Winner
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band (Drumline Captain), Jazz Band (Solo Guitarist), Music Theory II (Chief Composer), Poetry Groups (published) Science Club
Job/Work Experience: 4 Years - Summercamp guide
Volunteer/Community service: NHS (Treasurer, co founded tutoring service), Spanish NHS, Summer Volunteer (100+ hours)
Summer Activities: Work/Volunteer
Essays: Very Solid - Excellent writer
Teacher Recommendation: English AP, PreCal/Calc AP, Both very good
Counselor Rec: Average
Additional Rec:
Interview: Fairly well, only lasted 15 minutes though
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: under 60K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Music Major, Artistic Family, Questbridge, Published, Liberal, Ideas for research
Reflection
Strengths: Very Creative, Motivated
Weaknesses: Geometry - my only B
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Essays/ideas for research
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accept: UT Honors- Deans Scholars, USC, SMU (Honors), Carnegie Mellon. Waitlisted: Stanford. Rejected: Rice, Yale, Princeton.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0. 104.218 weighted on 100 pt scale.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/262
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History - 3 (10th grade)
IB (place score in parenthesis): All being taken in May
Senior Year Course Load: Band, IB Eng A1 HL, IB Bio SL, IB Span B HL, IB Math SL, IB ToK, IB HoA HL, IB Music SL, IB Mentoring, Economics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar and National Merit Commended (first in my school in A WHILE). Gates Finalist. Being cool.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (Drumline and all percussion endeavors in the Band (also going to state for a snare solo and was second chair percussion in my district honor band)), (Mu Alpha Theta Founder and President), History Club, Model UN, NHS, Interact Club
Job/Work Experience: Some with family business
Volunteer/Community service: 935 hours of CAS in IB
Summer Activities: Duke TiP from 2007 - 2010, Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) in 2011, Dartmouth Bound in 2011
Essays: Loved the first one. About my father and unique circumstances. Very bold and emotional in my eyes. Other essays were all strong imo, but I definitely preferred some over others.
Teacher Recommendation: I didn't see them, but my bio teacher felt bad when I got deferred from Yale because she said she was too strict on my common one. I dunno how that'll go...
Counselor Rec: No clue in the slightest.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview:
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biology: Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental
State (if domestic applicant): TX
School Type: Inner-city Public in an underfunded and "Academically Unacceptable" (according to TEA) campus
Ethnicity: Hispanic, roots from Mexico
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Under the cutoff for full aid.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First in a TRUE college (Dad dropped out and mom has a license but not a degree)
Reflection
Strengths: Writing, scores relative to location, doing as much as I can in my school, summer programs.
Weaknesses: Lack of EC and leadership positions
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/denied:
Where else you were accepted/waitlisted/denied:
Accepted: Columbia (likely), Cornell (early writeish), Dartmouth (likely), Williams (early write), Bowdoin (early write), Amherst (early write), Stanford, MIT, UPenn, Rice, UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara (Honors), UC Santa Cruz (Honors), Northwestern, Boston U (Honors), Hofstra (Honors), UTexas, Texas A&M, Fordham (likely), Simpson, St. Johns, Iowa State, Drexel, Houston Baptist, three local private schools, 3 non-flagship state schools Waitlisted: Harvard, Princeton, Brown, WUSTL Rejected: Yale (deferred SCEA)
General Comments:
My friend in my school got in with an 1800 and fewer awards. I don't understand this process too much, but I guess numbers aren't everything...
SAT I (breakdown): 670 Reading, 790 Math, 770 Writing (11 Essay) – Total 2230
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 800 Math 1, 800 Math 2, 770 Chinese, 720 US History, 640 Chemistry (did not submit)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93 UW, 4.37 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st Decile. School does not rank, but around 5/390
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Calculus AB, 4 US History
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus III/AP, Chemistry AP, Government AP, all other classes honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Nursing home music-volunteering group (Founder, President), Marching Band (Section Leader), Varsity Math/Chemistry Teams, All County Band, Band/Jazz Band/Orchestra, Spanish Honor Society, National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society (Secretary), School Newspaper, Cultural Diversity Club (Leader)
Awards: Award from National Science Foundation, various Piano Auditions, Festivals, and Competitions (performed at opera houses, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall)
Job/Work Experience: Private Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: performed piano at nursing homes; hospital volunteer, Chinese School Teacher’s Assistant, charity concerts
Summer Activities: Culture Tour in Taiwan, American Music Abroad, Band Camp
Essays: Great – wrote about my homestay experience during my Culture Tour in Taiwan.
Teacher Recommendation: Should be really good, both teachers really like me and I got good grades in their classes
Counselor Rec: Great
Additional Rec: Good (piano teacher, part of arts supplement)
Interview: None
Other
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $170,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A
Reflection
Strengths: Music, math, rank, GPA
Weaknesses: SAT scores, lack of variety in activities
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I thought I just about fit the profile
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Rutgers, Boston College, William and Mary, and Cornell, Waitlisted at UVA and Penn, Rejected from HYPCB and Hopkins
General Comments:
I'm kinda sad about this... I thought I had a good shot It’s ok, though, I have great choices and I'm heading to Cornell or William and Mary!
I just realized I posted that I didn't have an interview for Brown when I did (post #37). Interview was kind of awkward, but was pretty decent and fairly casual! Discussed privilege in regards to race, gender, and sexual orientation and some other topics I can't remember.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): W=770 R=770 M620 =2160
ACT: E=34 R=33 S=30 M=26 W=33 COMP=31
SAT II: BioE=530 WorldHis-700 USH=760 French=710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6/4.02
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no rankings
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio(2) Euro(4) EngLang(4) USG&P(5) USH(5) EnvSci(5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, Ancient Greek II Honors, AP French Language, Discrete Math/Probability & Statistics, AP Economics, Classical Studies, AP Comp Gov
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction........
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): USA Swimming (2005-present), HS Swimming (all four years), Class Board (9th, 10th as Community Service Chair, 11th as VP, 12th as VP), Board of Directors Athlete Rep for State's swimming governing body, <----same thing but as well for 11 states in Eastern US, Student Council (all four years), State Board of Education student member, town Board of Education student member, Human Rights Coalition (all four years, latter 2 being the VP/CO President), Alzheimer's Association Fundraising organizer
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: Tutor for local middle school, Alzheimer's Association work
Summer Activities: summer school each summer
Essays: 1-10? i'd say 8.9
Teacher Recommendation: both very good
Counselor Rec: no clue
Additional Rec:
Interview: very good
Other
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: mixed (black, white, asian)
Gender: male
Income Bracket: ~$40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation
Reflection
Strengths: EC's, essays, overall how i conveyed myself to them
Weaknesses: grades, some scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: luck?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Harvard/Yale/UPENN/Brown/UChiago/Georgetown/GW
General Comments:
SAT I (breakdown): 2160 (790 CR, 690 Math, 680 Writing)
ACT: 33
SAT II: 780 Biology M, 750 United States History, 730 Chemistry, 720 Math II, 670 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/330
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), Chemistry (5), United States History (5), World History (4), English Language & Composition (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Calculus AB, Band, AP Statistics, AP English Literature & Composition
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
- 4 years Concert band on french horn
- 4 years Marching band on mellophone (section leader two years)
- 3 years Tri-M Music Honor Society (treasurer junior year, president senior year)
- 4 years Science Olympiad with 10 regional and 2 state medals [though at time of application, this was just 7 regional medals and no state]
- 4 years Math Team with many team awards [nothing for individual]
- 2 years Varsity Track and Field [no awards]
- 1 year National Honor Society
- 1 year Science Bowl
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: 60 hours at a symphony music camp for elementary school children, 60 hours through National Honor Society, a couple nursing home performances through Tri-M
Summer Activities: Michigan Math & Science Scholars (2 weeks - "From Genes to Genomics"), Summer@Brown (4 weeks - "Mind and Matter" and "Techniques in DNA Based Biotechnology"), Summer Academy in Applied Science and Engineering (SAAST) at Penn (3 weeks - "Biotechnology"), as well as summer marching band practices
Essays: I'm terrible at writing, so I'd say mediocre at best.
Teacher Recommendation: Probably very good, didn't get to read
Counselor Rec: Probably nothing special, didn't get to read, and we don't really get to know our counselors
Additional Rec: None
Interview: Amazing. My interviewer loved me and said she really thought I'd fit in well at Brown.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I'm honestly not entirely sure. I suppose I just wasn't exactly what Brown was looking for.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: University of Pennsylvania, Georgia Tech (Honors), University of Georgia (Honors)
Rejected: Yale (after being deferred early), MIT, Stanford, Columbia, Dartmouth, Rice
General Comments:
Congrats to everyone who got in! Penn was my first choice, so I'm still content
Objective:
SAT I: M-790, CR-730, W-740, Total-2260
SAT II: US History-720, Math II-740
GPA (out of 4.2): 4.1
Rank: 5/570
AP: Calc AB (5), Microeconomics (4), Calc BC (5), English Lang (4), US History (4), Music Theory (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Phyiscs B, AP Lit, Concert Choir, Jazz Lit & Improvisation
Major Awards: National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, University of Michigan Book Award, AMC-10 School Winner, Top Bass Voice Score for All-State Music Festival (2 years)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Concert Choir (Bass Section Leader), Jazz Choir (Bass Section Leader), Varsity Swimming (Captain), National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, School Musicals (had some leads), Math Team (Varsity Member), Newspaper (Staff Writer), Voice Lessons, Young Democrats
Job/Work Experience: Kumon Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: 30 hours through NHS
Summer Activities: CTY, Westminster Choir College Vocal Institute, St. Paul's Advance Studies Program (studied Japanese)
Essays: Thoughtful, creative, well-edited.
Teacher Recommendations: Calc BC Teacher- said I was one of the best students she ever had. Gov Teacher- said I was passionate about learning and said I was the leader of discussion in class.
Counselor Rec: Didn't read it; she doesn't really know me but I gave her a copy of my resume so she pobably just took stuff from that.
Additional Rec: none
Interview: Great! My interviewer was my friend's dad. He kept saying how he thought I was a really impressive student/applicant.
Other
State: NH
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks: None
Reflection
Strengths: Essays, Interview, Work Experience, Summer Programs, Music
Weaknesses: Scores (especially SAT II's), geographic location, race
Why you think you were rejected: I'm a white male from New England, my scores were not great.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: University of Chicago with $2000/year in merit, Vassar College, Oberlin College with $22000/year in merit, University of Michigan, Lawrence University with $22000/year in merit, Ithaca College with $3000/year in merit.
Waitlisted: Yale University (also Deferred EA), Pomona College
General Comments: Oh, well. Congrats to everyone who got in!
SAT I (breakdown): R 750, M 720, W 800, Total = 2270.
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Chem 780, US History 720, Math II 800, Bio M 670.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 UW, 4.85 W.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/519 UW, 4/519 W.
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Psych (5), US History (4), English Language (4).
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C (both Mech and E/M), AP English Lit, AP Calc BC, Health/Gym (graduation reqs), Teacher's Aid, AP U.S. Gov.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Semifinalist in the NChO (Junior), Prudential Spirit of the Community Award for the State of CT (Junior), AP Scholar with Honor (Junior), Best Mock Trialer in CT, Lawyer (Junior)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honors Society (Tutoring Coordinator), Debate 4 years (Co-Captain as Senior), Mock Trial 3 years, UNICEF Club 3 years (President)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered with family at local soup kitchen once a month since age 4, organized Trick or Treat for UNICEF fundraiser in my town for 8 years, organized Tap Project in my town for three years.
Summer Activities: Summer@Brown (sociology, philosophy courses), Student Leadership Training Program, summer for credit (high school) physics to place out of Honors.
Essays: Out of the 12 schools to which I applied, definitely in my top 3 set of essays.
Teacher Recommendation: Very good.
Counselor Rec: Very good.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went very well...she basically admitted to me the uselessness of the interview in the admissions process but we had a great time talking about Brown and life.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: >$250,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Not entirely sure, to be honest. Extracurriculars might not have been strong enough.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: A: Carnegie Mellon, Tufts (will most likely be attending), GA Tech, Michigan, WPI, Northeastern, Drexel. WL: Harvard, Johns Hopkins. R: Yale, Columbia.
General Comments: Intended concentration = chemical engineering. I sent a letter expressing interest along with my 3rd quarter grades. Hopefully that helps...also the fact that I know of a kid in my school who got accepted to Brown but declined its offer for Harvard GMH. Brown = dream school. Congrats to everyone who got in though!!!
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2 of 500
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 (Lit, Chem, USH)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, Calc AB, Physics, Language, Spanish
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): umm, QuestBridge?
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Several clubs, but I mostly focused on music: Marching Band (Drum Major), Concert Band (1st Chair), Orchestra, out-of-school bands, organized a large charity event.
Summer Activities: Band Camp, Drum Major Camp
Essays: One about band and how I've matured from it, the other about growing up and supporting my family.
Teacher Recommendation: AP Chem and USH teachers, didn't read them
Counselor Rec: Loved me, didn't read it
Interview: Good, over the phone.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
School Type: Very crappy public, never sends to Ivies
Ethnicity: Jordanian (marked Caucasian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Under 40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Low-income, gay catholic arab?
Reflection
Strengths: Decent academics, strong personality shown in my essays
Weaknesses: Lack of awards or national recognition
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My unique life situation, and the fact that my teachers knew me very well.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Harvard (attending), Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Amherst, Wesleyan, Vassar, University of Illinois. Wait-listed from Princeton, Columbia, Duke, and University of Pennsylvania. Rejected from Yale (EA).
General Comments: Acceptances are a crap-shoot. Apply to as many as you can and just be honest in your application. Where you end up might not be where you thought, but everything works out for the best.
SAT I: Reading (780), Math (780), Writing (680) = 2240.
ACT: <not submitted>
SAT II: Math II (800), Chemistry (790), U.S. History (750).
Unweighted GPA: 4.28/4.0.
Rank: <na>
AP: U.S. History (5), Chemistry (5), Calculus AB (5), Statistics (5), English Language and Composition (5).
IB: <na>
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Government and Politics, AP Biology, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Calculus BC, Spanish IV, Teacher Assistant.
Major Awards: Third Place WV State Math Field Day.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Student Government (Senior Class Secretary), Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society (President), National Honor Society (Vice President), Math Honorary Club, Science Bowl, Cross Country (3 Varsity letters), Track and Field (1 Varsity letter), MHS Frisbee Club (Founder and President), Community League Basketball (Captain), Community League Frisbee (Captain).
Job/Work Experience: <na>
Volunteer/Community service: Middle school tutoring, helping in a nursing home.
Summer Activities: Governor's Honors Academy for 3 weeks in 2011, a smattering of one-week camps.
Essays: I took the essays very seriously.
Teacher Recommendations: ???
Counselor Rec: ???
Additional Rec: <na>
Interview: Yes.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): West Virginia.
School Type: Public.
Ethnicity: White.
Gender: Male.
Income Bracket: $120 - 140k.
Hooks: Class Secretary, underrepresented region.
Reflection
Strengths: Application essays.
Weaknesses: Music, foreign languages.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Luck.
Where were you accepted: Brown, Olin, Tufts, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, UVA (Honors), Virginia Tech (Honors), WVU.
Where were you waitlisted: Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, Lehigh.
Where were you rejected: Yale, Cornell, Penn.
General Comments:
I am pleased to be going to Brown University in the Fall of 2012.
There seems to be quite a bit of randomness in the evaluation process at schools where the acceptance rates are very low.
I took all of the application essays very seriously because my lowest SAT score was in writing. Brown's app was the one with the most essays which might be why Brown was the only Ivy (out of the seven that I applied to) that accepted me.
It’s ok, though, I have great choices and I'm heading to Cornell or William and Mary!
