Official 2008 Regular Decision Results Thread

[spiffystars]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

• SAT I (breakdown): 710M 700CR 800W
• ACT: Did not take
• SAT II: 740 Lit / 680 US History / 660 Chemistry
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 15/320
• AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), English Language (5), Chemistry (3) Haha chemistry is not my thing.
• IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Government, AP European History, AP Environmental Science, Student Government, AP English Literature, AP Calculus AB, Humanities Honors
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really I can think of. Some Science Olympiad regional and state awards, DAR Good Citizenship award, Toyota Community Scholars semifinalist

Subjective:

• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Government (Student Body VP), Asia Club (President), Environmental Club (Vice President - founder of county-wide recycling program), Traditional Korean Fan Dance (Instructor, performer), Science Olympiad (Varsity Captain, but quit in senior year...science is not my thing), Inter-Club Council (Founder, Chairman), I sit on a state-wide Youth Advisory Board, Local Youth Council (Vice-Chair). I do a hefty amount in my community and I love every bit of it! I honestly think it is because of my EC's that I was accepted.
• Job/Work Experience: SAT prep tutor
• Volunteer/Community service: Too many to list. Mostly with our local Arts Council, Youth Council, Student Government, library, etc....
• Summer Activities: Harvard SSP 2007, the best summer of my life. I encourage any rising senior to do it this summer! In past summers I self studied Russian, taught English in Korea, etc.
• Essays: These were very good, I think. Writing is my strong point. One was very lighthearted and funny, the other was very insightful and about a little girl I met on a bus.
• Teacher Recommendation: AMAZING. Truly amazing. One made my teacher cry when he read it out loud (against my will, haha) to my entire Student Govt class. The other was very eloquently written but somewhat generic.
• Counselor Rec: She said "I have never written so many good things about a person ever before!"
• Additional Rec: Did not have one.
• Interview: I had to turn down my interview.

Other

• State (if domestic applicant): NC
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Asian-Hispanic
• Gender: F
• Income Bracket: > $100K
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college, and 1/2 URM

Reflection

• Strengths: I honestly think my interesting extracurriculars, leadership, and essays did the trick.
• Weaknesses: My SAT scores were TERRIBLE.
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No Idea, but I truly am so grateful.

General Comments: I will probably be at Harvard this fall, but congrats to everyone who got in!
(Oh and I also had a likely letter..)

[edorshorst]

Decision: waitlisted

SAT: V 760, M 780, W 790
ACT: 34
SAT IIs: Lit. 720, Math I 740, Math II 770
GPA: 5.00
Rank: 1/284
IB: Two sevens (SL psych and history)
Senior Course Load: IB Chem, IB Math, IB Spanish, IB English, IB TOK, StuCo
Teacher Recs: 1 excellent, 2 good
Awards: National Merit, Eagle Scout
Hook: 4th place in the nation policy debate, swimming state qualifier

EC's: Debate, swimming (varsity Captain), StuCO (Student Body Treasurer), Key Club (VP)
Work Exp: Lifeguard--past 3 summers
Community service: 150 hrs in the last 2 years

State: MO
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male

Strengths: EC's, Test scores
Weaknesses: my sat IIs I guess, I don't really know what else i could have done to get in

[yineyes]

edorshorst: your SATIIs look great. It's not them; it's that for every person on this board posting that they got accepted there's one like you for whom we will have no explanation save, the coin toss did not go in your favor.

I mean, really, folks, look at these scores and anyone ANYONE, tell me that there's not an element of complete and total randomness involved in these decisions. I mean, for crying out loud, someone on the previous page got in with SATs less than 2000! Hello? Random flip of the coin or else Mom and Dad or maybe Grandma and Grandpa dedicated a wing in the library.

I'm just saying. Don't let it affect your sense of self. It was, at some point, a totally random crap shoot.

[droctagon]

Was the username for the website assigned, or did we create it? Because i totally forgot it. What should I do?

[whirlybird]

Decision: Rejected

Stats:

• SAT: 2170 (780 CR, 660 M, 740 W)
• SAT IIs: 750 Lit, 780 US
• ACT: 35
• GPA: 3.855 UW
• Rank: 44/437
• APs: 7 by the end of this year, pretty much every one my school offers. 5s on the tests I've taken so far.
• Awards: Won a playwriting contest, wrote, directed, and performed a short play at a local festival and won top honors. Outstanding student award, Key Club service award, National Merit Commended.
• Other stats: Most challenging schedule EVER.

Subjective:

• Essays: Fantastic. I slaved away for who knows who long. I dumped my freaking soul out in those.
• Teacher Recs: Pretty dang good, as far as I know
• Counselor Rec: She loves me.
• ECs: Tons of theatre: acting, directing, playwriting. Physics club (super intense!) , drama club, Key Club, NHS, I write unpublished novels...
• Hook (if any): Designed/built this awesome energy-saving machine in physics club last year... probably should have mentioned that more...

Location/Person:

• State or Country: WA (Seattle area)
• School Type: Competitive public
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Female

Other Factors: I thought I showed how much I wanted to go, and why. I also thought that my ACT might help compensate for my crappy SAT I scores.
General Comments: I am, uh, well... heartbroken, to tell the truth. Through all of this, Brown was where I really wanted to go. I wrote one or two random emails to the admissions office mentioning that. I was almost poetic. Man, this sucks. But I'll probably go to Colgate, so all is not lost.

[FrogsTheme]

Could NOT be happier.
Decision:Accepted

Stats:

* SAT:CR:800 M:700 W: 800 (2280)
* SAT IIs: World history: 730 Latin: 800 Bio M: 780
* GPA: W: 96.5/100
* Rank: not ranked
* Other stats: Ap USH:5 AP latin literature:5 Ap music theory: 5

Subjective:

* Essays: about going to japan and learning about discrimination.
* Teacher Recs: Latin teacher for five years, physics teacher i intern for
* Counselor Rec: She loves me
* Hook (if any): Composer/conductor I speak 5 languages...

Location/Person:

* State or Country: NY
* School Type:Selective Public
* Ethnicity:Asian
* Gender: Male

Other Factors: piano, cello, voice (won awards), drawing, voice acting, lots of tutoring.

[GroovyGeek]

Decision: BZZT, try again (aka REJECTED)

Stats:

* SAT: 2190
* SAT IIs: 770 (lit), 740 (math)
* GPA: 4.0W
* Rank: 7% out of ~650
* Other stats: Total of 8 APs, A/Bs and 4/5s on all

Subjective:

* Essays: Looked good to me
* Teacher Recs: did not see
* Counselor Rec: 1 counselor for ~650 kids, what do you think?
* Hook (if any): white middle-class female, the anti-hook

Location/Person:

* State or Country: OR
* School Type: public, OK
* Ethnicity: Caucasian
* Gender: Female

Other Factors: Somewhat uneven GPA trend

General Comments: This is D, you never know why at the top schools, but if I had to take a guess I would say that class rank and somewhat uneven GPA trend over the years were probably an important factor in the decision. Solid but relatively common ECs could not have helped either. Oh well, one less decision to make.

Good luck to admitted students, fellow rejects who badmouth Brown or any other school that rejected them need to get a reality check

[jsmall]

"I mean, for crying out loud, someone on the previous page got in with SATs less than 2000! Hello? Random flip of the coin or else Mom and Dad or maybe Grandma and Grandpa dedicated a wing in the library." -yineyes

So is this how it will be if I go to Brown? BTW I live in a single family home with a parent who makes less than $80,000 a year. Trust me, there were no donations made to the school. A school like Brown isn't going to risk lowering their avg. SAT if they don't think it's worth it. Get over it.

[Dudboi]

Decision: Rejected

Stats:

• SAT: 740W 680R 800M : 2220
• SAT II: 800Math2 800Physics
• GPA: NA. Took A levels, 4 'A's, 1 Distinction and 1 Merit for Special Papers (supposedly tougher), A1 for General Paper (like English), C5 for Chinese (haha)
• Rank: 26/800+
• ECs: Computer Club for 4 years, held various positions did various competitons, learned stuff on my own (which I emphasized in the short answers as well). Also put in a few key activities and community service things that had personal meaning to me.

Subjective:

• Essays: I think I could have done a lot better. Probably overthought it
• Teacher Recs: I spoke up, had opinions, did my work. Didn't get to see either, but assumed good. Might be generic though
• Counselor Rec: I think she likes me. Maybe.
• Hook (if any): None

Location/Person:

• State or Country: Singapore
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Chinese
• Gender: Male

Other Factors: I made myself look like I was mostly interested in computers and computer science, but I chose undecided and used a short answer to explain why. Guess that didn't work out so good.

General Comments: I basically bawled my eyes out the whole day. Will apply next year, currently doing national service.

[sly_vt]

jsmall: once you are at Brown, no one cares about your SAT scores. It will probably never come up again, and chances are in a few years you will forget what they were.

Congratulations to everyone who got in, and condolences to everyone who didn't. I'm sure you'll love the school you go to.

[livingtea]

has brown ever sent mistake emails? i am still really worried that this acceptance is a fluke >_<
i really hope it's true!!!!!!!

[crosscurrent]

Decision: Accepted


Stats:

• Fee Waiver Used?: No
• SAT I (by section): 800CR/800M/730W
• SAT IIs: 800 Math IIC/780 Chem/760 Bio M
• GPA, Weighted and Unweighted: 4.0/6.467
• Rank:1/833
• ACT:N/A
• APs (including this year's):European History, Statistics, Calculus AB, Biology, American History, Psychology, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Language and Composition, Physics C, Macroeconomics, Environmental Science, Human Geography, English Literature and Composition, US Government and Politics, Art History
• IBs (including this year's): N/A
• Senior Yr Courseload: AP English Literature and Composition, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government, AP Environmental Science, AP Human Geography, Honors Research I,II
• Number of Apps from Your School: 2
• Other stats (Awards, etc.): National Merit Finalist, Siemens Semifinalist, Intel Semifinalist, ISEF, USABO, USNCO, Varsity Swimming MVP, National AP Scholar, lots of math awards (including one from University of Miami), Sunshine State Scholar, etc.

[ b]Subjective:[/b]

• ECs listed on app: Varsity swimming, cancer research, “learn to swim” community service, Mu Alpha Theta (President), Physics Club (president), NHS, Key Club
• Job/Work Experience: None
• Essays (subject and responses): Good/Decent
• Teacher Recs: Phenomenal
• Counselor Rec: Phenomenal
• Interview (feel, interviewer and general location): GREAT
• Hook (TASP, RSI, Research, etc.):Israeli, Found a genetic predisposition which can successfully predict if cancer patients respond to therapy

Location/Person:

• State or Country: FL
• School Type, Average Stats of School (if available): Public
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: M
• Income Bracket: High
• Strengths: Well rounded, shown commitment in all ECs
• Weaknesses: 720 SAT II Hebrew….
• Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: If only I knew

Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Congrats to all those who were accepted!

[piratemonkey]

Decision: ACCEPTED

Stats:

• SAT: 800CR/640M/740W
• SAT IIs: 700 Lit, 690 German
• GPA: 3.8/3.9 UW
• Rank: school does not rank
• Other stats: IB Diploma (42 predicted)

Subjective:

• Essays: I really liked them.
• Teacher Recs: two very good ones + a STELLAR suplemental one
• Counselor Rec: fantastic
• Hook (if any): from CZ, really into history/politics, showed my LOVE for Brown.

Location/Person:

• State or Country: Czech Republic
• School Type: International Private
• Ethnicity:
• Gender: Female

Other Factors: Deferred ED so this is a dream come true!
General Comments: I was not expecting this whatsoever but I did send many letters updating the adcoms, reiterating my interest, etc. plus an extra piece of writing about a great experience I had. I still can't believe I got in! I was rejected from Amherst, Williams and Dartmouth but I don't care whatsoever.... because I'm going to BROWN

[willis0223]

i got accepted.. i really don't know why.. but im soooo happy!!
my academic stuff were quite good as other people.. my ECs were not particularly strong but well rounded i guess? other than that.. my essays were NOT that good but i guess recs were quite amazing.. hmm..

[Laura12592]

does anyone know approximately how many people Brown waitlists?