Essays:good, but not exceptional; showed a lot of interest in math and science
Teacher Recs:didn't read them, probably good but not outstanding
Counselor Rec: pretty good I think
Supplementary Material:None
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize):None
Personal
Location:Cali
High School Type:very strong small private
Ethnicity:Asian/ international (wow that doesn't help...)
Gender: Male
Other
Extracurriculars:
Founder of ping pong club and president
Dorm Council
Community Service Council
Math Club president
Varsity badminton
JV X Country
Chess Club, Astronomy Club
Orientation Leader
Blue Mop (if this counts as EC...)
Summer job at a factory (one month)
Awards: USA physics team semifinalist, USAMO HM
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:
Nope, I read a bunch of stats and they really helped me, so I post my stats as well. I think I got in because of my math competition stuff, and Caltech probably pays more attention on scores and awards than everything else.Good luck for all in RD!
Stats:
SAT:660 CR / 800 W /760 M (single seating)
SAT II:790 Math II/790 Chemistry
ACT:34
GPA:3.9 UW, 4.6 W
Rank:top 5%
Other Tests (AP tests): scored 5 on AP World History, AP Micro & Macro Economics, AP Statistics, US Government, US History, Chemistry, Calculus BC; English. Currently enrolled in 4 AP courses Biology, Physics, CompSc, English Lit.
Subjective
Essays: pretty good, were reviewed by 4 current teachers, 3 univ. profs, and even the staffers at the congresswomen in DC, talked about experiences at soup kitchen as inspiration for Human Rights, Multi-cultural club and Sc & Tech.
Teacher Recs: didn't read them, but likely outstanding, teacher knew me well for 3 years and were strong supporters
Counselor Rec: pretty good I think
Supplementary Material: info about a very successful conference i organized for Girls who want to be Engg. Sc. or Mathematicians.
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): was invited to be part of the US Science and Engineering festival to talk about my GEMS experience
Personal
Location:Illinois
High School Type:very strong public school
Ethnicity:Asian/ Indian
Gender: Female
Other
Extracurriculars: Founder of G.E.M.S. (Girl Engineers Math Scientists), Human Rights Club (leader), Multi-Cultural Club (leader), 2 yrs. of MUNC, XC, Summer jobs at Medical research and many other job shadowing
Awards: AP Scholar (wasn't a NMS, go figure...)
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:
Nope, I read a bunch of the stats of many others who got it and many who got deferred and I am thankful for the opportunity. I think it helped that I showed my commitment to engineering and science by forming a new organization to promote STEM fields for female peers by giving them information and mentoring.Good luck for all deferred and in RD! Now I wait to hear from MIT and other schools.
Nopurpose - Wow, congrats on USAMO HM. That's definitely a hook. Any color of MOP is a really strong hook. (Not to mention your physics semifinalist result too)
SAT II: Chem: 740 Math II: 780 US History: 700 Bio: 730?
ACT: 35
GPA: UW 3.8something (terrible I know) W 4.16
Rank: Unranked
Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): Calc (all of them) 5; APUSH 4; Chem 5; APEH 4
Subjective
Essays: scarcely worked upon. The people I asked to read them liked them.
Teacher Recs: I'm sure they were positive....
Counselor Rec: ""
Supplementary Material: nope
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): I wish
Personal
Location: CA
High School Type: very competitive (reason for being unranked)
Ethnicity: I'm just about everything except Hispanic.
Gender: Female
Other
Extracurriculars: Robotics Club (co-secretary), Chem Club, ACS chem lab competition, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Full Orchestra, Wind Ensemble stuff, Band leadership, volunteer work with a pet adoption service, piano accompanist, clarinet tutor
Awards: does AP Scholar count? and Junior of the Year award for Robotics Club
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?:
Well.... seeing as I'm not exactly your ideal student, I'd say that being in robotics and emphasizing my interest in the sciences helped a lot (maybe my ACT scores too. I aced the science section and got a 35 in math). Oh yeah, and if you're gonna get a B in anything, don't let it be in a math or science class. :P
Good luck to everyone deferred and applying RD I'm sure you'll do well
So, it turns out a lot of people from Ca, use "Cali"...much to my disgust. But yeah. Okay, so I was bored so I decided to look through this thread. And omgah. You guys are beasts. If I applied this year, I probably wouldn't have been able to get in. Ha. So yeah, for all of you that gotten in, you guys are super super legit. Congrats on getting in! For those of you that were deferred, you guys still have a chance. If you really really really want to come to Tech, I would recommend bugging admissions. Send them tons of stuff and make sure they know you're interested. A lot of recs, emails, and other stuff. And for those of you that didn't get in, don't beat yourselves up. From the looks of this, you're obviously still really smart and have amazing stats. There's no doubt that you'll get into other top notch universities. So yeah, just beast your RD essays and you should be fine. Good luck! Finally, I wish good luck to anyone apply RD. Write a good essay. If you got the stats to back it up(or even lackthereof), you stand a chance. Good luck and hope to see some of you at PFW.
* SAT I (by section): 760 math, 650 reading, 730 writing
* SAT IIs: 760 chemistry, 710 math II
* ACT:
* APs: 4 world history, 5 psychology, 5 us history, 4 chemistry, 4 language
* IBs:
* GPA (UW, W): 3.9, 4.6
* Rank: 3/370
* Other stats:
Subjective:
* ECs listed on app: just briefly since there were 12 spots on the Common App...NHS (secretary), SNHS, mu alpha theta math club (secretary/treasurer), academic games club (VP, participated all four years), volunteered at library, various volunteering around school, Share-A-Pet at elderly home with my dog, People to People student ambassador, Chinese club, website maintenance on Zybez.net
* Job/Work Experience: internship with Hazen & Sawyer (environmental engineering firm)
* Essays (subject and responses):
My main Common App essay was about my internship, and it was proofread multiple times by my English teacher, and even I - probably my toughest critic - thought it was great.
My supplement essays were rushed, so...they weren't too good.
* Teacher Recs: pretty good
* Counselor Rec: didn't see
* Applied on (EA?): 10/30 or so
* Hook (if any): ..jewish?
Location/Person:
* State or Country: Florida
* School Type: 1800 student public. We're an A school this year, but we don't send many kids out of state or to great universities.
* Ethnicity: Caucasian (my dad's South African but the Common App only allows you to check one so I checked caucasian lol)
* Gender: Male
[b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Looking at all the other people who were rejected/deferred, I would have felt guilty if I got in, lol. This was my "let's see if I can get in" so ..yeah
Good luck to all of you, bright futures await!
Other Tests (AMC, AP, IB): AMC-AIME (112.5/7), 5s on seven APs
Subjective:
Essays: my teacher thought they showed a funny, interesting person. also, for the "what do you do for fun" one, wrote about trapping a sleeping kid in a "chair cage". should've been interesting XD
Teacher Recs: didn't get to read, but one of them thought I was brilliant
Counselor Rec: counselor doesn't know me that well, but they make us fill out an "interview packet" with a bunch of personal info
Supplementary Material: sent in stats project
Hook(recruited athlete, legacy, Nobel Prize): girl in math?
Personal:
Location: Midwest
High School Type: Public, ~2000 kids
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Other:
Extracurriculars: Mu Alpha Theta (VP), math tutoring, school newspaper (columnist)
Awards: USNCO regional 2nd place, USPhO semifinalist, USAMTS honorable mention, other math-related things
Advice? Commiserations? Feel like bragging?: Good luck to everyone who's still waiting!
I'm sure you'll do well
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