SAT I (breakdown): 800W, 800CR, 790M (single sitting)
ACT: --
SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st decile
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (4), Chemistry (5), Music Theory (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): --
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Macroeconomics, Marching Band, Philharmonic Orchestra, Leadership (ASB)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): --
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club (Lieutenant Governor, past President & Treasurer), Marching Band (alto saxophone section leader), ASB (Treasurer), Piano since age 4, and then scattered (not long-term) participation in Link Crew, Mock Trial, JV basketball (quit due to an injury).
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: extensive hours with Key Club, teaching piano weekly on a volunteer basis to a special needs child, coached basketball at the local Boys & Girls Club
Summer Activities: (before junior year) SAT prep, community college classes, travel, band camp; (before senior year) COSMOS, ASB camp, band camp.
Essays: frank, straight-forward, nothing particularly out there.
Teacher Recommendation: Waived the right to see them, but I'm sure one was stellar; the other may have been a bit impersonal
Counselor Rec: Didn't see, but probably very good
Additional Rec: Letter from the mother of the girl that I teach piano to, not sure if it made a huge difference or not
Interview: none
Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Competitive public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection
Strengths: scores, leadership positions
Weaknesses: ethnicity (lol), essays, not very many AP classes (took as many as were offered at my school though), + I'm not very involved in anything math- or science-related despite applying as an electrical engineering major.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I'll never understand this system, haha. Your guess is as good as mine.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted UCI, UCSD, UCLA, Berkeley, USC. Rejected Stanford EA (and with legacy too...so I rewrote all my essays in 2 weeks) Harvard Yale MIT CalTech. (<-- lengthy rejection list, I know ;P)
General Comments: Essays count, and I wish I'd put more time into mine. But still ecstatic about Columbia Good luck to future applicants!
SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (Math: 790, CR: 730, W: 740)
ACT: Did not take.
SAT II: 760 Math II, 770 Physics, 750 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/400
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics B (5), Physics C (5), US History (5), Calculus AB (5), Biology (5), Chemistry (4), English Language (5).
IB (place score in parenthesis): None.
Senior Year Course Load: Slightly less rigorous than Junior year. Still taking APs / College level classes.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit, QB Finalist, AP Scholar with distinction.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Club (president), Science club (president), Quiz Bowl (captain), Local science competitions and some awards in each, research at a university, summer research fellowship, sports for three years, 2 foreign language honor societies, NHS.
Job/Work Experience: None.
Volunteer/Community service: Recycling community service leader, 4 years.
Summer Activities: Research Fellowship during Junior year, travel the rest of the summers.
Essays: I spent a lot of time writing them and perfecting them to the best of my ability. I think they were a very good reflection of me and were well written.
Teacher Recommendation: One was spectacular, the other was very good too, but not written very well.
Counselor Rec: Wonderful, she and I have a very good relationship.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Very good!
Other
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <$50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not exactly “hook” by definition, but “woman in science” may have helped in some schools.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I feel very fortunate overall. I think being an immigrant and a QB finalist really helped me standout.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Harvard, Yale (likely), Dartmouth (L), Columbia, UPenn (L), Cornell (L) , Northeastern. Rejected: Stanford Waitlisted: MIT, Princeton
General Comments: Congratulations to everyone for making it through this process, and to the amazing schools you have gotten into. If you didn’t get in to your top school, don’t beat yourself up over it. As everyone else will tell you, this process can be very unpredictable and those who get in do not always know why. You will succeed anywhere you go if you take advantage of all the opportunities provided. To those who will be applying in the future: don’t obsess over one school and don’t stress out about this entire process more than you have to (I did a bit too much). Work hard on your applications, don’t leave them to the last minute and once those applications are out of your hands, let the chips fall where they may.
SAT I (breakdown): superscore 2340 (800 M, 800 CR, 740 WR). single sitting 2280 (800 M, 800 CR, 680 WR)
ACT:
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 3% (in my opinion, top 20% in the magnet program I am in)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), Statistics (5), Calc BC (5), Comp Sci (5), US Govt (5), Eng Lang&Comp (4), Music Thy (5), Psychology (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multi-var Calc, AP Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Optics, Honors English, PE. Basketball
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel STS Semifinalist, National Merit Finalist, Published in National High School Science Journal, Exploravision Honorable Mention, National AP Scholar, USABO Semifinalist
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science National Honors Society (Founder & President), Church Youth Group (Officer), Envirothon Team (Captain), State Youth Orchestra (1st Violin), Piano (12 years), Chinese School (Senior Class Representative)
Job/Work Experience: Volunteer Internship at NIH, Summer Internship at Georgetown
Volunteer/Community service: Recognized by local Arts & Humanities Council for volunteer work at local state orchestra. Volunteer for marketing team for a music label that fuses christian themes with blues and hip-hop.
Summer Activities: Research Internship
Essays: Favorite class - Mathematical Logic class that was piloted in its first year. Other essays were pretty generic regarding an interest in biological research and why I was interested in Columbia.
Teacher Recommendation: : I assume they were both very general, the teachers I ask usually get a lot of requests, so I know they don't have time to write anything super specific for me
Counselor Rec: not even written by my counselor - she was out on maternity leave.
Additional Rec: research mentor sent in a rec (probably pretty solid)
Interview: went well.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public Magnet
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: Strong scores, interest in research shown by essays and ECs.
Weaknesses: anti-asian hook, not much leadership
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Worked hard on essays, and only chose to apply schools that I knew I would have a good shot at.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Stanford, UChicago, Duke, BME at Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley
Rejected: MIT
Waitlisted: Dartmouth
General Comments: Surprised I got a likely, especially because they never confirmed my application update on getting Intel STS Semifinalist (I sent it to the wrong email address I think).
For future applicants, , it's never too late to get involved in school clubs or even to start one yourself. I started my club in my senior year (even though I was later than others who got involved earlier in high school, I worked hard to really encourage what I thought was important - research and scientific inquiry. Now my club has weekly research presentations by our own members and it's become a lot of fun to see it grow.)
Work hard, and start early on your essays. For younger high school kids out there, don't spend your high school years chasing after the perfect student image in terms of leadership, diversity of EC's. Do what you're passionate about and it will pay off.
SAT II: Spanish: 790, U.S. History: 730, Physics: 720
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Spanish Language (5), English Language (5), Physics B (5), Psychology (5), U.S. History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Physics B, AP Calculus BC, AP Government, AP Macroeconomics, AP Spanish Literature, AP English Literture, AP Art 3-D Portfolio
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Charity League (several positions), Crochet Club (President, Founder), Ceramics, Soccer (Captain), NHS (Sergeant at Arms)
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: 900 hours through National Charity League
Summer Activities: traveled to Spain for immersion program
Essays: Mine was about my interview with Superman. It was a little goofy, obviously, but my English teacher loved it.
Teacher Recommendation: Pretty good, I think.
Counselor Rec: Pretty good, I assume.
Additional Rec: I thought she did a good job.
Interview: It was okay.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: White & Asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy
Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Thank you for posting so honestly and thoroughly. As a junior, your posts are really helpful, if not kind of frightening. Collectively, you have almost 2200+ SAT I scores. Do you think this score range is just specific to the College Confidential membership base (because I'm guessing you're a small fraction of the group of admits) or true of the whole group of admits?
SAT I (breakdown): 1860 (Critical Reading:650, Math:600, Writing:610)
ACT:28
SAT II:World History-680, Chemistry-570, Math Level 1-540, Biology (M)-680, U.S. History- 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/170
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), U.S. History (5), Biology (3) Spanish Language (?) U.S. Government and Politics (?) English Composition and Literature (?)
IB (place score in parenthesis):None offered in my school
Senior Year Course Load: 3 AP Courses (Spanish, U.S. Gov't and English), Calculus Honors, Physics Regents Honors, and mandatory classes (religion, gym, and health)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):AP Scholar, Principal's Honors(throughout 4 years), a leadership award, and two science awards
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Student Council for all 4 years (class rep), Swimming Club, Volunteered, Saturday enrichment programs, read books, etc
Job/Work Experience:Summer Intern at Association to Benefit Children in Harlem
Volunteer/Community service:Tutor, Walk-a-thon, help around school, backstage
Summer Activities: nothing except for that 1 summer when I got an internship
Essays: Good college essay, wrote it about my siblings, mainly the brothers I live with and I was super analytic in my supplements
Teacher Recommendation:Student Council moderator/Science teacher-good probably and U.S. history/govt teacher-probably between decent and good, Spanish teacher- good
Counselor Rec:Good
Additional Rec:none
Interview: HEOP interview, I was nervous and probably rambled a bit, but i guess i did good
Other
State (if domestic applicant):NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: All Girls Catholic High School
Ethnicity:Hispanic (Dominican)
Gender:Female
Income Bracket: below $30,000 for a family of 4
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college, older sister went to Barnard College, Hispanic living in the South Bronx, full scholarship student in my high school
Reflection
Strengths: uhmm, I really don't know, I'm nothing compared to a lot of people who applied to Columbia... maybe my essays, APs, and recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA, volunteer and other extracurricular, SATs and SAT IIs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: HEOP, it was all HEOP. good essays + decent SATs+ minority living in the poorest borough and being poor yourself = acceptance through HEOP (although it was only Columbia that accepted me through HEOP compared to my other NY schools)
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted to:
Cornell University Arts and Sciences
Hamilton
Fordham
Tufts
Vassar
University of Rochester
Wellesley
Colgate
NYU
Smith College
Bryn Mawr
UAlbany
CUNYs (Hunter, City, and Baruch)
Waitlisted by:
Union College
Colby
Haverford
Barnard
General Comments:
I am ecstatic. I gave up ever being accepted by any Ivy Leagues because I caught senioritis and I have a 90 solid average and a C in AP Spanish!! I didn't cry when i got the acceptance but that was because i cried my eyes out when I received my Cornell likely letter, that was when I realized that despite my horrible performance senior year, I was most likely getting into good schools. It is slowly sinking in that I am going to one of the top schools in the world though, HEOP or not, Columbia is an incredible school and I will be put in the same level as those with 700s and achievements I wouldn't dream of. I am honestly going to work to the potential that I know I have, but never bother trying to reach. In all, scores and grades aren't everything. Circumstance, personality, essays, and extracurricular also play a role in college acceptances.
SAT I (breakdown): 2280 - 720 CR, 790 Math, 770 Writing
ACT:
SAT II: 730 US History, 760 Math II, 770 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.972
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/577
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), Statistics (5), US History (5), Chemistry (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Calculus BC, AP French V, AP Computer Science, Human Physiology and Anatomy Honors, Economics Honors (semester 1), AP Government (semester 2)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): umm, I have a few for wrestling, but I'll save those for later. Not sure if AP Scholar with Honor counts as "major"
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Animals, People, Earth - community service club (secretary)
Unitown - a week-long camp at a place 3 hours from Phoenix. It was a program about various prejudices in society, ways to avoid violent confrontation, and learning more about different cultures. Was an interesting experience but I hardly think that this contributed something substantial to my application.
Wrestling (co-captain senior year) - Varsity wrestler all four years. 4th in region as a freshman, 3rd in region as a sophomore, 2nd in region as a junior. Participation in the state tournament sophomore and junior years. Some awards I had were Freshman MVP, Most Technical Falls in a Season (which is winning by at least 15 points in a match, which is also if you're unfamiliar with wrestling, quite a bit) as a sophomore and junior. I also didn't get a chance to put this in my application but I was undefeated my senior season.
FLAMES (sales manager) - a club on campus that makes an end of the year literary magazine with poems, art, and short stories. We get submissions from classes and write ones ourselves, take a blind vote on which ones to pick during meetings.
Science Club (vice president) - meetings after school with mock Science Bowl games. We participate at a local science competition and the National Science Bowl (we've been close, but we've never made it past state haha)
Job/Work Experience: Had an internship at a software company in Azerbaijan (which is where I'm from). Pretty much talked with employees and helped them make a presentation about business opportunities in the developing markets of Azerbaijan, which were under the control of the Soviet Union until early 90s, but I digress. Got a letter of recommendation from the president of the company.
Volunteer/Community service: Interact - another community service club. I had weak community service overall, I think it was somewhere like 25 hours.
Summer Activities: Internship I listed above
Essays: I thought my common app essay was great. My supplement ones were okay, 2 were generic, 1 was good, and 1 was really good (or so that's how I felt)
Teacher Recommendation: Both teachers liked me a lot. One was my AP Chemistry teacher, who is just brilliant and has lots of experience writing them. He's taught for a long time and has gotten lots of people into good schools. My second one is where I probably made a mistake. He was my sophomore english teacher, and although he's also a pretty smart guy, he included the name of another Ivy on it (....I facepalmed myself hard when he showed it to me)
Counselor Rec: Probably decent, don't think it was amazing since he doesn't know me particularly well. He's also really weird.
Additional Rec: Written by the president of that company I interned at, it was really solid and probably made up a lot of other areas I was lacking in
Interview: Didn't have one
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Arizona
Country (if international applicant): Azerbaijan (graduated in US, but not a US citizen)
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Turkic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100k-150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Don't really know what might classify as a hook, but being from Azerbaijan also probably helped. I speak 3 languages fairly fluently.
Reflection
Strengths: Internship, wrestling, grades, and I guess my SAT wasn't too bad
Weaknesses: community service, lack of participation in scholarships and domestic internships, and should've put in something about my violin playing, and that one teacher recommendation (as if using a sophomore teacher was bad enough...)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Could've filled out my application better. My essays were good but I don't think they stood out. For the most part, I didn't have too many holes in my application, but the ones I did were big. Also, I am technically classified as an international student and applied for financial aid, so that puts me in direct competition with a lot of other really smart international applicants also applying for aid. Honestly, I can't really pinpoint a reason.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted at Arizona State University, Barrett Honors College (part of ASU), U of A
Rejected at Harvard, Stanford, Princeton
Waitlisted at WashU
General Comments:
Meh. A little disappointed but still keeping my fingers crossed!
Congratulations to all the people who were accepted, that's quite an accomplishment! If you weren't, I guess the best thing is to just forget and look forward to the next major thing.... Grad School!
To all you future seniors... good luck! Don't underestimate any little thing you can put on, pay special attention to the essays, and learn as much as possible about the school before starting!
Last edited by inkblotch; 05-16-2012 at 09:43 PM.
Reason: grammar
Decision: Accepted - CC Decision: Accepted - SEAS Decision: Waitlisted - CC Decision: Waitlisted - SEAS Decision: Rejected - CC Decision: Rejected - SEAS
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):2350
ACT:35
SAT II:800 US History, 780 French
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/130
AP (place score in parenthesis):5s in 6 AP tests (World Hist, US Hist, Music Theory, Environmental Science, Euro, Lang)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:New Visions Program plus 3 APs and band/chorus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, All State/All Eastern/All National Band,
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):National Honor Society (Treasurer), Theatre Guild, Mock Trial (Captain), French Club (President), Key Club (President)
Job/Work Experience:Worked for ice cream shop for 2 years during summers.
Volunteer/Community service: Intern for office, Volunteer for Human Society
Summer Activities: NYSSSA, Leadership Retreats
Essays: Great!
Teacher Recommendation: Fantastic!
Counselor Rec:Great!
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other
State (if domestic applicant):NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Public
Ethnicity:White
Gender:Male
Income Bracket:not sure
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):nopers
Reflection
Strengths: Test Scores, GPA
Weaknesses: Perhaps a bit too well rounded
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
AP (place score in parenthesis):5s in 6 AP tests (World Hist, US Hist, Music Theory, Environmental Science, Euro, Lang)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:New Visions Program plus 3 APs and band/chorus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, All State/All Eastern/All National Band,
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):National Honor Society (Treasurer), Theatre Guild, Mock Trial (Captain), French Club (President), Key Club (President)
Job/Work Experience:Worked for ice cream shop for 2 years during summers.
Volunteer/Community service: Intern for office, Volunteer for Human Society
Summer Activities: NYSSSA, Leadership Retreats
Essays: Great!
Teacher Recommendation: Fantastic!
Counselor Rec:Great!
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other
State (if domestic applicant):NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Public
Ethnicity:White
Gender:Male
Income Bracket:not sure
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):nopers
Reflection
Strengths: Test Scores, GPA
Weaknesses: Perhaps a bit too well rounded
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
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: None
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.
Is there any international student who is offered full financial aid from Columbia College?
I am an international student who is applying to Columbia college, class of 2017.
I am fully aware that admission+aid is extremeeeely competitive, but I just want to know if such international aid is possible.
Thanks a bunch!
Wow, people are still posting here? Meh, guess I should too for the sake of future applicants.
Decision: Waitlisted
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (800 W, CR 800, 650 M)
ACT: NA
SAT II: 700 M Biology, 750 World History, 800 Spanish (don't think I sent this one)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School only does weighted, 4.19
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn't rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): French (4), Spanish Language (5), Psychology (5), Human Geography (5), US History (5) - took the most AP's one could sophomore and junior years
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Anatomy and Physiology, Puerto Rican History, AP English Lit, AP Spanish Lit, AP European History, AP Calc AB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presidential Scholar candidate, National Merit Finalist, a lot of school awards in specific classes (Human Geo, Psychology, French, Bio, Chem etc.)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Community Service Club (Pres 11th and 12th, VP in 10h), United Way student club (Treasurer this year), Model UN (member since 8th, various awards), Film Club (VP last year), Environmental Awareness Club
Job/Work Experience: None, but I did write about how my position as treasurer of the United Way club was basically a job without pay
Volunteer/Community service: Will graduate with at least 100 hours, did many activities like feeding the homeless, Habitat for Humanity, beach clean ups, etc.
Summer Activities: CTY Civic Leadership Institute in Baltimore (2011), The Oxford Tradition (2010), Ecological trip to the Galapagos (2010)
Essays: Good-ish?
Teacher Recommendation: At least one was excellent, the other prob was at least very good
Counselor Rec: She wrote a lot about my intellectual nature
Additional Rec: None
Interview: Didn't get one
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Puerto Rico
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, very competitive. Out of classes of around 45 (mine is the smallest, 38), it tends to send at least like 10 to top ranked schools.
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Did not ask for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM?
Reflection:
Strengths:Course rigor (I had taken the most rigorous non-science classes in my school as they became available and graduated with the most AP's), commitment to community service
Weaknesses: I applied with two B- in my semester report card, so I had resigned myself to a rejection. Also, the math section of my SAT must be borderline for them.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Too many strong candidates, it's an honor to just have been wait listed.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted - Dartmouth (likely letter), Swarthmore (Early Write), Georgetown SFS, Johns Hopkins, U Chicago; Waitlisted - Columbia, Tufts, Brown, Williams, Harvard; Rejected - Yale, Princeton (originally deferred SCEA)
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: No.
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: Low probability.
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.
Decision: Accepted - CC Decision: Accepted - SEAS Decision: Waitlisted - CC Decision: Waitlisted - SEAS Decision: Rejected - CC Decision: Rejected - SEAS
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT:
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
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:
Teacher Recommendation:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Good luck to future applicants!
