Giving back to the community, I guess.
Decision: Rejected
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2220 superscored (770 CR, 800 M, 650 W)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Physics, 800 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4 (all As in everything from 9th grade)
Weighted GPA: - (different kind of grading here)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): (not official, but top 3 out of 250 generally, very competitive school)
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Physics C: E&M, 5 Calc BC, 5 Chem
IB (place score in parenthesis): -
Senior Year Course Load: Math, Physics, Chem, Computer Science, English, Sanskrit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Ranked 1 all-India in a science test, Regional Mathematical Olympiad highest scorer in country, Junior Science Olympiad highest scorer in state, KVPY, NTSE (all national science scholarships, BTW), lots of local math competitions and quizzes.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Competitive Programming, Robotics, Science Club, Quizzing, Goalkeeping, Instrumental Music (piano)
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: None (shocking, right?)
Summer Activities: Programming competitions, and preparing for a science competition.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Ratings are very ambiguous, but here goes:
Intellectual Vitality: 8/10 I liked it, talked about a robotics competition.
Roommate Essay: 9/10 Was honest, ended up funny. People liked it.
What Matter To You: 9/10 Loved the prompt, talked about how I love problem-solving.
Extracurricular: 8/10 Talked about goalkeeping and breaking stereotypes in the process.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Should have been good, my science teachers liked me.
Teacher Rec #1: Physics Teacher (8/10)
Teacher Rec #2: Computer Science Teacher (8/10)
Counselor Rec: 8/10
Additional Rec: None
Interview: 9/10. Went very well, I really enjoyed it.
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science, or, Mathematics and Computing
State (if domestic applicant): California (US citizen living in India)
Country (if international applicant): (US citizen from India)
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 40,000-50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
Reflection:
Strengths: Academics for sure. Even though my SAT score is low, I think the Olympiad experience makes up for it. Participated and won in lots of other science competitions as well.
Weaknesses: Look at ECs. This definitely hurt me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested or was lazy, just that the rigor and timings of my school really killed alot of opportunities that way. Don’t regret it though, have learnt a lot along the way.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ECs and other outside school stuff. Not a very balanced app.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Not heard from anyone yet.
General Comments:
It’s difficult. I don’t think I deserved it, especially after only working for US colleges for a year.
I was hoping that Stanford would look over my lack of ECs for my academics, but they didn’t. No worries.