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Old 04-27-2008, 12:51 AM   #946
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 12
I'm helping people too!

Accepted: Cornell, Dartmouth, Williams (attending), Northwestern, Middlebury, NYU Stern, Vassar, Wesleyan, SUNY Binghamton, Oberlin, Adelphi

Waitlisted: Harvard

Rejected: Yale (EA-deferred), Brown

Grades:
gpa: 4.0 weighted
rank: 2/172
APs: euro 4, us 5, physics B 4, english comp 5
sats: 2300 math 760 writing 770 reading 770
sat IIs: bio 670 physics 660 ushistory 770

Senior load:
ap calc bc, ap bio, ap gov&pol, ap engl lit

ECs:
Key Club_President
Student Service Center_President
Yearbook_Editor
Newspaper
Mathletes (haa)
Marching Band/Rockettes
National Honor Society
Class Office (in order of yr 9-12: secretary, vp, vp, president)

Sports:
varsity winter track (4 yrs)
jv lacrosse (2 yrs)

Rundown:
Hours and hours of volunteer stuff, have held 3 jobs, was homecoming queen, worked 2 summers at a christian camp, 3/4 asian =]

Essays: free choice, change-the-world topics, very creative
Interviews: All super strong
Recs: waived my right to see them but they're pretty much AMAZING. I think. I asked my AP English lang teacher, and I was the only one to get a 100 avg in his class for his pract. two decades of teaching; my AP physics teacher b.c. admissions likes physics teachers; and my community service teacher-person

Advice to juniors: The top liberal arts colleges are better than ivies! I got great fin-aid everywhere, but seriously Williams is tops. I'd only go to Yale over Williams. Get solid undergrad at a small LAC where you'll get the most out of your education, and save the ivies for grad school--where it really matters.
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Old 04-27-2008, 12:54 AM   #947
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 12
P.S. if any neurotic junior needs advice/help I went on 5 overnight trip/previews programs at colleges and I've consulted many sources to decide where'd I'd apply/attend. feel free to message me
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Old 04-27-2008, 12:03 PM   #948
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 10
Accepted:Harvard, Pton, CUNY Honors,MIT, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Binghamton, URochester, Cooper Union

Rejected:CalTech, Yale

Waitlisted: Dartmouth

School Type: Public School in on of the boroughs of NYC
Race: Daughter of Jamaican Immigrants
Prospective major: electrical engineering and mayb minor in physics, and history and spanish
GPA: 3.89
Rank:top 3%

Sat I:2330
W: 750
M:790
CR;790

SAT II-
Physics-740
Chem-650
US-790
world his-800
Mat II-800
bio (m)-790


AP Exams (the ones I already done)
US:5
Span Lang:5
Cal AB:5
AP Physics c-EM:5
AP Stats:5

EC's:
NHS,Model UN,Amnesty International, in my Church, choir and Youth board, but I had a have had a job since I was 14 and at 16 I worked at McDonald's (been working there for 2 yrs)


Award:
National Merit Scholar
National Achievement Commended
Bausch and Lomb Award
Harvard Book Award
Yale book Award


I also enrolled in some history,French (french 1-II), and physics classes at a local CC while in high school.
I didn't participate in heaps of EC's and I held no positions in the clubs I was in at school. I come from a poor family. I worked and then I went home to watch my 5 younger siblings at home. My mother had a stroke after the birth of the youngest, she is not incapacitated (and still has a job) but she needs some help.

I was prepared to stay in city and go to CUNY City because I was not going to have my parents shell out $$ for me to go to school if I could go for free. But due to the new financial aid polices, Im going to MIT.

Be yourself in this college game. I know many people who believed if they killed themselves with EC's, AP's, and other activities and classes they only took so they could look good on paper they would go to HYP and other such places. In the end they only felt disappointed. take classes you find interesting and don't lose yourself. In the end, people have to be rejected and don't take it as an assault on your character or ability your be a good student. If a college doesn't want you their loss. You make the best of college, college does not make the best of you.

Last edited by wow2012; 04-27-2008 at 12:17 PM.
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Old 04-27-2008, 09:33 PM   #949
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 364
Final Results.....so glad that this ish is over!


Country: USA
State: CA
Major: poli sci/sociology

Accepted:
Stanford ( Attending)
Columbia
USC ( Presidential Scholarship)
Morehouse ( tuition + room/board scholarship)
UCLA- ( some kinda of 4.500 one time scholarship)
American U ( frederick douglass scholarship 15,000 a year)
UVA
UC Berkeley
Rejected:
Duke , Yale, Princeton
Waitlisted:
WUSTL, Wharton, Harvard

Sex: Male
Race: Black
Unweighted GPA: 3.5
Uc Gpa:: 4.4 ( full IB) ( elc for Uc‘s)
Class Rank: 20/504

SAT I: 700 Cr, 700 Writing, 490 math ( took once)
SAT II: 720 Literature 740 Us History 630 World History
ACT: 28


Awards: Alice Walker essay contest winner, Questbridge College Match Finalist, bunch of letters from senators, california youth think tank leadership award winner, martin luther king youth of the year award, coke scholar, other ish
Employment:
Barnes and Noble booksellers ( 15+hours a school week)
Students in Prevention Peer Educator- traveled to local schools telling kids to say no to drugs.
Extra-curriculars
Minister to local congregations/motivational speaker to schools
ASB President/secretary
2X Chairman City Youth Advisory Commission
State Youth Ambassador
Black Student Union Co Founder/ Vice President ( 2 years)/President ( 2 years)/ State Trez
Franklin Tennis caption-numer one doubles/singles
reporter for local newspaper
reporter for local television station
bunch of city committees...

Hooks: Low income, 1st gen, father incarcerated...beastly essays lol
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Old 04-29-2008, 01:11 PM   #950
skp
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Hopkins
Posts: 534
Finally, the (near) end

Accepted - NYU (5,000$ scholarship), JHU, Rutgers (16,000$ Provost and other scholarships), Drexel (15,000 scholarship), WashU
Waitlisted - Brown, Cornell
Rejected - Columbia

Attending - probably Hopkins, unless by some rare chance I get off the waitlist at Brown

Tests =
ACT - 32 -33 superscored
SAT IIs - 700 math, 720 Bio M, 790 Lit
GPA - UW -4.0
- W - 4.4
APs - 5 5 5 Euro, APUSH, Bio -already taken
Senior year APs - English Lit and English Lang, AP Calc BC
Rank - 1/300

Background
State - SD
Race - mixed, not URM

Application Stats=
Counselor Rec- didn't see
Teacher Rec - one lukewarm, other was great
Interviews - at Columbia - went badly, I gave the stupidest answer to a question and I knew I had killed whatever chance I had at that point - at Brown - went well
Essays - key point of app - one was extremely bad (I re-read it and knew I must have been out of my mind when I wrote it, it was so trite and cliched) and the other was okay - about growing up in two cultures

ECs =
Art - taken local art classes for 7 years in watercolor, acrylic, and recently, oil painting - sent in art portfolio to most colleges, invited to local professional art organization
Writing - won a few poetry contest honors, nothing much
Debate - done since 9th grade - won a few awards in regional tournaments
Chorus - in top chorus at our school this last year - took superior award (not on app)
Job - shadowed urologist and worked on filing in office
Volunteer - a few hours at Humane Society and local nursing home

Awards on app =
NHS (yeah, doesn't mean much)
NSHS - Spanish honors
Others listed above - not much, really

Overall - The process isn't as random as some CCers think. For example, I know I was most likely waitlisted at Cornell because of the bad essay and SAT subject scores, and I could probably give several good reasons as to why things turned out as they did. But I got into my number 2 college, so I'm not complaining.
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Old 04-29-2008, 01:29 PM   #951
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: long island
Posts: 189
White, Male, Public School
GPA: 100.4/100 weighted
94.94/100 unweighted
AP's Taken:
Sophmore: Biology 4, World History 4 (only took exam, HS did not offer course)
Junior: Chemistry 3 (lol), United States History 5
Senior: Calculus AB, Microeconomics, US Government, Spanish Language, English Literature
Honors: English 9,10,11 Spanish 10,11 Chem 9, Physics 12, Math 9, 10, PreCalc BC Acc 11, History 9,10
SATs: 690 math
650 CR
640 Writing
SAT II's: 710 US Hist
680 Math 1
630 Bio-M
ECs: President of Spanish Honor Society, Managing Editor of School Newspaper, Secretary of Habitat for Humnaity, English Honor Society, Math Honor Society, National Honor Society, Job (15 hours a week), Volunteer trip to Costa Rica, Volunteer in State Park
Good Essays

Accepted:
Middlebury (attending)
Dickinson (EA) with $15,000 scholarship)
Franklin and Marshall ($7500 scholarship)
Wheaton College ($12500 scholarship)
Gettysburg College ($15000 scholarship)
SUNY Geneseo
SUNY Cortland Honors
Muhlenberg College
University of Rochester ($8000 scholarship)

Waitlisted:
Colby
Bates
Hamilton
vassar

Rejected:
Bowdoin
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Old 04-29-2008, 08:26 PM   #952
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 8
Accepted: UC Berkeley (attending), UC San Diego, UC Davis, UCSB, UCR

Rejected: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, UCLA

School Type: Public
Location: California
Race/Gender: Asian
Prospective Major: Psychology
Unweighted GPA: 3.974
Weighted GPA: 4.25
Class rank: 14/400 with one B

[I'm ecstatic that this is probably the last time I'll have to spit these numbers out]

SAT I Scores
SAT I Critical Reading: 730
SAT I Math: 750
SAT I Writing: 690

SAT II Scores
SAT II Literature: 650
SAT II French: 610
SAT II Math Level 2: 740

AP Scores:
Calc AB: 5
Bio: 3
French: TBD

Long-form Info

Extracurricular Info
*4 years of Football
*2 years of Track/Field
*Pretty lazy for school-related ECs

Awards
*haha does a football one count?

UC Essays:
*One on being an immigrant (moved here from Indonesia when I was 10) and the perspective it gave me, overcoming the language barrier, etc. Topic fulfilled the purpose of bolstering the 'able to overcome obstacles' and diversity arguments.
*One on quickly recovering from a torn MCL from football. Topic emphasized the fact that I'm a student athlete and the perseverance/overcoming obstacles part.

Recs
*Both teachers had some blemishes grammar-wise (a French teacher and a eloquent teacher who's not too great a speller) but well done nonetheless
*Counselor did not know me very well
*Coach gave me a great rec that gives a different perspective than the teachers

[EDIT] I forgot interviews
*Harvard one went great, mostly because the guy was so damn likable and made it so easy and comfortable that I could actually think
*Princeton one was less of an interview and more of an information session. Pretty much ineffective because I didn't really need him to inform me about the school, I needed him to be able to inform the school that I was more than just numbers.

Regrets
*Applying to Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford - Waste of time and money considering how huge of a reach each one was.
*The Stanford app earns a special Turd Award in my heart for being especially wasteful with my time, making me answer ridiculous, irrelevant questions like "What is your favorite memento" (who even has a memento?) or 'Favorite magazine.' What, did they want me to put something smart like The Princeton Review?
*Not applying to Columbia, Brown, other Ivies - Less of a reach even though it's still one hell of a reach. Definitely my fault for not doing my homework.
*Okay, I'm done ranting. I am very happy with Berkeley because it just feels very right to me (my second visit, I spent two hours doing nothing but walking around campus, and I LOVED it). What prestige it has is simply icing on my already delicious cake.

Last edited by fluke; 04-29-2008 at 08:32 PM.
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Old 04-30-2008, 11:09 PM   #953
New Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 14
Accepted:
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
Columbia

Rejected:
None

Attending:
Harvard

GPA: 4.0 unweighted
SAT 1: 2390 (one sitting), 2400 (super score)
SAT 2: 2400 (3 800's)
AP: 4 AP's with score of 5, 1 AP with score of 4
EC: Music, 1st places in several international competitions, top prizes in several national and international competitions, concerto performances with more than 20 orchestras

Public school - competitive
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Old 05-01-2008, 01:00 AM   #954
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 34
Accepted: Brown University, Duke University, Rice University, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin
Waitlisted: Stanford University
Rejected: none

White male from public school in the Midwest. Applied to sciences and engineering.

SAT: 2200 (740 CR, 750 M, 710 W)
ACT: 34
SAT II's: 800 Math II, 700 Lit, 780 Chem
AP's: 5 Psych, 5 Comp Sci A, 4 English Language (taking Calc BC, Bio, Chem, English Lit, and US Gov/Pol this year)

Unweighted GPA: 4.0/4.0
Weighted GPA: N/A (school does not weight grades)
Class Rank: N/A (school does not rank -- probably would have been top 3% or so, out of 300-ish)

Extracurriculars:
* symphonic band, marching band (drum major), citywide honor band, pit orchestra, etc.
* math team, Mu Alpha Theta (president)
* literary arts magazine
* governor's school summer program for our state
* independent comp sci research

Awards:
* National Merit semifinalist
* a few random awards from math and programming contests
* AIME qualifier
* other miscellaneous things

Essays: Common App one was pretty good. I wrote it about how my experience at a summer program really had a profound effect on me (I realize this is a topic that a lot of people warn AGAINST because it's 'cliche,' but as long as it's honest, written well, and profound it clearly doesn't make a difference). Essays were mostly good, though they were almost all last-minute. Other topics included: puzzle games as a child, the seemingly ordinary conversations with friends that unexpectedly turn into something amazing, deaths of people at my school (another apparently cliched topic that MUST be avoided, right?), my shame in the fact that I was born in France as a child (that one was kinda iffy). Some of my single-sentence short responses for the Stanford app were kinda fun and cute.

Attending: University of Texas at Austin for the Dean's Scholars program
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Old 05-02-2008, 02:54 PM   #955
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: In your shadows...waiting......TO STRIKE DOWN UPON THEE...
Posts: 140
anybody who needs help deciding on where to go or what your chances are of getting in to a school...shot me a private message
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Old 05-08-2008, 08:37 PM   #956
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 266
Accepted: Pomona, UChicago, UTexas-Austin, Rice, Dartmouth
Waitlisted: UPenn, Amherst, Duke
Rejected: Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, Williams

White male from Texas, intended major is government

SAT: 2280 (740 CR, 800 M, 740 W)
SAT II: 740 Math IIC, 790 US Hist, 750 Chem
ACT: 34 (35 M, 35 E, 35R, 31 S, 10 W)
APs: 4 Human Geog, 5 World Hist, 5 US Hist, 4 Chem, 5 Eng Lang, as a senior in Euro Hist, Spanish, US Gov't, Microecon, Comp Gov't, Calc AB, Eng Lit

GPA: 5.17/5.00 (weird system at our school)
Rank: 31/491

Extracurriculars:
* President of debate team, state qualifier
* All-State Choir
* Eagle Scout
* Teen Court Attorney
* President of Spanish Club
* President of Young Republicans
* Founder/Co-Premier of Bolshevik Club

Essays:
Common App was decent, about my bid to change a rule at the state level for academic competition to allow Sunday events. Also, I'm running my presidential campaign in 2036. Specific app essays probably were lackluster because of my 'shotgun' approach.

Attending: Dartmouth College
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Old 05-13-2008, 05:31 PM   #957
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 252
Accepted:
Northeastern University (15k/year scholarship) (attending)
Villanova University (Nothing )
UMASS Amherst (Honors College)


Waitlisted:
RPI
Lafayette College

Major:Engineering (Undecided)
10/150 class rank
GPA: UW: 89 W: They don't tell us, but rank factors it in
SAT CR: 620 M:730 W:730 1350/1980
All honors and AP classes throughout highschool
NHS
Mock Trial
Sailing (big EC, wrote essays about it)
Soccer
Many awards, all through school no national awards or anything like that


I really wanted to go to Nova, but with no money and the fact that you have to transfer out of the college of engineering if you decide that you don't like engineering swayed me to NEU. I also think that I just liked Nova's basketball team more than the school itself :P. Right now, couldn't be happier about Northeastern, can't wait for the fall!
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Old 05-13-2008, 06:25 PM   #958
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: New York
Posts: 244
Accepted:
Georgetown University
University of Notre Dame
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
University of Richmond (15K)
Northeastern University (12K)
Bentley College (full scholarship)
Case Western Reserve (28K)
SUNY Binghamton

Rejected:
Duke University

Major: Business (Undecided)
top 2% class rank
GPA: 98.86 weighted
SAT: CR: 620 M:730 W:730 1350/1980
APs: Euro/3, APUS/4, Eng. Language/5, Eng. Lit, US Gov, Calculus AB
NHS Secretary
Midnight Run Founder
Math Team
Football (subject of my Georgetown congratulations letter)
Rowing
Latin and Math awards

I'm deciding between Georgetown and UNC right now.
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Old 05-13-2008, 09:48 PM   #959
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 185
Accepted: Macalester, Lewis & Clark, Willamette, New College of Florida, U of MN (obligatory state u application).

Rejected: Pitzer.

Male, MN, White, suburban.

3.7 uw gpa, rank just inside the top 30%.

No AP/honors, not offered at my school. But I did take the physics B test junior year and got a 4, self studying calc, euro, psych, art history, and human geo this year.

act: 34

math 35, english 35, reading, 33, science 31

National merit finalist, varsity cross country, track (not participating in college). Some volunteering, nothing special. Nothing else significant for ECs, but I did join knowledge bowl after I applied and went to state. woo.

Enrolling at Mac, which was my last choice of my serious applications, because of money. I was surprised I got in there, actually. If I was an adcom at macalester, I would not have admitted me.
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Old 05-14-2008, 03:41 AM   #960
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 40
Accepted: UC Berkeley, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Davis; Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco, University of San Diego, Pitzer.

Rejected: Stanford, Claremont McKenna

UW GPA: 3.92, W GPA: 4.06

AP's: US History - 5, English Lit. - 4; taking English Language, Calc AB and Spanish Language

ACT - 31 (English 35)

SAT - CR-740, M-650, W-780 (2170)

White female

Attending: Pitzer
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