OFFICIAL Early Action Decision Thread

[mikeryancu]

after being deferred, should i send in any extra letters of recommendation, essays? do i need to re-submit my application?

(2370 SAT - 770 M, 800 CR, 800 W; president of NHS, Eagle Scout, all-county track running and team captain, valedictorian, 4.0 GPA, very strong essays)

[I<3School]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

• SAT I (breakdown): 2400.
• SAT II:800,800,800
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1
• AP (place score in parenthesis):9 5s
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Siemens Semi.

Subjective:

• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):President of couple clubs. Academic Decathlon. Journalism. Varsity Swim.
• Job/Work Experience:Tutoring, internship.
• Volunteer/Community service: Library, NHS, Chinese School.
• Summer Activities:EPGY, Research project.
• Essays: highly humorous.
• Teacher Recommendation: Calculus and History
• Additional Rec: English
• Interview: fun and informative.

Other

• State (if domestic applicant):CA
• School Type: large public
• Ethnicity: Chinese
• Gender: Male
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Magic tricks?

Reflection

• Strengths: decent academics.
• Weaknesses: asian, no legacy.
• Why you think you were accepted: academics most likely.

General Comments: Very happy.

[munchkin3590]

decision: deferred

I'd almost rather have been rejected, I feel like I have this false hope now and I'm just going to be crushed all over again in April. It's like, my boyfriend cheated on me, but I took him back, knowing full well my heart is only going to be broken again...

[kjcoop90]

Pick one:
[ size=+2][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ /b][ /color][ /size]

[ b]Objective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): M 760, CR 700, W 720
[ *] ACT: 34
[ *] SAT II: Math II 800, Physics 750, US History 750
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.992
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 21/491
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC 4 (AB 5), US 5, Physics 5, Euro 4
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: Moderate
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Junior State of America (Founder, Pres), Newspaper (Editor-in-Chief), Debate (Capt), Class Committees, Ecclesiastical council, NHS, etc
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Senate Page, Junior High Tutor
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer Jr. High quiz-bowl-type-thing coach, youth city council
[ *] Summer Activities: JSA Summer School at Yale and Georgetown
[ *] Essays: Not too bad, if I say so myself
[ *] Teacher Recommendation: Very good
[ *] Counselor Rec: Don't know, imagine pretty good
[ *] Interview: Good
[ /list][ b]Other[ /b][ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): Utah
[ *] School Type:Public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: Upper-middle
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nah
[ /list][ b]Reflection[ /b][ list]
[ *] Strengths: Leadership, passion
[ *] Weaknesses: SAT I could have been better, no very notable prizes
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[ /list][ b]General Comments:[ /b] Good Luck!!

[ublar13]

hey i posted my stats ealier..and i still wanna know why i got rejected not even deferred. Not to be cocky, but I have some better stats than some other people who got deferreed, and i come from an urban public school that sends at least 5% of its kids to harvard, yale, princeton, columbia, etc every year.

thanks.

[salisburyvivian]

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

• SAT I (breakdown): CR:770 M:800 W:740
• SAT II: U.S. Hist: 710 Bio:720 MathII:760
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
• AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. Hist(5) Calc BC(5) Psych (5)
• Senior Year Course Load: heaviest
  

Subjective:

• Job/Work Experience: 30 hr/wk jobs and internships
• Volunteer/Community service: rocks
• Summer Activities: rocks
• Essayskay
• Teacher Recommendation: stellar
• Counselor Rec: stellar
• Interview: SUCKED
  

Other

• State (if domestic applicant): NY
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: public
• Ethnicity:
• Gender:
• Income Bracket: low income
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
  

Reflection

• Strengths: hm. none?
• Weaknesses: ethnicity, academics, extracurricular, interview... everything?
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I have no idea why Yale wants me
  

General Comments: I feel safe that Yale is my backup now, but I'm looking forward to go to Princeton =X Congratulations 2012 Yalie

[salisburyvivian]

hahahahaha
yeah. I got accepted.

[vaguy89]

Dude, ublar13, I really don't know. The only thing I can think of is if you did something to make yourself sound insincere, like all you cared about was going to a top school. Other than that I can't really think of why they wouldnt accept you, much less reject you, unless you just left half the application blank. You seem extremely qualified and I'm sure that you'll get into plenty of good schools. Maybe they thought that you wanted to go to harvard or princeton instead. I'm just speculating, but it seems like there has to have been something like that going on.

[vaguy89]

Pick one:
Decision: Accepted

Objective:

• SAT I (breakdown): 740CR 700M 790W
• SAT II: US History 770 MIIC 740
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 114
• AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH 5, Art History 4, Computer Science A 4
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB (BC is not offered)
  AP US Govt
  AP English
  AP Stats (online)
  AP Economics (online)
  Honors Physics (AP not offered)
  
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF

[ b]Subjective:[/b]

• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): See chances thread SCEA Chances anyone interesting in chancing me/ giving me some advice?
• Job/Work Experience: Coke guy at VT football games
• Volunteer/Community service: see chances thread
• Summer Activities: chances
• Essays: 1 about why i want to major in economics, talked about Noble Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and related the VT shooting's effect on me and how everyone helped out. I tied the two ideas together by talking about how bad it was because it hit so close to home but worse things are happening to others all the time and we need to pay attention to them even if they are half a world a way. In the other essay I talked about why I created my school's Gay-Straight Alliance.
• Teacher Recommendation: The one i read was good, the other one I didn't get to read but i saw it was very short. The first one checked the best of career box for all but one category
• Counselor Rec: Excellent
• Additional Rec: Amazing
• Interview: Good, my interviewer and I really saw eye to eye on a lot of things

Other

• State (if domestic applicant): VA
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: small public 472 students
• Ethnicity: about as white as possible
• Gender: male
• Income Bracket: 45k-55k It was about 55k but my dad lost his job at a textile mill in august and now hes unemployed
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): FIrst generation, from Southwest VA (typically a poor rural area, even though I live in the more developed part near Blacksburg)

Reflection

• Strengths: school and community involvement and being leaders in those things
• Weaknesses: test scores on the low end, lack of any major awards or recognitions
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I guess they thought I had an unusual mix of interests. I think being the straight founder of a Gay-Straight Alliance probably caught their eye (it did for my interviewer). My assistant principal wrote a fantastic recommendation that I imagine made an impression. And of course, a LOT of luck

General Comments: Congrats to everyone. This is a crazy process and i'm sure that those of you who didn't get in for whatever (probably unexplainable) reason, you'll have plenty of opportunities at other great schools.

[dude08]

well ublar this is my input (not trying to roast u) but ur sat is not impressive since the average range for each section is 700-790 u r at the bottom for 2 out of 3

rank...4 out of??? unless its 400+ thats not very impressive

national merit COMMENTED??? i sure hope thats not what u put on ur app
national honorS society??? same
underpriveledged??? same
governemtn??? same

im sure most of those were typos on this thread but if any of those were actually put on ur app that probably killed it

also unless there was something really important or special written on ur add rec it worked against u

[CCCollegiate]

Decision: Deferred

Objective:

• Deferred EA? Yes. Ugh.
• SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (CR: 800, M: 720, W: 800)
• ACT: 31
• SAT II: US History: 690, Literature: 720; Spanish: 650
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 32/790
• AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (4), World History (5), Spanish Language (4), US History (4)
• IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, AP European History, AP Macroeconomics, AP American Government, Yearbook/Journalism II, AP Literature
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Technically none. Ugh.

Subjective:

• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of four clubs, Debate Team Captain, Yearbook Editor
• Job/Work Experience: Tutoring, Babysitting
• Volunteer/Community service: Linus Project
• Summer Activities: Governor’s Honors Program, Duke TIP
• Essays: CommonApp: Hyperhidrosis; Supplement: Love of food, books, and Yale.
• Teacher Recommendation: Enthusiastic!
• Counselor Rec: Didn’t see it.
• Additional Rec: Student Government sponsor
• Interview: I thought it went well…

Other

• State (if domestic applicant): GA
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Didn’t put
• Gender: F
• Income Bracket: Middle
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None, I guess.

Reflection

• Strengths: Extracurriculars, essays
• Weaknesses: GPA, Class rank, Work Experience, SAT IIs
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I wish I knew so I could fix it…

General Comments: Good Luck!!, and Congratulations if you’re in!

[jayman1466]

Behind what appears to be sheer chaotic decision-making madness, there seems to be a trend. Those who were presidents of multiple clubs tended to be deferred at a greater rate than those who were not. Possibly, admissions officers find such a plethora of high positions indicative of a lack of focus, a lack of commitment to a single goal, a resume-building disposition, and a misunderstanding of the concept of leadership. Absolutely, I am not accusing anyone here of these faults, but such a list of high offices lends itself to such interpretation.

Nevertheless, this is just a theory, one seemingly supported by the results of this early admissions cycle. I myself did not hold the office of president in any club at my school, but merely dedicated myself to a select few (3), aiding the community while nurturing my knowledge of and passion for government. Luckily, I was accepted and expect to matriculate this fall.

[PJFavs41]

Decision: Deferred

Objective:

• Deferred EA? Yes
  
• SAT I (breakdown): 2350: 800 CR, 780 M, 770 W
  
• ACT: 35
  
• SAT II: 800, 800, 800, 800, 740, 730
  
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
  
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (School doesn't rank; I'm probably #2 or 3 out of 80 at a very competitive prep school)
  
• AP (place score in parenthesis): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
  
• IB (place score in parenthesis):
• Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC AP, Spanish Lit AP, Phys AP, Nonfiction Writing, Russian History
  
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 7 out of 14 awards given to Juniors by my school; Nat'l Merit Finalist, etc.
  

Subjective:

• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Too many: Rowing, Drama, Singing, X-C Skiing (Captain), Debate (Prez), Mock Trial (Prez)
  
• Job/Work Experience: 4 weeks as Cutco salesman
  
• Volunteer/Community service: none
  
• Summer Activities: Rowing, employment
  
• Essays: One on meaning of family (narrative style), one on my style of thinking and plans for future (expository)
  
• Teacher Recommendation: I didn't read them but I think they were great. My school doesn't let teachers fill in the grid, I think that would have helped a lot.
  
• Counselor Rec: same as above
  
• Additional Rec: none
  
• Interview: The guy was in a big hurry, but I think it went well
  

Other

• State (if domestic applicant): Massachusetts
  
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Private, all-boys
  
• Ethnicity: White
  
• Gender: M
  
• Income Bracket: I wouldn't qualify for financial aid
  
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): rowing (could contribute at college level, but not supported very heavily. got official visit)
  

Reflection

• Strengths: Standardized tests, academic awards, recs (presumably)
  
• Weaknesses: Help me figure it out!!! Too many x-currics, not enough concentration? White, affluent, massachusetts, prep school kid? Told rowing coach that I was also interested in Princeton? My grades and essays were pretty good, but not enough to get me in alone.
  
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I had nothing to really stand out. Also, they were on the lookout this year for kids who would rather have been applying early to Princeton/Harvard. They could see that both my parents are Princeton grads. That might have worried them.
  

General Comments: A lot of really qualified kids got in early. Wish I could have been one of them.

[jl08]

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
Deferred EA? Yes

SAT I : (took SAT 1 and 11 but did worse than ACT - so doesn't count, right?)

ACT: 33 (will be higher in february! hopefully it reaches them in time)

SAT II:

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%, but near the end of it. i'm current salutatorian, but we have several valedictorians.

AP (place score in parenthesis): [school doesn't offer AP's before senior year]

IB (place score in parenthesis):

Senior Year Course Load: ap calc, ap chem, ap english, physics, writing, spanish 4, college english

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): state scholar...but even that's not so hard to recieve.

Subjective:
extracurr.: class office (class pres), student government, track, cross country (captain), dance, spanish club (former leadership position), speech team, math team, swim class for fun, adventure club, key club

Job/Work Experience: summer job w/ lot of hrs, two other jobs during school year with about 14 hrs a week

Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at hospital in extended care unit, student committee to raise money for cancer

Summer Activities: job! (had other activites but didn't list them on app) did talk about triathlons and races that i've done and continue to be interested in, though

Essays: one on the way my life has gone because of childhood...difficulties. not a sob story, though - and i think it was pretty good. other on the world and the mounting problems, why i want to do something for it...unsure how that was, but i think it was probably decent-prettygoodish? somewhere in that range.

Teacher Recommendation: waived right to see them, but i'm pretty sure both were pretty good.

Counselor Rec: told me he made them really good

Additional Rec: none

Interview: area not covered - should i request one?

Other
State (if domestic applicant): IL

Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public, not prestigious in the least bit

Ethnicity: White

Gender: F

Income Bracket: middle

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): well...siblings all attend not-so-great schools...so maybe it shows my initiative and how much i've accomplished on my own

Reflection
Strengths: um...act score not great but in range (they always say about 30-34). um... class pres, work, my situation considering where i'm from (geographics)

Weaknesses: dipped into too many things and didn't get involved enough, didn't fill out my application well and forgot to explain things, SAT scores might've hurt if they did look at them anyway, act score (funny, i just listed as strength) isn't standout. honestly, my application wasn't filled out well at all. oh! and no statewide-national awards, plus school doesn't give out any really, so i was basically screwed in that category.

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I jump between theories. Sometimes I think I was deferred because, although I have a really great shot in the regular admission, I'm definitely not one of Yale's strongest applicants... and early action is for the strongest usually. Other times I think I was deferred because, although there is no way in hell they're letting me in, they didn't want to toss away a 33 and bunch of activities because plenty of people get in with less.

General Comments: It's strange - I look at some of the deferred people and they're incredibly strong, and then I look at others and I can't believe they didn't just get rejected. Some of the people who were accepted, even, don't seem nearly as strong as some of the deferred and basically the same as the rest of us. I wish I could see this process clearly, because it seems like lottery.

[jl08]

oh, and to PJFavs41, i think you're probably on to something with the princeton parents. they probably do think you really just want to go there, so i'd show more interest. other than that, you seem really strong with you test scores and activities. maybe your essays weren't unique enough? or they couldn't see the passion behind everything you do?

again, it's strange, because you seem much stronger than some of the admitted i've heard about.