***YALE UNIVERSITY CLASS OF 2019 RD RESULTS***

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

Post your results here!
You know the deal. Good luck to everyone!!

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[ size=4][ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=orange][ b]Decision: Waitlisted **[/color][/size]
[ size=4][ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected **[/color][/size]

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT (breakdown):
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parentheses):
[ *] IB (place score in parentheses):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

[ /list][ b]Subjective:**
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ *] Essays:
[ *] Teacher Recommendation:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ *] Additional Rec:
[ *] Interview:
[ *] Supplementary Material:

[ /list][ b]Other**
[ *]Applied for Financial Aid?:
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

[ /list][ b]Reflection**
[ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[ *] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

[ /list][ b]General Comments: **

2

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3

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): superscored 33 (35 E, 33 M, 33 R, 32 S, 32 W) (highest composite: 32)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 17/390
AP (place score in parenthesis): 3 Biology, 4 English Lang & Comp, 5 Music Theory
IB (place score in parenthesis): school didn’t offer IB
Senior Year Course Load: AP European History, AP Calculus AB, AP French 5, AP Chemistry, AP Lit and Comp, Civics, Gym, and choir
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): should these be national? I have multiple minor ones through the school, community, state piano competitions, church, and archery club but that’s as far as it goes.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): competitive piano, competitive club archery (assistant coach for Saturday morning practice sessions,) Camp Barnabas (counselor,) Desperation Conference (Sunday school group leader, youth pastor,) weekly volunteer at local hospital (member of Junior Volunteer Leadership Team,) volunteer and management for annual blood drive at Memorial Health System (board of directors,) fundraising for child leukemia patient through the school and local community (co-coordinator,) online author on fanfiction site (I write all-original works to target various things I find wrong with society or social issues like bullying and lack of self esteem.)

Job/Work Experience: internship with Random House over the summer, waitress/hostess, babysitting, tutoring, piano teacher
Volunteer/Community service: participated in 95% of all church coordinated events (youth group pianist and singer, dancer/singer/event planner for many performances, representative member of church volleyball team, monthly soup kitchen volunteer and singer for pre-dinner worship performances, monthly trailer park community volunteer/babysitter/Bible teacher, Black Forest fire aftermath cleanup (cleanup, reconstruction of a burned-down elementary school,) Black Forest National Park and trail cleanup (coordinator,) Korean Culture Day at the library, (model and co-coordinator with my mom,) volunteer for multiple events at the public library through Teen Advisory Board
Pretty sure I’ll have close to 1000 hours by the time I graduate.
Summer Activities: the internship, part-time jobs, tutoring, babysitting, teaching piano
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Reflect on something you would like us to know about you: 9 (most honest essay I’ve ever written; about living with depression, how I relieve any pent-up anger or sadness through my writing, how bullying is wrong and everyone has to love themselves before loving anything else, etc.)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10 - AP Euro teacher. Loved me since sophomore year. Talked all positive, all strengths
Teacher Rec #2: 9.5 - AP Calc teacher, I applied as a math major, he talked about how I’m always one step ahead in class and help him out with my other classmates
Counselor Rec: 9 - talked about my junior year in which I was diagnosed with severe depression, explaining the slump in my grades, and said despite that slump, I’m a hard worker
Additional Rec: 6 - my youth pastor never wrote a letter of rec before so it wasn’t that great, but I thought all my bases were covered with the other three.
Interview: wasn’t offered one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Math, Chemistry, Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Regular public
Ethnicity: Asian (Korean to be specific, probably worked against me since I wasn’t that stellar of an Asian applicant)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$100k - ~$150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation immigrant family living in America (technically zeroth generation attending college in America)

Reflection

Strengths: Letters of rec (minus my youth pastor’s)
Weaknesses: essays, test scores, GPA, school is virtually unknown and doesn’t have that great of an academic reputation
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was too cookie-cutter of an Asian applicant (not excellent, not bad,) my test scores were probably a little iffy since I took the ACT 3x (4, including the state-mandated one.)
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Rejected at Duke, Amherst, Columbia, U-Penn, and Colorado College (after being deferred)
Waitlisted at University of Chicago and Washington & Lee
Accepted at all in-state safety universities

General Comments:

My GPA trend was downwards because of the depression and that probably reflected poorly on me. I also only took 2 AP classes junior year so that might’ve seemed to demonstrate laziness or lack of motivation. And I was so burned out by the time I got to this application that I regretfully didn’t even try to write coherently. I just threw down a bunch of truths and called it good. Again, this probably seemed to reflect laziness or even lack of enthusiasm for the school.

I hope this can be of help to future applicants :slight_smile: good luck!

4

**Decision: Rejected **

SAT I (breakdown): 2340, 760 CR, 780 W, 800 M
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 730 Chem, 750 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 21/~500 (Top 5%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Lang (5), World (5), APUSH (4), Calc BC (5/5), Microeconomics (5), Macroeconomics (5), Physics C Mech (5), Physics C E&M (5), currently in Music Theory, Lit, US Gov, and Bio
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Bio, AP US Gov, AP Music Theory, Orchestra, Band, Spanish III, Walking Wellness, Senior Mentor
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, NMS Letter of Commendation

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lots of band events and side-by-sides, All State Horn, NHS, Tri-M, Marching Band (Section Leader), Local Youth Orchestra (Horn), Orchestra (Violin), Piano Lessons
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Minimal- NHS only
Summer Activities: None
Essays: Commonapp 8-10/10, Cornell 7-9/10
Teacher Recommendation: From the ones I’ve read 10/10
Counselor Rec: 9-10/10
Additional Rec: Band director, 10/10
Interview: I felt good about it, 7-9/10
Other: Community College Transcript- Linear Algebra/Calc III

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undeclared
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 70-100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Academic Stats, Band
Weaknesses: EC Breadth, leadership, community service, summer activities, subject tests probably didn’t help
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I don’t have a lot to make me stand out even if I have the stats to be qualified
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Cornell, UMD, WL: Vanderbilt, JHU, Duke, UMich, Rejected: Northwestern, Peabody

General Comments:

5

On behalf of my son

[ b]Decision: Waitlisted **

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 800 R 770 M 800 W (1st and only sitting)
[] ACT (breakdown): 36 across the board (1st and only sitting)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 770 Chem
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/82
[] AP (place score in parentheses): AP Chem 4 (school offers few AP classes – he took test w/o benefit of a class)
[] IB (place score in parentheses):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Standard College Prep - Honors and a few AP (all that were avail)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF, NM Scholarship Winner, US Dept of Ed Presidential Scholar nominee, Illinois State Scholar, Gold Medal National Latin Exam, Youth Salute, WYSE state qualifier[/li]
[/list][ b]Subjective:**
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Math Team (Capt), Scholar Bowl (Co-Capt), NETwork against Malaria (Co Capt), Student Council, Xcountry, school newspaper (co-editor) , Science Club
[] Job/Work Experience: Mathnasium
[] Volunteer/Community service: local hospital, tutoring both grade school and high school
[] Summer Activities: work, volunteer work, some research
[] Essays: I thought they were excellent
[] Teacher Recommendation: glowing
[] Counselor Rec: great, but not quite as personal as the teacher ones
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview: Dunno – he thought it went well
[] Supplementary Material: Published a novel

[/list][ b]Other**
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: small, Catholic
[] Ethnicity: W
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): upper middle class
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/li]
[/list][ b]Reflection**
[] Strengths: test scores, grades, writing
[] Weaknesses: not accomplished enough to stand out?
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: so hard to know what goes on with admissions
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: AcceptedL UChicago, Vandy with full scholarship plus stipend, USC with Presidential (half) scholarship, Rejected: MIT

[/list][ b]General Comments: ** Knew it would be tough. Flattered that he was waitlisted. I know he did all that he could do. I’m very proud of him and am excited for the options he has before him. Not sure what to advise anyone else. Sometimes it comes down to demographics and there is nothing you can do about that.

6

**Decision: Waitlisted **

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: Didn’t send
[] ACT: 34C
[] SAT II: Math II 780, Biology E 740
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 (W 4.182 - 4.25 Max at school)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):6/330
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): ESS (6), Math SL (6)
[] Senior Year Course Load: HL 2 English, HL2 History, SL Spanish 5, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, HL2 Art, TOK
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Global Visionaries Travel Scholarship to Berlin (I doubt this is major, but it was a national applicant pool), NSLI-Y Scholarship Semifinalist (Now a finalist - going to China for 6 weeks this summer!) [/ul]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars:Ambassadors (District Representative and Trainer), Global Visionaries-service and travel group (Executive Board Member and Communications Director), NHS-comparitively active in my school (President), Founded tutoring program at nearby K-12 school) Service Club (Service Coordinator), Investment Club (Founder and President), bunch of other minor stuff
[] Job/Work Experience: 2 years at fast food place
[] Volunteer/Community service: Probably a total of 1200ish hours or more
[] Essays: Commonapp Essay was really good (9-10)
[] Teacher Recommendations:Teacher Rec #1: English teacher (10 - was incredible); Teacher Rec #2: Bio and ESS teacher (8-9)
[] Counselor Rec: I don’t know. Somewhat generic I’m sure, but I know my counselor well (7?)
[] Additional Rec:Chem teacher (8-9) - All the teachers let me read them
[] Interview:Really good, she was very nice and we had a lot in common [/ul]
Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
[] Country (if international applicant): US
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Middle Class
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope [/ul]
Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: My general essay and maybe community service
[] Weaknesses: ACT score, it’s not as great as others’. SAT II’s were also comparatively weak. No national awards, Not really recognized ECs
[] Why you think you were waitlisted: Tough school to get into! I’m amazed I was even waitlisted
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Duke, Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley, NYU, BU with Presidential Scholarship and Kilachand Honors College, Northeastern with Deans Scholarship, URochester; Rejected: UChicago, Columbia ED, Stanford, Swarthmore; Waitlisted: Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Northwestern, Tufts, Georgetown[/ul]
General Comments: I’m very honored I was even waitlisted, I was sure it would be a rejection! Oh well, off to Duke!

7

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2320
SAT II: 610 US History, 800 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (if available): 4.3
Rank/percentile (if available): 1/150
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang (5), US (4), World (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Lit, AP Gov, Graphic Arts, Gym
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge College Prep Scholar/National Match Scholarship

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (VP, then Pres), Math Team, Student Gov (Sec),
Job/Work Experience: Two years as tutor/mentor in local after-school program (work 4 days a week after school), Work at hospital during summer
Volunteer/Community service: 100 hours at hospital, few hundred hours at soup kitchen, community festivals, etc.
Summer Activities: WORK!
Essays: Yale essay was mediocre but common app showed my passion clearly.
Teacher Recommendation: Both teachers love me dearly so 10/10
Counselor Rec: She knows me well so it should have been good – 7/10

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: Horribly poor
Ethnicity: Asian (Indo-Guyanese)
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen, very poor family

Reflection
Strengths: My perspective can bring something to NYU I suppose.
Weaknesses: Undocumented and poor so that hurt my chances, my ECs suffered because I had to work a lot. Also my AP scores are not so good along with my 610 SAT II.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: That common app essay and my recs!
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at City College, Fordham, NYU, and HARVARD; wait listed at Vassar; rejected at JHU, Penn, Columbia, Princeton, Brown.

General Comments: I never believed this was possible. I was rejected from most schools but got into YALE! OMG! I’ve never been so happy lol.

8

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2330
[] ACT (breakdown): 36
[] SAT II: 800 Math 2, 760 US History, 750 Molecular Bio
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A, but definitely top 10%
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Calculus BC (5), APUSH (4), AP Lang (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Physics C E&M (5), AP Statistics (5), and currently taking AP Bio, AP Psych, and AP Lit
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Dual Enrollment Calculus 3 and Linear Algebra, Symphonic Band, AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Biology, regular World History, Organic Chem
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit finalist, Joyce Ivy Scholar, AP Scholar with distinction[/li]
Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Marching band (squad leader), musical theater (International Thespian Society inductee), varsity water polo, gay-straight alliance
[] Job/Work Experience: Paid job at local supermarket and unpaid internship in university laboratory
[] Volunteer/Community service: NHS, tutoring, charity flute choir
[] Summer Activities: mission trip building homes on NA reservation, several online classes, summer pre-college program at Brown University, aforementioned internship
[] Essays: 8/10, except personally I thought the “why Yale” essay sucked. Guess they didn’t agree!
[] Teacher Recommendation: Great, as far as I know.
[] Counselor Rec: I know that she liked me, so there’s that.
[] Additional Rec: From my mentor at my research internship. He is a very well-respected professor who, no exaggeration, may one day win a Nobel prize for something he’s already discovered. I imagine this one helped a lot.
[] Interview: Went great, had a lot in common with interviewer
[] Supplementary Material: none

Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Large public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Around 80k? My parents won’t disclose a lot of financial information to me for some reason.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I’m a lesbian, if that counts as an underrepresented minority. Nothing other than that.[/li]
Reflection
[] Strengths: Test scores/grades, essays, interview, diversity of extracurriculars
[] Weaknesses: Lack of leadership, lack of major awards (I submitted to SIEMENS but didn’t win, lol)
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I swear to god it was the interview. We got along SO well, and she basically told me at the end she thought I would get in.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: University of Michigan, UPenn, Wash U, USC, Boston U, Northwestern. Waitlisted: Columbia, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Pomona. Rejected: Stanford. Screw Stanford.

**General Comments: **
I’m really deciding between Yale and UofM at this point, because UofM gave me a full ride! I’m really super excited to have gotten in to Yale though! Congratulations to everyone else!

9

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2360 (800/800/760/9)
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): Only took it once!
ACT (breakdown): Not applicable
ACT superscore (breakdown): Not applicable
SAT II (subject, score): French 800, Math Level 2 780, Ecological Biology 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: Not applicable
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/330
AP (place score in parentheses): Art History 5, Macroeconomics 5, Microeconomics 5, US Gov and Poli 5, English Language 4
IB (place score in parentheses): Not applicable
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics 1/2, English, Spanish, first-year Chemistry at a local university
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): 3rd place at a national French public speaking competition, National Finalist of an acclaimed poetry recitation contest, 4th place at a national debate tournament, 1st place/senior gold award/winner/finalist of miscellaneous national and international writing contests, top 3 ranking at many regional and provincial speech competitions
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): National AP Scholar, Principal’s Honour Roll, DELF B2, ARCT in Piano Performance

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): Debate Club President, Mock Trial Club President, Speech Club President, School Newspaper Editor, etc…I could go into detail but I’d take up way too much space! For now, I’ll just say that I’m very committed to everything I do outside of class.
Job/Work Experience: Private Music Theory Tutor, former Legal Assistant at a local law firm
Volunteer/Community Service: Vocal Jazz Piano Accompanist. Then I emcee random events and do odd jobs here and there
Summer Experience: French camp, full-credit summer school

Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Essays: Common App was alright but standard, 8/10. Supplement was cute, 9/10. Short answers were comical and expressed appropriate facets of my personality, 9/10.
Teacher Recommendation #1: French 10/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: Socials 8 or 9/10 though I never read any of my recs
Counselor Rec: Students are not super close to their counsellors here. I’ll assume positive but generic, 7/10
Additional Info/Rec: Not applicable
Interview: Solid. We talked about video games and Yale’s awesome traditions.
Art Supplement: Not applicable

Other:
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
U.S. State/Territory or Country: Canada
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: Thoroughly middle-class
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): Not applicable

Reflection:
Strengths: My stats and accomplishments are fairly solid.
Weaknesses: Whatever that was not in my control. Recs, maybe. CA style, maybe. Who knows~
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t think I did anything noticeably, distractingly wrong. I communicated my ambition and energy to the committee.
What would you have done differently?: Volunteered more and perhaps initiated some kind of youth platform
Where else did you apply? Accepted to Wellesley, wait-listed by a bunch of liberal arts-oriented colleges like Amherst and Brown, rejected from the big H and the big P

General Comments & Advice:
Be yourself. Be honest. Be wholesome. And everything will work out in your favour.

10

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (730 CR, 700 M, 740W) I know
[] ACT (breakdown): n/a
[] SAT II: 800 Spanish, can’t remember Math 1 and Lit but around ~700
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
[] AP (place score in parentheses): English Language (5), USH (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Studio, AP Stats, AP Psych, Challenge
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastic Art Awards for photography: 1 Gold Key, 1 Silver Key for portfolio, and 1 Honorable mention. Scholastic Writing Awards: 4 Gold Keys and American Voices nomination[/li]
[/list]Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): NHS, Spanish Honor Society, NAHS, Key Club, Science Honor Society, English Honor Society, and Film Club all with leadership positions
[] Job/Work Experience: Brookstone Sales Associate, sold over $8,000 each week, outsold district
[] Volunteer/Community service: over 1,000 hours to homeless shelters, food pantries because I needed help from these places when I was younger
[] Summer Activities: Volunteering for the good majority of it
[] Essays: Common App 10/10- By far best writing I have ever done. It won a Gold Key as well :slight_smile: It talked about how being homeless while growing up shaped me and instilled humility and a sense of altruism in me.
Optional essay 10/10- I take it back, this one is definitely my strongest writing to date. It was written in a creative rhetorical mode and expressed the escape I found in films during my toughest times.
[] Teacher Recommendation: My two teachers actually showed them to me as a parting gift after they submitted it, both 10/10 absolutely the best recommendations I have ever seen, my APUSH teacher said that any institution would be luck to have me and my other one said I was one of the best in her career
[] Counselor Rec: 6/10 probably generic, I’m not sure she even knows my name
[] Additional Rec: none
[] Interview: he was a really cool guy, spoke volumes of the brilliance Yale finds in applicants
[] Supplementary Material: Yes, submitted a few of my works of photography that were given Gold or Silver Keys :smiley:

[/list]Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
[] State (if domestic applicant): Wisconsin
Country (if international applicant): n/a
[] School Type: Suburban Public
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): lol <40,00
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, not sure if being homeless during a major part of my life counts?[/li]
[/list]Reflection
[] Strengths: Definitely my essays were the huge push, urm probably helped, and photography portfolio maybe?
[] Weaknesses: Embarrassing test scores (at least by CC standards), Generic ec’s (I really tried though :(), Past AP course load, and I didn’t cure cancer nor place at the Olympics which I heard can help
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Doesn’t really take much to guess :stuck_out_tongue: there’s just more qualified applicants
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Rejected: UT Austin, UCLA & USC (applied both to their film), Stanford, Yale, Harvard, UPenn, Cornell

Waitlisted: UChicago, Brown, Columbia, Vanderbilt, UC Berkeley

Accepted: Princeton, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Notre Dame, UCSD, UCDavis, UMiami, UMinnesota, UOregon, UPittsburgh, UWashington Seattle, UKentucky, UAlabama, Mississippi State Uniiversity, SAIC

[/list]General Comments:
Was not surprised in the least bit. However with Princeton, I am beyond shocked, incredibly humbled, but mostly grateful. If there’s anything I want you guys to take away from this all, it’s to dare to dream. Pursue the passions of your heart with no fear because, honestly, anything can happen.

Signing out,

Homeless2Princeton

11

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 800-800-780
[] ACT (breakdown): 36
[] SAT II: 800 Lit, 770 Chem, 760 M2, 690 M1 (I was a freshman, okay?)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A. Weighted = 4.41
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 (not sent)
[] AP (place score in parentheses): 5 on Spanish, Music Theory, Euro, World, Stats, Calc BC, English Lang; 4 on Chem
[] Senior Year Course Load: Honors International Relations, Honors Art, AP Bio, AP Physics C, Independent Studies in AP Spanish Lit and AP Gov, AP English Lit, Multivariable Calc
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Avogadro, IPPF, NMF, National AP Scholar, some AMC stuff[/ul]

Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Rock music (played at Lollapalooza), cross country (3 year letterman and captain), Women’s Leadership Club (founder), various other things
[] Job/Work Experience: Scorekeeper for basketball team, tutor
[] Volunteer/Community service: Service trips with school
[] Summer Activities: Touring with rock band, taking summer courses, running, tutoring
[] Essays: I’m too thoroughly tired to recall.
[] Teacher Recommendation: They were great, I imagine. 10/10
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read it, assume it was great. 9/10
[] Additional Rec: She is my music theory teacher, like family. 10/10.
[] Interview: UNBELIEVABLE. We totally clicked, went an hour overtime, and apparently he’s told people I was the most qualified applicant he’s ever interviewed and most interesting person he’s ever met. :smile:
[] Supplementary Material: Music composition supplement. I played it safe with classical, even though Yale likes pop and jazz.[/ul]

Other[ul]
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[] State (if domestic applicant): OH
[] School Type: Small private all girls
[] Ethnicity: Asian and white
[] Gender: XX
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): No[/ul]

Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Yale was a really good fit for me, which I think shone through in my application. I’m funny (I think) and answered the “short takes” without taking myself too seriously. My interview letter must have been utterly stellar too, and my test scores couldn’t have hurt.
[] Weaknesses: Except for writing musicals (I wrote about how Yale’s Shen curriculum would help me with this), I’m not unique.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Who knows?
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted Stanford, Duke, UPenn, Caltech, Williams, UChicago, Cornell, Harvey Mudd, Dartmouth, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Amherst, OSU, Michigan, Case. Waitlisted: Brown, Columbia, MIT. Rejected: Harvard, Princeton (deferred SCEA), Juilliard.[/ul]
General Comments: How am I going to pick between Yale and Stanford?! I also got some great honors/scholarship options at Cornell and Penn, which makes it even more confusing.

12

**Decision: Rejected

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (750 Writing [10 essay], 700 CR, 650 M)
ACT (breakdown): None
SAT II: SAT US History - 780 / SAT French - 710 / SAT World - 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 100.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language - 5 / AP US History - 5 / AP World History - 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Calc AB, AP Microeconomics, AP English Literature, AP French, Occupations, Religion 12, Dance
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, National Achievement Scholarship Foundation Outstanding PSAT Participant, online writing awards, National French Contest 7th place nationwide in 10th grade

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Writer for the Huffington Post Teen -Editor-in-chief of school newspaper -Contributor to my town's newspaper (I write articles about college, SATs, and education) -Multi Published writer in literary magazines (an essay about track and field, an essay about cosmetics & chemicals) -College Essay was published in a magazine -Have my own travel blog (features photos and entries on my trips abroad) -Have my own healthy eating blog -Quiz Bowl Team Captain

Job/Work Experience:
-Cashier at movie theater for 2014 summer.

Volunteer/Community service: I did not even list any on the Common App because it doesn’t help you get into elite schools. But I believe my recommendation writers spoke about the children’s museum that I volunteered at for two years. That was a huge commitment.

Summer Activities: Cashier at movie theater

Essays:
Common App – I chose the “place of solace” topic. My college essay was simple, yet beautiful, authentic, and richly detailed. It is all about my love of going to the library, and by far, it is the best piece of work I have ever written. I think that it is an honest portrayal of who I am, and it exemplifies my love of learning. I had this essay published in a national literary magazine.
For the mini-essays, I talked about my love for the French language for long one. Short answers were a struggle - I don’t know why. Why Yale one was great!

Teacher Recommendation:
One from my French teacher (10/10) - I am a heavy participant in this class and I have been the top student for 4 years. I tutor, I share French literature that I read in my spare time with my teacher, I do research for the class, and I’ve taught a little.
AP US History Teacher (9/10) - I was the top student in this class and I won an award for my efforts. I adore history and I am also very concerned about social issues. He told me that I had the best projects and essays in the class.
Counselor Rec:
I’d give it a 9/10. We are close friends. In the summertime, my school made us fill out a sheet of all our hobbies, favorite media, and accomplishments - so I guess that helped too.

Interview: AMAZING. We both loved to travel and we talked extensively about that.

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: French Language, Creative Writing
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $40,000, single parent home
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: My writing and journalism, my grades and scores, my essay for sure, URM status too, choice of major
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I made sure to highlight the fact that I am a published writer. I also think it’s different that I want to study French and creative writing. Make sure your Common App essay defines who you are.
Weaknesses: SAT Math score is on the lower end, but to be honest, I’m proud of it. That’s the best I could achieve. Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
–Rejected??? I have no idea why! I have a singular passion for writing and I want to major in something atypical.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted to 6 Ivy League Schools: Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown
Accepted: NYU, Fordham, University of Connecticut, SUNY Binghampton, SUNY Stony Brook, Siena College
Rejected: Yale, Columbia, Hunter College, Queens College

Other:
Congratulations to all who were admitted.

I applied to all 8 Ivy League schools and I was admitted to 6. I am not a legacy or a first generation, for those of you who would like to know.

13

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 (800M, 800CR, 720W)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 800 Bio M
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~95/100
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~10/100, but school doesn’t rank officially
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Chem (5), Bio (5), Human Geo (5), APES (5), APUSH (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses):
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Duke of Edinburgh Gold, ranked in top 100 for NACLO, National Biology Competition, various national math competitions[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):[/li]-A somewhat obscure sport (3-12), 20 hours/week, have competed internationally
-A science olympiad (10-12)
-DECA (10-11), Won at ICDC in 11th
-Started HOSA chapter (11-12)
-Math Club co-president (10-12)
-Equity Committee (9-12)

[li] Job/Work Experience:[/li]-Worked as a paid research assistant for a month

[li] Volunteer/Community service:[/li]-600 hours
-Volunteer with disabled people (10-12)
-Summer camp counsellor (10, 12)

[li] Summer Activities: Included above, program at university[/li]
[li] Essays: Common App one was above average, talked about my sport (no, it had nothing to do with winning a big game or an injury). Optional one was one of my stronger essays. It was really honest and showed how an experience made me question my values. Engineering essay was quite good too, covering what drew me to engineering and how specifically Yale fit in. My “short takes” were a complete MESS though.[/li]
[] Teacher Recommendation: Did not read, but should be very good (I’ve worked with them outside of class, they know me very well)
[] Counselor Rec: Did not read, but knows me VERY well
[] Additional Rec: From coach, excellent
[] Interview: Excellent, we clicked very well. I had a late interview, and I’m fairly sure it’s what ended up getting me in.
[li] Supplementary Material: Submitted a video[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Country (if international applicant): Canada
[] School Type: Competitive Private
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $120 000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A[/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: SAT IIs, Interview, ECs/Awards
[] Weaknesses: “Short takes”, GPA, Class rank (there was no official rank, but many top students applied to the same schools)
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It was definitely the late interview that pushed me over the edge.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Penn (SEAS, Rachleff Scholars)
Waitlisted: Princeton
Rejected: Harvard (deferred SCEA), Stanford, MIT

[/ul]**General Comments: **
I’m so excited! I was honestly expecting a shut-out, so this is amazing. I’m deciding between Penn and Yale, but heavily leaning towards Yale (especially since I got a much better FA package!)

14

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
[] SAT I: single/only sitting: 2330 --> 800 M, 780 W, 750 CR --> My advice for future applicants: I earned these scores by just taking the SAT practice tests in the SAT Big Blue Book, and, OK I admit this, the only really boring part was I did buy one of those “500 SAT vocabulary words” recommended on Amazon and worked through it. Please don’t feel pressured to pay anyone for SAT preparation/tutoring/classes, etc. They are costly and there are so many books in most local libraries that offer the same information, just be disciplined. You can identify what are your strengths and weaknesses by taking the multitude of tests in that Big Blue Book to see patterns/areas to work through, and save your $$ by not giving it to the supposed experts.
[]ACT: did not take
[] SAT II: single/only sitting: 800 Math 2, 800 Chemistry, 800 French
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a, but top 10%
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Calculus BC (5), Chemistry (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Physics C E&M, French (5)

Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars: Three-season Varsity Athlete, Captain of all of the Science, Math, and French Olympiads/Teams/Clubs in my school, lots of awards including national awards (not Intel or Siemens though) but every activity I did I LOVE for the sake of it, not for a college application
[] Volunteer/Community service: lots and lots, again for the LOVE of it not for a college app
[] Summer Activities: volunteerism and scientific research
[] Essays: Hard to know but I was true to myself and was really happy with them
[] Teacher Recommendation: Did not see but would expect they were strong
[] Counselor Rec: Did not see but would expect it was strong
[] Additional Rec: From my mentor at my research internship
[] Interview: Great individual, really down to earth and made me want to go to Yale even more
[li] Supplementary Material: research poster[/li]
Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: no
[]Intended Major: Biochemistry/Biophysics, French minor
[] Region: New England
[] School Type: private
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[li] Hooks: none[/li]
Reflection
[] Strengths: I tried to hit it on all fronts: test scores, grades, sports, leadership roles, community service, research
[] Weakness: White middle-class male, not URM or from a geographically UR region (Sorry if this offends anyone, and my condolences to the Asian middle-class male applicant)
[] Why you think you were accepted: Luck, the college process is a crap shoot, and a solid application
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: In addition to Yale, I got in RD to Penn (Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences), Hopkins, Brandeis (Justice Brandeis merit scholarship), and RPI (Leadership merit scholarship)
Rejected: RD to Harvard, Princeton
Waitlisted: MIT but doubt I will accept the wait list, as I am more a scientist and humanist than an engineer

General Comments: I am grateful to have some nice options and very glad that this stressful process is over. Wishing you all the best of luck!

15

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:

[ul][] SAT I (breakdown): 2200 superscore - 800 CR, 730 W, 670 M
[] SAT II: 730 Literature, 690 Spanish (I knowwww)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Don’t have one! But achieved 8 As 4As and 1B at GCSE (took like three more classes than everyone else in my school), and 4 As at AS Level (A is the highest you can get at AS)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 3 A Levels - Spanish, English, History, predicted 3 As
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really! a few more minor national comps based on the school system im in (for other girls schools)

[/ul]Subjective:

[ul][] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Short film company - won 2 national awards (co founded), some acting stuff (national youth theatre, grade 8 LAMDA gold, made a set for a professional production), internship in spain were my main ones. Also stuff like debate club, etc
[] Job/Work Experience: Kumon!!
[] Volunteer/Community service: Tutored in a local Deaf community club
[] Summer Activities: Internship in Spain, NYT, Ancient Greek summer camp, making films
[] Essays: I thought they were well written! :slight_smile:
[] Teacher+Counselor Recommendations: Didn’t see any of these! I assume they were good because my teachers all like me and they didn’t have to write any other of these types of recs (we have shorter ones in the UK). Alternately, they could have been kind of bad, because they had no idea what they were doing.
[] Interview: Tbh my most awkward interview, but like, not bad
[] Supplementary Material: Didn’t send any

[/ul]Other

[ul][]Applied for Financial Aid?: Ya
[] State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): UK
[] School Type: small private girls
[] Ethnicity: Latina (half mexican)
[] Gender: female
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Urghh I’m not sure, it’s confusing bc I’m a US citizen so applied through fafsa, but we have WAY higher taxes here so colleges said they would count it, so st like $80,000 with taxes and $125,000 before tax
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM[/li]
[/ul]Reflection

[ul][] Strengths: ECs? School results in UK system?
[] Weaknesses: SAT subject scores, SAT maths
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Because loads of people apply and I didn’t quite make the cut! Blessed to be on the waitlist tbh
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Bristol, Brown, UChicago. Waitlisted: Yale, Cornell. Rejected: Harvard

[/ul]General Comments:
Oh well!!! Sidenote - if all British/half Mexcian/film and theatre/language major admits want to reject their offer so I can fill your space, feel free to!

16

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): NA
ACT (breakdown): 35 C Superscored and not superscored: (33 E, 35 M, 36 R, 36 S)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 760 M2 720 Bio M
Unweighted/Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98/4.64 I go to a highly selective magnet school that chooses around 2% of students that apply out of 9 high schools. So out of around 3100 applicants, 75 or so get in.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 3% 10/310
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus, Orgo Chem, Bio Chem, Biomedical Science, IB History of the Americas, IB Spanish, Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 3rd Place Best Midwestern High School Writing Competition twice in a row. 9th Place ACSL International Coding Competition

[ b]Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): NHS, Research Team (at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Varsity Tennis for 3 years, 1st Violin in the Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Debate
Job/Work Experience: NA
Volunteer/Community Service: Over 200 hours at a local hospital, at summer science camps, a school for the mentally disabled, friends and I started charity that feeds elementary schools children on the weekends (they live in a bad part of town), I founded an interscholastic math competition for 5th graders, MATHCOUNTS coach for a local middle school.
Summer Activities: Gave talks at local hospitals to raise money for the charity I run, and why feeding poverty stricken children in elementary school is important.
Essays: Pretty strong all around. My English teacher said they were great.
Teacher Recommendations: Idk, but should have been good. One of the teachers asked me if he could write me a rec, and told me he would say I was outstanding.
Counselor Rec: She said there’s no doubt I’m one of the top kids at my school, so definitely should have been good.
Additional Rec: From the director of Lee Honors College at WMU. I worked with her to establish the math competition.
Interview: NA

Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Admissions is hella random.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/list] Accepted: Johns Hopkins, Wash U St. Louis, U Mich, U Miami, K College (full tuition)
Waitlisted: Case Western Reserve, Northwestern
Rejected: UChicago, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, UPenn
General Comments: I honestly have no idea why I was rejected by the entire Ivy League. My friend with better stats was also rejected by all the ivies. It’s disheartening when you see kids with lower stats get accepted everywhere. I worked wayyyyy too hard for this. Whatever, I guess Johns Hopkins it is.

[ b]Other**
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Pre-med
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public Magnet
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000 +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None…

17

[ color=red][ b]Decision: Rejected **[/color]

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35 C (33 E, 35 R, 36 M, 35 S, 10 W)
SAT II: 800 US History, 790 Spanish w/Listening, 790 English Lit, 770 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/156
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Bio (5), APUSH (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Macro, AP Lit, APES, Econ (H), AP Micro, AP Gov, Autoshop
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, NMF

Subjective
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Business (Co-Founder; 22.5k in revenue, partnerships with NASA, University of NH, others. Clients include Boy Scouts of America, and NeuroDrink.), Biology Research, Varsity Mathletes (Captain) , Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Track and Field, CSF (President)
Job/Work Experience: Pet Care, Babysitting.
Volunteer/Community service: 200 hours (Theater Organization), 200 hours (Environmental stuff)
Summer Activities: Internship with Environmental NGO (2013), Farmworker in Chile (2014)
[] Essays: Common App (9/10), Supplement (8/10), Short Takes (8-9/10), Why Yale (7-8/10)
[] Teacher Recommendation: Both cast a flattering light (7-8/10)
[] Counselor Rec: Strong, I’ve known her for 13 years and visit her office frequently at school
[] Additional Rec: Great! Elaborated on work with the science business, offered more insight
[] Interview: Not offered
[] Supplementary Material:

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public Rural (650 kids total)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nada

Reflection
Strengths: Ballpark test scores and grades, unique EC
Weaknesses: No big awards or rankings, leadership in only a handful of activities
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m not absolutely stellar in any one area, and compared to the truly incredible applicants also vying for Yale, that means I’m just not admittee material!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Princeton (early), UCLA (w/ Achievement scholarship), UC Berkeley
Rejected: Yale, USC

General Comments: I am disappointed because I think I submitted a great application to Yale, and there’s no feedback card that let’s me know where I fell short. Congrats to all the future Bulldogs!

18

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (790 CR, 770 M, 780 W)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 770 USH, 760 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/117
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH (5), English Language (5), Physics B (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Calc AB, AP Physics C, AP Euro, honors gov, other random classes (hardest course load available)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Connecticut Governor’s Scholar, Harvard Book Award?

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Team (captain), Political Science Club (founder and president), School Newspaper (editor)
•Job/Work Experience: Worked for the past four years at a local library
•Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer as a tech volunteer at a different local library, I ran a program over the summer that teaches middle school students debate techniques
•Personal Statement: I thought all my essays were great but whatevaa

Other
•Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
• Intended Major : I put computer science on the application
•State (if domestic applicant): CT
•Country (if international applicant):
•School Type: Small parochial
•Ethnicity: Whiter than Casper the Friendly Ghost
•Gender: Female
•Income Bracket: Don’t worry bout it
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Woman in computer science?

Reflection
•Strengths: SAT, GPA, woman in STEM?
•Weaknesses: Very few real hooks, few major awards
•Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to?
Accepted: Dartmouth, Duke, UVA, UNC-CH, Cornell, Georgetown, UConn
Waitlisted: Amherst, Northwestern
Rejected: Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford
•Schools you are waiting for?
General Comments: Apply to as many schools as you can, the schools I got into versus the schools I got rejected from seem completely random to me

19

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 E, 36 M, 35 S, 35 R)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2 (710) Chemistry (700)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/~425
AP (place score in parentheses): Human (5), Environmental (5), Chemistry (4), Lang (3)
IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus Ab, AP Calculus Bc, Business Economics, Government, AP Literature, AP French, Student Ambassadors (S. Government), AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Student Ambassadors (President), Sexual Assault Resource Team, National Honor Society (Secretary), Varsity Track, Varsity Baseball, Link Crew (President/Founder), Math/Science/French Honor Society, Counselor Advisory Board
Job/Work Experience: Busser since summer before Junior year
Volunteer/Community Service: Community Advocate with Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Center
Summer Activities: Yale Summer Session, Baseball, Job
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I thought they were good obviously, but who knows how the admissions felt about it. I wrote about my position as a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate and my dedication towards ending the acceptance of sexual violence in our culture in the Common App essay. In the Additional Info, I wrote about being from Hawai’i and my cultural sense of 'ohana.
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Never read them. AP Chem teacher (knew him for a year), French teacher (knew him for 2 years)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): Didn’t read it, but I think it was good because I’ve known her for 4 years and she is the advisor of Student Ambassadors (my leadership group)
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): N/A
Interview: Thought it went well. Interviewer was cool.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Pacific Islander (Hawaiian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Not sure, but I think that my parents do pretty well.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Pacific Islander, Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy work

Reflection
Strengths: I think my strengths are that I am a URM, and I am very passionate about advocacy work that not many high school kids are involved in.
Weaknesses: I indicated that I was interested in a science major, and I don’t have the original research/impressive scientific course-load that many have (aside from AP Environmental, AP Chem, AP Physics 1, and Biochem/Biophysics at Yale Summer Session).
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Don’t do something simply because people say “colleges like to see it”. Find something you are passionate about, and commit yourself to it. Chances are, you will end up doing some pretty awesome things because your passion will naturally lead you to pursue opportunities. Plus, you will be happy and enthusiastic as well.
Accepted: Stanford, Yale, USC, UMiami, Northeastern, CU-Boulder, CO School of Mines
Waitlisted: Princeton, Harvard
Denied: N/A

20

**Decision: Waitlisted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (M: 770, CR: 730, W: 750)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: English: 700 Maths II: 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parentheses):
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: 5 A Levels
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Gold Senior Maths Challenge, a couple of national awards in academics

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Own Business, Debating, Environmental Activism, Music, TV Show
Job/Work Experience: Business, Teaching Piano
Volunteer/Community service: Activism Work
Summer Activities: Hiking, Internship at Bank
Essays: Common App was okay, Supplement wasn’t great.
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t see them but were probably okay.
Counselor Rec: No idea.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Really good. Probably what helped me get waitlisted rather than rejected.
Supplementary Material:

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): UK
School Type: State School
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: M
Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Enough to qualify for near full-ride
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses: Essays weren’t great
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Incredibly competitive
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Stanford, UChicago, Duke (Karsh International Scholarship), Yale-NUS
Waitlisted: Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth
Rejected: Harvard, Cornell, Brown

**General Comments: **
What an experience this has been! No regrets… Yale was my dream but I’ll be more than happy at Stanford.