Decision: Accepted
SAT Scores: 2100 (one sitting)
ACT Scores: 33 (36 English, 34 reading, 30 math, 31 science) (two sittings)
SAT II Scores: Took Literature and U.S. History in December - no scores back yet (Admissions office said this was fine as long as I took them before matriculation)
School Profile: Public with 1,800 students; historically very competitive, but losing its standing; 98% graduation rate
GPA: 4.15 W/ 3.97 UW (4.0 scale)
Rank: Top ten percent (my school does not rank beyond deciles)
Course Rigor: Semi-college prep, a few honors (my school does not offer many honors classes) and 7 AP (I know, not a lot)
AP/IB Scores:
APUSH: 5
AP Biology: 4
AP Lang and Comp: 5
AP Lit and Comp: taking this year
AP U.S. Government and Politics: taking this year, but have a 115% so I should get a 5 if I take it)
AP Economics: taking this year (my school combines Macro and Micro into one year)
AP Environmental: taking this year
Notable Honours/Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
National Merit Commended (210 on PSAT)
National Society of High School Scholars
National Honor Society
Cum Laude Society (top 10% of class)
Notable Extra-Curricular Activities:
Poetry Out Loud: going to states this year!
Mock Trial
Internship with the State Senate through my state flagship, also includes a course (Public Affairs 2110)
Established current tutoring system at my high school
Peer tutoring: 2 hours/week
Volunteer at local animal shelter: 4 years
Work Experience:
Barnes and Noble: 2 years (sophomore and junior years)
Hostess at local restaurant: summer after junior year until now
Non-Consistent Extra-Curricular Activities (Volunteering, Summer Activities, etc.):
Volunteering at local Soup Kitchen every summer
Medical Club
JV Softball: 2 years
American Sign Language Classes: 1 year
Passions:
Poetry, history, learning Hebrew, politics
Recommendations:
1st teacher rec from my Honors Chem teacher: 11/10, he absolutely loved me and he highlighted some unique aspects of myself; not a “bright, well-rounded student” essay
2nd teacher rec from my Psych teacher: 8/10, average
Optional rec from my Honors English teacher freshman year: 10/10, she graduated from Dartmouth and offered to write me a letter, extremely personal and touching
Essays (and content, if you like):
Common App essay: 10/10, about raising myself while simultaneously raising my mother because of her disability
Supplemental: 9/10, about how my last name isn’t really my last name because it’s an alias my dad needed because of his career
Interview: 8/10: average, talked for about an hour but nothing exceptional, interviewer was very nice!
Your Prospective Major: Economics/Philosophy, want to go to graduate school for law and/or public policy
State/Country: Ohio
Ethnicity/Gender: White, female
Hooks: First generation college student, dad is physically disabled, mom is mentally, emotionally, and physically disabled
Strengths/Weaknesses: My hooks probably helped me more than I’m willing to admit lol. Also, my essays were very strong and I think they may have made up for a somewhat average/underwhelming transcript (I got all As, but I did not take may AP classes considering how many are offered at my school).
Your Assessment: Very excited to be a member of the Class of 2020!! I was expecting a little more financial aid, so I’ll have to figure something else out, whether it means working more hours, etc.
Other Acceptances/Rejections/Waitlists/Whither you plan(ned) to apply:
Applied EA to OSU (accepted), UMich (haven’t heard back yet), and UVA (haven’t heard back yet) just because I wanted to apply early to my (semi)safe schools
If I didn’t get into Dartmouth, I was going to apply to Northwestern, Duke, Tufts, Swarthmore, and Boston College