<p>hahahahahahaha</p>
<p>I’m going to be brutally honest,</p>
<p>you’re missing a life and creativity.</p>
<p>When I read your resume, I was impressed by the numbers, awards, and community service… however, I was easily bored by your lack of determination to expand your obviously some-what prodigal skills in other areas. </p>
<p>Yes, your international physics credits are incredible, your awards are fantastic. but you are TOO CENTERED around physics and math. There’s too many kids like you who are rejected.</p>
<p>Also, I’m guessing that although your essay is a great essay, it did NOT bring out creativity, or any unique qualities. Sometimes great essays are not college essays. My friend got into Harvard with a clever essay of satirizing the whole college application process. It didn’t glorify her achievements and wasn’t a “Miss America” essay, yet the admission officers loved it so much that they personally wrote her a letter. </p>
<p>ALSO, if you applied to 15 schools, there’s no way you could have given each individual school 100%. You didn’t have a focus area to work on a few schools specifically. </p>
<p>You performed well in high school… I think you might have failed to bring out a unique catch of yourself in your application.</p>
<p>maybe physics is his passion?</p>
<p>that’s a great resume, If you put down “soccer” probably u’d get in. but I don’t know why u got rejected tho. This seems to be a solid resume for even master/phD admission since you got research and everything…</p>
<p>if i were u, i would sue the entire college admission boards at every single school :D</p>
<p>probably not being well-rounded might backfire OP’s admissions chances, but nowadays, adcoms want kids with passion. They want kids that can stick on 1 or 2 activities and be able to show their most out those activities. Not meaning that being well-rounded is totally bad. But that’s how things have changed so far. So OP, don’t get too discouraged. You’re looking good.</p>
<p>stressed0ut, yes, I agree with you, the fact that I only showed one side of me was what kept me out. My essay did try to show a more humane side of me, but even that one was centered around a physics contest. Although I had several other activities, “physics” was written all over my resume. Also, my recs were good, but nothing really special. Here we study all high-school with the same teachers so they get to know us very well, they liked and respected me, but didn’t show it in the recs.
You are also right about not individualizing the application for each school. I basically used the same essays everywhere (even the “why here?” ones)</p>
<p>Anyway, participating in physics Olympiads was more than a passion, it pretty much was my life. Not in dull nerdy way, but in an exciting and motivating one (even my girlfriend was into this…it is what eventually got us together). But I didn’t really show my passion for physics, I just sounded like a robot.</p>
<p>Although I still believe I had a pretty good application, I accept it was my fault.</p>
<p>Anyway, I changed quite a lot of the app this year, and here I am now admitted at Brown.</p>
<p>Happy end, no?</p>
<p>Better than a happy ending!</p>
<p>You’ve surpassed a hard obstacle and learned from it… congratulations! :)</p>
<p>i’m happy for you</p>