Congratulations! My D22 is a rising senior at UCLA and has had an amazing experience. She’s grown so much, made lovely friends and received a wonderful education. Have a great time!
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Congrats from one Bruin to another!
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I guess from my perspective, it looks like you applied to a well-balanced list, got a variety of great offers to consider, then picked what I assume was your favorite.
So to me that seems like a good strategy that paid off!
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S25 - CA, 4.0 GPA, 1580 SAT, 13 APs, applied - CS Major, spike - STEM ECs including national awards, varsity sports, community service, internship, strong recommendations
Accepted - CSUs, all UCs except UC Berkeley, Brown, CMU, USC, UIUC, GaTech
Waitlisted - Harvard, Cornell, UMich
Rejected - Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, UPenn, UT Austin
Attending - CMU
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What does CA stand for?
Most likely this means that the student is a California resident, because the post mentions California state schools (CSUs and UCs).
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Thank you!
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S25 Magnet Program, 1 B on transcript (when applied) IS Maryland, Engineering Major, lackluster ECs.
14APs plus MV Cal
SAT 1520 (780 math)
UMD >>>> Accepted/Attending Scholars
Georgia Tech>>>> Rejected
VT>>> withdrew (UMD was first choice)
Pitt >>> Accepted with $20k annual scholarship plus Honors
UDEL>>> Accepted with $17k annual Scholarship. Withdrew while Honors was being announced. Not selected for Honors in first round.
PSU>>> Accepted
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^my chance me with stats
accepted: MIT ea
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My daughter’s results:
Stats:
4.0 unweighted (actually 4.2 on a 4.3 scale, but my sense is most understand a 4.0 UW scale better!)
1570 SAT (790 V/780 M)
Full IB diploma
ECs:
Co-captain varsity equestrian team, represented team at Nationals Finals
Hiking (including completion of New England 67)
Completed independent research project on energy sustainability at her school, culminating in presentation to Board of Directors as well as 90 minute presentation to school and community members
Resident Assistant at Boarding school jr and sr year
Tour Guide for her school
Peer Tutor
Community Service including trail maintenance work to build and maintain sustainable trails
Chorus and a capella group
Summer job as counselor at science museum camp
Results:
*Applied as Chemical Engineering major to all schools
UNH - accepted to Honors College with $20k merit per year
UDel - accepted with $13k merit per year
Clemson - accepted with merit (amount not released)
Cornell - accepted ED!
UVA - withdrew
UMich - withdrew
Univ. of Washington - withdrew
UMass Amherst - withdrew
Edit to add:
Awards: NMSF, Rural and Small town award, Math student of year award (10 and 11), history student of year awards (10), foreign language student of year award (11)
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D26:
Suburban highly competitive public HS
GPA: 4.0 UW/ 4.98 weighted
Class rank: 1 / 250
SAT: 1580 (800 math/ 780 R/W)
ECs: Field Hockey- 3 yr varsity, various volunteer organizations, president school clubs, NASA project/competition
Summer internships: UConn research with professors (on something that I dont understand even after 100 explanations)
Awards: multiple Latin awards, NMSF (1510/1520 PSAT)
Results:
Brown - ED accepted
UConn - auto admit
Case Western - deferred.
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D26
First Generation, lower income
Title 1 Urban public high school
Full IB diploma, 4 APs, 4 dual enrollment courses
3.8UW/4.3W
34 ACT
EC’s:
Theater
Volunteer at Historical Museum
Creative writing (published in literary magazines, writing club at school)
Quiz bowl
Internship at county government agency
Tennis
Accepted to:
Ohio State EA
Dartmouth ED
Had to withdraw applications to over 20 colleges that she applied to in advance of ED acceptance, which was a bit painful after all of that essay writing!
She applied to several fly in programs, which helped her decide where she wanted to apply ED. She was accepted to Dartmouth Bound, offered the virtual program at Williams and was wait-listed at Bowdoin’s fly in program. She is very excited to attend Dartmouth in the fall, and relieved to know where she is going early on in the process!
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- AZ Resident
- Small rigorous public charter school
- 3.59 UW GPA, 4.3 W GPA. 1 C- in honors physics in 11th grade.
- 27 ACT super score, something like an 1170 SAT.
- 12 AP classes, took & passed 11 AP exams (mix of 3’s and 4’s).
- due to a lot of health problems in 10th grade, missed over a month of school but was still able to maintain good GPA. This was mentioned in the ‘Responsibilities & Circumstances’ part of Common App. Pretty sure counselor mentioned it also in counselor LOR.
- Mixed bag of ECs: VEX Robotics 1 yr, mock trial for 1 yr, NHS, TA senior yr for an English teacher, worked 16 yr/week at Walmart junior through senior yr. Health issues in 10th grade limited ability to do a lot with time-intensive extracurriculars.
- AP Scholar with Distinction, National Recognition Program’s School Recognition Award + some high school-specific awards
Only 4 colleges were selected to apply to based on very specific criteria. Those criteria were:
- cost
- strength in major. Specifically, was the school listed as an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in cybersecurity? See https://www.nsa.gov/Academics/Centers-of-Academic-Excellence/ for more info.
- major doesn’t require chemistry, physics, or 1.5 yr of Calculus + Linear Algebra
- not too cold in winter
- not too far away from home, which was defined as “no more than ~ 2-ish hour plane ride”
- ease of getting internships in her field + good job placement #s at or after graduation
Accepted:
- University of Arizona (Cyber Operations-Defense & Forensics emphasis major): $6000/yr merit scholarship + accepted into honors college. Tuition+room+board after scholarship (+ factoring extra $600/semester for honors fees) = $23,870. Applied test optional.
- University of Tulsa (Cyber Security major): $24,000/yr scholarship. ACT/SAT not high enough to compete for their presidential scholarship. Tuition+room+board after scholarship = $42,266
- UT-San Antonio (Cyber Intelligence major): $18,650/yr merit scholarship (includes waiving of OOS tuition) + accepted into honors college. Tuition+room+board after scholarship = $21,618
- University of the Incarnate Word (Cyber Security Systems major): $17,000/yr scholarship. Tuition+room+board after scholarship = $32,740
WL: 0
Rejected: 0
Attending:
University of Arizona! Go Wildcats!
D26 liked Tulsa, but tuition+room+board at U of A is half the cost. Plus, D26 said U of A ‘feels like home.’ AND U of A also has an ‘Intelligence & Information Operations’ major that she wants to double major in. AND it looks like she’ll get 40 units of course credit from her AP exams, so will almost be a 2nd semester sophomore when she starts.
UT-San Antonio would also have been a solid choice to attend since San Antonio is a big cybersecurity hub (NSA has a big data center in San Antonio) and its program is really solid. But considering airfare & related travel costs, U of A still ends up, overall, to be the less expensive option and it has the Intelligence major that D26 is also really interested in.
Schools considered by chose to not apply:
- University of Alabama-Huntsville - D26 didn’t want to live in Alabama
- UT-Dallas - D26 said it “felt like an office park” there and “didn’t like the vibe.”
- ASU - “too big” and “too close to home”
- UNLV - D26 said, “Yuck. I don’t want to live in Las Vegas for 4 yr.”
- a couple of colleges in FL - “that’s too far away”
- University of Colorado, Colorado Springs - “too cold”
- University of Utah - “too cold” and “I don’t want to live in Utah”
- NMSU & UNM - “I don’t want to live in New Mexico.” Both of these colleges have NSA Centers of Academic Excellence programs in cybersecurity and meet all of the other key criteria, but neither school fit the vibe check for D26.
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Although C26 hasn’t decided on where to attend yet, results are pretty much in. All applications were rolling or EA.
stats:
3.4 GPA at time of applying - very poor freshman year due to late ADHD diagnosis, explained in counselor letter & additional info sections (not all schools take rec letters). Junior year GPA ~3.8. 2 honors, 3 APs (mostly math & sciences) - below average for competitive Bay Area high school as IEP focused on improving grades before adding rigor.
SAT 1500 (740V/760M), one sitting. NM commended.
Rec letter from physics teacher (2 years) - judging from teacher feedback to us we expect it was strong.
Average ECs, but overall showcased creativity and interest in STEAM, also art/science summer camp counselor. A few state & national Latin awards. Despite poor start to high school, life CSF member (sealbearer). School arts distinction award.
Major: architecture. Did a summer program at SLO - not selective, but intensive program (6 days a week for 4 weeks) - confirmed interest in subject and also gave some great essay material. Didn’t apply anywhere a portfolio was required. Not always clear how competitive architecture was vs overall admit rate, so other than ASU (auto admit on grades) we didn’t label anything a safety.
Results in the order they came in:
ASU (safety) - admitted BSD Architectural Studies, $15500 p.a. merit
Pitt (target/low reach - collegevine put this at 27% probability, but looked like a target on Maia) - admitted BS Architecture
UIC (target) - admitted BS Architecture, “over $8000” p.a. merit
Boulder (target) - admitted BEnvD, architecture
UMN (target) - deferred, oof. (BS on pre architecture track)
UIUC (reach) - admitted, BS Architectural Studies.
Current shortlist to be visited: Pitt, Boulder, UIUC.
The journey of low GPA/high SAT has been interesting and I’m planning to write a more detailed post about that that may be of use/interest to other “lopsided” applications.
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D26 started her recruitment journey spring of sophomore year and focused exclusively on highly rejective D3 schools. She ended up with three fully coach supported offers, committed to NYU ED1. She applied to our state flagship and a BS/MD program EA in case she didn’t get into her ED1 school and not pursue college athletics. She had a plan for ED2 and RD backups for her sport as well.
Demographics
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Gender: Female
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Race/Ethnicity: Asian
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Residence: Michigan
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Type of School: Public
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Hooks: Recruited Athlete
Intended Major(s): Global Public Health/Science
Academics
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GPA (UW/W): 4.0UW/4.38W
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# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 11 APs [US History (4), Chemistry (5), Biology (5), Microeconomics (4), Gov (5), Spanish (3), English Lang (4), Psychology, Calc BC, Macroeconomics], 11 Honors
Standardized Testing
- ACT: 34 (35E, 34M, 35R, 32S)
Extracurriculars/Activities
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Sport (4 year Varsity Letterman, Club, Captain, Senior Year)
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Volunteer at nonprofit for homeless youth
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NHS
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Student Council Member
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Volunteer Coach
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Paid Coach
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Volunteer Lab Assistant
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Volunteer Summer Research Assistant (Contributed to published journal abstract)
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Mu Alpha Theta
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National Spanish Honor Society
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Link Crew
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Varsity Club
Awards/Honors
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College Board AP Scholar with Distinction
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College Board National Recognition
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Academic All County
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Faculty Art Award
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NISCA All American (to be conferred in July 2026)
Applications
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NYU ED1 (accepted and attending)
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University of Michigan (withdrew)
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Case Western Reserve University Pre Professional Scholar Program (withdrew)
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Thanks for posting! (yeah, I’m 5 months late in seeing the post)
Would be interesting to see the specific details about ECs and awards… these are the types of results that are both great (lots of excellent college acceptances) and frustrating (perfect academics/tests, really superb ECs yet still rejected or waitlisted from 9 colleges.
D26:
High school – small private school in Atlanta suburbs, class of 118 students
Unweighted GPA – 95.84 out of 100. Weighted GPA – 99.19
SAT – 1560 (800 English, 760 Math), one sitting sophomore year
National Merit Finalist (1510/1520)
AP classes – US History (5), Calc AB (5), Physics 1 (5), Calc BC, Bio, Literature (school limits to six total). Most everything else honors level.
Extracurriculars and Awards:
–Marching band from 7th through 12th grade, band president this year, woodwind section captain last two years
–Lead and supporting roles in several theatre productions
–Costume lead in winter musical last year, costume assistant in previous years. Includes sewing costumes from scratch and creating spreadsheet to plan and track complicated quick changes
–Symphonic band all four years, first chair clarinet this year, several concerts and LGPE, district honor band, honor band at UGA’s Janfest
–Founder of Foundation for Hospital Art club (painting multi-panel canvases to donate to hospitals)
–Other clubs: Jazz club, Chess club, Service club that tutors kids and offers homework help in underprivileged communities
–Lots of creative hobbies such as crochet, sewing, etc. Entered Duck Brand’s Stuck on Prom duct tape prom dress scholarship contest
–Honor societies: NHS, Latin, Math, Science, English, Music
–Two gold and two silver medals on National Latin Exam
–Other awards such as Overall Outstanding Sophomore Girl and Woodwind Player of the Year (11th), UVA’s Jefferson Book Award for a student who embodies creativity and innovation
–Year-long project in STEM Seminar this year to create a mobile app that gamifies various self-care and mental health wellness tasks
Major: New Media Design or similar art/tech blend. She wants to work in UX/UI or game design.
Schools strongly considered but did not apply – RPI, Stevens, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell
Results:
Pitt – accepted rolling to honors college, $15K merit, COA about $48K
Georgia Tech – accepted EA1, free tuition with in-state merit, accepted to honors program LLC, COA about $20K (ATTENDING)
Miami Ohio – accepted EA to honors college, competed for presidential scholarship (did not get), $45K merit, COA about $20K
RIT – accepted EA, about $36K stacked merit, COA about $45K
UT Dallas – accepted rolling, NMSF full ride, COA roughly free (plus flights and some living expenses)
WPI – accepted EA, $38K merit, COA about $47K
Davidson – waitlisted
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High school – public small school in NY
Unweighted GPA – 99.45 out of 100.
SAT – 1490 one sitting
extracurricular - tutor for 5 years, some clubs in school, summer work.
Major - Marketing
RESULTS
UMASS - Isenberg School of Management Honors -$20000 merit
UConn - $20,000 merit
University of New Hamshire - $20,000 merit
George Washington University - $33,000 merit
Fordham - $25,000 merit
Binghamton - The School of Management Honor (EY) instate with $2000 merit.
Babson, Northeastern - waitlisted
waiting for BU, NYU but not hopeful.
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GPA UW/W: 3.42/3.6
SAT: 1480 (750 M/730 EBRW)
Demographics: Asian female, middle-class, CA resident
Major: Biochemistry and Bioinformatics
ECs: Tulane Pre-College Program (w/ professor LoR), APISU Ambassador, registered AKC dog handler, 5 years of club volleyball on travel team, volunteered at nursing home as elderly companion, firefighting camp: CPR certified
Addt’l info: Hospitalized for 5 months between sophomore and summer going into junior year, 2 school transfers, undiagnosed ADHD until August 2025, very physically impaired (underweight, hypotension, borderline anemic), heavily medicated.
Essays: All essays received scores of 89-95/100 based on peer reviews of admissions officers and counselors (so exceptionally strong basically).
Results:
Accepted: Baylor ($80k merit), Texas A&M, LSU ($82k merit so far), CU Boulder, UH Mānoa, UC Merced, TCU
Waitlisted: UMiami
Deferred: USC
Rejected: UT Austin, UNC Chapel Hill, UW Madison, UF, UMD, UMich, UW, Tulane ED1, Emory ED2, UGA, UVA, UCR, UCSC, UCD, UCSB, UCI, UCSD, UCLA
Still Waiting: USC, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, Brown, Rice
Side note: Don’t let college decisions define you and go where you are wanted. Everything will be fine if you just believe in yourself.
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