My son applied for Mech Engg at CMU. He has been waitlisted.
Decision: Accepted
Applied to which school/college: MCS and DC (Science and Humanities Scholars Program)
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 670 CR 720 M 700 W (2090)
ACT: 29 (did not send)
SAT II: 750 Biology 680 Math I
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/128
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology, AP US History, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus
IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered at my school
Senior Year Course Load: Medical Law and Ethics, Anatomy and Physiology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Government, Economics, Spanish 5, English, Chorus, Gym, and Health Careers Exploration, Senior Success Seminar
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President), Science Olympiad (President), Drama Club (Director), Key Club, Origami Club (Vice President), Green Team, Varsity Tennis, Varsity Swim, FBLA, Peer Mentoring
Job/Work Experience: Tutoring Algebra and Geometry, Babysitting
Volunteer/Community service: Mission Trips to Nicaragua, Mission Trip to D.C., Volunteer at Assisted Living Facility, Hospital Volunteer
Summer Activities: Assisted Living Facility, Hospital Volunteer, Language Immersion Program in Spain, Physics Researcher at State University
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9 It was well written and the topic was very personal. Definitely a unique story that expressed my maturity. My supplement wasn’t the greatest, but hey it got me in!
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10 They were all amazing.
Teacher Rec #1: Incredible. He was my Science Olympiad coach for four years and taught AP Physics.
Teacher Rec #2: Teacher of the medical program I am in at the hospital.
Counselor Rec: Good.
Additional Rec: Amazing. Drama Club Advisor and has been working with my since freshman year. She appointed me to Lead Director as a Junior.
Interview: It could not have gone any better. We clicked instantly. She commended my articulation and poise. I even played with her cats.
Other
State: New York
School Type: Rural Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >100,000
Hooks: First Generation College
Reflection
Strengths: Extracurriculars, Recommendations, Essays
Weaknesses: Test Scores, Lack of APs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays and Extracurriculars
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted to Emory, RPI, Geneseo, McGill, Alabama, Boston College, and Union College
Rejected at Georgetown, Duke, and Vanderbilt.
General Comments: I am really really happy about my acceptance. CMU seems like a great school and I look forward to visiting in about two weeks. Good luck to everyone!
@collegedadoftwo - Turns out that FAFSA does not include home equity in their formula, but CMU does.
That is a problem for anyone like us who is cash poor but equity “rich.” Doesn’t really matter if there is equity to tap into if the monthly income doesn’t allow for repayment.
Get the quad app and join the carnegie Mellon class of 2019 discussion
@Shoshonte We are in the same boat. We are not even that equity rich, and our yearly income we bring home is about the same as a year at CMU, so don’t really understand their thinking.
Does anybody know if merit aid for CIT was released yet? Or has that already come out with financial aid?
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I’m a little confused about the wait list. Is everybody who gets wait listed offered a spot on the priority wait list, or are some people only offered to be on the regular wait list?
@majorkyra if it’s like last year, some people only offered regular wait-list, and have a lesser chance of being admitted
oh ok, thanks!
Does anyone know the chances of being admitted from the priority wait list?
Here’s something I found on the CMU website regarding numbers admitted (including waitlist stuff): http://www.cmu.edu/ira/CDS/pdf/cds_2014-15/c-first-time-first-year-admission.pdf
In short, in the 2014-2015 academic year, CMU offered waitlist spots to 3,104 students, with 1,630 students opting in, and 73 students ultimately admitted. The waitlist is ranked.
Probably a common question but I’m confused about this:
Do I have to enroll if I’m admitted off the priority waitlist?
When you sign up on the priority waitlist, you agree that you will enroll if offered admission.
@"Cardinal Fang" But I’ve read that it’s not legally binding?
I don’t know about you, @topimpabutterfly, but my word is my bond. I don’t say I’m going to do something, knowing that I won’t. For me, this is a matter of character.
You may be happy signing your name promising to enroll if offered, knowing that you would feel free to disregard that promise if you felt like it. Others would be uncomfortable offering empty promises.
@"Cardinal Fang" Yeah I’m just confused about that because its not binding but at the same time you’re agreeing to enroll if you’re admitted? Another question I have is, how long are you allowed after the decision if you’re admitted to make your deposit? Are you only given hours, or is there a specific date?
@topimpabutterfly
If you take a place on the priority wait list, you are saying that CMU is your first choice. If you get accepted off the wait list, you have to pay $800 regardless of your decision, and you have 3 days to decide whether you want to go to CMU. The information is on the website, somewhere.
Not true re paying 800 if you decide to pass on their offer re priority waitlist. They’ll just go to the next person, they’ll have no trouble filling that seat. It’s likely that they’ll look at each priority waitlist candidate and offer first to those that either didn’t apply for fin aid or they are confident will pay. CMU is not making any promises here, nor can they expect a student to make a promise. If you gift priority waitlist and want to keep your options open, go ahead and accept this “generous” offer.
Has anyone appealed financial aid yet? I had a question about the form. It says additional pages should be enclosed for comments but what types of comments should be added?