I applied as an Education major to all 3 schools. (ED to Vandy, EA to UMich, and RD to BU)
From IL. First-gen, Mexican male from a low-income neighborhood.
Attend a highly selective public school in my city.
Stats:
SAT 1460
ACT 31
GPA 3.95 UW/5.00 W (No class rank)
Classes:
APUSH - 4
AP Psych - 4
AP Spanish Lang - 5
AP Calc AB
AP Stats
AP English Lang
Rest were honors
(Straight As except for Bs in APUSH)
ECs:
Citywide choir all of HS (auditioned), also in a smaller auditioned ensemble within the choir
President of school a cappella club
Tutor/Member of Recruitment Committee of a 501c3 organization
Co-founder of mentorship program
Freshman Mentor
Spanish Honor Society
School Chamber Choir
Paid after school choir (fresh+soph year)
Volunteered at a children’s clinic for a summer
Awards:
Honor Roll all 4 years of high school
Principal’s Scholar all 4 years of high school (4.75+ GPA)
AP Scholar
Ranked perfect score for a singing competition
Letters of Rec:
Junior year math teacher - Hard, accelerated math class (advanced alegbra w/ trig and precalculus) that only ~30 kids take every year, did well in her class and got to know her pretty well (pretty solid rec)
Junior year English teacher - One of the only kids who participated in her class, not as close to her as I could have been, but she liked me
Choir teacher - Knew her all of HS, could write a solid rec on my growth as a student
Essays:
I had all of my essays edited by an English teacher who runs the writing center at my school. Also had a few family members and friends make suggestions on them.
Personal Statement - How I got interested in education. I wrote about coming from a low-income neighborhood where students are neglected and how that made me want to become a teacher (change the norm of disregarding the youth in my neighborhood)
Vandy Supp - Wrote about choir and the musical education it gave me and how it made me more open minded and an informed global citizen (taking that open mindset to vandy). Also talked about continuing my singing at vandy.
UMich Supps -
Community essay: Talked about co-founding a mentorship program for under resourced neighborhoods.
Why UMich: Well researched essay w/ more anecdotes on why I want to pursue education (connected anecdotes to UMich’s programs)
BU:
Also a well researched essay, pretty much the same as my Why UMich essay but with BU specific programs.