Wes is my top choice right now but I’m applying RD because money, curiosity about other acceptances, Oberlin giving out free t-shirts, etc. I’m an upper middle class white girl from PA but I go to a large inner city high school with an 80% poverty rate. Here’s my stats (sorry in advance for length):
GPA: 5.017 W 4.0 UW
ACT: 35 (36 reading, 36 English, 33 math, 34 science)
Class Rank: 1/500
APs: English Lang 5, German 5, APUSH 5, APES 5, Comp Sci Principles 4, World History 4, AP Calc 2 (not reporting that one lol)
Currently taking: AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Macroecon, AP US gov, AP Stats, AP music theory (independent study), German translation (independent study I created w/ my teacher)
Taken three online dual enrollment classes with my local community college, 2 of them over the summer. DE Comp Sci C++, DE intro Art History, DE Cultural Geography
Intended major: Creative writing and German
Future Plans: Writer and German literary translator
My essay is about how going to German immersion camp the summer before 9th grade made me more willing to accept weakness, both within my characters and myself. It’s not the best thing I’ve ever written but I’m working on it.
I had a really great alumni interview with Wes. We both geeked out about musical theater and I felt like I covered all of my interests and passions, so that should be a mark in my favor.
My teacher recs: From my German teacher, who will probably talk about how I put my phone in German, watched Netflix and Peppa Pig in German, read Harry Potter in German, and pushed her to have immersion days in class, and how I am taking an independent study in German translation with her right now. Every other student who took AP German with her got a one, but I got a five. She’s known me all four years.
From my APES teacher: I promised her I would be her first five and I studied really hard and got it, so she’ll probably mention that. Also, once I put a lot of extra research in for a project on population pyramids and sent her a long email about Samoa’s interesting population problems (it’s one of the most obese nations in the world! People are migrating out of there because there’s no jobs available which is bringing the population down!) She also knows me in the context of NHS, which I am president of. She’s known me two years.
From my calc teacher: She’s also my Odyssey coach, my Relay for Life advisor, and basically the woman who runs the entire school. I’ve known her all four years, and she’s seen me in the context of many leadership positions. She also “taught” me AP Comp Sci Principles (that class was a mess) and I was one of two people who actually completed the project and got a four despite learning nothing in the class. We’re tight, I’m pretty sure she’s going to write me a solid rec.
Honors:
AP Scholar w/ Distinction, national honor society, German honor society, math honor society, distinguished honor roll
Summers:
Creative writing program at local Penn State campus
Four week creative writing workshop at Summer@Brown
New York State Summer Young Writers Program at Skidmore College, which only accepts 40 students
I was an exhibit guide this past summer at a local science center
Activities:
Club founder/president 11th, 12th: Club devoted to empowering students at my school within their school, community, and world. Created successful alumni profiles for 20+ alumni and counting, organized voter reg drive, organized assembly w/ PA state congressional candidates. I originally founded the club because I joined the ACLU and POWER Northeast in tenth grade and wanted to make community social justice spaces more accessible to teenagers.
Chorale 10th, 11th, 12th: Select show choir/a capella group. Ca 50 community performances per year, yearly community service trip to US city. We were finalists for the Varsity Most Spirited High School Choir and we backed Barry Manilow last year (he looks like an elf king)
Odyssey of the Mind 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th Team captain: I planned meetings, wrote scripts, directed/performed in skits, created costumes/backdrops/props. We built a theremin and made ferrofluid from my eyeliner.
Theater 9,10,11,12: Was part of every show at my school. Officer for the drama club which organizes theater activities.
Varsity Tennis 9,10,11,12: Played top doubles position and went to districts in 11th grade.
Participated in a study with Lehigh University in 10th and 11th where I talked to high functioning autistic students during lunch every week to help them improve their conversational skills.
Construction Company 9,10,11,12: We plan and fund improvements to our school. I managed social media and PR. While I was part of the club we restored murals and built the baseball team’s first dugouts.
Other activities: NHS president, class president, choir, orchestra, relay for life, environmental club (we collect recycling for the school because our school can’t afford to hire someone to do it), SADD, PTSA student rep. I also am a Crucifer, Lector, and Sunday School attendant at my church.
Oh, and I’m a classically trained soprano who’s taken voice lessons for six years, so I’m submitting a music supplement which my voice teacher thinks will be a boost to my app. I was also one of three cast members in a new chancel opera at my church this fall. I learned difficult music (tritones are the worst!) and went through about three months of rehearsals before appearing alongside two professional opera singers and getting paid $300.
Thanks for reading!