Class of 2013 Official RD Decision Thread

musicalnotes · March 12, 2009, 6:34pm

**Decision: Accepted! **

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I: didn’t take
[] SAT IIs: 770 (Chemistry), 740 (Math 2)
[] ACT: 33 (11-writing)
[] GPA: >3.8 (UW), 3.93-ish (W) - I’m not too sure about these, though.
[] Rank: Top 10%
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: Personal
[] Teacher Recs: 1 (good, I think)
[] Counselor Rec: Impersonal, but good… I think.
[] Hook (if any): Visiting?
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[] State or Country: Michigan
[] School Type: Top Public School
[] Ethnicity: Half-Asian
[] Gender: F
[] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: Hm… who knows.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Some balance of qualification and luck.[/li][/ul]Other Factors: Good EC’s
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: I was pretty surprised that I got in, to be honest. I guess we’ll see what happens with Northwestern and Duke, but hopefully I’ll see some of you on campus next year! Congratulations to the accepted, and best of luck to the waitlisted.

alikatsa · March 12, 2009, 6:36pm

Oh, and rjacob,
I just recieved an e-mail about my admissions. Then I checked on their application status page and it was also posted. It said I should be recieving things in the mail soon.
Hope that answers your question!

blackbelt_926 · March 12, 2009, 7:54pm

Decision: ACCEPTED

Stats:

<pre><code>* SAT I: 2310

SAT IIs: 800 Math II
ACT: 35
GPA: 3.85sh
Rank: 60/520sh
</code></pre>

Subjective:

<pre><code>* Essays: probably two of the best essays I’ve written in a loong time.

Teacher Recs: Peeked at one of them (same rec letter as national merit), it was pretty strong.
Counselor Rec: Extremely good :), she’s the sponsor for one of my clubs and a pretty cool person.
Hook (if any): President & Founder of school HOSA, Missouri HOSA State president, I had a lot of stuff (essay, extracurriculars, etc.) relating to growing up as a Muslim in post-9/11 America.
</code></pre>

Location/Person:

<pre><code>* State or Country: Missouri

School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: male
Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: I’m pretty sure my class rank/GPA was a big weakness, but I guess my essays made up for it.
</code></pre>

Other Factors: Good EC’s I think.
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Wash U’s pretty expensive, so I don’ t know if I’ll go. This does make me feel a TON better after getting rejected by MU for the Mizzou Scholars award (didn’t even get an interview)

heygirlhey_1 · March 12, 2009, 8:02pm

Decision: ACCEPTED!!

Edit: Arts and Sciences

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2210 (700 CR, 780 M, 730 W)
[] SAT IIs: Math II 710, Lit 680, Physics 660
[] ACT: 32
[] GPA: 3.9 weighted and 3.6 UW
[] Rank: Not listed (but probs approx 30/400?)
[] Other stats: 5’s on AP Calc BC and AB sub, AP US Gov and Pol, and AP English Lang
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: Good? English teacher and parent liked.
[] Teacher Recs: Good, I assume?
[] Counselor Rec: Good also? I don’t know her really well…
[] Hook (if any): Part time job where I got promoted and got my manager to write me a rec
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[] State or Country: CT
[] School Type: Hilariously (wait can I use that as an adverb?) Competitive Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: My strengths are that I work a lot at a part time job in management so I’m pretty disciplined in a town where NOBODY’s disciplined and I have pretty nice AP scores. Weaknesses are that I’m a white male applying from a competitive public school in Connecticut with a lower-than-average GPA and MUCH lower-than-average SAT II’s…
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Good essay? Good extra rec? Showed a lot of interest? Computer mistake on their end?
[/ul]
**General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: AHH!!! I love WashU and I’m SHOCKED but SO excited!! I’m hearing from twelve more schools (ironically NOT including HYPS) and I haven’t visited yet so I’m not 100% on WashU but I LOVE what I’ve seen in all their (numerous) mail blasts and I’ve heard SO many great things. **

Jinxed · March 12, 2009, 8:15pm

Decision: ACCEPTED

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I:2230
[] GPA: W: 4.18
[] Rank: not ranked
[] Other stats: Did a lot of flute playing in ensembles and local and state honor bands, volunteered a little for hospitals…
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: Slaved over them…one of the few things that wasn’t complete crap
[] Teacher Recs: Average
[] Counselor Rec: Average
[] Hook (if any):…not that i can think of…just shocked that i got in…i liked my essays mostly and maybe flute playing? but other than that…not much to brag about

[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[] State or Country: CA
[] School Type: according to newsweek, one of the top public high schools in the nation, apparently
[] Ethnicity: F
[] Gender: Chinese
[] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: Average in most categories a strength and weakness in itself
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied:…a mistake in their hardware?
[/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: OMG OMG OMG. SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY WHOA…<= end of incoherent ramblings. but to tell you the truth, i was expecting a complete rejection…

wilbest04 · March 12, 2009, 8:22pm

**Decision: Waitlisted **

Stats: Olin Business[ul]
[] SAT I: None
[] SAT IIs: 800 Math, 800 U.S, 780 Chemistry
[] ACT: 35
[] GPA: 4.69/4.0 UW
[] Rank: Top 1%
[] Other stats:
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: Great- wrote about my immigrant parents
[] Teacher Recs: Good
[] Counselor Rec: Good
[] Hook (if any): 2 sport varsity Athlete (3 years), Leader in community service
[/ul][ b]Location/Person:[ul]
[] State or Country: IL
[] School Type: Large Public (class of 710)
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: See above two items
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Based on our school’s acceptance history from 04-08, the “over-qualified” factor played in. I fell right into the wait list range of stats. I also asked for Financial Aid. I applied for 2 merit scholarships, visited/interviewed, but that wasn’t enough.
[/ul][ b]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:

AveryJessa · March 12, 2009, 8:30pm

Decision: ACCEPTED College of Arts & Sciences

Stats:

<pre><code>* SAT I (by section): 740 M 740 CR 700 W

SAT IIs: 750 Math II 700 Lit
APs: English Language-5 Spanish Language-5
GPA: 4.5/5.0 W 3.9/4.0 UW
Rank: school doesn’t rank but prolly top 10%
</code></pre>

Subjective:

<pre><code>* ECs listed on app: National Honor Society, Chamber Orchestra, School Newspaper, Library Volunter, Democrats of Westport volunteer, etc…

Job/Work Experience: 2 years at baskin robbins< summer internship at local newspapers
Essays (subject and responses): what its like to have curly hair
Teacher Recs: good
Counselor Rec: good
Hook (if any): one of five in highest level spanish class, summer journalism internship
</code></pre>

Location/Person:

<pre><code>* State or Country: CT

School Type: Competitive Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: creative essay topic, showed a lot of interest
</code></pre>

lady.padfoot · March 12, 2009, 8:40pm

Decision: ACCEPTED!

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2240
[] SAT IIs: 800 bio, 800 math 2, 760 french
[] ACT: n/a
[] GPA: 3.97 uw, 4.6 w
[] Rank: 4 / ~400
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: not that great
[] Teacher Recs: dunno
[] Counselor Rec: dunno
[] Hook (if any):
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[] State or Country: ca
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: chinese
[] Gender: f
[] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: strengths - good grades, test scores, work; weaknesses - extracurriculars arent that great
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: honestly, i have no idea[/li][/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:

Peytoncline · March 12, 2009, 9:14pm

wilbest04, I had stats very similar to your’s (look at my post on the previous page), and I got wait listed too… i want to believe it’s because of being “overqualified,” but I can’t know for sure until my other decisions come in (MIT this Saturday and the Ivies on March 31)

nemz1e · March 12, 2009, 9:26pm

what the hell has anyone been outright rejected?

Jeap13 · March 12, 2009, 9:29pm

**Decision: Accepted **

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I: CR 800 W 780 M 690
[] SAT IIs: French Language 760, English Literature 790
[] ACT: Math 33, Science 34, Writing 35, Reading 36. Composite: 35 (if superscored, which Wash U apparently does)
[] GPA: 4.0 UW
[] Rank: School doesn’t rank
[] Other stats: AP Human Geography 5, AP World History 5, AP Psychology 5, AP French Language 5, AP US History 5 (this year AP Calc AB, AP English Lit, AP Environmental Science, AP US Government and Politics, AP Comparative Government and Politics)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: I can’t exactly judge the quality of my own essay
[] Teacher Recs: There’s a reason this section is labeled “subjective”…
[] Counselor Rec: —
[] Hook (if any): None
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[] State or Country: Kentucky
[] School Type: Competitive Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: Languages; international perspective/outlook. Weak SAT Math, but hopefully A+'s in four semesters of Math (Algebra II, Pre Calc, AB Calc) since sophomore year help balance it out
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Not exactly sure.
[/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: I wish I had stumbled across this community earlier! You all seem really close-knit, witty, and insightful. I’ve found a lot of interesting and helpful information on these boards!

i_see_the_moon · March 12, 2009, 10:17pm

Decision: Waitlisted

Stats:
SAT I: CR 690 W 710 M 740
SAT IIs: Spanish Language 720, Biology 700, Math II 710
ACT: didn’t take
GPA: 3.98 UW/4.5 W at time of application; 3.94/4.51 at end of first sem.
Rank: top 5%
Other stats: AP Euro 4, AP Stat 4, APUSH 5, AP Lang 5, will take Calc, Chem, Lit, Gov, Econ, and Enviro this year.
Subjective:
Essays: all right
Teacher Recs: one excellent, one good
Counselor Rec: excellent
Hook (if any): None
Location/Person:
State or Country: FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: Test scores and major (biosciences----that plus pre-med+Asian=screwed) were weaknesses, but interesting EC’s weren’t
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: See above
Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Not surprised; I figured I would be waitlisted here because of the reasons above. And no finaid so I most likely will remove my name. Congrats to all who were accepted!!!

cinnamon9724 · March 12, 2009, 10:33pm

**Decision: Accepted **

Stats:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2350
[] SAT IIs: 800 Math II, 750 Chem, 750 World History
[] ACT: 35
[] GPA: 4.0
[] Rank: 1
[] Other stats: 5 on AP Calc BC, AP World History, AP US History, 4 on AP Language
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: best I could do
[] Teacher Recs: should have been good (not allowed to read them)
[] Counselor Rec: see above
[] Hook (if any): NONE
[/ul]Location/Person:[list]
[] State or Country: Illinois
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female

Congrats to all accepted and good luck to the many on the waiting list!

MyPseudonym · March 12, 2009, 11:04pm

(sorry mine isn’t flashy. the font-change code wasn’t working and I’m not internet-code savvy)
Decision: ACCEPTED!! =D

Stats:
*SAT I: first round: M-750, CR-770, W-730. 2nd time: M-800, CR-800, W-710 (I heard writing didn’t matter quite as much as the other two and consequently studied less for W the second go round. …And by less I mean not at all haha)
*SAT IIs: Math Level 2: 800, World History: 740. I also got a 780 on Physics but WUSTL didn’t hear about that
*GPA: something like 3.89 unweighted, 4.65 weighted. Basically 2 B’s in 11th grade but a bunch of AP classes.
*Rank: 11/271 weighted, 28/271 unweighted (I’m under the impression that my county’s school system is extremely good)
*Other stats: AP tests: Five 5’s, Two 4’s and One 1 (…let’s not talk about that). I’m a National Merit Finalist. I’m a Presidential Scholar Qualifier (btw, this seems to be the simultaneously the most selective but pointless competition I’ve seen)

Subjective:

<h2>*Essays: CommonApp choose your own. I decided to include a selection of the essay because that could be more useful to any people reading than just my subjective opinion of how my essay was. Here are the first two paragraphs of my 600-ish words essay:</h2>

Sir Leonard Bernstein was the first to expose me to the idea of resonance in his Unanswered Question lectures series; he held down certain keys on the piano silently, then struck another to show how hitting a key octaves away could still make other strings vibrate “empathetically.” Subsequently, my physics teacher explained resonance from a different perspective, in a depth that had more to do with the mechanics that explained the phenomenon.

I apply this concept of resonance, this quality of eliciting response, to literature. I realize that there are many reasons to read- some that come to mind quickly are to be entertained, to inform oneself, to escape into a fantastic world, or even to challenge oneself with a “great work.” I have found that certain books happen to be remarkably effective at evoking an emotional response and provoking reflection and introspection. Looking for Alaska, John Green’s first novel, has been such a book in my life. Although I realize that its potency may not be universal, its meaningfulness to me is by no means diminished. To quote from Exup

llpitch · March 13, 2009, 2:09am

Decision: Waitlisted, Engineering

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t submit
[] ACT: 34 (34E, 35M, 34R, 33S, 10E)
[] SAT II: Didn’t submit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 / 247
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s: World Hist, Statistics, Psychology (self studied), Comp Gov (self studied) 4’s: Eng Lang, Physics B, Euro Hist. 2009 AP Exams: Calc BC (self studying BC), Econ (self studying both), Bio, US Hist, Eng Lit
[] Senior Year Course Load: Band, AP Calc AB, Spanish 3, AP Lit, AP Biology, APUSH (online)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really. Just AP Scholar with Distinction
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Band (Clarinet Section Leader, OBDA Select Band, Hawaii Honor Band twice, 7 years), Marching Band (Clarinet Section Leader, Hawaii All State Marching Band, Marched Rose Parade twice: 2006 and 2009), Mu Alpha Theta (Co-President senior year), Academic WorldQuest (Founder and Team Captain of the 4th/65 place team in Hawaii), NHS, Interact
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Just NHS and Interact
[] Summer Activities: Summer classes, band camp, I moved between my Soph and Junior years. 
[] Essays: Decent I guess. Nothing amazing.
[] Teacher Recommendation: One said I was best student of career, other was good.
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read; probably good
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: None
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yeah, but probably not getting any
[] Intended Major: Undecided
[] State (if domestic applicant): Hawaii
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Half White, Half Filipino
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 200k+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Navy brat…not like that’s even a hook lol.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: ACT, Rank, AP scores, location
[] Weaknesses: Extracurriculars, volunteer work, summers, essays
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Didn’t show any interest. lol I even forgot to apply for FA. I’m kinda glad I didn’t get accepted.[/li][/ul]General Comments: Good luck to everyone else =]

Hoony0429 · March 13, 2009, 4:17am

**Decision:Waitlisted **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I: 2200: 780 CR 740 Math 680 Writing
[] SAT IIs: 800 Math II 780 Chem 730 Latin
[] ACT: N/A
[] GPA: 4.35 weighted, 4.0 unweighted (using flat grades)
[] Rank:N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s: AP Calc BC, AP US History, AP Chemistry. 4’s:AP European History, AP Latin Vergil
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics B, AP Psychology, AP English Literature, Honors Linear Algebra/Honors Differential Equations (Semester long courses) Organic Chem/Programing.
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction?

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout), Chess Club (president), Chemistry Club, (PR manager), Football.
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Done mostly through Boy Scouts. Our troop’s requirement was at least an hour/month, but I couldn’t double dip my service hours for college apps.
[] Summer Activities: EPGY@Stanford 2007. Worked as Professorial Aide in 2008. She was working in a team making an English textbook for Korean middle-schoolers (used nation-wide, but not a monopoly). I wrote dialogues and edited the her work.
[] Essays: A reflective essay about taking a walk around the neighborhood, another one about pseudo-culture shock I experienced when I went back to Korea over the summer.
[] Teacher Recs: 1 from English teacher and another from Chem teacher. Both teacher loved me, so I would imagine they were very good. Especially the one from English teacher.
[] Counselor Rec: I would presume this was also good.
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: None
[] Hook (if any): None

[/ul]Other:[ul]

[] Financial Aid?: Yes.
[] State or Country:CA
[] School Type:Private. Ultra competitive -_-
[] Ethnicity:Asian
[] Gender:male
[] Income Bracket: Low enough to warrant me applying for a financial aid.
[] Perceived Strengths: Came to America 6 years ago not knowing a word of English (It shows I adapt to new environments well, at the very least). Unique mix of (hopefully) impressive Extracurriculars and summer activities. Solid GPA and SAT II scores.
[] Perceived Weaknesses: Really wish I could have gotten a 700+ on the SAT Writing portion, I guess that didn’t happen. Other than that, I don’t see anything.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/denied: I don’t get why I was put on the waitlist. From what I can gather, it seems like applying for a financial aid may have something to do with this decision. Or, I hear they sometimes waitlist overqualified applicants, but I don’t know if I belong in that category (I hope I do, but can’t be sure)[/li]
[/ul]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:

This really ****es me off. I was expecting an offer of admission. I know plenty of other people who had worse stats than mine who got accepted. There’s another friend with similar stats to mine who got in, and that also confuses me because that would probably mean his extracurrics were better than mine? But I don’t think there are many people who can top my extracurrics/summer activities. I really do not understand what was going on, please do enlighten me.

erika27 · March 13, 2009, 8:20am

^^I wouldn’t read too much into you being waitlisted and other people being accepted. admissions is more of an art than a science, and it’d be pretty impossible to tell what makes the school accept one person and deny/waitlist another person. especially with a school that has as many applicants as WashU.

anarchist · March 13, 2009, 9:50am

Decision: Waitlisted

Stats:
SAT I: 1600/2380
SAT IIs: 800 Math II; 770 USH (others too, but worse scores)
ACT
GPA: Freshman and Sophomore - 4.00/4.00; Junior - 4.04/4.33 (Different schools)
Rank: Unranked
Other stats: 1 AP junior year (5); 5 senior year (with a 4.15 GPA second quarter)

Subjective:
Essays: the essay I sent to WUSTL I also sent to Wesleyan and I got an email from them saying they loved it.
Teacher Recs: Excellent; teacher said I was one of the top 10 students she’d ever taught (39 years) and she has a reputation in our school for writing the best letters of recommendation.
Counselor Rec: no idea. Didn’t know her (only went to school for junior, senior year) but she seemed impressed with me.
Hook (if any): Ethnicity

Location/Person:
State or Country: NY
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Palestinian
Gender: Male

ECs: Cross Country (captain) - since 5th grade; Track (captain) - since 5th grade; columnist for school newspaper; co-founder of political debate club; and then some stupid stuff like chess club and badminton club…

GanDhIizRiPpiN · March 13, 2009, 4:17pm

WAITLISTED

[ *] SAT I: 640 cr, 670 math, 710 writing 2020 total
[ *] SAT IIs: 690 chem 590 math II
[ *] ACT
[ *] GPA:5.07
[ *] Rank:3/376
[ *] Other stats: take 8 ap classes senior year, with 15 total when i graduate
[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[ *] Essays: very good common app abotu my trip and experience at india, all my friends and teachers said it was amazing
[ *] Teacher Recs:good
[ *] Counselor Rec:dunno, didnt read-- - probably generic
[ *] Hook (if any):first generation
[ /list][ b]Location/Person:[ /b][ list]
[ *] State or Country:fl
[ *] School Type:public
[ *] Ethnicity:asian indian male
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses:SAT scores were low…
[ *] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied:
good gpa, solid essay’s, strong academics, and my ec’s were 3 pages. also my hook helped and my sats held me back.
[ b]General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:[ /b]

scootypuff · March 13, 2009, 4:52pm

Decision: Accepted

Stats:
SAT I: CR 670 W 670 M 800
SAT IIs: Biology-M 800, Chemistry 800, Math2C 800
ACT: Math 36, Science 32, Writing 36, Reading 32. Composite: 34
GPA: 4.25 W 3.93UW
Rank: N/A
AP: Biology 5, Chemistry 5, CalculusBC 5

Subjective:
Essays: Pretty personal, about weightloss.
Teacher Recs: Rec from chemistry teacher who knew me for 2 years and is impressed.
Counselor Rec: Should be good.
Hook (if any): None

ECs: JV tennis for 2 years (very competitive, Varsity is top 10 in nation)
Orchestra for 4 years
VP of a classical music performance club

Location/Person:
State or Country: California
School Type: Top 100 Public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: Strong math and science. Weak SAT and ACT essay scores (5 and 6, respectively).
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Strength in math and science. My essay was really personal and best I’ve written.

By the way, does anyone happen to know if international students received their decisions earlier than we did? A friend of mine said he got in about a week before RD decisions came out. Also, do international students tend to have an advantage in admissions?

Class of 2013 Official RD Decision Thread

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