Demographics
- Gender: Male
- Race/Ethnicity: White
- Residence: NJ
- Income Bracket: <30K
- Type of School: Public
- Hooks: None
Intended Major(s): Computer Science, Spanish
Academics
- GPA: 3.97 UW/4.37 W
- Rank: Top 10% (4/215 unofficially)
- Honors/AP/Dual Enrollment: 12 APs, 1 DE, 5 Honors
- Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP World History, AP Environmental Science, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, DE Economics, English
Standardized Testing
- SAT I: 1510 (730RW, 780M)
- AP: Computer Science Principles (5), US History (5), Computer Science A (4), Chemistry (4), Statistics (4), English (4) (did not submit AP scores)
Extracurriculars/Activities
- Spanish Club Founder/President
- CS Club Founder/President
- CS Internship in Philadelphia
- Rotaract Club President
- Bilingual Library Volunteer
- World Culture Club President
- Student Council Officer
- Golf Team Captain
- Clarinet Ensemble
- Server at Local Restaurant
Awards/Honors
- Scholarship to Study-Abroad Program
- 2nd Place at State Chemistry Competition
- County Essay Contest Semifinalist
- AP Scholar with Distinction/National Merit Commended Student
- National Honors Society
Letters of Recommendation
- Computer Science Teacher (7/10): He was the advisor for the CS Club that I started and saw me helping other students when I finished my assignments in class early. We always ate breakfast in class at the same time so we connected over our love of technology and good food! I had him for 2 years and was disappointed I couldn’t take more classes with him this year.
- Spanish Teacher (8/10): I have had 3 classes with her and we have had some great conversations about why learning a second language is so important. She advises the World Culture Club, so I have known her since my freshman year. I have so much energy in her class and am always ready to learn, especially since Spanish is my favorite subject. I will miss her next year!
- Statistics Teacher (10/10): If you’ve seen Never Have I Ever, you may recall that Devi wanted a letter of recommendation from an older teacher known for her glowing recommendations. My statistics teacher is known for his strict and old-fashioned approach but I connected with him and he told me what he wrote in the letter. He mentioned how I created a calculator program that related to his lesson plans that he still uses for her class today!
- School Librarian (9/10): This is probably the adult at my school who knows me best. I talk to her every morning and she has a great sense of my personality. I spend a lot of time in the library and she mentioned a schoolwide app that I created to make it easier for teachers to coordinate events. She was also a former English teacher, so her writing is definitely strong.
- School Counselor (9/10): Since I attend a public school, most students don’t bother getting to know their counselor. However, I had a four-year plan to get into a top school and the first step was making an impression on the administrators in my school. I got to know him pretty well and he likely mentioned my excitement when it came time for course selection because I always came prepared with all of the classes I wanted to take and 3 backups for each!
Interviews
- Brandeis (10/10): This was my first interview so I was super nervous, but it went really well! It was with a current student and she thought I would fit into the campus community. It was super easy to talk to her and I connected a lot of my interests to life at Brandeis. I also talked about my visit which made it easier for us to talk about certain aspects of the school
- Grinnell (8/10): This interview was a little awkward at first but my interviewer and I were both majoring in Spanish and we talked about transitioning to a more rural setting for college and what life in Iowa is like. I learned that double majoring is super common at Grinnell and that was something that appealed to me. Once we got started, the interview went great!
- Princeton (5/10): This interview was so bad because of issues with scheduling and the interviewer himself. He took 2 weeks to get back to me about a date that worked and he insisted on meeting at 7 AM on a Saturday morning. He only asked me about 5 questions and cut me off after only 15 minutes. I was not left with a favorable impression of the school. He talked for most of the time.
- Northwestern (6/10): This interview went OK but I was kind of thrown after my Princeton interview and did not do the best job connecting my interests to specific aspects of life at Northwestern. My interviewer was a super interesting guy and he found it fascinating that I wanted to study a language in college. I learned a lot about the school and brought up some interesting questions.
- Rice (7/10): I found this interview really enjoyable. The guy who interviewed me was successful but not very knowledgeable about Rice. He liked my answers and I came prepared with expert responses about the residential system. He told me his favorite memory of Rice was graduating so I’m not sure what that says about the school… but I enjoyed talking to him.
- Middlebury (9/10): This interview was amazing! I talked about the Language Houses and my desire to join a tight-knit community with my interviewer. She was a recent alum and reinforced all of the positive things I had heard about Middlebury. The school seemed like a great fit and we had a lot of shared interests that we discussed together. I was left with an overall positive impression.
- Harvard (7/10): This one was interesting. This was by far my longest interview, which she canceled at the last minute and then rescheduled two times for the same day. Luckily, I never left the place where we were meeting so we still had a great interview. We talked about how so many people put Harvard on a pedestal and discussed language because she majored in the area I was interested in!
Essays
- Common App Essay (10/10): I spent a lot of time editing my personal statement and feel it truly encompasses me. I described how my childhood experiences and a study abroad trip to Spain inspired me to found a Spanish Club and bring AP Spanish Literature to my school. I discussed why I started learning Spanish and how I have used it to make an impact on my community.
- Supplemental Essays (8/10): I discussed how programming languages can be made more inclusive for non-English speakers by examining how language and technology intersect. I suggested a potential solution to make the field of computer science more diverse and break language barriers. I also discussed my religious identity and events I organized at my school, including a Blood Drive.
Decisions
SCEA
- Princeton University - Rejected
EA
- University of Minnesota - Accepted (Honors College) ($84,000 scholarship)
- University at Albany - Accepted (Honors College) ($66,000 scholarship)
- SUNY New Paltz - Accepted ($20,000 scholarship)
- Binghamton University - Accepted (Honors Program) ($54,000 scholarship)
- Stony Brook University - Accepted (Honors College) ($52,000 scholarship)
- University at Buffalo - Accepted (Honors College) ($60,000 scholarship)
- College of Charleston - Accepted (Honors College) ($54,000 scholarship)
- Rutgers University - Accepted (Honors Program)
- University of Michigan - Accepted!! (Honors Program)
- University of Maryland - Accepted
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Accepted ($140,000 scholarship)
- Northeastern University - Deferred
RD
- McGill University - Accepted
- University of Toronto - Accepted ($100,000 scholarship)
- University of Florida - Accepted! (Honors College) ($24,000 scholarship)
- Penn State University - Accepted
- Tulane University - Waitlisted
- Grinnell College - Accepted! ($120,000 scholarship)
- Northeastern Univesity - Waitlisted
- University of Chicago - Waitlisted
- UC San Diego - Waitlisted
- UCLA - Waitlisted
- Pomona College - Rejected
- Middlebury College - Waitlisted
- University of Wisconsin - Accepted
- Brandeis University - Accepted ($96,000 scholarship)
- Colby College - Accepted! (Presidential Scholars Program)
- University of Southern California - Accepted!!
- Rice University - Waitlisted
- Northwestern University - Waitlisted
- Emory University - Waitlisted (Accepted to Oxford campus)
- UC Berkeley - Rejected
- Columbia University - Rejected
- Cornell University - Accepted!!! (Milstein Program Finalist)
- Harvard University - Rejected
Rolling
- Montclair State University - Accepted (Honors Program) ($16,000 scholarship)
- Westminster College - Accepted ($120,000 scholarship)
- Seton Hill University - Accepted ($104,000 scholarship)
- University of Pittsburgh - Accepted (Honors College) ($40,000 scholarship)
- University of Pittsburgh–Bradford - Accepted ($50,000 scholarship)
- Alvernia University - Accepted ($104,000 scholarship)
- Duquesne University - Accepted (Honors College) (109,000 scholarship)
- Robert Morris University - Accepted ($88,000 scholarship)
- Arcadia University - Accepted (Honors College) ($136,000 scholarship)
- Susquehanna University - Accepted (Honors Program) ($172,000 scholarship)
- Loyola University New Orleans - Accepted ($108,000 scholarship)
- Florida Institute of Technology - Accepted ($96,000 scholarship)
- York College of Pennsylvania - Accepted ($54,000 scholarship)
- Washington & Jefferson College - Accepted ($68,000 scholarship)
- Goucher College - Accepted ($160,000 scholarship)
- Illinois College - Accepted ($104,000 scholarship)
- Western New England University - Accepted (Honors Program) ($124,000 scholarship)
- University of Arizona - Accepted (Honors College) ($128,000 scholarship)
- University of Hawaiʻi - Accepted ($8,000 scholarship)
- Champlain College - Accepted ($40,000 scholarship)
- North Dakota State University - Accepted ($12,000 scholarship)
- Baylor University - Accepted (Honors College) ($92,000 scholarship)
- Neumont College - Accepted ($20,400 scholarship)
- Arizona State University - Accepted ($66,000 scholarship)
- Birmingham-Southern College - Accepted ($56,000 scholarship)
- University of Alaska - Accepted ($48,000 scholarship)
- Hofstra University - Accepted (Honors College) ($152,000 scholarship)
- Rocky Mountain College - Accepted ($68,000 scholarship)
- Hawaiʻi Pacific University - Accepted ($80,000 scholarship)
- Johnson & Wales University - Accepted ($110,000 scholarship)
- Delaware Valley University - Accepted ($108,000 scholarship)
- Saint Louis University - Accepted ($156,000 scholarship)
- University of Oregon - Accepted ($50,000 scholarship)
Direct Admissions
- Common App
- Stockton University - Accepted ($10,000 scholarship)
- Centenary University - Accepted ($100,000 scholarship)
- Kean University - Accepted ($20,000 scholarship)
- Rider University - Accepted ($100,000 scholarship)
- CollegeVine
- University of Mary Washington - Accepted ($20,000 scholarship)
- Anglo-American University - Accepted ($6,200 scholarship)
- Aquinas College - Accepted ($100,000 scholarship)
- Sterling College - Accepted ($40,000 scholarship)
- Marion Military Institute - Accepted
- Christian Brothers University - Accepted ($48,000 scholarship)
- Averett University - Accepted ($78,000 scholarship)
- Niche
- Baker College - Accepted ($24,000 scholarship)
- Gwynedd Mercy University - Accepted ($76,000 scholarship)
- Misericordia University - Accepted ($100,000 scholarship)
- Point Park University - Accepted ($96,000 scholarship)
- University of Maine–Farmington - Accepted ($32,000 scholarship)
Additional Information
Well, if you made it this far, you probably think I’m insane. Allow me to explain how and why I applied to so many schools and what I learned in the process. When I first joined College Confidential last summer, I was stressed about college and how I would pay for it. Both my parents lost their jobs and I was scared that I would not be able to attend college at all. Applying to college almost became a coping mechanism. Whenever I received an email telling me I could apply in 5 minutes and hear back weeks later, I filled out the form just in case. Soon 1 became 5, and 5 became 10. I had already applied to 15 schools that weren’t on my original list of schools by mid-August. With the help of my trusty fee waiver, I applied to all of the competitive schools on my list and added a few extra for good measure.
I had read horror stories of students with 1600 SATs and 4.0 GPAs rejected from every school they applied to, and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of options to choose from. So, not only did I want to get into as many schools as I could, but I wanted to get a full-ride scholarship to take the stress of paying for college off of my parents. However, things changed in December when I found out about a full-ride opportunity through my school. Apparently, the student with the highest test score is eligible for a four-year scholarship that not only covers tuition to any college in the United States but also room and board. I had found the answer to my prayers. I began withdrawing some of the offers that were less affordable and kept 5 of them in case I didn’t qualify.
My school is relatively uncompetitive and I knew I had a shot at getting the scholarship. I felt hopeful that I would be able to go to college and graduate debt-free. This was my way out, and I knew I could get the scholarship if I worked hard enough. I had wanted to apply ED to Cornell, but I was afraid I would not be able to afford it if I got in. Instead, I decided to apply REA to Princeton, even though I knew it was a long shot. My heart shattered when I opened my decision letter on December 15 and saw a big, fat rejection on the screen in front of me. I felt trapped… like I had no shot at getting into competitive schools. Did I even deserve the acceptances I had already received or were they given to me out of pity? Luckily, this thought was fleeting. I went back to the drawing board and sent out some extra applications for good measure.
My mindset changed completely when my EA schools came back. I had so many great options to choose from, and I was able to consider them without worrying about the cost. I was a finalist for the scholarship through my school and I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I had a way out, and there were so many routes that could take me away from the life I knew and bring me to the life I worked for. I felt like all of the sleepless nights and hours dedicated to my schoolwork had finally paid off. I felt confident going into the RD round. Even if I do not get into any other schools, I have so many great options to choose from.
Now that the RD bloodbath is finally over, I can finally look back on this whole process with a new perspective. College admissions definitely shaped who I am and I was sure I would be attending UMich or USC until I received the best news I could have imagined. Even though I had ultimately decided against applying ED, Cornell saw something in me that I never could have expected. Not only was I admitted, but I found out today that I am a finalist for the Milstein Program. I am super grateful to have all of these options and I will likely be attending Cornell in the fall if I end up winning the full ride through my school. If not, I should be able to afford Rutgers, and I know I can do great things no matter where I end up. Thank you to everyone who supported me along the way.
NOTE: As I received acceptances, I withdrew applications as I went to make sure I was not taking away space from an applicant who might attend. I only have 10 of these applications still open and will be withdrawing them shortly as I plan to commit to Cornell! GO BIG RED 
!
TLDR; accepted to University of Florida, University of Southern California, University of Michigan, Colby College, Grinnell College, CORNELL UNIVERSITY
. We will see what is truly affordable at this pont. Also consider fit and price increase(about 6% each year.)