<p>Sort of writing this now because I was too frustrated to before.</p>
<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2330: (740 CR/790 Math/800 Writing)
[</em>] ACT: 32 (took it cold turkey to see how I would do, not important)
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Math II / 760 Physics / 730 US
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94 (2 B’s first semester of hs, none since)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on Calc AB, AP Eng Lang, World History; 4s on
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs, one College Math Course, and journalism.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NM Semifinalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, some journalism ones.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 Years Journalism w/ a lot of random leadership stuff, 4 years xc/track, 2 years with diff. robotics programs; NHS etc. blah blah
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Internship at competitive research program
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: NHS etc. internship was volunteer as well
[</em>] Summer Activities: Basic summer stuff + internship + running w/ team.
[<em>] Essays: ?
[</em>] Common App Main: personal, i thought it was good
[<em>] EC Short Answer: concrete, basic
[</em>] “Profile” questions: idk
[<em>] Intellectual Vitality Essay: idk, thought it was good
[</em>] Letter to Roommate Essay: tried to show personality, either they didn’t like me or i failed to do that
[<em>] What matters to you and why? Essay: probably my weakest, why i didn’t get in maybe?<br>
[</em>] Counselor Rec: idk do these actually say anything about the person?
[<em>] Additional Rec:
[</em>] Interview: n/a</p>
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: i would have
[</em>] Intended Major: Bioengineering
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Large public
[</em>] Ethnicity: White/Caucasian/European
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: complicated (parents seperated etc.)
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): i guess i didn’t have any, well-rounded but no major hooks</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Good test scores, GPA, well-rounded, passionate person about school, great LORs;
[</em>] Weaknesses: Nothing that made me stand out, and no legacy / URM status.
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I am a good all-around student/community member, but I guess I didn’t have anything that made me stand out.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:
Everyone was telling me how I should get in and then after how I should have gotten in, and that I’m the perfect applicant because I have the grades but I’m self-driven and sociable. I sort of disagree with the perception that I’m a special applicant because I think all the applicants are awesome people, but I feel like the decision process is so arbitrary and when it comes down to it, unless you have some super hook or insane essay, it’s just a crapshoot. I know that I’m self-driven and will succeed elsewhere. I don’t think they made a mistake, I just feel like I was a victim of the process so to speak - my biggest strengths in being a personable and cooperative person couldn’t really be highlighted by the application. Condolences to my fellow rejectees, good luck to all RD and future applicants, and congratulations to those that got in.</p>