<p>Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Objective:
[ul]
[<em>]SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (760 CR, 800 M, 790 W)
[</em>]SAT II: 750 Literature, 790 Math II, 800 French, 800 Chinese with Listening, 790 Spanish
[<em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8, but nothing below a B
[</em>]Rank: 1 out of 8 (tied) at current HS; previous two high schools did not do any form of rank
[<em>]AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5), Chinese Language & Culture (5), US History (4), French Language (5), Calculus AB (4), Macroeconomics (4), Spanish Language (5)
[</em>]AP (pending): English Literature, German Language, Calculus BC, Spanish Literature, Physics B, European History
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Obtained the highest levels of several internationally recognized language proficiency tests, placing at native fluency in Chinese, French, Spanish, and at a high level in German (DALF C2, HSK Advanced, DELE B2, Zertifikat Deutsch B1); ABRSM Grade 8 Piano Diploma; Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA) Level 10 Piano Distinction; piano honor recitals, including one at an internationally prominent arts venue; school spelling bee champion; poem published in nationally-distributed anthology, selected as finalist in international essay competition with 50,000+ entries annually, a couple smaller writing awards; AP Scholar with Distinction; National Merit Semifinalist[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Subjective:
- [<em>]Extracurriculars: Foreign language learning, tutoring, translation and proofreading work (9-12); church youth group (9-12); independent writing, literary magazine staff, school newsletter editor (10-12); piano (9-12); guitar (10-12)
[</em>]Job/Work Experience: Freelance translator for web-based translation service
[<em>]Volunteer/Community service: Spanish class teaching assistant; translation and proofreading work; church piano volunteer (approximately 300 hours total)
[</em>]Summer Activities: Moving, traveling, young peoples Christian conferences, studying abroad in Germany (also have studied in Montreal and France), leisure, reading
[/ul]</p>
<p>Writing:[ul]
NOTE: I am not going to rate my own essays. Ill just post what I wrote about and leave that up to you to decide.
[<em>]Essays (Include Subjects):[list]
[li]Common App Main: I answered the Significant Experience prompt. This was based on a triggering experience I had in 3rd grade when I studied abroad for a year and learned French at a public elementary school in Montreal, causing my subsequent love for languages. [/li][</em>]EC Short Answer: This was essentially a short blurb about what I do with my knowledge of multiple languages (translating, serving as a teaching assistant, etc.) and what language means to me. Reading it again, I feel like I really succeeded in communicating how strongly I felt about it.
[<em>]Intellectual Vitality: I discussed the fact that I am a synesthete (see: [Synesthesia</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia]Synesthesia”>Synesthesia - Wikipedia)), meaning I make mental links between sounds, colors, words, ideas, and images (e.g. the word Thursday, when spoken aloud, sounds like a greenish blend to me). I talked about how this impacts the way I view the world, as well as how I learn things.
[</em>]Roommate: Here I revealed a lot of random, yet interesting stuff about myself (talked about how I like foreign language films, decorating my room with postcards from places Ive traveled to, late night chats, pizza crusts, and am very ticklish). The theme was the meaning of the word together and how this word would relate to my relationship with my future roommate.
[<em>]Why Stanford: Somewhat generic description of Stanford’s location in the American West and the historical implications of that idea (newness, discovery, adventure), as well as how I would match up personally to that creative/inventive spirit.
[</em>]Other: Nothing else that was noteworthy.
[<em>]Teacher Recommendations: Waived right to view
[</em>]Counselor Rec: Waived right to view
[<em>]Interview: N/A
[</em>]Art Supplement: N/A
[/list]</p>
<p>Other:
[ul]
[<em>]Date Submitted App: October 1
[</em>]State (if domestic applicant): California (lived in Michigan during junior year and Singapore during underclassman years)
[<em>]School Type: Small Private
[</em>]Ethnicity: Chinese
[<em>]Gender: Female
[</em>]Special Circumstances (included in counselor rec): Attended 3 different schools throughout HS career
[<em>]Intended Majors: Linguistics, Classics
[</em>]Tip Factor: Certifiably fluent in Mandarin (S, R, W), French (S, R, W), Spanish (S, R, W), and German (S, R, W); currently studying Latin (R) and Ancient Greek (R)
[/ul]</p>
<p>Reflection:
[ul]
[<em>]Strengths: Standardized test scores, somewhat consistent ECs in spite of moving, essays, multilingualism, significant international experience (lived in 3 countries and traveled to over 15 others in Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East), evidence of overcoming hardships, uniqueness (?)
[</em>]Weaknesses: Very competitive demographic (Asian female applying from southern California), grades
[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: It could have been anything, honestly…
[</em>]What would you have done differently? Im not on the admissions committee, so I dont know. Best of luck to all of you who didnt get accepted either; Im sure youll all end up at a wonderful college.
[/ul]</p>
Why Stanford: my favorite. I talked about two professors in the Stanford Classics dept in particular, and how the profs were my true reason for applying, beyond those exemplary but generic ECs offered on campus.