Accept/Reject/Deferred: ACCEPTED
SAT I (breakdown): Did not take
ACT (breakdown): 32, 11/12 writing
SAT II: 740 USH, 580 Literature (Did not send either- I took them last minute and did not study)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98, W:4.6667
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 17/520
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (5), US History (5), Lang (5), Chem (2, it’s bad I know, didn’t report), Currently taking Euro, Calc, Spanish, Lit, Government.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Top 10 International Finalist DECA and FBLA, 1st place in Water Filtration competition, Model UN awards at Vanderbilt, WashU, UVA, Duke, NYU, TN Governor’s School
Applied for Cornelius Vanderbilt but not expecting it due to competitive nature of scholarships
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: Personal Tutor
Volunteer/Community service: Student Council President, Model UN Undersecretary General, Youth Leader in Cultural Organization, Volunteer Leader at 2 area hospitals, Library Volunteer Leader, Mentor at Organization for kids with developmental disabilities, Community Service Club President, DECA/FBLA representative, Announcements Producer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d say a good 8.5/10 for Common App. Overall pretty good and showed my passion for interaction and communication
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Got 10/10 recs from my AP US and English teachers, had 2 additional recs written by library volunteer coordinator and director of my governor’s school which were both stellar. Counselor Rec was great too, I’ve been her assistant for a few years now
Interview: Couldn’t have gone better. Spoke for a while about my culture and heritage and was personally told by him I gave one of the best interviews he had seen in years with such confidence and poise. I really think this gave me a huge boost on my app
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Public Policy and Administration
State (if domestic applicant): Tennessee
School Type: Big high school
Ethnicity: AA
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, AA Male, I also visited campus and spoke to an admissions rep if that helped
Reflection
Strengths: EC’s, recs, writing to an extent, GPA/grades, ACT writing score, ethnicity
Weaknesses: pretty low test scores, AP scores (I really thought my 2 on AP Chem would do me in)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: While my app was very strong, I know I was given a boost by ethnicity being invited to MOSAIC. Also, I have won awards at Vanderbilt Model UN and did VSA and toured the campus.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted UNC (full scholarship), UVA, Emory, Tulane, Miami. Waiting on Duke, Princeton, UCLA, Brown, Swarthmore
General Comments: Honestly in the weeks leading up to it I was sooo nervous about my chances. So many people from my school have been rejected years past. And honestly, my stats are not that competitive for a school like Vanderbilt. While Vandy has been my dream school for a long time, it is unlikely I will attend unless FA is unbelievable due to the scholarship I have received from UNC. Nothing but well wishes to all other Vandy applicants as this cycle continues. I hope to see some of you at MOSAIC!!