South Asian physics nerd going the LAC route

[u/Ok_Winner_1994]

Demographics

• Gender: Girl
• Race/Ethnicity: Indian
• Residence: Washington State (US citizen)
• Income Bracket: Upper-middle
• Type of School: Competitive(? We have a good handful of kids getting into ivies and t30s if that means much?) public school
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None

Intended Major(s): Physics, minoring in Mathematics

Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.49 UW
• Rank (or percentile): N/A
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 7 APs plus one AP class that I flunked out of, college art course 
• Senior Year Course Load: 3 APs, regular English class, art course at local college

Standardized Testing

• SAT I: 1510 (superscore) (760RW, 750M)
• AP/IB: World History (4), Art History (3), Language and Composition (4), Environmental Science (4), Calc AB (5), (Physics C Mech, Calc BC and US Government scores TBD)

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. DnD Club VP
2. Literature Club VP
3. Active member of the school LGBT club/GSA
4. NAHS member
5. Some very specific volunteering experience id rather not share
6. Judge for an elementary school art contest (during HS)
7. Helped run a nonprofit, managed finances and cold emails
8. Peer tutor

Awards/Honors

List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

None at all

Letters of Recommendation

Physics Teacher: Decent, maybe 5/10 I’m guessing? We weren’t very close but I was very involved in class (raising my hand, helping peers with content material, engaging with content and asking a lot of questions)

US History Teacher: Good I think! 8/10? Maybe higher. I was at my best in that class since I was close to my table group and able to come out of my shell, plus I got really into the material- especially the end of WWII and Cold War stuff, I found the ethical responsibility of scientists to be a big interest of mine). Also felt some comfort in the class since she was one of very few Indian teachers at my school. She was very enthusiastic about writing my letter of recommendation and I think she really liked me.

Interviews

Reed College- went well imo, I talked about sci-fi novels and debated the three laws of robotics, also talked about number theory and some other math stuff I was interested in, why I was interested in the school and what motivates me to do physics/why it’s my passion. Also discussed my art and how, despite not intending to pursue a career in it, it  shapes how I approach problems.

Essays

Personal Statement: honestly garbage. Churned it out for a school assignment and was too drained to fix it afterwards. I wish I did a better one. Wrote about my love of sci-fi novels and how they inspire me to grow as a person + how that relates to my experiences as an autistic person.

Supplementaries-

Princeton: Alright, very stiff though. I already knew I wasn’t getting in and that kind of demotivated me I think. Described my desire to contribute to public knowledge about physics, my aim to conduct research in an ethical manner that benefits the common good, why I think I’ll learn a lot from not only my teachers but my peers and why I’d contribute a unique perspective, as well as my appreciation for their balanced STEM curriculum with humanities.

Purdue: Meh, I wrote about the nuclear reactor and a crystallographer who went there and inspired me.

UCs: Pretty good in my opinion- I enjoyed writing them as well. I think I was afraid to get creative with these and give it a personal touch, though. I discussed how I’ve learnt physics through my father’s college textbooks since I was 10 and how those books inspired me when I felt like my school abandoned me. Also discussed how I developed and used a unique visual language in my art to express myself, my experiences helping run a non profit, and how volunteering for a cause I care about has led to self improvement and fulfillment. 

Northeastern: Absolutely awful. I didn’t want to go there but I had a fee waiver and went there for a summer program so I figured why not apply. I really disliked the school even though I enjoyed the course, that probably influenced my essay a lot.

Reed Paideia Essay: Probably my best essay, I’m quite proud of it! I wrote about how I would teach a figure drawing class and why I think it would be helpful for students of all disciplines, I think I put a lot of myself into this. I was also doing better mentally when I wrote this compared to when I wrote the other essays which I think helped a lot.

Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)

Acceptances:

• Seattle University (RD)
• ASU (+ President’s Scholarship) (Rolling admissions, not sure which wave I applied for)
• Washington State University (This was guaranteed due to a state program)
• University of Washington Bothell (RD)
• Seattle University (RD)
• UC Riverside
• UC Davis
• Reed College (ED 2) —> Committed!! One of my top choices!
• Purdue Northwest (never applied but I guess they moved me here??)

Waitlists:

• UC Santa Barbara (My other top choice RIP)
• UC Irvine

Rejections:

• Princeton (REA) (expected but still stung)
• UC Berkley 
• Northeastern University (RD)
• Purdue West Lafayette (RD)

Additional Information:

I also submitted an art portfolio to Princeton.

Overall I wish I applied to less safeties and more slight reaches/decent shot colleges. Also wish I applied to UMD, UIUC, a reach college like Georgia Tech, and a couple more top colleges instead of some of my safeties just to say I tried. I would’ve gone to Davis or WSU if I got rejected from my non-safeties anyways.

I wish my GPA was better and that I did more competitions (specifically IMO since I enjoy doing the problems in my free time). I think if I was more confident I would’ve done competitions, but a lot of the STEM team stuff at school as well as stuff like NHS are locked behind a 3.5 GPA. My grades kind of went up and down like a wave because I had a lot of mental health issues + I have a learning disability.

A lot of my free time went into therapy and tutoring so I wouldn’t be left behind. Most of my hs life was me trying not to die (and hey! I succeeded!). I’ve recovered a lot mentally now and am improving every day, and I’m more motivated academically than ever before. Reed really feels at home for me and I love it, I’m already getting along with other incoming freshmen! I also love the academic rigor and David Griffiths (the GOAT) used to teach there which is really cool! I also just really like Portland. For the first time in a while I think I’ll be alright.

[u/tractata]

Lovely to see a future Reedie on this sub! I went to Reed ages ago and loved it. I hope it will be the right fit for you too. Good luck and take good care of yourself in college!

[u/Ok_Winner_1994 → u/tractata]

Thank you! I’m very excited

[u/Far-Grand-9547]

I am so proud of you. glad you are here and that you are feeling better

[u/AtlasFan]

Congrats! In the end, you got into where you wanted to go which is really great!!!