well-rounded STEM applicant bags a T10 !?!

[u/National-Property617]

Demographics

• Race/Ethnicity: white
• Residence: midwest
• Income Bracket: 200k
• Type of School: noncompetitive public
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): geographic?

Intended Major(s): physics, chemical engineering

Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0/4.3
• Rank (or percentile): top 2%
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 14 APs
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Comp Sci A, AP Physics C Mech, AP Calc BC, AP Econ (macro and micro), AP Bio

Standardized Testing

ACT: 36 (36E, 35M, 36R, 36S)

AP: 5s (Human Geography, US History, CSP, Chem, Lang, Physics 1)

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. student gov - committee leader - 9, 10, 11, 12
2. niche sport club - founder/president - 10, 11, 12
3. model UN - president - 10, 11, 12
4. regional volunteering organization - high local impact - 9, 10, 11, 12
5. varsity sport - 9, 10, 11
6. job - 10, 11, 12

Awards/Honors

nothing exceptional

Letters of Recommendation

• English teacher 7+/10
• Physics teacher 7+/10

had a good relationship and multiple classes with both

Essays

personal statement - EA - travel - 6/10 

personal statement - RD - weird hobby - 9/10

supplemental essays - 7/10

Decisions

Rejections:

• California Institute of Technology - REA

Waitlists:

• Case Western Reserve University

Acceptances:

• Purdue University West Lafayette - EA
• Harvey Mudd - RD
• University of Colorado Boulder - EA
• University of Wisconsin Madison - EA
• Yale University - RD - committed!!
  • interview was a 10/10

Additional Information:

I was a bit surprised with my results considering the fact that I didn't do anything particularly outstanding or related to my intended major. I think my essays and recommendations must have carried.

[u/zap6396]

Congrats! Tbh this is one of the first profiles I’ve read where I didn’t roll my eyes. It doesn’t feel as padded as a lot of the profiles I’ve come across.

(I’ll cry if this post is a fake)

[u/National-Property617 → u/zap6396]

not fake 🙂 I didn't even know other people were doing summer programs, olympiads, research, etc until the fall of my senior year, so I kind of just had to work with what I had

[u/zap6396 → u/National-Property617]

Your authentic voice pays off and will serve you well in the future! Again, congrats!

[u/ToBoldlyUnderstand → u/National-Property617]

It definitely helps that you're white.

[u/Prudent_Run_8340]

Congrats!

[u/Fit_Broccoli7456]

The ACT score indicates you are academically very talented

[u/SwishieStar]

OMGGG CONGRATULATIONS THIS IS SO AMAZING 🥹🥹🥹

[u/Ready_Return_5998]

Yay! Whats the niche sport??

[u/National-Property617 → u/Ready_Return_5998]

climbing, which is maybe not "niche" generally speaking but is really uncommon where I live

[u/StentLife]

Hey sorry but we're trying to learn all this lingo. What does EA mean? Early admission? I thought you could only do one early admission?

[u/National-Property617 → u/StentLife]

You can do as many EA - early action - applications as you want; you can only do one ED - early decision - application because it is binding. REA is restricted early action, and is offered by high-ranked schools that don't offer ED. If you apply to a private school under REA, you can only apply to other public schools during EA (no other private schools).

[u/Ready_Return_5998]

Or weird hobby?

[u/Commercial_Handle418]

Can I dm you 

[u/National-Property617 → u/Commercial_Handle418]

Sure

[u/Traditional-Panic-85]

Omg, you must've had killer essays! Is there any chance I could read them? (Im not applying for another three years so I'm not going to copy them or anything, but if you feel uncomfortable l, it is totally fine and I'm sorry for asking!)

[u/SigmaBoi2009 → u/Traditional-Panic-85]

omg same plz

[u/Mediocre-Sock3278]

Wowww goated, how come u didn’t apply to more top schools? Seems like u had solid chances, ggs man

[u/National-Property617 → u/Mediocre-Sock3278]

I considered applying to MIT, but decided it was unlikely I'd get in considering the Caltech rejection, so I chose not to put time into that. I also just didn't feel particularly drawn to any other top schools and was kind of burnt out overall so it didn't seem worth the effort to fill out a bunch of apps

[u/L0veHteRelati0nship]

could you please give me some advice on studying for the ACT? especially the math section

[u/TechnicalLeg841]

Congrats on Yale! Perfect academics & tests, strong ECs (though all non-STEM).

Analysis since this is r/collegeresults:

• REA to Caltech probably not the strongest admissions strategy 'cause lack of STEM ECs
• Case Western WL was yield protection
• Yale will be awesome and it looks like a fantastic place for a "well rounded" approach
• Yale generally seems to be pretty steady in the number of admits per state. If applicants from the state are stronger in a particular year it makes it tough (happened in our small state this year, some auto-admit level folks were not admitted indicating quota-type behavior), and vice versa if the Yale applicants aren't as strong then results can be more forgiving. The smaller the usual number of admits in a state the more the variability. Have you looked up or met with other Yale admits from your state?

[u/National-Property617 → u/TechnicalLeg841]

Thanks for this! I like when people provide a bit of analysis.

I agree that the Caltech REA was not great. I wrote my supps last minute, which definitely did not help, but I think an admit was unlikely anyway.

I know most of the admits from my state because there aren't that many of us. A few come from more feeder-type schools, but no one has an insane profile. Our state isn't really competitive, so I think this year's results are probably consistent with years past (not a drop in applicant quality or amount).