Psychology major gets into Top Schools!!
Gender: Female
Residence: Midwest
Type of School: Private
Intended Major(s): Psychology, Classics (when asked for 2nd option, it gave me better a chance of getting in)
Academics
- GPA (W): 3.98
- # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 13 Honors, 3APs
- Senior Year Course Load: AP Latin, AP Psychology, Honors Ancient Greek, Honors African American Literature/English, Statistics, Honors Earth/Environmental Science, Religion
Standardized Testing - **didn't submit SAT/ACT scores to test optional schools.
- SAT: 1260 (650RW, 610M)
- ACT: 26 (28E, 22M, 29R, 24S)
- AP/IB: English Language & Composition (4)
Extracurriculars/Activities:
Latin Honor Society - Executive board
Latin Club - Executive board/President
Anti-Racism Club - Co-Founder & Co-President
Service Organization - Executive board
National Service Organization - Executive board
Diversity Club - President
Quiz Bowl - JV & Varsity Captain
Rowing - 2 years
Work: Bookkeeping sports - 4 years
Work: Internship - summer going into senior year
Awards/Honors:
Latin Honor Society
National Honor Society
National Latin Exam Silver
Letters of Recommendation
Junior year Honors Precalculus & AP Comp Gov & Politics teachers. I had my Honors PreCalculus teacher for Freshman year Algebra, which I did well in. I worked really hard to pass PreCalculus since I was failing most of the semester, so I wanted her to write about how I persevered. My Comp Gov & Politics teacher probably wrote a plain LOR, I didn’t talk much in class & got an A-.
Essays
I wrote about my health issues, extracurriculars, and identity. I emphasized challenges I’ve faced and how I’ve overcome them. I spoke on how much I value my extracurriculars & the work I put into them. For UC Berkeley, I wrote an essay about being proud of my D in Honors Precalculus because it represents how hard I worked to pass, and how I’m excited for the challenge of UC Berkeley since I know it’ll be hard and I’ll need help.
Interviews
Interviewed for Harvard & Fairfield.
Decisions
Acceptances:
University of Michigan Ann Arbor (EA deferred, accepted RD) & Attending!
University of California Berkeley (RD)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (EA)
University of Wisconsin Madison (EA)
Michigan State University (EA)
Indiana University Bloomington (EA)
Fairfield University (EA)
Loyola University Chicago (EA)
Saint Louis University (RD)
Rutgers University (EA)
Waitlists:
University of California Davis (RD)
College of the Holy Cross (RD)
Washington University in St. Louis (RD)
Rejections:
Harvard University (EA - interviewed, deferred, then denied)
University of Virginia (RD)
Boston University (RD)
Brown University (RD)
Case Western Reserve (RD)
Columbia University (RD)
Cornell University (RD)
Johns Hopkins University (RD)
University of Southern California (RD)
Yale University (RD)
Georgetown University (RD)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (RD)
University of California Los Angeles (RD)
Note:
I'm very against the "I don't think I'll get it, so I'm not going to apply" mindset, so I applied wherever I wanted. I didn't have a 'dream' school besides Harvard and Cornell. I visited 3-4 schools before applying. My first time visiting U of Michigan was admitted students day. Before coming, I didn't realize UMich was considered a top school. I thought it was a sports school that happened to be ranked #2 for psychology.
I'm super happy and proud of where I ended up. I absolutely love my school and couldn't be happier with my choice. Feel free to ask me any questions!