A Testament to the Random-ness of College Admissions
Stats for reference: 1540 SAT, 4.17 GPA (8 APs, 19 Dual Enrollment--graduating w/ an associates degree), 3 summer research positions (2 resulting in publication), non-profit founder raising >$15,000 for families affected by the Sudanese civil war, volunteering 200hours at a local Hospital, worked 3 jobs at once to save for college, and various leadership positions like STUCO VP, Key Club VP, student body president.
Demographics: Male, Middle-Class, Massachusetts, and from a small, rural public school. Applied as physics/biochem interested in pre-med.
Schools applied: (pointlessly long ik; just shotgunned T20 LACs)
- Amherst
- Bowdoin
- Swarthmore
- Middlebury
- Grinnell
- Claremont McKenna
- Dartmouth
- Cornell
- Bates
- Colby
- Colgate
- Case Western
- UMass Amherst
- Occidental
- Wesleyan
- Williams
- UVA
- Emory
- Georgia Tech
- UC Berkeley
- UCLA
- UCSB
Was rejected from every school besides UMass--waitlisted at UCSB--had 5 decisions remaining... then accepted to Dartmouth, Grinnell, and Berkeley! Absolutely elated at the news after a super rough admissions season. This is just a testament to show the randomness of college apps and how weird these schools' admissions policies are.
TL;DR: Don't give up hope.