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A little context before I begin:I am a white male from a large suburban area in the Northeast, and we typically have one Ivy League acceptance from my school every year or two. I applied for financial aid (but did not receive a lot), but was able to use a few fee waivers anyway. For all my schools I was looking to go on some sort of biomedical/biochemical engineering path, so my intended major for each school was related to this field.Academics: I was salutatorian of my class with a weighted average between 101 and 102 (my school doesn’t do 4.0 GPAs). My highest SAT was a 1560 (780 on both sections) and my only ACT was a 35 (35 E, 35 M, 34 R, 36 S, and 9 on writing). For my SAT Subject Tests (SAT II’s), I sent my 770 on Chemistry and my 740 on Math 1. For Georgetown exclusively, which requires scores on all tests taken, I also received a 1440 and a 1490 on my first two SATs and got a 670 on my Biology M Subject Test, a 620 on my World History Subject Test, a 610 on my US History Subject Test, and a 540 on my French Subject Test 🤡. For my AP Tests, I took World History in 10th grade (the only one offered at that time by my school) and got a 5; in 11th grade I got a 4 on Bio and a 5 on Chem, US History, and English Lang; for 12th grade I got a 3 on French 🤡🤡🤡, a 4 on Macro, and a 5 on Calc AB, Micro, Music Theory, Physics 1, and English Lit. (I hadn’t taken the senior year ones by the time I sent my apps, but I just wanted to note that I received A’s in all of these classes.)Extracurriculars: My biggest activity would probably be music. I am an all-state level French horn player and am a part of multiple out-of-school groups (both orchestra and band). I’m also very involved in trumpet, particularly in jazz groups, the drama club’s pit band, and my school’s marching band. I know a few other instruments as well, and I’ve performed in groups with the baritone horn, piano, and accordion. Other than music, I am an Eagle Scout, and this was a big part of my essays. I was a member of my school’s Varsity Badminton team, and an officer in the French and Tri-M Honor Societies. I was a part of a number of other clubs as well, including Mathletes, (regular) National Honor Society, Newspaper, and a few others.Awards: A number of regional and county music awards, a handful of school awards, and a few academic ones (AP Scholar with Distinction).Letters of Rec: I genuinely don’t know, as I never got ahold of any of them. I alternated with which ones I sent to colleges, as I asked my 10th grade English teacher, my AP Bio teacher, my pre-calc/AP Calc teacher, and my music teacher to write a letter on my behalf. I believe I had a pretty good rapport with each of the teachers, so I felt confident in my letters. (I also got an academic award from each of them except the math teacher earlier in high school.)Essays: I’ve definitely had better pieces of writing, and I ended up rewriting my overall Common App essay after the ED/EA decisions came out, but I’d give my first essay a 6.5/10 (I had had too much confidence when I sent it, then realized afterward). My second essay for RD was definitely a lot more well-written and candid, and I felt it showcased a deeper side of me, so I’d say it was more a 9/10. For all my college-specific essays, I’d say they’d range from about a 6/10 to a 10/10.~FINALLY~Colleges:Early Decision:Dartmouth College- I loved the campus-feel and the programs when I visited, and I really liked the commitment to the undergraduate program. I know that there are better places for a STEM-related major, but I felt that the stellar undergraduate experience would have made up for it. I also thought that it’s secluded nature-y feel would suit my Scouting experience well. I thought my interview for Dartmouth was the most candid, so I’d had pretty good hopes opening this one. Well, it turned out I’d gotten DEFERRED, so there were definitely things about my application that needed tweaking for the next round. Pretty bummed at first, but I had to move past it and focus on other apps.Early Action:Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Kinda procrastinated this application a little bit. It didn’t have an “essay,” but it instead had a list of “extended-response questions,” so I thought it would be a bit easier and quicker to fill out. Well November 1st comes along and I’m taking the day off from school to fill out the application because I had wanted to spend my last Halloween with my friends (and because I left it to the last minute). My responses were on the okay side, and I didn’t get an interview in time for the release of the decisions, but at least I got DEFERRED when I ended up opening it.Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) - I actually really liked this school when I visited it, and I was so happy to hear that I was ACCEPTED, as it was the first college that had taken me up to that point. My mom had gone there for grad school, so she had said that their commitment to preparing you for a job was outstanding. In regards to my interview, it was my first one, so I ended up overdressing a little, but my conversation with the interviewer went well.Northeastern University - I LOVED this school. I really liked the co-op program and experiential learning aspect of the university, and the whole vibe seemed to really fit my personality. Also, Boston is amazing. One of my only qualms was it’s lack of a significant music program, but I was willing to get past that. The site kept crashing when I went to open my decision, but I was more than excited to hear that I was ACCEPTED and even given a spot in the honors program.Regular Decision:SUNY Stony Brook University - This was kinda my safety school, as it’s local and I’ve taken classes here for a while. So I did get ACCEPTED, but I also applied and got into their honors program, so I had a really nice backup.Rochester Institute of Technology - My guidance counselor had nominated me for a scholarship from them back in junior year, and I ended up being chosen for it, so I decided to just send an app to them for the heck of it. They sent me a likely letter a few weeks before the decision, so I was glad for the early ACCEPTED notification. They later sent me something about getting into the honors program as well.Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - My mom also went here, but for her undergrad, so I decided to also send an application here. I’m not crazy about the area, but the school is good for STEM, and they had sent me a special “Candidate’s Choice” application instead of the Common App. I ended up getting ACCEPTED, so I was pretty happy to have a number of great options to choose from.MIT - The beginning of the quarantine decisions. I still had not gotten an interview since the deferred decision, so my application really had not changed except for an update on my new status as an Eagle Scout. Needless to say, I didn’t have high hopes for the second round of decisions. I remember opening the decision while helping someone else with their Eagle Scout project, and it was kinda embarrassing to announce that I’d been REJECTED.Georgetown University - Full disclosure. I learned a bit about Georgetown at a college fair the year prior, so I knew it was a good school, but I ended up paying to access the application earlier than I should have. For those of you that don’t know, Georgetown does not have an engineering program. I expressed an interest during my interview to gain a background in biochemistry from Georgetown in order to go to grad school on an engineering track, but I feel like this may have shown disingenuous sentiments toward being at Georgetown. It wasn’t meant to be, anyway, as I ended up getting REJECTED.Carnegie Mellon University - I’d been hoping to get a good engineering and music experience by going to this school. Unfortunately, I’ve heard that students at one undergraduate college are typically not allowed to take courses at another undergraduate college in Carnegie Mellon. I still would have considered it for their stellar engineering program, however. A few days before the online decisions came out, I received my “Fat Envelope” in the mail, which confirmed my being ACCEPTED at Carnegie Mellon.Yale University - I loved this school, but my hopes had been dashed after a not-so-great interview, and the fact that someone from my school had been accepted to run track there. I also submitted this app an hour before the deadline, so I was sure my chances were extremely low, which is why this was the first decision I opened on Ivy Day. I was, of course, REJECTED, but at least I was able to anticipate it.Duke University - I hadn’t originally intended to apply, but I had finished all my other applications, and they sent me an email saying that they were extending the deadline for me, so I just figured I’d send an application in. I didn’t interview with anyone, which I thought would have sunk my chances, but lo and behold, the WAITLISTED decision popped up on my screen, so there must have been something promising in my application.Tufts University - A little background: Tufts Syndrome, or yield protection, is when a college will reject an applicant for being overly qualified to attend their college, because they know that the applicant will be accepted to and choose another, more prestigious school. Tufts is notorious for this (hence, Tufts Syndrome). However, I am not one of those applicants, so I felt pretty good about my chances at Tufts, especially with a solid interview. When I opened the decision and saw the ACCEPTED screen, I was relieved to have been chosen for at least one school on Ivy Day.Columbia University - I had originally applied for a weekend-long engineering program back in the fall of my senior year, and was subsequently rejected, but given a fee waiver to apply for Fall 2020 admission instead. I hadn’t originally planned to apply, but I didn’t want to let the fee waiver go to waste, so I submitted my app, and waited patiently for an interview that never came. Again, I thought the lack of the interview or demonstrated interest would’ve tanked my chances. So upon opening the decision and seeing the “Welcome to Columbia” video on my screen, you couldn’t imagine the flood of emotions I felt, realizing that I had been ACCEPTED at one of the top schools in the country. I guess I definitely did something right in my regular decision apps.Cornell University - This was another fee waiver situation, so I hadn’t originally planned to apply. The only interview I had had was a 15 minute phone call, so I wasn’t overly confident, but had been at least a bit more confident about this one over Columbia. Yet after opening the last one, I couldn’t care less about the rest of Ivy Day. However, I was still shocked to see the WAITLISTED message on my decision screen.Harvard University - Thought my interview was pretty good, but then again, Harvard’s acceptance rate was miniscule. Maybe, just maybe, I had a chance of getting in? My computer screen said otherwise when I opened the REJECTED decision.Dartmouth - Here was my great folly. As I mentioned before, I wrote an essay for my ED/EA schools. After their decisions, I rewrote my essay, putting a lot more thought and expressing more vulnerability in the essay. However, I sent the new essay to Dartmouth, with the thought that they would re-evaluate my application with the new essay. Looking back on it, I can see from their perspective that it seemed like me, the applicant, was really just trying too hard to appeal to the pathos of the admissions officer, even if that wasn’t my intent. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see the REJECTED decision on the computer, albeit still hurting a bit.Rice University - This was the one school I applied to that was the furthest away. In going through my emails, I saw that they had given me a fee waiver, so I just decided, why not? I even applied to a BS/MD program, as I hadn’t yet counted out becoming a physician. After looking at the school some more, I saw that they had a school of engineering, medicine, and music, so I realized that it was probably a good fit for me, despite being far away and in warm weather. However, I forgot to schedule an interview (because I was being stupid as usual), so once again, I thought my chances were low. Yet once again, my interview-less self gets WAITLISTED once more at a school I thought was out of reach. Maybe I’m just a terrible interviewer?Waitlist Decisions:Rice - I decided not to accept the waitlist offer, although, looking back on it, I think it would have been cool to have been accepted later on, just to say I’d gotten in.Duke - Someone from my school got in, so I wasn’t overly confident about my odds. I sent a letter of continued interest, just for the heck of it, but they REJECTED me all the same.Cornell - Still had high hopes for this, and was checking the College Confidential page quite often. Someone else from my school had been accepted to Cornell, but I sent the letter of continued interest anyway with my hopes still high. REJECTED anyway, but at least I was considered well into July.DECISION:After deliberating a bit, I had narrowed it down to Northeastern and Columbia. In the end, I felt that Columbia offered what Northeastern did, and more. I thought that Columbia’s location in New York would allow me to get an internship not too differently from Northeastern’s co-op program, and Columbia’s music program outshined Northeastern’s. So I am thrilled to announce that I will be (remotely) attending Columbia University in the Fall of 2020!Thank you to everyone for reading (especially if you’ve gotten this far), and I’m really glad everyone else’s answers have encouraged me to share my own story!

The college application process has been very turbulent, and the last few months of it are promising to be even more so, with the impact of COVID-19. However, for me the receiving decisions process is finally over. I applied to 12 different colleges (overkill), and was accepted to all but one of them. My best acceptances wereNortheastern UniversityBoston UniversityHoward UniversityWPIRPII really enjoyed reading through the other answers of people who were (perhaps overly) informative, so I’ll include information relevant to my application.Major: MathematicsGPA:4.276 (my school uses a convoluted 4.3 scale that I’ve always hated).Class Rank: No clue, we don’t use it, we have a tiny class of 48 students.SAT: 1510( 770 English, 740 Math, one sitting) Essay:16SAT Subject Tests: Math 1- 710, US History- 740, Physics-630Race: BlackAP Classes: My school only started offering AP classes in my junior year. In my sophomore year, I self studied for AP English Language. In my junior year, I took all three that were offered, AP US History, AP English Literature, and AP Physics 1. For my senior year, I’m taking AP Human Geography and AP Environmental Science (the only two offered other than AP English Lit). My scores were as follows:AP English Lang-4. AP US History-5. AP Physics 1- 2. AP English Lit: 4.I did dual enrollment at a local college, and passed with 4.0s in all but one class. I took Psychology, Sociology, Writing I, Model UN, Applied Statistics, and Calculus 1.Extracurriculars: Playing the saxophone for 7 years, 3 years of Varsity basketball, 1 year of varsity soccer, 2 years of volunteering at a CSA, 1 year with an internship there, 2 years as a grade representative on the student council, job at Market Basket.Essay: Noah Colbert's answer to What did you write about for your college admissions essay? Check it out for yourself and see what you think about it!I applied Early Action for every college that I could. If I couldn’t, I applied Regular Decision.College Decisions (in order of reception):December:Umass Amherst: Accepted. This was the first decision that I received. I was at my friend’s house when I received this one. At the same time, he received his decision from Umass Lowell( he didn’t apply to Amherst, nor I to Lowell). Originally, I was distraught about not getting into the Commonwealth Honors College, when my friends got into the ones at Lowell and Dartmouth. However, I received an email a month later saying I’d been admitted. The only scholarship I got was a $2K one for the Honors College.Howard University: Accepted. I found out about this one on a Saturday afternoon, in a sort of odd way. I was looking up when the Early Action results were released, and I found out they’d release mid December. I then went on Twitter(which I don’t even use), and saw videos of people getting their decisions the previous night. I checked the promotions tab of my email, and saw an email informing me of my acceptance. I received $14K in scholarships from here.Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Accepted. After the Howard debacle, I was prepared for the release of decisions for WPI. They came out at 5 PM on a Monday, two days after I found out about Howard. I had two other friends who applied, and we were all hyped about this. I had basketball practice from 4–6:30, and I was incredibly anxious the whole first hour. A little past 5, my coach let us have a water break. Not happening, I ran over to the bench and opened up my Chromebook. I opened up the portal and saw my acceptance. I was ecstatic for the rest of practice. My two friends also got in. I received a $28K scholarship from here.Champlain College: Accepted. I don’t remember this one that well. I remember that I had trouble getting into the portal, but at some point I found out that I got in. I received $31K from this school. I got the decision in the same week as WPI.Umass Boston: Accepted. I also had some trouble getting into this portal. I got this decision after school on the Thursday before Winter break, as I was waiting for my basketball game. I had my career high 22 points that night, so this might have helped :) I got into the honors college, and got a $13.5 K scholarship.University of New Haven: Accepted. I don’t at all remember receiving this decision, though looking back through my email apparently it happened on New Years Eve. I got a $24 K scholarship here, and into the honors college. I do remember that this college required official test scores, which I didn’t send but they accepted it.January-Northeastern University: Accepted. Words can’t describe how excited I was about this one. Northeastern University had been my dream college, ever since 7th grade. This scholarship apparently came out on a Wednesday afternoon, but I didn’t check my email at all that day. I had thought this decision would come out on the first day of February, which wasn’t for about another week. Oddly enough, the next Thursday was the first time in my four years of high school that I slept past the time my bus comes at; I’d never missed the bus before, let alone slept past that time (I’ve sure done it quite a bit since then though :)). As I sat in my room waiting for my Uber to arrive, I checked my email, and my heart stopped when I saw that they’d released their decision. When I opened the portal and saw the words congratulations, I honestly didn’t process anything else. Once the initial euphoria passed, I saw that I’d gotten into the Honors College, and had a $15K scholarship.February-University of Hartford: Accepted. I don’t remember this happening at all. I only applied here because of a fee waiver. I thought I got this back in December or January, but my email confirms it was February. I got a 28k scholarship here.March-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Accepted. This one came out at 7 PM on March 7th, and I was really bored waiting for it that Saturday, even though I wasn’t particularly excited for it. I remember being particularly annoyed by the stupid little fanfare that the portal had. It was too loud. I received the $30K medal scholarship from here.Boston University: Accepted. I knew that these decisions would be released at 8AM on Saturday, March 21st and I was excited, but that was too early for me. I’d slept late, had work at 11 that morning, and just wasn’t in the mood. I woke up at 8, groggily checked the portal with my eyes almost caked shut, saw I’d been accepted with a $25K scholarship, and then nodded off for another hour.University of Maine: Accepted. I applied here only because they gave me a fee waiver. Incidentally, I can technically say I got an acceptance on Ivy Day, because that’s when I received my decision. I applied in December, because they said they’d get me a decision in two weeks. However, I didn’t officially send my test scores through College Board, which they required, as I’d already sent them in October and I wasn’t spending anymore money on a college I didn’t care about. They kept sending me emails to send them, but apparently they didn’t care that much, as they eventually accepted me with a $9K scholarship.Harvard University: Denied. This one was a complete reach, and it just gave me something to open on Ivy Day. My only rejection, I never expected to have a shot here, although I must confess I did get my hopes up a little bit the day of. It also stung a bit having this be the last decision that I received ( a couple hours ago).Overall, I think 11/12 was a pretty good haul. However, what comes next is the hardest part. While I got good scholarships, the colleges I applied to have sky high tuitions, and my financial aid packages were really bad. Most left exorbitant amounts of money out (I’m talking 30–40K not covered by the packages). And I have until May 1st to figure things out. So far, Umass Boston is the only college I applied to that has moved decision day back to June 1st due to COVID-19.I never thought I’d be spending the final stretch of my senior year stuck at home, and frankly it sucks.As if this process could get anymore chaotic, due to world events, it’s going to get a lot worse.UPDATE 4/27/20: As of this evening, I have officially put down my deposit for my top choice, Northeastern University!

You will be judged in the context of your country, but MIT has a quota of about 150 international students, so you need to be one of the top 1 or 2 students from your country. English fluency is important.Taking college classes counts as an extracurricular as it isn't part of your standard HS classes. Statistically, a foreign applicants chances are under 5%. Yours seem better than that.Certainly it is worth applying. If you can afford the time and admission fee (or ask for a waiver) your statistical chance doesn't matter. Your chances may be better at MIT than at Ivies but you are omitting dozens of other great schools that would be happy to have you. CMU, GA Tech, WPI, RPI, and Univ of Rochester come to mind. Also consider Harvey Mudd and Olin.MIT and many other colleges value deep skills more than some meaningless community service performed only to pad your resume or check a perceived checkbox.