Cornell - Denied

Cornell did not accept me.

Harvard Interview: Anticipation

I sent my Common Application to Harvard on the last possible date. I sent my SAT scores even later. Regardless, my online profile says everything has been received. Except the (voluntary) interview.

According to the website, not being able to set up an interview will not have an adverse effect on the applicant's chances. Now there's also a list of counties where international interviews are possible, and I hoped Costa Rica wasn't on it. It was. Since I suspect that not trying to set up an interview would look bad, I sent an e-mail asking who I could get in touch with. I got an answer telling me all Harvard alumni had gone on a mass migration to faraway parts of the world and that I was therefore saved. Hurray!

Actually, I got a list of names and e-mails and the interview is tomorrow.

Interviews are hard. At least I suppose they are, I only ever had one other with The Major, and a phone interview at that. See, the thing about a phone interview is that there's an escape route. If things go badly and I panic and I decide "Screw this, I'm frightened and I don't want a degree" I can slam down the phone and never face the person again. What am I supposed to do in person, make a break for the door? Wait 'til they turn their backs and try to sneak out the window? I don't think so.

What makes it all the more nerve-wracking of course, is that it's Harvard. Nearly no one is qualified for Harvard and that goes double for me.

My GPA is 3.72. My highest SAT score is 2140 (+ writing, 1410 without), high, but hardly Ivy League. And we're both going to know this and I still have to go in and convince him that they are.

Here are some depressing numbers: the most recent estimates (The Choice, New York Times College Admissions Blog) say that roughly 35,000 students applied to Harvard this year, up from 30,489 in 2010. Last year, only 7% were accepted (CollegeBoard).

Cheerful thought.

High Tech Hofstra

After doing most of the admissions process completely online, it's pretty clear that the days of mailing in huge envelopes of essays and transcripts are over. Unfortunately, it's a one-way deal.

Here's the message I got when I checked into my status page on Hofstra just a few days ago:

"We decided whether you've been accepted. We know, but you don't. You'll have to wait 'til you get a letter in the mail! Hahahaha, mine is an evil laugh..."

It's been paraphrased.

I just checked again now, to see what's going on, but instead of my little checklist telling me what's missing, or the evil little note I saw last time, there's nothing about admissions. I can't for the life of me figure out who they think I am. Do they think I have the letter? Is there a crucial piece of information in the mail that will let me know where I stand?

Come on, I'm in Limbo here! Going through the website, I find calendars, bus schedules, a welcome letter... There's only one thing I want to know now, and this site doesn't have it.

Hofstra and the TEC

I'm done with all the Hofstra stuff. All I have to do now is wait for their response.

To be completely honest, I'm not all that excited about it. The only major that interests me even mildly there is Russian (they don't seem to offer Aeronautical or Aerospace engineering) and I don't think I really want to make a language my prime major.

On the other hand, I want to learn Russian at some point...

I'm done with the TEC, too. (Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, no, I don't know how they managed to turn that into TEC). Before you take the admissions test you have to pick your major. There are ways to change it later, but its extremely hard and depends on whether there are any open spaces in the major to which you want to change. As it is, I'm accepted in Biotecnology, which sounds pretty cool, although I admit I didn't actually look it up at all. Since I don't seriously expect to go to the TEC (University of Costa Rica, UCR, is better), that doesn't bother me much.

Profiles and Statistics

My Liason Officer sent me the Year of 2014 Class Profile. Here are the more interesting numbers:

Applicants and Nominees (This one really puts things into perspective, what's horrible is the comparison between Qualified Candidates and Offers of Admission)
Applicants
11,627

Candidate Pool
7543

Qualified Candidates
2445

Offers of Admission
1566

Admitted:
New U.S. Cadets 1269
New International Students 17
Turnbacks Returning 8
Total
1294

College Board Scores (SAT) (for comparison: My math was 650, my Reading was 740, my Writing was 580. I don't know how they get to Verbal, but if it's a normal average, then mine is 660. These scores are ok, but I'll need better to make up for my CFA. Yeah, I know it doesn't work that way (a bad CFA is reason enough to disqualify you) but I need something to make me look good.)

The first number is the Mid 50% Range

Verbal
-600-680
Mean: 640

Math
-630-700
Mean: 666

Geographical distribution was pretty cool, aside from all 50 states and Territory of Guam, there were people from: Brunei, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Jordan, South Korea, Lebanon, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia and Uganda. Count them, that fits exactly the International Student count. One from each country.


High School Honors and Activities (these numbers are pretty impressive, specially the Athletic Letter Awards. I think I only fit in the Class President category).

Class President
9%

Class Vice-President
7%

Valedictorian
8%

Salutatorian
3%

National Honor Society
63%

Boys’/Girls’ State or Nation Representative
11%

Yearbook/Newspaper (Editor or Business Mgr)
4%

Yearbook/Newspaper (Other Staff Mbr)
12%

Debate Team
7%

Dramatic Production
15%

Band or Orchestra
25%

Chorus/Glee Club
11%

Boy/Girl Scouts
24%

Eagle Scout/Gold Award
12%

JROTC Cadet
11%

Civil Air Patrol
9%

Academic Bowl Team
8%

Athletic Letter Awards (1 or More/Any Sport)
80%

Football 22%
Basketball 11%
Baseball 9%
Track 27%
Swimming 11%
Soccer 13%


Average GPA (mine is something like 3.65 or thereabouts.)
3.87


There's more information, like ACT scores (which doesn't affect me in the least) and Sons and Daughters of Alumni (again, irrelevant, but 14 students had parents that attended the same academy).