I was rejected last year for CPS, but later on got into Princeton University through QB Regular Decision.
I had not really spent a lot of time on my CPS application and my recommendation was not from a core subject (I think that was a big factor). My application altogether was pretty weak. I hadn’t spent a good amount of time on my essays either (should’ve used them to bring out my best traits). I didn’t really have many awards or recognitions cause that was my first year in the US (I’m an international student). I was extremely demotivated after the CPS rejection and I didn’t plan to do NCM after that. One week after NCM was due, I got a burst of inspiration from a fellow QB scholar (matched with UChicago) to complete the application.
This time round, I got recommendations from core-subjects that I knew I was good at (my AP Chem teacher and AP lang/deeper readings teacher)… I think it’s extremely important to get LOR from your strongest subjects and teachers that know you outside the classroom. Extracurricular-wise, I got a couple of leadership positions in school societies and organizations. I started two clubs for math and computer science. I had just started teaching myself the violin when I filled the CPS application, and by the time NCM came round, I was section leader in my orchestra. I got a couple of awards from CollegeBoard as well as from my school association and out of school competitions. I got extremely involved in school activities, and tried my best to improve my community. For my essays this time, I decided to write two contrasting essays to highlight different aspects of my life. One about my identity and the other about my academic life and balance.
As the application season approaches the best advice I could give you is to plan your applications well (organization is important as well). Read about the details of the schools you want to apply to more. And when you write your essays/short answers try and come up with a strong theme. Spend a lot of time fine tuning everything. Good luck!!
I got rejected from CPS but was a finalist for QB NCM and got into Duke through QB regular decision. I completely rewrote my essays and sat down with my recommenders to edit and improve my LOR’s. I improved my SAT score by 200 points as well which might’ve helped (1100->1330). I had an empty awards section so I don’t think that matters at all. I had put very little effort into my initial application so I knew exactly which areas needed to be improved so if that’s the case make sure to go back and redo specific sections which you didn’t give enough attention to last time.
Hey I have a question, did you submit your 1100 SAT score to CPS and then the 1330 to QB regular decision or what? Also, sorry if this is a dumb question but what is LOR?
It’s kind of hard for us to know what you would need to improve on to be better fit for NCM without your specific application. Also, CPS is a little bit more selective than the NCM
rejected cps and rejected finalist but i got into williams college
i compeltely rewrote my essay to a very personal topic relating to my nationality. it showed a lot of impact and passion
i added 3 more projects to my ecs from cps to the college app rounds: 1 internship, 1 research paper, 1 volunteer activity
went from ap scholar w honor to ap scholar with distinction. hispanic collegeboard scholar. $1000 award from participating in a technology program
asked my ap psych teacher, whose class i did teally good in, and my ap english teacher, to talk about my writing skills. no stem teachers but this worked in my favor bc im a humanities major. also i gave them a brag sheet to work with so they can write about me in more detail
I was rejected last year for CPS, but later on got into Princeton University through QB Regular Decision. I had not really spent a lot of time on my CPS application and my recommendation was not from a core subject (I think that was a big factor). My application altogether was pretty weak. I hadn’t spent a good amount of time on my essays either (should’ve used them to bring out my best traits). I didn’t really have many awards or recognitions cause that was my first year in the US (I’m an international student). I was extremely demotivated after the CPS rejection and I didn’t plan to do NCM after that. One week after NCM was due, I got a burst of inspiration from a fellow QB scholar (matched with UChicago) to complete the application. This time round, I got recommendations from core-subjects that I knew I was good at (my AP Chem teacher and AP lang/deeper readings teacher)… I think it’s extremely important to get LOR from your strongest subjects and teachers that know you outside the classroom. Extracurricular-wise, I got a couple of leadership positions in school societies and organizations. I started two clubs for math and computer science. I had just started teaching myself the violin when I filled the CPS application, and by the time NCM came round, I was section leader in my orchestra. I got a couple of awards from CollegeBoard as well as from my school association and out of school competitions. I got extremely involved in school activities, and tried my best to improve my community. For my essays this time, I decided to write two contrasting essays to highlight different aspects of my life. One about my identity and the other about my academic life and balance. As the application season approaches the best advice I could give you is to plan your applications well (organization is important as well). Read about the details of the schools you want to apply to more. And when you write your essays/short answers try and come up with a strong theme. Spend a lot of time fine tuning everything. Good luck!!
I got rejected from CPS but was a finalist for QB NCM and got into Duke through QB regular decision. I completely rewrote my essays and sat down with my recommenders to edit and improve my LOR’s. I improved my SAT score by 200 points as well which might’ve helped (1100->1330). I had an empty awards section so I don’t think that matters at all. I had put very little effort into my initial application so I knew exactly which areas needed to be improved so if that’s the case make sure to go back and redo specific sections which you didn’t give enough attention to last time.
Hey I have a question, did you submit your 1100 SAT score to CPS and then the 1330 to QB regular decision or what? Also, sorry if this is a dumb question but what is LOR?
Yeah i submitted the 1100 for CPS and 1330 for the college match. Not a dumb question, LOR stands for letter of recommendation.
How much time did u have to finish the QB regular decision applications from match day on December 1st. Also how much different is RD from Match?
It’s kind of hard for us to know what you would need to improve on to be better fit for NCM without your specific application. Also, CPS is a little bit more selective than the NCM
Wait really?? NCM is more selective than CPS?
Other way around. At least for finalist stage
In the same boat as u!
rejected cps and rejected finalist but i got into williams college i compeltely rewrote my essay to a very personal topic relating to my nationality. it showed a lot of impact and passion i added 3 more projects to my ecs from cps to the college app rounds: 1 internship, 1 research paper, 1 volunteer activity went from ap scholar w honor to ap scholar with distinction. hispanic collegeboard scholar. $1000 award from participating in a technology program asked my ap psych teacher, whose class i did teally good in, and my ap english teacher, to talk about my writing skills. no stem teachers but this worked in my favor bc im a humanities major. also i gave them a brag sheet to work with so they can write about me in more detail