Major: biomedical engineering, electrical engineering 

1580 SAT

4.83 GPA

A&M Brown Foundation Scholarship winner 

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Geometry

• PE

• French 1

• Art 1

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• AP biology

• Algebra 2

• AP seminar

• French 2

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP chemistry

• AP Physics 1

• Pre-cal BC

• AP stats 1

• AP research

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• AP Physics C

• AP calc BC

• Stats 2

• AP CSA

Applied to...

• UT Austin (accepted)

• UT Dallas (accepted)

• A&M (accepted)

• Rice (accepted)

• Carnegie Mellon (accepted)

• Georgia Tech (accepted)

• UCLA (accepted)

• Johns Hopkins (accepted)

• Yale (EA deferred, wait-listed)

• UPenn (wait-listed)

• Columbia (wait-listed)

• Northeastern (wait-listed)

• NYU (wait-listed)

• Cal Tech (rejected)

• Princeton (rejected)

• Stanford (rejected)

• Harvard (rejected)

• MIT (rejected)

• Northwestern (rejected)

• UChicago (rejected)

• UC Berkeley (rejected)

• Washington University in St. Louis (rejected)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: driving and learning from others through conversations 

• Eating pizza backwards

• Having surgery and becoming interested in the overlap between engineering and medicine 

• College specific biomedical programs, entrepreneurship opportunities, biotech startups, and the culture of a college

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Robotics

• CVHS Science Olympiad

• CVHS MAO

• CVHS NHS

• Eagle Scout

• Tutoring

• Piano

• Research experiences & volunteering with hospitals

Rec letters from Chen & Garcia

Major: international business, business, statistics, data science, international relations

1540 SAT

4.88 GPA

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Algebra 2

• PE

• Spanish 2

• Theater 1

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• Pre-cal AB

• AP seminar

• Spanish 3

• Pre-ap comp sci

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP calc AB

• AP research

• Theater 3

• AP Spanish 4

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• AP European History

• AP Spanish 5

• Theater 

Applied to...

• Rice (accepted)

• UT Austin (EA, accept)

• Macalester College (accepted)

• Trinity (accepted)

• Washing Uni St. Louis (wait-listed)

• U Michigan (EA deferred, rejected)

• Duke (rejected)

• Yale (REA, reject)

• Brown (rejected)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: I grew up traveling, so I didn't have a permanent community.  I learned to take risks, especially through theater since I had to put myself in another person's shoes. 

• My involvement in theater. How I worked to make it more inclusive

• How working for an internet marketing company and my AP research topic in international branch campuses made me interested in my major.

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Theater (treasurer, actress, assistance director)

• CVHS interact club (secretary, subhead of African committee)

• CVHS Bollywood Club (secretary) 

• CVHS NHS

• UIL theater

• Stuco senior rep

• Volunteer at a theater 

• Legal content writer for a company (summer job)

Rec letters from Ramon, Schmidt, Houghton, vocal teacher

Major: architectural engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering 

1540 SAT

4.89 GPA

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Algebra 2

• PE

• Spanish 2

• Art 1

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• Pre-cal AB

• AP seminar

• AP CSP

• Art 2

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP calc AB

• AP stats 1

• TPSP

• Art 3

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• AP physics C

• AP calc BC

• Post calc

• Creative writing 

• AP art history 

Applied to...

• UH (accepted)

• A&M (accepted)

• UT Austin (accepted)

• UTD (accepted) 

• UTSA (accepted)

• Georgia tech (accepted)

• UC-Berkeley (rejected)

• Duke (rejected)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: my experience dealing with misophonia (where certain noises trigger bad feelings). How I increased my tolerance with that and social interactions. 

• Love for art and math

• My Indian identity 

• How my TPSP project inspired me to go into design and sustainability. 

• Being president and founder of Bollywood Club

• Learning to take care of myself after my dad had surgery.

• Unique academic programs in architectural engineering since most colleges don't offer these programs. 

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Bollywood Club (founder, co-president)

• CVHS WISE (president)

• CVHS Interact 

• CVHS NHS

• CVHS MAO

• Odissi dance (Indian classical dance)

• Piano

• Internship at HISD. Summer leadership in the business logistics department.

• A&M camp

• Architecture program at UH

Rec letters from Chen & Houghton

Major: biology

1570 SAT

4.9 GPA

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Algebra 2

• PE

• Spanish 2

• Debate

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• AP bio

• Chemistry

• Pre cal BC

• AP seminar

• Spanish 3

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP chem

• AP stats 1

• AP calc BC

• AP research

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• APES

• AP physics C

• Stats 2

• Post cal

• AP CSA

Applied to...

• UH (EA accept)

• UT Austin (EA accept)

• Rice (wait-listed)

• Stanford (REA rejected)

• Brown (rejected)

• Columbia (rejected)

• Cornell (rejected)

• Dartmouth (rejected)

• Harvard (rejected)

• UPenn (rejected)

• Princeton (rejected)

• Yale (rejected)

• Johns Hopkins (rejected)

• Duke (rejected)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: on a trip to Pakistan I met a girl there that was the same age, and we talked about the differences between our lives

• Wanting to do medicine

• Growing up with parents from Pakistan

• Involvement in Red Cross

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Red Cross (VP)

• CVHS NHS (president)

• CVHS Bio olymipid  (president)

• CVHS Chem olympiad (president)

• CVHS MAO

• CVHS Bollywood Club

• CVHS South Asian Student Association 

• CVHS Interact

• CVHS WISE

• CVHS Math club (president)

• CVHS NEHS

• CVHS Science honor society (secretary)

• Piano 

• Golf

Rec letters from Chen & Garcia

Major: political science, public policy, public health 

1530 SAT

4.86 GPA

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Algebra 2

• PE

• Spanish 2

• Debate

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• World religions/world wars

• Chemistry

• Pre-cal AB

• AP seminar

• Debate 2

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP biology

• AP calc AB

• AP research

• Music theory

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• AP psych

• AP chemistry

• APES

• AP stats 1

• Spanish 3

Applied to...

• Trinity (EA accepted) 

• UT Austin (accepted) 

• A&M (accepted)

• Rice (accepted)

• Oberlin (accepted)

• Haverford (accepted)

• University of Rochester (accepted)

• Emory (wait-listed)

• Swarthmore (wait-listed)

• NYU (wait-listed)

• Princeton (rejected)

• Columbia (ED reject)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: I went on a hike in Norway with my family, and it was completely awful. We were in a vulnerable situation, but we helped each other out. I remember that change is inevitable and that I need to learn to cope with change. 

• Through debate and some internships, I've seen how poor health care can be in communities. I want to help to mitigate this through government intervention.

• Leadership in debate. We didn't have a sense of community, so when I was put in charge I strategized to make debate accessible. I wasn't the best or most experienced debater, but I took initiative and lifted others up to make the club better.

• Home responsibilities. I had the responsibility to care for my grandparents It taught me patience and empathy, and I've gained generational wisdom from them through their stories.

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS debate (president)

• CVHS Society of Music Association (president)

• Stuco rep (junior and senior)

• Composer for UIL film club

• Rep Carnegie on district level, advisory council. Push mental health resources. 

• Bellaire Youth Council (president) 

• Internship for Texas rep Ron Reynolds

• Piano since 4 years old, taught myself how play guitar + bass +ukulele 

• Tutoring at Lanier

Rec letters from Ostrovsky & Thao

Major: management information systems, business, computer science, biomed, premed 

1480 SAT

4.9 GPA

Citgo Scholarship Winner 

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Geometry 

• PE

• French 2

• Art 1

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• AP bio

• Algebra 2

• AP seminar

• Debate

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• Pre cal AB

• AP stats 1

• AP research

• AP CSA

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• AP psych

• AP chem

• AP calc AB

• Stats 2

Applied to...

• UT Austin (accepted)

• Baylor (accepted)

• A&M (accepted)

• Case western (accepted)

• UH (accepted)

• Vanderbilt (accepted)

• Emory (wait-listed)

• Rice (ED rejected)

• Wash U (rejected)

• Duke (rejected)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: performing comedy and my experience doing that

• Being an EMT

• Leadership in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

• Participating in hackathons 

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Debate 

• Hackathons

• Research with MD Anderson

• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

• Job as EMT during the year

Rec letters from Ostrovsky & Ms. Rodriguez 

Major: biochemistry 

1530 SAT

4.9 GPA

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Geometry 

• PE

• Spanish 3

• Tech theater

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Religions/world wars

• Chemistry

• Algebra 2

• AP seminar

• AP Spanish 4

11th grade courses

• AP English

• Creative writing 

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP chemistry 

• Pre cal AB

• AP research

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• 1968/Mexican American studies

• AP biology

• AP psych 

• AP calc AB

Applied to...

• A&M (accepted)

• UT Austin (accepted)

• UH (accepted)

• Purdue (accepted)

• Arizona State Uni (accepted)

• UTD (accepted)

• Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Heath Science (accepted)

• UMich - Flint (accepted)

• Cornell (waitlisted)

• Tulane (waitlist)

• Dartmouth (reject)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: I made shampoo potions when I was little. Connecting that to wanting to do chemistry. 

• Working with the nonprofit organization Speak Now Bahia to donate tablets to kids in Brazil. 

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Yarn club (cabinet)

• CVHS Red cross

• CVHS NHS

• CVHS HHS

• CVHS Bollywood club

• CVHS Rhinos for St Judes

• Speak Now Bahia

• Teaching English

• Guitar

• Competitive running 

• Competitive flute playing 

• NHHS

Rec letters from Garcia & Houghton 

See QuestBridge page

Major: mechanical engineering

1580 SAT

4.84 GPA

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Algebra 2

• PE

• French 2

• Art 1

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• Pre-cal BC

• AP stats 1

• AP seminar

• Frenh 3

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP chemistry

• AP calc AB

• Stat 2

• AP research

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• AP psych 

• AP physics C

• AP calc BC

• Post cal

Applied to...

• Rice (ED accept)

• UH (withdrawn)

• A&M (withdrawn)

• UT (withdrawn)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: my experience playing violin. I went from a half-hearted student to a dedicated one. I contributed to school culture through clubs. Music connected me to my family because I can't communicate with some family members in the same language. I showed myself that I can achieve and succeed. 

• When I was young I struggled in math, but I had an interest in science. I grew to like its versatility and connecting my understanding of science to its applications. 

• Growing up in Houston, I would bike around Rice and perform at their music school. I knew Rice would be a good fit because I would be driven by others to do well academically, exploring my personal interests and meeting people with different perspectives. The Kinder Institute at Rice is also really cool because of its connections to the medical center and NASA.

• My upbringing in terms of political awakening. Throughout my life I've found people with an equal interest in political matters. Engineers need to have this awareness and learn to talk to others with different points of view because they need to be part of the decision making process to enact change. 

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Soccer 

• CVHS Music Club (president)

• CVHS MAO (VP)

• Violin (played since kid)

• Debate camp tutoring

• Volunteering 

Rec letters from Chen & Barnes

Major: AI decision making, computer science

1570 SAT

4.87 GPA

9th grade courses (Bellaire)

• English

• World geography 

• Biology

• Geometry 

• Algebra 2

• Tennis 

• French 2

10th grade courses (CVHS)

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• AP biology 

• Pre cal BC

• AP seminar

• AP CSA

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP chem

• AP calc BC

• Ap stats 1

• AP research

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• APES

• AP physics C

• Stats 2

• Post cal

• Pre ap photo

Applied to...

• MIT (EA accepted)

• Columbia (EA withdrawn)

• Rice (withdrawn)

• [Ivy Plus schools] (withdrawn)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: my passion for automating things that are mundane so that I can focus on creative things

• I'm interested in translating my heavy math and CS background into their applications 

• Leadership in schools clubs like MAO

• SmartSprout irrigation

• Synthesizing different opinions and diverse perspectives to carry out lofty goals

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS MAO

• CVHS Robotics

• SmartSprouts

• Research in bioinformatics

Rec letters from Chen, Garcia, Wendt

Major: business, bioscience

1540 SAT

4.902 GPA

Citgo Scholarship Winner

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Geometry

• Volleyball

• French 2

• Art 1

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• AP bio

• Algebra 2

• AP seminar

• AP CSP

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• AP Physics 1

• AP chem

• Pre-cal AB

• AP stats 1

• AP research

12th grade courses

• AP English

• AP gov/macro

• AP psych

• APES

• AP physics C

• AP calc AB

• Stats 2

Applied to...

• Rice (ED accepted)

• UT (withdrawn)

• A&M (withdrawn)

• Northeastern (withdrawn)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: being a camp counselor for Camp MI Way and working with multi-impaired kids. Learning to interact with people and becoming a junior director. 

•  How I changed my parent's philosophy about working hard and having free time. I got them to value time.

• I don't have a traditional study space, so I worked at my family's dining table.  Sitting there doing work is how I could connect with other people.   

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS volleyball varsity (district honorable mention)

• CVHS pen pal club (president)

• CVHS NHS (VP)

• CVHS FMLA (president)

• CVHS Kpop (VP)

• CVHS Boys VB (manager)

• CVHS Robotics 

• CVHS Stuco 

• CVHS MAO

• Job

• Camp MI Way (junior director)

• Memorial Hermann hospital volunteer 

• Girl Scouts (Silver Award)

Rec letters from Garcia, Houghton, Scott

Major: neuroscience 

33 ACT

4.86 GPA

9th grade courses

• English

• AP human geography 

• Biology

• Geometry 

• PE

• AP Spanish 4

• Theater

10th grade courses

• English

• WHAP

• Chemistry

• AP bio

• Algebra 2

• AP seminar

• AP Spanish 5

11th grade courses

• AP English

• APUSH

• 1968 / world wars

• AP Physics 1

• Pre cal AB

• AP stats 1

• AP research

12th grade courses

• AP English

• Creative writing

• AP gov/macro

• AP psych

• APES

• AP calc AB

Applied to...

• Yale (accepted)

• UMich (accepted)

• Ohio state uni (accepted)

• A&M (accepted)

• UT (CAP)

• BU (wait-listed)

• Rice (wait-listed)

• Tulane (deferred, wait-listed)

• Northeastern (deferred, rejected)

• Harvard (rejected)

• UPenn (rejected)

Essay Topics:

• Common App: the different hallways of my life: those at ballet school and in the hospital. I see my life through these hallways, and they've taken me to culminating points in my life. 

• Being Portuguese and Venezuelan. I noticed that a lot of people at Carnegie are children of immigrants like me. I had to get used to the different cultures at school and at home. 

• Being interested in neuroscience because of my back surgery. Others helped me, so now I want to help others by becoming a surgeon. 

Extracurriculars:

• CVHS Eco Club (president)

• CVHS Swimming downstream (treasurer)

• CVHS Interact (subhead and head)

• CVHS NHS

• CVHS HHS

• Fish Camp counselor 

• Volunteering at SPCA

Rec letters from Houghton & Ford