This discussion was created from comments split from: Class of 2024 RD Discussions Directory.
I don’t have anyone to talk to about this, so I made an account today and came here. I’ve been waitlisted at BC and Brandeis, and rejected from NEU. Those were my reach schools. I feel so lost and devastated: it’s as if I worked so hard for four years just to have it go to waste. I was president of the NHS, Secretary of student council, cross country and track captain, 1430 SAT score, 4.4 GPA, countless community service hours. Now I’m going to end up at my state school just like everyone else who made fun of me for working so hard.
Me too man, me too.
I got rejected from all good schools I applied to including Northwetsern, uChicago, Columbia, Carnegie-Mellon, Stanford, Harvard, and MIT. I had a 35 act, 4.8 gpa, played the violin very seriously with awards to show, and was active in my community. I spent so much time writing those damn essays just to now go to UIC, a school with an average act 13 points below mine.
Your not alone and I guess I’m not alone either! Let’s hope grad school will be a different story!
You are not alone… my daughter got rejected from 13 schools , waitlisted to 2. she is going to end up in school with 60% acceptance rate. 1360 SAT ; 4.0 GPA; eight APs , took the most rigorous courses of her class to find out that all her friends are going to Ivys and she is isn’t
Hi, I’m posting in the wrong forum (I’s a parent, and I was looking for something else), but wanted to offer some HOPE.
Given everything that is going on in the world right now, there will likely be a LOT of WL students who receive offers of admission.
Consider: 1) It’s unclear whether international students will be able to come to the U.S. to start school; 2) Huge economic changes will impact financial need and families’ abilities to pay which, in turn, will cause admitted students to decline offers at pricey private colleges and universities.
Congratulations on the successes you’ve achieved so far, and wishing you triumph on your journey!
(My son, 36 ACT, 4.71 weighted GPA with depth of activities is still waiting to hear from 2 schools. Just got rejected by Brown. He has a couple options he likes, but financially…not sure we can make it work.)
I was accepted to Umich-Ross but waitlisted by both Cornell-Dyson and UCB-Haas. I know my chances at Cornell waitlist are low and are decent at best at UCB.
Can someone please help me compare the pros and cons of all three schools? I know Ross and Haas are ranked higher but Dyson has the Ivy league name attached to it.
If anyone can help inform me about life on the campuses, the actual education (faculty, facilities, etc), masters programs opportunities after I graduate, and job opportunities, I would appreciate it! Thanks.
For those of us who didn’t receive the best news, it doesn’t matter. I applied to eleven schools, and I had high hopes for many of them. With a 35 ACT, solid SAT II’s, strong GPA, strong EC’s, and strong essays, I was always under the impression that I would be blessed with acceptances after four years of nonstop work. Ivy Day was a nightmare, as was the day before. But the day after, I was saved by an acceptance to a Top 20 school. Whether you end up at a state school, a private school, or one of the elite research universities in the world, you deserve a pat on your back. We made it through high school, and we have to make the most of college. We can’t let some middle-aged, uptight, pretentious admissions officers decide who we are as people. There are so many cases where people think that going to Harvard, Princeton, Vanderbilt, or Duke means that they have made it in life. Congratulations, but there is so much more. For those of us who were not admitted to our reach schools, this is only the beginning: promise yourself you will be the best version of yourself during these next four years so that com time for graduate school or job applications, you blow everyone else away. Especially during these odd times, we need to spread this love and end the pressure that high school students face; we’re going to thrive, Class of 2024 
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Attitude will make all the difference! Pursue the opportunities available to you and you will bloom where you are planted. Think about the money you are saving for grad school, your first apartment or car, the study abroad of your dreams, etc rather than treating this as a loss. It will be okay.
I am a student of Asian descent in Texas
Top student in the class-GPA of 4.0 (weighted GPA 4.6)
Several awards-including 2 scholarships, award for top student in class, Presidential award
SAT-1550
Was involved in a major charity organization and raised funds for it.
Got rejected from Northwestern, Princeton, Rice, Emory, Cornell, Duke, Yale, Casewestern
I am still at a loss why
Is it my asian descent? Is it because I was in a Hispanic dominated school. Several of the Hispanics in my school have got admission into a University of their choice, which includes several Ivy League schools. I have no problem with them getting into these top Universities, I just can’t figure out why I didn’t get a single of my top choices
Have got wait listed at Northwestern and Cornell-does anyone know what are my chances? Will my race play a role in getting one of the waitlisted spots?
i definetly feel everyone on this thread! I also was top of my class but got rejected from almost all schools but my safeties even tho i applied to 10+ reach schools. There’s been sm questions going around in my head and feeling like i worked so hard for nothing. I know attitude is supposed to help you and that’s what really matters but it stills sucks because you know this isnt what you had hoped for or imagined 
@khuman i also got waitlisted to Cornell and am an Asian who was top of my class. I also had legacy and attended a six week program there. I’m really sad about my results but I guess part of it for me might be a mix of because of essays/EC and obv ethnicity
but keep me updated if u get any additional info
just in case anyone needs to feel better… I also was rejected from 12 (mostly t20) colleges but have realized it isn’t the end. First of all, it is their loss for not accepting you all. You are all brilliant and worthy. Secondly, you will succeed wherever you end up, as you have proven that in your high school career. Who cares what any person or college says about you. Go and prove them all wrong.
Found this thread and hoping to give some hope, as a mom, to those who get rejected. Last year, despite getting through 4 of 5 prescreens, son received no acceptances at Juilliard, Curtis, NEC, Boston Con, Berklee. He was definitely upset. We had a plan B. He took a not-gap gap year basically. Continued his private music studies and enrolled for cont ed classes at WC Univ. He reapplied to all but Berklee and added several more top-notch conservatories. Someone asked him why he didn’t apply to small college with good music program. Well he made it through all but Juilliard prescreens, and has 3 acceptances this year, including NEC, Boston Con and Peabody. I’d say don’t give up. A year of maturity and working hard at college level and with his music definitely helped. I’m sure the current virus situation will change the face of the fall in terms of admissions. This site is having a Webinar on Fri 4/3 with admissions officers about it.
Hang in there and congrats on all you’ve achieved thus far! A mom.
I was devastated for my S16 when he was rejected from 4 (all reach) of his 5 schools and ended up going to our state school. All those years of stress and no sleep, full IB, high stats , 3 varsity sports, student gov’t, volunteer hours, etc. Wrestling season was toughest- coming home at 10pm then having to finish a paper, study for a test AND do homework… As a mom, it was hard to watch all this, but I supported him as best as I could. Many of his friends, who were also full IB and just as talented, attended our state school, so he was in good company. They decided college admissions was unfair and may be simply the luck of the draw. I would argue, however, that maybe things happen as they should. Your plans may have to change, but you may find yourself with other opportunities for experiences you hadn’t even considered. My S always had a positive attitude at the state school, expanded his friend group, tried his hardest academically, checked out other subjects outside his major (he was pre-med), and had a good time in the process. In June he’ll receive his CS degree (never having taken a class or shown any interest in HS) and has a job already lined up. He couldn’t be happier! Best of all, he’ll graduate with negligible debt. He admits that this is likely not a path he would’ve taken had he been accepted to the other schools, but now he can’t imagine doing anything else. All this to say that the countless hours of hard work you’ve done in high school is not for naught- it has set you up for success at the school you were meant to be in! What a bright future you have ahead of you. Good luck!
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I’m also an Asian and my whole school collapsed from the admission. Our school was quite famous for getting people into good schools and this year, we have ONE ivy (ED), no UCLA nor UCB, no Duke, no Rice, or any other school around that level. I have a steep upward GPA slope with an unweighted 4.0 this year, ok EC, 3 APs with 5s and one 4 and 4 APs to be taken this year, and a 1510 SAT. I got only got into UCSD out of the 15 schools I applied to. Now holding onto my three sad waitlists from UChicago, UCLA, and Georgia Tech :’(
Hi everyone - not sure if this is the right place to post this but here I go: my son (1450 SAT, 3.9 GPA at a top school in the state, athletics, extracurriculars, you name it) also didn’t make it into any of his top 10 choices. We’re just gutted and the craziest thing is that our college counselor said that this is supposed to build character and resiliance, and that my son will come to appreciate this situation in the future. While that may be true (I certainly hope so), it really hurts to hear that kind of message - that despite doing everything right, it didn’t work out and there’s no additional options out there besides soldiering on with the safety school neither of us thought was going to be in play. I know the counselor’s message is meant to be encouraging, but it just feels cold at this point…
It is nice to see the posts above. Hope the the waitlists turn into acceptances. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Will be a miracle if rejects become acceptances too due to the unique times we are in. No matter which schools are picked, all the hard working kids will be successful where ever they choose to go to
Hey everyone. I got either rejected or waitlisted from all of the schools I was actually excited about going to. Many of them weren’t even reaches for me. I don’t want to go to a college I’m not super excited about, but it seems like that’s gonna be the case for me. It’s hard not to take this entire process personally when you essentially put your entire life on a piece of paper for the admissions officers to judge. Nonetheless, I’m trying to stay positive. At least I have a happy and healthy family with all that’s going on.
Really happy I found this thread. I am glad I am not the only one who has that voice in the back of my head telling me I wasted the last four years of my life working hard when I could’ve just gone out and had fun like everyone else in my grade who is going to state schools. I got into one t20 school, cried tears of joy, hyped myself up, bought gear, got the okay from my parents, then after not receiving any aid my parents said they can pay for any of it and so I would be over 200k in debt. So there goes that. I still don’t know where I am going to go next year. Iḿ not even excited for college anymore. I know it will be fine but it sure does suck right now. So I hear all of you who are disappointed, heartbroken, ashamed, etc. You are not alone and this does not define any of us or negate the hard work that we have done. We are just getting started.
I hope so. I am also waiting for a miracle. They worked so hard for 4 years and now this. My DS also got rejected from 10 of his reach schools, waitlisted for GTech UMICH ( CS) and UIC-UC ( Computer Engineering after appeal which is also zero chance) . We never thought he will end up at State College with his perfect stats 35 ACT, 3.9 UW GPA, 12 APs, STEM school, Eagle Scout, and many ECs. Me and my husband is like " where did we go wrong" . I have no words to console him and even me.