This year's applicants - please listen

Applying to College
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<p>Greetings to those of you who are new to CC - I'm here to share a lesson we learned during last year's admissions process. Before you put together your list of schools you might want to locate my thread from last spring entitled "We're picking up the pieces ...but what went wrong?" </p>

<p>I thought that now would be a good time to drag out the old story to help this year's crop of applicants avoid admissions disaster.</p>

<p>My son, known to CC regulars as andison, was one of the top graduates in his competitive public high school graduation class, was a National Merit Finalist, had SATs of 1550, four SAT IIs with scores between 730-770, had a nationally recognized EC etc etc, and, no he didn't have a personality defect, he's a great kid. Anyway, he applied to five Ivy League schools and was rejected from all of them. He was waitlisted by three schools and ultimately these schools took few to no students from the wait list. One of the wait listed schools accepted at least six students from his HS who are all at this college now, who had lower credentials than he had (yes we know this because most of them are friends of his). Andison's SATs were 200 points higher than the mean SATs of this year's accepted students at that school and his GPA was higher as well(this told to us by his GC who found out from the admissions office.) The school wait listed him because they sensed that he was using them as a safety. He ultimately hung onto the wait lists until June 15th, when the last list closed. He went through all the fun senior parties, the graduation and the entire end of his senior year desperately hoping he'd get off the wait list. It never happened. </p>

<p>Enough details. The point is that THIS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.</p>

<p>What can you do to avoid this?</p>

<p>Build your list from the bottom up.
Don't put all you energy into the top choice applications.
Pay just as much attention to your "safety" schools. VISIT them.</p>

<p>It doesn't matter how brilliant, nice, talented, funny, popular, beautiful etc you are..... it can happen.</p>

<p>I'm not posting this because I want to resurect that episode and analyze it anymore. I most definitely don't - please don't try.</p>

<p>What really went wrong was that we didn't put together a realistic and balanced list, and didn't put energy into the safety schools.</p>

<p>Good luck with your applications and be realistic. </p>

<p>Best wishes,</p>

<p>andi</p>

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<p>Thanks for the warning. Where will your son be this fall, andi?</p>

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<p>If you don't mind me asking, what happened? Did your S take a year off, or is he at college now?</p>

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<p>andison is taking a gap year. This semester he's taking physics as a 'special student' at MIT as well as studying music there. Commuting from home. He's also teaching music to children at a small local music school, has an internship and a pt job. He's in great shape now and has no doubt learned an important life lesson. (and so has his mother ;) )</p>

<p>As we speak he's working on an application.</p>

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<p>and don't read this and think that there must have been something seriously wrong with his recs, or his personality or that he must be a jerk and this can't happen to you. It wasn't the case. </p>

<p>He's a popular and well balanced kid and he loves school.</p>

<p>This was all about a very unpredictable applications process and a poorly put- together application strategy.</p>

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<p>Can you link to the original thread? I can't find it.</p>

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<p>Mods, can you post the link? I actually can't find it either.</p>

<p>It was April 2, 2005 if that's any help.</p>

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<p>just click on andi profile and than go to threads started and u should find it........but i might as well post it <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=47867%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=47867&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Thanks kryptonite!</p>

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<p>I know it can happen but andi how did ur son cope with the results? U write like he brushed it off as nothing but i'm sure that's not true even for the most numb person. Can u explain to me? I just want to know and i haven't been rejected or think i will be at least for now. (i'm not arrogant but i'm confident that with a good strategy and honest writing that i will get in.)</p>

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<p>He definitely didn't brush it off. The night he got four rejections over the internet he was devastated. He didn't go to school the next day. All of his friends, parents etc were asking him where he was going to college. It took until he got closed off the final wait list to come to terms with planning a gap year because it really wasn't what he wanted. He does realize now that by the time he starts as a freshman he'll have a lot more knowlege and understanding of exactly what he wants to get out of his education. He is truly excited about his gap year now but it was a gradual process- like about ten weeks.<br>
It was also a little hard at the end of August when he went to one good-bye party after the next for his friends. Fortunately there are a couple kids left here who aren't starting until January.</p>

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<p>Andi:</p>

<p>A big hug thank you for bringing this up again, my oldest was not as bad off as your son, because mom & dad required she pick one safety...which is where she is now. She also had great everythign---not as amazing as your son, but still a great kid, good rec letters, good ECs, but she did nbt get into any reaches and she was only looking at reaches.</p>

<p>Andi is so right, make your list from the bottom up. Pick a rolling admit school with merit $ where you COULD be happy...the winter will be so pleasant with that in your pocket. Thansk to my education here, D2 got into 6 of 7 schools, many with $$. Most highly ranked by those who rank. Pick a couple of reaches and some stretches. Try not to be in love with any one, but find lots of happy options...life will be better.</p>

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<p>your S sounds like a friend of mine now, except that my friend wasn't even waitlisted at any place. rejected from all 8.</p>

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<p>Hi somemom </p>

<p>6 out of 7 is great- it must have been sweet to have all those choices. Shows how a smart strategy can work and make senior year a whole lot less stressful.</p>

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<p>It happens to lots of kids, though not usually at the top of the pile, like Andison. A more common scenario is the kid who gets into the college he wants, turns down others or doesn't follow through on the app process and then gets the fin aid package in March. As well as academic safties a lot of kids need financial safties too, and that can be even more difficult to figure out.</p>

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<p>banedon17 :eek: not even a wait list? What is your friend doing now?</p>

<p>and speedo, good point about the fin aid too.</p>

<p>I just want to say that I'm not posting this so you all turn into nervous wrecks during the process. Just the opposite. If you're smart and realistic, you will be a whole lot less stressed out.</p>

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<p>my friend is also on a year off, and learnt the folly of not having a well-balanced list. my friend was adamant about going to the US, so didn't apply for any other countries' schools. this year will be the second round of applications.</p>

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<p>Well I can sympathize with your friend. I'm sure he/she won't make the same mistake the second time around. And I do think, now, that it's not such a bad thing to have a year between high school and college.</p>

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<p>Andi, as a senior just starting the process, I can't thank you enough for your post. I went back to the original thread and it has given me a lot of food for thought. I appreciate your willingness to reopen what must still feel like pretty fresh wounds to share your story with us. Thanks, coldcomfort</p>

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<p>Same here. I was debating on whether to add another safety, and now I definitely will. Better to add another application fee than not get in anywhere. :/ </p>

<p>
[quote]
The point is that THIS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.

[/quote]

The funny thing is, I've never really thought about it. All through the college search I've kind of assumed I'll have my pick of the bunch. I mean, I know my schools reject a lot of people, but it never really occurred to me that I might be rejected. Not really arrogance, but ignorance, I think. Thanks for the food for thought. </p>

<p>Sorry to hear about what happened, but I hope he gets into some great schools this year!</p>