Can someone please explain why I was waitlisted? 3.77 uw GPA 1300 SAT (CR+ M)
@angelsfan0055 I was waitlisted with a 4.0 GPA and 1470/1600 SAT. No one has all the answers when it comes to admissions so the only thing left for us to do is to be patient until after May 1st! In the mean time focus on your best option!
@angelsfan0055 I could say it’s b/c you root for Anaheim, and I wouldn’t be any closer to a real answer for you than if I had delved into a statistical analysis. If you’ve spent any time on CC, you will notice that admissions are becoming more paradoxical each year, and it’s really difficult to predict - students with better stats than yours are also getting wait listed or denied. Schools are focused on rankings, and that means they need to mind their yields, and for whatever reason, they deemed you as a low yield prospect. American is HUGE on demonstrated interest, so if you just submitted and didn’t show any interest otherwise, it may have been as simple as that.
Hey guys I see a lot of people surprised they didn’t get in based on GPA and testing, thought I would let you know I have a family friend on admissions and he always expresses how important political type extra cirriculurs are as well as your supplementals, American U prides itself on a politically active student body and wants to mantain that so if you had awesome grades but lacked the EC’s that may be why, sorry to all who did not get in and congrats to those who did.
Female from CA, got waitlisted with a 2190 SAT 3.9 GPA. 7 APs and 2 Honors classes throughout high school, had a great off-campus interview in which my regional rep said I was the “perfect fit for American.”
I’m sort of at a loss. American was supposed to be one of my safeties, and now I’m feeling awful about my other schools, most of which hover around a 20% acceptance rate. In response to what @P15cmcgrath said, I am currently Student Body President at my school, would that count as a “political-type extra curricular”?
Accepted with a 3.6 UW GPA and 4.1 W. 2100 SAT and a local interview. Planning to go to the San Francisco Admitted Student Reception- hopefully I’ll see some of you there!
Another high-achieving student WAITLISTED:
2250/2400, 1580/1600 SAT
3.8 GPA
Wonderful EC’s
Presumably quality recs
Essays that were definitely specific
To everyone else like me, don’t let this stuff define you. Just cus you got waitlisted from a school that seemed like a safety does not mean you will not get in someplace else. Good luck to everyone!
American University was supposed to be a backup… but I got waitlisted…
4.0 GPA, 6/586 in the class
33 ACT
Tons of extracurricular activities, including a large internship for the Colorado Democratic Party, speech and debate, deca, etc.
Kinda surprised, but not disappointed. After getting deferred from Yale earlier this year, this waitlisting did not really affect me.
@Frenholfer you are clearly a top-20 caliber candidate and AU knows there is no chance you would ever go there, so they are calling your bluff. Good attitude, you will be at a much better school in the fall. Good luck to you.
Tbh, a lot of people are waitlisted/denied at AU simply because their stats are, in essence, “too high”. If you have top tier/Ivy league stats and you’re applying to American University (there’s no harm in doing so), but you have to be cognizant of the image being presented to an admissions officer. Once your stats meet a certain range, you’re obviously applying to American University as safety. AU doesn’t want to be used a safety esp. considering their horrendously low yield rate. This year, I believe they pushed down their acceptance rate even more to account for this. If you’re waitlisted with high stats, but really really want to attend AU (and aren’t using it as a safety/backup) then you’re going to have demonstrate some serious interest!(: Obviously, this doesn’t account for everyone’s rejections/waitlists. In any case, I do wish you all the very best at wherever you choose to go. Just solidify in yourselves and pass it down to siblings, juniors, etc. that legitimate admissions are truly holistic, meaning, as an “uber” high-stat student you don’t really fit their mold and as someone else put it “they’re calling your bluff”. Finally, admissions are just fickle. I hope this sheds a little more understanding on the matter 
For example, my SAT is a mere 1730 and I was accepted with a solid (+40K) financial aid package. I’m a “match”/low-match for American University which is exactly one of the types of people AU knows they will get if they offer a legitimate fin aid award. Of course, I do have a high GPA, a ton of EC’s, great LoRs, dual-enrollment student, URM, Eagle Scout, one of three in college, etc. etc. but yeah, I think a lot of it has to do with image you present. Admissions are looking to shape the “perfect” class, not gather perfect people. Like I said, best wishes to everyone and I’m sure your high-acheivement has been/will be recognized with an acceptance at many other institutions.
Yeah… I think at this point it is safe to assume that American decided to protect its precious, precious yield rate.
Too bad, I was actually considering AU as a solid choice if I got rejected from YHPS (which is very likely)
At the end of the day, a school with an acceptance rate of 43% is not a safety for anyone.
@paleselan
Haha exactly. Not to be too long-winded, but look what American University is up against in its area: GWU, (maybe UMD), Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown. Admissions is a strategy game. If they can push down their acceptance rate to protect their yield and get closer on par with the competition in the area, heck yea they’re gonna do that! xD
Just a friendly recommendation if it’s something you’re interested in doing… If you haven’t already, send a letter to AU. Show some interest that is precise to how you intend to contribute to AU and grow. Extra LoRs, accomplishments, awards, etc. Then when “reaping time” comes (if you’re rejected from YHPS) cause their yield rate will be low as usual, they’ll definitely be more prone to pick you up off the waitlist.
ACCEPTED to Spring 2016. Film and TV - 3.56 W GPA, 27 ACT, California Male
This may be a stupid question but since AU is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, does this mean i would have to take bible courses or anything? I know some religious institutions you have to minor in Bible Study.
@TheOne01 Nothing religious is mandatory or even pressured.
So, I was accepted into American University. I am a completely average student for this school; I have a 28 ACT, top 5% of my class, some leadership opportunities, and I’m an URM. Needless to say, I received no FA or scholarship. I am supposed to pay full price to a 60k/year institution. This is not going to happen.
Honestly, American was my number one school, but ever since RD decisions have been coming out, I have been utterly disappointed. When I called to ask what put me in a position to not receive a scholarship, I was told I was average. I knew this, yet I expected some help. Checking back here, I am astonished that many INCREDIBLY deserving students were not accepted and rather were wait listed. This is ridiculous. I can’t believe that this is happening to so many of you. They refuse to give scholarships to their average students, yet they don’t accept their top?
I am very sorry, but if it makes you feel any better, I guess this means that American thinks you will be getting into higher level institutions. Honestly, I wish you all the best.
Xim, sad to hear this. Do you have other acceptances you can take?
Xim. Good luck to you. Not really sure how American put together their acceptances and aid packages. It seems they were more worried about yield then the students. There seem to be many students that had American as a top choice that seemed to fill the requirements (grades, test scores, showed interest, made second round of honors, etc) that did not even get in.
xim - sorry to hear that this happened to you, and I saw in other threads it’s the second time. Unfortunately, the entire FAFSA system is messed up, as many families make too much for financial aid, but not enough to actually pay $60K/yr. And the analysis is pretty flawed as it assumes a huge % of your after-tax pay going to college every year. As a parent, it is a completely non-realistic formula, especially for those of us who live in high-cost areas where we need to spend half of our take-home on housing.
You have obviously worked very hard to get to this spot, and I’m sure there is another college out there where you will end up and thrive. Best of luck to you.