<p>My son is in his senior year right now. He didn't get into the top colleges of his choice. He is thinking of taking a gap year and reapply.
Did anybody here have the same situation? Is there anybody who took a gap year and got into the top colleges?</p>
<p>I heard that some colleges don't give admission to those who apply second time. Is that true?
Please give some feedback here. Thank you!</p>
<p>next year is supposed to be the most competitive year in college admissions history- the peak of the trend that we all felt the effects of this year. keep that in mind. i would suggest looking at the option of going somewhere that gave you a good amount of money and thinking about transferring. a year of stellar grades at a respected university could look a lot better than a year of aimless wandering. (not to suggest gap years are aimless wandering- if your son has something wonderful he wants to do in his year off, go for it. it just seems to me that his situation is not gap year by choice, but rather, gap year because he isnt where he wanted to be.)</p>
<p>Thank you for your suggestion.
Now, my son has some new ideas. He wants to have time to accomplish something that he didn't have time to do before. and he feels that he is not ready for college.
What am I going to do? Push him to college or agree with him to take a year off?</p>
<p>The ranking of the school isn't that important. I suppose it's how you define "top," but even after getting into a school ranked the 2nd best public institution by USNews, it occurs to me that applying to a school for being "top" is ever the more so superficial. Incurring debt that will take two decades to pay off isn't worth the jump from a high MB/MC (marginal benefit per marginal cost) school to Yale, for instance.</p>
<p>If he is taking a gap year because he didn't get in HYPSM (etc), just go cry about it; don't bother attending college.</p>
<p>Otherwise, taking a gap year and doing some mission/peace work is not bad choice. (One student who did not get into Stanford last year, from my school, is going next year after taking a gap year in Africa [did something?])</p>
<p>No matter what he does on his gap year, it's very unlikely that he'll get into colleges that he didn't get into this year.</p>
<p>For an example, go into the CC archives and look for the story of Andison, an excellent student with good ECs who was rejected everywhere that he applied, took a gap year, and got into some nice colleges, but none that had rejected him before.</p>
<p>NSM, that's true to a certain extent. (FWIW, he did get into MIT, which I'd call a lot more than a 'nice' college). Andison had great stats and great EC's, so we can make the inference that he just wasn't a great 'fit' at the schools that rejected him. Denzera, on the other hand, fit well at schools that originally rejected him but had a low GPA. He took a gap year to prove that he could succeed and work hard in the real world in spite of his GPA. He ED'ed to a school that had had either waitlisted or rejected him originally and got in. </p>
<p>A gap year won't make a kid a better fit for a school, as fit is supposedly based on intrinsic qualities. However, for someone who was simply statistically underqualified, a gap year can be extremely helpful.</p>
<p>He got accepted by McGill.
By the way, he is a Canadian student and needs financial aid.
Do you think he should go to college or take a year off to reapply? He only wants to get into the top 15 U.S schools.
Thanks!</p>
<p>is just me or aspiration and inspiration getting people mixed up</p>
<p>McGill is a top school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
He only wants to get into the top 15 U.S schools.
Thanks!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>only....</p>
<p>Now, I mean no disrespect, since you're my elder, and it's rather weird to be giving the chiding as a teenager myself, but I can't believe you're supporting your son's attitude like this.</p>
<p>First of all, I assume you are referring to the rankings by the USNews and World Report (or whatever they're called). That is one way of ranking schools yes. Now let's say he got into a school ranked 16 there (whatever it happens to be) -- are you going to let him be discontent because it wasn't a top 15 school?</p>
<p>A valid complaint would be, "Oh no! I didn't get accepted into any schools where I could flourish and pursue my desired course of learning!" For example, having visited (as a high school student competing at competitions held at campuses) several of my state schools, I was quite discouraged by the general atmosphere there, and especially turned off by their tone in their advertisements ("We've every field you could ever conceive of! There's no reason why you shouldn't come to us!"). Thus, I was thoroughly resolved not to enroll there if it was possible, and I consigned those schools to be desperate last-hope safeties (that really weren't because I didn't think I would thrive there). [Thankfully, UVA admitted me or I would have gone to them.] </p>
<p>But it appears your son is bummed out because he didn't get a school that attained the rank of 15 or lower, as opposed to the myriad of other reasons why someone should pick a school. Mind you, the "top 15 schools" you speak of are very different schools. If your son is choosing schools based on rank I highly doubt he'll be happy with his choice even if he did get in. At the end of the day, a top rank is nice, but there has to be a better way your son is choosing schools.</p>
<p>I know 2 guys who got into Oxford after gap years, but dunno abt american colleges.</p>
<p>I think you should assess where your son was weak at in his apps. If he was a bit weak in academics, maybe going to some college, working hard and transferring with a high GPA would be better. If he was just not prepared enough, maybe a gap year would do good.</p>
<p>Bottomline, its not a bad idea. I am taking one myself, am going to do 4 internships, social work, another A Level subject, another language, and sports in the gap year :)</p>
<p>"But it appears your son is bummed out because he didn't get a school that attained the rank of 15 or lower, as opposed to the myriad of other reasons why someone should pick a school. Mind you, the "top 15 schools" you speak of are very different schools. If your son is choosing schools based on rank I highly doubt he'll be happy with his choice even if he did get in. At the end of the day, a top rank is nice, but there has to be a better way your son is choosing schools."</p>
<p>I agree. I also think that he'd be far better off choosing one of the excellent Canadian schools that accepted him.</p>
<p>A few years ago, a friend's son didn't get into the Ivy of his choice. He got into some spectacular schools, but had his heart set on a certain Ivy because his deceased father was an alum. He had contacts in China. During his gap year he lived in China and won several "Speaking Chinese" competitions while there. The next year he was admitted to the Ivy.</p>
<p>"He got accepted by McGill.
By the way, he is a Canadian student and needs financial aid.
Do you think he should go to college or take a year off to reapply? He only wants to get into the top 15 U.S schools.
Thanks!"</p>
<p>Is your kid crazy??? McGill is the Harvard of Canada! He can get a fantastic education there at a fraction of the cost of a US school, and he doesn't have to be hoping and praying for financial aid that may never come through because he's an international student!</p>
<p>If he's still in love with the "Top 15" when he graduates from McGill, let him go to one of them for graduate school on his own dime.</p>
<p>Even I've heard of McGill and I'm in California. I've worked with people that went to McGill and they said it's an excellent school. In fact, if not for the cold weather, my daughter would apply there. We were looking at University of British Columbia as well. From what I read, there are about 20,000 less students applying next year. So it won't improve your odds of getting in these top 15 schools even. I would go to McGill, get good grades, and try transferring later but it's insane to take a gap year because of his definition of top colleges. BTW, McGill would fit into that category.</p>
<p>"Is your kid crazy??? McGill is the Harvard of Canada! He can get a fantastic education there at a fraction of the cost of a US school, and he doesn't have to be hoping and praying for financial aid that may never come through because he's an international student!</p>
<p>If he's still in love with the "Top 15" when he graduates from McGill, let him go to one of them for graduate school on his own dime."</p>
<p>I totally agree with you. happymomo
The reason my son wants to re-try is because he knew he could improve his application next time. 1, he only applied for four schools. 2, he didn't know much about the application process. 3, he didn't start application until middle of October. 4, he didn't write good essays than he could.</p>
<p>He has good marks and is taking the most demanding courses, and got all A. His gets involve in many activities. His SAT is pretty good. (SATI 2290, 800,800,690. SAT II 800,800,800). He started to learn English four years ago, and got very high AP English mark.</p>
<p>I think he is too confident and not informed. He regrets a lot. He now knew that he could do much better. He will broaden his college list this time.</p>
<p>The question is: since he got accepted by the top Canadian college, should he re-apply for U.S colleges?
As a mom, I want him to be happy. I just don't know which is the right way for him.
Thanks for all your reply.</p>
<p>The thing to remember is that international students face very tough competition, and people who would get in as a domestic student have a far lower chance of getting in as an international.</p>
<p>The most important thing is <em>what</em> he wants to do, and whether a school will match his ambitions. Why doesn't McGill suit him?</p>
<p>Taking a year off for the sake of reapplying to a top 15 US school is more or less idiotic. Not only could McGill give him a top education, he could just as well go to McGill and then try and transfer to a US top 15 school with half of his education already paid for. While transfers to top schools are unlikeley, Cornell and U of Chicago are both great schools in that range that arent beyond ridiculous to get into, and there are plenty of others as well. </p>
<p>I do agree if he has a problem with McGill then taking a year off becomes legit, but if all he is doing is sulking because he didnt get into Harvard/Columbia or whatever, then he should grow up and get on with his life.</p>
<p>If your son has this kind of attitude, I don't think he has the maturity to even handle any college...</p>