<p>I'm starting to worry a bit because I've been rejected to 3/4 programs I applied to this year and I thought I had good chances at each. I know I shouldn't be too disappointed at getting rejected from programs with sub 10% acceptance rates but many colleges are as if not more selective so it's gotten Mr worrying that I've been overestimating my stats thus far.. do you think summer research program admissions effectively reflect college admissions?</p>
<p>Usually, no. For example, CMU Pre-College is much, much less selective (~79% AR for the AP/EA program, a bit more for the others), whereas the school itself has an acceptance rate of approximately 25%. A lot of these programs also admit based on different criteria. For example, I was most likely admitted to CMU Pre-College Architecture because of my strong essay, despite my relatively mediocre PSAT scores. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind my asking, which programs have you applied to? </p>
<p>I was rejected from RSI SIMR and Simons and was accepted into Garcia. I also applied to Clark Scholars but I have a feeling that won’t turn out too well either…</p>
<p>I don’t know too much about those programs but I wouldn’t sweat it. The pool for RSI is as, if not more, competitive than that of MIT undergrad. Does MIT include demonstrated interest in their admissions decisions?
Same goes for SIMR and Simons. Congrats on GARCIA! </p>
<p>Yes I am aware that RSI pool is probably as competitive as MIT pool which is what worries me because it could mean I’m not “up to par” as those kids for next year when I actually apply to colleges.</p>
<p>No, summer sessions are typically much less selective, since they have plenty of otherwise-unused capacity in the summer, and summer session attendance by itself does not lead to a degree.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus well what do you mean by less selective? SIMR had a 5.5% acceptance rate this year and Simons was something like 13%… number wise they’re pretty selective. Are you saying the applicant pool is probably weaker?</p>
<p>kej, My daughter did a summer program at MIT that has acceptance rate less than 20%. Some kids were accepted to RSI but were rejected to MIT or waitlisted. And some kids that were not accepted to MIT in the RSI programs but were accepted later on. But this is a few years back. College admissions change drastically from year to year, for example this year there are more rejections. So who knows what’s going to happen next year.</p>
<p>Another consideration is that both the size/quality of the applicant pool and the number of available slots will be different…so comparing acceptance rates (summer programs vs. college admissions) is problematic.</p>
<p>If summer program admissions should be easier than college admissions, and I’ve been rejected from 3/4 of my programs, does that indicate schools like Stanford and Princeton are out of my reach?</p>
<p>There is not much you can do now, except to focus on your essays and the list of colleges. Add more schools for matches and safeties. Stanford and Princeton are lottery schools. </p>
<p>I know but the whole summer things gotten me wondering if I need to reevaluate my list of matches and safeties</p>
<p>@kei04086, you are overthinking this. Enjoy your summer. Apply to the usual basket of unpredictable/match/safety schools. Find your fit. Rock your essays. Relax. </p>
<p>You should not “rethink” your matches and safeties so much as add a few. Your reaches are reaches and if I remember your record, you’re as likely as anyone to get into some of the schools you’re aiming for, but remember your odds are 1 in 20, 1 in 15, 1 in 10 at best. Applying to a wider geographical range would help, for instance - find a few colleges in the Midwest or South that you like, look into UA’s Presidential scholars (plus theCBHP), etc.</p>
<p>Is Georgia Tech a potential safety? I know its engineering is quite highly regarded and it has an acceptance rate of 56%</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it isn’t, because it doesn’t have FA for OOS students.
See if NCSU and VTech would have sufficient merit scholarships for your stats. </p>
<p>Does GTech offer 0 FA whatsoever for OOS students? Also, where can I find specific criteria for Merit Scholarships for various schools? All I’ve managed to find is general info like 3.0+ gpa</p>
<p>GTech is tough to get in to OOS.</p>
<p><a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; lists automatic-for-stats large merit scholarships. These would be the merit scholarships to consider for safety purposes.</p>
<p><a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; lists non-automatic large merit scholarships. These are likely to be reach (sometimes match) level for the scholarships (although some of the schools may be safety level for admission, that does not help unless you get the scholarship, so the school needs to be considered as a reach or match if you need the scholarship to afford it).</p>
<p>The first list doesn’t have California at all and the second one only has USC which is not even a safety admissions wise. Are only in state students eligible for those or are they open to all?</p>