At a Loss of Words

Applying to College
1

I have been dreaming towards the University of Chicago for what it is, but also for the great financial it (and many other top private universities offer). I applied Early Decision 1 and was unfortunately rejected, not even deferred or waitlisted. I am actually heartbroken but also feel stabbed in the back. Yes, this sounds like another “rant” but I think it’s really a different case as I don’t have any safety or match schools; I can’t afford any one of them.

Currently, my father is divorced and is unemployed with no income. My brother in the US Army, who is stationed in Korea, is sending us his bonus income for being stationed there (~$24,000) and next year when he returns, it will decrease to around $15,000. With our apartment bills, utility, car, and phone service, this will cut things very short and the most we can even afford for college is at max $5,000 (this is a bit of a stretch even) per year. I can’t even afford my community college.

As a DACA, I can’t take out loans or receive federal aid through FAFSA, and many free-tuition schools (Like UIUC and UIC) don’t give me free tuition as I am DACA, but will give me in-state tuition, which still costs around $30,000 but dorm, transportation, and etc. I’m really not sure where to go. People say “here is a list of places that give you scholarships” but none of them (outside the T30 schools at most who are private) will give me enough aid to attend.

I felt like the University of Chicago was an opportunity for me, but unfortunately, I didn’t have whatever qualifications or characters they wanted. I guess I will shotgun the Ivies and hope some other college takes me and sees my background as a significant consideration in my admissions. I’m not sure what to do and honestly felt like dying when I saw the flat-out rejection.

2

I know how hard it is to have a dream burst like this. There’s no denying that. But please know your future is bright and one school’s admissions decision does not dictate your future. Every highly selective college receives many times more qualified applicants than they can accept so it’s not about qualifications and certainly not character.

Do you have people in your life – family or school – who you can talk to about how you’re feeling? Be kind to yourself. You have worked hard and achieved success (I’ve seen your other posts so I know) and you will find a path.

I know there are a handful of colleges that meet all need for international applicants (which as DACA you are) and I think you been pointed toward those options in some other posts. Places like Grinnell, Vassar, University of Richmond are not as selective and fantastic colleges where where you’d get a world class education. Please cast a wider net than the Ivies – they admit so very few!

Hang in there – it will work out and please do talk with your school counselor, friend and family.

3

You still have time to expand your search. I would encourage you to look at some of the liberal arts colleges that offer good FA to DACA students. For instance, Bates, a top LAC, meets 100% of demonstrated need and gives admitted undocumented and DACA students their FA in the form of grants and work-study, with no loans.
https://www.bates.edu/admission/undocumented-daca-applicants/

4

Don’t give up. I have friend in Chicago who did undergrad and grad as a DACA. You will be able to do this but maybe not the way you wanted to. I believe he was at UIC.

5

Now I’m just becoming all too toxic, thinking maybe it was my race (asian), or it was because I was too poor, or if UChicago doesn’t really want DACA students…I’m just not sure at all how I was flat-out rejected and not even considered a reevaluation.

6

I’m sorry you are upset, but it’s time to move on. Yes, it’s brutal, but the best way to view this is that you are in the majority of those rejected. I mean that in a positive way. The odds of admission are not in your favor. It sounds like you put all your eggs in one basket.

You need a few baskets. @Sue22 gives good advice. Consider some of the excellent LACs that meet 100% of demonstrated need. If you have great grades and test scores, look at this list: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
If you have the great stats needed for admission to U Chicago, you can get a FULL RIDE at Troy University, for example. The app deadline is March 1. There are other colleges too.

You need to have realistic expectations. Feeling like dying because you were rejected means that you were not being realistic about your chances. If you must have 100% full need met, you must apply to colleges where you have a high chance of acceptance. Some reaches are okay, but you cannot count on getting into any school with an acceptance rate below 20%, even if you have the best stats in the world. Good luck.

7

I am very sorry.
Colleges such as UChicago - equivalent to the Ivy League- are a lottery. It’s not that anything is wrong with your application but rather that they have so few spots for qualified applicants.
Send (pm) me (and @Lindagaf above if she’s ok with it) your essay.
What are your stats? What are you interested in academically?
What are your strongest points?
Were you a Questbridge candidate?

8

@MYOS1634

Here are my statistics.
**Decision: ED1 Rejected **

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): N/A
[] ACT (breakdown): 35C (English 35, Math 36, Science 34, Reading 34)
[] SAT II: Math II 800, Chemistry 760
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75 (4.9/5.33 weighted)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parentheses): AP Geography (4), AP Chemistry (5), AP Spanish Language and Culture (5), AP US History (4)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C (M and EM), AP Economics (Micro and Macro), AP Calculus BC, AP Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Literature and Culture. Would’ve taken 12 by the end of Senior Year.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Spanish Exam Bronze, Youth Volunteer Recognition, Honor Roll?[/li]
[/list]Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
-Korean Club (Leader)
-Chicago Aquarium Society (Co-Manager)
-Internship Research at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine on cognitive decay and super agers and their resistance to Alzheimer’s and cognitive decay
-Published medical research as first-author on an abnormal case of fistulas on a patient
-School Pep Band (Leader), Symphonic Wind Ensemble at school
-Played at Carnegie Hall
-Drone photographer, and solo cinematographer
-buying/selling/trading aquarium fish/plants/equipment
-an assistant teacher for my AP Chemistry class (leadership?)
[] Job/Work Experience: Helping my aunt with her cafe.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at the Northshore Community Hospital (Associated with the University of Chicago) since I was 16 (age required to volunteer).
[] Summer Activities: Volunteering at the hospital, working with my aunt, starting new aquariums, taking summer physics classes, and doing research at Northwestern (mentioned above).
[] Essays: Why UChicago (9.5/10), Uncommon Essay - Make your own spell (9/10), Common App (8/10)
[] Teacher Recommendation: AP Lang and Comp AND Ap Lit and Comp teacher (same teacher 10/10) and my AP Chem teacher who I co-teach her class (9.5/10)
[] Counselor Rec: My counselor has around 50 kids to write for so I would say around a (6-7/10)
[] Additional Rec: N/A
[] Interview: No interview
[] Supplementary Material: Student Aid Report, Extenuating Circumstance

[/list]Other
[]Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant): DACA
[] School Type: Public High School (New Trier High School)
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $0. We are living off my brother (serviceman in the US Army) bonus which is $24,000, but will decrease to $15,000 next year when he is stationed in the states.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, DACA student, divorced father, no-income[/li]
[/list][ b]Reflection**
[] Strengths: I think my grades, my extracurriculars, my essays, and my recommendations were the strongest.
[] Weaknesses: Perhaps my GPA?
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was rejected…This was a complete shock to me as I depended on this school for my financed higher education and was my first choice (and would’ve been regardless if my family had money). I’m not sure why I was rejected…I thought I would be accepted given my circumstance and how many ED applicants are usually accepted from my High School.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: UIC, UIUC (can’t afford any of them).

[/list]**General Comments: ** I’m at a complete loss right now. I wasn’t deferred, just rejected, meaning I wasn’t even considered for them and probably didn’t even pass the preliminary rounds…how? I just want to die right now to be honest. This has been my dream school, my possible school given my circumstance, and really not sure if I can even make a school that would give full aid for me (T-25). As a DACA recipient and NO-income, I felt like my hardships would have been somewhat beneficial considering how much I had to do and spend time on to get the results I did. Perhaps they didn’t see any of the UChicago qualities they were looking for. I am devastated.

I will email you the essays! I was debating on doing Questbridge, but I was discouraged as I knew UChicago was my #1 choice. I am very interested in neurology, ecology and evolutionary biology, and chemistry!

9

Do not be discouraged! You have outstanding credentials and any school would be lucky to have you, and if your first choice didn’t accept you, that doesn’t mean you’re any less accomplished! So many students who also have outstanding achievements like yourself are regularly rejected, so it’s definitely not anything that you did wrong. As someone pointed out, the odds of admission are not in your favor, or in anybody’s favor. You sound like you have so much determination and drive, and look at what you’ve already accomplished. You know you’ll be successful no matter what you do or where you go anyway.

People have posted some good suggestions on this thread of colleges that would meet your needs.

10

Your stats are fantastic. I think the problem is that you came from New Trier. It’s a fantastic and prestigious public school and serves part of one of the wealthiest towns in the country, much less the state. And it is practically in UC’s back yard. UC was going to be extraordinarily competitive to begin with; they probably got a ton of applications from your high school, and, on the whole, they probably accept more kids from your school than they do from just about any other school. So it isn’t that your application came up short, just that the competition was much more intense for you than for, say, a kid from either coast.

Mourn, but keep moving forward.

11

Good, great stats. That means a bunch of other colleges will want you. Chicago didn’t, but that’s not a good reason to want to die. No college rejection is worth saying that.

I’ll be blunt: To me, it sounds as though you expected you would get in and that you deserved to get in. In other words, it soinds a bit entitled. I know you arent, but they dont know that. Chicago places a lot of importance on those essays. Some of your attitude may have come through in your essays.

Again, it’s ok to be upset, but now you have to move on. It seems you did plenty of research. Yiu must have realized how competitive it is. Hundreds or thousands of other amazing students were also rejected. Hopefully they aren’t saying they want to die.

You have plenty of other options and you need to move quickly. Post now in College Search and Selection. Explain what you need. Get suggestions, ask your counselor later today to send your stuff to some new schools. Write your essays over the break. Pm me your common app essay, I’ll give you my honest opinion. Cut and paste it into the message, no links.

12

You wrote this thread earlier, which had some very good suggestions for other schools that might fit your criteria. Go back and read it. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21858058#Comment_21858058

Your list is comprised of high reaches for all, with the exception of Colgate. You cannot assume you will get into any of those colleges. You need a few match and safety schools. You have none. Again, being blunt, you are setting yourself up for a lot of possible disappointment with your list. You might find that colleges such as Oberlin, Macalester, Occidental, Haverford, Colby and Bates are a better bet for you than any of the others. If you are a female, consider Bryn Mawr and Smith. None of those colleges are safeties, btw, so look at the yolasite I linked earlier. If you want a college to attend in September, you need to be realistic.

13

@HKimPOSSIBLE You mentioned your parents are divorced. As you know most CSS Profile schools will request financial information from non-custodial parents. Chicago is an exception, so I can see how this rejection may have been doubly disappointing to you. I believe Vanderbilt may be another such exception.

How will you deal with the noncustodial parent’s income and the need to fill out the forms? Are you in contact and do you have a decent relationship? If you plan to ask for an exception, do you have a plan in place to do so?

Given your situation, you might do better to chase merit for stats - however, you should act quickly as some of those deadlines for merit scholarships may have passed already.

Best of luck to you.

14

I will fill out the non-custodial waiver request.

I don’t knkw where my mom is neither does my family.

15

So call the financial aid office of your colleges of interest and ask them what you should do given that her wherabouts are unknown.

16

Perhaps apply to Vanderbilt? A reach, but normally does not use non custodial parent for FA. However, Vanderbilt considers you to be an international student and is need aware for international students, reducing the chance of admission.

17

Did you apply to any good merit schools like Alabama?

18

I have looked into them. I would qualify for the Presidential scholarship, which would cover all the OOS tuition, but my counselor has said that the merit scholarship at Alabama is only availaboe for citizens or legal residents…

19

It sounds like you are getting some really good advice from other posters here already. I did some searching for colleges that meet full need for DACA students and found this list: http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/colleges-meet-100-financial-need-undocumented-students/ I hope others can chime in on whether that is a useful resource for your situation or not.

20

@HKimPOSSIBLE You have received a great deal of good advice here and you should carefully go through it and look into the various suggestions. Unfortunately, you got rejected from your first choice, many of us have had that happen. You have to pick yourself up and dust yourself off and learn from this experience. From here on out make sure you have lots of options as even with a perfect GPA and perfect scores not all the applicants get in where they wish to be. You can get a good education out there at schools that meet need and go to U of Chicago for grad school when you can afford it on your own. Don’t let your belief that you were perfect for them and U of Chicago for you when you have no way of knowing what was the deciding factors on their end. It should not rise to wanting to die over this. It should make you empowered to find a school that can meet your need and get a degree and go to U of Chicago later. Show the world by continuing to work hard don’t fall into the “it’s because I was Asian” or what not. You are from the area and that means a lot of people you went to school with might have applied and have better stats, a more unique major choice, or a myriad of other things. Hang in there and make a new plan