<p>^^Characteristics or personality traits? Entrepreneurial personality, initiative, and organization all come to my mind. To the OP: those traits are going to serve you very well in life. Editing to add I agree with jessie said in post #16. If you want to look at rolling admission schools for a safety, here is a thread to check out: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/354075-list-colleges-early-action-early-decision-rolling-admissions.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/354075-list-colleges-early-action-early-decision-rolling-admissions.html</a></p>
<p>yea no uchic is and never will be a safety for anyone and neither is John Hopkins</p>
<p>What was your GC thinking when approving your list of schools?
You did not have any safeties. But there is another approach. If you apply to 3-4 schools that are your matches (above 40% chance of being accepted), you are likely o get into at least one of them. This works IF (!!!!!!) there were no red-flag problems with your essays and recs that went to alll schools. It is still possible that either JHU or Pomona will take you. Plus a chance in Ivies. A few weeks ago I would suggest to look for good schools still accepting apps. But today ... There is not much you can do today that you will not be able to do April 1.</p>
<p>OP,
RE: citymom's Q about 'where was the GC?' Let me guess -- not many students from your school have your kind of stats and grades, and the GC assumed you'd be a shoo-in based on your 'star' status. </p>
<p>I've been reading these acceptance threads, and if you took off the header accepted/rejected/waitlisted on each post, I couldn't tell you who went into which category. It's brutal.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that NACAC (national association for college admissions counseling) sets up a web site that lists which schools still have space available after May 1.<br>
You should also pursue all wait listing opportunities. Instead of looking at stats, go to the college web sites and take a look at what kind of people colleges are looking for, then write letters explaining how you fit that, and how you really want to go to X.<br>
Statistics are extremely misleading. For example, while the statistics on mychances.net show my d as a shoo-in at some schools, the HS Naviance web site which lists what has happened in the past AT THAT SCHOOL tells a completely different story. Some colleges love her HS, accepting multiple students every year. Others skip it completely and haven't accepted anyone from there for years. It really depends on how you rate, with GPA being most important in many places, how your school rates (a more competitive school can boost what seems like a lower GPA), and how well you were able to convince them that you had something to contribute to them. Good luck! If you learned something from this, it was actually worth the price!!</p>
<p>fatladysings is absolutely right about checking your school's Naviance data (if your school subscribes). It has been a better indicator of S's chances than anything else so far.</p>
<p>I wasn't surprised at the one school where S was waitlisted -- his GPA was decently below the average of kids who had been accepted from our school, even though everything else about his app was stellar.</p>
<p>We also could figure out which highly ranked schools were in fact relative safeties, given that they accept a high proportion of kids from our school every year. (It was interesting to also learn from Naviance that most of those kids turned down said schools to take merit $$ at the flagship!)</p>
<p>Thanks for further input. And some posts after my second reply don't seem to have read that reply, but whatever.
Like I kind of said before, I didn't mean safety as in sure-bet, absolute.
I meant safety as a place I have a really good chance of getting in to. The way I set up my list of colleges, I picked colleges that if I got in to any of them I would be happy, and be honored to be there.
So I think some people are misinterpreting how I picked these.
By my logic, I felt that applying where I did, there was practically no chance (or very very little) that I would be rejected/waitlisted at every single college. This could be my arrogance/misjudgement, I don't know, I guess I will wait and see how it plays out. </p>
<p>And in reply to some people:
School doesn't have naviance (or at least none that I am aware about)
And I really don't think some people from really large states/competitive schools have much of an idea about what a small state/public school is like.</p>
<p>I realize colleges might not care, but my state is ranked near last in terms of education
I would venture that from stuff I have learned here I know at least as much as my counselors about top colleges and applying. </p>
<p>And finally, I think my main misjudgment in this case was how much of a hook colleges view operating a business as. (but i'm not sure if people who replied about that read my second post)
I mean, I am not doing mindless work or selling dollies
I could easily have bought a store, hired a bunch of employees, set up an establishment, but like a said originally, this was more of a personal hobby, making money so I wouldn't end college in debt.
-those previous comments seem naive
I don't want to give any more specifics because this thread already seems way too personal</p>
<p>
[quote]
What was your GC thinking when approving your list of schools?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>GCs critique students' lists of schools? Mine certainly didn't. Had I asked, whatever one I had at the time (I had four in four years) would likely have tried to help, but they wouldn't have done so unsolicited. And I went to what was widely considered to be the best high school, public or private, in my state. I am often amazed, in some of these threads, at the active role that people seem to expect GCs to play.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I realize colleges might not care, but my state is ranked near last in terms of education
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's okay, and yes, top schools will take your "context" into account. My state was another one that people in most parts of the country make fun of.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The way I set up my list of colleges, I picked colleges that if I got in to any of them I would be happy, and be honored to be there.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's not a bad strategy. It's just that you need one that you can be assured of getting into. Not everyone would agree with me, but I think that one should be one that you'd actually like. For some people, this is the flagship state school (not necessarily a safety for everybody, but for most with your stats, I think their flagship state school would be safe). For others, it's an out-of-state state school in a location that they consider highly desirable and would like an excuse to live in for four years. For my little sister, it's the small, arty, in-state LAC that her boyfriend attends, that offers a lot of the top in-state kids a full ride.</p>
<p>FYI, my "safety" (in 2002) was NYU. I got into it, and several other schools besides, but if I was doing it over I'd make sure I had a real safety.</p>
<p>Haha, I totally had my application list the same way "as long as I get into one, I won't mind." Logically speaking, there's no reason to apply to a school if you don't want to go there, right? =]</p>
<p>And dude, you'll be fine. I got into both Rice and Northwestern with a 93-96 GPA and 2360 on the SATs (and, of course, got rejected outright by Duke). It probably wasn't my Essays that got me in either (since I applied to both of them somewhat on a whim). My other schools are Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth, Wharton-UPenn, Vanderbilt...so on and so forth: No -real- safeties aside from Rutgers, the school that my mom made me apply to that I wouldn't consider going to.</p>
<p>Basically, you applied to crapshoot schools. It might feel terrible -now-, but once you get into even one of them, you'll feel infinitely happier. Your stats are good enough, anyway.</p>
<p>@jessie- yes, GC's critique your list of schools. It's their job to help you get into college and it's in their best interest and the school's best interest to make sure you get in. They can't do that unless you have a realistic list of schools. Two of my friends' GC's strongly suggested they add a safety (and suggested ones to look at) because the GC's were dissatisfied with their lists of schools. My GC looked at my list and told me which she thought were reaches, targets, and safeties, told me at which other schools I should look, and gave me printouts of the scattergrams for each of my schools. I go to a mid-sized public school, too.</p>
<p>My son's statement was that he feels I know much more than his GC. I don't want to pick on GC's . . . they do so much more than advise students on college choices . . . as in most professions dealing with people, not enough time to do the job you would like to do.</p>
<p>The only school S's GC questioned was Reed, and that's because it is so contrary to where most students from his school apply. Given what he wanted, however, it made perfect sense. </p>
<p>I think GCs can be helpful for discussing issues that would give the colleges a fuller picture of family circumstances --- things like disclosing a serious illness in the family, loss of job, a grade skip, limited English proficiency, learning disabilities, etc. S attends a big school, and the GCs ask parents and students to complete a questionnaire so the GCs can write rec letters, but it's not often they have the time or resources to form strong relationships with each student. I think they'd love to do this, and it's probably why many of them went into the field.</p>
<p>My S also made a list of schools where he'd be happy to attend any one of them. We did not allow ED, but he did apply a couple of places EA, which gave him a sense of where he was in the applicant pool. He also applied to the in-state flagship, which has an excellent reputation in what he wants to study and attracts many of his classmates each year with generous merit $$. The flagship admit rate is a shade under 50%, and everything else was in the 30s or less. Once he had EA decisions, he changed his list slightly, dropping a couple of schools and adding one for FA purposes.</p>
<p>I know if my S attended a different HS (say where his cousins live), he would have gotten shoot-for-the-moon advice. GCs want to see the top kids go to top schools, too. But this year...it's just stunning. There may be some school accepting late applications that may rake in some incredible kids in the next few weeks.</p>
<p>For one, JHU and U of C shouldn't be ANYone's safeties.
For two, like you said, you are a little lacking in awards. I mean, other applicants with those scores and GPA abound.</p>
<p>However, if you're planning on going into business, then maybe your "hook" might make some sense. For anything else like science or humanities, then I don't see how it would apply.</p>
<p>your ECs just aren't that great. i wish i knew what to tell you but this year just is really random and crazy at top 15 schools like rice or chicago and pomona.</p>
<p>Stewy,
maybe this isn't exactly what you want to hear. If you haven't already read this famous post by Andi, check it out. Hopefully, the next few days will bring you some good news. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/192395-no-acceptances-one-kid-s-story-year-later.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/192395-no-acceptances-one-kid-s-story-year-later.html</a>
It appears that you did not have a true safety. Unfortunately, kids with your stats get rejected from top schools. What is the priority wait list at Rice? Does this mean you have a greater chance of getting off the wait list? Make sure you do everything you can to make that happen.</p>
<p>There is absolutely no way my kid's overworked GC could critique kids' lists of schools.</p>
<p>Just as advice for everybody- at highly selective schools, the numbers (SAT's etc.) are no indicator of the possibility of acceptance. The average SAT at a school may be reported as a 2100, but that only shows the kids admitted. It is possible that a few 2400's were turned down as well.</p>
<p>Yeah, my guidance counselor didn't even talk to me about college ever. He just sent my transcripts, filled out some forms he was required to, and that was it.</p>
<p>Everyone should apply to their states main college no matter what.</p>
<p>The Midwest is littered with plenty of great state colleges.</p>
<p>University of Wisconsin - Madison (#38)
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (#71)
University of Iowa (#64)
University of Missouri - Columbia (#91)
University of Illinois - Champaigne (#38)</p>
<p>All of the Midwest "flagships" are great universities.</p>
<p>Definitely poor judgment.</p>