<p>2270 Sat 1 800 math and 760 Biology Sat 2 3.93 Gpa<br>
ODP soccer captain Math team co captain and…</p>
<p>0/4 MIT and Ivy League (Cornell Brown and Yale)</p>
<p>are the 75% of the kids accepted really more qualified than me???</p>
<p>r u kidding me? How good is a school that lets in 25% of the class with less than 1400 Sat 1 ??? </p>
<p>u are forking out 55K/year for what???</p>
<p>D is 2400 SAT, 4.5 GPA
3 years water Polo
4 Years Drama Production – student director senior year
youth educator
Teen Columnist for Local newspaper.</p>
<p>And they said NO??? Are you crazy?</p>
<p>That’s just how much of a crapshoot admissions are. The top ten of our class were all rejected by at least 2 Ivies today but a kid not even in the top 10% with a less than impressive academic record/background got into Cornell. I’m sure if your stats are that great, you’ll do something special wherever you go</p>
<p>haha hey im a senior…valedictorian myself with a nice list or extra currics, aps, and solid act.
rejected from cornell princeton brown and yale.
the only two people in my school to get in had an edge by being able to add to diversity. one was chilean. the other half japanese and half white.
im not saying this is all it took to get them in princeton and upenn, but it was definitely the edge among 26-36,000 applicants…
btw im chinese.
plus theres the kids on national math/science teams, done special research projects, started their own community service organizations, or other spectacular things that made them shine. oh and of course the private prep school kids, or students from really good magnet schools provide plenty of competition. and any rich kid since these schools need plenty of donations in the still not so spectacular economy.
was i a bit bitter? hell yeah. but even brown themselves put in their rejection letter something along the lines of “its not the college you go to that matters in the end, its what you learn or make out of it”.
and in the end, i got two college options cause i applied to four ivies. all my teachers had such high hopes. they dont call those reach schools for nothing.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that you are disappointed. Great stats are a plus but it isn’t all they look for. All in all, college admissions really is a crapshoot. This year our high school had five applicants for Brown; all of which who were qualified to be accepted. All were in the top ten of our class, with ACT scores of 33 and strong extracurriculars in music, sports and community service. In the end we were all rejected. Though that isn’t comforting, it puts you in good company. Honestly, I got rejected from three schools and I felt that the Brown rejection letter was the “best.” At least they recognized that it doesn’t matter which college you end up with, but what you make of the experience. All I can say is eventually the bitterness will fade.</p>
<p>Yesterday was a bad day. I posted a thread about it in the real section, but I’ve been almost demoralized by watching this bloodbath. I wouldn’t feel as if anything is wrong with you or your work ethic just because of he decision. It was, indeed, very random.</p>
<p>shs1992: im not upset really. i was insanely jealous of my friends princeton acceptance for that moment and then that was it. of course i would have loved to have been accepted but things happen for a reason. and if not… theres always a way to make things work. i feel quite free from the ivy hype. now i can actually relax a ton for the next two months and not worry about the final transcript too much.
oh and i just couldnt help but notice the ivy admission stats. those admitted kids were either of a high income bracket or won national academic awards and such.</p>
<p>"those admitted kids were either of a high income bracket or won national academic awards and such. "</p>
<p>That’s not true. </p>
<p>To the the first two poster’s, those grades and scores are paired with things that many other kids did as well. There could also be something else you didn’t see that hurt their application. You never know.</p>
<p>I am not discrediting their other strengths and talents that gained them admission. I was only saying that that was the extra “umph” or edge so to speak. they’re all amazingly talented students but I was those that probably set them apart a bit. And if not, I apologize for my wrong judgment.</p>
<p>completely understand where you are comming from. brown just accepted this girl from my school with a 25 on her ACT. not saying she doesnt deserve it but honestly, she is noot half as smart as 5 of the other people that I know applied to brown. that so sucks but ethnicity can get u pretty far.</p>
<p>College admissions is so crazy! My D is a freshman in college, she was 3rd in her class, took all AP classes and got A’s and got wait-listed at Brown; yet Brown took 2 other students one of whom took all easy high school classes, no honors or AP math or science classes in all 4 years of high school and another student who got a C in English in her junior year. Apparently my D didn’t have the international community service experience that these two had because their families were wealthy and could send their kids overseas in the summers. The good news is my D is doing fantastic at the university she is at. She has been interviewed for the university publication and is already a shining star. She made the Dean’s List with flying colors and may be doing research this summer as a freshman! Brown’s letter is true; it doesn’t matter where you go, its what you make out of your college experience and education that counts. Good luck wherever you decide to go because they are lucky to have you.</p>
<p>I guess this further proves the point that nobody is entitled to a spot at any elite university.
Stop dwelling on it and get excited about the schools that accepted you!</p>
<p>I completely agree with lapras. Sure. You are probably completely qualified to attend these schools. But- who knows? Perhaps you weren’t the correct fit for their idea of their student body. Perhaps you lacked a strong essay or recommendation letter. Or perhaps luck got in your way as other completely qualified people throughout the world got in. In high school, we are all big fish in a little pond. It is necessary to realize, however, that there are many bright, motivated people all across the country who also have good scores, extracurriculars, recommendations, and letters. As lapras said - no one is entitled to a spot at any elite university. There are many, many people who are qualified. But perhaps the girl who got a ‘C’ in English during her junior year had a really interesting experience where she did tons of community service, and was captain of volleyball and soccer. Perhaps the boy who took all ‘easy’ classes (meaning- not honors or AP) came from a low income or first generation family and didn’t realize the opportunities that higher level classes could offer him. </p>
<p>Sorry for the rant. I’m sorry that you didn’t get into the colleges that you would like. I would just like to show that being qualified for the school does not make you entitled to attend. And a low SAT/ACT score doesn’t mean that a person isn’t perfectly qualified. This is a rather snobby and naive attitude towards your fellow students across the country.</p>
<p>The word “entitled” was used by jcc837 and lapras. That is exactly the point. Facts, objective criteria and actual accomplishments and ignored at the Ivys to allow classes to be made up of the “entitled” minorities, the powerful, and the “special” cases. Maybe up to 70% of the class is somehow “entitled”. At what point does it become too much? 20% of the class? 40%? 90%? 95%? Perhaps the girl who got a “C” in English was in fact a poor student. The SAT actually let all the fishes swim in the same pond at the same time. In the same pond I was a bigger “fish” than most of the “special” fish. How does the kid who sat next to me in the same classes with the same teachers for 12 years add 360 points to their SATs, 0.6 to their GPA and becomes better in sports and magically is worthy and I’m not? Is it because my parents were white and actually showed up at a job for 30 years? Maybe the other kids parents didn’t “realize opportunites” because they were knuckleheads and their kids are just following the family tradition. Just keep making it up as you go and pretty soon you’ll even start thinking its all true.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a mystery why you were rejected at all, maybe to you, but not for anyone else…</p>
<p>Harrypotter1–</p>
<p>In my daughter’s h.s. class there was a boy who was #4 in the class, lots of APs, top SATs, very high grades etc. He also was a very unpleasant person. He tried to get other boys to gang up on the girls who were above them in class rank and “put them in their place” (needless to say he could find no date for the prom). He got first place and honors in everything in events or contests where the judges could not see his personality, just his schoolwork.</p>
<p>He applied to all the Ivies, MIT & Stanford, and guess what? He received no acceptances at all. He was the only kid in the h.s. who had nowhere to go after he graduated! Even the kids who majored in auto shop had bothered to apply to schools that were not reaches for them (and they were nicer people).</p>
<p>His personality is what shone through on his applications. His scores and grades, etc, amply qualified him for the academics at any school in the country but they all sensed his attitude. </p>
<p>My DD was accepted early at Brown some years ago. When the guy who was assigned to keep calling her and see if she had made up her mind yet (this was when they still were doing EA not ED, and we were waiting for all the acceptances to see the FA packages) the first thing he brought up was her Girl Scout Gold Award project. Every time.</p>
<p>You don’t do those unless you have been GS for 12-13 years and it is a huge project, 85 hr today and you do 3 major awards before that; it takes 3-4 years of high school. So it shows commitment and service, etc, and it also tells colleges you have been trained for years in leadership skills and to reflexively give service to your community. </p>
<p>So it was the item that was on the top of this guy’s list of talking points, when he was calling my daughter to get her to commit. </p>
<p>BTW she got 1590 the first & only time she took the SAT (no writing part then). I wouldn’t let her do it again.</p>
<p>Dear Harrypotter1: As an interviewer of some years for Harvard, I can understand that you are sad about not being accepted by the college of your choice. You are sadly mistakened, however, if you feel that high test scores and grades “entitles” you to admission and that another candidate’s more modest scores and grades should rule them out. Admission is not based on any factor in exclusion. It is based on a much more holistic view. A student who has overcome adversity, or who has had an unusual experience, or is exceptionally talented in a certain area makes a very compelling case. Sadly, we have all become accustomed to students who “game” the system by collecting extracurricular activities and who brag about their awards. Both are interesting but what matters most is your dedication. I’d hate to go to a university full of 2400 SAT and 4.0 GPA students. Diversity is much more interesting. I just have one final piece of advice for you: you will encounter disappointment again in the future. That much is certain. I hope that you handle it better than your college rejection. Acceptances are rare; rejection is much more common. Don’t be so bitter and try to control your hubris. It will make you a much more attractive individual.</p>
<p>I’d like to reply to the mother who asked if admissions officers are “crazy” because her daughter wasn’t accepted. As a Harvard interviewer, I am sorry that your daughter was not successful in her application to the college of her choice. What worries me much more is that you, a parent, are posting and not your daughter. What type of pressure are you placing your daughter under? This is her life. You daughter is an adult now and doesn’t need you to speak for her. I am amazed at how some parents have literally hijacked the admissions process. This is a student-centered process. Go and reassure your daughter; emphasize the positives; and tell her that everything will be fine. Don’t become bitter and start fighting on her behalf. It doesn’t do either of you any good.</p>
<p>There could be several reasons you didn’t get in, it’s an ivy league school, all the students that apply are going to be qualified so your grades don’t differentiate you, we all know this was the toughest year yet to get in. That being said, it isn’t all about grades, this will shock you, i got 1790 on my SAT’s, 750 math/ chem SAT II though it doesn’t matter much because im predicted all 7’s and 6’s for my IB diploma- so obviously i didnt get in based on grades alone. My personality mustv’e shone through my essays. I was very involved with EC’s, especially arts, drama, sports, leadership, volunteer work and it was evident that i did them all for fun, not to build up my resume. My teacher recs only briefly sopke about how academic i am, because there was so much they had to say about me. As Rumson said, there should be more to an applicant than good grades, or theyd let in all 36000 applicants!</p>
<p>I know it’s annoying that rich kids/ legacies have a supposedly easier time getting in, but who do you think is going to fund the school, more than half of the kids need FA, Brown can’t come up with that by magic, the university can’t run off peanuts! </p>
<p>Obviously minorities will be favored, take me, i am a Malawian female, one of the poorest countries in the world, girls here hardly make it through primary school let alone secondary school. So a Malawian female having the chance to go to university is a HUGE deal. You’d be ignorant if you expected universities not to take peoples backgrounds into account. </p>
<p>Who knows you may love where you end up, and be really thankful for being rejected! Good luck</p>
<p>There could be several reasons you didn’t get in, it’s an ivy league school, all the students that apply are going to be qualified so your grades don’t differentiate you, we all know this was the toughest year yet to get in. That being said, it isn’t all about grades, this will shock you, i got 1790 on my SAT’s, 750 math/ chem SAT II though it doesn’t matter much because im predicted all 7’s and 6’s for my IB diploma- so obviously i didnt get in based on grades alone. My personality mustv’e shone through my essays. I was very involved with EC’s, especially arts, drama, sports, leadership, volunteer work and it was evident that i did them all for fun, not to build up my resume. My teacher recs only briefly sopke about how academic i am, because there was so much they had to say about me. As Rumson said, there should be more to an applicant than good grades, or theyd let in all 36000 applicants!</p>
<p>I know it’s annoying that rich kids/ legacies have a supposedly easier time getting in, but who do you think is going to fund the school, more than half of the kids need FA, Brown can’t come up with that by magic, the university can’t run off peanuts! </p>
<p>Obviously minorities will be favored, take me, i am a Malawian female, one of the poorest countries in the world, girls here hardly make it through primary school let alone secondary school. So a Malawian female having the chance to go to university is a HUGE deal. You’d be ignorant if you expected universities not to take peoples backgrounds into account. </p>
<p>Who knows you may love where you end up, and be really thankful for being rejected! Good luck</p>