Hello everyone, I’m not an expert or anything but I just wanted to share my thoughts on what I’ve encountered as an applicant.
I’ve read many posts of people asking others to weigh their chances of getting into certain colleges, and while some think these posts are pointless, it has actually helped me out, a lot. I find that knowing a small portion of who has applied in the past and who are currently applying helps me know how I compare to other applicants. Even the replies, one specifically that has guided me multiple times to a particular post that says no one can tell for sure whether you can get in or not. And they’re right. No one can tell you right off the bat, especially if a college looks holistically at your application, because unless you show us your essay (which I don’t recommend you posting), no one has any idea who you are, they only know your stats. With all I just said, and I apologize if I have confused you, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask anymore, maybe just change what you’re asking and who you’re asking.
I’ve realized that colleges like a variety. As you could imagine, the short answer is that they want more people to apply to ultimately lower their acceptance rate. This might not be true for all colleges so take this a little lightly and there is a lot more to this answer, but for the sake of this post I wanted to keep it short.
I’ve spent probably too much time watching vloggers on youtube tell me how to get into top colleges, how to get the highest ACT or SAT scores, how to get the most scholarships, blah blah blah, and I came across this video. I forgot what it was called but it was a video where it talked about the ‘truth of college admissions.’ It was a very interesting video (even though I didn’t watch it all the way through) and I do recommend you watch it, but not let it discourage you. Since I can’t find the video, I’ll just tell you two main points that stood out to me.
- Colleges can do whatever they want with your application. Not saying they can sell your information like some companies cough cough. But if they see your test scores and GPAs then they can decide whether they want to throw your application out or not, if you don't compare to other applicants, without even reading your essays. Seems unfair right? Even after paying that application fee.
- College is everything, everything is unfair; therefore, college is unfair. As if throwing away your application wasn't unfair enough, now people who are underprivileged are at a disadvantage before they even think about applying to college. Listen closely because this blew my mind. You know not too long ago, the big thing was to be a scholar, a captain of a team and basically the 'perfect' student right? Well, guess what, unless you have money to pay for that rec team, or that expensive SAT tutor that guarantees you'll go up 400 points you're at a disadvantage. If you're poor or don't have the money to spend freely like others, you are indirectly disadvantaged for college. So to break it down if you're a little lost: 1. Your family doesn't make a lot of money 2. You can't get on the soccer team because soccer requires you to pay $500 a season 3. The college you're applying to likes soccer and therefore doesn't like you because you don't play soccer
For months, I was stressing over this because I didn’t see a point in applying to the college I wanted to go to if they were just going to throw my application away because I didn’t have the grades and scores. But I realized you have to trust that they won’t and give them a reason to notice you.
I’ve seen some colleges like diversity (not saying your grades aren’t important because they are), and others could care less, meaning they don’t touch on it like others do. The colleges that favor diversity tend to be on the scale of a larger university or college.
Now I repeat, THIS DOES NOT GO FOR ALL COLLEGES! I took it upon myself to ask an admission’s representative from a certain college “Do students have an advantage if they’re from another country?” Now I wasn’t expecting a downright yes, but I wanted to know, from an admission person’s point of view, how much of a role does diversity actually play when deciding who to let in and who not to let in. Honestly, I probably should have phrased this question a little better, but a summary of her answer was no, or not as much as you think. Take into consideration this was a small school (around 5,000) and it was in Alabama. Now, NYU or any other bug colleges could feel very different about this.
And if you think I’m picking on small schools or southern schools, I’m not. According to Best College Reviews, the most ethnically diverse college on their to 50 list is Swarthmore College. Their population is 1,581 in 2015. And for southern schools? University of North Carolina - Pembroke, and Georgia State University are listed at 25, and 21 respectively. Even on Niche’s ‘2017 Most Diverse Colleges in America’ article, Swarthmore is on the list at #5 and Emory, in Atlanta, Georgia is at #12. Links are down below.
I’m almost done so bare with me.
I just want people, especially applicants and parents of applicants, to know that you should always try. I am definitely not through with the admissions process because I have to wait patiently for 13 more days to find out whether or not I’m getting scholarships, and accepted to the school of my dreams. If I don’t get scholarships but got accepted (which I’ll find out in March), I’ll have to pray I’m getting scholarships elsewhere or I can’t go. And if I don’t go, then I’ll have to choose between two schools which I don’t have a crazy amount of interest in but have to learn to like them, or transfer, which I will probably do if all else fails. (the acting like I like it was sort of a joke but a cruel reality)
To applicants: I know it’s time-consuming and tough and scary, but try, please try. Apply to places you actually like, so you’re not in my situation. I know this guy that runs track, he’s a very very good and successful sprinter, and I tried to get him to apply to certain colleges, but he was so lazy, and just got discouraged after a while. I don’t want you guys to end up like that, because you could possibly be going to the school of your dreams, just show them how interested in the school and express it in your application. It’ll be alright, just relax.
To parents: Please be patient with your child and DO NOT WRITE THEIR APPLICATION FOR THEM! I don’t care how much you want them to go to that school, if they’re not interested now, don’t force them! They know the pressure, it’s their senior year, they’re tired of high school, tired of school work and plus all the stress of college applications, FAFSA, deadlines etc. THEY’RE STRESSED. The best thing you can do is encourage them. Get to know the colleges they want to go to and why. It honestly helps a lot.
In all, I don’t think you should ask the infamous ‘Can I get in?’, but maybe ‘Do I stand out?’ because if you stand out, admissions people will definitely remember you, which gives you a better chance of getting in, NOT a guarantee. How do you stand out? Well, no one can give you a clear answer because there isn’t one. Maybe where you’re from is a good way, but that can’t be it. But to find whether or not you stand out is something you have to figure out yourself. I hope some of you have found help in this post, and good luck to any and everyone applying!
Links:
http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/features/top-ethnically-diverse-colleges/
https://colleges.niche.com/rankings/most-diverse-colleges/
