So I got back my admissions decisions last month, and got nearly rejected from all the private schools that I applied to. I got rejected from Harvard, Cornell, BC, and waitlisted for NYU(Stern & LSP). However, I did get into all the CUNYs and SUNYs I applied to. For Harvard, I didn’t really expect to get in; I did however, wanted to try. Looking back, my interview did not go well and I didn’t really prepare. For Cornell, I was definitely sure that I would get in, but what I discovered proved otherwise. For NYU, this year was really surprising because I was confident that I would get in, but was put on the waitlist. I have a WGPA of 3.6, a SAT score of 2210(R: 670 M:800 W:740) and three SAT II’s(M2: 800 Physics: 680 USH: 640). I took Physics and USH last-minute in my senior year, so I did not really study a lot. My essays were pretty good and my recs were probably average. I did have some extracurricular activities, but did not hold any eye-catching leadership positions(e.g. president, vp, etc,.).
I’m crumpling up as I’m typing this, but if you want me to elaborate further, please private message me.
P.S: I’ve decided that I’ll go to a SUNY or CUNY that I was accepted to and transfer after two years. Your theories will be greatly appreciated.
Realize you are one of many who had stats like yours and even higher that was rejected. As an example there are what 20,000 high schools in the US. Valedictorians for schools that offer that. There are not enough Ivy freshman slots for all of them. Schools want diversity and I’m not talking race. Each freshman class has a different flavor in what the admins look for a stanford rep told me. A Harvard admissions counselor briefed that if they took every top student with perfect scores, grades and ECs, last year they would’ve admitted 80%! Many awesome students were rejected.
Well you did apply to Stern which is extremely difficult to get into and I have many friends from high school who got rejected to Stern with 4.0s and 2300+ SATs so your waitlist to Stern is really not a shocker.
LSP & BC are a little surprising but when it gets to the top school its always competitive.
Congratulations on your acceptances, best of luck as you begin your undergrad at a SUNY or CUNY.
You ask in your thread title where you went wrong. Not to be mean or anything like that, but I think you had unrealistic expectations of admittance to the schools you applied to. It was a bit naive to claim about Cornell, an Ivy League school that you were “definitely sure that I would get in”, especially with a weighted 3.6 GPA.
My D had an unweighted 4.0 and weighted 4.38, 2290 SATs, 770/730 SATII AND although a legacy at Cornell, got a flat rejection from them. Don’t feel bad - you didn’t go wrong. The Ivy’s are a reach for everyone.
Don’t beat yourself up and enjoy the next four years. You applied to some really impressive schools and it is always tough to tell how admissions will pan out; it’s a little bit of a crapshoot when applying to the top tier. Also there are some CUNY and SUNY schools that offer very good educations and you probably got into one of those.
Sometimes, it is worth throwing in the mix and applying to excellent schools like Clark University and Ohio Wesleyan University that fly under the radar. They offer tremendous educational experiences and your chances of getting admitted are much higher.
Thank you for your encouragement everyone! :’) @notalreadyinuse Looking at the GPAs of people who were accepted for the past 20_ _ classes, you were right. I was naive in my thinking.