Crazy waitlist/rejection situation... need advice please

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>so now.. the college admissions process didnt run as smoothly as i would've liked.. and id love to know why.. and what i can do at this point</p>

<p>so far heres how i stand:
Rejected: Duke
Waitlisted: Cornell, Northwestern, UPenn, University of Chicago, University of Michigan
Accepted: Honors College @ University of Illinois</p>

<p>overview of my stats.. i posted this before but cant find the link
Multiracial male (Asian + Eastern European)
Immigrant father (int'l schooling, MD) mother has masters, no fin. aid, only child, Chicago Suburb area, no legacy status anywhere</p>

<p>ACT Comp: 35 (36 math, 35s on all others)
No SATI
SATII's:
MathII:800
US Hist:750</p>

<p>3.75 Unweighted GPA
7.15 Weighted (8 scale for APs, 7 Scale for Honors, 6 for reg etc, #1 in class has about 7.4/7.5)
Ranked 12/620 (Began at 120+, have since moved 115ish ranks, yeah, i'm one of your slow starters, stupid jr high)</p>

<p>1 AP Soph Yr (Econ, didnt take AP Test)
3 AP's Jr Yr (Calc AB (5), English Lang (5), US Hist (5))
4 AP's Sr Yr (Stats, English Comp, Psych, Biology)</p>

<p>Top ECs:
Varsity Golf 10,11,12 -- Co-Captain, Recipient of Several Awards (All-Conference, Scholar athlete, Sportsmanship Award, etc)
WHO(Community Service) Club 10,11,12 -- Group Leader, plenty of volunteer work in there (Chicago food depository, tutoring of middle school kids, food/toy drives near holidays, local nature centers, walk 4 hope) (300+ hrs)
Habitat for Humanity in Miami, FL 11 -- Group Leader (~50 hours)
Ethnic Clubs 9,10,11
National Honor Society
Span. Honor Society
National Merit Commended
Tutor for Math Center, Literacy/Writing Center, Foreign Lang. Center, also tutor math at grammar school every week
1 Strong Rec, 1 Outstanding Rec
Relatively Strong Essays, good in opinions of both of my AP Eng teachers</p>

<p>i know of several people who made it into the aforementioned colleges w/ worse stats, worse grades, etc.. somethings just not sitting right. i applied as a biological sciences major everywhere, and im thinking that that might have hurt me.. 4.0 first sem senior year in full AP's with exception of spanish (honors).. as of this point, i have extra rec's for all schools from my golf coach, my jr high off-level math teacher who i tutor for every week, and my ap english teacher (for UofC only, shes a graduate and etc).. and i'm sending in the beginning of a novel i started to write this year.. what else is there to be done? should i start calling admissions offices, etc? how else can i make myself known so i stand out among others on the waitlist</p>

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<p>some schools waitlist just to see if your interested</p>

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<p>^^which ones?</p>

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<p>i dunno. but some.</p>

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<p>This might be strange to hear, but most of the asian guys and girls i know were either waitlisted (me included) or rejected. i definitely think they still have some sort of reverse discrimination against asians in use. there is no other explanation for extremely well qualified asian minorities to be waitlisted or rejected.</p>

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<p>yes, its not a secret that a lot of top schools put a cap on the # of asians they accept. some study found that if UCB admitted students based only on merit and no race stuff taken into account they would be like 80-85% asian or something. don't put that you're asian on college apps.</p>

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<p>yeah ive heard about the whole anti-asian thing in the past, considering we're not anywhere near a 'minority' anymore.. and ive seen proof from people in previous graduating classes.. friend of mine was ranked 3rd in our class, great test scores, recommendations, talented writer, got rejected from every ivy he applied to, waitlisted at a bunch more.. and to the above, i applied as 'multiracial' for every app that gave the option.. some of em asked to specify though, so i get your point</p>

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<p>quick bump</p>

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<p>3.75 UW on a 4.0 scale? or out of 8?</p>

<p>If your GPA was a 3.75 with a 35 ACT and you got waitlisted at Umich....that scares the **** out of me. You should have def. gotten in, even just by looking at the stats on Umich's website.</p>

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<p>Have your GC go to bat for you at your first choice waitlist. My d's guidance counselor did this for a student a couple of years ago - and that student got in. It doesn't always work, of course, but it's worth a try. </p>

<p>Also, your GC (if he or she is decent) will be able to pick up the vibes from the admissions office as to what your odds are.</p>

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<p>yes, 3.75 UW on 4.0 scale.. i think the michigan thing was more bc i applied late rather than during the rolling period.. but still. all the more reminders to make it look like you're interested to the point where youd die if you didnt get in, and to get your app in as early as humanly possible, even if you're going to suffer by doing so.</p>

<p>also, to momwaiting -- what would my counselor need to do for my waitlist school? hes not exactly the most informed guy among the other GC's but hes decent</p>

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<p>Your GC has to be willing to pick up the phone and call admissions 1. to find out why you were rejected and 2. to convey how important to you getting off the waiting list is. If you were denied simply because of numbers - that is, you were as good as accepted students but they had to choose - then letting them know that you don't have other good options could move you to the top of the list. If, however, your recommendations weren't good, there's probably little your GC can do to convince them.</p>

<p>Private school guidance counselors do this every year, but public school ones tend not to be as savvy. You have to remember that your GC will be sticking his neck out for you; you must be prepared to take whatever waitlist spot is offered to you or else both your GC and your school get a black mark from that admissions office. That's why you must give your GC a REALISTIC and honest ordering of your schools. The realistic approach is a must. For example, Cornell and UPenn are less likely to listen to a frantic GC than the others simply because of the Ivy prestige factor; the number of their applicants far outweight the spots available. However, if you got off the waitlist at either of those, would you be upset that your GC got you off the waitlist at Northwestern and you already accepted NW's offer?</p>

<p>It's a tough thing to manage. One thing you must keep in mind: it's not easy to get off the waitlist, so if you do at one school, take it and don't look back. If they allow you a few days to think about it, so much the better, but don't blow off one school while hoping that another comes through. Once you accept a spot off the waitlist, take your name off the others so that you don't get that call from the "better" school and thus torture yourself further.</p>

<p>Oh, and make sure you send in your deposit on time for UI so you're guaranteed a place somewhere.</p>

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<p>It honestly sucks being Asian, man...Asians in public schools that are not top of their class have trouble getting in anywhere. If you had been white, you would have gotten into Northwestern. If you had been black, you would have gotten into Harvard. That's the reality of it.</p>

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<p>I would try my best to get off of the waitlists, and if that didn't happen take a gap year and reapply. You seem like the type that will do better the second time. Solid stats with the addition of a well chosen gap year plan and a stronger application should land you in one or more of your schools.</p>

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<p>There's certainly nothing wrong with the Honors College at Illinois. You could at least start there and then transfer if you aren't happy, but a gap year seems a little bit extreme, even if you don't get off any waiting lists.</p>

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<p>well, deposits are in for UI so thats all settled, but i'd be completely fine with going to northwestern next year.. my orig plan was basically go duke and if that doesnt work then go to nu.. but that didnt work out too well. ill inform my GC.. both of my rec's + a letter that im including in my package state that should i get off the waitlist, i would guarentee my enrollment in fall. hopefully if i just push that w/ my GC itll work out</p>

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<p>bump upppp.. and i just got into loyola (applied mar 31st, lol) so theres another option if my waitlists dont come through</p>