<p>Now that I have finished the application process, sometimes I sit and worry about being rejected everywhere. I can imagine a scenario in which Safeties think I am too good for them, Reaches think I am not good enough and Matches think I will get into a better school, and therefore, don't want to spoil their yield.
Who else is nervous about their fate? Do you know from the past years any kid that was forced to go to a community college because he/she drew blanks?
I have a few early actions. If there is all around bad news by mid December, I will be rushing in apps to neighboring state Univs. That is my plan B.</p>
<p>THis is why you should apply to at least one rolling admissions school so you know that you have a school under your belt and it will alleviate this kind of stress. </p>
<p>No one will force you to attend community college. If you don't get in anywhere you will also have the option of taking a pg year and reapplying.</p>
<p>I would suggest you read about andison, who did not get in anywhere for the class of 2009, regrouped and is a happy 2010</p>
<p>Search this site for andison's story.</p>
<p>There was a kid last year, top 20 1520/2240 SATs, honors society president applied to:
Northwestern
UVA
Chicago
Columbia</p>
<p>All waitlist -> reject or just reject</p>
<p>He called Drew (the SAT optional school, lol) in April and got, which is where he is going. </p>
<p>It's a big conspiracy why he got rejected, but people assume it was his generic essays and teacher recs (he was a slacker^3). </p>
<p>Make sure you're matches are matches!</p>
<p>What does "neighboring state universities" mean? If it means public universities in neighboring states, you need to get those apps in now because it's harder to get into most public universities if you're applying from out of state. </p>
<p>Even if you're talking about nearby in-state public universities, many publics are rolling admissions, and admission standards get tougher as spaces fill up. Housing also may fill up and merit scholarship applications may have early deadlines.</p>
<p>If you have a couple of true safeties on the list, you won't get rejected by them. Just be sure to show a little interest. No visit, no email contacts, etc. screams, "You are a safety choice that I have no intention of attending if I get in someplace else." Safety problems usually only occur when a student (or guidance counselor) selects a safety school that is, in fact, rather selective. Sometimes, being above average, or even in the upper quartile, in terms of stats isn't enough to guarantee admission. Big state schools are the most likely to take a fairly predictable "by the numbers" approach.</p>
<p>Any safeties on your list should be schools that you would be happy to attend. A common error is to spend all one's time thinking about super-reaches when a good safety may be the most important school on the list.</p>
<p>As Sybbie notes, a rolling admissions safety is a great place to start. You'll know you are in quickly, and the rest of the process will be a lot lower stress.</p>
<p>outside of the 100 or so colleges in top demand (and the ones that are the focus of discussion on these forums) the rest accept the majority of their applicants. Thats a universe of about 2,500 schools. </p>
<p>With a decent strategy the problem isn't whether you can get accepted somewhere. You can. The problem is finding a place that's a good fit. Too many kids spend all their time worrying about the reaches, as Roger Dooley points out, and then then apply to a safety as an afterthought without seriously considering whether they'd want to attend if that really was their only option.</p>
<p>read the excerpt from the book "Admission Matters" online at the publisher's site at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/dg9nd%5B/url%5D">http://tinyurl.com/dg9nd</a></p>
<p>I think the point of showing interest is a very good one. There have been many posts by kids wondering why they cannot apply to 10, 12 or more schools and that is a good reason - they want to see interest which is hard to do sincerely when you are applying to that many schools. A safety will not think you are too good for them if they think you really want to go there.</p>
<p>I second the rolling admissions advice. You'll find out in about a month whether or not you're in. Some schools inform in less time.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>just sit down and relax... if you are smart/good SATs u will get into college... just make sure you apply to ones that appeal to you. Find one true safety. Really true. Say you are upper decile of SAT/GPA range. Spend half an hour searching a forum, the school website or something and find 3 things that are specific about the school. Mention them in an essay. go on their website... usually theres something thatll put you on an email list for info. just get into that. doesnt take you more than half an hour and youve just demonstrated a lot of interest... and if you are high on sat/gpa, u will be fine</p>
<p>Okay, so guess what.... I DIDN'T GET INTO ANY COLLEGE OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL</p>
<p>Rejected, by all of them. EVERY ONE. </p>
<p>And it wasn't that bad. I kind of knew that going away to college would be a trip, and I wasn't necessarily ready for that, so I resolved myself to two things: 1. was that I was going to go to a local community college (best decision ever) and 2. I was going to transfer after the year. By getting good grades and working super hard, I was able to secure myself at some freaking awesome schools that straight out of high school I couldn't have gotten into. </p>
<p>But, if either of these don't interest/apply to you, and you still don't get in, remember, DON'T PANIC. IT AIN'T THAT BAD!</p>
<p>In Great Britain, they take a "gap year" (both Princes Harry and William did it) where they volunteer, travel, or work. Plus, you could use some of that time to work on you application and perfect it, along with visiting and deciding on what schools to apply to. </p>
<p>Seriously, I took some time off last year, just in between schools where I primarily worked and did other stuff OUTSIDE of school, and it was great!
So, the world will not come to an end if you don't get in, because even if you take time off, you won't be old when you go back to school. And remember, getting your degree is not a race, which is fascinating because for some people, it seems like it is....</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. Just got back from school, saw all the helpful comments.
Fortunately I have a safety I truly love: it is our flagship State U. I visited their open house, I can imagine having a wonderful time there. I hope it is true that state u's go by the academic standing in their decision. I have also shown sufficient interest. I applied there EA so I should have a bit of time if I don't make it for some reason.
I also read a part of the Andison's thread. One of the things mentioned there was that if you let the colleges know where else you are applying, it can affect their decision. Really? I didn't know that! I was honest in the applications, I told them my other choices because it was mentioned clearly that admission decision will not be affected. For example, I applied to BU which promises 'no harm' if one reveals the other names. Well, what is done is done. I do hope the ADCOMs are as honest in their promises as some of us (students) are with our applications.</p>
<p>BU is NOT a safety. If you used BU as your safety I would be VERY worried.</p>
<p>I don't think BU is his safety. His state flagship is his safety</p>
<p>I second mdurke's comment. The very worst thing that happens is you take a gap year, do some community college courses, and reapply next year. Which might suck at first, but it could also be an opportunity for real personal growth, not to mention the fact that it might open doors to places much more selective than those you applied to this year.</p>
<p>But anyways, as long as you've applied to a healthy range of schools, you are very likely to get into at least one college. That goes for everyone on here, really, as long as they filled out apps to more than just the Ivies, Amherst, Wash U, and Stanford. Even if your ideal situation is not attending your state university, transferring is always an option. And who knows? Maybe it would be for the best and you'd be happier at the less selective school than you would have been at the more selective one.</p>
<p>I think it's very easy to become paranoid during this time, especially when surfing a forum like this. By and large, this community is high-key, competitive, and over-achieving. But you have to keep it firmly in mind that this place is not representative of the applicant pool as a whole, not to mention that it has a penchant to overemphasize prestige at the expense of personal fit, price tag, and a wealth of other important factors in the college experience. Maybe we all need to take a deep, reassuring breath, find some real safeties that we won't hate attending, and find the inner calm to sit back and enjoy the rest of senior year. Everyone's going to make it through this in one piece. We're all going to college eventually and if we put our minds to it, we can even be happy.</p>
<p>Aaahhh I've had the exact same unfounded fears. Completely irrational, but hey, what can ya' do?</p>
<p>I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like this haha.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, these fears aren't "unfounded".</p>
<p>You must plan well, with a good "safeties" strategy. I also heartily recommend the plan to apply to a school with rolling admissions. Both my kids did this and it was a major component in reducing their stress levels on this topic.</p>
<p>Just make sure you have safeties on your list and you will be fine. All the horror stories of people who didn't get in anywhere are because their final list of schools was not well picked. Even a less than average student with mediocre SATs, ECs, etc. will get into school IF they do a thorough search and have real safeties (even if these are lower ranked schools- hey, it's college).</p>
<p>is it horrible that i've resigned myself to the fact that if i dont get into my ED school, ill nvr be happy anywhere else?!
i know its bad and im trying hard to stop thinking that way but its difficult.
what can i do to keep myself busy and my options open for the next 38 days until i get that ED decision?</p>
<p>Paro46: It isn't wise to think you can only be happy at one school. There most certainly is more than one school where one can be happy. Have you researched other schools in case you are not accepted ED so that you can get those applications in on time? You need to find other schools where you think you can be happy, and think hard and seriously about the safeties, as has been discussed by other posters in this thread. </p>
<p>CollegeBound2207: I wholeheartedly agree with the many other posters here about finding rolling admission safety that you would be happy to attend. My S heard from his in early November (both an out of state and an in state university) with a great big sigh of relief, and then was able to more calmly wait until April 1 RD to hear from the others. He ended up accepted at his two dream reach schools while getting rejected from two matches.</p>