Dartmouth 2023 Applicants Discussion

@Linusky maybe. 2022 is being defensive and kinda misinterpreted my point. None of those were meant in my original comment. Not sure why 2022 got so defensive tho. But I understand where 2022 is coming from. but i totally did not mean anything he/she mentioned at all

@2022jx Ok, thanks for your help. I’m still quite dispirited but I do feel a bit better and at least I have a better understanding now. Best of luck in your educational pursuits

@Tachanka11 For real man, it’s super hard in the increasingly competitive landscape, at least there’s still ED 2

My D got in, and while I am so excited for her , I want to tell those who were not as fortunate today- you have every right to be frustrated, upset, and angry. This type of rejection feels very personal- you have worked hard for years, you summarized your whole life in this application, and you were rejected.That has to hurt on a very personal level. I suspect everyone in this forum is more than “qualified” to attend Dartmouth. I am not sure comparing stats is that helpful because every individual has his/her own gifts to offer that cannot really be understood by scores. This is just a numbers game, unfortunately. I am sorry for those of you who are upset tonight. I have another daughter graduating Middlebury this spring and it has been The Perfect School for her. You will find your own Perfect School, and given how driven and bright you are, you will make the school that is fortunate enough to have you the Perfect School. Be open minded, consider that you now have 6 more months to grow and shine and decide what you want, and remember you are all very talented, interesting, intelligent people. There are many similar schools where you will be happy. It is Dartmouth’s loss.

@Ecatta None of my rd schools have ED2 lol. But it’s fine. I should have ED to other schools but too late now. Seems the more I think about it the more I feel like Dartmouth may not be the best fit for me anyway.

@Tachanka11 lmao trust me I understood your point. and i wasn’t being defensive. you asked me to understand your point, but you’re not understanding mine. you were being so clearly rude to those admitted, and obviously I don’t know you as a person and don’t mean to say you’re a bad person entirely, but your words on this thread have not reflected positively on your character.

I originally never intended to join this conversation, but I feel the need to say that I completely agree with @2022jx, and I would also like to note that Dartmouth does not have “quotas” for how many students from each high school can get in. @Tachanka11 The sense of entitlement that you have been showcasing on this thread is frankly, extremely immature, and from the bitterness that you have been demonstrating, I can only assume that Dartmouth rejected you because they believed you wouldn’t be a good fit for their campus culture. You claim that you have done “more EC, more leadership, better grades and better SAT”, but I strongly suggest that you stay open-minded to the idea that your more subjective measures – i.e. your essays, recommendations – may be lacking.

You are clearly implying that your race or your gender factored into your rejection. I am not denying that there may be some level of personal bias at play during the admissions process, but plenty of Asian-American applicants with seemingly stereotypical traits get accepted to top colleges every year, and the number is consistently growing – I’m a testament to that. Dartmouth is an Ivy League institution. People inevitably get rejected, and I encourage you to take a second look at your essays to other schools to see where you can improve. I wish you luck at whatever college you decide to attend next fall.

Since test scores don’t seem to matter all that much, it might be a better tactic to just get high enough score and spend remaining times building great ECs. What do people think?

@Tachanka11 Go to whatever college that accepts you and kick butts. Really, at graduate level, it comes down to mostly grades and test scores. I know many kids who went to elite undergraduate colleges and ended up at not so elite graduate schools, and many kids who went to not so elite undergraduate schools and got into very top graduate schools. Over the long run, getting into top undergraduate colleges don’t really mean that much.

Instead of thinking you were not good enough for the school you were rejected from, you might want to think the other way: the school who rejected you was not good enough for you. Also, the school might have done you a favor by rejecting you early. How would you like to be deferred and then several months later, get rejected?

What got you to be a top student at high school level will help you become a top student at college level, so keep up your spirit. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

Feel free to email me your essays, and I will give you a quick feedback.

And this is why I am actually glad my son is not going to D. Dang. Ya’ll are harsh. Very certain of your own self importance and equally sure about the lesser qualifications and value of those not accepted? Really? Do you know these people? @Tachanka11 has every right to be disappointed. Let go of the sanctimonious preaching, seriously.

I am just curious. Is Darthmouth’s CS Program highly ranked? Asking because I truly don’t know. I know Darthmouth is strong in Poly Sci and Econ. 'Cause Tachanka11’s application seemed to me pretty good fit for CS major.

Is there anyone, from this thread or previous threads, who got deferred then accepted to Dartmouth?
If yes, what did you do that you felt helped you get accepted in the end?

@4kids4colleges no one ever said he didn’t have the right to be upset, nor did I ever say he isn’t qualified (I actually directly asserted that he’s very qualified). I wasn’t going to say anything to him until he posted a third post in which he directly bashed people in this thread, which I felt was crossing a line. Perhaps I just shouldn’t have said anything, and I do think things blew up unnecessarily, but I felt like I had to say something when he clearly insinuated some people got in over him because of their race/gender & that they were “less qualified” than he is. Of course it’s okay to be upset. I felt it was not okay, though, for him to declare his superiority & to treat other people poorly. I’ve only been here for a term, but Dmouth is just about the least harsh place I’ve ever been—the people are ridiculously nice. I would hate to leave a different impression. Best wishes to your son in his college process.

@2022jx . Seeing as you’re a current student, I was wondering if you give some insight as to the rate of deferred applicants that ultimately get in RD rounds. What do should I do to show continued interest?

Deferred lol. I would say my application was pretty strong but I asked for a lot of financial aid. I’m an International student so Dartmouth isn’t need-blind for me. Pretty sure they’ll compare me to other Indian applicants in the Regular decision round

@VinayakIyer good luck dude!!

@2022jx I think I emphasized this like couple times now but maybe I did not say it right. When I said I am superior in terms of the stats I meant, one number is larger than the other. That is a fact, for example 3 leadership is > 1 leadership. 3>1. Or one score is higher than the other That is a fact. Stating a fact is not offensive and it is not bashing. I don’t get why you seem so offended by it. It is a simple comparison. And by stating these I implied that my application in my specific case may be lacking something that those stats cannot measure. Whether it is essay, rec letter or uniqueness. But I guess I emphasized the unfairness on gender, political correctness and race way too much to the point where my implications were made out to be wrongly understood. **For this, I apologize and I am sorry. **I just want you to know that I was upset and ofc spoke with some bitterness. I should have conveyed my point in a better way. However, that being said, you kinda got personal as well. Maybe I was offensive to you because of my wrong implications, but I don’t think you reacted in any respectful way either. In fact, it is rather aggressive. But that is okay. I get what you are saying. We were both upset and said things that we really did not mean.

@Takken98 Last year, our family gathered around the computer, awaiting our son’s acceptance, ED. He opened the e-mail to receive the news of deferred. It was a very sad night. Attention turned to completing all of his other applications. After a week or so, he wrote his AO to seek guidance on a LOCI (letter of continuing interest). He prepared his letter, and awaited decisions from all his schools. On “Ivy Night”, S was at work. He took his break and texted he was about to sign in for the news. All we got back was a text with the first word of his e-mail: “CONGRATULATIONS”. Our whole house was crying for his success. We were later told that a fraction of a fraction of deferred candidates were ultimately accepted. Turns out his current roommate was in the exact same boat. Moreover, no candidate was accepted off the waitlist. We were under no illusions. Deferred into acceptance is VERY difficult. But, it is not impossible. Do your LOCI at the end of your first semester or second quarter. Include substantive information, such as a new writing, new award, etc. Good luck!

@websensation Thank you! That is very nice of you. I was very depressed but I feel better now.
And regarding your question about Dartmouth… It is not the first time someone asked me this. People get confused when I say I wanna major in CS at Dartmouth. Dartmouth is good at CS but not exactly high ranked. But honestly, as much I as love CS, I do not want to limit myself solely on CS for undergrad. Since I am planning to do grad school, I would prefer colleges that focus more on undergrad. I was looking for more well rounded universities or perhaps liberal arts ish colleges so that I can do something like double major or You can probably understand that, for instance. UVA and rice have completely different culture and atmosphere while both being decently ranked in CS.
That being said, I guess Dartmouth does not really fit me. I will try my luck elsewhere.

@BuffDad2022 . Thank you very much. Aside from the LOCI, did your son send anything else that you thought may have helped him get admitted in the end?