Typical high achiever during HS with 36 ACT, majoring in CS. Probably going to end up going to Brandeis. Did I fail in my college application process?
You have a great acceptance in an in-demand major. That’s not a failure.
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If you are majoring in CS, and you have an acceptance that you are happy with, you were successful!!!
CS admissions were tough this year. My kid has some very accomplished friends who applied for CS and did not apply widely enough. They are now looking at community college or gap year.
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In what world is Brandeis a failure? That is an excellent school - you can feel proud of your achievement and very excited for the future that’s ahead of you!
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DO NOT allow an admission officer who you probably never met and who reads your application for maybe 10 minutes have an impact on your self-esteem. The hyper-competitive colleges have single digit (often under 5%) acceptance rates. They must be considered major reaches for ANY unhooked applicant. If you didn’t get in you did nothing wrong – these colleges simply get way too many well qualified applicants for the number of spaces available.
Assuming it is affordable I recommend you celebrate your win and have a great four years at Brandeis! It is a great school and one that students seem to really enjoy. Go buy a hoodie and wear it proudly.
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I think that Brandeis is a very good school. And given its location in the greater Boston area, you will have a bunch of cool things to do in your down-time. You can go anywhere from Brandeis if you put forth the requisite effort.
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No - but you failed in setting realistic expectations and you clearly expect way too much of yourself.
Where did you want to go?
Why Brandeis? Rank? Cost?
Stats alone don’t make one a high achiever btw.
We all put on pants one leg at a time and you’ll be surrounded by super brilliant people.
Good luck.
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There are students who would cry to be in your shoes. You have massively won. Brandeis is an excellent school.
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I’m not going to share my high school career to prove I am a high achiever - I know I would’ve done well at any school in the world, and I had accomplished enough during high school to apply to them and give it a shot(whether I could’ve done more, is a separate debate). I chose Brandeis over Case Western and NU global scholars due to location primarily.
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According to your other threads, you also were accepted at WPI, UMass (Honors), UMd, and UW (Madison). Sounds like great results to me. Why would you think you failed?
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Well - that was a post before most of those decisions. I did get into WPI, Umass honors and UMD, but a waitlist at UW Madison. I was really hoping for super selective schools(already a bad situation, I know) - ones like GaTech, Purdue, UCLA, WashU, Pomona, Vanderbilt all did not go my way.
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And that’s why you have a list of reach, target and safety.
Who cares what random people - AOs - say about you.
If you’re bad a$$, then you know it and keep doing it.
You - not the school - will make your success in life.
And it’s not like you don’t have AWESOME admissions.
UMD, UMASS in CS. Strong gets.
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If you need to take a day and feel sorry for yourself then go ahead. But tomorrow it will be time to embrace the wonderful opportunity in front of you.
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Why? What’s more important to you? A school that has a strong CS program or a school that rejects the vast number of its applicants?
If USNWR rankings are important to you - UMD CS is ranked T20 and UMass isn’t too far behind. You already have excellent acceptances. You have not failed!
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Per another post you have GT as a conditional transfer, with just a 3.3 requirement.
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You got into college. Isn’t that the goal? I’m sure the goal isn’t to pine after a college that failed to recognize your potential.
Do not judge yourself by the colleges you didn’t get into. Most people don’t get into those schools. You choose your path by working with what you have, not by what you don’t have.
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These and Brandeis are all great options. You had four very fine choices from which to choose…and you chose Brandeis. That is not a failure.
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Why Brandeis for CS? UMass and WPI are stronger for CS. I’d pay close attention to the coursework required for a Brandeis degree. Many LACs require that you load up on liberal arts classes, and small LACs may not offer the upper level CS & math classes that will make your degree stronger. Larger schools or niche tech schools may also do better linking you to internships and co-ops, which I understand matter a great deal in CS.
Really drill down on this before you decide. I was just talking to a Brandeis pre-med grad who complained the excessive liberal arts requirements.
In general, be very, very careful when using admissions rates as a proxy for prestige. Brandeis is a need aware school. They look more selective, but this is due in part to the fact that they are turning down people who can’t (or are unlikely to) pay full price.
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@feoifhaeo27, can you shed more light on why you think Brandeis is the best choice for you?
It’s a good school of course, just curious to know your rationale.
Thanks.
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True but that wasn’t really merit based - I am going to transfer after a year but still.
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