<p>I thought I had things going for me. Classical music (Chinese) national awards. State level debate victories. Salutatorian and SATs to match. Raising thousands of dollars for charity through classical concerts. Published business article in an international magazine.</p>
<p>Yet, HYP didn't want me. Not even a waitlist, but outright rejection.</p>
<p>As I read the acceptance threads on the HYP forums, I'm losing my mind. Applicants as good as me and better who were rejected from one of these schools were accepted to the others. Or perhaps MIT or Stanford, which are just as good.</p>
<p>I have Penn CAS, Cornell, and Dartmouth acceptances in my hand...but after HYP, they just don't mean much. Although I'm a prospective finance guy, I think I made the smart decision by applying to CAS rather than Wharton.</p>
<p>My mind is spinning in circles. Things could have been different. As good as Penn CAS is, the thought of a Harvard education haunts me. Proudly being the first in my family to go to Harvard. Moving up the social ladder. Networking. My mind spins.</p>
<p>Can SOMEONE please, please, assure me that there were applicants better than me who got rejected from HYP? I don't mean to be sadistic. I want some perspective.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>dont measure your selfworth by a rejection at lottery schools. </p>
<p>Penn, Dartmouth and Cornell are fine schools in their own right. You will be happy at any one of them and you can attend only one in the end.</p>
<p>Consider the fact that the admission rate at Harvard was about 3% this year. It’s ridiculously low, and at that point I’m pretty sure the students they chose to accept were accepted basically by lottery.</p>
<p>Don’t feed the ■■■■■. Just back away slowly, and keep your hands and feet away from his mouth.</p>
<p>He posted this on the Penn forum recently:</p>
<p>Choosing between PENN CAS, DARTMOUTH, BROWN, AND YALE </p>
<hr>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I’m very happy about being accepted to the 4 schools above, and I’m leaning towards Penn mainly for academic and social reasons (although all 4 are fantastic).</p>
<p>Many have given me heat for choosing Penn over Yale; However, Penn CAS economics appeals greatly to me, the location is great based on where my family is, Philly is much better than New Haven, and I’d have a chance at the end of my freshman year to either:</p>
<p>1) Transfer into Wharton (which would be awesome, but how difficult are the requirements for this)</p>
<p>2) Pursue a dual degree in CAS and Wharton (challenging, but I’m ready).</p>
<p>To break into finance/Wall St., will it really matter if I chose Penn CAS over Yale? Both are fantastic schools, for obvious reasons, and I feel that a Penn degree (CAS or Wharton) will serve me just as well as a Yale degree.</p>
<p>Thoughts??</p>
<p>Boondocks, I’ll have you know that I’m not a ■■■■■. I had a Yale waitlist spots and was able to personally talk to one of the deans and adcoms who told me I had a solid chance; yesterday, I was notified of my rejection.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Just pointing out that “first in my family to go to Harvard” isn’t really a thing… not like “first to go to college” or anything of that nature. Otherwise, I’d recommend taking a step back and evaluating what you really want from life. Moving up the social ladder? Networking? Are these the end goals, or steps on your path to a better life? What is a better life for you? Being high on the “social ladder”? Having a lot of money? If this is what you’re aiming for, I’d recommend taking a step back and, before you deal with your “heartbreak” over rejection from 3 of the nation’s (many) top schools, reevaluating what you want your future to bring you.</p>
<p>ahhhh come on…</p>
<p>go to Dartmouth, it is an incredible school!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yale has not rejected anyone on the waitlist yet–in fact, they probably don’t know most of the people who will remain on the waitlist yet. And if you spoke to an adcom yesterday, they would not have told you anything different.</p>
<p>That’s ridiculous-How was this possible? I want you to understand that I’m really confused now, and am serious-Does this mean I’m still on their waitlist and the message was an error?? I still have a shot then!</p>
<p>I was reading somewhere that Dartmouth has the highest proportion of CEOs of any school in America. If finance is your thing, then you should probably head up to Hannover next fall. That being said, you’re probably thinking that Dartmouth doesn’t have an extremely prestigious econ department, which it doesn’t, but statistics like the one I listed don’t entirely lie. Plus, at the end of the day, your infinitely better than the average American student who’s going to some random state school with little recognition.</p>
<p>[College</a> Graduate Salary Statistics by Location](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/college-graduate-salary-statistics-by-location.asp]College”>Payscale Best Schools by Salary Potential)</p>
<p>So Dartmouth is behind Princeton but ahead of Harvard and Yale in terms of graduation salaries… “prospective finance guy,” don’t worry!</p>
<p>thank you for the help, everyone!</p>
<p>I’m sorry for you. Just realize that you’ve got to appreciate the things you DO have. You gotta look back and see the millions of seniors behind you who never even got waitlisted to an ivy, seniors who envy you and would kill to be in your shoes. Getting accepted to even 1 is outstanding. These schools take the cream of the crop; just realize that you are part of that.</p>