Dear College-Aspiring High School Students...

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hey! I was in your place. A couple years ago, I was a kid who surfed CollegeConfidential whenever I had the chance, and became an extremely active user on the site. Every now and then, I'd post and ask questions similar to the ones I've been seeing lately. "Should I retake my SAT?" "What extracurriculuars should I participate in?" "What are my chances at x dream school?" "Is this enough?" </p>

<p>I've noticed that on CC, people sometimes speak of "strong and weak ECs," what the ideal SAT and GPA is for competitive colleges, and what an applicant should do to shine and stand out of a crowd. Right now, I'm going to tell you to ignore anything you've ever read along those lines.</p>

<p>There is /no/ formula to get into college. You cannot guarantee your entrance into college by defining your high school career through a set of algorithms. Trust me, those aren't foolproof. </p>

<p>First, let me give you my stats to put things into perspective:</p>

<p>SAT Score: 2350 (800 M/800 W/750 CR)
SAT IIs: 800/770
GPA: 4.0 uw
Salutatorian of class
Awards: National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist, Questbridge Finalist, as well as notable music awards
I am the first one from my school to ever achieve these titles</p>

<p>I am first-generation college student who hails from a fairly low-income family, and most of my time is spent looking after my siblings (as my parents typically don't come home until far past sundown), helping parents with work and working part-time jobs. Outside of that however, I have leadership positions in all of the activities I am involved in, and participate in many things I dearly love. At my school, over a 2000 on the SAT is anomalous. Approximately 70% of the student body decides to matriculate an in-state public school.</p>

<p>Now, what did my college results look like?</p>

<p>Waitlisted: Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, Rice, Northwestern
Rejected: Stanford, Brown, Tufts, Haverford, Emory, Dartmouth, UNC Chapel Hill
Accepted: my state safety school
and....
Princeton.</p>

<p>Ironically, my parents will not be able to afford to send me to my state school. Princeton is offering me a full-ride. Because of that, I will be able to go to college next year. My college decisions, like the ones of many of my peers, were unpredictable.</p>

<p>Although this isn't entirely true, people who have been through the process will tell you time and time again; college is a crapshot--and to some extent, this has a hint of truth. I have friends who applied to over 21 schools, and were only accepted to Harvard. I have friends who got 500s on a section of their SAT, and still got into Duke with no legacy or special "hook." I have friends who were rejected from Duke with stellar SAT scores and similar essays and extracurricular activities to the friends who got admitted. I have friends who were awarded very competitive full-ride merit scholarships to some of the best institutions in the country, but were flat-out rejected from schools that they considered "safety" or "match schools." In their article about the 2018 admits, Yale Daily News states "Although the University could not offer seats to a large number of talented applicants, Quinlan said virtually all of these students will thrive at other selective institutions." A rejection does not correlate with inadequacy. With such a large number of talented applicants and such a small number of spaces, rejections are inevitable. There simply isn't enough room for everyone.</p>

<p>All people are amazing in their own right; everyone has a special spark, no matter how small or large. If you have done your best in high school, then you have done everything you possibly can to boost your chances for college admissions. There is nothing more you can do than be yourself. Instead of worrying about those extra 100 points on your SAT, or that one award you wish you would have gotten, take the time to enjoy high school. Make a new friend. Find a hobby you love. Spend a few days just strolling through your town, city, neighborhood, and looking up at the sky. Close your textbook at 1 AM and talk to your parents to make sure they are okay. Make breakfast for your family, or even better, a whole community. Write a children's story with a preschooler who is barely learning how to take the baby steps toward their ABCs. There are so many possibilities!</p>

<p>Unfortunately, no one on here can give you an accurate response to the question, "What are my chances?" There is too much subjectivity and too many factors coming into play for that. You may get into the school of your dreams. You may not. During your four years of undergraduate school, you may fall in love far more than you ever did for your original "dream school." </p>

<p>Time is so limited. Regardless of where you end up, you can create happiness. Instead of spending the time worrying about your chances at x or y school, explore. Let go. Live. Do those things and everything will work out in the end. And perhaps, it will work in your favor come time for college application essays. ;)</p>

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<p>Also, I was also waitlisted at Duke and admitted to WUStL. </p>

<p>If you need help with studying for the SAT (I raised my SAT from ~1800 to 2350) or have any questions about the Questbridge program/anything else, feel free to message me! My doors are always open, and I’m always willing to help. :)</p>

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<p>Great piece gomdorri, and congratulations on Princeton.</p>

<p>I agree that the question “What are My Chances?” is non productive. I don’t answer that question anymore unless the answer is obvious (good or bad) and think the person probably does need to know.</p>

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<p>Thank you. (:</p>

<p>Yes, I agree. There is definitely an academic benchmark for applying, but college admissions depend on so much other information that trying to make an accurate prediction of “chances” would be unproductive.</p>

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<p>As a current junior going crazy from all the stresses in my life, this was refershing. Also congrats on Princeton!</p>

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<p>What a well-craft, eloquent post!! I’m not looking forward to going through the insanity next year.Congratulations on Princeton; I wish you the best.</p>

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<p>For me, the most stressful year was junior year. The beginning of senior year is stressful, but if you space out your college application essay writing, you should be fine. If you ever need help with an essay or advice on something, feel free to reach out to me! Thank you both. :)</p>

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<p>Thanks for the words and congrats!! I can tell you deserve it</p>

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<p>Good post. This generic advise can be given to most people here and still be applicable. Congratulations on being able to go to Princeton! </p>

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<p>This made my life a whole lot easier ;)</p>

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<p>@gomdorri‌
Did you have absolutely no extracurricular activities? The reason I am asking is you being rejected from UNC Chapel Hill is worrying me… </p>

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<p>@wannabefeynman‌ As mentioned in my first post, I was involved in several extracurricular activities, ranging from community service to school activities (won some music awards, captain of a varsity sport, etc).</p>

<p>I’m an out-of-state applicant, and at the time I applied, I sent in my lower SAT scores (The first time I took the SAT, I got a 690 on the CR section) and did not proofread my essay. I believe that may have factored into the decision, as I’ve heard that UNC Chapel Hill’s OOS admissions is very selective.</p>

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<p>Chapel Hill has a state legislated maximum cap on the number of OOS students it can take - somewhere around 18% I think? It’s very difficult to get in from OOS.</p>

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<p>@gomdorri‌
Ah, thank-you. </p>

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<p>this actually makes me feel worse, not better. if you got denied from all of those schools, there’s no way i’ll get into Brown or Tufts or Rice or Wesleyan or even Boston U !</p>

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<p>You are lucky to have gotten into Princeton. Because your “state safety school” was unaffordable, it was not really a safety at all. If Princeton had not admitted you, you would have been shut out of the schools that you applied to (and the deadlines for the automatic full rides that your stats would get at other schools have passed).</p>

<p>A safety must be affordable for sure.</p>

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<p>@marilo12‌ Don’t think like that! College admissions is a crapshot. Everyone you meet will tell you a different experience. I have friends who got into their dream schools with low 2000s on their SAT, or poor SAT II scores, or low class ranks/etc. There are people who are rejected from every single school they apply to, with the exception of one dream school (a friend of mine will be matriculating Harvard next year. She had similar stats to mine and was rejected even from her state schools). Just realize in the admissions process that if you are disappointed, it is not you fault. There isn’t much you can do to control your admissions decisions. No matter what, you may be disappointed. You may also find a pleasant surprise (which was definitely the case for me and a majority of my friends!) Spend the next year enjoying yourself rather than stressing about colleges. There’s nothing to worry about :)</p>

<p>@ucbalumnus‌ Yes I agree. For many people, one of the greatest barriers to going to college is not getting in, but paying for it once you are in. </p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus Also to clarify: I would have received a full merit scholarship from my state school. However, it would not have covered the costs of room and board, textbooks, and other miscellaneous costs that accrue. Same held true for many other schools I looked into, such as University of Pittsburgh and ASU. Coming from a low-income family, these costs, though small for some, add up to far more than half of my family’s total income, which would be impossible to pay. I consider myself very blessed to have received full need based scholarships plus a few k more for travel expenses etc. from WUStL and Princeton. Otherwise, yes, I would have had trouble surviving financially at my “safety school.” Do realize that this is a problem for several low-income students. For us, top universities and LACs may be a more viable option than full tuition scholarships at public schools. Many of my friends will have to take out over $10000 in loans per year for their safeties. With safety schools, sometimes the financial aspect is impossible to avoid, even with merit scholarships, unfortunately.</p>

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<p>However, such top universities and LACs cannot be safeties due to their admission selectivity.</p>

<p>What it means is that students who need full rides to afford college need to look for safeties where their stats will get them automatic full ride scholarships, not merely automatic full tuition scholarships, which will leave them short by the room and board and such costs.</p>

<p>For example, the list at <a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; contains both full ride and full tuition scholarships, and the poster also helpfully estimated the residual costs (consider them in the context of the federal direct loan limit of $5,500, plus the possibility of a few thousand dollars of work earnings).</p>

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<p>Personally, I took a chance. In August, I spent copious amounts of time looking through schools with full-ride merit scholarships, but I couldn’t see myself fitting into such large schools and being happy. At first, I did have a list of safeties, but when I was chosen as a Questbridge finalist and encouraged by my college counselors, I decided to take a shot in the dark and hope for a miracle. I figured, if my friends can have dream schools and the opportunity to attend in an environment fit for them, why couldn’t I? The beautiful campuses, the sizes, the support groups (specifically those I’d have as a Quest scholar at a partner college)… Once I was chosen as a Questbrudge finalist, I spent a lot of time thinking about it and decided that was what I really wanted. I took a shot. Did I get a miracle? Yes. Was I lucky? Yes. Was it risky? Absolutely. But it was all worth it in the end. If asked to go through the same process with no guarantee, I’d have done the same thing and put my faith into the people who have supported me and the passion that I showed.</p>

<p>I’m not saying that a lack of safeties is a smart thing. However, I do not regret my choice. Perhaps I’m just foolish. Pragmatism was never my forte. Regardless though, I am happy with my decision.</p>