<p>I'm not one who whines about getting rejected, but I felt that I needed to post for one certain reason. I've read hundreds of posts, and the general consensus is that if one applicant demonstrates much interest in a school, that they'll probably get in. </p>
<p>Let me tell you some things about me:
From Connecticut (not many applicants from here..). Before actually applying EDI, I had gone to the hotel reception (you know what I'm talking about..), got the business card from the admissions rep (who also visited my school about a month later..). I kept in close contact with her, and was so convinced that Wash U was my first choice I did an overnight stay there with a student, toured the campus, went to info sessions, etc. Once I got home I put the EDI application in the mail, and was sort of surprised I got deferred. It really meant that I would have to wait another 4 months to await my fate. However, during the interim between EDI and RD, I kept in contact with the admissions rep (about an email a month..), I got 4 additional recommendations (3 teacher, 1 alumna), and profusely told the Admissions Committee how much I loved the campus, could see myself there, etc.</p>
<p>More stats:
Top 4% of my senior class (of about 530). 4.19 weighted GPA. Some athletics, lots of school activities, community service groups, religious youth groups. 1320 SAT (680M 640V.. pretty even), 740 Spanish SATII, 620 Latin SATII, 700 Writing SATII, 690 Math IC SATII. 29 ACT Composite. Only kid from my school who applied to Wash U (regardless of ED/RD - the other one withdrew because he got in ED to Emory). </p>
<p>..And they slammed me with the rejection. I was furious, but now I'm over it. I would've sent them some kind of email asking 'why', but I'm considering applying for a transfer next year, just out of curiousity (for self-gratification to see if I get in). Can somebody offer a reasonable explanation as to why I was rejected? You all seem like a very gifted bunch with loads of common sense, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please, please leave a comment.</p>
<p>ask your GC to call and inquire....it might have been your SAT I and ACT scores, which are in the bottom quartile of the class. How about strength of schedule, ie., APs/honors? Just a thought.</p>
<p>Everything else looks great. Good luck on the transfer possibility.</p>
<p>Log in as a guest, click on college lookup, find Wash U, and click on the graph option. Average SATs were about 1425 and weighted GPA was 4.4, which was higher than yours on the average. For what it's worth, you probably missed the cut off by a small amount or they didn't like your essay.</p>
<p>wonderful link, thanks for sharing. HOwever, it would be helpful to understand the gpa calc for comparisons; is it based on a 4.0 or 5.0 scale? Also, if weighted, how does the weighting work? </p>
<p>For example, our HS follows the UC weighting system of 4.0 scale with a bonus point for UC-approved honors/ap courses...Thus, it is virtually impossible for anyone to obtain greater than 4.5 gpa since the bonus points don't start racking up until Jr year.</p>
<p>Our HS uses a 4.0 system EXCEPT if you take an honors or AP course, you get an extra point. Thus an A in an honors course is wort5 a 5,but the same A in a regular course is worth a 4. A "B" in an honors course is worth a 3. No extra points are given for anything under a "B" in an honors or AP course.</p>
<p>The whole demonstrated interest thing? Its like the 25th factor and pales in comparison to the important parts of a resume. As stated, it is for those borderline things.</p>
<p>Essays > demonstrated interest</p>
<p>I like to think DI as the finishing touches; great if you have it, your loss if you don't.</p>
<p>One thing, are your recommendations strong? Have you seen them?</p>
<p>Analysis :</p>
<p>"More stats:
Top 4% of my senior class (of about 530). 4.19 weighted GPA. Some athletics, lots of school activities, community service groups, religious youth groups. 1320 SAT (680M 640V.. pretty even), 740 Spanish SATII, 620 Latin SATII, 700 Writing SATII, 690 Math IC SATII. 29 ACT Composite. Only kid from my school who applied to Wash U (regardless of ED/RD - the other one withdrew because he got in ED to Emory). "</p>
<p>Weakness: standardized tests.
Kinda need more info on the whole 'Some athletics, lots of school activities, community service groups' part. Varsity potential? School activities, are you merely a member?</p>
<p>Unknown: strength of courses. Are you an engineering or CAS applicant? If so, then you are one of many many many talented applicants; as they draw the most applications.</p>
<p>Good luck with the transfer, I think you should go for it definitely.</p>
<p>HelloAll I definitely see your point. But people here are making it to be like "well, if you really want to go there, and you express your interest enough, they'll let you in if you have the stats". So I guess I got hyped up when I shouldn't have been.</p>
<p>I've seen all my recs, all 7 of them (believe me, I'm one who values quality over quantity..). They were fantastic, truly well-written and from the heart. </p>
<p>Let's see, I'll highlight the rest:
-If I chose to try out for tennis, I would have made varsity. But I decided to allocate that time towards working and making money.
-Overall, not strong on athletics.
-President of one religious youth group, on the board of the other.
-Member of the Board (about 12 kids out of 60ish) of my community service club.
-Vice President of Student Council.
-Member of house council since freshman year (thus my expressed interest in CS40 in my rec from the alumna).
-I applied to OLIN, which apparently doesn't draw the most apps.
-The transfer depends on my satisfaction level next year wherever I end up, probably Carnegie Mellon or Emory.. </p>
<p>But honestly, any other suggestions? Is a guidance counselor call to the office or a personal email to the "admissions rep I kept in close contact with" worth it? Input, people!</p>
<p>Don't worry man; the admissions process is so entirely random...I got rejected from schools I was using as backups, got waitlisted from schools I thought I had no chance of getting into...I was pretty unlucky though, got rejected from 8 out of 11 schools I applied to...acccepted to Wash U and BU, waitlisted at Duke, didn't get any scholarships from Wash U or into their medicine program (which I wasn't really expecting anyways). I know how you feel though, I was this close to mailing an angry tirade of a letter to Lehigh and RPI, lol.</p>
<p>Lets be clear about the money thing..Ivies don't give merit aid (or they're not supposed to), so your full ride should be need-based, and ergo doesn't reflect your credentials as a prospective freshman.</p>
<p>Well it says "Dartmouth General Scholarship" on my award letter..... I dont really care what kind of the aid it is as long as it's free money...hehe</p>
<p>Yep...says the exact same thing on mine...you really shouldn't tell people its a free ride though...its sorta unethical. </p>
<p>What is true is that its all the same type of money...so yeah. I just hope you see my point about calling it a free-ride...its not..its just a lot of need-based aid!.</p>
<p>Although I appreciate your comments, I think we've all digressed from the core of my argument: Demonstrated Interest. </p>
<p>What message is a college sending to the general public when they flat-out reject students who are academically qualified (yes, my SATs were around 30th %ile, but I was one of the top 20 students in the CLASS of 530 and had extra cirriculars - see first post..) but get deferred ED (then do so much in the interim) only to be rejected several months later? </p>
<p>I just came back from an Open House day at Emory where several kids got waitlisted at Wash U but have no intention of going there. Seriously, I would do anything possible to get in there, including a probable transfer middle of next year. </p>
<p>Even Wash U's website says how much they consider a campus visit, info sessions, hotel receptions, school visits, etc. Traveling to St. Louis from Connecticut is no easy thing - it's not like traveling from Missouri or Illinois, where a good chunk of Wash U's students come from.</p>
<p>Basically, I'm asking: What are my options? When I go back to school on Monday (after this upcoming vacation week..) I'm taking the suggestion for my GC to call the admissions office and speak directly to that counselor that I had corresponded with since September '04. But, I'm almost thinking I should email her directly? </p>
<p>Please make suggestions - I'm at an impasse. Although there is /nothing/ I can do to get in for this fall (believe me, I understand that and I'm over the rejection), I think I have a right to know why my efforts did not yield the outcome I had hope for.</p>
<p>I too am from CT, went to said hotel reception, visited the college, applied ED, was deferred, stayed in contact with the reps, was the only person from my school who applied, and we have about the same stats (you have a higher gpa, lower sat). i got in RD.</p>
<p>it just goes to show you this is all a crap-shoot and really arbitrary.
I'm sure you got in some other awesome places, so good luck. Sorry it didn't work out</p>
<p>Comparing your stats to the kids at the prep school where my son goes, your SATs were on the low side for acceptance. Also there are a lot of Connecticut applicants to Wash U. It is not an underrepresented state. Although demonstrated interest is important and the lack thereof can sink you, it is no guarantee to get you in the door. I think you were probably on the cusp of getting into the school. I don't have the acceptance % in front of me now, but I recall that it is low, low, low. When you numbers in that range, the chances of getting in even if you have dot all the i's and crossed all of the t's is small. From the post I have been seeing on this board about Wash U, kids with higher stats than your were turned down.</p>
<p>My good friend's D from Illinois went through the same thing you did a few years ago and was turned down with excellent stats. She showed lots of interest, applied ED, followed up but it was a no go. She did get into some other good schools however with the same essays, rec, etc, so who can say why WU chose not to accept her?</p>
<p>Also, I just visited last weekend and Dean Hochberg, the Dean of the Olin school of business, said that this year the Olin school was the most difficult to get into. Seriously, he said that the average SAT for Olin admitees was somewhere in the mid 1500s...yea, suprisingly difficult.</p>