Denied at almost every school...

College Search & Selection
21

<p>Don’t hate your guidance counselors. Every year the admissions game changes at every single college and university. The GCs cannot possibly hope to keep up with all of them. The best your GC can do is tell you which institutions are likely to admit you based on his/her past experience.</p>

<p>If there is a common failure of GCs, it is a tendency to encourage students to apply to Reach and Match institutions and to neglect Safeties. This is because the get more bragging points for “top” institutions, and they like to impress their GC pals who work for other high schools.</p>

22

<p>You had very poor advice KochAndPepsi. Anybody who says that Stanford is “a bit of a reach” is delusional. Even valedictorians with 2250+ on the SAT and a slew of 800s on the SAT IIs should consider Stanford a major reach. UNC OOS would be considered a straight out reach and UVa a match. I realize that a hispanic female engineer is in high demand, but that will not alter things as much as some people would lead you to believe.</p>

<p>The only school on your list that was a safety was V Tech. You should have applied to one more safety and to 2-3 more matches and reaches.</p>

23

<p>OK KochandPepsi, so in your eyes you’ve been knocked down, it is time to get up, dust yourself off and take charge of what you can control. This is a killer time for a big life learning experience and what you do now after your disappointment will a. make you look back on it with pride or b. wish you had made a better choice at the time.</p>

<p>If you got into Virginia Tech, a school that has what you want and is very good at what you want, you have the means to make it yours. It isn’t going to come to you like originally planned, but it can, if you MAKE it come to you. Do whatever you need to do with cc, summer school, etc., and make it happen. </p>

<p>I have a kid at VT who at first had his heart set on another school. Because of finances, he decided to head to Blacksburg and never looked back. Absolutely loves it. If you give it a fair shot, I’ll bet you will, too. If not, do well academically and then transfer to UVA. There is a poster on the UVA forum, shoebox, who is a female engineering grad and did just that. </p>

<p>Be disappointed; it is OK. For today. Tomorrow start your new journey on the path that you chart.</p>

24

<p>I concur with some of the above comments; here are my two cents.</p>

<p>1) I think whomever counseled you made a big mistake re:schools you applied to. Applying to only 4 schools is setting yourself for failure, especially considering given your scores/ dataset Stanford would be almost an impossible reach, so basically you applied to 3 schools. UNC is incredibly hard out of state, so that was a super reach. So given your school choices that were realistic (UVA/VaTech) you got into the one that was safe (VaTech) and rejected from the one that was a low reach. So you batted 50/50. Makes sense.</p>

<p>2) It seems like you basically rationalized your way out of being successful. “I’m booked on the weekends” and wanting to visit before applying both helped you rationalize a 3 school approach, but the reality is that there’s enough information in guidebooks and CC that you shouldn’t have had to visit every school before sending an application. You should have applied to a good mix of reaches and matches and seen how it played out. Given your profile you probably were fair game for a number of top 35 schools. Remember schools choose you in the end, applying to only 3 schools is a risk. </p>

<p>3) There’s a silver lining. If you do well your first semester at VaTech (3.4+), you should be a shoo-in to transfer into UVA or UNC (UNC loses the in/out of state criteria for transfers, UVA is kind to in-state transfers). Also maybe apply to Georgetown (in DC) as well which is within reach if you do well your first semester.</p>

<p>My honest opinion is that you didn’t play the college game the right way, and unfortunately the results went in line with this. In the age of 12-15 college applications, a 4 school application set is going to lose almost every time. On the other hand the positive aspect of all of this is given your strong high school record you’re poised for a great transfer opportunity if you decide to take it. Do well, and commit to it, and you’ll have the UNC or UVA experience you prefer.</p>

25

<p>*Deal, and hope you’re happy
Take a gap year - get a job and then apply for a better school for the following year
Hope that there are other schools you can apply to.</p>

<p>Also, what I’ve learned:</p>

<p>Don’t EVER LISTEN TO FRANKLIN COUNTY GUIDANCE COUNSELORS - THEY KNOW NOTHING *</p>

<p>I agree that many counselors have very limited knowledge about the college process (even tho it’s their JOB!)</p>

<p>I think you should plan on going to VT. It’s a great school and I think you’ll like it.</p>

<p>In the meantime, send out some more apps to schools that have engineering and who are still taking apps. (Give that GC some more work to do…she’ll get the message that she screwed up. LOL)</p>

26

<p>apply to hendrix, in my opinion</p>

27

<p>i give your GC the benefit of the doubt, since she is not here to defend herself. If I had a friend who was only applying to 4 schools, i would assume that they liked all of them, otherwise they would have applied to more. So unless you told her that VT was a bare safety and you hated it, then your GC was acting within the range of acceptable behavior. I have a friend who only app’ed to VT and UVA, But he loves VT, so it does not matter.</p>

<p>Here is my list of apps (with US news rankings)[UPenn5, UChicago9, WashU13, Cornell15, UVA25, Wake25, Michigan29, W&M31, GaTech35, VaTech69]
I’m 2190, 3.96, 10-12 APs and generally ok everything else. My GC told me that UVA looked like a reach. After my own independent research, I decided to go with this list, anyway. It seems to have paid-off, because UVa and below has accepted me, WashU and above rejected me. </p>

<p>Moral of the story: GC’s act within certain bounds. One would be foolish to not independently verify what they say. UVa was a low reach. You had no fit/reasonable schools on your list. I know a girl with close to my stats; she was wait-listed by VT(but accepted at UC Berkley…don’t ask.). It’s barely a safety for you.</p>

<p>What to do now: go to VT; it is a great school. If you hate it, apply for a transfer. But don’t go in with a bad attitude; you might make friends and like it there.</p>

28

<p>Hey im in same situation as you and got denied to Engineering but accepted to VT. I wanted to know what you ended up doing because I want to graduate with an Engineering degree at Tech in 4 years. Staying extra years isnt what I what I want to do.</p>

29

<p>KochAndPepsi, very sorry to hear about your situation!! As Alex pointed out, Stanford is definitely a reach imho!! Since your safety is VT, If I may suggest, perhaps give the nearby Ohio State Honors Engineering Program a try. You fit perfect based on your academic stats and cultural background. Columbus welcomes Hispanics, and TOSU welcomes diversity. In addition, the school is extremely generous towards OOS students, and offers a handful of merit scholarships / aids - roughly a third of the student body is now made up of OOS students.</p>

<p>Ohio State Merits Scholarships</p>

<p>Info: [Scholarships[/url</a>]</p>

<p>**Columbus Hispanics increase 158% **</p>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“http://columbustelegram.com/news/local/article_77901a60-44de-11e0-a880-001cc4c03286.html]Columbus”&gt;http://columbustelegram.com/news/local/article_77901a60-44de-11e0-a880-001cc4c03286.html]Columbus</a> Hispanics increase 158%](<a href=“Merit-based scholarships - The Ohio State University”>Merit-based scholarships - The Ohio State University)</p>

<p>Students First, Students Now</p>

<p>"Introduced by President E. Gordon Gee in December 2008, Students First was a university-wide initiative designed to ensure continued access to education for Ohio State students. Because many families experienced financial hardships due to the recent recession, the university has strived to help students enter Ohio State and stay enrolled once they arrive.</p>

<p>As part of the far-reaching commitment of the Students First initiative, a fundraising drive called Students First, Students Now was implemented on January 1, 2009. It concluded on June 30, 2011, surpassing its initial goal of $100 million."</p>

<p>Source: [Office</a> of Development - The Ohio State University](<a href=“http://giveto.osu.edu/areastosupport/studentsfirststudentsnow/index.html]Office”>http://giveto.osu.edu/areastosupport/studentsfirststudentsnow/index.html)</p>

<p>Written by “Dsine” regarding to Honors Engineering Program on 04-17-2011, 01:22 PM</p>

<p>"OSU definitely.</p>

<p>They are revamping their programs and it should be even better than ever when the quarter to semester change is completed. There are awesome faculty, facilities, and it really doesn’t feel that big. I came from a super small high school and I feel right at home in the OSU Engineering program. Plus, being from OSU has been great for finding internships (except last summer as a freshman, but that is to be expected… especially with the economy in its state), but this summer I was offered ~4 positions, partially thanks to the fact that OSU is so well respected.</p>

<p>The faculty is super helpful as well, and midway fall quarter they have ‘program visits’ where you can hear a talk from one of the top faculty members of each of the engineering disciplines, and that’s how as a freshman I met my current advisor.
The resources are definitely there if you want them.</p>

<p>The Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors (freshman engineering) is also excellent, but I’ve also heard great things about the scholars programs as well.</p>

<p>I’ve never had any professors that I couldn’t understand (maybe a few TAs, but OSU does a good job of having you comment on TAs at the end of the quarter, and one that I had was no longer a TA as ‘clarity of voice’ is one of the categories)"</p>

<p>Latest Update: [“President</a> Obama visits Ohio State” - The Ohio State University](<a href=“http://www.osu.edu/features/2012/obamavisit]"President”>http://www.osu.edu/features/2012/obamavisit)</p>

30

<p>20…11!</p>

31

<p>@xiggi,</p>

<p>Quote:</p>

<p>“They are revamping their programs and it should be even better than ever when the quarter to semester change is completed.” </p>

<p>Fall 2012 Official Quarter to Semester Change (School Calendar)
2012 USNWR Undergraduate Engineering Ranking: OSU > UVA >>> UNC
2013 USNWR Graduate Engineering Ranking: OSU >> UVA >>> UNC
2012-2015 $150 million CBEC (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.chbmeng.ohio-state.edu/cbec-construction.html[/url]”>http://www.chbmeng.ohio-state.edu/cbec-construction.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>P.S. Thanks for the bump!! :)</p>

32

<p>It is surprising to me that a student only applied to 4 schools in this competitive academic climate.</p>

<p>A good rule of thumb is 6-8 colleges as the bare minimum, if applying to reach schools. Throw in a mix of public and private, at least 1-2 safeties you are willing to attend and pay attention to whether they are FAFSA only or CSS PROFILE + FAFSA if you need financial aid. </p>

<p>And when that list looks comprehensive, look at the admission rates for last year’s class. How selective are they? Did they admit less than 10% of applicants? If so, that’s going to be a serious reach. Did they admit 50-80% of applicants - probably a safety.</p>

<p>Play the numbers, kids. Be smart about this process. Don’t compare yourself to the kid in your class who has the same stats as you. Everyone writes different essays and submits their scores and GPA, along with recommendations. Not everyone is the same. </p>

<p>In some ways, college admissions is a crapshoot and it surprises me every year.</p>

33

<p>koch:</p>

<p>Sounds like you have had some bad luck.</p>

<p>College admissions, to some extent, is a numbers game, and the numbers did not break your way.</p>

<p>I had my son apply to 22 colleges, because I knew that with acceptance rates at the top colleges so low, you have to apply to a lot of them.</p>

<p>A female majoring in engineering should have had better results, but Virginia Tech is not exactly dog food.</p>

<p>It is still a good school.</p>

<p>Go there with a good attitude, and make the best of it.</p>

<p>That’s all you can do.</p>

<p>You can always try and transfer, if you truly don’t wind up liking it.</p>

<p>I did that, albeit 35 years ago. I went to SUNY Albany for 1 1/2 years, and then managed to transfer to Cornell.</p>

<p>But in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with Virginia Tech. In fact, for someone majoring in engineering, I would think that VT might even be a better choice than UVA or UNC.</p>

34

<p>She posted this a year ago. I wonder how things worked out for her.</p>

35

<p>^^ WHAT?? @_@" I guess I misunderstood Xiggi… =.=" MY BAD!!!</p>

36

<p>

If you look at the OP’s post history you’ll see her gen admission was changed to engineering at VT. I hope she is doing well there.</p>

37

<p>

</p>

<p>Actually, one school is sufficient if the student’s first choice is an ironclad safety.</p>

<p>But any number of schools is insufficient if there are no ironclad safeties (unless the student’s ironclad safety is community college or some other school with a post-April admissions, financial aid, and scholarship deadline).</p>

38

<p>I honestly don’t even think community college is an ironclad safety in California, these days.</p>

<p>You can go…but if you can’t get your classes each term to make academic progress in a reasonable amount of time, then it’s a big problem. And…it’s been a huge problem in the community colleges in So Cal with the budget cuts.</p>

<p>In our area, we don’t even have a “geographic” preference in admissions for the Cal States universities. It used to be that students could apply to a Cal State and be reasonably assured of admission. Not so, anymore - even with relatively good stats. Again…see budget cuts. </p>

<p>Maybe it’s different in other states. Applying to one school would be downright ridiculous, unless you 1) had the financial resources to go there and didn’t have to compare financial aid/scholarship offers 2) were absolutely convinced of getting in. Those are two big if’s for most people.</p>

39

<p>If a student is looking at an unimpacted CSU (e.g. Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Monterey Bay, Stanislaus for freshmen, according to [CSU</a> Campus Impaction Information | Student Academic Support | CSU](<a href=“http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impaction-campus-info.shtml]CSU”>http://www.calstate.edu/sas/impaction-campus-info.shtml) ), and s/he has fulfilled the admission requirements with GPA and test scores for minimum CSU eligibility (listed here for California residents: [CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Eligibility Index - California Residents](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>GPA Calculator | CSU) ), and can afford to attend at list price or with known certain levels of financial aid, wouldn’t that be a sure safety? If such a school happened to be the student’s first choice, would the student need to apply to any other school?</p>

<p>Of course, a student who wants to go to a more selective school (including the impacted CSUs) needs to have a sure safety in his/her application list in addition to the more selective school(s) s/he applies to.</p>

40

<p>Cal States have been cutting enrollment since 2008:</p>

<p>[Csu</a> Cuts | CSU may scale back enrollment - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/18/local/me-csu18]Csu”>CSU may scale back enrollment)</p>

<p>If a student is applying to a campus that isn’t impacted, in a major that isn’t impacted, sure, that might be a good bet. Except when suddenly, the Cal State cuts back their anticipated enrollment figures because they can’t meet their budget (but they can give their Presidents pay raises.) </p>

<p>Who will be training the 2016 graduating year’s crop of nurses is anyone’s guess. It won’t be at Cal State. </p>

<p>Our teachers and nurses and engineers are often getting their education at Cal States and this system is falling apart right now. </p>

<p>The reason why Cal States are often safeties for students is because of the financial considerations of attending - many students are commuter students, so they don’t have to live on/near university housing. Not everyone lives on campus as a typical undergrad student, or can afford to, either.</p>

<p>We are cutting community college classes to the bone - look at what’s happening at Santa Monica College - they are going to institute a two tier fee system in the coming months, plus increasing fees.</p>