Didn't get in, should I not matriculate and try again next year?

Applying to College
1

<p>The question: should I do something crazy for a year and muscle my way into the college I want next year?</p>

<p>Ok so I got waitlisted at 3 Ivies, into Tufts, Georgetown, Boston U and W&M. I could probably get in off of the Columbia waitlist.</p>

<p>But. I realized too late that I REALLY want to go to California for school. I got rejected from both Berkeley and Stanford, and made the mistake of not applying to an easier school like USC or UCLA. I want to get off the East Coast, I want to, if not outright leave the U.S., live in a part of it I don't know very well. And CA seems like the perfect choice for me. My junior year, I went to Japan abroad. I'm strongly considering just doing something irresistable; buy an around-the-world airline ticket and make a documentary/write a book/make some kind of article about the trip; or even better, traveling around the world with NO airlines (cars, trains, ships). I could boost my SAT scores as I go (currently a 2170, but I only took it once and I have an 800 so it'd be easy to raise by focusing on the other two subjects), as well as strengthen my lingual abilities. I would basically do my best to survive off a small amount of money.</p>

<p>It sounds crazy but I was planning on doing this AFTER graduating. I thought I'd be happy with wherever I got in, but I thought, 'Hey, why not do this NOW, and use it as a way to get into college?'
Failing that I could stay at home and work, devoting time to writing music (yes I know how, I just never have time to), and send a symphony or two to colleges...I DON'T want to do a PG year really, I don't want to be so restricted by the rules and confinements of a high school again.</p>

<p>Anyway what do you think?</p>

2

<p>Well I suggest that you look into the schools you got into to see if you can have a gap year. If you can, then I would say to go for it.</p>

3

<p>Your situation really isn't that bad. Go to Georgetown & transfer.</p>

4

<p>no, see, I don't WANT to go to those schools...I would still have to send them a deposit and register, it'd just be a deference of enrollment. I mean a total clean slate, start over, and in the fall apply to CA schools......and hopefully make Stanford</p>

5

<p>You cant leave yourself vulnerable in case you dont get into Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA or USC.</p>

<p>So pay the enrollment, defer a year, then apply to cali schools.</p>

6

<p>Well I KNOW I'd get into USC, and most likely UCLA (even for OOS). I didn't apply to them because I arrogantly deemed them 'below me', assuming I'd get into Berkeley.</p>

<p>I considered transferring, but it seems so lonely. I want the whole 4-year set, I'm really weirdly OCD about that kind of thing...
and I never said my situation was BAD, hell, there are kids who'd be jumping up and down to get a BU acceptance letter, let alone Tufts or Georgetown...but though it's not bad, if I can do better and have fun doing it AND accomplish something pretty incredible, why not?</p>

7

<p>I hear you. Yes, I would take the year off and do something fun and something that will help your app. What's a year? I really think people make a mistake choosing from schools they don't really want. If you don't have good counseling, it's an easy mistake to make applying to the wrong group of schools. You'll do better the second time around, witness Andi's son (parent's forum). Why is everyone insecure thinking you need to rush into college?</p>

<p>Just one thing though UCLA is as hard as Cal. For other Cali schools look at the Claremont colleges.</p>

8

<p>I'm considering the same thing except that I will be transfering in as a second year. Its much safer</p>

9

<p>Are you saying transferring as a soph is easier? Simply not true at the calibre of schools he's talking about.</p>

10

<p>FINE. Why don't you just not matriculate into Tufts and give the spot to someone extremely anxious to get in like me! Going to Tufts is not going to kill you. I don't see what you find so attractive about California. Having lived here half of my whole life, I am bored to death and would give you every penny to go to a school like Tufts in Boston! </p>

<p>Sorry...don't take me seriously.</p>

11

<p>georgetown has the gap year option,, i dont see why you shouldnt take advantage of this, if u really are contemplating on a year off.</p>

12

<p>maden10, because it's not a year off for the sake of a year off, it's a year off for the sake of getting into a college I want</p>

13

<p>I hope you think this decison through. What happens if you don't get into these schools next year either? You will have basically wasted a whole year. Realize that next year there will be MORE college applicants and thus more people will be applying to 10+ schools (even the super-qualified ones).</p>

<p>Just think it through.</p>

14

<p>well, considering what I want to do, I would hardly call it a waste, AND you would be hard-pressed to find a more appealing candidate. Which would you take first? The kid who opted of his own initiative to go around the world making a documentary of the things he saw, with a high SAT and high grades, or the kid with all the cookie-cutter ECs, perfect SATs and perfect grades but has pretty much just lived his life day by day up until he sent in his application?</p>

15

<p>It seems like what you want to do is re-apply to the Ivies. What if you don't get in? </p>

<p>If you can sit down and say "Yes, even if I get the exact same results last year, I will be better off because of my experiences from taking a year off." then DO IT. </p>

<p>Just realize that nothing is guaranteed is all I'm saying. You will be competing against more kids as well as more kids applying to more schools.</p>

16

<p>Wow, you're really lucky if you can get your parents to bankrole a trip around the world. I'd love to do that.</p>

17

<p>Keep in mind, this romantic journey will be a LOT harder than it seems. It sounds enchanting and fun, but just think of these things. Be realistic for a moment.</p>

<p>-- money
I really hope that your mother is JK Rowling or your father invented air, because this will require a lot more money than you probably think it will. Even without planes, think of bus tickets, taxis, tolls, meals, clothing, shelter, medical and much more. Did you really think you were going to spend a week in Paris in a tent? Or that you wouldn't get sick for a year? And in an emergency, it's not as easy as simply calling home and asking mommy and daddy to wire you some cash.</p>

<p>-- motivation
What if your favorite great-aunt Trish who gave you a bicycle for your seventh birthday suddenly dies? Are you going to fly home? A lot happens in a year and you're not going to be able to avoid it all.</p>

<p>-- loneliness
You're going to be traveling alone. Now, some might see this quixotic quest as one for finding oneself, discovering the meaning of life, etc. But when you're driving down a dark road someplace in Europe you can't pronounce and it's cold and you don't know how to order hot chocolate in Romanian, well, then it's probably going to be disheartening to travel alone.</p>

<p>-- traveling concerns
Borders aren't just invisible lines on the soil. The worst thing that could happen to you is getting stuck in a country (especially one unfriendly to Americans) without the appropriate visas, passports, etc. Living day-to-day is fine as long as long as the entire trip is planned out and you have the necessary papers and, well, you pretend you don't know what you're doing tomorrow.</p>

<p>-- languages
Immersion is the absolute best way to learn a language, but don't expect to sit in the back of a Brazilian dance club for four days and suddenly gain the ability to speak Portuguese. You should probably have an intensive training in most languages you expect to come across -- at the very least, guidebooks, phrasebooks, and access to a translator or embassy.</p>

18

<p>I think money fixes most of the problems listed above. A truck load of money. Btw, you should read You Shall Know our Velocity by Dave Eggers.</p>

19

<p>Here's a slight news flash...Let's review some of the key points from your little rants.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>"I could probably get in off of the Columbia waitlist." (Hahaha, on what planet? Daddy go there?)</p></li>
<li><p>"I got rejected from both Berkeley and Stanford, and made the mistake of not applying to an easier school like USC or UCLA"</p></li>
<li><p>"I'm strongly considering just doing something irresistable; buy an around-the-world airline ticket and make a documentary/write a book/make some kind of article about the trip." (Yes, all 18 year olds can just write books without formal college training. It's easy as pie.)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>4."no, see, I don't WANT to go to those schools"</p>

<p>So ummm k. You don't know much about the college process or colleges for that matter (since you're thinking UCLA is an "easy" school to get into). You are in denial if you think a school won't see your "year off" as blowing off college to party in Europe for a year on Daddy's dime. And exactly how seriously could you take your plans if you realized that late in the game that California is your "dream state" for college. Quote #4 shows that you lack the ability to calmly communicate with people. You're either extremely arrogant, extremely immature, or in extreme denial. Either way, you don't give off the impression of a person who would go to Europe for a year and come back with a worth while documentary that didn't involve Rome's party scene.</p>

<p>Go to Tufts...Drink beer...Smell the harsh reality.</p>

<p>:)</p>

20

<p>I agree with fiddledd above; they're good points. Nothing is for sure in college applications and it seems like every new class gets more competitive than the year before. As the average and standards rise, things get tough. And you never know how your "eye-opening adventure" will be perceived.</p>