Forced gap year - Should I reapply to my dream school?

Applying to College
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<p>To be blunt: these are incredibly lame ECs and not worth a year of your time. Get a job, do “something” that is NEW! Stop with the continuation of high school activities and high school ECs now that you have graduated. Appy to the UCs – almost all of which have a better reputation than Brandeis and will cost you much much less. Also, your SAT stats and grades will simply not get you into MIT. If you have a gap year doing amazing research that some professor will stand up and say on a rec that you are greatest since Einstein . . . well, then, maybe. But my advice is to stop thinking like a high schooler when it comes to gap year. Do the gap year, get healther, and man up.</p>

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<p>@makennacompton‌
I appreciate the feedback on the ECs.
The suggestion of doing research or aiding in some way on a lab with a professor is great, but do you have any advice on how to actually approach this?</p>

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<p>What is your unweighted and UC/CSU weighted GPA? High school weighted GPA tends to be meaningless outside of your high school.</p>

<p>You may want to add more UCs, like UCD, UCSC, UCR (did you check on the UCR guaranteed admission program?). The most selective UCs are probably not as safe you think, especially if you have two C and an unknown number of B grades.</p>

<p>Caltech and Stanford are super-selective schools where top end grades, top end test scores, and high level extracurricular achievement, award, or recognition are likely necessary in the ordinary case (the extracurricular area is where your application is the weakest with respect to the super-selective schools, since yours are mainly school level, as opposed to state or national level). Do not get your hopes up too high.</p>

<p>MIT has already told you that you are not what it is looking for, and Brandeis has already told you that it is too expensive. Boston University has a poor financial aid reputation; check its net price calculator.</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus
My unweighted UC gpa is 3.85, and weighted CSU is 4.09</p>

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<p>UCB, UCLA, and probably UCSD would not be considered safeties at that GPA.</p>

<p>Your GPA and SAT reasoning scores do appear to be at the lower end of the range where super-selective schools select from their numerous applicants. Combined with relatively low level ECs, your chances at such schools appear to be quite low.</p>

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<p>Like others have said, I would not bother with MIT again- your stats are just not at the level they need to be. I think you need to reevaluate your list of schools. UCB, UCLA, UCSD, and Cal Poly are definitely not safeties- If you look at the rejection threads for those schools you will see that many applicants with stats higher than yours were rejected. I would go as far as to say that none of the UC’s except maybe Riverside and Merced would be considered safeties. You need to look at your stats and pick a couple of realistic safeties(including financial safeties) so that you don’t have another year without a plan. It sounds like you did not get great advice from HS counselors last year when you applied.</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus‌
@takeitallin‌ </p>

<p>Indeed, the scores, taken in a vacuum, seem less than stellar. But, isnt part of the application process to look at context? Where you went to school, how you compare to others in your school, etc? Because, as previously stated, I went to a rather small-town (horse country, actually) school, and from where I come from, those stats are darn impressive. Considering a gpa of 3.85 (UC, unweighted) was in the top 2% of my graduating class of 600, and my weighted gpa was #4 in my school (again, class of 600+; rather large for a small town, but this was pretty much the only HS in the town), and that not even my class valedictorian had a 4.0 unweighted, I dont think too many of those schools are unreasonable.
And now, regarding my ECs: again, my school had little to offer. They may be few, but keep in mind that I had to (help) CREATE two of those clubs in the first place, because of how limited EC options are in my area, shouldnt hurt. In fact, in my whole school, I can only think of maybe 3 or 4 people who rivaled me in terms of club participation and leadership. When it comes to my tutoring work, I enlisted in two out of the three tutoring programs that existed; the math tutoring consisted of about 8 tutors, and the elementary school tutoring program consisted of about 10 people.
As far as SAT scores go, here it is - I got a 2100. Only one person in my school beat that score (a good friend of mine; smart as can be, but too lazy for his own good). The two of us also scored high on the PSAT, and were NMS semi-finalists. On both the PSAT and SAT, the two of us were the highest scores in my schools recent history (the only two to even compete for the NMS in ages, and the only two to crack a 2000+ in years). For the SAT IIs, I am pretty sure that I broke all time school records.</p>

<p>Maybe I am being a little delusional and over-defensive (it is late, and I am half-asleep), but I was always lead to believe that scores would always be taken in context. And in the context of my school, my stats were enough for my name to be known by almost every teacher and faculty member on campus, even if I had never even seen them before (I even have a few anecdotes of this).</p>

<p>Also, because I like typing, I will continue:
If we are to look at college rejection stories, should we also not look at acceptance stories? I know of two people who have been accepted into UC Berkeley; one of them has sats that rival mine in all areas except for AP and SAT scores (which mine win out on), and the other has a lower gpa, fewer ECs, no community service, worse SAT and SAT II scores, and abyssmal AP scores. He still got in.
Cal Poly SLO and the other UCs I have similar stories for knowing people who got accepted (again, all of them I knew/know personally), and they dont (or didnt) have me concerned over my chances.</p>

<p>If I am completely wrong, or appear to have an ego the size of the room, please tell me. I hate talking about myself (ironic, given that I made this thread), but I feel that, in all situations, context is the most important.
But then again, I am quite the optimist at times! =D</p>

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<p>If you want Berkeley decision stories, take a look at this summary: <a href=“Berkeley Frosh Class of 2018 decision summary - #10 by ucbalumnus - University of California - Berkeley - College Confidential Forums”>Berkeley Frosh Class of 2018 decision summary - #10 by ucbalumnus - University of California - Berkeley - College Confidential Forums;

<p>Remember that the UCs and CSUs usually do have varying levels of selectivity by division or major.</p>

<p>Yes, the context may be considered, but the small samples you see do not guarantee you the same results.</p>

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<p>OP, you seem intent on arguing that MIT made a mistake in not admitting you and that you are a candidate for admission to top schools. People have told you their opinions based on data and experience. You can feel free to ignore it, but you might end up with another gap year. Take some of the constructive criticism to heart.</p>

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<p>Im sorry, but your guidance counselor should never have told you that you had a chance at MIT with multiple Cs on your record. Obviously, your school does not prepare students for the ivy league if your scores are the highest in school history. Yes, scores are examined in context, but no school will lower its standards that far.</p>

<p>Lets put it this way, my school sent approx 20 kids to MIT every year. I had a 3.96 weighted gpa, approx 3.7 unweighted gpa and was midpack (although my school didn’t rank). I had no business applying to ivies, so I didn’t. On a side note if you don’t have above a 4.0, you can’t even get into our top state school coming from my school. If our state school won’t let in a 4.0 W from my school, what makes you think MIT would take someone with less than that?</p>

<p>Im sorry if i come off rude (or entitled- this is not the case, i use my schools stats but i was not near the top), but you need a reality check.</p>

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<p>Actually, large impersonal budget constrained public school vs small research university? For some Brandeis would be better. </p>

<p>I think you should try to make Brandeis work now. We have one or two doctors here in Boston. The train from Brandies stops a few blocks from MassGeneral, one of the best. If you are unhappy once you get here, you can transfer out. I think you should borrow the money and get the FinAid stuff right next year or plan to transfer to somewhere cheaper. I don’t think you should put your life on hold. </p>

<p>I would even go as far as to consider some flagship research universities closer to California that you can afford and that will admit you now. See if Arizona, Colorado or Utah has really closed out. (I know they are not that close, I have an east cost myopia). </p>

<p>If you simply can’t, whether because of money or because of health, you can redo the process including MIT. I just think you are putting way too much stock in the benefits of going to MIT as an undergrad vs wasting a year of your life if Brandeis is a perfectly good conduit to your dream life especially since you want a science PhD. The road to becoming a gainfully employed scientist with a permanent position is so long and arduous (between 15-20 years) that wasting a year doing nothing seems particularly unfortunate. </p>

<p>I’m not going to tell you that you aren’t MIT material. You are.
I’m going to tell you that whether you are is only increases your chances of getting in slightly in this imperfect process. </p>

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<p>If the OP does not want to waste a year (i.e. gap year but cannot find anything worthwhile to do during it), the OP can start at a community college, then transfer to a UC or CSU as a junior to complete a bachelor’s degree. Frosh year course work in subjects like math and physics is not that unique at most colleges, so taking $30,000+ of debt to go to Brandeis for frosh year makes little sense if the intent is to transfer away.</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus‌ that would be true for most people, but she has already taken the AP for almost all of her freshman course work. The intent isn’t to transfer if she’s healthy, she should probably get better FinAid if the forms were filled out correctly and on time. I don’t know if there is enough to do at CC for her. Also the $30K price tag is at least half off retail, so I expect that her true EFC is probably not 0, so some of that needs to be taken regardless. </p>

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<p>Well, showing up is a start. Meaning – what kind of research interests you? Then, pick up the phone or email a school department or a professor and indicate your interest in and commitment to the field and say that you would enjoy the opportunity come in a do filing, wash testtubes, etc. It’s called getting your foot in the door, getting on the playing field, etc. Once you are in the room, you can maneuver to more and better. But just get in the game!</p>

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<p>@ClassicRockerDad‌
“I think you should borrow the money and get the FinAid stuff right next year or plan to transfer to somewhere cheaper. I don’t think you should put your life on hold.”</p>

<p>You see, that actually was my initial plan. I even talked to my FA counselor, who assured me that my FA should have been higher, and that I would definitely not have to pay as much in subsequent years. I even started the process for an appeal of THIS years FA, in hopes that there may still be some money left.
However, since I could not afford the school myself (clearly), the only option was to borrow the money, and…that is where the family stepped in with a “no”.
Also, I am a male (although anemia is usually associated with females, I know).</p>

<p>And to all, I would like to put this out there - this thread is not about “OMG I have to get into MIT” - though it may have (accidentally) appeared that way. Its mostly about the opportunities that I should take, should I be forced to take a gap year - what other schools are recommended (UCs and CSUs are helpful), should I have to stay in CA. The whole “reapply to MIT” thing is more a matter of convenience or curiosity rather than necessity.
Think of it this way. A man wants to win the lottery (dont we all). He knows that it is nigh impossible for him to win, statistically speaking, but he tries his chances one day and buys a ticket. Doesnt win. Oh well. One day, he is walking around in the supermarket, and finds a $5 bill on the floor. Considering he didnt have this money before, he decides to take his chances again on the lottery. Will he win? Almost undoubtedly not. But the only way he can guarantee not winning is by not trying. Will my application this year be different? Yes, because things have changed. Stronger? Not for me to say. If I dont get in? Oh well, no big deal. I am well aware that other schools fit me well, and have NO reservations about going to a UC/CSU/Brandeis.</p>

<p>Now, onto the OTHER main point of this thread, which has been brought up by only a few: what would be good ideas for what to do during the gap year? I have modified my plans to be the following:
-Someone brought up doing research, or getting into contact with a professor at a local university to see if I can help them
-If the above doesnt work, get a full-time job
-Spend the new time on pursuing interests that I previously did not have the time for, such as:
-Pursuing my old hobby of reading classical literature
-Learning to program (I already started learning C, and when I finish by book on it, I will move on to Java)
-Finally learning to play a musical instrument (I always wanted to learn how to play the piano)
-Take online edX courses (free, and because I dont want to get out of touch with learning, as I have a passion for chemistry/physics/math that I cannot leave alone for a year!)
-CC is another option, but I am not sure if I want to do the whole CC-then transfer thing or just apply to colleges again as a freshman</p>

<p>Any input?</p>

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<p>Epsilondelta- I am not saying you have no chance at all at any of your targeted schools. Admissions stories bounce all over the place and no one can really predict the outcome- your stats definitely do not automatically disqualify you. All I am saying is that you need to have a realistic set of safety schools, and I don’t think UCB, UCLA, Cal Poly, etc are safeties. You should definitely apply to your list and you may get in. As far as Brandeis, I think it offers a wonderful opportunity, but I would never advise taking out big loans for the first year in hopes that your FA improves later down the road. You are planning to go after your doctorate eventually, so don’t want to rack up substantial loans before you ever get out of an undergrad program! You might look at University of San Diego- your stats would work there and they offer a lot of FA and some great scholarships. It is a beautiful campus not that far from UCSD. </p>

<p>As far as a gap year, there are a lot of threads here that discuss what people have done with gap years. It is so dependent on what you are looking for. If money might be an issue later, what about working full time to save ?money for school next year. That would also give you a chance to get healthy and maybe give you more flexibility for schools next year. Good luck!</p>

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<p>How much can you afford if you have to pay list price. </p>

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<p>Regarding your lottery ticket analogy, note that the California lottery pays half of its intake in prizes. So the expected value of spending the $5 on California lottery tickets is $2.50, although there is variation in possible results (ranging from $0 to a very large amount).</p>

<p>However, college admissions is not a random lottery. Unless MIT suffers a decrease in the strength of the applicant pool next year, the knowledge that it has already rejected you gives information that your chance of admission is less likely than you knew before you had that knowledge (Bayesian argument).</p>

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<p>That still leaves sophomore level courses, which are also not particularly unique among colleges. The OP would benefit from being at a four year school in his second year, for the opportunity to start upper division courses early, but going to Brandeis for a year and then dropping out or transferring away would not provide that opportunity, but leave him with $30,000 in extra debt.</p>

<p>Brandeis is too expensive, so the OP was effectively shut out. So the options now are basically (a) gap year and apply to a new set of schools, (b) start at community college (which is a better option in California than it apparently is in the northeast), or (c) start at a low selectivity low cost four year school that is still accepting applicants.</p>