Hi everyone,
I have kind of what I feel is an urgent situation, and I would really appreciate any help people could give me! I just graduated high school, but I don’t have a college to attend this fall. Embarrassingly enough, I got rejected (or waitlisted, then rejected) from every school I applied to…I had a 35 ACT, 3.93 GPA, 5s on AP exams, decent recs, good ECs, etc., so I don’t know exactly what went wrong. (And I wasn’t applying to Ivies, or anything.) Correction: I did get into my safety school’s honor’s program, but I stupidly chose not to enroll, mainly for reasons dealing with mental health that I won’t get into on here. Anyway, I feel very stuck, especially without a counselor (I did online high school) or anyone to talk to and ask for help. I wanted to take a gap year anyway, but now I am faced with having to redo applications at the end of this year and my main problem is that I don’t know what I will do about recommendations. Since I did online school and did not have much contact with teachers, I doubt they will remember me if I contact them again. Also, I want to spend my year productively so I can boost my apps (I will be working, probably tutoring, etc., but I am possibly going to spend the spring semester in Rome taking a few classes as well.) Sorry for the drawn out post, but does anyone have any advice on what I can do to improve my chances next year or on what to do about recs? Or suggestions of colleges that offer individual online courses I could take? Y’all can PM me, as well. Thank you!
It is very, very strange that a student with a 35 ACT and a 3.93 GPA did not get in anywhere they applied. OP, could you share what colleges/universities you applied to - or, if you don’t want to share exact ones, at least an idea of the caliber of schools (e.g. 4 elite schools, 2 mid-range, 1 safety).
I’m also curious about why you chose not to attend your safety school’s honors program. You don’t have to go into detail, but a brief high-level summary would be good.
If your teachers remembered you well enough to write you a recommendation this year, it is unlikely they will completely forget you by next year. You can write them a very nice letter and include a sample of your classwork and a resume to update them on what you did during your gap year. There are also dossier services for high school graduates, I think, that will enable them to write a general recommendation this year and keep it on file for when you’re ready.
You want to make sure that you don’t take too many college classes in your gap year. The best financial aid goes to freshman applicants. At most colleges, you need to take 24-30 credits to be considered a transfer student - but at some colleges, 12 semester credits is enough to make you a transfer, and a (very small) handful of colleges consider almost any college work done after high school to make you a transfer. If you are going to spend the spring in Rome taking college-level courses, then I would spend your fall semester doing something else. Working and tutoring, and concentrating on reapplying, sounds like a good option.
You can look at the NACAc list of schools that miscalculated yield and see if some are still admitting freshmen.
I know Hendrix and St Michael’s still are.
What’s your budget?
Contact the school that accepted you to their honors program and find out if you can still attend the school, whether in the honors program or not. Meet with them and explain your unique situation. If they will need documentation from a therapist or anything, provide it.
OR
Look at the list provided by the poster above and get moving on contacting schools
OR
enroll in community college, excel, and then transfer.
Contact your recommenders now and ask them to save the letters they already wrote so you can resubmit them.
Are you talking about earning college credit in Rome or more like taking a noncredit class to learn Italian? If you need merit scholarships, college credit will make you a transfer student rather than a freshman which can change your financial situation.
If you want to apply for this fall, here is the full openings list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-63AYQBhS7HxrE47MXTTUqNzq8p5wUv1WFSgndXEIPA/edit?usp=sharing
Its’ a google docs link
Or here it is as a web page
https://www.nacacnet.org/news–publications/Research/CollegeOpenings/
You might want to contact your safety to see how you could be considered for next year - especially if can use the same letters of rec, etc. Just in case you decide you want to go there.
Your grades and test scores are great, so I suspect that you applied to all reaches. Your essay and recs were probably not as good as you perceived them to be, sorry to say. Write a new essay, get some new recs if you can, mybe from senior year teachers, and apply to colleges on the NACAC list above. There are some excellent colleges on the list.
ETA: PM me your essay, and I will give you an honest opinion and suggestions if needed.
Start at community college and then transfer to a state university to complete your bachelor’s degree?
If you need merit scholarships, then DO NOT take any classes anywhere. Just take a gap year and reapply.
Tell us more.
How about taking a college class at a local school and getting to know the prof. who will then write a letter for you. Also if you volunteer have the volunteer coordinator write on your behalf.
If you need merit scholarships, you cannot take any community or 4-year college class. You can take (non credit) community education classes or, if you haven’t graduated yet, simply register for senior year.
But taking classes for college credit jeopardizes your freshman status which, with a 35, would be worth a lot in scholarships.
Without knowing where you applied it is difficult to guess at what went wrong. It sounds most likely that you only applied to reaches and they weren’t impressed by your essays or ECs.
In any case I think the options are well outlined above: Call the one safety where you got in and see if you can still go there, take a gap year and reapply next year, or go to community college and transfer at some point in the future.
I agree with other posts that if you need financial aid then you need to avoid getting college credits because you need to be applying as a high school student / incoming freshman rather than as a transfer. Another point: If you do take a gap year and reapply next year, then you probably need to both get someone to look at your essays and also have a more realistic list of universities to apply to.
Would taking one 3 credit college class make the OP a transfer student?
At some colleges yes. Some schools allow a very limited number of credits (I have seen up to 12 in come cases). It depends on the college. The University of CA is an example of a system where a single class can turn a student into a transfer and force him to wait until he has completed two years worth of classes before he can transfer. Some smaller liberal arts college will accept a few units.
We need more info in order to help you. And I will echo that a 35 ACT for a freshman is preferable to an A average for a community college transfer.
Did you take any SAT Subject Tests? That would be another way to demonstrate your aptitude.
Look past the normal teacher recommendations…volunteer organizations you worked with, church groups, athletic teams, parents of kids you have babysat for or have tutored their children, employers you work for, any adult that has known you for awhile and can vouch for any portion of your character. (It is okay for someone to know you for a long time, but not be able to vouch for your academics. The fact they can vouch for your work ethic, trustworthiness, character, etc. can still be a good recommendation for you.)
If you are still struggling with mental health issues, it is best to not rush into college this fall. You want your choice to be the best possible situation to provide the support you need. That could mean living at home and commuting, starting at a community college, finding a large college with great disabilities support, or a college close by where you can take courses part time.
I am concerned that going off to Rome for a semester might be too much for you, if you had to turn down a local college for mental health reasons. It is a tough transition, even for students who have no struggles-- the complete isolation in another far away country, knowing no one, not many people to reach out to for help, not understanding the language as you try to interact at a pharmacy or grocery store. Lots of opportunity to flesh out your gap year right close by.
College is going to be there for you when you are ready. The right fit might still happen this fall, but if it doesn’t, consider the gap year a gift and find ways to beef up the circle of adults who will be able to vouch for you in the next round of recommendation letters.
OP, what is your financial situation? Do you have parents who are willing AND ABLE to pay full price at any college? Or will you need merit scholarships? Will you qualify for need aid? Answering the money question will help determine what your remaining options are for this fall.
Hi,
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. Some of the schools I applied to were Reed, Macalester, Scripps, Pitzer, Carleton, and St. Olaf (a few others as well). My safety was the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and I got into the College of Liberal Arts Honors Program and was offered their second-best scholarship. I don’t want to elaborate too much about why I didn’t choose to enroll because I am honestly embarrassed about it, but I have very severe social anxiety (which is why I did online high school) and I know going to a huge university like U of M would not have been good for my mental health. Also, if I end up taking college courses during my gap year it will likely be three at most.
I sent my scores for two SAT subject tests: 790 on Bio E and 770 on World History. As for my financial situation, my parents make something like $150,000 a year, and I have around $50,000 dollars in college saving from my (very generous) grandparents.
And about my essays, I struggle with creative writing so I know they weren’t the best or anything, but I had two English teachers read them, and they said they were good…so I don’t know. My ECs included a few hundred volunteering hours (at a library and museum), two instruments, babysitting, tutoring weekly, some clubs (only one club offered leadership positions, but I was an adviser for this one), etc. I know they aren’t great, but once again my mental health issues hindered me a bit in HS.
And thank you again to everyone who took the time to offer help. This situation has been very overwhelming and I actually cried reading everyone’s replies.