@#14 “I also applied to Boston U, Brandeis, NYU, USC, Ithaca and a few other colleges.”
You have great stats. You will have acceptances other than Sac State and UCR. I am assuming out of state is affordable as you did not apply for financial aid. If that is the case, then try to relax as best you can over the next two weeks. Focus on what you want to achieve in college so that you will be better prepared to select among your choices.
You have several college acceptances so if you have an affordable school on your list, your dreams of a higher education aren’t “shattered.” If not, you can always take a gap year and apply to a revised list. At worst, your plans are simply delayed.
Nobody can really tell you why you were waitlisted or rejected by a particular school. Your stats seem very good. Several of your ECs are similar (dance, music, piano) or typical for your age group (hours of community service) which may not make you stand out, but there’s nothing wrong with them. I think the one that might be different than what many kids your age have done (volunteer work in Palestine, the Ukraine, & Mexico) works against your URM/1st generation status. If your family can afford to send you overseas multiple times, you probably already have more advantages than most 1st generation families that colleges see.
Wait until all your acceptances come in and then weigh your options. You chose to apply to those schools so they must have some good features. And for heaven’s sake, listen to @mom2collegekids and lay off the ibuprofen. Go take a walk, talk to your parents, stop by your GC’s office, chat with friends, do some yoga…find something to do to work through stress before you get to college. That’s an important life skill to develop.
Good luck.
i’m not sure that the OP is a URM/First Gen…
How much can your family pay each year?
OK, deep breaths. And no more Advil. All the Advil in the world won’t change a thing in college admissions.
You applied to a bunch of schools, got into some and didn’t get into some.
No more should’a, could’a ,would’a.
You take a look at the schools you’ve been accepted to, maybe revisit one or two during spring break, and make that decision by May 1st.
Your plans for your future haven’t changed. You weren’t sure which college you were going to, and the choice is being narrowed down. You only applied to schools you could see yourself at, right? So you wait until you know the full score, and then decide which of the acceptances you choose to accept.
I applied for financial aid to the private colleges, but if I get in I don’t know if I can afford it. I was disqualified from Cal Grant and my families estimated contribution is 35K. I did the fafsa and the reason that the estimate is so high is because my parents have a stock account (we have been lucky with the stock market recently). A few people have actually asked me about the traveling/ volunteering stuff and I wrote about how I worked different small jobs in order to pay for all of the volunteer work in all of my essays. Well I am I very thankful that I got into 2 colleges, but I am upset that I didn’t get into any that I wanted to go to. Yesterday my parents were the ones who really got mad and disappointed at me. My parents saw me work day and night, push myself through the hardest classes and literally push away my social life and friends for studying, so they expected A LOT from me. I guess I’ll wait on everything else, I still have some hope left. If you guys are interested, then I can post the rest of the decisions as they come 
Your parents should not be disappointed in you! You obviously worked very hard, that’s all anyone can do.
What major did you apply to? Some are more competitive than others, some schools also consider level of interest.
I applied for an Econ major, so it is not as competitive as engineering or biochem, etc.
@coffeelife “but I’m upset that I didn’t get into any that I wanted to go to”.
One mistake you made is not ensuring the safety schools you applied to are ones you would be happy to attend. 
you have to fall in love with your safety school too.
@fizzy110 why? i think if OP has no problem with CC and wants to transfer out to his dream schools he can do so. its quite easy to transfer to a UC from a california CC. i really dont understand the point of safeties.
he can always get into his safeties from cc as well.
@finallyfree, OP explicitly stated that she is unhappy so far because, as an extremely qualified candidate, she hasn’t been accepted at her top choice schools. She also already has an acceptance from UCR which isn’t even a cc, yet from what I understand she would prefer not to attend.
“I don’t understand the point of safeties”
Well for one cc is not the best option for everyone. With her stats I don’t think a cc would be the best route to be honest.
Safeties ensure you have a place to go to where you’ll be happy forthe next four years. They are a safety net, and you want to make sure that safety net is in tip top shape to catch you (i.e you would be perfectly willing to accept your safety school offer HAPPILY, if your circumstance calls for it.)
One can have safeties one would be happy attending, and yet be upset when not admitted to one’s top choice(s). The two are not mutually exclusive.
@irlandaise, agreed. But the OP said she didn’t get into ANY she wanted to go to, which is why my point still stands - she has to like her less ideal options enough to want to attend!
Anyways best of luck OP - routing for you in all upcoming decisions!
@fizzy110 i think we all can say that riverside is at the bottom of the uc system. people at my school make fun of UCR, and i am not surprised that OP is dissapointed that the only UC that accepted her so far is UCR. you can EASILY transfer to UCR from a CC, and PLUS you would save money with a CC. OP, is there any reason that you would not attend a CC?
I think it is understandable to be disappointed. Some people just do not LOVE their safeties. I hope some of the other schools come through for you, op.
Well I mean if I have to I will attend a CC, but it is very upsetting. I worked extremely hard at school and I am not trying to be arrogant, but I think I deserve slightly better than a CC. I would literally get 3-4 hours of sleep a night and I did not have a social life because I was extremely determined to go to one of my top schools. My friends are saying that my essay about volunteering might have been the reason I was not accepted. I think that it might have been risky writing about volunteering in Palestine during the 50 day war. Maybe colleges think I am lying or they don’t like it for another reason. 
@finallyfree, well if i personally were in OP’s shoes, I would be disappointed having to attend a cc for 1-2 years, having worked so hard throughout high-school to increase my viability for these schools. But I’m not OP, so I’m also curious to know her thoughts on attending a cc and transferring. I agree that if finances are a big factor, it would be a good thing to consider attending a cc.
I would be lying if I said I’m familiar with UC Riverside, I’m aware of the fact that many use it as a safety, but I am certain that just because “people at your school make fun of it”, doesn’t make it a bad school. The people that choose to attend there have their reasons. Furthermore if OP disliked the school so much, she wouldn’t have applied.
Also OP has a few more decisions to come, which, fingers crossed, will be positive
^^ didn’t see OP’s post before I posted mine
OP, do what you think is right. we are all just random people across the internet. you shouldnt care about what i say or what others say. you can take advice, but just cause i think its better to go to CC, dont think that its REALLY the better idea. go to UCR if you’re happy with it. good luck! hope good things happen to you.
I think in the end, if you really don’t like ANY of the places you got into, you can always take a gap year. You seem like a great applicant. The same thing happened to me last year and I decided to take a gap year. Sure, my gap year has been less then stellar but that’s because there just isn’t anything to do where I live. If you do have a lot of opportunities in your own city then I say you should consider it.
And you volunteered in Palestine? Woah. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to write about volunteering abroad, because volunteering abroad is something only privileged students can afford. But it’s too late for that now so I’m going to say if you do decide to take a gap year, don’t write about volunteering abroad next time.
I think that was a pretty big mistake. I started out that essay talking about how I lived in poverty for half of my life and how that shaped me into the person that I am today. I said that living in poverty made me conscious about the poor living conditions in the US and other countries, so that is why I decided to save up all my money to volunteer. But in the end, I think that it still hurt me. I will definitely keep that in mind for next time!