@smilyowl Thanks! So I got on the wait list for both UCSB and UCD, since around 50% of the waitlisters get in( at least with the data that I saw off of a college website), I think I have a small chance of getting off. If I do get in, then I will have to cancel my deposit to the other school that I get into. I know I will be the happiest if I do get into a UC though, since it is close to home and I can afford it.
Just got the mail and got into Ithaca, but I can not afford it at all.
Did they include financial information?
(Did you use the NPC before you applied and did your circumstances change since then?)
Apparently, the UCs must keep their enrollment flat (ie., the only number of admitted students is the number of students graduating) because of the budget shortfall. Many more students were placed on waitlist who will be admitted once the budget clears.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18206199/#Comment_18206199
So your situation at the UCs should resolve itself.
Also, ask yout guidance counselor to check your application.
Your essay topic actually sounds excellent. I’m surprised Macalester didn’t admit you, that’s why I suggest your GC check the app on her side of things (SSR, recs, school profile, test reports…)
So, have your GC check every piece or your application: did you get “most rigorous” for curriculum rigor? Did your recommenders submit their recommendations? Did they give specific details about why you’d be a good fit or were they lukewarm/damn you with faint praise? Did test scores arrive on time? Does your GC see a problematic element?
@coffeelife: I would check these waitlist stats from last year for UCD and UCSB. I do not want to be a downer but no where close to 50% were accepted off the waitlist last year.
http://■■■■■■■■■■■■/home/fall-2014-last-year-frosh-waitlist-appeal-cancellation-numbers/
@gumbymom thanks for telling me that! I got the statistics off some college website and I was doubting it, since it seemed pretty high!
I think the acceptance rate will be much higher than last year due to budget issue with the UC’s. Until it is resolved, the amount of Freshman spots will be limited to last years level. Opt in to both schools and hope for the best. You have a decent chance at both and you will never know until you try. Good Luck and I hope to see you post some good news in the next few months.
@myos1634 Ive had 5 GCs in 3 years, so I doubt mine even knows my name! I did take the most rigorous classes at my school and I never ever slacked off. I made sure that my recommenders sent in their recommendations and the teacher that I asked loved me and I was the top student in their classes! I wrote specific and very passionate essays for all of my schools and I spent A TON of time working on my essays. All of my test score arrived on time, even my December scores did! I am confused, so I will ask some trusted adults and college students about what I did wrong, so that next time I won’t repeat my error. I can’t go back and fix my past, but I will use everything I learned this time, so my grad school app will be better.
Adults and college students can’t really help you - only the colleges that you applied to can tell you, except they can’t, they can only tell your GC if s/he calls. Even if s/he doesn’t know your name, considering your stats and your profile, have her/him check everything and make phone calls. ONLY the GC can know the truth of the matter, if there was a specific problem, from the actual adcoms.
Have him/her call Macalester to figure this out; it’s really strange they didn’t admit you, you sound like a great fit. Macalester, unlike the UCs, takes a personal approach to applications. They will be able to tell your GC if any aspect of your application needs improvement or if there was a red flag. You can say you’re thinking of taking a gap year and reapplying because they were your first choice.
Please, tonight and all week, sleep 7-8 hours . 
@myos1634 Well there is a problem with my GC. She H A T E S me. The problem happened because I asked her for a letter of rec about a week late. I asked her a week late, since I was at home all week with a really, really bad flu. When I explained to her about what happened, she was pretty pissed off and said that she would not write me a letter. I had no choice, but to start crying and after I was crying for 5 mins, then she was like OK I’ll write you a letter. Now that you brought up the GC, I am starting to have a feeling that she might have written me a bad letter. BTW, with everyone else, she set up one and a half hour meetings, so she could meet the students, learn about their history, listen to why they got so and so grades, what they do after school, etc. For me she was like “ughhhh fine I’ll write you a letter” and that was it. She knows NOTHING about and she clearly doesn’t like me and I can see that though her body language, facial expressions, etc. I am so upset since the counselors I had before LOVED me and respected me.
It doesnt matter how your GC feels, or how you feel about her. GO ask her. if necessary, have your parents intervene (after you go ask and only if that doesn’t produce results.) Stay in the room while she makes the phone call if need be. If she won’t do it, tell her that you’ll need an independent review of your file, from her or the principal or another GC or someone else, in order to pinpoint what went wrong. Tell her it means you’ll have to take a gap year and need to know what to target, based on what Macalester says. Also go see your former GC to see if s/he would be able to call Macalester on your behalf.
@myos1634 I think the earliest I can make an appointment is thursday, so Ill call and tell her about it and hope she calls!! I think I should tell my parents about Mac now, since I have not told them about it yet.
Yes.
I mean, it’s one of the country’s most selective colleges so it’s not like you could just “expect” to get in, but it was a good match and an excellent fit. I assume you demonstrated interest, your scores are solid, your volunteering and political involvement would appeal to them - in short, there’s a big question mark as to what happened there. But you (or your parents) won’t get an answer from admissions, only a gc can.
Decisions came out at Northeastern( I wanted to go there sooooooooooo bad)
Decision: NO 
So there has been a change when it comes to college and affordability. My parents have high standards for me and they are not thrilled AT ALL about UCSC, so they are allowing me to go to a private college for 50K. One of my parents is retired and they are insisting that they will take a part time job in their science field to pay for my college ( they have a few offers). I honestly do not want my parents to do that, but they are insisting now and they won’t take NO as an answer from me. If they see an acceptance from a nice private college, Im pretty sure that they will insist on paying. Its nice of them, but at the same time I feel awful about that
Assuming the stats you quoted are true and there are no other red flags, such as you were disciplined, caught cheating etc (sorry did not mean to imply anything). No idea about the California schools but your stats are similar to mine and I consider a lot of those safeys and targets (although I am not in anywhere I want to be so maybe I am being unrealistic about my chances). I did not apply to NE but would have expected you to get merit money. Even if they have gotten more competitive I would still expect something, even a WL.
SPEAK TO YOUR PARENTS IMMEDIATELY, THEY NEED TO GO TO SCHOOL ON YOUR BEHALF. IT SOUNDS LIKE THE GUIDANCE COUNSELOR IS THE PROBLEM BUT THAT MAY NOT BE IT. If your parents are not American and do not know how the system works, find a trusted adult who does, either a relative or a teacher you can trust or dig up the old guidance counselor, have your parents come too, tell them not to be intimidated (assuming they are, just because someone is the prinicpal does not make him always right). I would consider asking the old GC to review your file BEFORE you say anything to the new GC if you can. WHAT EVER YOU DO, DO NOT ANTAGONIZE new GC YET. You may be stuck with her for some time, especially if you reapply. I am not sure what the procedure is for having your file reviewed at your high school but I would find out now.
Feel free to ignore this next part if it does not apply: My grandparents are very old country so dont take this the wrong way. When you parents blame you, you need to tell them that this is not your fault and they need to go to bat on your behalf. My grandparents (who love and respect my dad very much) always blamed my dad and I see how they think. My dad used to joke that if the teacher said something bad, his parents always agreed and often added critisms of their own (if this is not your parents I apologize). Its the opposite of the American view that their kid is always right, rather their kid is ALWAYS wrong (just the mentality, respect for authority, no such thing as unconditional positive regard). You have to tell your parents you are NOT the one who is wrong here and someone at school messed up.
You need to have someone review your file ASAP. There is something in it that is a problem, I have no idea if it is the GC but something. However, it has to be done in a way as to NOT to antagonize her you may be stuck with her. Also it has to be done with the element of surprise so she cannot mess with your file, take out the bad report she wrote (assuming she even did that).
You got a 34? Did you do really bad in one section??? Were your essays awful (I mean poorly written, grammatical mistakes). Were you VERY political with the Palestine? Everyone I know who was in that area last summer on either side DID NOT talk about it in their essay, except mentioning it as in , I studied archeology at a dig outside Jerusalem and learned this about ancient architecture…
Is your GPA considered low for your school?I do not think so given you are in the top 9%. Something is VERY wrong here. One of my good friends just got in with nowhere near that. Some questions, how does your school generally do? They get people into good places? Is NE a reach from your school? There is a local public school near me where no matter what no one can get into a HYPS from there but NE while a great school is not a HYPS. Especially combined with your other deferrals and rejections. I have no information on UCs since did not apply to any.
Yes the Palestine thing was probably not the best choice to write about (although my hunch is Brandeis will LOVE it). Next time just mention the other places you volunteered Mexico, nothing wrong with mentioning those places
BTW, if you like STEM and your math/science is good maybe you want to reapply that way. Girls have an advantage usually
Definately check your online portals at every place you have not heard from to make sure your application is complete.
You have a week until Brandeis and the others, look into this now
One question, why are you taking Honors Chem as a senior? In my school it is taken 9/10 grade. Did you take a rigourous course load? My cousin has been getting a lot of rejections but her stats are much lower than yours, 1970 and the main problem is that because she played field hockey (recently quit long story so not considered an athlete), she did not take APs until senior year so her courses were not rigorous even though her grades were good but not amazing.
BTW your parents sounds very sweet and concerned
Double check that the schools got your updated Sats
@SaphireNY i second your statement. anyway, just email your local media news station about this and tell them that u got rejected because ur palestinian. then file a class action lawsuit and get national attention.
She is not, she is Ukranian
@saphireny My stats are true and that is the reason I was FLIPPING out initially when I started the thread, since I was in SO SO much shock. I’ve also had the biggest headaches since Friday, since almost every single result that I have heard has been a shocker to me. I do not have any disciplinary problems and some teachers at the school have called me the one of the “politest/nicest” students they have seen ( I am not trying to sound arrogant!).
I am going to go to my current GC, since my old one is out of the school. The fastest I can possibly go is Thursday, since I hurt my ankle and I am not suppose to go to school tomorrow. Basically, I reviewed my transcript and everything I sent out and it all seems fine. I know that the 2 teachers who wrote me recs loved me and one of them even spent hours of their Christmas vacation to help me out with a problem that I was experiencing with the Common App. I just have a really bad feeling about my GC, like even lately when I say hi to her in the hallways, she just looks back at me all grumpy.
So I did take the ACT before that and I got a 28 before that, so it wasn’t too good of a score. The 34 didn’t have any low sections and I used score select to send only the 34 to the colleges that allowed me to do so. I had at least 4 people read through my essays and they made sure that it was not poorly written.
My GPA is considered to be pretty good for my school and my school is among one of the top 50 schools in the US. I thought that NE would be a reach for me. A TON of people at my school get into IVYs and really high ranking schools and the average acceptance rate of the colleges people go to at my school is a 30% (US average is a 68.9% or something very close to that).
So I really feel like my essay pushed me over the edge, BUT I did not dedicate the whole essay to Palestine. I only wrote about it in a 3 sentence paragraph. I started out the essay writing about how my family was in poverty and how I used the lessons that I learned to volunteer.
I looked at all of my portals and all of my applications are complete. Brandeis sent me and email and they actually come out this Thursday, but I am starting to have doubts now.