I mean, I kind of thought this was a safety or at least a match school for me. Here are my stats:
UW: 3.46
W: 4.41
Extracurriculars: Investment Secretary, PenOhio President, Speech and Debate Event Leader
Essay: I thought it was good but I guess ok
ACT: 35
Letters of Recommendation: Generic
Asian American girl
I’m just a little confused, how did this happen? I guess my GPA is lower than the match GPA but I was blindsided.
Lowish UW GPA. " I kind of thought this was a safety" Bingo!
Are you out of state?
No, I’m instate.
Did you apply for a particular major or school ?
It’s quite the disconnect between your UW GPA and ACT score. My dd had a friend with similar stats who had a rocky road with admissions. My bet though is that you will get eventually get accepted by OSU.
tbh i don’t think they had enough time to review every application so they deferred everyone like what umich did. not exactly sure tho
@Publisher Yeah, I applied for CSE
CSE is a competitive major, and your GPA and “generic” LORs may not have helped either.
OSU should never be looked at as a safety school for incoming freshmen. We’ve seen 35 ACTs denied, etc. It really is holistic and one out of ten of the criteria being stellar isn’t a guaranteed admittance for anyone.
Good luck!
I would imagine you get admitted…what was your class rank?
@DG Our school didn’t have class rank but it is VERY competitive. A lot of our students here go to OSU after.
Yeah makes no sense. Is possible the major was particularly competitive this year. But again would think they admit you. CSE is competitive but pretty surprising a 35 is a deferral.
@DG Probably my low GPA lol
Thanks everyone for the insight. Guess I was just venting and I really should’ve seen this coming. Just gonna hope and pray now
It is because your gpa is below OSU’s average gpa. Their average GPA is a 3.7.
OSU average weighted GPA is 3.7. Hers is 4.4.
And students with super high ACT’s and UW GPA near 3.5 are probably taking rigorous courses.
My kid’s high school maths were Algebra 2 honors, Pre-Cal honors, AP Calc BC, and this year Multivariable Calc. Those courses are ridiculously hard for that age level. So getting a few B+ as well are A’s is looked at very highly in colleges that look at all portions of their transcript. They want to see college level rigor. Getting 4’s and 5’s on hard AP tests like Physics and Calc BC don’t seem to matter to them either for some reason.
So I call total BS at Ohio State looking holistically.
On the flip side, why are kids with high GPA’s only getting in the 20’s on their ACT? Couldn’t you say that shows their GPA is based off an easier course load or schools giving easier A’s?
Sorry, but when people slam the OP unweighted GPA as low when it is easy to see she took a rigorous courseload. Not only by her ACT, but by her weighted GPA. They are great stats.
To be honest, I have no idea why you were deferred. I’m not familiar with the schools and the stats of the typical kid it admits.
But, at the end of the day, my advice is to not spend another minute pondering it. It is what it is. Trying to figure it out will only make you feel bad about yourself, as you disect every single tiny little thing that you might not have done as well as someone else.
Deal with the reality: you were deferred. So here’s what I would do: Decide whether you really want to go there. If you were deferred to spring, are you willing to either put your education on hold for a semester, or attend another school then transfer?
If you’re not willing to do that, then you need a plan B. My guess is that, given your courseload and stats, you have (or will have) some acceptances from other schools. Decide which of those to make your new favorite, and start looking forward.
I think this is one of those times when looking back is counterproductive. Play the hand you’ve been dealt.
With your stats I feel pretty confident that you were deferred because the school didn’t have time to do a complete review and meet their deadlines. Your ACT of 35 puts you in the very top of the class.
Very similar story to my son (35 ACT, similar GPA, impressive ECs), who is now a college freshman elsewhere. He was deferred OOS, Comp Sci major and then waitlisted (late March IIRC) by OSU. He now has a 4.0, a co-op job offer for fall 2019 and a lot of interest in his summer internship apps. I think losing out on some opportunities last year (he was also denied entry to his university’s honors program) turned out to be a good thing for him. Ohio State is missing out on you, not vice versus. Our oldest is at OSU, CSE. We love the school but the admissions process last year was a mess for our younger son (IIRC the admissions dept missed pretty much every decision date).
@preethik276 <>. There is a lot more you can do than “hope and pray”. First of all, you applied to the most difficult major CSE and that is a large reason why you were deferred with your stats. That’s a super competitive major at OSU with many applicants like yourself with similar stats seeking admittance to that major/school. It is possible your extracurricular activities and interests in your application didn’t indicate enough of a demonstrated interest in computer science or engineering, or at least not as much in comparison to other applicants who were already admitted. You should contact the local admissions office who is for the territory where your high school is located within Ohio and reiterate your strong interest—tell him or her you would attend if Admitted (but only say so if that is absolutely true), because tOSU is like most other colleges in caring about yield. It is possible that your application essays didn’t show sufficient enthusiasm and interest. Also, you should send your location admissions representative an update if your grades were stellar this past semester or if you have significant “new” achievements in extracurricular activities. Best of luck.
Do you have affordable safety schools?