First of all, I’m not really sure where to put this, so I apologize in advance if this is in the wrong thread
But this year a family friend of mine got rejected from all Ivies, and it came as a surprise to everyone. She goes to a competitive public school, where about 15-20 people go to Ivies each year. She got a 2370 on the SAT, 800s on the SAT subject tests, and has a 4.8 GPA. She founded a club in her school and is the president of several different clubs. She also plays a varsity sport, plays in the advanced orchestra, and is extremely good at speech in forensics. She’s won multiple national awards for it (and i think she was ranked in the top 10 nationally). she also had a bunch of jobs and volunteering hours.
Still, she got rejected form all Ivies, but she’s going to Rutgers on a full ride. Her rejections baffled me, as I know her personally and she is a very vibrant, bright, and outgoing person. Her teacher recommendations had to be good. It may be her essays, but that would be weird because she’s a very good writer and of course many people looked at her essay in advance. I get that admission to Ivies has been compared to as a lottery but still. Is she not special enough? why do you think ivies turned her away?
Stuff like this happen to thousands of applicants every year. Ivies really don’t care that much if a student founds clubs as it’s pretty easy and everyone does it. They simply get too many applicants to accept everyone who deserves it. Affirmative action makes it even worse.
The fact that she was rejected from all the Ivies says that something was lacking in her application, most likely her essay. Maybe she came across as entitled (ivies have a overabundance of that type already).
Yep, if she was Asian that would’ve probably factored in to the decisions
She founded a club in her school and is the president of several different clubs
How many of those did she actually care about? Most applicants are members of far too many clubs, and it’s not hard for admissions officers to tell when the clubs are for show.
She also plays a varsity sport
Did she care about it, or was it a “filler” designed to complete the ideal well-rounded student? If the sport was stuck as a school-only activity (that is, no outside leagues or involvement in independent organizations), her involvement in it was largely useless as far as college admissions go.
Plays in the advanced orchestra
Was this another filler activity? Plenty of applicants are involved in music in some way, yet the majority of them have only mediocre skills and low interest.
Is extremely good at speech in forensics (i.e. debate)
Debate is such a commonplace activity nowadays…
She’s won multiple national awards for it (and I think she was ranked in the top 10 nationally)
Apparently, everyone is ranked in the “Top 10” for debate or a similar activity. Unfortunately, several organizations (DECA, Science Olympiad, and Quiz Bowl to name a few) have made awards relatively easy to attain, so they start to lose meaning. Recognition for performance in either the Biology, Math, Science, or Physics Olympiad is an example of a notable achievement. Another example of an “award” would be writing a full-length novel. There are many, many others, depending on individual interests.
She also had a bunch of jobs and volunteering hours
Once again, were the jobs and volunteering filler? Too many applicants seek to increase their “volunteering hour number” at the expense of doing things they actually enjoy.
In effect, the only unique factor here is the exceptionally high test scores. While the EC list is long, it is mundane and ordinary, appearing to lack a dedicated interest. It is likely that her essays were simply repeats of the EC list and came off as pretentious.
When someone has this many ECs, it is more than obvious (to me, at least) that the “passion” is not there. The ECs are instead just work.
Makes to worse for whom?
@boolaHI Worse for everyone. Applicants, colleges, etc
That is certainly debatable…
And the fact that she applied to all the ivies may suggest she didnt really narrow down what (other than prestige) was an important factor in her college plans.
Did she only apply to Ivy League schools and Rutgers? Seems very odd. No Duke? No Stanford? And what about schools like Johns Hopkins, Chicago? Ivies are reaches for everyone, including the Intel winners. So I’m curious about whether she had any targets or safeties other than Rutgers.
I think essays matter a lot more than most people think. Your friend seems pretty accomplished, but not out-of-this-world (I agree with @1golfer1 about her ECs). She is certainly not alone in getting turned away - this year, an IChO medallist/USAMO qualifier and an IPhO medallist I know (both coming from a school that sends ~15 people to Ivies) also got rejected across the board.
@jym626 @uesmomof2 No, she applied to a bunch of others like NYU. I don’t know her entire list. I think she got accepted into them but ultimately chose Rutgers for the full ride. No Duke or Stanford because she wants to stay near the northeast.
and yes, she is in fact asian
@1golfer1 I agree with you. But I’m sure looking at her application you could definitely see the focus and dedication towards forensics. It was something she was passionate about and she did very well in. But like you said, it’s a pretty common activity.
@OrchidBloom When you say “IChO / IPhO Medalist,” do you mean that they went all the way to the international competition? Unless they had serious errors in their application (like forgetting to submit test scores, not doing the essays or having horrendous essays), the Olympiad Medalists should be getting in almost everywhere. In the United States, there are only about 20 students every year who medal across all the competitions. Several of these students are seniors who have already been accepted to college.
I am assuming that you’re not referring to any international students.
The fact is that Ivies can’t accept every highly qualified applicant who applies. The Ivies have acceptance rates of <10%, so someone has to be in the remaining 90%>.
Unhooked Asian Syndrome. Unfortunately this happens far too often. She would probably have gotten into Berkeley or Caltech.
@1golfer1 I’m Canadian, so the international aspect definitely does play a part. I do know that one of them is a very weak writer as well.