How I Got Rejected Nearly Everywhere

Applying to College Admission Stories
1

Objective:

SAT I: 1480 (750M, 730 EBRW)
ACT: 34 (35E, 32M, 36S, 33R)
SAT II: 700 Math II, 680 Literature (Did not send anywhere. I took these way too late as in the latest I could possibly take them and did not study as I should have).
GPA: 3.91 UW, 4.29W, 4.64 W on UC Scale (Applied to Berkley OOS)
Rank: 17/600 (Top 3%)
AP: Human Geography (5), World History (4), Chemistry (3), Calc AB (4), Calc BC (3), US History (4), Psychology (4), Lang (5)
Senior Year Courseload: (All AP) Literature, Statistics, Government, Physics 1, and Macroeconomics. Received all A’s and a 5.0 W/4.0UW for the mid-year report.
Awards/Honors: AP Scholar w/ Distinction, 1st Place State Winner in Finance (DECA), International Finalist in Finance (DECA), Short story published in a regional literary magazine (reached a bit here)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars

  • DECA (9-12, major awards won)
  • Track and Field (10-12, Varsity Middle-Distance)
  • National Honor Society (12, Volunteer work, 90 hours total)
  • BETA (11-12, 150 hours total volunteer work). Taking into account NHS and Beta overlap, just over 200 total hours.
  • Political Discourse Club (12, President and Founder, talked about politics and stuff)
  • Math/Science Tutor (10-12)
  • Church Volunteer for Vacation Bible School (10-11, Summer only, 2 weeks, 30 hours/week)
    Job/Internships
  • Publix (12, Cashier/Bagger, 25 hours/week)
  • [Insert Business Name] Internship (11-12, welding and electrical circuitry, summer, 4 weeks at 40 hours/week)
    Recommendations
    AP Literature Teacher: 9/10, she really loved me and wrote a touching letter about my passion for learning.
    AP Psych Teacher: 6/10 (assumed), He loved me as well, but I don’t think he wrote that great a letter. Decent, just not great.
    Counselor Rec: 7/10, Better than I thought. Concise but good and thorough for not knowing me well.
    Interviews: In every single one of them, save Princeton, the interviewer told me I was a great candidate and should be proud of what I’ve accomplished. From what I can tell, that was just them being nice when I had no real shot. I thought I did well, but apparently not.
    Essays
    I poured my heart into my essays and had my Lit teacher, as well as my counselor and parents (lit teachers), read and give me feedback on them. I take pride in my writing, and I put a lot of work into them. I want to say they were 10/10, however, considering my results, I’d place them more at 7-8/10. Still, I loved my essays.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Economics/Physics
State: Georgia
School Type: Pretty good mid-sized school. Had a few Ivy acceptances.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 150k
Hooks: None (ouch)

Reflection

Where were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected?
University of Georgia EA (Accepted Honors College)
Georgia Tech EA (Deferred to Accepted RD) - Attending
Vanderbilt RD (Accepted)

University of Chicago EA (Deferred to Rejected RD)
Columbia ED (Rejected)
Harvard RD (Rejected)
Yale RD (Rejected)
Princeton RD (Rejected)
Stanford RD (Rejected)
Dartmouth RD (Rejected)
Duke RD (Rejected)
University of Pennsylvania RD (Rejected)
Berkley OOS (Rejected)

So, as you can see, I was pretty much rejected from every place I applied to. Now, one of the most glaring reasons is because I went extremely Top-Heavy in my applications. I applied to one safety school and then essentially went all out because, well, I thought I had a good chance at getting into one of them. Turns out, I should’ve had more match schools for myself, who would’ve thought?

Hooks were probably my next glaring issue as I was completely unhooked, which is crucial at the top schools. Plus, my subject test scores were poor due to my poor planning. I thought I’d be fine, but for the top schools, you need to have essentially an immaculate application with no glaring weakness like I did.

My advice is to not get too cocky like I did. I really did think I had a chance as an unhooked applicant with no subject tests, but the reality is that your chances are already astronomically low, don’t give them reasons to make it even lower. I should have applied to more matches, however, I’m generally happy where I wound up honestly. Remember to keep your expectations grounded and know that your success isn’t determined by what school you get accepted to - that’s up for you to decide.

2

I think you did pretty well. The ones that rejected you have very low acceptance rates. Berkeley wouldn’t have given you aid anyway.

3

How can anyone think he was ‘rejected nearly everywhere’ with acceptances at UGA, GaTech, and Vandy?

4

Along with a top heavy list, I think fairly mainstream ECs, along with good but not great test scores impacted your results. GTech is a very good result, so you have a good school to attend this fall.

5

From the heading of your post I expected to see that you were only accepted to one third-rate college in the middle of nowhere. In fact, you have really great options. Why do you think you needed more matches? You can only attend one school.

6

Don’t know if this is a ‘humble brag’ post. Complaining about being accepted to Georgia Tech and Vandy? And I thought Vandy liked high standardized test scores. Apparently not.

And OOS for Berk(e)ley is a crapshoot anyways.

7

Congrats on your three offers. GT and Vandy are excellent offers. That being said, your test scores, specifically both SAT I, II, along with AP Chem and Calc BC were simply red flags and too low to have applied to all of the reaches. Be happy at GT and move on to a great adventure during the next four years.

8

You got into GT and Vanderbilt with lower scores than kids who did not. Not sure what you’re talking about.

9

Your sense of entitlement is amazing.

10

The OP has 85 threads, including the one where his parents thought GT was “too dangerous”.

11

Thanks for sharing and hopefully others down the road will heed your advice to seek out more match/safety schools.

Fortunately things worked out very well for you – enjoy GaTech!

12

Alright, so I came off wrong. I didn’t mean to sound entitled or arrogant, and I’m sorry that I did. My “rejected everywhere” was more in jest to lighten up the mood to tell other kids not to be like me and go top-heavy for schools with not great stats/ECs. Like I said in my post, I’m extremely lucky and happy to be where I am right now. I did not mean in any way to convey that I was complaining about my acceptances because they’re all exceptional schools that I am fortunate to have gotten in to.

My main goal was to point out to other kids that these extremely elite schools are incredibly competitive, and one should not apply willy-nilly to them like me. I should’ve had more realistic expectations entering this whole process, and, while I was lucky to get into the schools I did, I definitely could not have been. There was a very good chance I would have been rejected from every school and not have any place to go. I should have applied to more matches and safeties instead of a nearly all far reach list. A lot of kids entering the process, including myself, have these extremely high expectations of college, and I even made a post regarding this issue a few weeks ago. I just wanted to try and say to others to keep themselves grounded and realize how amazing schools outside of the typical HYPS are. Just because you didn’t get into your perceived “dream school” doesn’t mean you cannot attain success or happiness.

I can see now that my title was in bad taste, and I apologize for that. I was just trying to be somewhat funny, but I know I was not. Again, I am extremely lucky to have been accepted to the schools I was, and I definitely don’t take that for granted. I can see now how my message would have gotten misconstrued. I just didn’t realize it at the time of writing it.

13

Your results are fine. Univ. of Georgia Honors, Georgia Tech & Vanderbilt are all outstanding options.

So you got rejected by ten of the eight Ivies. At least you tried !

With respect to essays, I would love to read one of your application essays. I am constantly amazed at applicants who have been told that there essays were strong, great or outstanding, yet clearly were lacking in some respects.

P.S. Yes, I realize OP was only rejected by six Ivies & four Ivy equivalents.

14

Your audience of CC regulars is mostly parents, and we take ourselves (and our CC role) very seriously. If you read through some of the anguished threads from those not admitted to GT, or to any of the schools where they applied, you would understand. Consider yourself very fortunate indeed.

15

I am glad you realized how tone deaf your initial post and title were. I know someone with higher gpa and ACT than yours and Vanderbilt was her dream school, and she was crushed by getting rejected in ED. You should be grateful for the excellent options you have.

16

I absolutely am grateful for where I’ve been admitted, and I know how lucky I am. My poor attempt at humor did not work. I just wanted to lighten up the mood because I know how grueling the process can be, however, I failed at that. My intention was never to come off as ungrateful or arrogant. I even made a post a few weeks back focusing around how grateful I was to be admitted and realizing that the college you get admitted to doesn’t define who you are. I just wanted to help other kids who are similar to me as they go through the process. Unfortunately, I can’t change my post now, but I will be more serious in the subsequent discussion of these matters.

17

Perspective is everything. Half full/half empty. I say half full. Congratulations!

18

How did you make the decision between UGA Honors (a top honors college), GTech, and Vanderbilt?

19

@MYOS1634 : OP has another thread in which he seeks advice about Univ. of Georgia Honors versus a joint degree program offered by Georgia Tech & Emory in biomechanical engineering (BME).

20

@MYOS1634 Vanderbilt is about 15k/year more expensive than the others as they are in state, so it was off my list almost immediately. For UGA Honors vs GT, I just liked the vibe of GT more. I’m not much of a party person, and the culture at UGA just didn’t really fit me. Plus, aside from Physics, I’m considering BME, and GT’s BME program is exceptional. UGA’s engineering department is still new and doesn’t offer as many majors.