<p>Ok. Figure this one out. I got waitlisted at Dartmouth and my friend w/ a slightly higher GPA and SAT/ACT scores who applied early decision got rejected. And I got rejected from Cornell where two of my grandfathers and my dad attended. Plus, my scores and extracirriculars are strong compared to last years entering class.
This just makes me think they close their eyes and pick random applications. I think about what I could have done better and then I realize it wouldn't have made a difference b/c it seems completely random! Does anyone else feel this way?</p>
<p>Plus, I need some info- what do you know and think about Tufts University?</p>
<p>Maybe your essays/EC's/Recs sucked? Top colleges look at the applicant holistically and everything matters when there is such intense competition for spots. </p>
<p>Tufts is a good school though it is usually regarded as a safety for other top schools which prompted it to adopt "Tufts Syndrome".</p>
<p>EC: state winner in competition, newspaper editor, theater w/ major roles (3 yrs), a little modeling, started a club
REC: read 1/3.....awesome
Essay: I'm on the newspaper and took AP LIt and AP Language and Comp.....go figure!</p>
<p>I have to agree with sleepnbeauty. Sorry but I think all the stuff about looking "holisitically" at characteristics like "integrity" is total BS. They have, what, five minutes to consider your application amid a sea of thousands? Of course it's going to be wildly, wildly unfair.</p>
<p>It might be B.S. but it is working. Schools with holistic approaches are seeing huge increases in apps. They also give hope to those who don't have perfect 4.0's and 2400s.</p>
<p>I love Tufts! I feel like the fact that it's an "Ivy safety" just shows how good of a school it is since it's comparable with those in the Ivy League.</p>
<p>colleges are very regional too: for tufts at my school, 1 out of 20 kids got in this year, while many got into cornell colgate johns hopkins georgetown................ to the OP admissions are strange as hell these days, as its so hard to determine what colleges are looking for</p>
<p>i honestly believe that they heavily factor in things such as geographics, race, how many at ur school/region applied and that they significantly make a difference</p>
<p>like, i got waitlisted at BC, GSPd at NYU and into JOHNS HOPKINS... random or what?</p>
<p>Tufts and WUSTL and Emory are all in the same category, at least to me.</p>
<p>sleepingbeauty I agree w u 100%. This past week I've seen some crazy stuff:</p>
<p>1) A "never seen anything like it" genius gets rejected from MIT but one whos not too too great gets admitted seeing as his father went there.
2) A girl who honestly doesn't do well in school gets in to Johns Hopkins but then one whose in the top 5% in the class doesnt. (the latter is a non american... ah we r so dissadvantaged it's incredibly unfair)
3) A guy who is probably like the 3rd worst in the class (daddy's important though) gets waitlisted at Columbia while others top students get immediately rejected.</p>
<p>And these r just a few. I'm sorry but i truely believe this legacy stuff is BS. And I find it disgusting that some students w/ connections get into great schools they don't deserve while some of the rest get put aside. A person should get into college because he is the best ACADEMICALLY. not because his daddy went there, not because hes a champion rower, and certainly not because he has connections. He should get in because he worked for it, and deserves it. </p>
<p>And ok, they say that Iveys have so many great applicants they have to seperate them somehow, i get that. But all the cases i've cited (and more) are where those with perfect and great SATs/grades get rejected while other less academically qualified applicants get admitted. </p>
<p>Also, unis say they want diversity but then y is it much harder for an International student to get into a gd school?</p>
<p>I'm sorry if iv been rambling alot, those wer just a few things thta were on my mind.</p>
<p>PS: Tufts is a great school, lol!</p>
<p>It has been a bit of a roll of the dice this admissions cycle.</p>
<p>i dopnt like Tufts being a safety... cheap thing to do</p>
<p>
[quote]
3) A guy who is probably like the 3rd worst in the class (daddy's important though) gets waitlisted at Columbia while others top students get immediately rejected.
[/quote]
This one does make some sense if they knew the father was important. That is one use of waitlisting and when waitlist=denial.</p>