<p>I got rejected today from USC, actually I'm admitted to a much better school (and my target) but still I don't get one thing. </p>
<p>There is a kid in my high school whose SAT scores, GPA and school ranking are pretty lower than mine but he's admitted?!? and I have strong EC's, essays and recomendations, so he can't beat me on those either. I don't understand how come he got acceptance letter while I didn't?</p>
<p>Maybe because you are so sure of yourself that you never realized that you have some flaws and you never tried to improve them because you sir, or Madame are entitle to perfection?</p>
<p>You need to lurk all the rejection threads. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for decisions. The admit people have so many apps to choose from and they also want a balance in their university. Maybe they need a trombone player for the band, or a person interested in social justice. Maybe you choose an impacted major.</p>
<p>Believe me, you are not the only one feeling this. My s is also feeling this way. Everyday at school he hears people say “You were rejected and they accepted Soandso?” </p>
<p>Be thankful for you acceptance and try to move on. </p>
<p>Really, it’s one of those great mysteries of life.</p>
<p>@yelena: I didn’t claim neither I have perfect scores nor perfect essays/recommendations. And if USC rejected me, yeah it seems I have flaws. However a kid with more flaws, which is obviously seen from scores and rankings, gets into that place and I ask how come this happens.</p>
<p>@Mom2jej: it’s weird really. yeah maybe they just wanted a balance but what if it was my first choice school? it would be unfair for me.</p>
<p>OP I apologize if I did not get what you meant in your previous post.Your flaw is not that you reject that you have some flaws but it is that you believe that you are so good that you deserve more than someone else. Your flaw is that you failed to recognize that maybe this kid has something more special than you despite your perfect stats. he may has many weakness but he may also has one little good thing that overshadow his weakness and your perfection.</p>
<p>You should maybe send an email to the admission office and ask how come they reject you and accept the other kid.</p>
<p>If you read the other threads year like Mom2jej said , you will see that you are not the only good kid who got rejected despite the good stats.</p>
<p>It could very well be that your classmate has some very impressive qualifications that you are unaware of because, unlike many post-ers on college confidential, he/she does not brag to anyone and everyone how he/she “beats” everyone else in every way.</p>
<p>You mention that you were not particularly interested in the school that rejected you, so perhaps your apathy was clear to the admissions representatives while your classmate’s passion for the school was evident.</p>
<p>The answer is simply that schools admit classes, not individuals. I have come to really believe this after having heard many arguments. To the school, you are not necessarily an individual to weigh against this other student. You two were possibly never compared! It may very well be that your application was evaluated in context of the general trend in other applications, and you were not the lucky one – something else was wanted more than what you had to offer. </p>
<p>The other student wasn’t more special than you, just that this student was more what USC wanted for whatever reason to fill its spots.</p>
<p>I think that you are bitter because you got rejected by a school that was just your backup or by a school that is "less better " than your target.</p>
<p>well, while I was filling out my applications I paid big attention to each one and I never sent my applications in “eh this is a safety school” manner. So, USC should have seen I wanted them as much as I did the others. Also the kid and I both applied to engineering so there’s no big gap in major selection which can affect the process. (He applied to IndustrialE and me CS) The only thing he has but I don’t is, he plays in the school basketball team but this can’t be counted as a “very impressive qualification” that overshadows everything, uh? </p>
<p>Therefore, I think that balance thing is true, which, in my opinion, shows that admission process sucks for some qualified students deserving a spot in the school.</p>
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<p>How do you know? Did you read his essays and recommendations? They might be surprisingly strong. Plus, like most people you are probably blind to the weaknesses in your own essays - if you could see them you would have corrected them. </p>
<p>And do you spend so much time with him that you know how he spends ALL his time outside of school? For all you know he’s got some great achievements or community service that you’ve never heard about.</p>
<p>yeah I know. We have the same academic advisor outside the school. I read all of his essays and EC’s.</p>
<p>^ maybe the kid is a minority and you are not. or he is a recruit or a legacy and you are not. or he can pay and you can not. My D is in the same boat as you are, she got waitlisted almost everywhere where others, less qualified got in. We were very bitter and angry and sad and depressed with this country who claims loud that it’s a land of opportunities and anti-descrimination and open-minded where everybody can reach the American dream…BS!! her hard work obviously didn’t pay… but she is not alone: one of her friend, on top of everything got only rejections and waitlists, not even one acceptance!! i feel her pain, it’s so unfair… when some party-girls, bad behavior and everything got in some nice colleges!! you see you are not alone but you need to move on because it’s the way the American system works and even if you complain they don’t care, you will be the one miserable…go for the college who accepted you and enjoy it the best you can don’t spoil your college experience, you have only one life! don’t look back… move on!!! it’s a mom’s advice!</p>
<p>Maybe you’re too full of yourself.</p>
<p>I wish some of you that have nothing constructive to say would just keep some of those comments to yourself, more specifically vibragreen and yelena. This has been a particular difficult year for the applicants. There are so many reasons why one person is admitted and another isn’t. Stats come into play, but there are so many other factors. </p>
<p>This is a good read.
[College</a> admissions’ wrenching ins and outs - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-perez3-2009apr03,0,4003619.story]College”>The hard no)</p>
<p>What I said was very constructive. Modesty is a virtue. And it’s obvious from his first post that this guy is too full of himself to acknowledge that some one could be “better than him” and some non-academic feat.</p>
<p>Take it as a learning experience.</p>
<p>This is like the billionth thread on this same topic. Why does it matter? You’ve already said you got into a better school, so why not just focus on that, rather than questioning why someone with lesser stats get in to your safety but you do not? No one really knows why this happens; there could be a thousand reasons. </p>
<p>LaVieEnChocolat: She didn’t have any safety schools?</p>
<p>vibragreen - I have read your posts, you have not contributed anything constructive to this forum to date.</p>
<p>Reality checks aren’t constructive?</p>
<p>@collegebound91: No, I’m not obsessed with this and I’m so glad that I’m attending my target school. However I wondered how this weird thing happened but seems I found my answer. </p>
<p>@vibragreen: Call me arrogant, egoist etc. I don’t care. As long as a person whom I know very well (stated the reason on the previous post) that he is less qualified than me gets into a place where I don’t, I have the right to question my rejection reason.</p>