I got into uci, but it's my safety.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
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<p>No, no I didn't. I actually want to go to UCI, and it is one of two schools that I applied to. I don't believe in settling for less if I don't have to. This thread is actually for those who have said anything along the lines of what's in the title of this thread, in the past few weeks. After seeing countless posts that have been written in such a manner on the UCI board, I've been made sick enough by what I've seen to make my first post on these forums.</p>

<p>What reason do the people that got into UCI early have, to come onto the boards and say "I just got into uci, but it's my safety" (other than to stroke their own egos and toot their own horns)? If you got into UCI, congratulations. But if you got into UCI but have never even thought of actually following through with the acceptance, then shame on you. Worst of all, you get accepted early and then announce that UCI is your safety. Be proud in realizing that your self-esteem was so low during the application season, that you decided to unnecessarily, and greedily hoard as many acceptance slots as you possibly could. If you want to go to Berkely or UCLA, then why settle for less? Go big or go home, as they say. If you don't get into your first or second choices, you're most likely going to regret settling for your 4rd or 5th. People like you deny countless slots of admission to the people that actually want to go to UCI. </p>

<p>For the people that are guilty of having posted something similar to this thread's title, I really hope for your sakes that you get rejected from your first or 2nd pick, just so you can learn some goddamn humility and modesty.</p>

<p>There may be no solace for the rest of us who are forced to wait in agony to hear from UCI. But it could do no harm for those overqualified people, who applied to more universities than they needed to, to shut the hell up for the rest of the month.</p>

<p>-End rant</p>

<p>By all means, you have the right to apply to as many colleges as you want. Just have the decency to not gloat over how many acceptance letters you got. For every acceptance you don't plan to follow through with, is another person who was rejected because of you.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your post.
I really wish a higher percentage of UCI applicants would share your point of view.</p>

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<p>Couldn't have said it better myself. Excellent rant.</p>

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<p>nicely put</p>

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<p>Welcome to the internet.</p>

<p>I absolutely agree with you on all of the points you made, excepting one: Safety Schools.</p>

<p>No need to down a school and its admits by labeling it a safety, sure, but honestly it isn't an uncommon or strange practice to apply to more places than you'll get in. I would wager that, barring financial/location issues, most college applicants apply to more than one school, that's the nature of a system that is at least partially based on chance.</p>

<p>Nothing wrong with applying to just one or two schools, my dad only applied to one college when he was my age and got in haha, but it isn't the normal practice.</p>

<p>Besides all of that, UC's know about matriculation rates and all of that, they accept far more applicants than will actually go, so your argument about stealing a bunch of spaces is... suspect. They know that a lot of the Braggy McBraggers will go elsewhere, so they admit a good core of people that they assume will attend as well.</p>

<p>Don't take this in the wrong way though, I certainly hope you get into UCI if you truly want to go there, and I didn't apply there intending to steal a spot to gloat over. Too big a world to bother with all of that anyhow.</p>

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<p>It's still helpful to CC when they post their stats b/c next year's pool of applicants and adults read them.</p>

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<p>i agree with zairair, thats me right now lol
3.7 UC GPA, 30 ACT, 710 lit, 650 US History - also freaking out seeing all these 4.0+'s</p>

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<p>^
ME too</p>

<p>but don't worry dude </p>

<p>one of my friends got into UCI with a 1400 GPA</p>

<p>go figure</p>

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<p>^ you mean SAT score right?</p>

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<p>welcome to collegeconfidential. you must be new here. you are forgetting that the kids on cc are generally the top 5-10 percent of students in the nation. many here go on to ivies, the top ucs, stanford, mit, etc. of course from those who applied UCI is truly indeed their safety. they arent gloating by saying uci is their safety because uci IS their safety. can you get mad at them for being honest? dont blame the kids who turn down their acceptances as the cause for the rejection of others. blame the rejection of others for not having high-enough SAT scores, gpa, ECs, etc. you might as well blame UCI admissions for rejecting them. also, who the hell are you to say that overqualified people need to shut the hell up?</p>

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<p>I see your point, although I must say I agree more with TheBlackLantern.</p>

<p>The only response I wish to make to your post is that I don't see anything wrong with applying to "safety" schools. Some schools don't turn out to be "safeties" and many students end up going to their "safeties". I did not apply to safety schools to be greedy and steal a spot from another deserving student. Rather, it was necessary in case I did not make it into my reach or target schools.</p>

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<p>haha thanks haiku and blacklantern. you guys made me feel better -_-
and haiku. GET ACCEPTED! give me hope! cause im a junior not a senior</p>

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<p>What's wrong with having safeties? It's a smart thing to do. You never know who may reject you, so it's always a good idea to have a safety down. Not all of us are gloating when we post our acceptances. I like to compare and see the variation in stats. For instance, both person A and I got accepted into the same school. While I had higher SAT scores and stronger extracurricular activities, person A had a higher GPA and average SAT score. I want to see where I stand and try to predict the outcomes for my other schools. But yes, there are people who gloat about their acceptances. It was nice reading your post, though. =] I wish you the best of luck. We all need a pinch of luck, maybe.</p>

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<p>jp91: thank you for this!! I have been thinking the same thing ever since admissions started and kept seeing those smug "I got into uci, but it's my safety" post.. the "its my safety" or "I don't want to go there" posts are so incredibly irritating to people like myself who actually want to go there...</p>

<p>I do understand that people should have safties because admission can be unpredictable but lets try to not be so smug... and keep the amount of safties to a minimum.. I see no point in applying to schools you would never consider going to in a million years... :( when another person actually wants to go there.</p>

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<p>I agree completely about everything you said!! It makes me feel kinda lower than them for WANTING to go to UCI and having it as my 1st choice over davis.
I hate how they say its their safety and they don't really care for it. Its not fair for them to get in and when someone like me who really wants to go there doesn't.
I thankfully got in and am proud to say that I actually WANTED to go there.</p>

<p>I'm really happy you made this post! I was thinking about what everyone says about it being a "safety."
Ugh.</p>

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<p>I wouldn't mind going to UCI except that I already live in Irvine :( That's why I'm hoping to go elsewhere, mainly UCSD, so that I can explore a little.</p>

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<p>Applying to safeties = completely rational</p>

<p>Purposely stating that it serves only as a safety school = completely unnecessary</p>

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<p>great rant! totally agree with it all.
I actually know a few people who thought UCI and UCD would be their safeties. And turns out they got rejected and now they are devastated and even more worried about the other UCs.</p>

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<p>applying to safeties = perfectly fine
saying UCI or other UCs or ANY OTHER COLLEGE IS THEIR SAFETY = perfectly fine as well
getting upset that other applicants are way more competitive and them just stating the fact that their safeties are your top choices = insecurity, jealousy, emotional problems</p>

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<p>Lantern, you need to get off your high horse before you try to understand the plight of others. You feel that the people that come and brag about UCI being their safety are justified, because you view UCI as beneath you. I'll try explain this to you in a way that even you can see from your condescending perspective.</p>

<p>Example:<br>
Say that you dream school is Stanford, even though you know that Harvard is a more prestigious school. You have a mediocre chance at Stanford, nothing spectacular, but nothing hopeless. Uncertainty of getting in is justifiable. On the other hand, there exist those who have their sights set on Harvard, who are much more impressive as a student, than you. Now, unfortunately for you, these highly-qualified Harvard prospects decided that they would apply to Stanford as their safety. Predictably, they are admitted into Standford, and have been notified of their acceptance earlier than others because of their outstanding resumes. The Harvard prospects who have now been admitted into Stanford come out and brag in the meantime about having Stanford as a safety, while you have yet to hear a single word about your dream school. More Harvard prospects get into Stanford by the day, while you anxiously wait and hope that you will be accepted as well.</p>

<p>Get it yet? No?</p>

<p>You say that we are insecure, jealous, and have emotional problems.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Insecurity is just another word for "uncertainty". As nothing is ever 100% certain, especially when it comes to college applications. There is nothing wrong for those who have yet to receive acceptance letters, to be "insecure". Logically, this would also justify those highly-qualified students who applied to UCI as a safety net, but remember that I said in my original post that it is perfectly fine to apply to as many colleges as you want... granted that you don't gloat over your acceptances. But discussing the act of gloating deserves a thread of its own.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn the difference between "jealousy" and "envy" (ad hominem, but I don't care). Those who are still waiting for UCI to admit/reject them cannot be jealous of those who have been admitted, because the meaning of jealousy is to be afraid of losing something that is already yours, to another person.. which is not the case because the ones who are waiting have not received acceptance letters. The correct term for your argument would be "envy", or wanting something that you lack. But those who come to the UCI boards and say that they got accepted to UCI, without stating the context of their admission (which would be the difference between unnecessary gloating and useful information), are purely toying with our emotions. We cannot be blamed for being envious.</p></li>
<li><p>Emotional problems? Yes, I may have emotional issues to resolve, but please explain to me how you're so emotionally perfect yourself, before you criticize others for having issues. By defending those who have come to this board to gloat over their number of safety nets, you have emotional issues of your own for feeling personally attacked by my thread.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>You must understand that I can accept the idea of having safety schools, but coming onto the boards just to say that you've secured UCI as a safety without providing any context of your admission, as some have done, is just plain unnecessary and obnoxious. I'm fine with those who state that they got into UCI while saying how they got in, because it helps others understand what UCI wants. But, this thread is directed toward those who haven't bothered to be helpful at all.</p>