Okay so I’ve always been a thankful person and have always appreciated all of the opportunities that I have had but recently I have faced an issue that I cannot seem to overcome. I got straight A’s while taking 12 AP classes in one of the most competitive counties in the nation. I have a 35 ACT and two 800 SAT subject tests. I have 15 years of playing competitive sports at a very high level and have amazing extra curriculars that range from presidential positions to work experience. I got great recs including an additional one from a Harvard professor who I collaborated with. I spent days on my essays to make sure they were perfect. I didn’t sleep or have fun or watch TV or anything for four years just so I could get into a good college. I didn’t. I got waitlisted at most of them and only got admitted to my two safeties and I cannot come to terms with the fact that this is what I deserve based off of the work I put in. People far less qualified than me got into amazing schools and it makes me feel so bad despite the fact that I want to be happy for them. I don’t know how to get over this so I would really appreciate some help. Thanks.
U of M was my top but I got waitlisted there (despite being far above their stats on Naviance), UVA (in state and waitlisted despite once again being above their stats), UNC (waitlist), Yale (waitlist), Penn (waitlist), Columbia (rejection), Penn State (where I’ll probably end up going despite being .7 over their gpa and many points higher than their ACT) and UMD where I will not go.
What’s wrong with PSU and UMD, if they are affordable? Did you not apply to any other Virginia state universities?
Virginia also has what appear to be good transfer pathways from community colleges to state universities.
When there are subjectively graded parts of the application, particularly with holistic reading, at a highly selective college, just being above the typical stats range is not enough to assure admission. Also, many popular state flagships have different thresholds of admission based on major or division applied to, so if you applied to a more popular one relative to its capacity, you may have faced a higher threshold than most applicants.
Edit: And to add – just because the AVERAGE SAT and GPA are lower than yours doesn’t mean that every student there has those average numbers. I had a 2330 and straight A’s and also ended up at Penn State. Same with many students in Schreyer, Paterno Fellows, and just plain smart students.
Why are you miserable? A safety is a school that you can afford and wouldn’t mind attending. I think most students applying to those schools would be extremely happy to get in.
Maybe you misunderstood what a safety is supposed to be? You got in!!!
Hello. Do not know about the others but UNC places great weight on the essay and total package… My daughter’s Q was “what personal quirk defines you”. She nailed it. Hilarious. . ps HS students do not “collaborate” with university professors. there in may lie your problem. …
Your “safeties” were more like matches. Schools with a 30-40% acceptance rate are still pretty selective. A true safety is a school with a higher acceptance rate and, in my opinion, should rely mainly on your scores rather then subjective stuff like ECs so acceptance is more guaranteed. PSU and UMD are amazing schools… probably both in the top 50 in the country. NO future employer or grad school would look down on you for either. They’re some people’s dream schools.
@bfedwards collaborate in the sense that I researched with him regarding a particular topic in my field of study (business) because I had already accomplished a tremendous amount in that field. It does happen
Thanks everyone! I know that I should be happier about my situation and I do think Penn state and UMD are great schools but they just did not seem to be a good fit for me when I visited. I also don’t want to jeopardize getting into my dream grad school bc of having to go a school that is lower in my major. I’ll get over it because everything happens for a reason but unfortunately it’s hard to cope with situations you weren’t expecting at all
Do note that the top publics have gotten a lot more competitive to get in to over the past decade or so, so being above the average may mislead you. If UMich or UVa is your top choice, you could make it clear to them that, to try to get off the WL.
UMich, UVa, and UNC also take a good number of transfers (especially from in-state CC’s).
You can take this as a true measure of you or as a challenge. AdComs are not infallible. Do you want to prove that they made a mistake? Then channel it to motivate you to achieve your goals. College admissions do not determine your destiny. You did not work hard the past for years for external validation from capricious committees with goals different from yours (I hope).
@aban91 I completely understand why you are down about this…your stats really do look amazing along with your ECs…if this were a chance thread,I would have predicted several of these for you.
I think you need to feel badly about this for a few days…and then I think your path will become clearer. You will be a superstar where you land.
I know you’re disappointed but if you don’t get into your dream grad school I don’t think it would be because of where you did your undergrad. As long as you get good grades and work hard I think you would be competitive for any grad school.
Hello, Then it would depend on whether the Harvard professor’s letter of recommendation was private or open and what content it held. If private, you have no knowledge of its content. If open, it holds no weight.
@PurpleTitan I personally think Penn State and UMD were better fits for my major and thankfully I’m blessed to have parents who are willing to pay out of state! And @SouthernHope thank you so much for this post. I made this thread in the spur of the moment after I saw many classmates making posts about committing to their quote on quote dream schools and felt incredibly upset about how I could not share that joy! I think I’ll be okay after a few days but I really appreciate everyone’s input!
@bfedwards it was closed so it is true that it could quite possibly have been terrible and @PurpleTitan I have a business venture that currently profits $500,000 and was hoping that connections I could make from a good undergrad business school could help me grow that along with finding an education that would grow my expertise. My graduate school goal was to do the joint JD/MBA program at Harvard. What is all the more disheartening is that I could have gotten into an Ivy if I had decided to play my sport at a Division 1 level freshman year; however, I thought back then I could get into one of the publics that were on my list based off of my grade pattern, planned courseload, and ECs (Mich, UVA, UNC all do not have my sport at a D1 level)
@wisteria100 I sent letters of intent and my counselor said she’d send updates periodically! Is there any other suggestions for what I could do? And @intparent why would you choose UMD? Penn State is ranked higher in my major and has a nice campus vibe.
