I made an account here just to ask you guys for advice. I’m feeling sad right now, and I’m confused about what to do next.
I applied to a total of 15 universities, and so far I’ve been rejected from 10 of them, accepted to 2.
SAT:1430
SAT Essay: 6/6/6
IB Average: 35/42
Essays: Very good
EC: Not so good
Rejected from:
NYU (ED)
BU
Brandeis
UW-Madison
University of Washington
UIUC
UCLA
UCD
UCSD
UCSB
Accepted to:
Northeastern
LMU
Waiting for:
UCI
UCB
Ohio State
UMich
I take Business Management HL and Econ HL, and I’m planning to major on Finance. I applied Economics for harder schools like NYU and the rest I applied for Business and Finance. Do you guys have any advice on what I should do next? My school counselor recommended me to go to a community college first, but I then feel taking the IB is a waste. I have my eyes on Santa Monica College since my dream school is UCLA. Will it be a guarantee admission for me if I maintain a sufficient GPA, or like would it still be the same process as first-year students but with a higher acceptance rate?
Please help me; I’m really confused with what to do now
OK, here’s pretty much the same advice I gave to my daughter last year, during those moments when she felt like a “depressed failure.”
First and foremost, forget the idea of a “dream school.” There’s no such thing. Each and every school in this country, in the world, has its pros and cons. But, more than that, this isn’t about the school, it’s about you. And I can promise with absolute certainty that you will “bloom where you’re planted” if you choose to do so. (My daughter heard that so many times last year that she’s planning to get a tattoo of a flower, to remind herself of her resilience.)
You were accepted to two great schools that want you. Wonderful; you have a choice. Wait out the rest of your results, but know that you have a choice. Start to choose from between your two acceptances. Lots of kids have identified each of them as their “dream schools”-- work to find out why. You applied to both, so you saw something there. Chase it down, identify it, decide which of the two is your current number one choice.
Forget any school that didn’t accept your application. They apparently weren’t the right fit. Concentrate on the ones that are the right fit-- currently Northeastern and LMU.
Wherever you end up, throw yourself into it. forget UCLA. Decide to “bloom” at whichever school you attend.
Oh, and PS: my daughter is now thriving at a school she had never heard of when that first round of apps went out. She only found her school when she wasn’t happy with her results in January and went in search of schools that would accept her application. That’s when she found the perfect fit.
Well, we always say on CC to “bloom where you’re planted”, and it looks like you’re being planted at LMU or Northeastern. Attend accepted student days at both and see which one is the best fit. Embrace and be proud of your choice. They’re both great options.
Why would your counselor recommend community college when you have two great acceptances? I would try to explore your acceptances more in depth and see if you can love one of them- they chose you, so they think you’ll be a great fit. You applied, so you must have seen something… build on that.
I agree you have two great options that have accepted you. No reason to feel like a failure - students with very strong stats have been rejected from the schools you were too (especially when it seems like a lot of people rejected from the schools that denied you were rejected from northeastern too). It’s not personal. And again, you have 2 very solid options. I also don’t understand why your counselor is recommending CC when you have these.
Is Northeastern affordable for you? If yes, no reason to feel sad - you’ll do great with their coop internship program because Finance is one area where internship experience matters. Because of coop, I would take Northeastern over several schools that rejected you, so the number of rejections do not matter.
You’re hurting because of all of the rejections. Ouch. But you are failing to see, as others have pointed out, that you have 2 great options, and maybe (or maybe not) more coming. In the end you can only go to one school. I agree that Northeastern may be the best option, and is probably better than many of the schools that rejected you. So, nurse your wounds but start planning for a really exciting future.
@Groundwork2022@bjkmom
“Bloom where you’re planted” puts the onus on the person to actually bloom, which can be hard for them to think is possible (especially if they suffer from depression).
I much prefer, and use, the expression “When you think you’ve been buried, perhaps you’ve just been planted”. It’s a more optimistic way of looking at it, without having the pressure to “bloom”. Just my two cents.
To the OP - you are not a failure. You have two wonderful opportunities to choose from. Best of luck.
Do not let your self-worth be determined by a group of admissions officers who probably have never met you and who have spent 15 minutes or so on your application. The last I heard a person can only attend one college and you already have two very nice acceptances. Assuming the schools are affordable I would choose from the colleges you have been accepted to (or one you get into in the near future).
My counsellor knew I wanted UCLA ever since Year 10. She told me it would be extremely hard for me to transfer to UCLA from NEU or LMU and so she strongly recommended me to go for community college first and then transfer as I would have a better chance of getting in.
Northeastern is affordable for me. But whoops, I forgot to mention I am an international applicant. I was admitted through the NU Bound program and it really is a drawback. I’ve mentioned in my commonapp questions that I have no interest in studying abroad for my first year and I was still placed in this program. I’ve emailed them two weeks ago and I’ve not heard back since. Furthermore, the ratings of its transfer college in London is not that good. If I was admitted directly to the Boston campus, I would’ve committed to Northeastern immediately. This is why I’m really confused with the two options I currently have.
Well, I applied early action for LMU and NEU, so I got their responses early. I was happy and strong at the beginning, before I was continuously showered with rejections. Currently, my rejection-streak count is 10. My hopes and expectations for the rest of the applications are close to nothing.
And for the two choices I have, LMU and NEU, its confusing as well. NEU has a better finance program(?) as others have stated above, but I’m an international applicant and I was admitted through the NU Bound program. No problems with studying abroad really, but I prefer not to. Besides, I’ve looked for the transfer college’s ratings and they are not that good. If I was admitted directly to the Boston campus, I would’ve committed to Northeastern immediately and I wouldn’t have suffered from depression.
@DepressedFailure: There is no guaranteed admission for UCLA from a community college. You would have a better chance attending a CA community college if you plan to transfer but UCLA is not participate in TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee). Only 6 campuses participate which are UC Merced, Riverside, Santa Cruz, Davis, Irvine and Santa Barbara (UCSB and UCI have some major exclusions).
I agree that you have 2 good options, so love the schools that love you. UCLA will be there for Graduate school if you end up pursing an advanced degree.
It’s not a competition. It’s not a sport. It’s not about “odds of winning”. It is worth spending some time considering the inappropriateness of looking at college admissions as if it were so. Why? Cause that mentality is very harmful in a university setting. It is making you feel badly now but it is also harmful to the atmosphere on US campuses. Bring a cooperative and not a competitive spirit to a US campus if you decide to attend. You were admitted to two schools. You can only attend one. So you need to focus on eliminating one of the two. That should be your focus. When you release one, there may be someone out there who is praying to get into the school you are choosing not to attend. Just think about how thrilled someone might be to have the opportunity to attend the school you decide to decline.
