I think I messed up......

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

So just to give a short background I am a high school senior and I am writing this during decision season…

Lately, I have been having a lot of doubts concerning the colleges I have applied to. I applied to my safe schools and got accepted but I really can’t see myself going to anyone of them. I applied to target and reach schools but now I have this looming dread that I won’t get accepted to any of my optimal schools. I’ve also been beginning to regret my choice of colleges to apply to. I mean they aren’t bad (Howard and JHU are up there) it’s just I wish I had applied to more or swapped some of my safety’s for different schools. I know the first response to this is going to be something along the line of “what’s stopping you” and the only way I can explain that lengthy story is a mixture of my own idiocy and a series of unfortunate events. I’ve been thinking about transferring my second year but I really want to know what are my chances of transferring. I figure it’s generally harder to transfer than to just get accepted the first time around. I know for some big schools the transfer rate is crushingly low. Advice, personal accounts, or anything that might help clear things up for me are welcome.
Thanks in advance.

2

Hi! I’m a new user too :)!

Okay, so I’m from Australia (and I’m also waiting for decisions after applying to some seriously reach US schools), so I’m going to try to give you some advice using an anecdote.

In Australia, things are a lot more riskier than the US. We take government-issued exams for each subject, and after some really complicated math processes, they come up with a state rank for you. Universities make decisions solely on that rank, and when you “apply,” you just list your preferences of universities and hope that they’re not in the wrong order. Why? Because your second choice university doesn’t even get your application until your first choice rejects you and admission rates can sometimes decrease significantly (like from 50% to 3% in a week) as the rolling admission process progresses.

So that’s heaps of pressure, and my friend overestimated her rank and was worried that she listed her preferences in the wrong order and wouldn’t get into any of the 9 schools she applied to…which can be compared to you since you’re worried that you didn’t apply to the right safety schools. She had some unfortunate family and personal events, and she was a little…misguided when she listed her choices since she simply wasn’t in the right state of mind.

What happened? She was fine! She saw that her rank was much lower than she expected, panicked, thought the worse, and was thinking about transferring from a basic government technical college that doesn’t give you a degree (just a “certificate”) all the time. And she had a concrete piece of information (her much lower rank) to base her panic on - you don’t have any concrete proof that your target and reach schools won’t accept you. So please don’t worry about things that are truly beyond anyone’s control (other than the admissions officers) now - there’s literally nothing you can do, and stressing and thinking about transferring before decisions have even fully arrived is not going to be helpful to anyone.

My friend ended up in her 3rd choice university, and she’s really looking forward to starting university next week! :slight_smile:

I hope that helped - I’m sorry if it didn’t or made things worse, but I completely understand the concern and worry you’re feeling now. I got into my safety school (which is actually one of the best places to get a science degree in Australia but that doesn’t mean anything since physics in Australian is dead and there’s no competition from HS graduates for my course), and I’m now regretting applying to that school as my safety since I’m beginning to think that all the US universities I’ve applied to are going to reject me. And I might be in worse shape than you - I’ve applied to ivy leagues, MIT, Caltech and UC schools with no sport, an ACT score that’s borderline, and transcripts, recommendations and essays that are probably too formal and impersonal (since Australia’s part of the British Commonwealth…and I went to an all-girls religious private high school).

3

I am a US senior who had a very unorthodox (and quite frankly uneven) method of choosing my schools. At my high school, everyone simply assumed that, since I was a high-achieving student with a decent academic record, I had my future college life figured out. In reality, I had no clue what I was doing. I remember the look of fear on one of my teacher’s faces in October when I told him that I had not even begun to write my application essays yet. My school list is ridiculously eclectic (from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high ranking-wise), and I cannot always recall my justification for some of my choices. My situation was exacerbated when my parents told me that their EFC was not representative of what they could actually contribute. Thus, I had to factor merit scholarships into my college equation.

I have taught myself to be very flexible and most importantly I have trained myself to never overthink a situation/psych myself out. Yes, where you apply and eventually commit to is important. But where you spend your college years is significantly less important than how you make use of whatever opportunities are available to you.

Here’s an example from my process:

I have a decent chance of being accepted into a small honors program with an amazing scholarship at a small public university in a rural-ish region of the South. At first glance, this University was nothing like I was looking for. However, I started researching the opportunities that are available to students, things to do within the town, the dorms, etc. and found that I would not only be moderately happy at this school, but I could actually thrive!

I am sure that there is at least one safety that you can talk yourself into liking. Most schools, even if they don’t have high rankings, actually have a lot to offer. Don’t get too obsessed with the idea of a dream school–IMHO they are overrated :slight_smile: (although if you are eventually accepted to your dream school, then bring out the non-alcoholic champagne!). Furthermore, there are some safeties that are still accepting applications if you would like some more options. If all else fails, you can always try one school out and transfer if you don’t like it. Most importantly, do not beat yourself up, dwell on your supposed “mistakes,” and think that you are doomed. My ending note: college is what you make of it. Have a bit of faith in yourself and the universities that accept you. I am sure you are an amazing person who will end up having an amazing college experience, and you will look back on these days as the dark before the dawn.

Best of luck! <3 Keep me posted.

4

Thanks so much for you words! I guess for now I do just have to go with the flow and wait out the decisions before making my own. I’ll keep posted for anyone interested. Also good luck to you too!

5

@the_misanthrope : what kind of university are you looking for? Some are still taking applications and since you’re a strong applicant (guessing that you wouldn’t apply to JHU with a 2.3 GPA and basket weaving electives) these universities may be quite happy with your application. However you have to hurry because March 1 was yesterday and the number of schools accepting apps shrinks as we speak. :slight_smile:

Now:
1° yes the transfer rate is lower than the freshman admission rate at top schools
2° transfers get lousy aid