<p>Hey guys i applied to, was waitlisted for, and finally rejected from the Carnegie Mellon Summer Programs for Diversity AP/EA program. The diversity program is basically a fee waiver for the standard $6k CMU summer program. The application process was pretty hefty, involving 3 letters of rec, unofficial submission of PSAT/SAT scores, two essays, and an EC's list so if nothing else it gave me a taste of what is to come when i apply to colleges next fall. What i am wondering at this point, however, is if their decision not to accept me to the summer program (which provides CMU college credit) is representative of the result i will get when i apply to SCS next fall. I am slightly consoled by the fact that I am an upper-middle class white male, which hardly classifies as URM and may have kept me from getting into the program.</p>
<p>So what do you guys think? I guess what really bothers me is that i do not know exactly why i was not accepted. If it was my essays I would change them. If it was my rec's i could find new ones. At this point i am just not sure where to go next. Perhaps i will just commit virtual suicide with an infinite for loop of doubt ;)</p>
<p>As an undergrad, I applied to summer programs at U Penn, Cornell, a bunch of UCs, MIT, Northwestern, Caltech, and a handful of others. I was denied at all of them except for UC:Irvine. I was at CMU with around a 3.6 GPA (better than most of my friends), so I started to get pretty darned worried about how things would be when I did grad school applications.</p>
<p>I wound up getting into a handful of top 10 schools and am currently attending Caltech, which I had been denied for both undergrad and summer research.</p>
<p>Summer programs often have different objectives for their admission than the actual full-time programs do, so you shouldn't feel discouraged.</p>
<p>My son (middle class white male) also applied to Carnegie Mellon's Summer Program For Diversity APEA program. He applied the summer after his sophomore year and was rejected. It was interesting that after his rejection, he received several emails inviting him to apply to the paid APEA program. I think he would have probably been accepted to the paid program, but we couldn't afford it. So he didn't apply but took a class at the community college that summer instead. </p>
<p>He was accepted early decision to SCS for this Fall 2008 with great stats, great recommendations, some extracurriculars, and very good essays. So you probably shouldn't be discouraged based on your rejection from the summer program.</p>