Wow, that is a horror story I have not heard on CC for a long time. Either the teacher is just evil or she is woefully ignorant of her power to ruin kids lives. Either way I feel sorry for @fresh1012456 to endure such an unfortunate outcome. I wonder if fresh1012456 can show the letter to the principal so he/she can be alerted of this teacher’s behavior and perhaps take away her power of LoRs for future students.
Applied to UMass Amherst EA instead of RD
and stopped worrying about grades too much in high school
If I could change one thing I would probably take more AP courses in high school. A lot of my friends took 6-8 AP courses during their high school carrier. Doing this got them ahead of a lot of their course work, and many of them graduated earlier because of it. I also would practice taking more SAT or ACT tests to help build a stronger knowledge of what to expect. I should have paid attention to a lot of tips my classmates and teachers told me to keep an eye for when applying to colleges, too.
@rastapasta00 - I’m sure you know you can always reapply as a transfer student if you’re not happy where you land. I offered that to my daughter after she did not get into any of the Acting BFA programs she auditioned for and really wanted. She declined my reminder when the time came, because she loves her college. Hopefully you will, too!
@fresh1012456 Wow, I’m shocked and feel terrible for you! If I were your parent, I’d call that teacher and give a piece of my mind. Better to decline to write a LOR than to tank a kid! (Our kids’ school requires the students to sign a waiver so they never get to see their LORs.)
agree I think that @fresh1012456 should perhaps write a letter to the principal or school’s college counselor. Even if it was a “fair” assessment in her LOR, she broke protocol by sending it to the student, so what else is she bending rules on? Someone at the school should maybe take a look.
Demonstrated more interest at colleges with merit scholarships
It isn’t healthy to dwell on how things may have gone differently. Embrace the present and the opportunities you have now and don’t look back. The college you attend doesn’t determine how far you go. It may have at one time but we are living in a time that features the lowest barriers to advancement ever. Your drive to succeed and the discipline you demonstrate in mastering new skills are what will get you ahead. It’s so sad to hear from so many obviously bright kids here putting themselves down and picking themselves apart. You all have so much going for you. Elite college admissions is such a crapshoot. With their archaic admissions policies whereby athletes, legacies, donors get in but good kids don’t, the shame and disgrace rests with them. You don’t need their diplomas. You will make them regret their chance to have you as graduates.
@icecream25 Why is that??? Does the acceptance rate change at all from EA to RD?
EA takes up a number of spots. EA deferred students will capture a bunch too in RD.
So in RD round there are less spots available. There are simply more applicants in RD. And the pool also includes many who might have been rejected or deferred at other schools, who then apply RD. These students will generally have more competitive profiles as well.
either taking more honors classes freshman year or trying harder when i was an underclassman
You do not need to think about what you could change!
You need to think what will you do tomorrow!
@coffeebean178 Yes. The acceptance rate for EA is like 75% while for RD, it’s even lower. Most people who apply EA get in and in RD, a bunch of people who applied get waitlisted or denied even if their stats are way above the school’s averages. In EA, people with stats below the school’s averages get in over RD people with higher stats. I just feel as if I applied EA, I would have a much higher chance of getting in and not end up waitlisted or denied.
Do more computing-related events (I wanna be CS major)…after reading all the things people on here do I’m trying to get involved more (I’m attending a major hackathon this month)! I’m incredibly interested in CS, make personal projects, etc but there’s no way for me to demonstrate that on my application, and even if I do the AOs have no idea how extensive my experience really is without seeing activities they know on the app. It’s fine to self-study and do things on your own, but at least participate in events occasionally that showcase your skill and passion!
I wish I would have retaken the SAT. I tried to retake it in August, but the nearest testing center was over an hour away and no one in my immediate family has a car. I wish I had tried to retake it immediately after I took it the first time so that I could have gotten over my test anxiety. I did well on the PSAT, so it wasn’t an issue of preparedness. I just freaked out.
More extracurriculars and working harder my freshman/sophomore year. Im in my 2nd semester of Junior year and I’m just now realizing how hard it’s going to be to get my tragic 3.8 (weighted) GPA up. I know 3.8 isn’t bad but everyone on this site and around me has 4.0+ and I hate that I got such bad grades Freshman/Sophomore year. Don’t let anyone tell you that they don’t count!
As for extracurriculars, I’ve always ran track so I have that and I have a job, however, Freshman year. Sophomore year, and Junior year I wanted to play volleyball and do musicals, but my shyness and self esteem stopped me from doing those things. Now I wish I could go back and just tell myself to do it. Trying out for volleyball senior year…
I’m mad that I only got a 1380. It’s not bad, but not enough, and I always thought of myself as more smart than hardworking. Oh well. I got a lot of money from UNH at least.
If I could change one thing, I wouldn’t wait until the last second to do my applications. I think it was a mixture of being scared they weren’t going to be good enough and procrastination.
Oh, also, I would try to get more sports in or any other extracurriculars.