<p>In reference to things like SAT prep, taking 4 AP's this year, and listening to my mother's incessant whining, yes. But working really hard has taught me a few things about myself (I don't like to work really hard), which I think will be really useful in other aspects of my life.</p>
<p>If everything from studying for SAT's to staying up till 2 am in the morning writing AP papers and committing hundreds of hours to academics and extracurriculars, and if it all came out to me being rejected from everything, that would be the worst thing in the world. I might as well have dropped out of school and done drugs for all it matters then.</p>
<p>yeah i would feel like i wasted time. I mean i tried so hard in school to get somewhere and now i am in a place where kids who did not try as hard are in. I mean i know kids who did well in school and were very smart but did not get into the colleges they wanted and ended up in a state u where all you need is a 3.25 to get in and they had a 4.0+. good sats ec etc. They are now in the same place as the guy who screwed around and had lots of fun and nver studied.</p>
<p>A kid in the class of 07 I know graduated at the top of his class, great EC's, good test scores, captain of two sports, and now he is at a very non-prestigous public school with a kid who was ranked 175.</p>
<p>Yes, if only because I've worked SO HARD with that one goal in mind, and to end up at a place I could've gotten into without the ceaseless work, sleep deprivation, parental drama, etc., would just be a complete let down.</p>
<p>no i'm applying to mostly high reaches. so i'm expecting mostly rejections but hoping for an acceptance somewhere in the pile :)</p>
<p>i have like 3 reaches, 3 matches, 1 safety in there too</p>
<p>not really. Be grateful for everything.. my tenet</p>
<p>I personally wouldn't feel that I wasted that much time, at least with the application process. I personally didn't find the actual process of applying/writing essays/getting recs together/etc. all that hard.</p>
<p>However, I would feel that I wasted a lot of time working hard in high school. I would have felt like a lot of effort was wasted that wasn't necessarily needed for, say, the state school. When I could have been getting a 3.5, I was working hard getting a 4.3. Instead of taking hard classes, I could have spent more time on excelling even more at athletics.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I guess it'll all turn out okay in the end. One of my best friends is a straight A student, national merit whatever, decent extra-currics, and really one of the smartest people I know. She applied to 3 schools: Loyola Chicago, Marquette, and Ohio State(in-state). Obviously she's more than qualified for all of these, but these are the schools she was interested in. She looked at ivy league schools and other top schools, but didn't care for them. She found the schools she liked and applied.</p>
<p>The point of that anecdote is to say that maybe the right school isn't the one you have to work super-hard for. Maybe that school is one of your safeties and you just don't know it. Even if I don't get into my top-choice schools, perhaps a better situation does lie in the honors program at OSU or one of my other safeties. Who knows?</p>
<p>Really, if you're applying to tough schools, then you put in the work and hope like hell. If you don't get in, though, I think you have to take that same desire and turn it into a different kind of desire: a desire to succeed. If you take that desire with you wherever you go, I think everything will turn out right in the end. </p>
<p>For my friend, perhaps she realizes she would be better served not wasting sleepless nights wondering about getting into top colleges and is instead knows that success doesn't necessarily come the way you expect. I think that's something we all have to realize.</p>
<p>What is all the talk about prestige anyway? I would be disappointed sure, but I'm expecting rejections at a lot of places. As long as where I go allows me to continue to pursue what I want to do thats all good to me. </p>
<p>My family is of a type that doesn't really know how to have fun, so I'd say overall I've had a pretty quiet HS life.</p>
<p>hell yeah, I would feel like I wasted my time. I feel like I have been working so hard and that college will be the first tangible benefit. Something greater than simply a letter on a peice of paper as an indication of achievement. I don't want "learning experiences", or any of that bs. I want to achieve the first stepping stone upon which to build future success (career, graduate school, etc.) I would be so devastated if my work amounted to...nothing.</p>
<p>I know it's not a very good attitude but honestly, if you've slaved away at academics all of high school and passed up many social experiences to reach your potential, than I think there is something to be upset about. This holds true for any instance in life where you fell like you are being told "my best isn't good enough". Despite this, the fear of having to deal with this rejection has compelled me to work twice as hard, and if I get into an elite school, I will know this all or nothing attitude contributed to that end.</p>
<p>No, I refuse to feel like I've wasted my time.</p>
<p>So many kids from my school carry the mentality that "Oh, I shouldn't even bother applying, I won't get in and that application requires a WHOLE ESSAY!" </p>
<p>No joke. I go to school with kids who were planning on applying to state school, but changed their minds because the application required them to do work. </p>
<p>I, on the other hand, am applying to 12 schools. I've already completed 8 applications. I've written too many essays to count. But I'm proud of myself for trying. I may end up with 10-11 rejection letters in the mail, but that's okay because at least I will NEVER have the losers-chance to say...</p>
<p>"Well, IF I had applied MAYBE I would've gotten in..."</p>
<p>No. None of that nonsense. I'm deciding and defining my destiny NOW...no school's CDS or reputation can tell me I can't apply there based on any factor. I'm determined, and I will accomplish my dreams...it just takes a little patience as I climb to reach them.</p>
<p>I would feel like that because my first choice is really like THE best thing for me. It's in Top 25 in the US, VERY near to me, and I already have some friends there. If I don't get in there my next best thing is like an "average" school which doesn't require too much work to get in. I don't wanna go out of state because that simply costs too much and far away from home.</p>
<p>joli.hauteur : that's a good outlook on things! I was thinking about not applying to Yale or Stanford but then I realized, why not? If I actually did get in, it would be great. If not, life goes on.
I think the key is NOT setting your heart on only one or two schools (otherwise you'd be crushed if you didn't get in). Just because you get rejected from HYP doesn't mean you're unintelligent or that your entire future is ruined. However, if I got rejected from every school except my safety, I would be pretty disappointed.</p>
<p>joli.hauteur! omg i feel exactly the same way
i def am applying to 14 schools (hehe) and just hoping i get into atleast some. i can atleast take a stab at my dreams right?</p>