I’m the valedictorian of my class and I have a 4.3 GPA and 2400 SAT. He only has a 3.4 GPA and 1810 SAT, but he’s black and he worked in a senator’s office in our state after sophomore year and did an internship the summer after junior year in the senator’s office in D.C. He also worked on a campaign of someone who was running for a state senate office. We both applied to Columbia. He didn’t even think he was going to get in (our guidance councilor told him he shouldn’t bother to apply because he most likely wasn’t going to get in) and I was and still am extremely embarrassed that he got in and I didn’t. I didn’t get into any Ivy League school and I’m going to public state university that’s basically crap compared to Columbia. I feel like this is unfair and that I wasted so much time that I could’ve spent doing things other than studying. I also feel embarrassed that I just did boilerplate extra curricular things like being the president of clubs. I wasn’t even on any sports teams. I’m still completely shocked that he even got in. I feel so depressed and I’ve been crying about it. I’m so pissed I don’t even know what to do.
You’re going to college, and you’re going to do well because of those study skills you’ve developed throughout high school. Hardly a waste.
Don’t blame your friend for there being thousands and thousands of applicants and only a 6.1% admit rate.
Do really well at the public university and transfer to a better school! Get involved, know your professors, get good recs and you’ll be fine!
@felixmendelssohn I agree with bodangles. It’s normal to feel disappointed but I think it’s unfair for you to compare yourself to him. He was also a qualified candidate and this happens - the school isn’t looking at you two side by side. .
You’re clearly a hard worker and of course it wasn’t all for nothing. College is what you make of it - take advantage of as many opportunities you can while you are there!
What is your public state? I assume it’s a good one if you didn’t look at anything “in between!”
@felixmendelssohn wrote:
Not to be harsh, but maybe that’s part of the problem. 2400 SAT plus valedictorian doesn’t go very far for top schools. If you came across as someone who “wasted time” doing “boilerplate” activities then I’m not surprised you didn’t get in.
I would approach college as a fresh start and with a different attitude. Do the things that excite you, and do them with gusto, and see where it takes you. The other approach didn’t work out too well.
Chin up. You will do well wherever you go. Columbia is not the be all end all.
There are no in-state public universities that I’d regard as “crap.” They all provide fine education, often as good as any top “elite” institutions. It’s now all about your attitude. I don’t know what your friend has anything to do with the fact that you didn’t get into Columbia and he did. It wouldn’t have made any difference in the outcome regardless of your friend. Get over it as soon as you can by doing whatever that would help you get over it. Then, concentrate on your undergrad work with the goal of attending one of those elite grad schools.
You are legitimately angry and resentful. This is “life is not fair 101” and it hurts. However, you will eventually need to let it go. Being angry and resentful changes nothing for you or your friend or anyone else out there in a similar situation. All that hard work you did, well you did it and while it didn’t result in the outcomes you wanted you have come out of it a dedicated student who has proven he can do the best work. This is a journey and college was never the end goal, just another step in the road. Keep up the good work and opportunities will be there even if they aren’t the ones you expect.
Yes, it is a bummer that your friend got in with lower stats (although, it seems, better ECs) than you, but that’s the way it is in college admissions. Stats aren’t everything. Go to the state school and either do well enough to transfer (obviously you’re smart enough to do very well!) or graduate from the state school and apply to Columbia for grad school. Let yourself be sad for a while, though. It is a big disappointment.
If you took out all of the information about your friend and just left the rest (2400 SAT, V of class) and then the feeling of anger that you have at yourself for not doing something more “special” in the EC realm, it’d be cool/understandable for you to be bummed out. I think the issue here is that 2200 people were accepted to the freshman class. You don’t know 2199 of them so you can’t compare yourself…but the one guy you do know, you can’t help but think that you’re a better qualified candidate (though i"ve got to say that his ECs really do look good).
In any case, it’s okay to feel bad. No one can blame you.
Nothing to do about it now, get a 4.0 at a flagship state school and you will get some great job offers or acceptances to top grad schools.
A few comments:
–Life isn’t always fair so just as soon you figure that out now.
–The Ivy schools review holistically and don’t have room for every perfect stat applicant.
–Your friend seems to have had some experiences that interested Columbia while your ECs were “boilerplate”
–Stop comparing yourself to others…
–If you do well at your college you can get anywhere you want to go in life – focus on that.
–The hard work and study skills you developed in HS will bode well for your ability to do well in college.
Since nobody else has called you out on that, I will. Go look back at how you wrote it: Look at my perfects stats and I didn’t get in. Look at his crummy stats and he got in. But he’s black…
URMs is a real thing- but there are plenty of qualified URMs C-olumbia doesn’t have to take people who are not qualified. We don’t know why the person you call your “friend” had a low GPA and test scores, or what about him made Columbia believe that he would be able for their very robust curriculum, but something about his application clearly stood out to them.
If my “friend” credited an achievement of mine to my race I would be hurt and offended- and wonder about what sort of “friend” they really are. Wouldn’t you be, if your “friend” credited some achievement of yours to your being white?
A hook may trump any stat. There are probably over a hundred of applicant with SAT 1600/2400 applying to Columbia, but there may not be many with the same hook like your friend.
Ugh. That’s terrible, and exactly the type of story that affirmative action unfortunately inspires. Remember college isn’t the end all, you will be amazing at whatever you choose to do. In the long run, you are better equipped than your friend with your work ethic and study skills to face college, no matter where you guys go.
The OP should read the writings of an author by the name of Ta-Nehisi Coates. He writes for The Atlantic among other publications. My D had to read his book this year and also an essay by him too for her AP Language and Composition class, and I read along with her, otherwise I probably would have never heard of him.
Essentially a discussion of the systematic treatment of black people over the centuries here in America. I only mention it, because schools like Columbia want to have multi-racial classes and in order to meet that need, they sometimes have to admit students of color with lower stats, but those lower stats were due in part to that systematic treatment over the centuries.
Just food for thought for the OP. Your success and happiness isn’t dependent on studying at Columbia. Best of luck.
During my daughter’ senior year she read the Frank Bruni book - Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be. I recommend it. I also recommend going to the school that accepted you and focus on becoming a rock star. If you continue with the hard work from HS you will be successful.
Getting into a tippy top us far more than, val, “4.3 GPA and 2400 SAT.” I hope you knew that. Maybe your friend did and approached his app with understanding and savvy. His ECs that you note are good, his essays may have been the right sort of impressive, too, shown the right attributes.
Don’t blame race. That’s cheesy and not an attitude top schools like. What’s done is done and your chance is to make the best of your opportunities.
I am sorry you feel like you have wasted your time. As others have said, you haven’t, so go to college and thrive. I would be interested to know what other schools you applied to. Did you apply to top tier schools and one safety?
As a cautionary tale for other readers, if this is in fact what happened with @felixmendelssohn , please be aware that it happens regularly. Many high stats students apply to a lot of reach schools thinking that they will get lucky with at least one, only to find themselves with only one or two choices come May 1. College admissions aren’t a lottery. Make a balanced list of safety, match and reach schools to ensure that you have options.
OP, you can wait for May 5 to see what schools still have places available. NACAC will publish a list and often many of the schools are very good. Or take a gap year and rethink what you want to do. There are more valedictorians in the US than there are places for them at the top colleges. Other people are feeling your pain. It will work out for the best ultimately. Good luck.
You studied hard and earned valedictorian. Awesome job! Now turn the page for the next chapter of your life.
My best advice for you during college is for you to study less and DO more. Yes. You heard right.
Do research your freshman year, bust your tail securing internships every summer, even after freshman year. Trust me on this. Companies will take a 3.0 student with experience before they hire the 4.0 valedictorian any day of the week.
By the way, that’s why your friend earned his spot into Columbia. Even as a high school student, he realized that it’s what you DO in life that matters. While other kids were huddled in their dimly lit bedrooms diligently studying a 400 page textbook entitled “AP US Government”, he was actually working on Capitol Hill with real senators, affecting real life for 300,000,000 Americans.