I'm not good enough for Stanford, but maybe Stanford isn't good enoguh for me?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Don't get the wrong idea from the title, I'm not an arrogant prick coming here to rant about how much I'm better than the school I did not get into. I actually misspelled it, which is really embarrassing and goes to prove my point. Well, this is awkward.</p>

<p>ANYWAY.</p>

<p>So, I applied Restrictive Early Action to Stanford University and, as you may have guessed, was rejected. Stanford was my top choice, and now I'm going to have to forget about it. But first, a little bit about me.</p>

<p>I am a senior going to a very good (at least that's what they tell us) public high school in the suburbs of Chicago. I like to consider myself smart, but know I wasted a ton of time in school because I did not push myself nearly as hard as I could have (perhaps this was why I was rejected). I had been set on chemical engineering for a while, but have recently considered economics because I took it this year and am really enjoying it. So, I don't really know, which is part of the reason I loved Stanford - it was good at everything. Anyway, thus far, here are my numbers:</p>

<p>SAT: 2230 | 770 Math, 770 Critical Reading, 690 Writing
SAT II: 800 Chemistry, 800 Mathematics Level II, 800 Physics
GPA: 4.50 | 4.00 Unweighted (I have gotten straight A's in high school, but only by copping out of things like APUSH, AP English, etc.)
AP Tests: 5 Physics B, 5 Chemistry, 5 Statistics | Taking Calculus BC, Physics C (definitely Mechanics and possibly E&M), Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics this year</p>

<p>I did fairly well, but know I could have done better. Anyway, my biggest problem is not grades, but extracurriculars. There's not many ways that I can say this other than I do not enjoy many activities and need time to think, alone with no distractions. I like being well rested and well-fed. I almost never sleep past midnight (it happens, not gonna lie) and I always make sure to get a good breakfast. In other words, I don't do well with physical stresses; procrastination is nearly non-existent in my world, but so is pushing myself to do 'great' things. I have never played a sport. My parents had me do Tae-Kwon Do as a youngster, but I hated it and quit. I do not play music. My parents had me do band, but I hated it an quit. I am in WYSE and Science Bowl, which are academic competition teams, but I'm an utter failure at Science Bowl and only on the team because the coach likes me for some reason. However, I do have one activity I truly enjoy: JSA, the Junior Statesmen of America. It has nothing to do with engineering or really anything I'd consider majoring in, but I love it. It's like debate team, but entirely student-run. We do everything. I am President of my school's chapter (division, team, club, whatever you want to call it) and have to organize some 40 or so people to go to trips in Madison, WI, Washington DC, and Chicago, IL. It's a load of fun, and I love debating. </p>

<p>However, other than that, I really do nothing outside of volunteering 3 of my lunch hours per week at my school's peer tutoring program. </p>

<p>Anyway, I've probably been rambling, and I highly doubt you will read all of that, so I might as well get to the point. I got rejected from Stanford, and now have no idea where I want to go or what I want to do. All I can say is what I want my next few years to be like. Here's a short list of what I want:</p>

<ol>
<li>Teachers that don't just ignore students. I know college is a lot of learning on your own, and I am prepared to do that. However, even in high school I feel like we do absolutely nothing of importance in class and I'd be better off reading the textbook on my own at home because the teacher is useless. </li>
<li>Good food. I've grown up with my mother making homecooked meals every day. Two of my uncles are chefs. I cannot stand fast food. </li>
<li>No cutthroat competition. I find it ridiculous that there are some schools where nobody helps each other study and you're completely on your own. </li>
<li>Fair grading. As in, not failing half the class because some administrator says people are doing too well. If the class is hard, the class is hard; if the class is a blowoff, then it's a blowoff.</li>
<li>Down time. It's very important to me. I need time to be alone and think. I need sleep. I will not stay up all night for days on end. Will it happen? Of course. It already does. I just want it at a minimum.</li>
<li>Flexibility. I'm not super passionate about any one thing. I want flexibility to be able to switch if I change my mind. </li>
<li>No idealism. What irritates me most is that colleges love it when you do community work and live for things other than yourself. I'm a cynical, sarcastic, disillusioned (from an outsider's perspective) person. I am tired of hearing about how I'm here to do something for someone else. I am going to college because I want to better myself for my own sake. I don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of ultra-idealistic idiots who are going to berate me constantly for being selfish, bigoted, narrow-minded, etc. and not even listen to my point of view.</li>
<li>Intelligence. I know plenty of people who do a million activities, get super-high GPAs, and go to elite schools, but are complete idiots. They never think for themselves. In terms of skills and ability to learn quickly, they are smarter than me, but they can't hold an intelligent conversation. I do not think I am the next Socrates, or Nietzsche, or Nobel-laureate, but I like debating and discussing politics, philosophy, etc. I'd get bored if I could only talk about TV or video games or sports.</li>
</ol>

<p>Now, mm I going to get all of this? Hell no. Even close? Probably not. It's my ideal fantasy world. But, the question I want to ask is, based on my above ideal, which of the following colleges will actually provide some of my hopes? (see below) In other words, rather than ranking, what school would best fit my personality? The title of this thread was supposed to mean that, perhaps, Stanford was not what I wanted personally. I'm sure it's a great school. And I'm sure there are countless people there who would completely blow my mind and make me look insignificant if I ever met them. However, I'm not in, and now I think it's time I considered something more than U.S. News and World Report's college rankings. </p>

<p>My Applications (Sent or to be sent)
--Best of the Best: Stanford Universiyt- Rejected, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University (I don't expect any of these)
--Very good: Northwestern University, Duke University, Washington University in St. Louis, Carnegie Mellon University (These could be doable)
--Good, but not outstanding: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign - Accepted (for Chemical Engineering), University of Wisconsin - Madison - Accepted, Georgia Institute of Technology</p>

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<p>*SAT: 2230 | 770 Math, 770 Critical Reading, 690 Writing
SAT II: 800 Chemistry, 800 Mathematics Level II, 800 Physics
GPA: 4.50 | 4.00 Unweighted <a href=“I%20have%20gotten%20straight%20A’s%20in%20high%20school,%20but%20only%20by%20copping%20out%20of%20things%20like%20APUSH,%20AP%20English,%20etc.”>B</a>**</p>

<p>AP Tests: 5 Physics B, 5 Chemistry, 5 Statistics | Taking Calculus BC, Physics C (definitely Mechanics and possibly E&M), Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics this year*</p>

<p>Your scores are very good! :)</p>

<p>So, does “copping out” mean that you didn’t take the hardest curriculum offered? That probably hurt you. I’ve heard of kids being rejected from top 20 schools, and they believe it was for that reason (along with your lack of ECs).</p>

<p>Gee…I’ve always thought of UIUC as a very good school. You’re a tough critic! lol</p>

<p>I think your lack of ECs and what appears to be a lack of taking the “most challenging curriculum” will hurt you at your “best” schools and your “very good” schools.</p>

<p>Is money no object? IF you’ll be needing Financial Aid, do you know if you’ll qualify? How much will your parents contribute each year to your education? If they can pay full-freight, then GREAT! :)</p>

<p>*1. Teachers that don’t just ignore students. I know college is a lot of learning on your own, and I am prepared to do that. However, even in high school I feel like we do absolutely nothing of importance in class and I’d be better off reading the textbook on my own at home because the teacher is useless.
2. Good food. I’ve grown up with my mother making homecooked meals every day. Two of my uncles are chefs. I cannot stand fast food.
3. No cutthroat competition. I find it ridiculous that there are some schools where nobody helps each other study and you’re completely on your own. *</p>

<p>What about some good LACs?</p>

<p>Or some larger schools with good honors colleges? Those can be less “cut-throat” and since honors classes are often smaller, a student can feel more “connected” to his teachers.</p>

<p>What kind of schools do you want? Big, small, rural, big city, college town, quiet, rah rah big sports, warm weather, cold/snowy weather?</p>

<p>What state do you live in?</p>

<p>What about URochester? Georgia Tech can be “intense” and it’s kind of - well - ugly (jmo)</p>

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<p>in your division of schools, i’d suggest switching cornell and duke. duke is much more difficult to get into than most CCers think!</p>

<p>to be honest with you, i’m having trouble thinking of schools based on your criteria. it’d be easier for us if you told us what mom2collegekids asked - size, city, etc. looks like most of the schools you’re looking at are large - if you want individual attention you might want to go a little smaller.</p>

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<p>Haha, I guess I probably should’ve provided a bit more information other than my really long rant.</p>

<p>To respond to “mom,”</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, UIUC is a very good school, it just doesn’t have the same name recognition and prestige as, say, Stanford. </p>

<p>“Copping out” means exactly that. I only took the difficult math/science courses as opposed to history, English, etc. (Not only do I regret that for admissions purposes, but I missed out on a lot of other opportunities to learn as well)</p>

<p>As for money, I’m the the income bracket that gets completely screwed. We make quite a bit of money, enough to reduce, significantly or to nothing at all, the amount of financial aid we get. If money screws me over, I can always go to UIUC, because I’m in-state. However, this is NOT enough to fork over $50K a year like it’s chump change. I’m nervous about this. I don’t really know what to expect.</p>

<p>As for location, I really like cities, which is why Madison is really attractive. (I’ve been there and it’s great.) Weather doesn’t bother me, I live near Chicago so I’m used to being cold. It was once said that Chicago has different seasons than the rest of the country: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction. Warm weather would be nice, but it wouldn’t make or break a school. Sports don’t mean much; I’ve never been a huge fan.</p>

<p>As for LACs, I’ve never really considered them. Mostly because they’re not really known for engineering (to my knowledge). My dad went to UW-Madison for ChemE (which is probably what I’d do) and knows many of the professors there. When we toured the school, I was actually able to sit down and chat with one of them because he and my dad were friends. So, I have “connections,” to some extent there. Dunno how much of a plus that’d be if I actually went there.</p>

<p>Know of any LACs that’d be good for engineering though?</p>

<p>And, I’ve never really heard of URochester? Anything it’s known for in particular?</p>

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<p>With Stanford, it was definitely a lack of ECs. I think you migh have better luck with the ivies. but anyways after reading your whole post I think you might like the University of Chicago. However, I’m sure you know all about it living in the area. Its a top ten school, that is very intelectual and isnt impossible to get into. Also, consider Harvey Mudd in SOCal, its a very good engineering and applied science LAC</p>

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<p>I believe Swarthmore has an engineering program, they’re a very good LAC. I second Harvey Mudd.</p>

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<p>My data goes back two years, but looking at the small set of people that I knew who had applied to Stanford, the outcome was very different from those at other exclusive colleges. One local private school of <100 graduates had placed multiple students in Stanford, but several top tier students from several other schools all got rejected - their criteria probably differs considerably from others in that league.</p>

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<p>Hmmm, I’ve heard a lot about so-called ‘feeder’ high schools. I mean, I’ve always thought my school was good. Our school usually wins the State WYSE (basically a bunch of science exams) and Math Team competitions. The AP Chem teacher went to Duke and last year, 3/4 of the class got 5’s on the test. The BC Calc/MVC teacher went to Cornell, and the BC exam is a similar story. </p>

<p>Yet, last year, we sent one to MIT, one to Harvard, and one to Princeton out of a senior class of over 800. Nobody went to Stanford or Yale (and I think only one got in). A couple did go to the University of Chicago though. </p>

<p>I dunno. Maybe those schools are really that hard to get into, or maybe it’s a big sham. Thoughts?</p>

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<p>Swarthmore is one of the premiere LACs with a notable engineering program.</p>

<p>It meets every single one of your criteria, and it’s 10 minutes away from Philly.</p>

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<p>What high school near chicago did you go to? New Trier is the best public high school in the Chicagoland area. I am from Evanston Township</p>

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<p>Naperville North High School. I don’t know what is ‘best’ (we certainly don’t have as much money and as many options as New Trier), but we do well in terms of academic contests, National Merit Scholars, etc.</p>

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<p>*As for money, I’m the the income bracket that gets completely screwed. We make quite a bit of money, enough to reduce, significantly or to nothing at all, the amount of financial aid we get. If money screws me over, I can always go to UIUC, because I’m in-state. However, this is NOT enough to fork over $50K a year like it’s chump change. I’m nervous about this. I don’t really know what to expect.</p>

<p>As for location, I really like cities, which is why Madison is really attractive. (I’ve been there and it’s great.)*</p>

<p>Well, it sounds like your family earns too much to get any financial aid (join the club :slight_smile: ). Often when EFC gets highish, the only thing in an FA package is an offer for student loans (thank you school for “offering” me a loan. LOL )</p>

<p>Lots of people LOVE URochester because it’s smallish and intimate. I can’t tell you if it has a great engineering school or not. It may…anyone know???</p>

<p>However…if you can go to UI-UC for an affordable amount, that really should be a top choice. Let me tell you why. :slight_smile: When you don’t eat up every available education dollar your parents can offer going to an extra pricey school, it opens other possibilities…such as going to a pricey “name” grad school and/or doing a pricey “study abroad” for a semester or a couple of summers :slight_smile: Are there any countries that interest you? </p>

<p>BTW…UIUC may not be “known” to the general public like Stanford, but it is certainly well known in the science/high tech world. If you do well at UIUC, you can get accepted into any Ivy or similar for grad school. If you’re economical for undergrad, will your parents help you with grad school at an elite school?</p>

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<p>Stanford is great. but there are bugs in it too. </p>

<p><a href=“http://stanfordwakes.spaces.live.com/blog/[/url]”>http://stanfordwakes.spaces.live.com/blog/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I know it’s close geographically to you, but have you ever thought of the university of Chicago. It seems like a perfect match for you. Look into it. Plus it has the best econ program in the country, so that’s good too.</p>

<p>Or you can just go to Madison with me!</p>

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<p>love Star Wars</p>

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<p>Hmmm, I dunno, I have one week to turn in transcript requests at my school. I might consider University of Chicago, but I’ve heard it’s “where fun goes to die.”</p>

<p>We’ll see.</p>

<p>And I do love Star Wars lol.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Cornell (as the least selective ivy) should definitely move down a division, but Duke should NOT move up. They are basically equivalents in terms of selectivity.</p>

<p>Cornell: 19% admit rate, ~45% yield rate
Duke: 17% admit rate, ~40% yield rate</p>

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<p>

My suggestion is to get a BS in ChemE and then go back for an MBA or advanced econ degree. I too took some econ courses and loved it.</p>

<p>Believe it or not, for ChemE, you’ve applied to most of the best:</p>

<p>Best Colleges Specialty Rankings: Undergraduate Engineering Specialties: Chemical</p>

<p>1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA
3 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
4 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI
5 Stanford University Stanford, CA
6 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
7 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
7 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
9 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
10 University of Delaware Newark, DE</p>

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<p>Wow…let me just say that you’re a very impressive applicant. I especially applaud you for your amazing test scores. The 4.0 I’ve been able to get, but test scores like yours have been impossible for me since the dawn of time, even with classes and practice. Anyway, I think you have a pretty good shot at all of the schools you listed. And as far as Stanford goes, I wouldn’t analyze your app too much even when you say that you lacked ECs. You’re obviously good enough for them. When I didn’t get in, I was really frustrated because I was trying to understand where I went wrong. I wanted to know what I was lacking and why I wasn’t good enough. I guess the biggest reason for my rejection though is probably just the huge number of applicants. Anyway, I really recommend MIT. It’s my favorite from your list. Not just because of its excellent rankings, but it’s also just a great school overall. I think that it fits what you’re looking for in a school very well.</p>

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<p>@Dark Julian:</p>

<p>Naperville?</p>