I applied to eight colleges last fall and I have been rejected by most of them except Quinnipiac University they recently contacted me and said they would send an admissions decision letter within 2-3 weeks I have waited four weeks and after contacting them again they said “Hello, We Are currently still reviewing your file. You should be hearing from us shortly.” are they just messing with me at this point I don’t know what I did wrong, I got a 31 in science on my ACT, I thought that was good and I spent an inordinate amount of time writing Essays for each college and having them reviewed by multiple people I even wrote a 10 page research paper for MIT even though it was optional at this point I just feel like giving up am I worthless is there any purpose I don’t know what to do I feel like there’s no hope.
Did you apply to Quinnipiac by their regular admissions deadline, or only as an afterthought? There is a thread dedicated to colleges that are still accepting applications; you should probably explore some of them.
It’s absolutely not “hopeless”-- but you’ve got to be proactive and give yourself a Plan B in case Quinnipiac doesn’t work out.
The moment you get home from school today, begin to apply to several of those schools. Check their numbers and make sure you’re applying to schools where your ACT and GPA make them pretty much safety schools.
Or make plans for a gap year - most schools value and respect that decision assuming you don’t spend the time being a couch potato. Go get a copy of The Gap Year Advantage for ideas. You do not get any prizes for finishing college a year earlier or later so if you weren’t admitted to schools that interest or excite you, spend some time rethinking your application strategy and try again this coming fall.
Alright here is a list of the colleges I applied to before I think what I did wrong is I applied to too many high level colleges thinking they were match schools, I remade the list a while ago so this isn’t the original.
College Reach list:
• MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, MA ** REJECTED **
• University of California: Davis; Davis, CA ** REJECTED **
• University of California: Irvine; Irvine, CA ** REJECTED **
College Match List:
• Penn State Erie, the Behrend College; Erie, PA ** REJECTED **
• Quinnipiac University; Hamden, CT *APPLIED *
• Rochester Institute of Technology; Rochester, NY *REJECTED *
College safety list:
• University of Colorado Boulder; Boulder, CO ** REJECTED **
Here is my new list below i used the list provided by [bjkmom] to cross referenced with results from [bigfuture.collegeboard.org] to generate a list of colleges to possibly apply to.
College safety list:
• Goucher College; Baltimore, MD
• Oregon State University; Corvallis, OR
• Hood College; Frederick, MD
• Pace University; New York, NY
• Pace University: Pleasantville/Briarcliff; Pleasantville, NY
• Western New England University; Springfield, MA
• Westminster College; Salt Lake City, UT
The only problem i have with this list is that these colleges say that they don’t have admissions open for the fall semester of this year at least at first glance though a few of them do have rolling admissions. What are your thoughts?
*Update: Hood College is a rolling admissions though they recommend you apply prior to March first, and goucher has an admissions deadline of December first.
Take a gap year and apply for next fall, try to apply for spring or fall on schools that don’t have passed their deadlines yet. What’s your GPA?
What is your ACT score?
I want to go to college so i can major in computer science though i find physics very interesting i would like to learn more about stuff like quantum tunneling, quantum superpositions (where a subatomic particle can be in multiple states at once until you observe it), quantum supercomputers etc.
I’m confused as to why you applied to all of those schools that were completely out of your reach. Did your guidance counselor recommend those schools?
Your ACT “combined” score and GPA are the first things that the schools look for and are what matter. GPA matters more than anything.
Looking at that math score, you should be able to see why you were rejected.
Additionally, since your GPA is under a 3.0, those reach schools automatically had to reject you.
The UCs do not accept students who have less than a 3.0. “Earn a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better (3.4 if you’re a nonresident) in these courses with no grade lower than a C.” http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/requirements/
Why won’t they admit you? Because your scores seem to indicate that you will struggle in college. Your general education coursework will require some math classes that you might not be prepared to do.
You really can’t be upset with the wait because the schools have to compare you with other students who have 4.0 GPA’s and 31 combined GPA’s.
You may want to consider going to a CC for two years and save some money and transfer to those schools when you are ready.
While your ACT scores may be acceptable for some of your “safety” schools, your GPA is pretty low and you may be rejected by some or all of these schools. I agree with @aunt bea that community college may be your best option.
I’m considering retaking it this year after taking some online courses… and my GPA is 2.255…
I think what I did wrong is I applied to too many high level colleges thinking they were match schools,
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You think?
Is this thread a joke? Who would possibly think that your list of colleges were “match” schools? Most of them aren’t even reaches for you…they’re superposition reaches.
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I spent an inordinate amount of time writing Essays for each college and having them reviewed by multiple people
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Who advised you when creating this list. Did none of those “essay reviewers” comment on your list of schools knowing what your stats are? Why are your grades so low?
Your ACT 17 in math suggests that you would never pass the math/physics classes required of CS or physics majors. A 17 is very low…it’s in the 36th percentile! What is the highest math class you’ve taken and what grades did you get?
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I even wrote a 10 page research paper for MIT even though it was optional
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Well, with a 17 on the math ACT and a 23 in English, I am wondering what the quality of that paper was.
How do you plan to pay for college? How much will your parents pay? What is your home state?
@6RHcLkW:
Get yourself enrolled into a local community college for this September. Work your butt off to get straight A’s and to be actively involved in numerous school clubs and activities (where your presence makes a noticeable difference and contribution to the activity).
If you do that, then apply as a transfer to 4-yr schools. They will look seriously at your application.
I mention the above from my personal experience. It worked very well for me. Do it right and it will work for you too.
I agree with the consensus here - head to a CC, do your best and apply to a realistic list of schools as a transfer. This path works for millions of students every year.
First of all you are not idiot. Everyone has the capacity to do well. Others need to work harder. We don’t know you so we can’t judge. Try Community College and work hard there. Life is short so get up and try your best!
We are here to help you not to criticize.
You are NOT an idiot. It is possible you may be depressed, and if that is the case, you need to address that FIRST. Look into speaking with a therapist or even your family doctor about this. Confront your depression now, so it doesn’t interfere with your schoolwork - or any other kind of life’s work, really - in the future.
Once you’ve done that, then consider taking the ACT again and study for it. Many study guides for the ACT at the local library or you can buy one at the bookstore.
Your ACT is really not too low for some colleges, but they are definitely too low for where you applied.
Go to collegedata.com or ■■■■■■■■■■, sign up for an account, plug in your grades and test scores, what you wish to major in, and see what schools come up for you.
Taking the ACT again and getting a higher score should only help if you decide to still go the 4-year college route.
The other option is to attend a community college for two years and bring your grades up, then transfer.
What do you want to study in college? And, where (what part of the country? Which state?)