<p>I've been deferred from two of my top choices in the past 60 hours.</p>
<p>I am <em>exactly</em> on paper what they are looking for (that is, my stats match the profile of the average student walking on their campus at this very moment...and, no, not the athletes...the actual real people....thousands of them...who got in less than 11 months ago with my same stats...and many times lower).</p>
<p>not on paper, I am also a strong candidate...I worked hard on my apps...i put in the extra effort.....I have ECs that are truly well-considered and ones that truly mean a great deal to me. I have teachers who admire my efforts and have written that down on paper and spent their weekends sending out recs to colleges. </p>
<p>i'm not hostile towards those who have gotten in. But I am tired and baffled about the crapshoot that is college admissions....</p>
<p>And please...do not use the word "holistic" around me right now. I am tired of that BS excuse given out by the colleges. I am the definition of holistic. </p>
<p>I’ve been deferred from Georgetown, UChicago and Dartmouth (where I applied ED). I feel the same way. I really felt like I was better than a lot of the applicants that got in but have decided that I must just not have been what they were looking for right now. I think that’s how you have to approach it. I don’t like it because I don’t know whether I’m waiting for an acceptance or a rejection; it’s seriously a little frustrating that I have to wait again though. </p>
<p>I started with two acceptances. Since then, I’ve had THREE consecutive rejections, two of which were among my top five choices, and one of which was a school you were accepted to. I’m also struggling with the length of time it’s taking to hear back from my top choice EA.</p>
<p>@viphan It’s a long story. I sent in my EA application to Georgetown about a month before I decided to apply to Dartmouth ED (or ED at all). I immediately contacted my Georgetown rep, and we discussed the situation. Then he said that there was really no need to withdrawal my application because Dartmouth accepted so few ED applicants that were not legacy and not athletes. He just said that it was more of a courtesy rule instead of a restrictive rule.</p>
<p>^
Not buying it. Georgetown would not waste their time posting the rules if it were a simple matter of courtesy. Some just like to bend the rules. </p>
<p>In keeping with this principle, students applying under the Early Action program may not apply to any binding Early Decision programs since they then would not be free to choose Georgetown if admitted. Students are welcome to apply to other Early Action programs or other Regular Decision programs while at the same time applying to Georgetown’s Early Action program.</p>
<p>Perhaps the school tha deferred you are a lot less holistic than you’d want them to be. In the meantime, both schools do admit a LOT of students in the EA round. Unless Chicago got a bit more conservative, the school admits more students in EA than they will have beds. On the other hand, the days of having a pulse and a checkbook are long gone. </p>
<p>Trust me in that I do know the statistics. For the record, I wrote that the school admits a lot of EA students and gave the perspective of the ratio of admitted EA students and the capacity of the school. </p>
<p>Chicago EA admits were about 1,350, 1,380, and 1,532 in the past 3 admission cycles. For a freshman enrollment of about 1350. that is … a LOT of students who get an early nod. The percentage of rejection is one statistic; the percentage of early admits over the expected enrollment is another. The first includes a bunch of “nothing to lose applications” at a non-restrictive early admission school. </p>
<p>The thing to remember is that while admissions aren’t a total crapshoot, the most selective schools in EA defer/deny several times over the number of kids who have the same profile as the kids they ultimately admit. In that respect, the EA dynamic is different from ED because they’re giving the kids they admit essentially an early free option (and the school doesn’t know if they will ultimately get a kid), so they have no incentive to admit anyone except the candidates who are far above their average student and who also demonstrated a really strong interest to attend.
So you have to be prepared for the news to most likely be negative because that is the most likely outcome.</p>
<p>@GreyGarvin earlier you said that you looked back at your essays for UChicago and thought they were terrible…maybe you were right? That could be the reason…</p>
<p>As a mom watching a lot of kids go through what the OP is going through, I do understand your frustration. The fact that you have done the work to have a shot at these schools speaks volumes about you. Hang in there, give yourself time to lick your wounds, and then chin up. It really is going to work out fine.</p>