Ok, where do I begin? Besides the schools in my state I have either gotten into or know I can get into, I have applied to 4 out of state schools.
-University of Chicago
-Princeton
-Vanderbilt
-Tulane
I received some decisions back today. I was flat out rejected from Vanderbilt which I wasn’t too surprised of. I was expecting the same thing from Princeton, but they deferred me. How does this happen? If my scores weren’t good enough to get into Vanderbilt, how are they even under consideration for Princeton? Or is this just another way of delaying the inevitable rejection? If this is the case, why didn’t they just reject me from the get go, why take so long? In the letter from Princeton, it states they want to see my senior year grades or my Mid-Year Report. Also, are my chances at Tulane and UChicago (my dream school) completely shot now? The only difference between my Vanderbilt application and my Princeton application is that I had an interview with Princeton. I didn’t meet the deadline for Vanderbilt. Also, I wrote a bit more for Princeton including another essay and describing things I like. I requested and interview with UChicago and never heard back so I emailed them and they said it was ok and if I’m deferred, I will be prioritized for an interview. In regards to my grades, they are above average. They aren’t bad, but from my research, they aren’t your typical perfect scores and GPA. This is why I am so surprised I wasn’t flat out rejected. For reference, I am a URM and female.
If anyone could give some clarity on this I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
A lot of people I know got deferred from Ivies. I think they just don’t straight up reject people, they defer and then reject. But who knows, maybe Princeton just saw something in you Vanderbilt didn’t. Good luck!
Just bc Vandy passed does not mean P will. It’s not just scores for them. One may see a fit that the other does not. Maybe you are from the south and Vandy is looking North? You just never know.
UChicago is a whole different set of “fit” items. So who knows?
Tulane is not as selective as the others, and your fit may be there.
My point is, it is not and equal sort of judgement. They each will look for different things. Maybe your best fit will find you!!
DS got accepted to very selective schools and rejected by less selective schools. (He wound up going to the best public university, because we could afford it.) A classmate got rejected by all the ivies but got accepted at Harvard.
To the excellent feedback you got above,^ I’ll add this–Do not try to figure it out. Do your best, and good luck.
@hhjjlala Thank you. I recognized this going in but it’s pretty hard to explain, but there was an exception here. The other schools I applied regular decision.
Well, my friend was accepted into Harvard with EA, while declined from UMich EA last year.
IMO: Schools with respectable prestige will tend to focus more on the students’ academics and see if he/she will fit into the overall above-average intelligence of all students accepted into the university. On the other hand, Ivies like HYSPM focus on the student as a whole (which is why they hate academic drones), and see what other qualities define that student, and their character/personality. These schools love students who are unique in their own way, and do stuff because they want to, not because they have to. They want more well-rounded students who do other activities like music, volunteering, athletics, community projects, study abroad, etc. Stuff that makes you different from all others. After quickly looking up the [CDS of Princeton](University Enrollment Statistics | Office of the Registrar) and the [CDS of Vanderbuilt](https://virg.vanderbilt.edu/virgweb/CDSC.aspx?year=2015), they have very similar qualities they look for in students, so I can’t reflect on that much. But, to directly answer your questions, I’m going to guess Princeton thought you may be a good candidate (not necessarily the best), and Vanderbuilt just doesn’t think you’ll fit? For Tulane and Chicago, I’d still keep my mind open! Don’t doubt yourself!
