<p>I do know that rejection is a part of life . Yet when I recieved my decisions this time , i felt as if they were not what I deserved . In all the misery , I did believe that it was not fair . I'd just like to ask - is what I have recieved fair?</p>
<p>I'll give a lil bit of my backgound -</p>
<p>17 yr old male from India
Finished CBSE Class XII
SAT I - 1430 (660V 770M)
SAT II - 2170 (760 Math IIC , 730 Math IC , 680 Writing)
TOEFL - 277/300</p>
<p>Got 94% in CBSE Class X Boards
School Rank - 3/138
District Rank - 16/2500 approx</p>
<p>ECs-
Editor of School Magazine for 4 years
Vice Captain of Debating Team
Member of School Quiz Team
Member of School Cricket Team</p>
<p>HOOK - 5 year diploma in Indian Classical Music (Tabla)
Diploma recognized by Government Institutes
Recorded a CD which was sent along.</p>
<p>Good Essay (Everybody thought so)
Recommendations by senior teachers</p>
<p>The problem was finances EFC was $6000. I pledged $6800 .
I was told that if the College was really interested in me , then it might just give me aid</p>
<p>Oh yeah , my GPA is 4.0/4.0 (UW)
Current Rank is 2/36</p>
<p>This is what happened to my applications -</p>
<p>Colgate University (ED I) - REJECTED
Colby College - REJECTED
Claremont McKenna - NO ANSWER
Dartmouth College - REJECTED
Franklin & Marshall - REJECTED
Macalester College - REJECTED
Oberlin College - REJECTED
Occidental College - REJECTED
Trinity College - REJECTED
Vanderbilt Univeristy - NO ANSWER
Williams College - REJECTED
College of Wooster - ACCEPTED (want me to pay $17,000)
Singapore Management U - ACCEPTED</p>
<p>I would just like to ask if all this is fair.</p>
<p>whoa maaaaannn that is not fair at all! no offence to these colleges but occidental, franklin& marshall, etc.. are soo way below you. Your school rank is really awesome, i dont kno what CBSE is but 94% is REALLY good. GPA is like excellent!</p>
<p>Maybe it was because of your financial situation but still.. with those grades, you could have gotten all your aid.. It could be your recommendations - maybe they were horrible, teachers saying you r an annoying piece of sh it lol. Or maybe your co curriculars? They do seem a bit short but I'm sure they took your newspaper into consideration..</p>
<p>Even if you got in those schools, you don't deserve them! You are so much better though! Hopefully, Vanderbilt and Claremont McKenna will answer back with an acceptance. For all you know, Vandy couldve accepted you and the post office did something funky to it. Hope you get into vanderbilt cos it's a way better than half the schools on your list.</p>
<p>You could always transfer next year though.
No it is not fair. You are way of a good applicant then what they usually get.. I don't get it!
goodluck though.</p>
<p>Wow, that's unbelievable. A 1430 SAT score is only low for the Ivies and Ivy equivalents, and even then, it's not unheard of for someone with that score to get in (without being legacy, recruited athlete, etc.). Your grades are great and your ECs seem focused and substantial. Absolutely confusing, and frightening at the same time.</p>
<p>I am sorry but I think it is fair for them. I feel even though your stats are good, they are not good enough to stand out and make the college pay 30000 $ every year and what you there. Just my 2 cents</p>
<p>I feel for you man, I feel for u. Nomad's statement is true to a certain extent. The colleges that you applied to are no doubt stingy. Maybe you should have tried some UC schools - might have got some good acceptences there. Your stats are very good, and im surprised about colby's and colgate's decisions. I read about your ED Colgate rejection and was taken aback...it was posted in a different thread I remember some time back. Oh well. Im certain you'l do well wherever you go. Good luck!</p>
<p>thats weird
i had a 1480
90% ICSE (CBSE equivalent) and then basicallt stopped studyin in the 11th and 12th grades. i got so ****ed off with the educational system i just studied enough to pass. however i started a newsletter basically debunking our educational system and kind of justified why i didnt feel the need to study
(i sent copies of these newsletters to the colleges)
and i had a whole bunch of EC's.</p>
<p>thats about it.</p>
<p>i asked for FULL finaid.</p>
<p>this is what happened:</p>
<p>case western reserve (presidential scholarship-full aid)
macalester (full aid)
grinnell (full aid including 12k a year merit money)
colgate (full aid plus some more for living expenses what not)
brandeis (presidential trustee scholarship+ aid=full ride)
Georgetown (have not received aid package as yet)
WUSTL (olin scholarship+some aid= full aid)
Duke (full aid)</p>
<p>plus ive been waitlisted quite a few places. waiting on princeton (hahahah)</p>
<p>so my point is- my grades in the 11th-12th were absolute rubbish. BUT i think my essays were good, and my teachers told me they would put something about my "unconventional streak"</p>
<p>SO either american univs dont give a flying F**K about the indian grading system or i was really lucky. now i dont think i could be lucky at 8 places so i have come to the conclusion that our grades just dont matter.</p>
<p>that being said i am shocked that you've not got in to so many places (macalester?***).</p>
<p>but i also might add that american univs are practical more than anything and i dont think classical indian music can be considered a hook for the simple reason that no one else plays/listens to it there.</p>
<p>so my 0.02$ is: maybe we figured the univs out wrong? maybe their lookin for something other than "unconventional streak"?</p>
<p>my colleges slogan is "i will and i can"
i ran an article in my newspaper titled "i mug and i cram"</p>
<p>Harvard - REJECTED
Yale - REJECTED
*UPenn - REJECTED
MIT - REJECTED
*Duke - REJECTED
Williams - REJECTED
*Trinity College - REJECTED
Princeton - deferred ED, waiting to hear from them now.</p>
<p>I don't have any matches or safeties because I needed almost full aid (EFC of 1k). * Marked ones are need-sensitive, so those rejections are natural.</p>
<p>Don't try to find any rationale in the decisions, the world is not as idealistic or even realistic as you might like it to be.</p>
<p>OMG mercury! Even trinity rejected u? Ur stats are fuc king awesome! So much better than mine! Hopefully, those r not only the schools you applied to? Good luck for prineton
..Getting me nervous for next fall..</p>
<p>don't worry guys, i feel your pain...
i'm an intl currently in the U.S.
Stats: 1560 (800M, 760V); 800/800/790
GPA: 4.0 uw
rank: top 1%
extracirrecular: varsity track (4yrs); sci fair (2 yrs); volunteering (research & summer program metoring, etc); a few officer positions in school, etc...
i DID apply for aid</p>
<p>Well, i'm not saying that i deserve much better, it's just that ppl i know with less credentials but are citizens or residents have easily gotten into better colleges.
in a way i feel like my hard work and dreams don't really mean anything to these colleges
Oh well, this is sorta depressing but i guess colleges aren't everything after all...</p>
<p>i have had a very similar experience...but at the same time i hope that all of us remember that we are applying to AMERICAN colleges and if they elect to admit AMERICAN students, there is nothing wrong with it.</p>
<p>In India, the political parties dont even allow foreign consultants (some willing to consult without pay) because of our national pride/heritage etc...</p>
<p>I'm so sorry Hayden_Richards :)
Your stats are very good, and I was surprised to know that you were not admitted to Trinity and Macca, FM might not admit you due to their financial policy against intls students(not applied for those whom they REALLY like)
, as far as I concerned, many intls were waitlisted by FM, being told that we love your accomplishments but blah blah... (I'm among them :( )
To others, the point's definitely not parents' contribution, but could be personal problem (I just guess so), Willy, CMC and Colgate, It was hard to believe ...
However theer's no such basic line for an intl' to be accepted, don't you feel sad , SMU is a good school though :P, I think S'pore would be more generous, enjoy your time there for one or two years, then transfer to one of those schools that rejected you.
Revenge is sweet, keep trying hayden :)</p>
<p>i guess college admission is a crapshot... u either get lucky or u dont... really... i experienced it myself. i always thought i was going to go to harvard but i never realized how hard it was until i got my rejection letters. rejected at almost everywhere except NYU Stern, UMich, Wellesley, and Smith, considering I applied to more than 15 schools. really... is there no guarantee at anything in life??? r we told to be "regular" and not "extraordinary" since people who seem to be the best at everything end up the ones that are rejected. i have read of 1300 SAT black american male accepted at stanford, harvard, yale and princeton.... with normal GPA (not bad not perfect)... and then you see these people who try extraextraextra hard who practically doesn't sleep like what i am doing right now not getting accepted anywhere... *sighs... why am i still up at 2:00 a.m. if i dont care about school anymore? y am i still writing this da,mn essay on alveoli? how much can a person really talk about alveoli.. enough to fill 3 dam.n pages!?</p>