<p>Actually, I'm rather serious when it comes to stuff like this. It seems like so many people are applying to school primarily for the name.</p>
<p>People seems to apply to like every Ivy League. And then when decisions come out, a crapload of people don't get into the ONE Ivy they actually want to go to. </p>
<p>Does anybody else see something wrong with this situation?</p>
<p>haha, you sound just like me yesterday, greenleaf... i agree, too many people apply to ivies that they don't wanna go to... and it ends up screwinng almost everyone!</p>
<p>Yale was my number one, and that was the only ivy I applied to cause i knew i didnt wanna go to any of the other ones. i thought i had the stats (1560, 780 780 700, 4.0, ecs, etc.), but i got flat out rejected.... (tear!!!)</p>
<p>I applied to 4 Ivies- I have been rejected at 2 (Yale and HArvard), waitlisted at one (Penn) and I'm waiting for Princeton.</p>
<p>For the record, Princeton is my first choice but going by my track record I will probably be rejected there too.</p>
<p>Jomama I sympathize- I thought I had the stats too- 1600,800,800,760, strong GPA, reasonable ECs and essays etc. and I got flat out rejected too! All this makes me realize that I am probably not the kind of candidate that Ivy Leagues want because I KNOW that I couldnt have done anything more. If thats the case, so be it...its not like I wont be going to college or anything :) THAT would be a disaster...</p>
<p>see i dont agree with applying to all the ivies either for the heck of it. i applied to harvard, yale, princeton, and dartmouth. with yale and princeton being my top 2 .. and dartmouth a diiiistant 3rd, but applying because if i didnt get in princeton or yale it's a great school with special programs that i'm into (genetics, neuroscience, and tang soo do) and many characteristics I truly like, and harvard i didnt know..i 'd heard so many bad things about the undergrad experience there that i was more or less waiting to hear back from them and if i got in, the big if, i would take it from there based on where else i was accepted. the thing is i told myself i'd be quite happy with dartmouth if i didnt get in yale or princeton when honestly i was just saying that and never really thinking the what if i dont get in yale or princeton. deep down , foolishly and naively, i thought that if someone wants something THAT bad, surely they must get it. and then i was rejected from yale and went....o.. so i'm griping about dartmouth during this moment of disillusionment altho it is still a great match</p>
<p>im in the same position....i need to get into Princeton....being waitlisted at UPenn is not fun....and by the way, has anyone been waitlisted at Princeton yet?</p>
<p>Well I applied to all Ivies-got into the one in whose app I had put in the least work and the one I (used to) love the least</p>
<p>which, if i may?</p>
<p>Sorry, but while we are in a thread about stirring up conflict, I might as well say what is on my mind...</p>
<p>It seems that these people posting here (myself included) are just the people you all are talking about. </p>
<p>"People seems to apply to like every Ivy League. And then when decisions come out, a crapload of people don't get into the ONE Ivy they actually want to go to."</p>
<p>Greenleaf, yes, I do agree with you. I see this too. However, I too applied to three Ivies and MIT (which I consider in the same catagory, for all intents and purposes). Yes... I played the game too. I applied to a handful because you can't apply to just one and really count on it. It is just that so few people get in, that you'll never know. You all (and myself) are living examples of this. Perfect scores, perfect everything, "I KNOW that I couldnt have done anything more." Pretty much, we are describing the entire tens of thousands who put themselves and their self-esteems on the line each year by submitting an application to an Ivy League school. </p>
<p>I too get somewhat dejected when I see someone posting a record of five Ivy acceptances. That is five spots. They will only choose one. Four people could have had those other spots. Now, there are people floating around at the end of this week who will have not reached the top at all because they applied to their top one and held back elsewhere. They didn't get in, and some did who will not even take the spot. But you know what... this is the admissions game. You all (and myself!) are playing it too.</p>
<p>Furthermore, it happens even worse. I applied to four top-notch schools, hoping for one. But what if I didn't get it? I had to also apply to some safeties, some middle matches so that I would have options when April comes around. Now that I got my one acceptance at the top notch, I will be turning down those middle/safety schools that might have been a lot of other people's dream school. They got rejected, and I got accepted, but I basically had no real intention of actually attending the school. Nope, that is not fair either. But again, this is the college admissions game. </p>
<p>Basically, I agree with the complaints, but I am not really going to continue in the complaining. I can't because I added to the problem - that would simply be hypocritical. We apply to many because everyone has the same fear - they will not get in. It is a reasonable fear indeed, and this is the reality. We feel the necessity in applying. Some get lucky. Some get lucky multiple times. Some don't, and feel the dejection of looking upon those who were lucky many times over. But again... this is the game. Not everyone wins. The world is not perfect. </p>
<p>So, I suppose in conclusion... sorry it is so? I don't really know what to tell you all...</p>
<p>P.S. - sorry for such a long post!</p>
<p>don't feel so bad about Yale.</p>
<p>This year yale only wanted legacies, and white girls who want to do math and science. At least that's all I could find on the yale board.</p>
<p>hey soanyhows, I have a vague idea of who you are talking about :)! I am sorry if I took someone spot, but hey like you said this is the admission game. When I was slaving over the admission process, nowhere in my wildest dreams would I have thought receiving acceptances to any Ivies, but it happened. I cannot explain it, the only thing that comes in mind is that I am blessed because a close friend of mine with about the same stats and drive was both rejected from Harvard and Yale while I got into both. All I can say is that the College Admission Process has me baffled.
And again I am deeply sorry for those who did not receive the same news as I did.</p>
<p>Soanyhows, I really appreciate your response.
I think the idea I had in the back of my mind when creating this thread was brought about by irritation of seeing "well, i got in, even though i spent, like, no time on the application and don't want to go here" written on threads.
The truth is, a major reason that the ivy leagues get so many applications is because of the name. You can go to a good school like university of wisconsin and get a great education, yet go to yale or harvard and get an awful education. It depends on the person. There are plenty of people that have honest wants to attend a school for reasons other than the prestige and name, but I wish that American society was conned into thinking that the Ivies (and Ivy-level schools) are the only ones out there.</p>
<p>JoMama, evenstar, etc. I feel your pain, believe me, I do.</p>
<p>Basically... please, if there are any juniors reading this, don't apply to a school purely because of the name. You may be taking away the spot of someone who truly wants to go there.</p>
<p>The really sad thing is until October, Princeton was the only Ivy League I wanted to apply to. In fact I decided to apply to Yale on December 27th!</p>
<p>I really should have included more matches/safeties in my list.</p>
<p>But hey, no use crying over what's already happened :)</p>
<p>To Soanyhows:
No, it was good. I agree with you, and must also admit to"playing the game". I applied to schools which I felt would fit my interests, some more than others, but it seems that the one I had set the most hope in to attend needs more proof. This includes some top schools; but they weren't chosen for their status as a "top school" (this is subjective in every family, but I want to fit in socially and academically in my university - I'll be there for at least four years). I feel regret every time I see someone that posts on a board, who is absolutely dejected at their rejection from a school which they had pegged as their "number one" or had been interested in since childhood; because by applying there, I may have reduced their chances of acceptance; or have put them in the agonizing waitlist limbo. </p>
<p>But, I have to add:
This is the system, ladies and gentlemen. You apply, and in the end, you are either rejected or accepted. If you apply to a school with no real intention of attending, (at all); then that is just cruel; many others would do anything to take your place, and you have also wasted the adcom's time.
No one can "own" a place at a university, it is earned through hard work and endurance. If you are not accepted, maybe it isn't the place for you, but someone else's acceptance should not be construed as a theft of your spot. </p>
<p>And:
I congratulate everyone on CC on their acceptances, as well as the dignity with which a lot of people are carrying their "not so fairy-tale" outcomes, good luck and best wishes whereever you go.</p>
<p>I was feeling dejected at some of the outcomes in my case, but then I remember all of the sacrifices that my parents have made for my to even get this far. If they hadn't provided for my siblings and me; I would be looking at very sparse options. So, I also thank my mother and father (even though it's unlikely that they'll read this), and all the parents on CC as well. Thanks. :)</p>
<p>"I wish that American society was conned into thinking that the Ivies (and Ivy-level schools) are the only ones out there."</p>
<p>Woops! That's not what I wish...</p>
<p>Sorry, there should be a "not" in there -- ...society was not conned...</p>
<p>I think people apply to so many Ivys because no can be completely sure which ones will accept. For example, my top choices were Harvard and Princeton, but those schools are so selective that I applied to some of the other Ivys to be safe: there are few people that are so great that they can be 100% sure that Princeton will accept them. When I got my decisions, I was surprised to be waitlisted at Penn and Yale when I thought that I had a decent chance at those schools...but I was accepted to other schools (like Columbia) that I never dreamed I could get into. So you never know...</p>
<p>Best of luck to those still waiting to hear from Princeton.</p>