<p>Hi everyone.</p>
<p>I applied to 8 schools, got into 5 (which I'm REALLY grateful for), got rejected from 2 (Williams and Brown), and got waitlisted at 1. The thing is I got waitlisted at Princeton. Yes, I'm a legacy, but does that really make that much of a difference? I did not get waitlisted at Williams or Brown. </p>
<p>If anybody has any insight, I'd appreciate it. Right now, I'm looking to go to Berkeley!</p>
<p>Legacy makes a bit of difference. Maybe one of the adcoms just liked your essay.</p>
<p>And yeah, go Berkeley!!</p>
<p>Haha thanks! I'm excited!</p>
<p>This may not be what happened in your case, but I have read that in cases of legacies, that instead of a rejection, they waitlist so that the legacy families don't get upset</p>
<p>its to soften the blow a bit</p>
<p>In my case there wasn't really a blow to soften, I was flattered to be waitlisted at Princeton during such a difficult year!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info though.</p>
<p>I have heard the same about waitlisting legacy families instead of outright rejecting them. They want you guys to keep donating money.</p>
<p>Hahaha I wish my family had the means to donate, I might've gotten in then!</p>
<p>... also there is no clear-cut hierarchy of colleges. You could have easily been accepted by Princeton and regected by Brown. </p>
<p>There is a degree of randomness is college admissions, and all colleges are looking for slightly (or perhaps greatly) different things in candidates. Plus each college revieves a different "portrait" of you as a candidate, either through their supplement to the Common App or through a completely unique separate application.</p>
<p>Brown's separate application is quite extensive and unique when compared to the meager supplement to the common app required by Princeton... it is a big leap of faith to assume that both schools were evaluating the same candidate. You may be a person, but colleges evalutate the candidate described on paper in front of them.</p>
<p>What Vericam says is true. Admissions decisions can be random. For example, I was waitlisted by Brown, but I was rejected by Princeton.</p>
<p>freckleface303, I'm also looking into Berkeley.</p>
<p>I was waitlisted at Columbia... and rejected at Georgetown. Just goes to show you how random everything is.</p>
<p>nhsharvard: w00t! Can't beat the weather.</p>
<p>Definitely, go to Berkeley, without a second thought! I'm a native Southern Californian, living in Kentucky these past 23 years, and some of my fondest memories were times spent in the Bay Area, especially around Berkeley. I remember years ago seeing graffiti in a Berkeley bathroom that made a lasting impression: "I'd rather be stomping imperialism." That alone says so much about this wonderful place. ... My daughter was rejected from Brown last year (she's a freshman at Carleton now). Her test scores, grades, ECs, recs, etc. were wonderful, but these Ivys get more outstanding applicants than they know what to do with. If Berkeley wants you, go for it! My feeling has always been, go to the school you love--that loves you back. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks so much, what you wrote really means a lot for all of us.</p>
<p>frekleface--are you from California? Something I urged both of my girls to do was to go away from home for college. We're in Kentucky. They're at school in Minnesota and northern Ohio!</p>
<p>"I was waitlisted at Columbia... and rejected at Georgetown. Just goes to show you how random everything is."</p>
<p>This doesn't say how random admissions are. Columbia & Georgetown are really selective schools so it's no that you got rejected at one & waitlisted at the other; unless you had perfect stats and cured cancer or something.</p>
<p>Georgetown is considerably easier to get into than Columbia (at my school, if you have around a 4.2 unweighted GPA and ~1450 SAT scores, you're in). Definitely not the case for Columbia.</p>
<p>Yea... there is no hierachy of colleges. I can't stress that enough. Add to it the fact that each college recieves a different application, and account for a small (very small in comparison to the other factors) degree of randomness, and you will get seemingly "odd" descisions.</p>
<p>I got walisted at Columbia too. XD And got into NYU GSP. =/</p>
<p>The admissions department is looking for a well rounded class. If you played tuba and your application was reviewed by Brown after 23 other tuba players had already been reviewed, you'd be rejected. If you were the first tuba player who application was read at Columbia, you'd have a good shot with them - unless you were from Kentucky and the other 11 Kentucky applicants played oboe which was even more desired that tuba. You never know.</p>