<p>alright ill just be blunt- i think that 2 Iron is a huge tool. I’m a junior in high school right now and i can tell you from a student’s perspective, people who act like 2 Iron (provided that his/her piece is reflective of his/her personality outside of these forums) are generally disliked. 2 iron is going to have a hard time making frineds in college with that mindset, so i suggest he/she learn some humility.</p>
<p>Arrogant? I think people who are calling him arrogant, while true (and he even admitted it himself, like the first line), is missing the bigger point of things. That’s just me, I guess. Arrogance just isn’t the main point I’m reading in his post.</p>
<p>As a sophomore who can empathize with you almost entirely (I’m incredibly lazy, it’s beyond words, and I hope to slowly change that sometime soon), eh, what can I say, sometimes the circumstances are not in favor of people. GL in college bro.</p>
<p>Very depressing. :(</p>
<p>If I were you (and I’ll likely be in the same situation) I wouldn’t consider this the end of the world, however.</p>
<p>I’d take a gap year and travel the world, which has always been a dream of mine.</p>
<p>I would never suggest you get locked into something you aren’t really excited about.</p>
<p>Wow, 2390 and three 800s on SAT II. I’d murder for those scores. </p>
<p>Sucks that you got those rejections</p>
<p>admitting that you are arrogant doesnt mitigate or justify your arrogance. i admit that i am mean to my little sister sometimes; does that make my meaness any less mean? Is my sister less hurt because i admitted i am mean to her? No and no. 2-iron learn some humility my friend. remember that you will have to live with other people come september!!!</p>
<p>Anyone dare to aim high has to be a bit arrogant. If you look at how many people get accepted to those top tier schools and how many people get rejected, you have to believe you are good enough to compete. But when you do, it is doubly hard when you get shot down. No risk, no return.</p>
<p>My daughter is a dancer. She has to audition for every part. Every time she goes on that stage, she needs to believe she is better than anyone there. When she doesn’t get the lead, she feels just like OP - even though she didn’t get it this time, it’s not going to get her down, she is still going to pick herself up and do it again next time. She is not going to let someone tell her that she is not good enough. If some of you call it arrogance, I call it confidence.</p>
<p>I am sure it offends some people that OP thinks UVA is settling, but OP did aim higher and had the credential to do so.</p>
<p>no offense, ben10, but you can’t really understand this process until its over.</p>
<p>“I am sure it offends some people that OP thinks UVA is settling, but OP did aim higher and had the credential to do so.”</p>
<p>Most of the people who apply to the very top schools have the stats that would allow them to be accepted if there were enough space.</p>
<p>What I find arrogant about the OP’s posts is how he assumes that because U Va is ranked lower than were some schools that he’d applied to, he is guaranteed to be at the top of the class at U Va. Just because it’s ranked lower than places like Harvard, which waitlisted him, doesn’t mean that everyone at U Va is much stupider than he is. </p>
<p>Even with lots of hard work, the OP may not get straight As or find himself at the top of the class at U Va. There are plenty of extremely intelligent, hardworking students there, including some who may have turned down Ivies or who would have been accepted to more competitive schools if they’d bothered to apply to them.</p>
<p>I think this is a great post! I would love it if other seniors would post their stories for c/o 2010 to read, because they are very helpful (hint hint wink wink). </p>
<p>This gives me a more realistic view of the admissions process - not everyone gets into their dream school, even if they are a fantastic applicant. Thanks.</p>
<p>There are a lot of intelligent people out there, but the key is “if they’d bothered to apply,” or had the confidence to compete.</p>
<p>I am sure there are some very smart people at UVA, but on average compared to other higher ranked school…Not.</p>
<p>Just an idea…</p>
<p>If this is how everyone considers OP’s attitude to be, maybe his teacher recs reflected that and were the reason he got rejected…?</p>
<p>I enjoyed your post, man. I’m sorry Princeton and Northwestern didn’t work out, but regardless, I am sure you have a FANTASTIC time at UVA. You sound like a really smart, awesome fellow – although knowing your background, I’m really worried about colleges now o.O</p>
<p>By the way, just wondering – what does “Match” mean when you had that on your list of prospective colleges as a label?</p>
<p>It was a quick post from me before I went to sleep, it was a bit short and could be taken the wrong way.</p>
<p>For many students, college admission maybe the first time they have ever faced rejections. The competition has become a lot more fierce in the last 10 years. Most people have been taught as long as you work hard then you should be able to reach your goal. It didn’t happen for OP, and it didn’t happen for thousands of other students this year. </p>
<p>OP’s self reflection and angst he felt is very normal. As an adult, I’ve had many setbacks, and I’ve also many triumphs in my life. I know now not to let one setback to define me as a person. I don’t think that’s the case for many young people. Many athletes and performers learn how to deal with “defeat” very early on in life. It builds character and it toughens one up mentally. </p>
<p>OP could decide he wants to be top of his class at UVA (maybe transfer or stay then apply to Princeton/NU for gradudate school), or he could settle and be the bottom of his class. That will be his deciding moment in life, not the college process, unless he lets it. From reading his post, it doesn’t appear he is letting this setback define who he is. </p>
<p>My daugther got into American Ballet Theater summer program (a top program), but did not get into School of American Ballet (feeder school for New York City Ballet). Everyone knows ABT a great school, but it is not as hard to get into as SAB. Are there dancers at ABT that are just as good as SAB? Absolutely. But every dancer at SAB probably would be the top 20% of ABT program. Is my daughter arrogant enough to think she should have been admitted to SAB? Absolutely. Is she going to let this setback to stop her from dancing? No.</p>
<p>OP could have taken Princeton, NU, UVA out of his post and substituted them with other names and still everything he felt applies. I hope what many students get out of OP’s post is college admission is a crap shoot, don’t be too confident, make sure you have good matches/safeties. I personally don’t think OP was arrogant in thinking he could have done better (or deserved better), but he is picking himself up and moving on, which is what’s importan.</p>
<p>Best of luck at UVA 2-iron! I think it is quite refreshing to hear an honest post about the frustration of college admissions. Even though many people are saying your post was arrogant, I’m sure they would have felt the same way had they had your scores.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t think he assumed he will be getting a 4.0. From his post it says he will work his tail off to get a 4.0. I think that motivation to prove people wrong, to go further in life will reward him. Personally I would feel similarly to OP if I had done so well and not gotten into my dream school. I consider my self lucky to get into a top college like Duke, but I did not have the stats that the OP had. It goes to show you that college admissions are difficult to understand. Good Luke 2-Iron!</p>
<p>This is what he wrote, and this sounds to me like he is assuming that it won’t be that hard to get a 4.0 at U Va. because he’s very smart, will work very hard and it’s only ranked 23rd in the country. Sounds to me like he thinks he is much smarter than are the students at U Va. I think he has a lot to learn about the world and about humility.</p>
<p>“and I will always have my most valued asset— my brains. I know I will excel at UVA because I’m too darn smart to fall back in the pack at the nation’s twenty-third ranked university…So I will go to UVA and work my tail off. I’ll get my 4.0 and try to transfer to Northwestern.”</p>
<p>^missed that part </p>
<p>Many people choose to not attend HYPS for various reasons and will attend a state school. Therefore, nothing is ever easy or a guarantee. But as long as one works hard, that is all one can ask. 2-Iron, focus on the working hard and not on the I can’t fall back at the 23rd ranked university, because 23rd is still very high filled with very intelligent people.</p>
<p>I agree with a lot of points in your post. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous how colleges all look for kids involved in clubs and outgoing extra-curricular activities. Some extremely intelligent kids are introverted, and apparently, colleges hate these kids.</p>
<p>I think that the OP was realistic in his list - the schools he didn’t get into were, by his own admission, reaches. This is why you want to have more match schools than reaches. If he had applied to more schools that were match he would have gotten into more schools.</p>
<p>Best of luck at UVA. You may end up loving it and not want to transfer after all. Thank you for sharing your story.</p>
<p>The people that are considering him too arrogant and are sickened are fools. </p>
<p>To the OP, my best friend had very similar stats to yours (though not as perfect) and had a very similar personality (and I’d say I have a pretty similar personality too), and he was rejected from all seven ivy league schools he applied to and a lot of other top schools. He ended up at WashU and is having the time of his life there. Who knows you may end up liking UVA and with that “never say die” attitude you’ll definitely end up being someone someday. A story like yours should remind everyone who got admitted to top schools that that could have been them. Good Luck to you!</p>