<p>incoming seniors, i was where you were exactly one year ago. since you are on cc, you are likely very admissions savvy already. however the one thing i wish i learned last year was to never, ever fall in love with a school. it is dangerous. sure you can have a vague idea of your favorites list, but when you go from grouping them as "Reaches", "Matches", and "Safeties", to "Dream School" and "the rest", you are playing with fire. no matter how smart you think you are, chances are you will not be attending your dream school and by default, settling for second best. I made this tragic mistake by obsessing over a certain HYP institution. Every essay I wrote, every test I took, every e.c. I continued on with was for this dream school. and the worst part was I was honest with my classmates that this was my one and only dream school. long story short, I applied early, got deferred and spent the bulk of the winter focusing on a deferal update for this school (on a side note, I somehow managed to send off 12 other applications and get all A's). Come late March, my dream school breaks my heart (although probably made some people I know happy). not even waitlisted, just rejected :( Of course I am too depressed to care much about the fact that I was accepted into a different member of the HYP trio. the moral of the story is by becoming illogically attached to one school, you set yourself up for failure. i'm still not completely over that rejection. I would have been so much better off had I just hoped for any ivy (minus Cornell). I hope my experience helps some of you guys. cc'ers, rest assured that you will get into some amazing schools. the work has already been done. just be smart about your emotions, otherwise you might end up like me, roming around princeton in an old gray Yale t-shirt.</p>
<p>not everybodies dream school is a reach though.</p>
<p>I have 3, and they are all matches for me, so im likeley to get into one at least.</p>
<p>^^ exactly what I was about to say. Dream schools aren't necessarily the most insanely difficult to get into.</p>
<p>My dream school is Berkeley, and I'd easily choose it over Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc.</p>
<p>And it sounds like you let college admissions consume you -- "Every essay I wrote, every test I took, every e.c. I continued on with was for this dream school." That's sorta sad, since you should do things you want for yourself, not for college.</p>
<p>As an added note, the irony of your example (yourself) dilutes the effect of your advice (ohnoes, not Princeton! Perish the thought!).</p>
<p>your right kyle, it is sad. that's why I titled it "advice" and added "hope my experience will help some of you." </p>
<p>I don't think my college acceptance dilutes the validity of my advice though. I really put minimal effort into that specific application, and maybe lucked out. All I am saying is that prestige and rankings are fine, but I would have been a lot happier if I grouped colleges beforehand, not ranked them. </p>
<p>BIGTWIX, true, but what might be your match is another poster's reach. And if you take a poll of cc'ers "dream school," many will have a sub 15% admit rate. Sometimes on cc we get too focused on making sure advice is universally applicable and forget about the reality of most peoples situation.</p>
<p>I totally agree what OP said. Exact same thing happend to my daughter. We were too focused on Columbia because everyone (her college counselor included) thought she would be a shoo-in (the schools has a very good track record with Columbia). It was heart broken when it didn't happen. There was a lot of twists and turns between Jan to May. She is very happy about going to Cornell tomorrow. I am very happy for her too because at the end I think it's a better fit for her. I think she would give the same advice to anyone - do not fall in love until you get your acceptance, find matches you would be happy to go to. I am sure OP had good enough stats to have expected to be accepted to her first choice, but it doesn't always work out that way. Huge lesson to learn.</p>
<p>My friend has his heart set on going to Columbia next year, and I've been trying to convince him not to be so focused on this one school (he did exactly what you said, sorting his college list into "Dream School" and "others."). The thing is, though, I'm almost positive he won't get in (8th in the class of 300, but 1960 SAT first time... he's retaking, but I don't know how much he'll go up...), and I'm not sure he'll even get into a school of Columbia's caliber. Do you have any ideas on how to convince someone who is very stubborn to get rid of this attitude?</p>
<p>yeah, I'm careful not to set too much on a dream school.</p>
<p>I dont see how anyone can pick a "dream school". I love at least 10 universities as my top choice, which range from Yale to University of Pittsburgh....most of these universities are very similar, and the things I like about each overlap with many other universities</p>
<p>la montagne: It's admirable that you want to save your friend the forseeable misfortune of being rejected from the (very) selective school he set his heart on, but I don't think there's anything you can or should do. You might try to help him realize how selective Columbia is, or offer to proofread his application, but you shouldn't try to change his mind about Columbia.</p>
<p>I agree with RootBeerCaesar. I have multiple dream schools. :) I just love them all, haha.</p>
<p>OP, I understand that Yale was your dream, but... come on, Princeton? That's nothing to mope about. I would be skipping around the house 24/7.</p>
<p>OP, frankly I find your story pathetic and embarassing. Poor you, having to slog it out at Princeton when you really loved Yale. Boo hoo.</p>
<p>OP = 2 posts = 1st post was this thread = troll mabye?</p>
<p>You know whats funny? After reading this post the first thought in my mind was, "Wow, I wonder what her stats were to be accepted by one of the big three." </p>
<p>I apperciate what you're trying to say about not getting too attached to a reach, and I agree too. But you know, using yourself as an example, when you got into Princeton...I mean, Princeton is pretty amazing...really.</p>
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OP = 2 posts = 1st post was this thread = troll mabye?
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</p>
<p>Her thread doesn't sound troll-like in manner...</p>
<p>Bay, honesty can be "pathetic and embarassing." Sorry I let the truth get in the way of being cool. but you are TOTALLY missing the point. My unhappiness with such a solid accomplishment illustrates just how DANGEROUS it is to pick a favorite. If you are shooting for the nation's top schools, strive for a group of them, not a single place.</p>
<p>I don't think OP is crying about going to Princeton, but it was not his/her first choice. It's no different than if your stats make you a good candidate for 3 state schools, and you didn't get into the one you wanted. I think if OP was not so attached to Yale from the beginning, she could have celebrated her Princeton admittance a lot more. I think OP is genuine because my older D experienced the exact same thing. </p>
<p>Would you all agree with OP more, if he/she got into a different school? I think there is a bit of school envy, no?</p>
<p>"My friend has his heart set on going to Columbia next year, and I've been trying to convince him not to be so focused on this one school (he did exactly what you said, sorting his college list into "Dream School" and "others."). The thing is, though, I'm almost positive he won't get in (8th in the class of 300, but 1960 SAT first time... he's retaking, but I don't know how much he'll go up...), and I'm not sure he'll even get into a school of Columbia's caliber. Do you have any ideas on how to convince someone who is very stubborn to get rid of this attitude?"</p>
<p>Tell him to face the facts. If he doesnt get over a 2100, there is a great (almost guaranteed) chance that he will be rejected.</p>
<p>Sorry, whothebelltolls, it is you who is missing the point. Anyone who "falls in love with" (boy do I hate that phrase - please save it for someone who matters), HYP to the point that not being admitted to one of them is a tragedy, is arrogant, immature and not particularly smart.</p>
<p>And yes, it does make a difference that it is HYP that s/he is referring to as opposed to several state schools.</p>
<p>but she's not saying its a tragedy to get into princeton. shes just saying it would have been better if she wasn't so set on yale and is using her experience to tell others not to do the same so they won't complete freak out if their rejected by their dream school when they could end up at an another equally good school. i'm not quite sure why you have such a problem with this.</p>
<p>^^ the OP said, "Of course I am too depressed to care much about the fact that I was accepted into a different member of the HYP trio." That smacks of immaturity.</p>