Penn State generally requires that transfer or commonwealth campus students complete two full years before going to UP. I don’t know whether AP credits would allow an earlier transfer, but I doubt it.
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We’re all so supportive when a kid doesn’t want to leave the South; is choosing between Messiah, Liberty and Oral Roberts; when a kid from PNW is wondering if the weather in Minnesota will be too much a difference from what she’s used to.
But a kid from MA needs to live in Tulsa or Huntsville to prove he’s not parochial???
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Please let your parents know that BU is a safety for no one. Lots of misconceptions it seems, on the part of your parents and the advisor.
Briefly, you have to consider the colleges’ acceptance rates when you apply. BU’s is 18.6%. A reach for all. It’s very possible that with your high GPA and test scores, you were WL’ed or rejected due to yield protection. IOW, some colleges perhaps didn’t admit you because they suspected you wouldn’t enroll, i.e., you were using them as “safeties.” Or it could be because you didn’t demonstrate any interest, if they consider it.
But any college with, say, an acceptance rate of 30% or lower, IMO is not ever a safety and maybe not even a match. At the very most selective schools, all applicants will have great grades and test scores, so it’s everything else that makes the difference.
Also, it’s possible that the APs could actually have been seen as a bit of problem. Did your school offer them? Or did you self study? Colleges prefer to see AP tests taken in conjunction with a graded class. They really want to see that grade. They are sometimes wary of students who load up on self-studied AP tests. Typically, a lot of self studied APs aren’t that helpful to your application.
If you talk to your GC at school, ask about your level of rigor. I see your weighted GPA is high, but we aren’t sure exactly what your courses were. Many of the schools you applied to will look for the designation of “most rigorous”. Doesn’t hurt to find out what your GC said.
Some of your WL’s may be possible, but are you sure you would be happy to attend the schools you were WL’ed at? If not, maybe strongly consider a gap year.
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Although my parents prefer me staying in the North, they should be fine with me attending college in other parts of the nation. I don’t think they will support an overseas education since we immigrated to the U.S. when I was young for the purpose of attending US clleges.
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That might have been problematic since I self-studied for about half of the APs. Because my school mostly offered STEM APs so I took a lot of history and government APs on my own, I had to also self-study the AP Latin exam because my school doesn’t offer the course.
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If a student wants to attend college in the south, that’s fine. Many here in the north now do, primarily because of cost.
But it is not the right fit for everyone. I have friends who are POC who won’t drive through certain states, let alone send their kids to school in them. My daughters would not be comfortable attending schools in certain states because of laws that limit their rights as women.
I could go on, but the point is sometimes people need to let it go when they suggest certain schools as an easy answer for everyone. They aren’t.
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This was such terrible, terrible advice. You can’t treat your safety or match schools like safeties. That will undoubtedly come across in the application. Your safest safety needs to be treated with as much love and care as your reach schools.
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Or more love!
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Usually he works with students who are from China or goes to top 10 boarding schools like Groton, PA and PEA. Maybe he is not too familiar with how competitive public school students pool is? I attended a boarding school like that until joining in my current high school.
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Also OP, I haven’t seen you respond to the suggestions you have your school guidance counselor help you reach out to schools that waitlisted you. Of your waitlists, which is your favorite? Would you 100% attend if accepted? If so, that school needs to know they’re your first choice.
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The OP indicated he was very interested in Houston and Rice.
As a mixed Asian/White family, we just toured Rice and my D loved it because of its multiculturalism.
When we visited BC, she disliked it because it was basically a white preppy, homogenous environment.
These “kids wont apply to southern schools” is a false narrative , especially in big cities with more people of color than all of New England combined. Boston is one of the most racist cities in the country.
Rice is 30% white.
BC is 65% white.
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Please move away from the southern schools debate and back to the OP. Thank you!
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Note that U.S. News, for example, which prominently ranks colleges, does not provide a general top-20 list.
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I would honestly definitely attend any of the waitlist schools, and my counselor said that she will try call them on my behalf, I just felt that a student would need extraordinary luck to get accepted from waitlist considering how competitive this year has been so far so I didn’t think it would be realistic for me.
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You need to send a letter of continued interest to any colleges you are strongly considering on your WL. Unfortunately, a LOCI will probably have no effect at your most selective WL schools. At the less selective ones though, a LOCI might help.
Please share all schools that waitlisted you. We can give you better advice.
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Yes, you need to send LOCI to each right away. Make a list of your waitlists and prioritize them, then have your school counselor help you work that list. If those schools hear they are your number one choice and will attend if accepted from your counselor, that may well move the needle. Don’t assume those schools are all lost.
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I would try to get in off the waitlist at schools you might like, or call the other UMass admissions offices. The other alternative is to work this summer and fall and go to UMass Amherst in spring 2024.
If you redo essays, don’t let any adult change them too much. That is another thing that can go wrong.
I would also check and see if you can still apply as a freshman if you take a college class this fall, or two.
Can You Reapply to a College After Getting Rejected? (prepscholar.com)
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Confused by what your comment is related to …
@AirMetro Certain schools are still avail. Bama. Arizona. These are 100% assured. Apply now. Get accepted in a week. Low cost. That’s a safety valve.
Tulsa. And more. So is URI potentially but the difference is it’s not an assurance. Same with Lowell, WVU, Michigan State and more. You’d have to check the Classics offerings at each.
There’s no difference between a PSU, Rutgers, Minnesota, Pitt vs a Bama or Arizona so it’s not a pedigree thing. Or Michigan State if they want you to stay North but Michigan State is not assured at this late time. But it’s closer to home than UMN. You can throw in an app wherever now to at least land a four year seat!! And with a quick response. At least to have in your back pocket. The WL follow up is fine but a very very very long shot. Especially if to this point you haven’t sent in LOCIs and demonstrated interest where it’s considered.
No reason you can’t start at a four year school in the Fall if you wanted to. And with great merit.
Were you given horrible advice ? Clearly. That’s partially on your parents and reading through the thread, they need to fix. And it’s easy to fix. Again Bama has more national merit scholars than anyone. So you’re far from the top kid. Arizona is seriously diverse. Tulsa is more in line with the Vandy, WUSTL, Emory you applied for…a couple notches lower but loaded with smart kids due to the free ride for national merit semi finalists.
Btw you can in theory go to PSU but the two year to UP thing is likely mostly locals since it’s sort of community college - ish.
To me if yiu want to start in a four year school, no reason yiu can’t … northeast, south, west, Midwest….very reputable schools.
And since you already applied in all regions of the country, to dissuade you based on region seems silly to me.
Best of luck. Cover your bases with an assured app for the fall and then re evaluate from there …would be how I’d handle it.
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OP: I am so sorry things didn’t work out they way you wanted. Having just gone through these year’s college admissions with my student, I know that it is so incredibly competitive. The slightest edge or the slightest problem can make a big difference in the outcomes, and it’s important to treat each school individually and not in buckets like “T-20s” or “Ivies” or “top schools.” They are all different, and they are all looking for different things.
Your statement above really bothers me. There are so many students with superb stats like yours that I am convinced that Letters of Recommendation and essays make a huge difference to many schools.
First, on the essays, the words need to be YOURS, and no one else’s. Admissions officers read so many essays that I suspect that they are quite adept at figuring out if the student wrote the essay on their own. Definitely have others read your essays and provide guidance, but always make sure it is your own. I can read your statement above in a couple of different ways.
Also, and not to belabor a point, but “supplemental essays” are not really supplemental at competitive schools. IMO, if a candidate doesn’t submit the supplemental essays, it sends a signal that the student is not all that interested in the school and/or isn’t willing to put in the work. If you go through the admissions process again, please do consider submitting the supplemental essays.
Folks here have suggested discussing this with your guidance counselor. That’s a great idea. Letters of recommendation from GC and teachers also can help set you apart. Hopefully, if you do this again, find the right set of teachers who will be able to articulate in their LoRs why you’re a great candidate.
Finally, don’t get stuck on a single school or type of school. Like the posters here have suggested, have a range of safeties/matches/reaches or whatever name you want to use. But have a healthy mix of each at schools you think you will be happy to attend.
All that being said, you have done tremendous work in high school. If you go through the admissions process again, treat each application individually and put your all into it. I wish you the very best!
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Can this student still get a full ride from Alabama? Absolutely concur, if this is possible, apply right now. It will take you 10 minutes to submit your common app. There are no supplementals. No one would ever look down on any student for taking a full ride with honor college. As previously stated, there are more national merit finalists at Alabama than at any school in the country. High stats students should absolutely look at these auto merit schools.