Please consider asking your GC to audit your application file? Wondering if something got screwed up…like wrong transcript, incorrect GPA calculation, etc.
It just seems so strange that with your stats you were not accepted at more places.
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If the online courses are college courses that you may be taking after high school graduation during a gap year or semester, check all colleges of interest to make sure that they will not disqualify you from frosh admission (requiring you to take their transfer pathway). Colleges’ rules on frosh versus transfer do differ from each other, and are not always easy to find on their web sites.
For example, UMass considers frosh to be those who have attempted fewer than 12 college credits after high school graduation. However, the University of California considers students to be on the transfer pathway if they enroll in any college courses after the summer immediately after high school graduation.
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Well, now you know that his college counseling advice is worse than useless. I hope your parents realize that.
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Unfortunately there are racist or otherwise prejudiced people everywhere - even the NY, MA, IL, MD and not just the rural parts.
Conversely there are many accepting people in all sorts of geographies, even those in conservative strongholds.
It’s unfortunate but it can’t be escaped from. Even in your own immediate area.
But there are plenty of schools in red states, for example, that are inclusive and provide wonderful opportunities for people of any race. I understood some are concerned with state laws and politics and I can appreciate that.
But by this reckoning the student should not have applied to Rice, Emory or WUSTL amongst others.
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Were you waitlisted or rejected from these?
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Get other advice. Like here from mostly people in the know. It seems he had a select clientele that most of us would have success advising. It’s obvious that it didn’t work out well for you with this person.
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I sympathize with the OP.
While I have not read all of this thread, I don’t think anyone has mentioned the upcoming Supreme Court decision that will make discriminating on the basis of race in college admissions illegal.
He is an Asian kid. As a group they are discriminated against. It is likely has has parents (1st gen) who will not go for dramatically lowering his academic sights or going to community college
It is for this reason, I think it is absolutely the right thing to take a year off and try again.
In addition to that, the OP needs to get a better independent college counselor, broaden his scope of schools (some reasonable safeties), and find a way to draw more attention to his passion for classics.
Instead of a family friend, he needs to get a college counselor who is experienced with Asian students. We as a people have experienced this form of discrimination for years, and while it may be officially illegal by next year, there are ways to play this game to minimize the negative effects.
One of these ways is to be strong in non-stem areas. His passion for the classics is perfect for that. As classics departments around the country are starving for enrollment, getting a candidate who want to major in these departments/graduate with a degree are rare/sought after compared to all the Asian kids who want to major in CS or Econ. His essays and recommendations need to focus on this kind of uniqueness.
The focus on DEI has made many if not all of the Ivys very hard for Asian kids to get into, however there is a list of great schools who care more about getting the top students regardless of their identity. Think UChicago, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, etc. These are the top schools of the next generation.
He should pick a few top schools, but broaden his search (and include in state flagships)
He also needs to play the first gen card more strongly.
All of the above could have been handled by a competent independent college counselor.
The OP has worked too hard to give up and take what he has been given this year. Next year has a whole different set of circumstances and with a little work, he can/will be successful.
While the moderators have reminded me that race and admission are not allowed to be discussed on threads that are not specific to the race topic, I believe my post directly addresses the OPs question, and in light on the Supreme Court ruling this summer is relevant and worthy of consideration. Any censorship of this sort of contribution to this topic is reflective of the shrinking level of free speech on college campuses and the websites that support them.
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Reminder that there is only one thread where race and admission is allowed to be discuss on CC and this isn’t it. Move on from the discussion or posts will be deleted.
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Which schools do you have waitlists from? Which campuses (non-main) were you granted acceptances to?
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Your parents did not attend college in their home country?
We all sympathize with OP.
I think he was guided to a list of total reaches, leading him to believe he would get into multiple and that pure reaches were matches.
Then he applied to some safeties but after the deadlines and they were in rolling it sounds like.
The good news is there are significant opportunities to go now. Or to wait. And try again with a different list.
OP will be ok.
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University of Iowa
The Department of Classics offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Classical Languages or Ancient Civilization
Can apply until May 1 for fall 2023.
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In Latin? Or on Latin?
University of Kansas
It appears they are still accepting applications for fall 2023, although the priority dates for scholarships/funding have passed.
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In the most recent Ipeds data set U. of Iowa had granted 2 Master’s and 2 PhDs in Classics.
In the most recent IPEDS data set, KU granted 2 Bachelor’s and 7 Master’s in Classics.
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If you go to a top school for Classics (eg Princeton), they try to talk their kids out of going for a PhD in classics. Such is the state of the classics world. Apparently getting a post-PhD placement in the university of nebraska etc is considered an excellent outcome.
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Frankly, getting a job at a school like Nebraska (R1, flagship) right out of grad school in any discipline – humanities, STEM, or other – is considered a great outcome. An academic career in classics, though, is likely to be a rough road. An undergrad major in classics can open some interesting opportunities, but for grad school, best to have a backup plan.
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Have your high school guidance counselor reach out to your waitlist schools.
Hire a different college consultant not a family friend and/or someone who mainly advises overseas Chinese students about boarding high schools. Preferably a former college admissions officer who has a track record in the past 2-3 years.
NYU should never be in the match pile since they take ~8%. I know kids who got rejected from NYU within the past 2 years who matriculated to MIT, Brown, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, etc. The median SAT for NYU is the same as MIT’s.
Also, why mention that you want to major in Classics when declaring a major is not required? It can sound insincere and like you are looking for an edge in admissions (coming from an Asian student).
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