Top of my class, multiple strong ECs with leadership and state level success, amazing rec, solid essays, and got rejected/waitlisted from all my matches and reaches.
It stung a lot at first especially since not only did I hope I’d make one of the schools I wanted to make, but friends and family constantly had voiced their statements of reassurance. Not meeting those expectations probably is most disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not extremely upset about having to go to my state school (even if it gives horrible scholarships so I still have to cough up 30k a year).
It may seem obvious to most, but my tip is to always keep in perspective. I feel like too often during the application process, I didnt recognize how the essay I was currently writing could affect the next 4 years (and likely more) of my life. By the time you’re a senior, you’ve already done everything except essays - and those meant probably the most. So pour your entire heart into those essays. Humble yourselves and ask for help from others. Revise and spend weeks on each one if you can. Then if you still can’t get into your matches at least…well then that’d be really messed up haha.
The essay is important but with many of the colleges that “everyone” wants to get into, it is simply a numbers game and not a reflection on you, your abilities, or your personal statement
Remember, a lot of these ivy league places are hang outs for very well connected people (Our past 4 presidents are all ivy leaguers… look what a good job those idiots have been doing). Its a numbers game and also a corruption/nepotism game. You will run into ivy league fools as well as some ivy league geniuses/successful people in your life. (I know of a kid who got in because his uncle is president of harvard, even though the kid is a total idiot). At the end of the day, the few millionaires that I know personally went to small state schools or unknown places and they made up for it in the workplace. One of them told me this: “At the end of the day, you have to perform on the job. That is all that matters”. Don’t obsess on this academic stuff, the real world really does sort out who is a GPA/SAT obsessed freak from who is a performer in life. In college I have seen this first hand now: People with 4.0s being laughed out of the room by employers when they are looking for jobs due to lack of social skills. Good luck with college, keep your GPA high there for more scholarship $ and future job/grad school opportunities.
Disclosure: I have never applied nor wanted to apply to the ivy league liberal arts cesspit
Thanks for this. I and the smartest people in my school (who, incidentally, also possess the most integrity and are extremely nice and talented outside of the classes) were rejected/waitlisted from most of out school. For me, yeah, it did sting a lot. I knew going to top schools were always going to be a long shot, but it sucked not getting into anywhere but my two safeties (though I am grateful I got into those!). I, too, will probably be attending a state school; fortunately, mine has a great reputation and is giving me generous aid. I am trying to get unwaitlisted, but if it doesn’t work out, then I’m okay with attending state school as well.
If the top schools would just release the statistics of those who were not accepted, I think it would show how extremely difficult and subjective the admissions process is. Also as long as I’m wishing out loud, I’d like to see the admin stats of the fullpays V. need based students.
I and the smartest people in my school (who, incidentally, also possess the most integrity and are extremely nice and talented outside of the classes) were rejected/waitlisted from most of out school. For me, yeah, it did sting a lot. I knew going to top schools were always going to be a long shot, but it sucked not getting into anywhere but my two safeties (though I am grateful I got into those!). I, too, will probably be attending a state school; fortunately, mine has a great reputation and is giving me generous aid. I am trying to get unwaitlisted, but if it doesn’t work out, then I’m okay with attending state school as well.