Only Accepted to 2/19 Colleges.. why?

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That all makes sense, iseeusee. I definitely had that same pressure placed on me when I applied to college years ago, and I’m sure I unintentionally placed plenty of it on my 2 oldest kids over the last few years who are high school class of 2022 and 2023.

I’m so sorry you feel like all of your hard work and dedication did not get you the results you hoped for. You are obviously a smart, motivated, creative and hard working person …. attributes that can’t be acquired or taught easily. You will go far in life, no matter where your college journey begins. Just keep that fire :fire: for success (as you define it) alive because it definitely comes through, even over the internet.

And I agree, you could apply to 30 super competitive universities and all you need is just 1 to say yes, so it is certainly possible you could have gotten into USC, Georgetown or Northwestern if you had applied.

I think what would have been helpful in your case is a seasoned counselor or advisor helping you create a strong college list with a few more matches and safeties, unless you did have that.

Additionally, I think most savvy counselors would have gently tried to steer you away from applying to Penn ED and toward somewhere with a slightly higher ED acceptance rate like Northwestern, Vanderbilt (I know you said you didn’t think Vandy was a great academic fit for you), WashU, or Dartmouth. But of course, your ED choice should always be your top (or very close to your top) choice!

Penn is looking for a 1500+/34+. You said that you did not submit your 1440 everywhere, so maybe you did not submit it to Penn. If you did submit it, the 1440 was potentially an issue. If you did not submit it, that made it hard (but not impossible) for you to compete against applicants who did have that standardized verification in their application that they were an academic fit for a rigorous university. Applicants with your same gpa and similar great ECs with a 1500+/34+ had an advantage over you, whether you submitted your 1440 score or not. To the colleges you did not submit a score to, they did not know if your score was a 1440 or a 1040, and unless there was some other extremely convincing reason to admit you, they had to go with applicants with similarly high gpas, similar great ECs and further confirmation of academic readiness with a very high standardized score.

Good luck on your SAT next week … that elusive 1500 is within your grasp! I think a 1500+, your good high school gpa, stellar ECs and a strong first semester at Maryland could be very attractive to some of the universities and/or undergrad business schools you are interested in.

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U md is a great school, and the price is fantastic for you. Be happy. With your drive and focus, you will do every bit as well as if you had gone to any of the highly rejective schools.

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“It seems I’m just average”–the best thing that ever happened to me as a “highly gifted” person was to have a twin who outperformed me. Feeling average my whole life made me the grounded, empathetic person I am today. I have seen many graduates of top-ten universities who are completely focused on themselves and their own special greatness. It is very hard for people like these to turn 40 and realize that basically we are all the same, we all have problems, and “winning” external praise and awards will never change our feelings. You are worthy the way you are, without a single award or merit badge.

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No it didn’t. I hope you understand that your hard work got you into UMD…where everyone does NOT get accepted who applies.

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You should think twice about transferring. It’s costly not only financially, but also academically and socially. I understand your disappointment that you didn’t get into your reaches, and most applicants didn’t get into their reaches, BTW. But unlike many of them, you actually have a great in-state option in UMD. You won’t be able to take full advantage of what UMD can offer you if you start college with a mindset that you’re going to transfer in a year. Be openminded and leave the college admission disappointment behind you. Treat your first day in college as a new beginning. It’s more likely that you’ll be pleasantly surprised in your new college journey.

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And your hard work in high school will help you do well in college. So it’s not a waste!

I’ll add here that my NYC based company hires UMD grads every year. It’s a great school so I hope you will go in with an open mind and take advantage of the many opportunities UMD and the Smith School of Business offers its students. Starting college with the intent to transfer is not good. It’ll come in the way of making good friends, enjoying your time there, seeking opportunities, etc.

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thank you!!

i agree the SAT was definitely the worst thing I felt looming over me. this year and last year though I’ve seen lots of people get in test optional with similar GPA and similar EC caliber if not lesser impressive ECs. for example, someone at my school got into NYU stern (I applied to stern as well) and she did softball, was a member of NHS, member of class SGA, and interned for her moms data company one summer. she had the same gpa as me, went test optional, and got in.

I’m not trying to come off conceded or anything, I don’t know what goes on in the admissions office. i just see so many stories of people getting in with a test optional status because of their pretty good ECs. i didn’t really explain my extracurriculars that well in my post but I thought they were pretty good.

anyway, the process is over now. i know I shouldn’t be on these forums and should let it go. it’ll still hurt though everyday and it’ll take a few more nights of crying before I feel better

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If business is your goal, apply to more prestigious business programs. Indiana, Minnesota, WashU.

As a future business person, you know that keeping your debt low is integral to your success as well.

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yeah next year I’ll be applying. i know a lot of people in this thread are telling me that I should just stay at UMD and hold it out and it’s a valid point. but, I’m in state… I moved here sophomore year and I have hated myself here every morning I wake up and I can’t stand living here in this area where I know people who made my life awful.

i know I can still succeed anywhere I go but this has been my one goal. every all nighter I pulled, every club I joined, every competition I lost but still pulled through, it was all for this. i told myself it would be worth it. ivies aside, I thought I had a decent shot at NYU or UMich (see my precious response as to me seeing people get in with same stats). i know the process is random but it stings still. I’m going to transfer because the fields I’m considering are prestige heavy and because I want things UMD likely wont offer. but, that doesn’t mean I wont go out and make memories and friends and take advantage of the opportunities I have my first year

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And here it is. Yet another high school senior who does not want to attend their excellent flagship state U because they want a fresh social start. U Md is HUGE. You will not see the students from your high school.

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its not because I just want “a fresh social start”, I want to go somewhere a better business program with opportunities UMD won’t offer. i said more about that in my previous message

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How will you fund a more prestigious school? Two of my kids had higher stats and attend/attended colleges similar to UMD (but not UMD, OOS and not enough merit offered). You say you wish you applied to Georgetown, could you pay for it? We do not qualify for FA so merit was the only way they could not attend our state schools, which meant applying to only safety/matches.

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Sorry. Yesterday a kid wanted to leave Va Tech because they don’t place in investment banking. Yet they do. He didn’t do his homework.

And UMD will place most anywhere. And just because you go to a prestigious school doesn’t mean you’ll get into a ‘prestigious’ firm or industry, however you define that. And from where I sit Smith is very well thought of…very well.

UMD is outstanding. We saw kids with better #s rejected. You’re in Scholars, not honors so the reality is you’re not even the top of UMD, just very solid…if you want to be honest. My kid with better #s was also admitted to Scholars.

You could have had auto admit to IU but you didn’t apply.

Your mistake was applying to UMD. It’s not a safety for you. But even if it was it was a mistake in applying because now you’re bitter about attending. Why apply to a school you wouldn’t be happy to attend ?

You, not your school, will make your life.

You have 1.3 million tik ton followers. Not 1300 or 13000 but 1.3 million. You know how to get it done. You will be giving lessons to others or adding to class discussions. Professors will love you what you bring to their class. Companies will see that metric and salivate.

You’ve already proven yourself so keep doing so.

NYU or UMD isn’t going to matter - especially in the very changed world of zoom. That’s how many are hiring today. My kid had 5 offers, and only met one company of 20 he interviewed with. And they didn’t hire him.

You are creating catastrophe for yourself where only opportunity exists, if you have the right attitude.

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I wish all high stats, motivated kids that are putting all of their eggs in the “prestige” basket were made to watch the movie Try Harder.

There were plenty of schools that would have been great “fit” schools for you that were a lot more admissions-friendly than those on your list. As a really strong candidate, your results would have been completely different had you constructed your list based on different criteria. It seems you didn’t even figure financials into your list, so the reality is that you could have been accepted somewhere and then not have been able to attend due to finances. That would be just as sad as the rejections you’ve received. (You’re in that doughnut hole of little chance of FA, but not being able to afford full pay at many of the schools you applied to. Some do not offer merit but only meet financial need).

The reality is that you are now going to attend a fantastic school (that you can afford) where you can write your own future (something you have already shown you are quite capable of). You have a chance to be a shining star and really grab your professors’ attention, get yourself positioned for great internships, and maybe even discover an unexpected passion that leads you in a whole new direction. My advice is to love the school that loved you back, bloom where you are planted, and go into this with the intention to stay at UMD and squeeze every bit of pleasure and opportunity out of the experience. Yes, you can transfer if it doesn’t work out, but don’t go in with that attitude. Go in with the attitude of making it work FOR YOU.

And as for those that you feel you disappointed… F(orget about) them. They weren’t the ones that did all the work and took all the risk. This is YOUR life, not theirs. No need to take on their expectations. You have already achieved so much and will continue to do so wherever you are.

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You know, a lot of kids spend their HS years pursuing dreams like this. You see it a lot with parents especially who are convinced their kids are going to get a “full-ride” scholarship for sports even though those are rare (see Betting on a sports scholarship to pay for kids' college? Don't - CBS News )

Nobody out here knows why you didn’t get in to your top picks. You could see if your counselor is willing to call a school or two to see if they’d tell the counselor if there were areas of your application that weren’t as strong as for the admitted students. Sometimes they’ll discuss it with a counselor, although it’s a longshot.

Bottom line, though, is the competition on a national level for spots at the very top colleges is quite keen and nobody is a shoo-in. I hope you think about this a bit because you appear driven to double-down on this approach. You write of seeking career fields that are prestige-driven so I’m thinking you want to go into something like consulting where there is a preference for grads from elite colleges. I’ll just mention two things: they also recruit at top publics like Cal and UCLA. Second, attending an elite isn’t a guarantee; plenty of kids at Harvard try for consulting and don’t get a single offer because they’re not seen as a match.

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I can see moving out of the area for these reasons, especially if your family can afford an out of state college. But you have to engage at UM-CP to build a strong transfer application. Try and keep in touch with admissions at the colleges you plan on transferring where you were rejected. My initial thought outside of the stats for your demographic, is you have a lot of ECs, that colleges may have doubted you did all that participation. And not sure on hating your voice essay, may have been too negative. Also for the colleges that don’t have business majors, what major did you choose, something like Econ? Anyway, good luck!

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We also don’t know OPs rigor. We see 3.86 which sadly today isn’t necessarily high. We don’t know rank.

We know 11 APs but not what they are. We don’t know the level of math obtained, science, language. We don’t know if the LORs even had the right teachers. Some say two core subjects and you see kids submitting from art. Likely instant rejection.

We don’t know what the NPCs said. At $120k many schools would not have given aid.

We know two things:

  1. Less kids go to college today than b4

  2. Grade inflation is so rampant there are far more top kids and hence the top schools, like a UMD, see an application explosion even in a declining enrollment environment.

Look at UMDs stats linked below . Does this look like an average school ?

Heck no but the OP does relatively fall in line with the average student at UMD.

That’s not a knock on OP. That’s a credit to everyone who gets into this increasingly brutally strong and outstanding college. You will be surrounded by greatness OP once you get past your woe is me mindset.

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Pardon me for asking, but what is wrong with UMD + Scholars? It’s a fantastic school that will provide every opportunity you want. No, it’s not Vanderbilt, but will that really matter? I am a firm believer that it’s not the school, it’s the student.

This was over 5 years ago, but my D had most rigorous and higher stats and was waitlisted at Vanderbilt.

Please do not attend UMD with the intention of transferring, as you will miss out on what this school has to offer. The 4 years go by fast.

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Congrats on your acceptances! They are great options. Please focus on your wins, not your losses.

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every all nighter I pulled, every club I joined, every competition I lost but still pulled through, it was all for this. i told myself it would be worth it. ivies aside, I thought I had a decent shot
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I think many schools are getting wise to accept students that see joy in learning and the activities they are engaging in rather than performing for a college application. College is stressful and mental health concerns are real. Often those that “did it all” for a shot at a good school come across as no different than any other stressed-out kid with the same stats. Many of these students are lost puppies when they get to school and realize there are plenty of kids just like them.

This year I noticed some surprising acceptances for S23’s peers (coming from various high schools). The trend for kids that got into schools that I didn’t expect them to get into was that they were “typical” in many ways, but also fun-loving and self-assured kids that did a lot of exploring and unexpectedly found something they loved in high school that they now wanted to study in college. When I say they “found something” it wasn’t a class, but some activity or area of study outside of their typical classes that they could talk joyfully and passionately about. I also think these kids were well-regarded by their peers and showed not just leadership, but collaboration in their activities. They also targeted just one or two high-reach schools (along with a good number of likely and match schools) because they felt like those schools were great fits for very specific reasons that they could clearly articulate. By contrast, the super intense kids that focused on school rankings seemed to have come up disappointed.

DS only applied to schools based on a very specific passion. All fell into the “likely” schools category for him but were well very well-regarded for his major. He was able to clearly explain why he wanted to go to those specific schools and how they aligned with his future goals. We did get feedback from people he met with at his top choices and while they were impressed with what he had already accomplished, they seemed even more impressed with his passion and love for the major he was applying to. You could see that they enjoyed talking to him about it as he just lit up when he talked about the subject. One even said, “Who wouldn’t want to teach a kid like that?”

While you are quite an accomplished candidate, I wonder if you really have a joy or passion for what you are doing or if you see it as a means to an end. If the former is true, find a way to show that passion. Maybe at this point, it’s just letting go of both your own and others’ expectations and enjoying what you are doing. It is not something that can be forced, but will shine through once you find it.

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