Before you stress about this too much, please check the schools you’re considering for transfer. More and more do not require submission of test scores.
Also a little flabbergasted by people’s lack of compassion here. This is a kid. She’s disappointed. Many of our kids would be too. Her stats are awesome.
I don’t know really anything about University of Maryland. George Washington is an awesome school, is it not on the table? Obviously you need to SIR somewhere by tomorrow, but OP have you had your school counselor reach out to your waitlists? Is there one you would 100% attend if admitted?
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My gut feeling is that you might be right. I just checked: Olivia Jade has 414.1k followers on TikTok vs OP’s 1.3 million. (And 1.79m subscribers on YouTube.)
and why is OP going to college? 
Wow - that’s impressive!!!
Keep in mind that if you begin the transfer process during your freshman year, the colleges you apply to are going to use your HS gpa and test scores. They will also wonder why you are transferring, given you are already attending an outstanding business school.
A school may not look favorably on your application if they sense you are only transferring in order to attend a higher ranked program.
UNC seems to be an “easier” admit for transfers, but as I mentioned earlier, I don’t know what you will accomplish there that you would not accomplish at UMD. You seem like a student who would do a lot at any school!
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Since OP values rankings, UMD’s Smith School of Business is ranked far higher than GW.
As for the two waitlisted schools - OP, are they comfortably affordable?
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It also might be worth noting that, at a time when standardized testing was more highly valued, UMD placed slightly higher than Chapel Hill:
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The bigger issue, to me, with UMD vs. UNC is the direct admit.
OP can study business…will study business at UMD. We can’t say the same if they get into UNC as it’s not direct admit.
So OP is on the WL for UNC and even if for some reason there was movement vs. waiting for a transfer, given her wonderful ability to create a library of tik tok followed by 1.3 million, her best and earliest business acumen will be learned through UMD.
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Whatever kind of hug you need, I’m sending you one (or several).
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Hi @iseeusee,
Sending you a big hug. Of all the successful business people I know, none of them went to “prestige” undergrads, but rather went to solid schools like Madison, Nebraska, UMN…and from there rocketed up. Their Super Power was never about creating an image that was “elite” on paper, but rather was about creativity, ambition, thinking out of the box, and making connections with people. They had qualities that can’t be bought and can’t be faked, and so do you! I would be super proud of you if you were my kid.
Yes, the rejections sting. And the social pressure sucks. But truthfully, all that will start to fade over the summer, and very soon after starting school, it will all be in the rear view mirror. You are in a bubble now, but the whole wide world awaits, and it is filled with hope and opportunity and fun. Hang in there!!! You are doing a good job!
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All I can say is this…the list was almost all reach schools where the vast majority of applicants are rejected. Most of the schools have a greater than 80% chance of rejection. You play the odds, this is what’s going to happen. These schools are basically a lottery. Every high school admissions advisor would tell you never to do this, because it’s a setup for disappointment.
And seriously, let’s say you got into one of the hypercompetitive schools. How do you know that it’s the right school? Because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Chasing after rankings and prestige doesn’t end well. Rankings sell magazines, nothing more.
The good news is that you got into UMD. That’s an excellent school. You’re in the honors program too, which means, you would have a tangible accomplishment to put on a job resume. Going to a school just to transfer because of perceived prestige doesn’t look good on a college application, or anywhere for that matter. That’s a red flag.
My best advice…put away TikTok. It’s not healthy. Healthy is embracing and making the best of your current reality regardless of what your “followers” might think. Most of them will likely go to their in-state school too. It’s that way more than 80% of the time. The rest are rich and can pay for an expensive school.
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I would highly recommend putting away social media. Over time, it develops a distorted sense of reality. That gets multiplied 1000x over when everyone else on social media is doing the same thing and they get together to reinforce those distortions. TikTok is known for that. I’m seeing all of your self-worth being put on these schools. The reality is that your ambitions are yours and they supersede all of that. Smart talented people succeed because they’re smart and talented. Not because of some school they got an accredited bachelors at. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were college dropouts.
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Respectfully, this continuing criticism of the OP’s TikTok is getting ridiculous. The OP used TikTok to help others by sharing study tips and their love of stationery. They have sponsorships from brands like Grammarly and PostIt… not Sephora (no offense to the makeup influencers out there).
I strongly suspect the OP will use what they’ve learned from this application cycle and pay it forward to others. And thanks to their work ethic and drive they have over a million followers who may benefit. That should be commended.
OP, I believe in you. Once you’ve grieved (which is understandable) I have no doubt you will turn your experience into a positive and continue to help others. Let this be a mostly nonjudgmental place to vent. We all need an outlet! I hope you will continue to update us with your college experience… the successes, challenges, and everything in between. Hugs.
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Dear @iseeusee -
You’ve done great in high school. and while hurting now, here are two things to think about:
the big picture overall is being successful in a career. That can happen from doing well in college at any school.
for example, kid 1 graduated from a midwest state school a few years ago. He and his fiance are killing it in NYC!! people they work with dont care where they went to school. they have no loans.
kid #2 is graduating from a top east-coast school in a month; owes a TON of money and has no job lined up yet. She’ll find something soon, but her college name is not guaranteeing her a job.
Absolutely i’d be in my first child’s place! I encourage you to work your heart out in college; and focus on the big picture; what you’re feeling now will end and not matter as much down the road.
and second thing - think of an extravagant wedding. Fun, exciting beautiful. But . … that’s 1 day; the wedding has nothing to do with how their marriage will turn out.
to me: wedding < the marriage
school name < overall education and what you do in college
Good luck. 
You’ll figure it out. I have a kid your age too; so i get it.
** and editing to add, son’s GF is with him in NYC and killing it too after midwest state school. She too is Asian, and felt pressure from her family. But now, they are all so proud of her and what she is doing. she’s 25; earning more than 6 times her age! state school.
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Hi! Thanks for your support first of all but with the TikTok stuff, I’m going to have to disagree.
I know I’m just 17 and everything but I’d like to offer sort of a perspective as to why it’s changed my life and the lives of many people, just like a lot of social media platforms (I mean even College Confidential is a form of social media).
I’ve noticed that in my thread and just in general a lot of adults have a misperception of TikTok. I don’t blame you, with Congress wanting to ban the platform and the whole Olivia Jade scandal happening, there sure are circumstances where social media has been perceived in a negative setting.
I started my TikTok account to help students, for good. I share study techniques, motivation, advice for keeping a productive lifestyle, and even sometimes the occasional Mother’s Day card idea and what pens are the best to use for daily activities. All of these videos I’ve made has built me a follower base of students, parents, and teachers. A friend of mine who lives on the other side of the country sent me a picture, it was my video on a projector player in front of the whole school during finals season!!! I was shocked at how far my videos have reached and how a highschool thought they’d benefit students during their exams. I receive dozens of comments from parents, teachers, and students telling me how my videos have helped their students, how my videos helped some people get an A on their test or keep them motivated to pass their classes. Yes, social media can be used negatively, but look at all the positivity it has created!!
Not only has my account allowed me to help others, but it created a world of opportunities. I’ve been able to work with brands that are extremely well known which helped me fine tune my negotiation skills with contracts and talk to real life people that work for these companies. I was able to take the money I make from TikTok and buy myself a car and help pay for my car insurance and spoil my family on their birthdays, and of course, save and invest it too.
Beyond my account, social media has helped a lot of people connect and relate to others. Body positivity, mental health awareness, and so much more inclusivity is being promoted because of social media. People aren’t ashamed to reach out for help anymore or embrace who they are because of social media.
Everything can be used negatively. I mean hey, there’s people getting into every ivy on CC too that makes a lot of us jealous, but that doesn’t mean we should stay off those platforms. I’m still young and I’m still honestly sensitive so seeing content about college does make me sad, but so many other things on social media platforms make me happy!!
Like someone else said, people are multidimensional. An “influencer” doesn’t have to influence negatively, they can influence positively too.
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@iseeusee, you’re a mature and amazing young lady. You’re going to do very well!
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Great post. You are definitely a positive influencer! 
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I kind of regret opening the can-o’-worms re: TikTok, although I think it has amply proved my “biases exist on this topic” point, haha. Your response and perspective on the topic are excellent, though!
One thing that strikes me is that so much of the beauty of social media platforms is that nobody needs an elite position or platform to establish a position of influence. You walked onto that platform just like anyone else, but you were able to build a huge following, business relationships, etc. etc. You didn’t have to land a job with a fancy magazine or whatever in order to accomplish this. I’d encourage you to look at college the same way. You’re the kind of person who will build a following, a “brand,” a career, and so on, as long as you have an egalitarian platform within which to build. A highly-regarded flagship university is exactly this! Feeling like you need to go to a more “exclusive” school in order to get where you’re going (or to prove that you’re not “average”) is sort of like believing that you can’t have a wide-reaching positive influence in the world without having a column in an exclusive publication - you have already proven that you don’t need either of these things! That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feel disappointed about missing out on experiences you wanted, but I think you’re going to take UMD by storm and ultimately be glad you went there. I hope you will keep updating about your path as it unfolds!
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You do realize that you’re on a social media platform right now, which is how we’re all reading your opinion… yes?
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Great self awareness, forthrightness and insight, thanks for sharing your experience.
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