I applied regular decision to all 8 ivy league schools, duke, Stanford and northwestern. I go to high school in england, so I do A levels (maths, physics and economics); at AS i got 4 A’s in those subjects and in Latin; at GCSE (10th grade exams) i got 9As and 2 A’s. For my A2s I’m predicted AA*A. SAT best score (sectionally) was 2210, 710 physics subject test, 730 maths 2. No one from my school has ever applied to any of the colleges I did. My recommendations should’ve been great - i haven’t seen them, but my teachers like me a lot, and my head of 6th form said she was very pleased with my ‘school report’ for common app. I play soccer for a club and was top goal scorer in the league last season, and i play school rugby and hockey teams at first level (varsity); i play the cello in school orchestras, octet and working on ABRSM grade 8, as well as guitar at home. I did the ‘adopt a class’ program at school where you go in and help the teachers teach younger years, and co-founded a student run debating society in the school. Last summer I did Harvards summer school program which is why i decided to apply to the U.S. I’m a US permanent resident so technically don’t count as a foreign student so even though i applied for financial aid, i fit into the ‘need blind’ category for each school. I was told by many that my essays were very good, including the mother of a cornell student who got her son in. I know you can’t help me much without seeing my application, but could anyone give me some reasons why i was rejected by everywhere. I worked my ass off, and it hurt.
Thanks
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could anyone give me some reasons why i was rejected by everywhere"
Here’s some possibilities that occur to me; i don’t know if any of them are correct.
1)perhaps this?
“No one from my school has ever applied to any of the colleges I did”
So perhaps they had no context to weigh your school accomplishments.
2) perhaps this?
“…technically don’t count as a foreign student so even though i applied for financial aid, i fit into the ‘need blind’ category for each school.”
Maybe, despite what they say publicly, in reality they try to allocate their aid money strategically, towards institutional priorities that do not include you. The only way not to give you money was to reject you.
3) “showing the love”-Maybe your essays did not prove, for each school, why you uniquely fit perfectly with that school, and that school was the perfect place for you.
4) Your SATs and subject test scores are, IMO, adequate but not compelling for an uhooked candidate, there has to be something else. All of these schools should have been viewed as reaches. Some (or even most) of them extreme reaches. And if they discredited your academic performance due to lack of familiarity with the school, there may not have been enough.
I’m sorry how your college applications turned out, but I don’t think you should dwell on it. All of the colleges that you applied to are extremely competitive, with less than 15% admission rates for all of them. It’s not that you were under-qualified - with what you described, you seem to be a very well-balanced student - but its more how colleges have more applicants than spaces. The college application process is becoming more competitive each year, with the number of applicants increasing, and for all of those top-tier schools, its basically chance.
Like I said, don’t dwell on it as there’s no point. Getting rejected now isn’t the end of the world, and there’s countless opportunities ahead of you. One of my research supervisors was rejected by all of her school (except for her safety) when she was a senior, but was able to get into Stanford for her graduate program!
Thanks for your help guys. I think that perhaps my SAT subject tests could’ve been stronger. I realised i wanted to go to college in the US at the start of September, so my sat work was very rushed and i had no tutor. My essays were also time pressured but i didn’t send anything i wasn’t pleased with.
I hope what you said about the financial aid isn’t true, as i am a US resident, and some schools were need blind for everyone, but it could be a reason. I’m also white and go to private school (50% scholarship though) so i don’t tick much of the diversity boxes that i know these colleges look for, although i thought coming from the UK would in a way.
Would you mind giving me some advice about what to do now? As I still want to go to college in the US very badly.
I’ve been offered a place at UCL (University College London) to study economics with a year abroad. This is a very competitive program with an 8% acceptance rate for economics, and only 20 spaces in total for the year abroad. Even though UCL is ranked 5th in the world on QS university rankings, I prefer the open curriculum and student life in america so i am going to do one of 2 things: either take a gap year, deferring my place at UCL, and apply again to these colleges taking more time and trying to add something new to my application like an internship, or going to UCL and applying for a transfer. I know transfer acceptance rates are ridiculously low, but do you think it would look good coming from UCL? UCL economics is easily on par with Cambridge, Oxford and LSE (they claim to be even better) but its not quite as famous over there (i think).
Has anyone got an idea which option is better? I am determined to try again one way or the other.
Thanks
I feel your pain. I’m an international that attend a high school where practically no one ever applied abroad. As an asian female coming from a middle class family, I guess I don’t add much to the diversity either. (plus I only have an “adequate but not good enough” 2100+ sat1 and 2400 sat 2s) but I made the right decision of applying to some good safety schools so I’m good. Anyways, UCL is really an amazing school which I’ll take in a heartbeat if accepted, so I think you should consider going just to see if you’d really hate it there.There are good chances that you’ll just love the school, but either way (gap year or transfer) you’ll have an awesome school to fall back on so that’s a good thing, right?
I just wanna say that I understand how it feels to be rejected after all the hard work, working on both application for US school and for schools in your own country, running around asking for recommendations and then translating them (probably not in your case since you’re from the UK 
) and maintaing good grades when the teachers utterly don’t understand why you’re so burned out. It really hurts. I, myself, haven’t quite gotten over it yet, no matter how much “it’s not where you go that matters” shit I’ve read.
You can ask people who know more about it than I do, but I think transfer students who want financial aid are at a greater disadvantage than freshmen applicants who want financial aid.
Your “skip a year” plan is very risky. Though it has worked for some. If you do it, I suggest applying to some different schools that may actually want international applicants for diversity: eg Oberlin. Also, if you are a US resident you are presumably a resident of some state. You should be able to apply to that state U and get in-state tuition, no?
In your shoes, I would try to love UCL, if I could afford it there.
I thought all the schools I applied to want international students for diversity? And taking I don’t see the risk in taking a year out, as long as I can defer my place at UCL. UCL is a great school, but there are so many opportunities at american colleges that I won’t have there, e.g what if i decide i want to major in physics not economics? Despite this, I would feel bad going to Florida state, as UCL is 1000x better, and in the UK the student loan system makes it affordable. @monydad why is it harder for transfers who want aid than for freshmen?
@islander1108, I’m sorry you experienced rejection too. I worked really hard and sacrificed part of my physics coursework to revise for my SATs, which i now have to make up for in my exams. I also spent nearly $800 on the apps - they charge you for everything, and it seems like now it was all for nothing. Also, I’m fairly sure the phrase ‘it doesn’t matter where you go’ is garbage. Employers in England often look more at the university you went to than the degree you took. But oh well, I’ve learnt a lot, and hopefully it will work out in the end
“I thought all the schools I applied to want international students for diversity?”
Many schools want a certain amount of international students for diversity. The schools you applied to get plenty of applicants to fill that need though. There are other good schools that have a similar desire for diversity but get fewer foreign applicants.
“@monydad why is it harder for transfers who want aid than for freshmen?”
I am not an expert, but my guess is colleges try to steer scarce financial aid funds towards institutional priorities.
If they use financial aid to attract a high-scoring freshman, they get to include his entrance stats in their reports to US News, which makes the school look better. Hence contributing to an institutional priority. If the same exact person applies as a transfer, they don’t report stats of transfer students anywhere, so it does them no good; does not contribute to any institutional priority. I think the institutional priority they prefer to fill from transfers is: money. Though of course there are exceptions, for people who fill other specific institutional needs (eg basketball players, etc).
Note that this is just my own uninformed opinion though, not fact.
If this is true, it may be wiser to take a year off rather than apply for a transfer
“…I would feel bad going to Florida state…”
You might look into New College of Florida.
None of us were on the adcomms that didn’t choose you, but I would be surprised if it was your SATIIs- too many people with lower scores than you get in. I think moneydad made some good points, and I would add these:
- International diversity: the UK is not seen as international diversity.
- Building on the 'why us' point: it appears that you applied to all the biggest name schools + Duke & Northwestern. A lot of people do that without appreciating just how different they are. Take just two aspects of Columbia & Brown, for example- their locations and their curriculum. One is highly urban with a very strong liberal arts core curriculum requirement; the other is almost suburban with an extremely unstructured curriculum. Nobody likes to hear it, and nobody likes to believe it, but the adcomms at these schools do have some idea what they are doing. Yes, there are people who apply to all of them and get into all of them- but they are outliers. Most of the time, who gets into which makes some sort of sense (not always, of course- there are some head-scratchers). IF you decide that you want to try for hyper-competitive US again, I suggest targeting a few of those schools based on how they fit you.
3.The harsh reality of numbers: HYPS this year took fewer than 5% of their applicants; I think (though I trust somebody will correct me if I have this wrong) it was under 3% of ‘unhooked’ / non-athletes applicants at Stanford and Harvard. These are vanishingly small numbers. You have all the ingredients- great marks, and considerably more ECs than the usual UK student.
- Based on my experience of helping US students go to the UK, and the re-focusing of both their essays and the recommendations that their teachers/advisors have to write, it is not impossible that either your essays or recommendations may not have done you justice. Obviously, I don't know that- just a guess.
- The top schools look for students who tick all the boxes- as you do- and then add a little something more. IF you decide to take another whack at it, spend this year doing something that really speaks to you. That will give you something to talk about that has truth and passion in it.
I am sorry. You do seem very qualified, and I am a bit surprised that Duke & Northwestern didn’t bite.
If you peruse the boards, you’ll see that you are not alone. Grades, test scores and rigorous courses are only half the picture, and frankly your testscores are about average for the applicants to the most selective schools. You won’t get a 5 out of 5 score for that. Your teachers and counselor likely had no idea as to how to write their recs for you. My guess is that they were only average, as they would not know the key words and how exhuberant they would have to be to get a 5 out 5 score for that. Your essays, the same. Your ECs are average too. I dont’ see how you had much of a chance from the get go just from what you have written here.
The fact of the matter is that there are far too many applicants for these top schools for the seats available, and the stats do not reflect it because there are reserved seats, as many as 2/3 of them to special categories to which you do not belong.
You being international would have been a plus as you are an American in how you are viewed but the international aspect is an extra. You would not have been put into the true international pool, where financial aid and being from certain countries (there are quotas at most schools) would have been an issue
But then my good friend’s son applied to a number of schools in Britain and was turned down by all of them, but is now going to NYU and got into some good choices here, so it works both ways. He was disappointed too.
I have to chime in here, I think the idea of a gap year is a really bad one. Too many kids who don’t go to college straight out of high school never end up going. I know, because it happened to me! (I went back years later and finished up in my 30s, but it was definitely not fun or easy that way.) I’d think long and hard about your current choices: UCL or Florida State. Sure UCL is by far the better school, but if being in the US is the most important thing to you, then just go to Florida State (or another affordable safety school, if you’ve got other options still available), get into the honors program, and start planning a transfer if you truly aren’t happy there. Spending a year or two at a safety school in Florida doesn’t really sound like an awful fate to me! I just think college students need to be in college, not taking gap years…Way too risky at that volatile age. Best of luck! 
@chris17mom - If i take a gap year, i will have my place at UCL deferred for whatever happens after, so I will definitely go somewhere whatever happens. I can’t go to florida state this year as i didn’t apply however.
@collegemom3717 - Thanks, your comments were helpful. But both Brown and Columbia, although different, have aspects that would fit me very well - maybe I didn’t convey this fully. As for my recommendations, my head of 6th form went to an american university and has done this before so my ‘school report’ should’ve been good. My mother and i also made sure to tell my teachers not to write my recommendations in the boring english way where it’s all academic, and to use more american style language where they could. I have asked the school to see my recommendations, so I can judge whether they did do me justice.
@cptofthehouse I would say my extra curricular are above ‘average’, but I’m aware they don’t make me stand out straight away. At my school there is no editor of student newspaper, head of student societies etc like there are at American high schools. Maybe this is a reason.
If i take a year off I will have time to get my SAT marks up, (i had to teach myself in 2 months) but i don’t think this was the problem. I think there was something missing or a weakness in my application that i haven’t found. I’ve seen friends on Facebook get in to many of these schools, and it really does hurt. I don’t understand what they did that i didn’t. If i do take a gap year i will have to get some sort of job or internship that makes me stand out. Not every Northwestern student has started their own charity or been scouted as the next Clint Dempsey. My grades are good enough, so there must be a way.
This is crazy I’m literally in the EXACT same position as you. I am a US citizen applying from the UK. Last year I applied and was rejected from all my top choices (all reaches, since I had UK as a backup). I took a gap year this year but for various reasons my US application was pretty rushed. So I ended up being rejected from my top choices again (even though I lowered my standards). Unfortunately I went to a school where my counsellors had never done the common app before, and obviously wouldn’t know how to write the style of recommendations the US universities like etc. Of course there were other factors too, but it sucked when I emailed my counsellor multiple times asking her to sign the ED2 section of an application and she completely ignored me. In the end I was forced to send it RD because I was going to miss the deadline otherwise! (And while I was sending/waiting for her emails I saw her posting jokes on facebook and stuff haha… like I know you’re online, answer my emails!)
I have also been accepted on the UCL economics with a year abroad program! I’m really struggling to decide between UCL and Rochester/BC where I was accepted in the US. On one hand, UCL with a year abroad has a better reputation in some ways and would give a great opportunity to go to a US university (that I was rejected from haha) for a year. However, I’m really uncertain if I even like economics, and worried that I won’t even be good at it. (I didn’t even do economics or further maths at A level lol) I am someone who likes a lot of different subjects and really want to have my options open in the future, to do history or science or something. It sucks that in the UK I wouldn’t have the option to switch majors at all, or even dabble in other subjects. And I’ve really always wanted to go back to the US. But, going to the US would cost around 25k/year (like 1/3 of our family income…) compared to UCL which is significantly cheaper. My parents say they will be able to work something out if I really want to go to the US but I can’t bear to put so much financial pressure on my family even though I would be happier in the US. (That’s why I really wanted to get into one of my top choices, so the cost would be worth the reputation etc. I’m not in love with BC/Rochester (even though I think I would be happier there) so I don’t know if it’s worth it.)
It hurts so much more when I see my friends and stuff getting in because I can’t help but feel jealous (it’s petty I know). I wish I knew the feeling of being ecstatic over being accepted from your top choice!
One thing I will say is, if you decide to take a gap year, I wouldn’t reapply to the same schools. Unless your application changes significantly, I think they will still have a record of your previous application and already have reasons for rejecting you. Also, you should still lower your expectations, and can’t assume you’ll get into a top choice even if you reapply.
But good luck for whatever you decide! If we both choose UCL, it would be awesome to see you there. Maybe we can look at the transfer process together!
@tinker That’s weird how our situations are so similar. Did you go to an open day at UCL for economics? I didn’t like the campus/buildings too much but one thing they did say is that every term you can take one class outside of economics, in any department. This isn’t the same as a liberal arts program, but better than nothing. Also, on the year abroad I’m sure we could branch away from economics for some classes. I didn’t take further maths either so I wouldn’t worry about it. If i were you I would choose UCL over Rochester; it will open more doors for the future. I might take a gap year but only if i can defer my place at UCL as I don’t want to lose it, and to be honest I’m not going to lower my standards, as UCL is a very good school. I will try and do something to strengthen my application a lot and if I fail again, try to enjoy UCL, then move to New York to escape paying my student loan…
Hugo, your ECs are very average in the pool of elite students whose ECs are often very good, outstanding compared to the norm. A 5 in the general population easily gets diminished to a 3 or even a 2 when you are in a pool with others who are excellent candidates. I’ve seen the ECs of some kids that are just incredible. Yours are not. They are not even above average in the group I’m putting you in.
Ok, if I apply again I will have to bring in something new.
I’m from the UK too and until this month, UCL Economics was where I was going to go. However, I ended up being accepted into Duke, UChicago, & Stanford (but also waitlisted/rejected at the Ivies I applied to), all with close to full aid. The first thing for me in this process was to stop making excuses. You always have the power to do something. If there isn’t a leadership position within your school, look outside your school. If you still can’t find one, make one! If you’re about to miss a deadline because of your teacher or whatever, sucks for you. You should have started earlier. If you can’t reach your teacher online, find them in person. Don’t be afraid to nag them - this is your future!! Ultimately, unless you’re incredibly charming and endearing, it’s these type-A personalities which end up making up the majority of the international student body at these schools because they are the kind of students who rise to the top of the international applicant pool. I doubt it would have been your SAT IIs that got you rejected though as I got pretty similar scores. My GCSE results are also worse than yours.
Personally, if I had gotten rejected in the US, I would have just gone to UCL. Yes, it’s very narrow but it would have been my problem for not getting into American schools.
@AnotherBrit Is there anything obvious your application had that mine didn’t? If our test scores and grades were similar, it must’ve been more than just better essays that got you in. How many A levels do you? As maybe 3 might not look rigorous enough.