@MmeZeeZee , I don’t think OP’s public options were as great as you think. I think that in retrospect, there are more CWRU-esque schools with which he could have cast a wider net, but I don’t think the general focus of his net was incorrect at all. He needed a school with full-ride need-based aid available for DACA students. That narrows the field a lot. At some point, the Monday morning quarterbacking is all about us, as observers, and wanting to make ourselves feel less bad for him. He doesn’t need that from us right now. Hindsight is 20/20 but the important thing here is a path forward. And I’m completely sure that there is one - worst-case, it will involve a one-year detour, but even then it sounds as if there are ways to make good use of that year if it comes to that. This sucks, indeed, but it’s not anywhere near a hopeless situation in the long view; it’s just a tough series of setbacks right now.
If I remember correctly, OP did apply to UIUC and UIC, which gave admission but not affordability.
OP lives in Illinois.
Illinois publics give poor in-state financial aid, so that they would likely be unaffordable even if the OP were a US citizen or permanent resident.
Add to that the fact that the OP has DACA status, and Illinois is not one of the states that has provisions for in-state financial aid for those on DACA status who have graduated high school in the state after sufficient attendance and/or residency there.
Unfortunately, this is a recipe for an all-reach application list that is basically forced on the OP, unlike the all-reach application lists you may see on these forums from picky students who could have many possible safeties but do not feel like they “fit” at any college that they can easily get admitted to.
Now, if the OP lived in a state that gave better in-state financial aid and was more DACA-friendly (e.g. California or Texas), then the OP could find in-state public safeties more easily.
As Ivy Day inches a day closer, I’m getting more and more anxious. Before my first rejection came through, I felt pretty good about myself. Even after the first rejection, I waived it off thinking I have a lot more opportunities ahead. Now it looks like a narrow straight and each rejection just snowballs from the anxiety that came before it.
Probably a natural reaction - but dang did the Northwestern rejection hit me hard and fast.
You’re aiming for med school, right?
That makes it tougher. Otherwise, U of London International could be an option.
Listen, I don’t want to pile on the OP who is trying his best. I do want to point out for others in this situation that it’s not Ivy or bust. Just by way of example and off the top of my head, Bates, an excellent liberal arts college, offers financial aid to DACA kids. It’s competitive but it isn’t a single digit acceptance school.
https://www.bates.edu/admission/undocumented-daca-applicants/
@PurpleTitan Yes, I’m aiming for med school. Just an FYI, I’m a DACA student and I would not be able to leave the country (an re-enter) before I get my Green card; unless you meant I look into it after my green card.
Do you know how the financial aid there is?
@3girls3cats He did apply to Bates…
“what worried me (and prompted me to write this post) was how Johns Hopkins, WUSTL, Bates, and now Notre Dame (all of which are Need Blind for DACA) rejected or waitlisted me; having more difficult-to-get-into schools down the road is my worries”
@3girls3cats I have applied to Bates. I was rejected.
@HKimPOSSIBLE That one truly leaves me bewildered.
Also. Not that it matters. But not knowing your gender makes it tough to post - trying to write around using he or she at times. ?
and for my conversation with General S this week.
@HKimPOSSIBLE, the UoL International degrees are distance degrees. So people from all over the world take them in their home countries. But no science or lab classes, obviously.
I am of the XY chromosome group of the Homo sapiens.
@PurpleTitan My understanding was that for medical school, you need certain lab classes fulfilled as well.
I’m hoping Rice comes through for you next Tuesday.
@HKimPOSSIBLE ? very scientific of you. Lol.
There are a number of excellent schools that offer financial aid to DACA students. I get that they are reach schools but they are less difficult to get into than most of the ones on OP’s list. Following are just a few that I found via a simple google search. Again, please understand that I’m not picking on the OP but I want others reading this not to despair. There are other options available even if the state schools aren’t hospitable.
OP, if you find that this admissions cycle doesn’t give you the results you want, I encourage you to look at some of these schools and beyond. There are alternatives out there for you.
Tufts https://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/first-year-students/undocumented-students/
Wesleyan https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/undocdaca.html
Emory https://apply.emory.edu/apply/other/undocumented.html
Washington and Lee https://www.wlu.edu/financial-aid/
@privatebanker Lol thanks. Scientific, but the grammar in that sentence I probably botched.
@HKimPOSSIBLE I took it like you were talking like a computer, alien or robot. Extra scientific. Re read it that way in a robot or Hollywood “alien” voice. Sounds right.
@HKimPOSSIBLE I don’t have anything to add except that I’m rooting for something good to happen in the next few weeks, or if that’s not in the cards, that you get a good plan for a gap year. You WILL be able to achieve your dream, I’m certain - it just might take a little more time for all the pieces to fall into place. Hang in there.
@3girls3cats Those are definitely schools I looked at. I wasn’t really fond of Wesleyan and Washington and Lee university unfortunately and they seem like a really good option for me.
In fact, I was going to apply to Tufts and Emory as well except until I was strongly encouraged by someone here that I should “save” some colleges for next year (Pomona and USC are what I also “saved”) since highly selective universities won’t re-review applicants they rejected in previous years (unless something “extraordinary” was accomplished)…definitely one of my greater regrets alongside not going Questbridge first.
@HKimPOSSIBLE. That’s right. That’s why UoL International isn’t a good option for you.