Rejected almost everywhere. Gap year/transfer?

Parents Forum
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<p>I posted this in the main admissions fourm, but did not find much help, I figured I'd ask the parents after seeing how much help you've been giving some other guys.</p>

<p>So anyway, here's my stats and here's how my April has been so far. :(</p>

<p>SAT: 1370 old 2030 new
SAT IIs: 650 Chemistry 670 Math I 680 US History
Ranked 35/304</p>

<p>Rejected:</p>

<p>MIT
Brown
Duke
CMU
NYU
SUNY Stony Brook Honors</p>

<p>Waitlisted at Boston University</p>

<p>Accepted:</p>

<p>Fordham
SUNY Stony Brook
Pace Honors</p>

<p>Still haven't heard from RPI.</p>

<p>I'm not surprised by being rejected by some of the top schools but I wasn't expecting this at all. I called BU about the waitlist and they said that they waitlisted me because of a downward GPA trend and not taking a math senior year. :(</p>

<p>I'm not sure what I should do. I was considering taking a gap year, during which I would take some science and math classes at a local community college (to help fill the gaps in my schedule and show an improvement in my GPA) while working full time as a lab tech at my parent's workplace. Maybe also trying to get into a high school research program at Stony Brook. I could also try to raise my SAT scores, but I need to get my testing done before I graduate, right?</p>

<p>Either that, or go to one of the schools I got accepted at and try to transfer. Transferring to MIT is pretty much impossible, but Brown and other schools are still transfer friendly. Would this be a better idea?</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post, I'm really at a loss here and would appreciate any advice. :D</p>

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<p>I think you should give Stony Brook (if finances are an issue) or Fordham a fair shot this fall. I know they were not what you wanted, but both are very good schools, and you may decide to continue on. Trying to work full time and ace cc classes may not be the best course for you. </p>

<p>Strong grades from either Fordham or Stony Brook would likely put you in a reasonable position to transfer to a school such as Boston U.</p>

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<p>I don't know if CC credits will transfer to the schools in question. Better
to go to one of your 3 BS degree granting insts and try to transfer.</p>

4

<p>Call BU and ask them if they have a summer school program you might attend. Do you have a teacher who believes in you? See if they can make a call for you as well. Talk to BU about Spring admission.</p>

<p>A Gap Year may not be a good look for someone with a downward trend GPA.</p>

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<p>Hi Paul,
Thanks for solving one mystery for us -- my daughter was waitlisted at BU, too, but we didn't quite understand why as she was accepted to some more selective colleges. But now I see that "no math senior year" is a problem. In our case, we kind of thought it would be so my d. explained on her app. why she wasn't able to take math (scheduling issue) and even signed up for an online precalc course.... but I guess that didn't cut it.</p>

<p>However, my daughter applied to Fordham as a safety and I think that if things hadn't worked out well, she would have been very happy to attend there -- even though it didn't offer one of the majors she is most interested in. But overall, she felt she would get a high quality education there. So I don't think you should feel too dejected. You aimed really high, but you also chose safeties that are respectable colleges where you can get a good education.</p>

<p>Anyway, I'd encourage you choose either SUNY or Fordham and go there with a positive attitude. Transferring is always a possibility, but you really should approach your college with an open mind and try to make the best of your experience while you are there. You really will open more doors for yourself in the long run by taking full advantage of the opportunities you have, rather than dwelling on the ones that you missed.</p>

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<p>I would consider the SUNY SB option. SB is pretty decent especially in the sciences. You did not miss much, if anything, by not being accepted into honors. There are few advantages to the honors at SB and you would be required to take courses that you might not interest you.</p>

<p>Don't feel too bad about denials from BU, or NYU. Both receive very large numbers of apps and have become quite selective. I think the locations are largely responsible for popularity and the education you will get at SB is not far behind.</p>

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<p>Is it possible to start at Stony Brook and transfer into their Honors Program (if it means that much to you)? I know thats its possible at other schools so why not look into their policy.</p>

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<p>I wouldn't do a gap year. (also you may need to go to school FULL time in order to stay on parents' health and car insurance). I don't think community col is the answer; I think that you will just resent being there knowing that you could be at a better school.</p>

<p>I would start at one of the accepted schools and then transfer.</p>

<p>Are your grades going to improve for the final semester/qtr??? If so, maybe SUNY Stony will then let you in honors. </p>

<p>Your point about not taking a math senior year is a "wake up" for the rest of us. (our school requires 4 years of math, but I know that some/many don't)</p>

<p>P.S. Why did your GPA drop??? How high was it and how low did it go?</p>

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<p>CMU is also a science-y school, and the 3 years of Math could not have gone over well. Very often, schools do not specify 4 years of Math, but then turn around and frown on 3 years.</p>

<p>Paul9, we all know that MIT, Brown, Duke are reaches for everyone. CMU and NYU are also very popular schools, with low acceptance rates, and scores of top 10% students apply. I know that you are in the top 12%, but it looks like you did not spread your net wide enough.</p>

<p>If you are not interested enough in Math, why would you want to now take Math courses at a CC? If this happened to my child, I would advise him to send in a deposit to Fordham, and have our GC pursue the BU deferral with explanations of why you did not take Math; maybe there was a scheduling conflict, maybe there were classes that were more important to you... Frankly you would be as happy at Fordham as at NYU or BU.</p>

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<p>I would send in a deposit to either Suny Stonybrook, or Fordham in a NY minute :) I think that they are very good schools.</p>

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<p>Paul9, there's a disconnect between what you actually have done and what you dream of doing. MIT students do not get 670 on the Math Level 1; they mostly get better than 750 on the Math Level 2. You seem to be interested in engineering, yet you didn't take math senior year (and not, apparently, because you took calculus BC junior year, which is pretty much the only reason a prospective MIT student wouldn't take math senior year).</p>

<p>In any case, a gap year won't change your presentation to a college; you need to go to college and put your actions in line with your dreams. If I were you, I'd go to SUNY and really work during my freshman year, to prove I could handle physics and calculus and pre-engineering courses, then consider transferring to a school like RPI.</p>

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<p>Paul9
My D is at SUNY Stonybrook - She wanted to go to Cornell but they offered her a guaranteed transfer after one year at another school so she decided to go to Stonybrook for the year. Even though she was not looking forward to going to school there (she actually never saw the school before the first day of orientation), she really likes the school. She was considering staying there rather than transfering to Cornell. Her teachers have been very helpful in guiding her to reach her goal of getting high grades so that she can transfer. She is presently having a great time in Myrtle Beach SC with her Stonybrook rugby team. She commuted the first semester and is living on campus the second semester. She never comes home because she is so busy - she has been to football games, hockey games, lacross games, sorority mixers, fraternity parties, and more. She claims as long as you keep up with the work, the classes are not that difficult. Although she does know some kids that are failing or that are not happy (because they do anything), most of her friends are very smart and are doing well there. The school has really improved in recent years due to their new president.</p>

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<p>One thing to add - I don't think you'd be eligible to participate in a high school research program because you will have graduated from h.s. by the summer. And why the interest in research now, instead of in high school? It does seem like your list of schools doesn't mesh with what your real interests are (applying to 'tech' schools but not taking math senior year). SB is gaining in all the ways that matter to students and I think you'd find your niche there. Visit the two campuses and put down a deposit somewhere. You sound as if you think you've lost some kind of race when in fact you have two very good choices (if cost is a factor, do the state school).</p>

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<p>Visit the two campuses and put down a deposit somewhere. You sound as if you think you've lost some kind of race when in fact you have two very good choices (if cost is a factor, do the state school).</p>

<p>Lefthandofdog has given some good advice to you. ^</p>

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<p>My advice would be to go to Stony Brook over BU in any case, particularly if you still are interested in sciences. Science at BU doesn't justify the likely cost differential between them (I am assuming that you are in-state in NY). Stony Brook also is beefing up their nanotechnology program, which last year was considered one of the better ones.</p>

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<p>Hi Paul,
I am sorry that things turned out as they did...It is a terribly confusing time in which you wonder if all that you have accomplished over the last 4 years matters to anyone. The college application process has become a nightmare, and by taking a gap year, you will subject yourself to the same situation again. Select one of your options and go forward with a positive attitude. My D faced with a similar predicament 8 years ago. She had a guaranteed transfer offer at Cornell and went to our state university as a freshman. There, she discovered a new passion...She graduated early and is now a successful and fulfilled professional, doing work that she loves. Had she been accepted at Cornell, she may never have discovered her gifts in a totally unrelated area. You have infinite possibilities within you. Be open to them, for they are yours and are not dependent on a particular college. Best wishes to you.</p>

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<p>Paul..I agree heartily with beenthere6x and some of the suggestions of the parents posting on your thread. This is not a Gap Year for you. You are ready for college and have the momentum going. Embrace one of your admissions and take on freshman year as a social and academic challenge. The work is actually pretty hard at any college, and so is building up your friendship circle. Take an interest in the welfare of your college and make a contribution in some aspect. Follow generally the Plays Well with Others rules and look around you. There are going to be some great classmates and great teachers who are looking for someone bright like you to connect with. Get to know and appreciate them. If you must pursue a waitlist, don't pursue it like a love affair but keep your dance card open and begin to do things that will bring you emotionally closer to the hearts of the schools that already want you--get on their online pages for admitted kids and chat, buy a Tshirt, read their college newspaper archives, take a graduate out to coffee and listen to their experiences and advice. Your list was very top heavy with colleges that routinely reject thousands of higher stat kids for no clear reason so don't even count those super reach colleges as rejections.<br>
You are a strong student, so the potential for your success in college is very high. If you give your best to your school, you may be quite surprised by how much your school gives back. There are so many highly qualified PhDs teaching in our nation's colleges, and many are not working at Ivies but in schools like Fordham and StonyB. Enjoy your spring.<br>
Freshman year is hard work..start looking ahead to the next challenges.</p>

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<p>First of all, thanks for all the replies to this thread. My post was basically ignored in the other forum and here I've gotten so much feedback. You guys rock. </p>

<p>Calmom, if your daughter is still at all interested in BU, I highly recommend giving them a call. The guy I talked to was extremely friendly and talked specifics of my application with me, something all the other schools I called didn't do. Those were the two things he mentioned to me, I would phone them up to find out if he has anything to say about her app specifically and to show interest.</p>

<p>It seems as if the lack of a math senior year is what killed me. My interest for a major is computer science, since I've been writing computer programs since I was ten years old and I've gotten pretty good with it. I taught the last quarter of the computer programming class at my school as I knew more than the teacher about coding and got a recommendation from him, hoping to use it as a hook. The reason I didn't do a math this year was it's historically been my worst subject (usually where I get 80's instead of 90's). I guess it looks pretty odd to admission committees at tech schools. During my MIT interview, I mentioned this and she said something like "I get the feeling that you could really excel at math if you really tried", which I think could be said of my entire high school career. :( Not that graduating within the top 15% is bad or anything (final GPA is 3.6, I believe someone asked that), but yeah, I'm positive I could have done much better instead of doing increasingly worse. The decline in GPA is completely and utterly my fault and is mainly due to personal problems that should not have spread into other areas of my life, but did. My plan for the next year of my life is to reprioritize and improve my study habits, I guess the question is simply if I do it at community college or SBU/Fordham. In retrospect, I probably should have wrote exactly that in my college essay instead of sending in something I wasn't ultimately satisfied with. :P</p>

<p>Obviously my interest in doing research or anything during a gap year isn't to impress admissions committees but simply an extension of my interest in comp sci. I didn't even know such programs existed for kids my age until after I sent in college apps and started poking around the web. It actually seems pretty cool, and I would have definitely done it last year if I knew such things were possible. I get the feeling my guidence counseler isn't very experienced in sending kids to selective schools, as she said that not taking four years of math would not totally kill my chances at an engineering school and that my test scores were fine for all of my schools. I know now both of those aren't true, thanks mainly to CC. Not blaming my guidence counseler for anything, she's awesome, I guess we were both equally clueless on this one.</p>

<p>So, I guess the general consensus is to go this year? As of now, it seems like that's what I'm going to do. It just makes me angry that I didn't know the "rules" of college admissions up until recently. If I had researched this earlier and knew what I do now in september, I have a feeling this would have turned out quite differently for me. What irritates me is the feeling that I deserve a second chance, simply because I know I'm "bright" enough to succeed at those top schools. No matter what happens, I know I'm going to end up where I belong, even if it means kicking butt academically for a year of college and transferring.</p>

<p>Once again, thanks for all the feedback. Every one of your posts was both thoughtful and helpful.</p>

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<p>If you are interested in comp sci, I strongly suggest that you go to Stony Brook over BU. You may then consider whether you want to transfer. But Stony Brook is very strong in the sciences, including comp sci and math. You may find that it will fit you very well.</p>

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<p>Paul, thanks for the suggestion -- I'll mention it to my daughter in case she's curious. But as I mentioned in my first post, she ended up getting accepted to her reach schools, which is why the BU waitlist is all the more puzzling... but I guess the other school's didn't care so much about the math. So my daughter lucked out because she got accepted to colleges she preferred over BU anyway. I don't know what she would have decided if had come down to Fordham vs. BU. </p>

<p>Anyway, I think the only sane way to approach the process is to apply to a good range of schools and avoid getting too emotionally attached to any until you have all the acceptance letters and financial aid awards in hand. Otherwise it is just too stressful. Your education is what you make of it, not the name or prestige of the school -- and in some ways it can be a blessing in disguise when you end up going to your safety. I know some very sharp kids who have gone to less prestigious schools and ended up with internship or research opportunities working with profs that would never have happened at more prestigious schools, where they simply would have been overshadowed by others and might have had to struggle to keep their grades up.</p>