As everyone has said, your list was reach heavy. I can easily see how with your stats, you expected to have some choice and how this is really disheartening.
The exercise of looking back is valuable if you can learn something that will help you going forward. You can figure out what that was for you.
That learning should include the value of having a sure thing option because you do have an affordable, good school! You will probably be able to stand out and forge relationships with professors. That can position you better for grad school than being middle of the pack (or worse) at MIT. To the extent that there were things you didnât get in high school, like physics, you may find it easier to fill those gaps at,WSU than at one of the other schools on your list.
You are no less smart, no less hard-working, no less accomplished at WSU than you would be anywhere else. You sound like you have made the most of opportunities- continue to do it there.
I agree with other posters that Washington State is a fine safety and a fine school. Given that youâve already practically completed a math major in college courses, you would want a place where you can continue on and take lots of grad classes. As others have said, places like HYP+MIT can pluck their choice of international competition winners to fill their math bucket. I think places like Duke, Emory, and Johns Hopkins are getting close to that level too with the insane level of competition these days.
I know that money would be very difficult, but in terms of admission your profile might have fit better for large out-of-state publics like Michigan, Berkeley, UNC, Pitt, Purdue, or Wisconsin, where they would be happier accepting a student like yourself into grad-level classes. Maybe also trying for places like UChicago, UPenn, WashU (St. Louis), Carnegie Mellon - privates that do not quite require you to be uberwealthy or superhuman to be admitted.
You can always consider an attempt to transfer after a year at Washington State. HYP wonât take you then either, but the publics do have more active transfer programs.
Wondering why U of Washington was not on your original list?
We see posts like yours every year. Iâve been here since 2014, and it makes me sad to see these posts.
Youâre an intelligent, thoughtful student. It seems that you had poor advising at your school. Itâs over, for now, but I wish you had come here last year.
As others have said, you didnât apply to any true safeties, not the right (or enough) matches, and your list was full of mostly reaches. There are schools where you would have likely received scholarships to make them affordable, and that might have suited you better. A safety means itâs affordable and you would be happy to attend.
You do not have to attend your safety. If being intellectually challenged is a goal for you, take a gap year. Do really great things, make some kind of impact, work and save some money, and reapply to realistic schools for next year. Or look at colleges mentioned above that still have seats available. Good luck.
I had the same thought. Maybe take a gap year (spend it well!) and apply to a different set of schools next year. More public schools that give good aid or merit $$, and apply early action.
Do not re-apply to the same schools - youâll almost surely see the same result again.
Another issue could have been lack of rigor. You said your school doesnât have many AP classes. So there are some, but you only took one. Really selective colleges care about rigor because they like to see high grades in the hardest classes. They want to see AP Eng Lang, APUSH, AP Bio, etc⊠Did your school offer those? When they review your app, they will have the school profile and they will see if your school offers those classes. If they were offered and you chose not to take them, that was likely a factor.
I think your app might have seemed a bit one dimensional with perhaps too much emphasis on math.
This statement is a bit concerning and might have come through in your supplements. Being perfect isnât the way to get into a good college. The top schools are not looking for perfection and if you said something along those lines it might have honestly put them off. They are looking for factors that are sometimes a mystery to people on the outside
If you decide on a gap year, I think in creating a new list youâll have to account for lacking those harder classes on your transcript, if indeed your high school offered them.
Edit: I saw that your school only offers three other APs. I suspect colleges wondered about you not taking both AP English classes. Did you have four years of another foreign language? The super selective ones typically prefer four years and at least three.
I agree with those who say look into U Tulsa. Their NMF full ride offer may have officially closed, but perhaps they would make an exception. Their new president @PresCarsonTulsa certainly seems invested in a student body full of intelligent and hard working students.
UT Dallas may also be an option. Their deadline is May 1. My sonâs good friend from high school is there on the full ride NMF package, double majoring in math and CS, and thriving.
Otherwise WSU, with an aim of graduating early and moving onto PhD is a fine option.
My thought also. It seemed a little odd that you avoided the non-math high school classes. Did you take your college courses at a 4-year accredited college or community college? Community college class are sometimes viewed as not that rigorous.
Iâm curious why you did not apply to University of Washington, because it sounds like you are in- state for WSU. UW excels in CS/Engineering/Math. Maybe you should consider transferring after a year if you want something different than WSU?
This. I imagine you are well on your way to completing a math major at WSU, perhaps early. I know two students who are in grad school at Ivy schools right now after getting their undergrad degree debt-free at WSU. I encourage you to join WSUâs Honors College and seek out professors with whom you could do research as an undergrad. I think your future remains very bright.
Case Western (waitlisted but too expensive for me to go to regardless)
They are need aware. Did you run their net price calculator? Is that why you think it will be too expensive? If you are able to get off the waitlist you should read their financial aid offer, they do sometimes offer merit. Send a letter of continued interest.
For other high stats students reading this thread - please EA, particularly if you are a high stats STEM student. In addition to competitive majors like CS/engineering filling up in EA, a lot of merit dollars are also used up in EA.
The bigger issue here to me is - how does the OP know itâs too expensive?
If he has run the NPC, then he built his list incorrectly - because if he canât afford a 100% meets need school (need aware or otherwise), then he likely canât afford most of his list.
As for why he didnât get into others, we really canât know - we havenât read essays or donât know what LORs said - or otherwise, etc.
WSU is a major research university - there will be many many smart kids and the math department will have huge offerings.
IMO, this is the best option. I suspect the OP will enter WSU with junior status (or close to it). That will not happen at a private. Knock it out of the park at WSU then chase prestige in grad school. Absolutely join the HC, develop relationships with professors and advisors, get involved in research, study abroad (there are scholarships to help with the cost), build friendships and enjoy your college experience.
Iâm not trying to downplay your current disappointment; it is understandable and completely natural. Allow yourself to grieve a bit then consider your options and make the decision you feel is best both for your long-term goals and your happiness the next couple years. Iâm rooting for you.
Case gives you a personalized estimated financial aid offer shortly after youâre waitlisted. That way you can decide to stay on the waitlist or not. My son and his friends were waitlisted and got their estimates on March 29th. OP probably determined Case is unaffordable based on that.
Thatâs fair - but my scenario is, if Case is unaffordable (would have seen the NPC to know up front), then much of his list was likely unaffordable. So in that sense, the list was wrong - not just from an acceptance POV but also an affordabilityâŠif this is truly the case. When one says low income, it doesnât mean the school will necessarily agree after seeing financials.
Still, he applied to WASU (the safety that youâd love to attend if all else fails) and if that was the case, that part was done properly!!! Of course, we know many apply to safeties they donât like - and thatâs an issue.
Nothing at all wrong with WASU - and OP, Honors or not, can still get to know profs, do research, etc.
I concur with the thought that the OP should do whatever it takes to get into the Honors College at Wazzou. To the OP â remember, itâs not where you start but where you end up! If you take advantage of all the opportunities that you are given â Honors College, challenging classes, etc. â then donât worry about not getting admitted to a ânameâ school, especially if graduate school is going to be in your future. Back in the day, I went to a large public university of middling reputation; but I worked hard, got good grades and good recommendations from the professors in my major, and was able to go on to graduate school at a much more highly regarded university. So, get all you can get out of Wazzou, keep your eyes on the prize, and aim high for the next level! You may look back in four years, and think that going to WSU was the best thing that ever happened to you!