Hi there I’m an international students from china and have been attending a US high school for 2 years(since 2nd semester of the sophomore year).
So the thing is that I got rejected by all the colleges I applied to except for one(which is a safe school by the way). I have a collection of denial letters from UCD, UTA, UCSD, UCLA, UCSB, purdue and a waitlist offer from UIUC. When I submitted my app I was pretty confident that I would get in at least one of those school, but I don’t know what happened it just all went south like this. I’m still waiting to hear from UCB, UCI, Cornell and Rice but I think there’s no chance that I can hear any positive news from them. So I need solutions before I decide to kill myself or go back to china and work in a McDonald.
Here’s my stats:
SAT:1450(M:740, R:710)
Toefl:105(I got a 18 on the speaking part because I didn’t prepare for the test and was talking nonsense)
I have 4 ap scored 5: calc ab, physics c, chemistry, physics 1
UC GPA:3.94
my major is physics.
My EC isn’t good because I didn’t have enough time to do it. I was dedicating most of my time on studying and not getting Cs in any classes. But I did get an opportunity last summer to volunteer at UT Austin’s biomedical lab. I dealt with some deep learning stuff when I was there.
So please please please what am I supposed to do now?
Your answer is obvious: wait for the remaining decisions, push to get off the waitlist at UIUC, or go to one of the schools that accepted you, @theprc3 .
Where were you accepted? Can you reach you academic goal at the “safe school?” When my son did not get admitted to a school he really wanted to attend I told him that it was their loss!
Yeah, I don’t know what answer you’re looking for. You have some results you don’t like–I empathize!–and are waiting for some more. All you can do is wait for those, push to get off the UIUC waitlist, or attend Stonybrook (which is a fine school!). There’s no magic trick that will make your dream school(s) reciprocate your love.
If Physics is your intended major, you’ll have plenty of opportunities at Stonybrook. Take some time to learn more about it. And it’s a pretty good deal to boot. Make the best of this opportunity and you’ll be fine.
Thank 'all for your suggestions. Ive thought about it again and decided if none of the schools accept me, I will go to stonybrook. Meanwhile I am looking into some opportunities to attend a college in the U.K. , university of Edinburgh for example. I hear they’ve also got good physics programs and its not too late to apply.
Another option is to take a gap year. During that year, you could start working or volunteering so by the time you apply you have enough EC’s to get you into your dream school. Good luck!
They also have good success in grad school placement, which I am guessing matters to you also.
Anecdotally, my business partner is a Stony Brook physics grad, and he is without question the smartest person I have ever known well. All of the good things in my life have come as a result of his giant brain.
As an international the bar was higher for you and you are doing great! Congrats and I hope you develop more options!
Please do not joke about killing yourself. It’s not funny in any way. You got into Stonybrook, which is NOT a safety school, with a 40% acceptance rate. Plenty of people would be thrilled to get into that school and you CHOSE to apply there. No one should apply to a college they have no desire to attend. You applied to a bunch of schools that are hard to get into, especially as it seems you are out of state.
What you do now is stop complaining. Wait for the rest of your decisions. Attend a college here, or go to the UK. Or work at McDonalds.
Stony Brook is a great option for physics - especially with Brookhaven lab nearby. One other option the student can consider is to attend Stony Brook for a year or two and then transfer to one of the other schools mentioned.
Yep, you have a lot of options open to you, actually:
Attend Stony Brook.
Try to get in to a UK uni.
Take a gap year or go to school somewhere and then apply to UK unis.
BTW, I don’t know if that TOEFL score is good or not, but if it is below the minimum required by a uni, that would keep you out so if it is bad, retake it again and this time treat it seriously.
As an old New Yorker with a soft spot for SUNY, I have to point out that Stony Brook is two words. I also just saw that they are now calling it Stony Brook University, Back in the day, we called it SUNY Stony Brook.
Anyway, it is a FABULOUS school. You will find many very, very smart students there. And what can be better than going to the school that, essentially, runs Brookhaven Laboratory? Stony Brook is a lovely area of Long Island, close to beaches, a cute town. Walking distance to the train that’s 1.5 hours from Manhattan.
What should you do? The answer seems obvious. Go to Stony Brook which is a fine school with a particular strength in the STEM fields. Go there proudly and remember that your college experience will be largely what you make of it. Many people would love to be in your situation.
@brantly I wonder how many others will ditch “SUNY”. Kids shy away from that tag. (My youngest won’t even say it, though he’ll probably attend one!!)
@theprc3 wait and see. You may get a surprise! That’s all you can do now. SB is a great school, so even if it is your only option, it is still a good one! Good luck.