<p>Yes you read that right... rejected twice! I appealed the initial rejection and got a second letter telling me they'd gone over my application again. This time it was personally signed by the head of admissions. Maybe I'll frame it ;)</p>
<p>Anyway, I was just wondering why. I was thinking maybe it's because: a. I fell into the "unhooked white girl" trap (Google it - smart white girls are a dime a dozen, and while they are well-rounded students they don't bring anything special to the table; I thought my reading/writing was my hook though); b. I'm from New York and Wes prides itself on its diversity of students from faraway states and countries, c. I applied for financial aid and they probably found a very similar student who could pay full tuition (since they are stopping/reconsidering need-blind this year), and d. My math score was too low.</p>
<p>So here are my stats... And I thought I would also post this for people who are still applying so they can gauge where they stand :)</p>
<p>SATS: 2190
770 CR - 620 M - 800 W</p>
<p>SAT IIs: (These may also have been a factor b/c they were low)
730 U.S. History
700 Literature</p>
<p>GPA: 3.7 cumulative unweighted; upward trend from 3.5 -> 3.9
(An abusive family member moved out junior year which allowed me to focus on my academics; however, I did not include these extenuating circumstances on my application)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Editor-in-Chief of newspaper
Club Officer of Model UN
Internship at a youth publication/newspaper
Track
Cross Country
Peer Mentors
Student Ambassador
Work at my church 3 hours each Sunday (I'm an atheist, but I do it for the community)
& My poetry has been published twice, one during 11th grade in a national teen poetry magazine and the other during 8th grade in an anthology by young poets.</p>
<p>Also, I did an overnight visit at Wesleyan and had an interview. It went well, not GREAT but not bad. I'm pretty bummed out because Wesleyan was my dream school.</p>
<p>EDIT: I forgot to add, I have taken 5 AP classes in my high school career. 3 are this year so I have only taken 2 actual tests, with scores of 5 on US History and Biology.</p>
<p>Wesleyan does appear to be need-aware now, but you have to understand the level of competition for elite LACs. You may not be the only desirable applicant in your area, you may have noted a potential major that doesn’t have many availabe seats. There are so many variables.</p>
<p>Wes is also holistic. That means, in essence, your whole app matters, every question, your essays and ECs, including how you describe responsibilities. Not just stats. Sorry for your disappointment.</p>
<p>If you have more activities outside hs, community service or vol work where you work directly with the needy, a job, some outside committee, etc, be sure to incude that, as you apply to other schools. And, go back over your essays and answers. Good luck.</p>
<p>Yeah I knew it was holistic, but I thought the admissions office was just lying and rejected me due to my financial need because I did have a great essay and fantastic letters of recommendation (my English teacher said his letter of rec for me was one of the strongest he had ever written).</p>
<p>I wish they had had an extra essay question on their supplement or something… Oh well…</p>
<p>I suspect that as a female, white, BWRK you just didn’t wow them. Your stats are okay for Wesleyan but so are those of many other students who weren’t admitted. Your CR SAT is above the 75th% but your math score is below the 25th%. Your GPA is slightly below the average of students admitted. Your ECs are fine, but like the rest of your profile, probably average for admissible applicants.</p>
<p>There are many great schools out there. I’m sure you will find a place at one of them.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it will disabuse you of the notion that you were rejected due to financial need but my son was rejected and didn’t need fin aid. He has very strong quantitative stats, great ecs, crazy rigor, overnight visit, etc. He was very upset but has moved on. He has some nice ea choices and applied RD to a bunch of other schools.</p>
<p>There’s nothing to be done but put your talent and smarts to use to find a great college. It’s out there, go get it!</p>
<p>Your stats and academic rigor seem fair for Wes, but you probably didn’t stand out to admissions. Like you said, the white girl from the Mid-Atlantic is a hard group to jump out from, but along with that, your ECs are fairly normal. </p>
<p>As a fellow white female mid-atlantican, I am a little worried about my app which is currently being reviewed in the Wes ED II pool…</p>
<p>I wish you luck with the rest of your college adventures! It’s hard to hear no from a dream school, but there are so many great schools out there, you will have a great college experience wherever you go.</p>
<p>This issue needs to be clarified. It is my understanding that Wesleyan is still need-blind for admissions until its determination of the admissions from the wait list in the spring. Can anyone chime in on this accurately?</p>
<p>^^Wesleyan is certainly need-blind for Early Decision candidates. The roll-back, or re-reading of individual files for financial aid purposes, doesn’t occur until all of the decisions have been made in any given year, well after the ED I and II periods are over and then they probably start from the bottom of the pile until they reach about 10% of the acceptances.</p>
<p>It essentially means the hard line between the admisisons and finaid depts becomes blurred. They can ask for an early read on kids who may be good but not great candidates. Wes considered limiting need aware to waitlist, among other things.</p>
<p>"We will be as ‘need blind’ as we can afford to be,’’ Roth told the Hartford Courant. ‘‘Our model tells us that probably about 90 percent . . . of all the admits will be made without regard to financial need.’’ (Elsewhere, he said this will probably affect less than 20 kids.) However you work around this, they are still allowing for “need” as a factor (or potential factor,) beginning with the class of 2017.</p>
<p>A school’s being need-blind or need-aware should be irrelevant to applicants; it does’t affect the school’s quality or desirability; it affects only the chance of admission, and that only for those on the cusp.</p>
<p>I don’t think it should be irrelevant. It depends on the school. Some take it into account a lot and so if you need a lot, it might be better to focus your time and energy applying to schools that aren’t need aware. For some schools it only affects those on the cusp and I would guess Wesleyan follows this as the policy is new. For other schools though, it can affect hundreds of applicants.</p>
<p>Also, if you are looking to go to a school that has a lot of socioeconomic diversity, which I am, it might be best to look at schools that aren’t need aware. I don’t want to attend a school where the majority of people can afford 55k a year. I am by no means saying Wesleyan is this way, but other schools are.</p>
<p>“For other schools though, it can affect hundreds of applicants.”</p>
<p>Then let’s name them, to be of service to applicants. How did you find them?</p>
<p>“I don’t want to attend a school where the majority of people can afford 55k a year.”</p>
<p>For this subject check a school’s Common Data Set section H2, for Wesleyan <a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/ir/data-sets/cds2011-12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/ir/data-sets/cds2011-12.pdf</a> showing 51% receiving financial aid. This is a different subject from a school’s being need-aware, though there might be a correlation. If student economic status is important when choosing schools, use actual CDS data, not a factor that may have no correlation.</p>
<p>What’s far more important is a school’s meeting full need. E.g., NYU is need-blind but meets only 61% of need; need-aware Wesleyan meets 100% of need. Should someone who likes both schools skip applying to Wesleyan because it’s possible a majority won’t need aid?</p>
<p>Wesleyan is need aware only for the final ten percent of the class admits. ED is not need aware. I would say your low math SAT score would have hurt. Otherwise hard to say. The interview is evaluative, and you say you felt it was not great. That also may have hurt you.</p>
<p>@darcydoo - Good luck! Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine!</p>
<p>And thanks to everyone else. After posting I also thought maybe it wasn’t something on my application that caused them to reject me, but rather a lack of something special. Then their second rejection letter makes sense, considering I asked for a specific reason they rejected me and they (again) said “Many bright candidates who would clearly be able to contribute applied; unfortunately we cannot accept all of them” (or something along those lines)</p>
<p>And yeah I thought the money didn’t play as big a part either, but on the other ED thread the people who got accepted and applied for fin aid were getting calls from the fin aid office a few days before the decisions came out to finalize/clarify. I think they do take it into account, however much Roth might equivocate on the matter.</p>
<p>@morganhil - Yeah, maybe that too. Do the interviews count for a lot?</p>
<p>Interview, really? Every interview I’ve had they always have said the same thing: “This can’t hurt you, it can only help you.” Do you think they are lying? Admissions can be pretty evil sometimes…</p>
<p>Wesleyan admissions is far from evil. I would characterize them as very sensitive and holistic. My younger son’s college counselor is impressed with the extraordinary degree to which they are open to discussing apps prior to decision. As far as whether Wesleyan interviews can hurt your chances, they are one of many evaluative tools adcom considers to learn more about you. If you have no interview you are not penalized. </p>
<p>@ambnyc, I think you hit the nail on the head… “After posting I also thought maybe it wasn’t something on my application that caused them to reject me, but rather a lack of something special.”</p>
<p>Seems like at these uber selective schools the adcoms need to read/see something truly special/unique, especially if academic stats are averageish. Clearly you were qualified to be admitted, but as you suggested perhaps that something extra didn’t come through strongly enough to set your application apart from others. It is crazy to have to fit 4+ years of accomplishments, activities, interests into an application that will be read in ten minutes. As a mom of a current HS senior I really feel for you guys- it is a difficult task! Best of luck moving forward, take heart in the fact that there are tons of excellent schools out there and you will find ones you love.</p>
<p>The actual article starts at the third paragraph with “Some students enter the college application process by choice …”</p>
<p>The bottom line: “Perhaps the most controversial and high-profile aspect of institutional self-interest concerns the students we admit. Who gets admitted and why? The simple answer to that question is the applicants we want the most.”</p>
<p>You can get rejected 4 times in the same season from Wesleyan. They can defer you to ED2 from ED1 and then from ED2 to RD and then to waitlist which you may not clear. Talk about being strung along!</p>