No one is telling you you are stupid, OP. You are telling yourself that. You did ev refuting you could in a competitive environment. Count your blessings that you have been accepted to a college you can afford, and stop beating yourself up.
@TheSkeptic888. Even though we can’t appreciate the rigor of your school the colleges you applied to have AO’s that can. Specifically for your school. You are compared to kids at your school and maybe district. They didn’t see you as a fit to their schools. Rutgers and the others did. It’s really as simple as that.
Now use the work ethic at the school of the choices you have. You will need it for college. Take my advice and go to learning services no matter how good of a student you think you are. Join study groups and go to professors hours. I told my kids that they didn’t have to be the same kids they were in high school. They both sorta reinvented themselves in college. As I also tell my kids… “Bet on yourself and you will never lose”. Remember to join groups activities that you enjoy or want to learn about. My son couldn’t find one so he and another student formed their own group. It’s been very successful. Do what makes you happy.
Thank you.
Just for future reference (since my sister will apply to college in 8 years), what consensus do admissions officers get about the high school have if you are the only student from your school applying to a specified college (this was the case for me with Georgetown University and UCLA)?
Also, there were people who got into a school of their liking BEFORE everyone in the class’s top 10 students (who received rejections), who also happened to have less leadership roles or extracurriculars pertaining to their applied major. Could have it been the strong essay as a huge force?
I am just trying to understand the forces of admissions, as well as assess how accurate it is when people say “college is slightly arbitrary”. Is their any sort of slight formula to this?
Take a school like Georgetown. They accept a ridiculously small percent of applicants. Included in that ridiculously small percent are basketball players, legacies, etc… so you have maybe 5% of spots left for 10,000 applicants with high GPA’s and test scores. It’s not a science. We’ll never know for sure what tips the scale for one and not the other.
To be honest, what is true now is unlikely to be true in 8 year when you sibling is going through this process. Do not worry about that now. Focus on yourself and your opportunities for success.
And sorry for the weird autocorrect in post #60. You did everything you could. Time to move forward.
Oh well it’s nice to have first world problems, the horror and unfairness of having to attend Rutgers. GMAFB.
@TheSkeptic888. If anyone here knew the secret sauce of getting into every college we wouldn’t be on this forum. Maybe doing a best selling book tour… Lol…
The AOs know. That is their job. Certain schools are feeder schools and some are not.
Yes, Essays count a lot and more then I think people think. If all else is the same /similar what else do they have to go on?
Also ECs are nice but doing a few things for 3-4 years means more. That could even be working a job. Consistency is more important then how many ECs somebody did. They want devoted kids since that’s what they want when you join college. My son made a club in high school and as stated, started one in college. Colleges want kids that are involved.
You said somewhere your essays were not the greatest… So let’s just all blame that for now and move on.
Don’t let this process define you. Make the most of your college experience. Let yourself define who you really are… OK?
Go into college with enthusiasm, planning to have a great four years there, and you are likely to do so. Go in planning to transfer, and you are less likely to form meaningful friendships and make deep connections to the college and make the most of your experience.
So, go in planning to stay. Only consider a transfer if you are not contented there after you have given your college experience there your “all,” with a good attitude.
Embrace and relax into the experience. Much of what you will get out of college will be determined by what you put into it.
Best wishes for a great college experience at Rutgers!
Oh for crying out loud - enough of the piling on and blowing everything out of proportion.
OP- it was a really hard year for admissions. You don’t need to examine the whys and the wherefores. You don’t need to take “responsibility” for not getting into your top choices, especially when the people telling you this have children who have been given every advantage in the admission process. Give yourself some time to come to terms with your results. It will be OK. And you know that a lot of really smart kids are going to be at Rutgers with you. You’ll get a great education and have lots of opportunities.
Yes, if you do find yourself in a funk/depression that you can’t get out of, then it would be time to seek some professional help, but it seems that your feelings right now are perfectly normal and legitimate.
Holistic is… holistic. You don’t know the secret sauce, and the secret sauce changes year to year depending on the applicant pool and the composition of the class. This year, my daughter got accepted to a school that a classmate (and good friend) of hers got rejected from. The friend, on paper, outperforms her in every way: he has higher grades, he is a national merit scholar, he appears to have better ECs… who knows what swung the pendulum for each of them? If you could determine the outcome by some kind of checklist and ranking, it wouldn’t be holistic.
OP, you must move past blaming your teachers for being difficult. It ignores the role that your school profile plays in interpreting your transcript. If, say, the valedictorian has a 3.5, colleges don’t view that application as coming from a B-student. They’ll compare that GPA to your school’s profile, a copy of which is sent with every transcript (ask your guidance counselor for a copy if you haven’t already seen it). If the school profile says the highest GPA is a 3.5/4.0 - even if your school doesn’t rank - it’s obvious this applicant is a top student at that high school. That’s all they need to know to keep reading.
A year from now you’ll be thanking those difficult teachers, as you will find you and your high school classmates also heading to Rutgers are better prepared for rigorous college classes than many others in your cohort.
Applying ED may be a big advantage.
What do you mean by “before” and what schools? Did they apply EA or to rolling admissions schools?
You may not know the activities those kids who got in had outside of school. Or how your teachers wrote about them in recs. Or they may have a hook you aren’t aware of - ethnic background, legacy, 1st gen, etc. They might have had more compelling essays. You can never know everything that goes into someone else’s app, and it is sour grapws to gripe about other people’s admissions.
And activities related to your major aren’t really what this schools are looking for. Sure, they don’t want a complete mismatch, but they also assume college frosh may change their majors. They are looking for interested and interesting applicants. As you are noticing, it isn’t just stats and in-school activity leadership that get you in.
You’ve made multiple comments that indicate that you have limited understanding of what these schools with very low admissions rates are really looking for. But… Rutgers is an excellent school. You can get a great education there. I have a kid who attended her safety by choice, and had a great result. You can, too.
“especially when the people telling you this have children who have been given every advantage in the admission process” - imo, unfair comment.
Anyone can read college websites, look for what matters beyond stats. Many kids get involved in depth and breadth in legit ECs, in and out of the hs. Not just titles or things that seem glossy. Many, when given advice, consider it and review their thinking.
And anyone can google OP’s high school and learn plenty about its context, composition, goals, offerings, etc. Adcoms have the advantage of learning about thousands of high schools, have additional resources to learn about local demographics and student achievement, and travel to their areas to learn what the flavor is (in general and in specific areas.)
But no matter one’s stats, without trying to understand what the targets look for, you’re shooting in the dark. It’s not all about essays. But one’s choices through hs, all 3.5 years and through the app, say a lot about who a kid is, how he thinks, or not.
You need top performance, sure. But this isn’t a footrace where only your run that day determines your medal.
Harvard Westlake high school used to publish where their grads were admitted, in 2 different groupings, hooked and all others. The results were staggeringly different, and it provided useful insight to the parents there. I wish more high schools would do that.
HW is one private that actually facilitates finding the right activities for students. Don’t know how that relates to OP’s issue. He’s described some of the choices he made during his own app cycle and needs to gain perspective on his own self, his own thinking, not fuel some fire about advantaged kids. Each app to top colleges is reviewed as it’s own presentation.
It should be mandatory for every high school freshman to read @Lindagaf’s “Average Excellent Kid” post, and @MITChris’s “Applying Sideways” post. My son was in a similar situation to OP, but having had the benefit of reading these two excellent articles, and he ended up with a great list of schools to apply to, and will go to a school he is thrilled about. I hate seeing how many kids are looking at what should be a great time of their life with disappointment.
@Thesceptic888 "One thing I cannot accept is that if someone tells me I didn’t try or “skipped rigor”…“I didn’t “avoid academic rigor” simply because I chose to replace another class…”
I don’t think anyone has suggested you didn’t work hard. In terms of “skipped rigor” however back in September you received 4 pages of solicited advice that dropping Chem would be perceived by admissions offices as “skipping rigor”.
From Skieurope; “If the OP, as indicated, is targeting top schools and has med school aspirations, then dropping AP Chem for AP Comp Sci will not make him/her competitive. And if it’s a struggle to balance it all as a senior in HS, it will not be much easier as a college freshman. Despite the name, AP Comp Sci is not considered a science (in HS preparation terms) and is not considered as challenging as AP Chem…the issue is less about dropping AP Chem, but with replacing it with a class that is not a lab science and (to a lesser extent, depending on the college) with a less rigorous course.”
Numerous others across 57 responses urged you not to drop it as follows…“Just be aware of your competitors. My son’s program admits only the top 2% of students in a district of 50K. The top students in his program are insanely accomplished. They win state math and science competitions. They are applying to the same schools as you as are all the other high achieving kids out there.There are far more brilliant kids than there are spots at the top schools. Lowering the bar may hurt, it may not. It depends on whether or not you have some other overwhelming talent that makes you stand out.” And another more succinctly stated “Please don’t drop AP Chem.”
Your concluding response that brought the conversation to a close was you were dropping against the consensus advice and “I have enough schools on the list that I have a good probability of making and I have balanced that amount with reaches as well.”
So perhaps your assertion that your replacement AP was as rigorous although it appears omewhat contradicted when you commented “I want to play it safe so that the senior year transcript is preserved.” Either way, you choose to ignore specific informed advise that dropping would hurt your transcript and it’s implied rigor. Regrettably this likely was one of the factors that impacted your results.
Again not trying to blame you for the result but highlight what you could have done differently. First and foremost when asking for informed advice listen to the answers even if it is contrary to the message you are hoping for. Your debating skills are admirable but may prove a disservice when seeking advice.
Your future success is within your control. Don’t give in to the convenient conclusion that when things don’t go your way they were preordained not to go your way…“I could never give the admissions office, since all they could see is the foul looking exposition of my high school career.” You certainly worked incredibly hard but made some mistakes, what admissions saw is what you sent them. Choose not to be a victim, own the results and vow not to repeat the same mistakes. Most importantly get excited about Rutgers, relax and have some well earned fun. Once again good luck!
@lookingforward apologies you had to respond to such rubbish…“especially when the people telling you this have children who have been given every advantage in the admission process”. Opinions are meant to be shared and not diminished by personal attacks based on speculation as to resources etc…
Agree, NC1, the really bright kids absorb advice, process it, to make informed decisions.
I suspect OP has lots in his favor. But the process for getting an admit is more than he realized. Now he has a wonderful chance to learn over 4 years, not direct complaints against others.
It’s his choice whether he proceeds grudgingly or sees it as a fresh start. Cream rises. Bitterness isn’t a valuable life skill. Won’t win opportunities or jobs or build the cushions we all need in life- friendships, confidence, caring.
Attitude matters.
For what it’s worth, I agree it was the right learning move to drop AP Chem even if it would certainly be noted (if your high school offers it and you don’t take it as a purported premed/stem major AND your GC doesn’t indicate it’s due to a schedule conflict, it’s a notch). Clearly the class would have been overwhelming so you were right to drop it.
In the end, Rutgers Honors is highly prestigious. There’ll be lots and lots of very accomplished kids there.
Have you done an overnight yet? Call the Honors college to arrange something!