Rejected From All My Matches - Please advise

Applying to College
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<p>While I am still waiting to hear from one match, one safety, and one reach, all of my other matches and reaches have rejected me or put my on the waitlist and I am not sure why. I would like to know where I miscalculated. Also, I saw in another thread that someone mentioned (to another person who had been rejected from all of their matches) that when that happens, the colleges are responding to something in your application (perhaps subtle and unintentional on the applicant’s part). Since I may have to defer admission or just reapply to schools next year due to health problems, I would really like to know what mistake I’ve made, since I may be doing this all again. </p>

<p>Accepted: Earlham, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke (Don't get me wrong, I am very happy about getting into these three; I considered them 'safeties' based on my SAT scores alone. In other words, I think they are great schools, but I want to understand more about why the schools where my stats matched have all denied me.)</p>

<p>Matches that Rejected Me: Wellesley, Wesleyan (high match, low reach), and Vassar </p>

<p>Matches that put me on the waitlist: Smith and Haverford
(also put on the waitlist for University of Chicago, a reach)</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>-SAT: CR: 800, M: 670, W: 750
-AP: AP U.S. Government and Politics (5), AP World History (5), AP English Language (4)
-Senior Year Courses: AP Calculus AB, AP European History, Physics, AP Physics C, and AP English Literature
-un-weighted GPA: 3.9
-Class rank: 1st </p>

<p>ECs:
-therapy dog training and handling (5 years)
-volunteering at assisted living facilities and nursing homes (8+ years)
-volunteering at an animal rescue agency; both working at the shelter and fostering cats
-minimal work experience and ECs due to health issues</p>

<p>Possible Reasons for Rejection:
-I have had to attend an online public school for several years due to my health issues; senior year I transferred to the local public high school and worked out a home school/public school combination that allowed me to work from home
-those health problems
-Besides that, my math score is obviously low, and I have considerable financial need</p>

<p>I am assuming that most schools consider online school an unknown entity; that alone may be turning them off. Or, it could be that they are worried that my health won’t pick up by the time school starts in the fall. I hope it will and I have no reason to believe it won’t, but it is possible that fall may come and I will be unable to attend. I can see how they wouldn’t want to risk an admission spot on someone who might back out on them.</p>

<p>Strengths:
I care deeply about my education; I have worked very hard to maintain my grades and take the hardest classes available to me despite my illness. </p>

<p>So, do my possible reasons for rejection seem plausible or is there a more obvious reason I’m missing?<br>
I realize that these are hard schools to get into, that my SATs aren’t perfect, etc. I am not surprised about the reaches denying me. But my scores are well within the range for my match schools…so what am I missing? If I do end up having to apply next year, I don't want to make a fool of myself by applying to these match schools again unless it seems likely that my health was why (or partly why) they denied me. </p>

<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.</p>

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<p>How are you ranked one in anonline schools?</p>

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<p>The public online school I attended functioned exactly the same as a typical public school except that you take the courses at home on your computer. The kids are enrolled in classes with public school teachers; you pick courses based on interest and ability; based on the grades you get in the classes you are ranked. I had the highest GPA out of approximately 100 students.</p>

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<p>Your math score is relatively low for some of the places on your list, so yes that could have been the kiss-of-death.</p>

<p>For institutions that are need-aware, significant financial need can be a kiss-of-death.</p>

<p>It is perfectly OK to ask your guidance counselor to call around and get feedback on your applications. Sometimes that is available. Sometimes it isn’t.</p>

<p>But here is the deal, you aren’t guaranteed an admission at a Match. Odds are that if your list has a half-dozen matches, you will get in at a couple, but sometimes students don’t get into any. The only place you can be certain of admission is at a True Safety that guarantees admission to you based on your stats alone - many public colleges and universities post that kind of information right on their websites. That is why here at CC we parents try to drill it into applicants heads that they need to have at least one true safety on their list, and that they need to “love thy safety”. Earlham, Bryn Mawr, and Mt. Holyoke aren’t safeties for anyone, no matter what a student’s SAT scores are like. Plenty of people with your GPA and test scores get rejected by them every year. At best, they are matches for you. You got in. Good work! </p>

<p>If you can’t find it in your heart to attend any of those three (for whatever reason), and you don’t have a true safety on your list that you haven’t mentioned above, then plan a gap year so that you can make a new list that is comprised solely of places where you actually are willing to study. Make certain that there is at least one dead-on safety that you are absolutely guaranteed admission to based on your stats, that you can pay for without any aid other than federally determined aid, and/or guaranteed state aid, and/or guaranteed merit aid from the college/university itself, and that you will be happy to attend if all else goes wrong. Here is one list that you can start with: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

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<p>First of all some of those matches are not matches for anyone. Wellesley, Wesleyan and Vassar (for women) certainly are not. Neither is Haverford. Having financial need could put you at disadvantage at Smith. </p>

<p>You are right on about what you see yourself as problems. Online schools are a new thing, and basically you did not take any SAT2s to give anyone a good idea as to what your proficiency might be in some difficult subjects. Kids who are not in a classroom with other high achievers are often considered unpredictable as to how they would do in such a situation. Though you have AP test scores, they are not in the subjects that are considered true “crunch” ones. </p>

<p>I’m glad you have some good choices. Congrats on getting them.</p>

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<p>I suspect the schools had to completely disregard your ranking, as they had little or no information about the online school–it’s competitiveness, how challenging its curriculum was, etc. As mentioned, subject tests will be a good way to demonstrate proficiency if you decide to re-apply. Also note that the schools that accepted you do not base their decisions on SAT’s alone, so it was incorrect for you to characterize them as safeties based solely on your scores.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I really appreciate hearing from unbiased observers. Anyway,
-Happymomof1 - yes, that math score just isn’t great - there’s no way around that (Even though I did receive As and A+s in all my math courses, including AP Calc, I just couldn’t seem to pick up that SAT math score any more. I’ve aced the practice AP Calc exams though…Go figure.) I truly am happy about Earlham, Bryn Mawr, and Mt. Holyoke - I could attend any of them; I just thought I’d have more options. Since I am not “hiding” any safeties, I appreciate your suggestion to apply to one school where I am absolutely guaranteed a spot.
-cptofthehouse and MommaJ: I did take a couple subject tests, sorry that I didn’t mention them. I received a 780 Literature and a 760 World History. It is a good point that I haven’t taken any “crunch” AP exams/Subject Tests. While that was not by choice (not worth explaining), it doesn’t make up for the fact that I haven’t.
-Also, thanks for the reality check with the schools not being set matches for anyone.<br>
-cptofthehouse – The idea that perhaps the schools were worried because I hadn’t been around high achievers in the last couple years really hadn’t even occurred to me as being an issue, but it makes sense. It’s ridiculous, but I can see how the thought may occur to someone who didn’t know me…(Just to clarify, I attended a completely normal public school for through middle school when I became sick.)
-MommaJ – It is unfortunate that they would have to disregard the rank – I worked very hard to achieve it. The school, like most high schools, is as hard as you make it. I chose to take the hardest courses offered and do my best in them. </p>

<p>Thank you all for your advice. You certainly gave me the insight I was looking for. I am not sure what I can do about a few of the problems, particularly the colleges not knowing about the online school (I didn’t have a choice about attending and I don’t know how to convince them that the classes were up to par), but I do appreciate knowing what may have been behind the rejections.</p>

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<p>What were your essays about? Did you get someone who knows about selective colleges, admissions stuff, to take a look? What kind of feedback did you get on them?</p>

<p>I’ve heard of kids writing essays that were perhaps interesting and artful but WAY inappropriate, for example about their bulimia or other mental health issue. Those kind of topics would be risky, IMO.</p>

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<p>I agree that those type of topics would be risky. One of my essays was about learning to be happy and thriving despite life’s challenges - not “artful” and only tangentially related to anything to do with my illness. Only two sentences mention illness: “Due to severe illness, the last few years of my life haven’t gone quite like I expected them to” & “Now it is a rare occasion that makes me seek out joy. It is simply a part of me, as it was before I ever became ill.” The other essay was about the varying philosophies of dog training and how I chose one to train my therapy dog. It was very light-hearted. Oh, BTW, my illness is not in any way psychological. </p>

<p>There aren’t really any people where I live (that I know) who know about selective colleges. My guidance counselor hadn’t even heard of most of the schools I was applying to. I did, however, read a lot about writing essays, on CC and in several books. I also had my Dad, whose work includes a lot of editing work, look at them and help me tighten them up. I spent a couple months going back and re-writing the essays. While I don’t think my essays were anything special, I don’t think they detracted from my application. </p>

<p>Do you think it would be worth taking the SAT Subject Test in Physics in May? If I do apply to schools in the fall, would that additional score in a science help me (provided I get above a 740 or so)?</p>

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<p>I was rejected too and am more confused/curious as to why. </p>

<p>I have 4.0 unweighted (my school does not do weighted gpas or class rank, but I’d assume I’m in the top 5 of a class of 600)
I have 34 ACT , 770 sat subjects in lit and us history
I took all AP an advanced classes
I was on my student council and on the exec board junior and senior year
4 years cross country varsity and 2 years captain
I did lots of youth mentoring and held leadership positions
I took a summer class at brown
I had a few other minor activities.
I got denied at Stanford, brown, Princeton, Dartmouth (I thought maybe one, not too shocked)
Ingot wait listed at johns Hopkins wash u and university of Virginia (sort of surprised)
Accepted at Boston college honors </p>

<p>Not sure what other relevant info to include, any constructively critical replies would be appreciated
I am not wealthy but not poor either.</p>