<p>Ok so I basically considered Brandeis my safety and applied there because it offered international students financial aid. So far I have been deferred from UPenn (ED), accepted by the University of Rochester (with scholarship) and waitlisted by WUSTL. Now today I receive an email from Brandeis and they outright reject me! I know that this year college admissions are extremely competitive and really I didn't have much hope of getting into a really good university but now that I was rejected by my safety I feel hopeless. Brandeis and Rochester are of approximately the same standard with regards to admissions. They were my two safeties and considering that I got into Rochester I felt that I should get into Brandeis as well. I've applied to some Ivies and some top LACs and am waiting for their decisions. Is it fair to assume a rejection from them, considering that Brandeis, which is less competitive, rejected me? I also want to add that my test scores and academics were well into the Brandeis standard (my SAT is above their 75th percentile) and my essays were brilliant. ECs werent bad either. Any hope left?</p>
<p>College admissions is always unpredictable. Plus you've gotten into Rochester already. There's always a chance that you'll get admitted into your other schools, but try to focus more on your gains instead of your losses (even if the school was considered a safety).</p>
<p>It's not over until you get that highly dreaded letter. Remain hopeful because you never know.</p>
<p>I was rejected from brandeis too.. very similar to your case cos i'm an international student with grades and test scores good enough for brandeis... or so i thought.. i'm hoping that they rejected me because i had pretty high need and brandeis is need aware for internationals..</p>
<p>Brandeis' endowment has been hammered this year. The school made headlines with its intent to sell its well-regarded and highly valuable art museum in order to raise capital. It is no surprise that internationals and others seeking lots of aid would be out of favor in this economic climate in general and in Brandeis' predicament in the future.</p>
<p>Any school that is need aware will be extremely difficult to gain admission to if you have high financial need. No matter how stellar an international student with financial need is, the student can't count on admission to a need-aware school. There probably are no safeties for such students.</p>
<p>I got rejected last year</p>
<p>And U Rochester is a really good university. Count your blessings.</p>
<p>There's a difference between a school that gives international students financial aid and one that is need blind. Brandeis isn't need blind, which means it considers your financial need and whether it can afford you as part of the decision process. Given this year's economic situation, especially the huge hit that Brandeis' endowment took, I would wager that Brandeis denied admission to most foreign students who needed aid.</p>
<p>Plus, Brandeis should NOT have been considered a safety school -- with an acceptance rate under 40%, it is a match at best, a reach for most. </p>
<p>You've been accepted to Rochester -- which is a great school. Many international students with financial need last year got into no schools. Consider yourself lucky.</p>
<p>As for whether the other schools will accept you -- are they need blind for international students?</p>
<p>Why would any international student with financial needs think of schools in terms of safeties? There are so many international students who would like to study in the US, and relatively few schools that provide much FA to internationals, so the competition is fierce.</p>
<p>brandeis and Urochester aren't the same, competition wise.</p>
<p>I got waitlisted from Brandeis, awaiting Urochester decision.</p>
<p>Don't worry about it, if anything, you can try to trasnfer later.</p>
<p>Their is always hope. A word of encouragement, Brandeis is lame anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice guys. I know that financial need during this crisis plays a huge role in admissions. I'm not upset about being rejected from Brandeis, I don't like it much anyway. What worries me is that the rest of the schools I applied to are more competitive, so I figured that a rejection from Brandeis seems to indicate a bleak future with regards to my decisions from those universities. Most of them are need-blind but I fear that the economic crisis might force them towards a different route.</p>
<p>greenboy wrote: "and my essays were brilliant"</p>
<p>Hmm, how many did you get right out of how many ??? :) and what # right = 'brilliant' ?</p>
<p>Actually, I shouldn't take your misfortune as an opportunity to be cute. I'm sorry you didn't get into Brandeis. As posters above said, they couldn't afford you this year.</p>
<p>Brandeis lost A LOT of money to Madoff, so financial aid isn't what it used to be there</p>
<p>rochester is a great school and you should be happy you got in there. why do you say no hope left? that's ridiculous.</p>
<p>brandeis is crazy jewish.</p>
<p>I'm sorry Greenboy did not get accepted by Brandeis. However, there is a lot of misinformation in this thread. First, as someone already suggested, a "most selective" school like Brandeis hardly can be considered a safety. Brandeis has lots of excellent candidates to choose from (its pool is smaller than larger schools but it is self-selecting by top students). And since it has a very significant percentage of international students (in fact its International Business School is majority international students), I'm afraid this applies to international applicants as well. Second, its well-publicized proposal potentially to sell some paintings from its world-reknowned Rose Art Museum, just highlights the school's commitment to students, education and financial aid. The art-sale proposal is just one way it is considering to fund the school's pledge to maintain financial aid while maintaining or improving its world-class education by resisting budget cuts--in other words, it's prioritizing students over things. Brandeis is a special combination of small liberal arts college and world-class research university-with the smallest student body I believe (less than 800 in a class) of any top tier national research university matched with high-powered professors who actually teach in small classes. Although not everyone's cup of tea, I would hardly consider it a "less desirable" choice.</p>
<p>well said B77!</p>