<p>You may not no this, but you can challenge the admission decision. You need to write a letter to the admissions office and call the admissions officer and ask for a hearing, meeting, consultation, whatever and most schools will grant it. Now you get a chance to be in front of the decision makers and they can evaluate you as a person ,not an application. They may decide to give a deferred admission to the 2nd semester or allow you the ability to enroll immediately. Remember " no is just for today, yes is forever" so tomorrow go out and get your “yes”.</p>
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Really?? Most top schools I know will politely tell you all decisions are final, unless there is significant new information. Most won’t even add the caveat. The most competitive schools have far more qualified applicants than spaces and couldn’t get bogged down with appeals from all disgruntled students. I would like to see some back-up sources for your contention.</p>
<p>At UNC-CH, their documentation specifically states:</p>
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I don’t think the OP is contending either of these things happened. You should do more research before providing false hope.</p>
<p>@kamechler - I think (except for JCTUCLA) you have gotten very good advice on here, and it is great that you seem to be in a better state of mind about the whole thing now. Indeed, you already have some good other choices and perhaps some even “better” ones yet to come. Better is a relative term, hence the quotes. But given the type of experience I suspect you were looking for at UNC-CH, which is a lovely and excellent school to be sure, it is entirely possible that Vandy and perhaps USC will suit you as well, should you get accepted. Also, I see you applied to ASU, which I am assuming is Arizona State. Did you apply to their Barrett Honors College? If not, you might want to see if it is too late to do so. They built some outstanding facilities dedicated to their top students just a few years ago (5 years I want to say) and I have heard good things about this program. Might be worth checking out.</p>
<p>USC definitely is not known to be generous with their need based aids, although it may try hard to be portrayed to be so.</p>
<p>Don’t feel bad that UNC rejected you. It’s definitely because you are an OOS. I agree fully with LongRangePlan and MYOS1634. I would not recommend transferring from a community college. Don’t know what your intended major is but keep in mind that you are more likely to change your major in college and that you probably will end up working in a field different from your major, statistically. Small liberaa arts colleges will give you an excellent education and financial aid in most cases. </p>
<p>@carmenita - The OP never brought up FA, oldfort did. And who in the world brought up community colleges?? The OP sure didn’t. She listed her other applications, not a community college in the bunch and not a hint that she would even consider such a move. Why confuse the issue?</p>
<p>For everyone’s record, I was denied admission to my “dream school”, which is also one of the Ivy’s, back in December. So I e-mailed the dean of admissions, as well as the coordinator of the department I applied to right after I received my letter, basically telling them why I know their school is perfect for me, and begging them for an appeal of my application. But a week later, I hadn’t heard anything back, so I e-mailed them both again. I said that I know the education their school can give me will completely change my life etc, that I would try to attend even if it was located in the North Pole, and if it’s not possible to appeal, do they have any suggestions on what I can work on for next year’s application. </p>
<p>Long story short, the coordinator of the department I applied to e-mailed me first, with the advice that I apply to a different program that she thought I was better suited for. So I forwarded her e-mail to the dean of admissions, asking if I can re-apply, and if not, are there any other alternatives he might be able to suggest. But he contacted me a few days later, letting me know that I could submit a different application. I’ll get their admission’s decision soon, but I already feel honored that they allowed me a second chance for redemption. And even if I’m not ultimately admitted, at least I can rest assured that the decision was probably in my best interest and that I really did give it my all.</p>
<p>Also, my stats are really not that great, and I’m pretty sure I failed to convey my strongest attributes in the first application I submitted. So I don’t blame the adcom for skipping over me the first time around. But after I “badgered” them into re-evaluating me, one of the coordinators actually said that I should be congratulated on all of my accomplishments and that my portfolio is “quite strong”. </p>
<p>And lastly/one final tip: every time I corresponded with the coordinator and dean of admissions, I tried to speak in my “own voice” and reveal my true character, usually writing my e-mails in one sitting. I gave up on trying to be who I thought they wanted me to be, and pretty much just put it all on the table. </p>
<p>I just have never heard of appealing admissions decisions, especially at the Ivy’s. What a can of worms that would open with the number of applicants they have to reject. The appeal process would be like a whole other admissions cycle. Pianoleg, while I wish you the best with your appeal, I would not suggest that OP do likewise. He/She is upset enough already and an appeal is just going to prolong the agony and create false expectations. OP has a myriad of other terrific schools from which to choose.</p>
<p>Kamechler, please don’t doubt your value or your bright future for a nanosecond! You will achieve your ultimate dreams. There are so many many paths to take, each one rich with opportunity. I started out at a small state college, transferred to a state university, then went to Harvard Law School. I’ve seen a lot and your credentials are amazing. I can imagine the struggle the committee had and the agony of having to let you slip through their fingers. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure they’re able to sleep at night because they know that you are going to land on your feet and flourish. The reality is that your destination is success and you will reach it, no matter where you go to school. Keep your head up. Keep doing the things you love. Something good is going to happen for you, I just know it. </p>
<p>Dreams are not often what they appear to be, and life changes drastically following H.S. and you have no idea if your dream school is a good match until you get there and give it a try. </p>
<p>Not every kid is happy with their dream school, even those that make it into the top notch highest ranked schools. One kid from my son’s 2013 graduating class has already dropped following the first semester.</p>
<p>My son graduated last year from an all IB School (#1 school in MI). He was wait listed (soft rejection) from his Dream School Univ of Mich. His quals were 34 ACT, near perfect SAT subject scores in physics and math, near perfect GPA no one got a perfect score, fantastic passing grades on the IB exams, hours and hours of community service, sports, clubs, etc.</p>
<p>He was waitlisted or softly rejected from his dream school Univ of Mich as an In State Kid. Univ of Mich favors OOS and International students and have stated they cannot afford to give such a huge tuition discount to Michigan residents</p>
<p>He did not celebrate his early acceptance to Purdue and was stuck in the mud for 6 mo</p>
<p>Now, into his 2nd semester, he loves Purdue; is busting his butt as it is not as easy as he thought it would be, is comfortable, loves the campus, the program, the faculty, program, friends, dorms, food, classes. He is happy as can be and doing his best</p>
<p>IN STATE vs OOS or Private </p>
<p>We parents thought in State or Univ of Mich would be much less expensive than OOS or Private. We were wrong, very wrong. This is not true for everyone of course, perhaps we are the exception but things do work, and good things will happen for your in your future.</p>
<p>Given his grants and AP credit given towards his degree, his savings for his degree will be about $80K less than his in State Dream School.</p>
<p>Many privates and even OOS give out more money than you would ever think – you are well qualified so go out and ask for it, see what is available</p>
<p>MY ADVICE: MOVE ON
Forget an appeal. </p>
<p>If they rejected such a fine person, and you are well qualified, reject them and move to a school that most likely will be the better match</p>
<p>On paper, no one can tell who is the better candidate. </p>
<p>Kids that come in with high scores and look great leave or fail; kids that come in looking boarder line excel. No school can tell from paper how you will do at their school</p>
<p>Schools also are hesitant to re evaluate especially the higher Ivy League and other high end schools. A NO is typically a NO. My son was told to reapply by Michigan, his Sophomore or Junior Year (how nice of them to mention in the waitlist or soft rejection letter). He has no interest as he is happy with Purdue.</p>
<p>OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR LIFE
You have more than 10 Billion more opportunities that may be even better, than the one rejection letter. Plan a path from what you have, and seize the opportunity. Things often happen for a reason and NO college makes or breaks a person. It is the person that makes the difference, the college he or she attended has some influence but is a small part of a large equation based on too many factors to count.</p>
<p>Life is not a short horse race; it is a long endurance journey.</p>
<p>Best Wishes.</p>
<p>EEDegree— love it!! I have seen more people succeed who have to overcome disappointments. The valedictorian of my class who went to a highly ranked university started her own accounting firm, never married, and lives in the same city. The kid ranked 242 out of 455 in that same class fought to get into college, working in real estate part time while in college. He manages hundreds of millions of dollars of property in a major city and is a multimillionaire today. Sometimes the struggle makes the marathon worth all that much more!! Best of luck to your son.</p>
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<p>I agree with the first sentence. But as for the second, I will say it again. There is nothing to “forget” because THERE IS NO APPEAL. I quoted the UNC-CH policy. Clearly they would not entertain an appeal. No one should have ever have brought this up, it was a red herring by a poster that knew nothing in this case.</p>
<p>Everything else EEdegree and many others have said is quite correct, and EEdegree made a truly excellent point at the start when they said life is very different after high school. Therefore what you think is your “dream school” is based on very limited life experience, and hence not worth getting hung up about when it didn’t work out as you hoped. Whether you end up at Alabama, ASU, Vandy, or elsewhere, you will most likely be very happy. College is, in general, a great experience because it is college, not because it is specifically XYZ University. That’s not to say some schools don’t fit certain students better than others, but within that concept of fit there is a lot of latitude.</p>
<p>My greatest interests and most satisfying activities have had little or nothing to do with the courses offered at any of the colleges or professional schools I either attended or might have liked to attend. You should be dreaming of and exploring what you might actually like to do with your life, not which institutional identity you can adopt during football season. In any case it’s a rare college at which you can’t find some excellent teachers, as well as plenty of mediocre ones. Don’t let your sense of self-esteem be affected, let alone ruined, by whether some college administrator who isn’t even a qualified academic picked your name out of a hat. </p>
<p>You make a great point, @elephantboy, if a bit overstated at the end, lol. I have long told people that “fit” is much more about non-academic factors such as weather, the size of the school, urban vs. rural, big or small sports scene, big or small Greek scene, etc. Put another way, any school within the USNWR top 125 or so (just to pick a convenient if highly flawed reference) can provide a first rate academic education with lots of courses to choose from, competent to excellent professors for the most part, research opportunities, and most popular majors. Occasionally a student wants a major that an otherwise fine university doesn’t happen to offer, so they have to rule that school out. But that is fairly rare and the college experience, or rather the difference in the experience from School A to School B, C or D is mostly about these other factors.</p>
<p>To the OP: Just remember that everything happens for the good. As many others have previously stated, this very well could be (and probably is) a blessing in disguise. You may not know why today, but trust me just let go of the rejection and enjoy life. Wherever you go will be a great place for you, trust me. </p>
<p>I am a graduating high school senior too, so I can kind of feel your position. Although I haven’t been rejected to any college, I have been rejected to Emory Scholars, Emory’s special merit scholarship, but I’ve moved on. In fact, I don’t see Emory as my #1 choice school considering their computer science isn’t so great, plus I know if I don’t receive enough aid I won’t attend, so I’ve been able to move on. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you are feeling a bit lost or uninspired then community college might not be a terrible option. I have two cousins, who went to community college for two years, had good grades, and they were both able to transfer to great schools. One went to Cornell and the other went to northeastern. Who knows, maybe you could be accepted as a transfer student to chapel hill. Even if you don’t, you will still probably get accepted to a great school and get a great education. </p>
<p>I respectfully disagree. For this person community college would be a mistake. There is simply no good reason, given the choices she still has, to not go straight into a 4-year school. Community colleges make a lot of sense for people that are unsure of their direction, need to beef up their skills and their record before they can attend a 4 year school, and/or have financial issues. For students such as this one it would be a completely unneeded detour at a level well below her capabilities. She is not going to community college anyway, I think that is obvious. Let’s just drop that from the discussion, please.</p>