I am currently a senior and I’m wondering if it’s possible for someone to be rejected from a college with a high acceptance rate but acceptanced by a college with a low acceptance rate. I just got rejected from a college with an acceptance rate higher than my dream school and I’m feeling disheartened…
Yes it is possible. Some schools practice yield protection meaning they may reject or waitlist high stat applicants if they think they are using the school as a safety. Also many schools track interest, so if you did not show them some love, they will not show the love back.
What are your stats? If they’re significantly higher than the average range for that school they may be skeptical that you would actually attend if accepted and that’s why they may have decided not to accept you. Other factors may also be involved such as demonstrated interest. It’s a way for the colleges to protect their yield. Try not to read too much into it as it relates to your chances at your other schools. Good luck ? !
Admission rates alone cannot be used to determine your chance of admission. A college with a high admission rate out of a strong applicant pool may be harder to get admitted to than a college with a low admission rate out of a weak applicant pool.
For example, if college A has two applicants with 4.0 and 3.9 GPAs and admits only the 4.0 GPA applicant for a 50% admission rate, while college B has ten applicants, one of whom has a 3.0 GPA and nine of whom have 2.5 GPAs, and admits the 3.0 GPA applicant for a 10% admission rate, which college do you think is harder to get admitted to?
Another possibility is that the colleges have different admission standards by major, and your major is a more competitive one at the supposedly-easier-to-get-into college but is not a more competitive one at the other college. Other variations in selectivity within a given college include in-state versus out-of-state for public colleges.
My highest sat is 1410 and my gpa is 3.9 unweighted and 4.2 weighted. The college that rejected me had a 38% acceptance rate and their highest average sat score is ~1330. I suppose they might have rejected me to save their yield but I recently got accepted to a college with a 50% (why aren’t they protecting their yield) acceptance rate so I’ve been beginning to have doubts…
forgot to mention the stats were for vpa 2019… oops
What is your intended major? Is the average SAT for the entire school or for your major? Same with acceptance rate - overall or for your major? Was this a public school with different admit rates for instate vs out of state students?
I went in either undecided (I know that it’s harder to get in this way my mistake) or undecided life sciences (if they gave the option). The sat stats show the whole school and the schools I am specifically talking about are the UC’s which pick more kids from California (where I currently reside). The specific school I am talking about is UC Davis.
UC Davis and which other school, and which school is which?
Just for clarification you got into UCD or not? UCD’s acceptance rate overall was 41% last year but again for the College of Biological Sciences is probably lower.
For UCD admission: Students applying as “undeclared” or “undeclared/exploratory” are considered within the college/division to which they applied so Undeclared Life Sciences is in the College of Biological Sciences which is impacted and highly competitive.
UCD’s 25th-75th percentile for SAT: 1220-1480
Your SAT is below the average of 1350 and if you looking to be competitive for an impacted program, you need to be above the averages.
Average UC GPA: 4.11
What UCD looks for in their application review:
- Very important: Academic GPA, Application essay, Rigor of secondary school record, Standardized test scores
- Important: Character/personal qualities, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Volunteer work
- Considered: First generation college student, Geographical residence, State residency, Work experience
- Note: Scholastic achievement most important, followed by school and community activities, academic interests, special circumstances, special achievements and awards Admission decisions are made based upon the qualifications of the applicant pool and the number of available spaces within each academic area.
Also the UC’s can be unpredictable so hopefully you have applied to other campuses.
@ucbalumnus UC Davis is the one I got rejected from. Riverside is the one I was accepted into.
@Gumbymom Thank you for all the helpful info! However I must clarify that my highest sat is 1410 which is not below the sat average for davis.
So you are assuming that since UCD has a higher acceptance rate than your dream school and you got rejected, that your chances at your dream school are in jeopardy? It really depends upon what school you are aiming for and all the other nuances involved such as intended major, do they direct admit into the major or not etc…
I do not see how UCR figures into this scenario??
UCR is generally considered easier to get into:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/2127392-faq-uc-historical-frosh-admit-rates-by-hs-gpa-2018.html
So getting into UCR but not UCD is not that surprising.
“Admission rates alone cannot be used to determine your chance of admission. A college with a high admission rate out of a strong applicant pool may be harder to get admitted to than a college with a low admission rate out of a weak applicant pool.”
For example, if college A has two applicants with 4.0 and 3.9 GPAs and admits only the 4.0 GPA applicant for a 50% admission rate, while college B has ten applicants, one of whom has a 3.0 GPA and nine of whom have 2.5 GPAs, and admits the 3.0 GPA applicant for a 10% admission rate, which college do you think is harder to get admitted to?”
This is one of the best posts I’ve ever read in CC. It is so important when looking at stats to have context.
To make snap judgments on quality, prestige or the like based on a number. Especially with application inflation with common apps and Hail Mary applications for vanity purposes. It abounds on CC.
Really smart post and observation UCB.
@gumbymom Another user in the thread requested the other school I got accepted to so I put UCR in the same text box as my reply to you I apologize for the confusion. And yes my real concern is the fact that since I have only gotten accepted to a school with a 50% acceptance rate that anything lower might be a bust for me. So I am curious as to if I have a chance with the other UC’s (all of which are even lower than UCD). I’ve been told that UC admissions are full of surprises so I may just have to wait and see.
@phytomitosis: I have been a CC poster for many years and I have seen many surprises when it comes to UC admissions so do not let this rejection get you down. I have seen posters get into UCB but denied from UCSB and UCSD so you never know.
It’s not just about stats. Holistic matters. Your app can strike one college differently than another.
I’m experiencing this as well. I’ve gotten into a couple T20s already but I was shut out by most of my match schools. One thing to note is that colleges are looking to keep their yield rate high. If they think you won’t go, then they will most likely waitlist or reject you. In addition, as mentioned by @lookingforward , colleges have a different set of criteria that they want. It is very possible that you fit some of the more competitive schools and not so much the non competitive ones.
I am so sorry that you did not get into your top school. My daughter got into UCD but just got waitlisted at U W which was one of her top choices. She has never looked at UCD and never thought about this school until now. Her friend with a lower gpa, lower Act score, fewer AP classes and similar extracurriculars got into U of W. My daughter was waitlisted so she may send a letter of dispute. None of this is fair.