Rejected transfer applicant looking for some words of wisdom

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

i apologize how long this post will be… any thoughts and insights are appreciated.

i applied for fall 2017 transfer and just found out i was rejected… my thoughts are racing in a million directions (or maybe just one big circle) but i will attempt to write them out as rationally as i can, thank u for bearing with me!

i guess my main question boils down to: do u think a late/incomplete financial aid application factored into the decision?

i am sad to admit that i ended up majorly lagging behind in getting my financial forms in after i completed my actual application. this semester has been quite difficult, and i’ve been in somewhat of a funk ever since spring break (pretty much right after completing some of my transfer applications). since the end of spring break i have been running around trying to take care of schoolwork, gear up for finals, tracking down follow-up/delayed materials from applications, etc. while experiencing quite a bit of sadness and anxiety that continuously brought me down and made it harder for me to remain productive. looking at it written out like that, i can see that they come down to merely sad excuses, but when i was experiencing those things during those weeks following spring break (and even somewhat now), it was very hard to shake it all off and return to the levels of energy and efficiency i used to have.

i do not know if financial aid application materials constitute a part of my selection of application materials to amherst but i wonder if, if that had been the case, if the admissions committee interpreted the absence of my financial materials as a lack of initiative or interest or competency. to be honest, i have convinced myself that that was the case. i mean, if more than 450 people applied… i’m assuming there were dozens upon dozens of smart, accomplished, passionate applicants who had the savviness to complete not only their applications but ensure all financial materials were in as well.

or could it be that my high school record just didn’t cut it? it wasn’t extremely terrible but it was absolutely nothing stellar. i’m guessing there were many, many students who were applying with great college and great high school records. i would say my college career so far has been successful, maybe nothing prize-worthy but definitely better than high school and i’d hoped that showed through. i’d been so excited to write about my newfound passions and… actually i’d taken some wonderful courses at amherst this past year (i go to one of the consortium schools) and did very well and i credit so much academic and personal growth to those courses. i’d hoped that showed through as well. and i’d really wanted to continue being part of the community.

on my transfer mid-term report… my amherst professors had written such kind, heartwarming comments about me as their student. one of my recommenders was also a professor i had for one of my amherst classes… and if i still got rejected, not even waitlisted… i guess the only option i see is that my inability to get my financial stuff together sooner was a dealbreaker.

but i guess there is still a glimmer of hope in me that maybe that wasn’t the case, that financial aid application and admission decision are not considered jointly (especially because amherst is need-blind?). any insight would be appreciated. at the same time, i am very aware of the possibility that the dealbreaker in my situation could very well have been the unfinished financial aid application. i am feeling very incompetent and disappointed in myself, that i couldn’t even pull myself together and continue keeping track of all my application-related materials, though i was so diligent in my common app and supplements. i feel like i continuously let myself down, telling myself i can handle all these things i want to accomplish, only to come crashing down and realize how mediocre i actually must be if i can’t even take care of my own financial aid processes.

any thoughts are appreciated. thank u so, so much for reading.

2

@cantdoanything Short answer, no, because I know they are separate offices. Also, I applied for fall 2017 as well with an incomplete financial aid application, but received notice that I was offered a place on their waitlist.

3

Why, if you are going to one of the consortium schools, and can take courses at Amherst, do you want to take the next step and transfer to Amherst? Is it possible that Amherst doesn’t like students transferring from the consortium schools, or do you know other students who have done this?

4

thank u so much, @bradthegrad2019 !! i really appreciate your kind and quick response, it helps me feel a bit better. wishing u the best of luck with the transfer process!!

5

@WelcomeWeek thank u for your response! i actually do not personally know of other students who’ve transferred within the consortium, and can’t speak on whether amherst discourages this (though one of my professors at amherst was very happy and enthusiastic to hear i was applying there). my main motivators were the open curriculum (in line with my interdisciplinary academic and professional goals, the structure i have within my two majors at my current school leaves very little room for the other disciplines i am passionate about incorporating into my future endeavors) and the opportunities i had already experienced within those disciplines through my time at amherst (i had even started to look more into the interdisciplinary individual major one can apply for at amherst). also, currently within the consortium one can only take 8 credits per semester at other institutions. through my time at amherst i’ve really come to love the school and community in general as well. i felt that my application had accurately reflected those aspects…

6

@cantdoanything Please keep your head up. I know these words literally mean nothing to you now, especially from someone from whom you’ve never met before on an internet forum, but I have been in your position before and I know how it feels.

7

also @bradthegrad2019 , if u wouldn’t mind my asking (and u can totally decline to answer, i completely understand!), how “incomplete” would u say your financial aid application had been? is it possible that while both of ours were incomplete, yours had been slightly less so? (though i suppose the likelihood of that having a major decision impact probably wouldn’t be too significant… perhaps i am being just a little more paranoid than necessary :slight_smile: )

8

Ah @bradthegrad2019 i just saw your 7:10 message after sending my 7:13 one!! thank u so, so much for your kind words, i truly appreciate it :slight_smile:

9

If your current school won’t let you create an interdisciplinary major, could you transfer to Hampshire College and create an interdisciplinary major there?

10

@cantdoanything Not a problem at all! I did submit a completed FAFSA, but did not submit an IDOC or a CSS profile. In fact, I never even started either application. After completing the FAFSA, I ran the College’s NPC and saw that my family, realistically, would not qualify for any aid, so we just decided to forego submitting the remaining forms.

11

If you feel that your curriculum choices are lmited after you fulfill your two majors, have you thought about not double majoring? Seems like the lack of flexibility is your own choice.

12

@WelcomeWeek unfortunately i am already a rising junior :frowning: i did apply to several other schools that offered similar interdisciplinary programs or the possibility of creating one. i’ve been rejected by a couple of them but am waiting to hear back from others…
@bradthegrad2019 ah i see, thank u for sharing! i also submitted my fafsa but rather late, i’m really not sure if amherst even got to see it in time for the release of admission decisions, whether or not they were linked in any way with fin aid–though i do agree that since they are separate offices, it would make sense that the two applications weren’t super connected with each other. the entire process of applying to colleges is so daunting and has so many steps, i wish i’d been more on track with all the forms!!

13

@CheddarcheeseMN thank u for your message! my current double majors are actually two of the core subjects of what i hope to be involved through an interdisciplinary program, and i made sure to address that in my application!

14

first of all don’t be so hard on yourself! Unfortunately, the admissions process is a gamble for incoming freshmen and transfers. If you are that passionate about Amherst and you are part of the consortium I would contact them directly for an answer. It does help that you have good recommendations from Amherst professors. It is worth asking. Also please remember in the end you have made it this far- you are doing the work! Regardless of the school if you have a desire to succeed- you will!

15

@cantdoanything I replied to your post on another thread but I’ll say it again. Amherst received about 500 transfer applications and only accepted 18. So, it was a long shot for everyone, including me. And, my father, aunt and grandfather are alumni! Don’t be so hard on yourself, okay!?

16

That’s a 3% acceptance rate, 97% of applicants did not get in. 97%.

Also, I am pretty certain Amherst favors community college kids for rising junior transfers. Half the accepted transfers are from community colleges. https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/transfer/community_collegeapp

And also veterans. https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/veterans

If you are neither of these things it’s even harder to get in than “97% don’t get in” suggests.

So it’s not you. You sound great, and like you will be very successful. Maybe drop the double major, and use the consortium - AC and also the others. You’re halfway through college and that’s a huge thing.

17

thank u all so much for your kind and heartwarming words, @ liberal arts mom @OrindaGirl @OHMomof2 !! i really appreciate it. and @OrindaGirl i wish u the best with the transfer process! :slight_smile:

18

hello! hope everyone’s doing well :slight_smile:

i was hoping to ask a follow-up question about something that was brought up earlier in this thread. @ liberal arts mom (i can’t seem to figure out how to do the @ function for a username with spaces… i’m hoping this works and can reach u, thank u again for your kind response a few days back!) suggested that it could be worth reaching out to amherst about my admission decision. i’m no longer in the area so would most likely have to do it over email, but i’ve been giving it some more thought to it recently and was hoping to get more information and opinions.

i’ve read some past threads about this sort of situation and the general sense i got was that it’s usually better to move on and that it’s likely to get a more or less generic response about the large number of qualified applicants. i do understand that, but i’ve been feeling more and more like it might be helpful to know, if at all possible, if there had been any specific reasons i was completely denied, not even waitlisted… i’d thought i had communicated pretty decently how much i wanted to continue being part of the community and how much i valued the experiences i’d gotten thru the consortium and amherst in particular. maybe i had seemed too overeager like i was trying to “get my foot in the door,” so to speak? or my essays were subpar in some way or the collection of my grades as a whole during my academic career so far was just not competitive enough? as was noted previously, i had gotten a recommendation letter and really wonderful mid-term report comments from my amherst professors and if my application still kept me completely locked out of any future possibility of coming to amherst… i hate to sound spoiled or entitled, but i’m just very disappointed and slightly confused as to where i could have gone so wrong as to be completely unattractive as a candidate…

in the back of my mind i’d always kept the possibility that they might discourage transfers within the consortium but i’ve recently stumbled upon some other past posts about more successful instances of transfer applications within the consortium.

so, might it be worth looking into?

apologies for yet another kinda downer post, and i really appreciate u taking the time to read! any insights or ideas are welcome–thank u again!

19

They won’t tell you anything, I virtually guarantee.