<p>I think the not transferring part is realistic, though I do know kids who have gotten into computer or engineering after taking courses there and doing very well, even though they were initially in a different department. This is rare, however, because the grading scale is steep at CMU. </p>
<p>The IT major is a highly selective one also, and kids coming out of there do quite well. From what I have heard, the results are very much comparable to that of the school of computer sciences.</p>
<p>I hate to pile on, but the Bates letter is still blowing my mind. They are essentially saying, “You can’t handle the work.” Most other schools say the complete opposite, that most all of their applicants can handle the work; that is never at issue. At issue is that there are simply too many applicants who can handle the work than they have spots for. </p>
<p>If I got the Bates letter, I would send them my grades every single semester, maybe even after every test, quiz, or paper, to demonstrate to them that, “Hey, I actually can do college-level work in a highly selective college.”</p>
<p>You know who has a really bad letter, Penn. It’s so short and so inconsiderate. Killed all my good feelings for that school.</p>
<p>Here is one for the books, we received a letter from Drew University (today-April 29th) It was folded up very unprofessionally. There was no regular date at the top of the letter, it just said “Spring 2009”. Bear in mind, this was a “Priority Application” (Free, you will know ASAP, as in you will know BEFORE the regular decision applicants) The Priority Application was submitted online in January, some “Priority”. I am glad that D did not have this one on her list of favorites! Her deposit, of course, has already been mailed to her chosen school. </p>
<p>Over the winter my H reviewed some correspondence from Drew & remarked that it appeared they were still using “Daisy Wheel Printers” This is obsolete technology & H has worked in this line of manufacturing, so he would know! Perhaps their application review process goes along with the Daisy Wheels!</p>
<p>Quote:</p>
<p>“Most Discouraging: Boston University. To students who have family ties to the university, its letter begins: ‘We give special attention to applicants whose families have a tradition of study at Boston University. We have extended this consideration in the evaluation of your application, but I regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission.’ Consideration of family legacies is common practice at many universities. But Rob Flaherty, 17, a North Reading, Mass., recipient, said he felt the wording in BU’s letter translated to ‘we made it even easier for you and you STILL couldn’t get in.’” </p>
<p>This sounds like Georgetown’s letter. It was very off-putting.</p>
<p>whoa… I wanna see the Bates rejection letter! I actually got an acceptance but it was nothing special. I feel bad now because even though I am not going, I wrote them a nice letter saying how great they had been throughout the admissions process - obviously they were downright mean to some people :(</p>
<p>At this time of year, you see a lot of press releases from colleges saying, “We had [some huge number of] applications for a class size of only [typical number of enrolled students].” As the Wall Street Journal article correctly points out, this totally ignores the issue of yield, and in fact most students admitted to any one college other than the few very most selective colleges end up enrolling elsewhere. For the same reason, don’t believe press releases from this time of year about how selective any college is, based on its admitted class. Almost all of the students with the best grades, test scores, extracurricular achievements, or whatever likely got into multiple colleges, and may raise the averages at multiple colleges that admitted them for the ADMITTED class, but only set the average for the enrolled class at the one college where each student enrolls. That’s why Common Data Set figures for comparing colleges are based on the ENROLLED class at each college (not known until the fall) and why the college press releases like to brag up the ADMITTED class at each college (known in the spring, before students decide where to enroll).</p>
<p>Didn’t Stanford say in its EA online rejections that it wouldn’t be sending along a letter, unless requested, in order to save the environment?</p>
<p>No, they said that they knew that the people who were rejected would be even more upset if they received another copy of their rejection, so they wouldn’t send a letter, although you could request one.</p>
<p>Is it possible that the sentence creating the most CC ire in Bates’ rejection letter can be read and understood in a less-cruel way? </p>
<p>Here it is: “The deans were obliged to select from among candidates who clearly could do sound work at Bates.”</p>
<p>I read that as meaning that the deans were obliged to select among candidates–including you, the ‘rejected’ applicant–who clearly could do sound work at Bates. I recognize that the letter ends abruptly and, sure, that’s a little off-putting.</p>
<p>In the interests of full disclosure, I should say I go to Bates (and love it, and don’t fly to campus on a helicopter) and I haven’t had a single experience at that school, or interaction with any of its administration, that was as short-handed or ‘tough’ as the wording of this letter might seem.</p>
<p>Not the way I remember the Stanford EA statement, although I may be responding to the way the Stanford applicants reacted instead of to the actual wording.
I can’t seem to pull up the Stanford EA results thread.</p>
<p>^ That probably is the correct interpretation of the sentence. A rewrite would have made that abundantly clear. It’s good for college-bound students to consider carefully reasonable interpretations of the things they read, just in case the writing leaves some ambiguities on the page.</p>
<p>^^ I was thinking the same thing. The admissions committee was forced to pick from a huge applicant pool who could do the work. What more could you reasonably expect in a rejection letter?? Apparently some rewording is needed, since the article’s author and two pages worth of CC posters couldn’t figure this out… or maybe they were rejected due to poor CR scores?? (sorry, bad joke)</p>
<p>I have yet to receive my hard copy of a rejection letter, I have only seen the online one. That gets me more annoyed than even Bates’ letter would.</p>
<p>Hi all. I’m currently completing my first year at Miami University so I went through the strain of college search process not too long ago. I was accepted to all the colleges I applied to except Harvard, and that wasn’t too much of a surprise. It’s disheartening because I had a 4.0 GPA, was valedictorian and class president, and had >30 ACT score, plus a ton of activities. I think it all worked out for the best though, because I’m so happy I chose MU, where professors actually care. Like my interviewer from Harvard said, a lot of the professors there are too self-absorbed to care about talking to students. So keep your heads up and I’m sure you will all do GREAT at whatever college you do choose! I also like the suggestion about keeping your rejection letter and faxing it to the college when you are rich and successful. The college doesn’t make the student and it is up to you to make the best out of the next 4-6 years (which go by far too fast!)</p>
<p>Being rejected is hard on the psyche. A rejection that is undeserved is even harder. But there is a way to get therapy without the nuisance of a psychologist or psychiatrist. Here’s what you do: Create a really cool, really successful company and make yourself an executive. Like Jonathan A Phoney, Sr. VP of Human Resources, ARC Communications Inc.(ARC standing for “A Really Cool”.) Then compose a very formal realistic e-mail to the university that rejected you – be careful and make it sound professional – and address it to the dean who signed your rejection letter. Explain that your company is holding a different kind of “career day” for graduates because you “…think that the leaders and innovators of tomorrow come from institutions like yours.” Make sure you clarify that these are not just entry level positions, but “professional, management and executive positions that have real impact in the strategic and tactical operations of our industry-leading organization.”</p>
<p>Make sure your e-mail address is credible – or at least mask it so only your name shows. Provide an address of the event (in your offices of course. I’m from Chicago so 1010 W. Addison comes to mind – that’s Wrigley Field BTW.) Then, in a couple of weeks (and after some e-mail exchanges when he/she is salivating at the coup they have for their college) pull the rug out from under and REJECT THEM. In an e-mail that echoes their own rejection style, tell them how further research has shown that their institution doesn’t measure up to your high standards. If you really want to pour salt in the wound, follow that up a little later indicating how a rejected candidate had spoofed them.</p>
<p>The above will not improve the world, but it may help your self-image for a few hours. There’s nothing like exposing a stuffed shirt or a cutting a bully down to size, is there? Sometimes a BS detector will kick in, but it is SO much fun when it doens’t.</p>
<p>As a bates alumni I feel the need to comment on this thread. I do not hold my alma mater in high esteem, but based on my experience this is more of a political correctness/ softening the blow issue gone awry. Obviously, admissions staffs don’t want to have a reputation of treating any applicant poorly, but sometimes even the best intentions are misconstrued. The rejection letters shouldn’t deter you from applying to the school. The education is great but as you can see from the letters sometimes the administration (and the admissions office) are so careful not offend anybody that they make everybody angry.</p>
<p>I’m surprised no one here has mentioned MIT. The dean of admissions made a really kind blog post where he talked about how he had been rejected at his first choice school when he was applying to college, and how eventually he got over it.</p>
<p>Don’t be too impressed with Harvard’s rejection letter. They’ve been using the same letter for 20 years. I got the same letter in 1989. We had xxx amount of applicants for xxxx year and we had an acceptance rate of blah blah blah. Over 80% of the students who applied could do honors work at Harvard. Blah blah blah. It doesn’t matter where you go to college, but it won’t be Harvard. Blah blah blah. </p>
<p>I read the story in WSJ and was stunned to see Harvard uses the same boilerplate to reject students. </p>
<p>To anyone who received a rejection letter, take heart. I had my heart and soul set on Harvard and I went to Penn instead and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I met great people, got an excellent education, studied abroad, and was genuinely very happy once I moved on from the disappointment. Also, EVERYONE has a rejection story, but always remember that there are people at your college or university that struggled and prayed to get into YOUR COLLEGE. I forgot that and it cost me a couple of friends. No one wants to listen to you moan constantly about where you’d rather be. </p>
<p>Last but not least, borrow as little as humanly possible. Most of the Ivys have better financial packages now (some pay all tuition), but student loans will kill you. If you got into a good, solid school that is offering you an excellent financial package, run, don’t walk, and matriculate there. In the end, it really and truly doesn’t matter much where you go, as long as you do well. So, in that respect, the Harvard letter is true. But if you want personal freedom, don’t borrow!!! Paying back $1000/month is no mean feat.</p>
<p>booo Bates!</p>