I was rejected from UIUC. This has made me rethink my college list. Is it too ambitious ?
Should I have applied to more safeties? Am I doomed to fail? Should I think more on the lines of Canadian universities?
Here are my statsI am a international student from India .
ACT- 32 (M-29 Sc-31 R- 36 E-33)
SAT (Superscore)- 2100(M-690 CR-740 W-670)
SAT(single)- 2070 (same as above with 710 in CR)
Toefl-115
9-91%
10- 94.8%
11-92%
12(Mid)-94.8 %
Extracurriculars
Published in 5 International Research Journals on Articles on Biometrics and Systems Security, E-Waste and Simulation of solar cells , and alternate authentication systems.( Mentioned in Google Scholars)
Five year state Computer Science Olympiad Gold medal holder
Interned at a Web Development Company and helped as a junior coder in development of a website which was appreciated by a professor from Stanford.
Advanced Certification in Java C++ and DBMS
Member of IEEE Computer Society and ACM India
Life member of Vigyan Bharati
Volunteer work at Vigyan Bharati and taught to girls rescued from militancy
Universities Applied To
UCLA UCB UCSD UCD
UIUC
CORNELL
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
NYU
JOHNS HOPKINS
U Pennsylvania
Stevens institute of technology
UT Dallas
Financial contribution - 20k but already talked for loan if financial need not met
All Applications RD
I think it was a fluke that you weren’t accepted. I was accepted today and my stats are definitely not as impressive as yours. I definitely don’t think you were too ambitious. I’m really sorry that you weren’t accepted but you have a very solid resume and you’ll absolutely be taken by a university on your list. Don’t be scared! Sometimes things happen like you get edged out by a legacy or something. Again, sorry, but don’t worry too much.
act: 27
gpa: 3.5
major: crop science
@nopedestrians Thank you for the support. I was seriously starting to doubt myself. I hope I will be lucky next time. Congratulations on your acceptances!
I’m as worried as you are! I applied to computer engineering (Indian Female) and was rejected. You have amazing ECs and great stats! I have applied to Canadian Universities so there’s that. I’m holding on to hope now. I have been accepted to 3 but they were my safeties so I’m hoping for more 
@hellolol Thank you for the encouragement . Which Canadian universities should I apply for?
I hope my safeties at least come through!
My international fellow, Mexican student applying to several top tier colleges here.
My advice? Never be afraid of rejection. I don’t have any of the stats that you have, which are very impressing (IE^3 got me drooling). I live in a very small town in my country, so extracurricular activities are very limited, had low ACT scores for top tier colleges and pretty much write about my normal life in my essays. If I tried with high probabilities of failure, why won’t you?
Finally, believe that there are no limits, but the sky.
@ThePretender50 Thank you really . You have no idea how much this means to me. I will now try to keep my hopes high for the other decisions. I understand your position . Most of us don’t realise how lucky or priceleged we are until put into perspective . Thank you again.
@tiwari124 Yeah bro. You had really good shots in your HS. I’ve been passionate about CS since I was 12, but really wasted time in HS; it was not until last year I improve do my game and started to do things.
@ThePretender50 An improving trend is always good for the universities. I did make some good decisions. I hope you are selected in your dream schools. Best of luck for the future!!
@tiwari124 Chill man, your stats and especially 11th grade are much better than mine, although I did get a 2320 on the SAT. I got about 67% in 11th and got into UMich a few days ago. Just wait, the acceptances will start flowing in.
@McKilla99 Congratulations on your stellar scores. I hope what you say is true. Thank you for the support.
@tiwari124 I applied to University of Waterloo and University of Toronto. Great places, plus coop!
@ThePretender50 Some very wise words you said. Thank you so much! Even I feel like I wasted my time in High School, when I could have done so much along the lines of CS.
@McKilla99 Even I got 68 in 11th. :)) Congrats on UMich! I’m still waiting on a decision for my deferred application. Here’s hoping!
@tiwari124 which course are u applying?
@hellolol Do they provide aid?
How are they ranked for Engineering ?
Should I apply ?
@qwerty1309 Computer Engineering or Computer Science
@tiwari124 Waterloo is amazing for CS. It’s a Silicon Valley feeder, and is often called MIT of the north. UToronto is amazing too! You should first research the universities and then judge whether you’d like to apply to them. They have rolling admissions, so the sooner you do, the better. They do provide scholarships, which I guess is usually based on your board scores.
Ultimately, you should see whether you’ll like being in the college, the location, the courses.
@hellolol I completely agree with you. I did research it just now and it’s CS is indeed highly ranked . It is very alluring because of the Co-op program also! I am just afraid of the cold I will have to face. I guess one will get accustomed to it over time. I will apply as soon as possible. This was very productive suggestion . Thank You
@tiwari124 That’s alright! It is a wonderful place, and a person from my high school is super happy doing CS over there! (And yes, my biggest and only worry is the cold xD)