Stuck in a very unpleasant situation- now, what to do?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello guys, I am facing quite unusal situation, and I would be very grateful for your advices and opinions.</p>

<p>I'm a high school senior from a small country in Europe, who have applied and got rejected from couple of top universities (Columbia, Princeton, Darmouth...). Of course, saying it this way it doesn't seems like something strange. But the fact is that the reason I got rejected is an unhappy coincidence. When I had to take my SAT's I suffered from Pneumonia, and my body temperature was 40*C degrees, so I hardly remained consciousness during the test. My results were catastrophycaly low (1500, please dont laugh). </p>

<p>I am very sorry, because people who studied at some of those elite universities told me that I'm great applicant and they are sure that I would get in if my SAT result didn't blew it.</p>

<p>My ECs are devoted to Film and TV (I wrote couple of episodes for a known national TV sitcom, worked with greatest directors in my country, etc) and I thought that I could contribute to cultural development of University. Recommendations were also superb.</p>

<p>My plan is to get a decent results at SAT (something like 2100+, and 700+ on Subjects) and apply again next fall.</p>

<p>Also, I thought about applying to Yale on Early Action. They have great Drama school, so I could be recognised as a worth applicant.</p>

<p>Another problem is my application to universities in my country. My parents won't let me reject domestic colleges so I could apply to Ivies again, as a fresh high school graduate. I have to accept home Uni's offer. </p>

<p>Yale's, Harvard's, Columbia's and Stanford's web pages said that students, who are currently enrolled as a freshmen at another Uni, may apply themselves as a freshman applicants to their colleges.
Students who are attending second year at college may only apply as transfers, so regarding that logic, I could theoreticaly apply myself as a fresh high school graduate.</p>

<p>Do you think that my enrollement at domestic Uni won't reduce my chances as a freshmen applicant at Yale or another college, or my chances for enrollement are going to be lower than other applicants, who are fresh high school graduates?</p>

<p>Thank you for your time.</p>

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<p>Nobody? :(</p>

<p>10char</p>

3

<p>if you’ve taken more than the equivalent of a semester of college, you’d be considered a transfer student. Check with the colleges you’re considering to make sure this info is accurate as policies differ.</p>

<p>While your friends thought that with higher scores, you’d have been guaranteed admission to the colleges that rejected you, that’s not true. Those colleges accept about 1 in 10 applicants, and even fewer international applicants. Extraordinarily qualified as U.S. applicants are, international applicants are even stronger.</p>

<p>My advice is to go to your home university and do what you can to come to the U.S. for grad school.</p>

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<p>It’s significantly harder to be accepted into the ivies as a transfer student.</p>

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<p>Sweetie, you are trying for the Acadmic Olympics. It is very, very hard to get into the schools you listed. Are you a prince? Offspring of a international rock star? A gold medal Olympian? </p>

<p>You can be brilliant. You can be hard working. You can be the nicest kid on the planet with a perfect SAT score and STILL not get into those schools. </p>

<p>You have your answer from reading the webpages. It sounds like you can do a year at your local uni and then apply to certain schools as an incoming freshman. So do that if you like. </p>

<p>If you take a “gap” year please be careful. It is easy to have a year go up in smoke without having accomplished much of anything. It would be sad to waste a year waiting and then still not be accepted. </p>

<p>I hope you will go ahead and go to the local uni. Be a superstar. Work hard and do the best you can with the path available. Try again for Yale next year and also keep in mind that many people will come here for graduate school (Master’s degree). </p>

<p>I know that international students bring special perspectives to our campuses. I know students everywhere crave the best education possible – just keep in mind that you are competing with the best and brightest of American students for a spot at an American University – and at a time when the world economy is harsh and everyone is striving to insure their future. </p>

<p>Be careful that you are not on an ego trip. Are you thinking a Yale T shirt is the ticket to being respected in life? Warning: it’s not. Without accomplishment (something available to you without the hassle of coming here) then it’s just a T shirt . . . perhaps worn by a snob. There are people who are impressed by that T shirt and others who wince and stride across the street so they aren’t accosted by that blowhard!</p>

<p>Good luck. Do work at it and give it your best shot. Just don’t think an expensive Ivy league education is the only path to success.</p>

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<p>Okay, we misunderstood because I described my competency in a wrong way. I never thought I am someone who has “auto-admit” admission qualities. But I worked hard, and have very interesting EC’s, so I might be interesting to the admission officers. I just want a fair chance, and my bad results caused by misfortune situation didn’t provide that this fall. I don’t want to go to an Ivy school or something similar because of money or some shallow elite feeling, I have my reasons, which are a bit more original than those. :)</p>

<p>I wanted to know would admission prefer someone who has one semester or would it be better If I take gap year (do a lot of work of course during that year) and apply completely “fresh”?</p>

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<p>Over on the parent’s forum there is a current thread titled something like “Disappointment in applications after a gap year” – that might have info for you. </p>

<p>A gap year can be fabulous – or just 52 weeks frittered away. </p>

<p>You can never guess what is in an admissions officer’s mind. You package yourself the best you know how and DO read the websites carefully. Be sure to read the section on transfer students – there should be some statistics on how many applied as freshman and % acceptance and the same for transfer students. </p>

<p>If English is not your first language, see if you can get an educated native speaker to go over your essay and application to pick up any teeny errors. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Your TV/Film ECs won’t give you any advantage over others’ ECs. Yale Drama is their graduate school and has no affect on college admissions. </p>

<p>Someone may have said you’re a “great” applicant but so are about 80% of the people who apply to schools of Yale’s stature. Plus you’ll be applying as an international and the odds are even poorer. May I suggest you look over this thread at the types of kids who did and did not get into Yale?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/894258-official-yale-class-2014-rd-results-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/894258-official-yale-class-2014-rd-results-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Look at the Rejected kids’ stats. It’s not the only measure for sure but unless you are able to break +2100-2200 on your SATs, you’re pursuing a fantasy I’m sorry to say.</p>

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<p>Honestly, I don’t think it’s fair to blame your SAT score on sickness. A 1500 indicates a lower level of understanding of the topics covered on the SAT. Even if you were completely healthy, I doubt your score would have been all that much higher. Also, it’s inaccurate to assume that you would have gotten in had your SAT score been decent. The schools you mentioned turn away plenty of kids with outstanding applications and perfect SAT scores.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t risk a gap year. You should go to one of the universities that you got into, work really hard, and then try to transfer after a year or two.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

10

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<p>These are schools with single-digit admission rates. They turn away plenty of hard workers with interesting EC’s. You could have gotten a 2400 on your SAT and been rejected from all of them. If you want to come to college in the US, PLEASE PLEASE stop thinking that these schools are the only schools worth attending.</p>

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<p>Jesenin, do not “become” a transfer student:)…Getting into American colleges as international transfer is not hard; it is impossible. Or at least that is what I have heard. I do not even see why posters recommend this:S…So if you enroll at a university at home, you should plan to do your masters in the USA but not undergrad. (IF it is true that who spends more than a sememster at university is considered a transfer student…)</p>

<p>I cannot understand why people post comments that do not even relate to the question. This is not a “choice” thread so I don’t see why you keep commenting on the OP’s SAT scores which do not even exist yet (I mean the scores of the SAT the OP is planning to take).
And if the OP really had 40 degrees fever when she was taking her SAT then it IS fair to blame her scores on this fact. I do not even see why Saugus thinks it is not a factor when taking a test. People often blame their low test scores on much less important things like weather, mood, or the lack of sleep (well, lack of sleep does have an influence on your scores)…but if someone is so sick that he’s nearly passing out then 1500 is not a bad score at all. (although I am not saying it is even close to enough to get into a good uni)</p>

<p>While it is hard to get into American colleges for international students, it is possible and many of them actually do get in. Of course, an Ivy is always a reach no matter what.
And, Jesenin, I don’t think that having a colllege experience behind you would be a disadvantage unless it means that you need to apply as a transfer.</p>

<p>goood luck!</p>

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<p>It seems to me there are two questions here: first, if you take a gap year, and retake the SAT with much higher scores, will you have a chance of admission to the schools that rejected you, or similar ones? The answer to this is: maybe. It is up to you to decide if your interest in those schools is strong enough to take that risk. For some people, it is.
The other question, if I understand it, is whether if you enroll at a university in your home country, you can still apply to US universities as a freshman after a year. I have always understood that you generally could NOT do this. You have to research this carefully, and ask the schools you are interested in what their policy is. As others have noted, it can be very difficult to transfer.</p>

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<p>@ Pizzagirl- I am aware of a fact that Ivies and similar “high-ranked” schools are not the only worth attending. But, I am coming from a country which average annual income per citizen is something like 12 000 dollars. So, my parents are going to pay my US college with money equivalent to 16 years of average Joe’s salary. Unfortunately, I cannot afford myself to attend some widely unknown (even though academicaly excelent) school, because I have to think about its reputation in my home country and Europe in general. It sucks, but that is how things work.</p>

<p>@ksanyee- I stated the truth when I said that my body temperature was 40*C. Why would I lie on the internet? :smiley:
Of course, “real” SAT result has to be above 2100 if I plan to got accepted into decent Uni. </p>

<p>@Hunt- You got the point.</p>

<p>I decided that I’m taking a gap year. Getting into the fine US college was my dream, I worked hard for it, so it would be stupid to give up. My parents are gonna kill me, but, they will have to accept my decision. (I got something similar to “likely letter” from a Drama School which acceptance rate is like 2 or 3% so rejecting their offer is quite a madness :smiley: )</p>

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<p>JeseninFtw – </p>

<p>first – unless your parents are wealthy and willing to pay, please make sure you research US colleges and their financial policies in terms of international students. if a college determines that your parents are capable of paying $40,000 US and they are not willing – even if you are accepted, you will be in the same position next year (not able to attend, just due to finances the second time). Finances are critical! </p>

<p>Second – do your research on schools. If you are determined to attend school in the US, add some schools with slightly higher acceptance rates than Harvard/Yale. (make sure you understand their financial aid policies for international students)</p>

<p>Third – I would highly suggest you accept the position to the selective Drama School. Since many of the schools you mentioned allow you to still apply as a freshman even after a year at an international school, this won’t hurt you. If you take Gap year instead – for the reason that you prefer to attend school in the US – you come across as immature and conceited (not saying you are – but that is what admission’s officers may think). A year at a highly selective school in your country can only help your application – then you can approach the application by saying you need more and that is why you are applying to school in the US.</p>

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<p>Jesenin, you might have misunderstood me. I did not say at all that you lied. On the contrary, I was tying to convince others that you are right…never mind:)</p>

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<p>Maybe you could defer your offer of admission at the local school for a semester (if they allow it) and apply again in the fall as a freshman applicant who took a gap semester. I would call both schools beforehand, though.</p>

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<p>@hsmomstef- I will be attending home uni, but not the selective Drama School though. It would be very egoistic if I enrolled there and than got out after getting accepted by American uni. The school I will be attending is great as well.
Actually, I’m not gonna enroll as ordinary student, but will be taking classes and assist to professors. Guy who went to an Ivy league school told me that, even though they allow students to apply after being student at other uni for one semester, they do not sypmathize it.</p>

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<p>It is very hard to know what different admission committees will prefer; the important thing is to give them as much information as possible. I suggest that you

  1. enrrol into your local university and do the best you can there, hopefully getting a university professor to write recs. for you;
  2. that you continue with your impressive TV work - this is not something many applicants have on their resumes. If you worked with the best directors in your country, get one of them to write for you.
  3. apply not only to Yale but to 2-3 top schools and then to 3-4 good schools that you would love to go to but which are not your top choice. Altogether 10 applications (if you can afford them) if well chosen should get you into some great places.
  4. Essential: write a cover letter explaining your circumstances and reasons for the choices that you made. Acknowledge in the letter that you know that it is unusual to supplement your application with a letter of explanation, but then say that in your case this may not be amiss since the AC may not be as familiar with your specific educational/cultural background as it is with the backgrounds of USA/Canadian applicants. Then explain about your professional work in your country, the reasons that led you to enroll in your university, your ambitions for the future - and of course say something about your enthusiasm for the school you are applying to.
  5. if your grades are not on the same scale (A+ to F) provide a certified conversion.
  6. make sure that your English is flawless and your letter very well structured. </p>

<p>Graduate programs in the USA are terrific, but why wait for that if you can start here as an undergraduate?</p>

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<p>As a student from China, I totally understand the situation you’re in and what chances you have to take. And here’s my advice:

  1. Contact college officials, explain you circumstances and make sure that you can apply as freshmen.
  2. Look at schools other than those you’ve mentioned. I’d recommend Wesleyan University and Emerson College to you, along with NYU Tisch school of the arts and USC, regarding you interest in TV and film production.
  3. Get solid scores on you SAT and TOEFL. 2200/110 should be satisfactory.
  4. Try to use all your resources and get superb rec letters.
  5. Pray…! One can never be good enough to be sure that he’ll get into these wonderful schools…</p>
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<p>@ponornica- I have my school transcripts all officialy translated. When I applied, as a auto-rejected applicant ( :D), my rec’s were written by one of biggest directing names in my country, and another one by a lady who is a director of most reknown film festival in a coutry, and who works for Paramount Pictures.
Also, I wrote explanation for bad results, and I explained my work and accomplishments, but that couldn’t justify 1500 SAT and non existing Sat Subject test, right?
I will apply to about 15 colleges. Your last sentence reflects my thoughts too. It is silly to waste time at my home uni for 4 years, if my final goal is to get educated from top American uni’s.</p>

<p>p.s. Do you have something to do with eastern europe languages? The word “ponornica” comes from my language :D</p>

<p>@Connie- Thank you for your understandment, I am definately not in a desirable situation.</p>