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<p>You know, that’s a very unfair assessment of my point of view. The Ivies are great schools. I’m just amused by this dated, provincial point of view that somehow elevates them above other quality schools. It’s so 1950’s, and it’s so I’m-from-the-northeast-and-am-very-untraveled. They are just 8 fine schools among many other fine schools.</p>
<p>if “he didn’t really want to be there”, it looks like they guessed correctly.</p>
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<p>He thought he wanted to be there when he was in high school, and his essays reflected that.</p>
<p>kelsmom–“less academically prepared” is all in the eyes of the beholder though. I would consider someone that is in 3 sports/activities though the school and maintains similar stats to your son more academically prepared than someone that comes in with no EC’s. It shows that they have time management skills, can work with others in various situations and that they can study and do well in college. Colleges agree with that. They don’t want someone that is going to sit in their dorm and study all the time and when kids don’t participate in school activities, that is the exact impression they give to the admissions staff. It isn’t all about grades and test scores.</p>
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<p>He outlined his hours of non-school music activities in his application. I don’t have any interest in arguing here, and his waitlist was what it was … however, I think it is incredibly presumptuous to assume that school activities or any other adult-organized activities are in and of themselves “better” than those initiated by the student himself. In addition, how on earth does not being in school activities but being in other activities somehow mean that he is going to sit in his dorm and study all the time??? For what it’s worth, he certainly could have spent more time studying … then and now. ;)</p>
<p>I am only responding because I did not post about his experience so that others could offer their critiques of what happened. Admissions is one thing … but for CC’ers to offer their opinions of my son without anything but a couple lines posted by his mother … well, that is uncalled for.</p>
<p>I agree, kelsmom. Those comments are out of line.</p>
<p>When I was graduating from college and going through the job search process, we called the rejection letters flush letters. It put them in perspective…perhaps what we should do with the letters.</p>
<p>Today, many companies don’t even extend the courtesy of sending the rejections.</p>
<p>kelsmom-you missed the point. “HE” reported all of his hours and there is no accountability for that in the eyes of the admissions staff. I think you are out of line assuming someone with a lower GPA is “less academically prepared”. Anyone here will tell you that your grades don’t get you into college, everything ELSE you do does. Grade obviously matter to a point but you have been on here long enough to know the EC’s matter as much, especially at competitive schools. Also, grades are grades and an A at one school isn’t the same as an A at another school. It’s all relative.</p>
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<p>UM…no.</p>
<p>Steve. Really. You should reread the TOS. We don’t critique each other’s kids here. I know, from other threads, that you like to run around making pronouncements. But, you should try to get a hang of the culture before you just dive right on in. Kelsmom has been around a long time. She probably has some insight as to what went on in her own kids admissions.</p>
<p>How many have you put through school so far?</p>
<p>poetgrl-2 kids, how about you. I wasn’t making any “pronouncement” on any child. Kelsmom said that her son was more “academically prepared” then other kids that got in, not me. I realize that she knows more about her son’s situation but I was simply pointing out that just having a high GPA is not what colleges want, you know that as well as I do.</p>
<p>Truly, SteveMA, I know how it works. Not only have I worked in financial aid, but I have also worked in admissions. In Michigan. It’s a rather incestuous world, college admissions & financial aid. I know exactly what happened, and I know exactly why. I know UM’s formula (better than you, I am guessing). On the surface, however, it was unusual … especially considering the other schools that accepted him. If you reread my post, you will not see me whining or complaining. I simply shared a rejection story … those who know my son were quite surprised that he was not accepted, so it was considered surprising by many.</p>
<p>This thread is from a student who asked for rejection stories as she awaits more results following a rejection. </p>
<p>Any further posts that nitpick the stories offered by insulting someone will be deleted as Ad Hominem attacks outside of Terms of Service. </p>
<p>.</p>
<p>I never said you were whining, I was simply pointing out, like someone else said earlier on this thread, it comes down to who reads your application if they like you or not, thus the “in the eyes of the beholder” comment. I’m sorry you took offense.</p>
<p>I’m not really sure how an admissions person can get anything of note out of the ECs column on the Common App. I had barely enough space to list a simple description, much less my awards and my duties. If Micighan’s app was the same way, then I think it would be hard to distinguish between kelsmom’s son’s dedication and my boring music career.</p>
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Some will stand out even at a tippy top school and it’s pretty hard to predict who’ll they’ll be based on their high school record. Some would prefer to be surround by people who really stretch them even at the expense of less than perfect grades. My older son didn’t graduate with any sort of honors from Carnegie Mellon, but he has a job any comp sci nerd would be happy to have - it’s not all about getting a 4.0.</p>
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I agree. On paper, my younger son looked like a much better musician than he is. However a big clue, is that he wrote his essays about other activities. And at the Common App schools two of his essays were EC related.</p>
<p>A D of our friends got deferred at MIT (EA) back in middle of December, a day before they were to leave out of country for a 2 week vacation. She did not apply and did not look at any other colleges prior to receiving that letter. </p>
<p>I have no idea what the family did (everyone around them pretends like nothing happened - the girl was devastated). Before they left for vacation they might have applied to local flagship, where she already has 2 years of credits as a dual enrollment student, but I am not sure.</p>
<p>I was flat out rejected at NYU and Barnard. Haha. I was dumb to even apply!!!</p>
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<p>The thing is, you already got into schools! The thing is, you and a lot of your peers almost only ‘count’ selective schools…as you note, these global rejectees aren’t even listing where they did get in, just the top schools they did not get into. “Getting rejected from everywhere” is usually inaccurate on CC. Even in your case, where you have already gotten into some great schools that you’ve told us about, you express a fear of ‘not getting accepted anywhere’. </p>
<p>This mindset- not yours but this current generation- is nuts. There are tons of great schools and it gets really tiresome hearing about all this fixation on a few universities as if there isn’t a great education and fantastically equally as good futures coming from so so so many more (including the schools you have gotten into already!). </p>
<p>It is so sad to see this nonsensically branding obsession born of intense marketing efforts, fueled largely by stupid ranking contests.</p>
<p>Most people could care less where they go to school. I think the problem with my generation is that they don’t care enough about school, not that they care too much.</p>
<p>I could’ve gotten any of my current acceptances with a lot less stress and worry on my part. It could’ve meant less stress about my grades. It could’ve meant going to more debate tournaments instead of retaking my ACT/SAT again. It could’ve meant not dropping out of Calculus because my parents thought it would affect my GPA too much. I made a lot of sacrifices trying to get into a good school, and I think it’s understandable why I would be upset if none of it came to fruition.</p>
<p>@lerkin I’m sorry, but it was a bit ridiculous and arrogant for that girl to apply solely to MIT.</p>
<p>^^perhaps before they took off on the trip, they endowed a professorship?</p>
<p>I’m sure applying EA meant that there’s plenty of time to apply to a safety school later.</p>
<p>chaos-- what is your first choice school? Why?</p>