<p>Seeing that most of the rejectees have already vacated this board for the most part, I (as a rejectee) would like to reflect upon one benefit that I got through applying to Harvard. Sure, I wasted about two dollars worth of postage stamps (plus an additional sixteen dollars sending Harvard my CSS profile), but I did derive a benefit from applying to Harvard:</p>
<p>I got to visit the offices of the one of the finest investment banks on this planet, Credit Suisse. I had my interview there, and since I am keen to pursue a career in the financial sector, it was exciting to see all those traders observe the day's market movement with the aid of multi-monitor arrangements. It was mesmerizing, to a degree.</p>
<p>So, thanks Harvard, for allowing me to visit an investment bank.</p>
<p>The negatives far out weigh the positives. College admissions turned me into a CC whore. I wasted so much time posting on this site and stressing about my chances to the point where I had an obsession toward some schools. </p>
<p>I was excited about going to college, because I knew I would get into at least one of the schools I applied to (Duke, Wash, JHU, Harv), and I didn’t. Now, I have to go to the school I had no intention of attending (Case). I guess I was just unlucky because most people thought I had good chances for those schools (My counselor said I would get into at least one (not including H)). </p>
<p>Now that I think about it, maybe this happened for a reason. Maybe I am meant to stay here and do something for the community. Maybe those schools dont need me, but I sure as hell dont need them. </p>
<p>I guess the positive aspect of this whole experience will come later in life, when I look back at this situation and realize how far I have made it. Another positive: I met some cool people on this forum. Of course, there were the crazy “can I get in with a 2370?!” types, but there were also down-to-earth witty applicants who I had some great conversations with. Unfortunately, more of the down-to-earth friendly types were rejected, but thats just the truth of college admissions. The more one turns himself into another being in order to be admitted, the more likely they will be admitted. Nonetheless, I am sure some great applicants got accepted. </p>
<p>I am just glad I am done with all this BS. At least I have four more years until the next process.</p>
<p>…yeah, if I hadn’t gotten in, I would have thought the whole thing was a complete waste of time and energy.</p>
<p>In fact, since I’m not going, it pretty much was a complete waste of time and energy, except for the fact that I can now say, “actually, I did get into Harvard. I came to Yale instead because it’s cooler.”</p>
<p>Well, waitn184, I did develop a very unhealthy obsession about Harvard for a week before the decisions were released, especially after my biology teacher (who attended Harvard and wrote me an excellent recommendation letter) thought I had a decent potshot at it.</p>
<p>But, like a sniper firing blindly through the smoke, my potshot landed far from my intended target.</p>
<p>Now, it’s BU or BC for me. But I still enjoyed my Harvard interview and the building it gave me access to. I now have even greater aspirations for possibly getting into Harvard Business School…</p>
<p>^Same here. Actually, I originally was going to apply to Harvard only. But, I decided to apply to Princeton, Yale, and MIT just for the heck of it since they’re all on the same level anyway. Out of all that, I got accepted to Princeton, so if it weren’t for Harvard, I wouldn’t be going to Princeton next year.</p>
<p>yeah my friends and parents made me believe i was going to harvard, so i was pretty bummed, but i myself didnt feel i was getting in, so im stuck deciding between berkeley, ucla, and usc for premed… only two people at my school applied to harvard though, not many people can say they got rejected by the best school in the US!!!</p>
<p>^No, I meant Harvard was the only top 5 school I was originally going to apply to. I applied to UMich, Univ. of Rochester, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, WashU, and Duke as well.</p>
<p>anyone here get waitlisted for stanford? i was wondering about that…to see if anyone is in the same boat as me[cal, usc or ucla and waitlisted for stanford]???</p>
<p>Peyton, Im happy for you. Princetons probably cooler than Harvard anyway. </p>
<p>Everyone thought I would get in everywhere as well, except for my friends at school who were going through the same process and understood the difficulty of college admissions. It just sucks for me because I never got to experience the joy of opening an acceptance email to a college of interest.</p>
<p>I thought it was exciting, though I’m not sure if I would have thought otherwise had I not been accepted! </p>
<p>For me, the best part was working for what I wanted and seeing the results, i.e. in my grades and essays. Even if I hadn’t gotten in, I would have been really thankful for the determination I found along the way. </p>
<p>On the negative side, the long wait was excruciating - the more you care, the slower it goes ;-)</p>
<p>I got waitlisted to Harvard, so I guess I get another two months of long, painful hope. I don’t regret applying though, because it gave me more motivation to make the most of my senior year (leadership, grades, IB, etc.) I thought I would be going to UF until I got my SATs back in the summer. I thought “Might as well”, worked hard, and started looking at other top colleges. My Harvard interview in early December was very challenging (law office, two interviewers, one hour of Inquisition), but it prepared me well for similar interviews at Duke and Emory–got into Duke, and got a full ride scholarship from Emory.</p>
<p>If I could do it again, I would have shotgunned HYPS instead of just applying to Harvard. A little bit of luck, similar efforts and a waitlist could have turned into an acceptance…but Duke, Wash U, and Emory are nothing to sneeze at.</p>