<p>I am going to start off this post by telling to hear me out and not make any preconceived judgements after the first couple of sentences. Read and then respond.</p>
<p>I started off today wondering whether I was Ivy-League bound or not. I know many of you were hoping to get into other schools, but your hunger to get into your dream school was the same as mine for the Ivy-League, especially Harvard, Yale, Princeton. I was to receive 8 decisions today from some very good schoos that I seriously thought I had a legitimate shot of getting into after seeing other people's admitted stats and mine in comparison. I had a 2200 SAT and a 4.2 weighted GPA while ranked first in my class. I had many ecs and wrote a great essay for my apps. But little did I know that what I was about to experience was nothing I really had ever felt before.</p>
<p>When I got home, I began to prepare myself for the dreaded decision of rejection from all of the schools that I was going to get back from: Harvard, Yale, Duke, Cornell, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Berkeley, and Penn. When the time did come, I checked decision after decision. This is how it occurred in order.
Johns Hopkins: Waitlisted
Dartmouth: Rejected
Cornell: Waitlisted
Penn: Accepted
Duke: Rejected
Yale: Rejected
Berkeley: Accepted
Harvard: Rejected
Now you might say that I am truly lucky to get into Penn, but you must this in my perspective. Not to say that Penn is not a great university because, but it isnt Harvard, Yale, Princeton. I seriously contemplated going to Penn during the application process, but I truly desired HYP and Cornell. I put so much time into my applications starting in October and sending my artwork, extra essays, poems, and extra rec letters. But, my efforts proved futile to say the least and at first I had a hard time accepting it. I was truly happy to get into Penn and Berkeley, but I had also strived for Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and Duke. You can easily compare this to your situation if you have been rejected or waitlisted as many times as I have been. No acceptance can cover up the shot a college took at your ego. You felt hosed and used by the college admissions process, and you might feel toward the colleges that waitlisted you that they need to make a d@mn decision. But this didn't depress me the post until I read posts on the forums of suicide and the end of one's life. <a href="mailto:D@mnit">D@mnit</a>. It doesn't matter as long as you get into a respectable college and work hard because nobody can say in the real world that you don't deserve to work for them if you continue to work hard during college and after. It is only what you make of it and not what it could have been. If you continue to live in that fantasy world, you will never accomplish anything because you will constantly say "What If?" Hey, I learned that today to. Just look at where I got rejected from.</p>
<p>P.S. A random thought. The theory that if you get a letter in the mail from the Fin Aid department asking to you to complete your Fin Aid application is true. I didnt get a single one in the mail except from Penn and they accepted me.</p>
<p>I think you are crazy to underestimate Penn. It is on par with HYP and definitely a more enjoyable/prestigious place than Cornell. You should go to Penn Previews and visit it.</p>
<p>I think you're crazy as well. Penn and Berkey are great schools and millions of American students would kill to go to these colleges. I don't know why you're still fretting over something like this when you should be celebrating your acceptances.</p>
<p>You got into U Penn. Never complain again... especially when this is the night when like every kid in America is getting rejected from coleges that they definetly thought they would get in.</p>
<p>-_- omg, my friend who got accepted by yale got rejected from penn. don't complain.</p>
<p>As for me, the only private i've been accepted to so far is Occidental (a safety school) and the best public I have is UCSD (which isn't bad but... not exactly what i wanted).</p>
<p>Most seniors in America got accepted to schools with rolling admissions before the second semester started. That's how it is, mostly, at my HS (Which is public, like the schools that most people in the country attend).</p>
<p>no offense, but you're in such a good position. getting into UPEnn and UCB are great accomplishments. i would kill for a spot at UCB. maybe not, but that's beside the point.</p>
<p>I can match you. Similar SAT, 740 average SAT II's, 4.0 UW GPA, took all AP's offered in school, drum major of marching band, leaderships, national awards in piano, part of the Cornell Jazz Band (I should have gotten a ref letter from Paul Merill. Im so retarded), Boys State, etc. etc. </p>
<p>Anyways, decisions.</p>
<p>Northwestern: Waitlist
Columbia: Reject
Cornell: Reject
Penn: Reject (This one hurt the most for me. It's frustrates me to here that you understate my dream alma mater).
Duke: Reject
Berkeley: Accept
UMich: Accept</p>
<p>Yes, I also thought I had a decent chance of running, if not a great one considering my focus and dedication to everything music related. If anything, I thought I'd get acceptance into 2-3 more than what I have now. I don't think you shoudl be complaining. I would trade off UMich and Berk easily for Penn. I bet you out of this board, I have the worst luck. Definately worse than you, since you actually applied to such crapshoot schools such as the HYP's. I actually applied to ones I thought had a decent-good chance of acceptance.</p>
<p>Anyways, does anybody feel like these decisions are becoming more and more like a crapshoot? I remember last year when rejections of good SAT/GPA was considered a rarity. Now they seem abundant. I also have to note my frustration with the new SAT. THe addition fo the new writing section was not taken seriously AT ALL by the top colleges. I sutides for all sections equally, but ended up getting a lower verbal than writing. I feel cheated in investment of my study time. Hell, Penn's average Writing score was only like 670 this year. MAth was 710. Verbal was 670. I got higher than all those scores plus great ec's and still got rejected from ALL my top 20 colleges.</p>
<p>tonight. was a feeling-eating-binge-fest. i got rejected from 8 schools tonight. and waitlisted to one that wasn't even supposed to be a reach.</p>
<p>penn, dartmouth, yale, columbia, cornell, johns hopkins, and my first choices brown and duke. waitlisted to tufts.</p>
<p>i do not really understand what is going on with this whole college selection process. what piece of it are we all missing that is keeping us from being "the exceptionals," and also hindering us from going to colleges at which we are not only qualified but well capable of excelling?</p>
<p>what is it about certain applicants that they can get into all of their top choices while the rest of us can't even scrounge up one? (just one i ask! please allow me that!)</p>
<p>We're the grand result of the baby boom generations. IT's now all about flipping coins. Som eare lucky, some are not. Just think of the entire top 20 list on the US NEws ranking of what you used to think of the HYP's. This si seriously ridiculous though.</p>
<p>My theory: I think that all the middle class and rich kids are starting to realize how importnat college is. They're starting to neglect the pity cost of the applications and just apply to 8+ schools at once. IN the end, college get bunch of applications and take them all less seriously. This is getting out of hand, regardless.</p>
<p>
[quote]
what is it about certain applicants that they can get into all of their top choices while the rest of us can't even scrounge up one? (just one i ask! please allow me that!)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Honestly. Those who can get in get in EVERYWHERE. Those who can't get rejected left and right. That "A" person can only go to 1 school; spread the love to applicant "B" a bit.</p>
<p>I KNOW! It's sickening! I still believe it came down to luck. Nowadays, passion, good academics, and leadership jsut doesnt cut it. You have to start businesses as a high schooler, create a renowned donation service, etc., just to have a 90 pct shot.</p>