“their student body and how I’d fit into their quirkiness” sounds great.
Good luck OP. I hope you come back and let us know where you got in and where you decide to attend. I am betting you ultimately end up at UT.
I think you are set. Best of luck!
If you are happy with attending your safeties then it really doesn’t matter. You’re good.
Congrats on UT – it’s a great school. I think visiting after you’ve applied is great, as long as the admissions office knows about it. You could meet with admissions or at least let them know you are there.
@lollypip - Yes, emailing your Tufts local rep and going on an interview are very much showing demonstrated interest.
Do visit Wash U. if you can – it’s a beautiful campus! Make sure that you sign up for your visit on the website and check in with admissions when you visit. Did you indicate that you want an interview when you visit? You should interview if you can. Also, I think that they can set up other things for you (e.g., lunches with students)
Oh wow thank you all again for the replies! I was not expecting this much lol. @thelonliestmonk haha I wish,but my school does not have a good track record at all with top schools :(. Everyone in my school goes to ATM/Texas Tech which are great schools, but they don’t help when I’m trying to get into at least one of my reaches. @LoveTheBard I’ll definitely talk to my parents about it…it just sucks that flights are expensive and I already feel bad using my parent’s money for my college applications. I’ll figure it out though, WUSTL was honestly my dream school sophomore year although it’s dropped in my list a lot since then.
I am so happy I got into UT, although I was expecting it. I think the reason why I’m shooting for these schools is because I don’t want to feel like I wasted my effort to get a great SAT, ACT, GPA, etc, and I know I’m not getting into UT Honors.
Welp, so far I guess I just need to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I’ve got the first one down but the second one will probably just take time.
You have great stats. I really think you’ll get at least a couple more acceptances. Good luck!
@chb088 Thanks!! I’ll keep my hopes up a teeny bit haha.
Also, I’ll definitely update this when decisions come!! I know how frustrating it is to see these threads and not know where people end up. Hopefully I’ll be excited when that time comes!
Your stats are very impressive! I think you will get a few more acceptances. Enjoy your senior year and good luck wherever you decide to go to college.
@lollypip - If you live far away and/or can’t afford to visit, they won’t hold it against you, but do make meaningful email contact (i.e., don’t ask basic info easily obtained from the website, but if you have some specific questions that a rep can answer or point you in the direction of someone that can, by all means, ask away). Also, see if you can schedule an off-campus or alumni interview, if they’re available in your area.
“I know I’m not getting into UT Honors.”
What is the criteria for getting into UT Honors these days?
Additionally, do you think the private schools on your list will be able to compete with UT from a cost perspective?
“how do I prepare for rejection letters”
I would expect you to get some more acceptances as well as several rejections. Keep in mind that you can only attend one university (or at least only one at a time).
My guess is that your most difficult decision is going to be to pick one school from several acceptances.
Just go to UT and you’ll be happy. Less debt.
You don’t know that. It sounds like the OP isn’t very high income, and some of their schools provide good need based aid. UT isn’t all that cheap, even for in state students.
Re: 13
Terms like “reach” and “match” are used to predict an applicant’s chance of admittance. They do not refer solely to how one’s stats compare to admitted students’ stats.
You can have a 1600 and a 4.0 and applying to HYPSM, still only have about a 10-15% chance of admittance… which means they are still reaches.
People use different ranges for the chance levels. Here are mine:
“Reach”
High reach: 0-5% chance
Reach: 5-15%
Low reach: 15-25%
“Match”
High match: 25-40%
Match: 40-60%
Low match: 60-90%
Safety: >90%
It is true that how your stats compare to those of admits from previous years is part of the chancing puzzle, but there are a lot of other variables, like:
- Admit rate (ED, RD, or overall rate for the least specific data)
- Hooks (or absence thereof...)
- The round in which one applies (not only the admit rate of the round, but who else typically applies in that round.)
- ECs
- The qualitative aspects of the app, which nobody but the adcoms really knows... something that makes chancing a semi-educated estimate at best.
Where did you apply ED or EA? With your stats, you should already have a few ED/EA acceptance in your bag.
Your list is super-reachy. But you already have a great and likely an affordable acceptance at UT. If you would be happy to attend UT it makes sense to only apply to schools you’d prefer to attend. Just understand that there is a possibility that you will end up at UT.