<p>I was accepted to Olin, which is my first choice. However, I was rejected by schools that are 'easier' to get into (higher acceptance rates) and rejected from all the Ivies. From what I have seen on this site, and others, this is seems to be very uncommon. Has this happened to anyone else?</p>
<p>to clarify, I’m not complaining, I’m just worried getting in was a fluke haha.</p>
<p>kindofconfused- I’m a parent, and my D had mixed results too (mostly with our competitive state universities that rejected stellar kids this year, weirdness), but I think you are asking the wrong question. I think you should take a look at the schools you were accepted to and ask what do they have in common? Perhaps schools small enough to get to know you personally? I doubt highly that Olin makes mistakes. The fact that they got to know you and thought you would do well in their special environment speaks highly of you.</p>
<p>FYI, when I got into Stanford a thousand years ago I wondered if it was a fluke, but then I realized so did a lot of the other freshman. Your feelings aren’t new. Don’t let those feelings bother you further. Just enjoy the fact you were accepted at the place you loved!</p>
<p>A lot of students have mixed results–it doesn’t really signify that much. Sometimes, one particular college’s essay question plays to your strengths, while another’s does not. When you are applying to schools with this level of acceptance rates, it’s nearly impossible to predict the outcome of any one student’s application. Don’t worry, you are not the admissions “mistake” – Olin was simply able to get to know you better than those other schools!</p>
<p>You can find hundreds of stories on CC of admissions decisions that don’t seem to make sense. The more you read them, the more you will understand that there are many complex factors that impact this decision. Grades, test scores, courses taken, LORs are just the beginning. Add in geographic, racial, religious, cultural diversity; musical, artistic and athletic skills; legacies and gut feel. I can’t tell you why you didn’t get into other schools, but you were admitted to Olin b/c the admissions committee thought you’d be a good fit. Now you have to decide if you think Olin is a good fit for you.</p>
<p>“I was rejected by schools that are ‘easier’ to get into (higher acceptance rates)”</p>
<p>Depends upon the school. Sometimes they reject overqualified students because they want to keep up their stats (don’t want too high an acceptance rate), and save all the work for kids they know they have a chance at matriculating.</p>
<p>" and rejected from all the Ivies."</p>
<p>What it takes to get into Olin is different from what it takes to get into the Ivy’s. Similar, but different.</p>
<p>Olin is a very specific type of school. And they look for a specific type of student, which you seem to be-- congrats! These schools don’t look for the same thing-- they look for different things in their students-- there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ Ivy cooke-cutter student.</p>
<p>“I was accepted to Olin, which is my first choice.” - Congratulations! As others have explained, there’s no need to fret over the other result. It’s time to do the Happy Dance 
</p>
<p>These Olin threads include examples of acceptances to other elite colleges to help families new to college research understand that Olin is a terrific college with rigorous academics. It doesn’t mean that every Olin applicant had Ivy/MIT acceptances - my Olin son did not.</p>
<p>kindofconfused - We’re hoping you plan to attend Olin. Any more questions we can (try to) answer?</p>
<p>Thank you all for your replies --they were definitely comforting. At this point I am pretty sure I am attending Olin, just looking at a few other schools as well.</p>