Update

An update… Just learned I got rejected by USC, in addition to getting put on the waitlist by UNC and UVA, and rejected by Emory. If it’s worth noting, I am out of state for all of these schools.

Still waiting on Vandy Harvard Wake Forest Princeton Duke and Stanford (all really, really good interviews, except for final 2 schools in which I was not selected for an interview).

3.98 UW Gpa, 1520 SAT, extracurriculars/leadership positions are very, very good (ASB Pres, National Officer for a club, varsity athlete, plenty more)

Naturally, I’m very upset because I really did think I would get into at least one of the schools that didn’t accept me, and the schools I have left, in my opinion, are far more difficult to get into.

My family and my peers are surprised by all the rejections/waitlists, I think it might have something to do with me being an upper-class Indian. I guess I’ll never know. I have a few safety schools that seem fun and have offered me good money, so I guess I’m not 100% screwed. Does anyone have any advice or any stories similar to my situation?

Thank you

I did the same thing you did. I applied to 6 reach schools and really thought I would get into one. I was fully convinced my entire junior/senior year that I was going to ND or Gtown and then march came and I was waitlisted/rejected at all. I ended up at a really good school that I initially thought was “below” me and now after a semester I love it here. The professors are great, the students are a lot like me, I’m closer to home, and I’m going to graduate with only a little debt. You need to look at the positives of the schools you were accepted to and don’t dwell on where you could’ve been because it will just make it so much harder to transition and accept your situation when you do enroll. Also, don’t lose hope with where you’re still waiting and send a letter of continued interest to UNC and UVA if you’re still serious about attending. Personally, when I was waitlisted by ND and Wake, I gave up on them and decided to focus on the places that wanted me. Good luck!

thank you, this helped a lot. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get past the week of college letters, mentally speaking? This’ll sound personal and I apologize, but I haven’t been out of the house in 2 days and a couple times I’ve just straight up broken down while talking to my parents, who’ve been very supportive, btw. I just feel awful constantly and it hurts even worse to see all of my friends get into great schools.

When I got my ND letter I started crying at work lol. The best thing is to start trying to love the schools that love you and get excited about the prospect of college in general and not really 1 specific one.

@yankeesfan213 I’m so sorry you are going through this. When I was a teen, someone with your stats could have walked into any college in the country. I’m so impressed by your achievements and your GPA! Honestly, I can’t imagine how so many of you have managed to get through high school without every getting a bad grade, excel in extra curriculars and varsity sports all at the same time. Just know that you are an amazing person and you will excel wherever you go. Also, many of the elite, single digit admit schools of today were admitting 70% or more of the applicants 20 years ago. Just take a look at University of Chicago. The “safety” school you attend today, may very well be the unattainable elite school of tomorrow.

I know it’s stressful but if nothing else, your post is a good illustration of why no one applying to tippy top colleges should expect that applying to more of them means you should get into at least one. Your odds do not improve by applying to more of them. You applied to schools that have acceptance rates in the single digits. Harvard will reject 95% of applicants, and many of them will have better stats than yours. I hope you get into one of your top choices, but meanwhile, find reasons to get excited about the schools you are already into. It’s good that you think they seem fun.

If you like the school you are accepted to and can afford it, you are not “screwed.” There will be posts in early April from all kinds of students who haven’t been accepted to a single school they like or can afford (moral: don’t apply if you don’t like it and can’t afford it.) There will be students who will be rejected from every school, even their “safety”, because they didn’t show interest. There will be students who didn’t get into any school at all, because they though their stats and applying to a bunch of top schools would improve their chances of getting into a least one. There will be students who will get into only their safeties, because they didn’t apply to any matches, or they assumed that a match is the same as a safety. And there will also be students who will get into several tippy top schools, and there won’t seem to be any clear reason why.

Yes, your demographic may have worked against you, or it could be any number of other reasons that, indeed, you will never know about. Hope for the best, but expect the worst. Any other acceptance you get from now on is just a bonus.

You have more sense than a lot of smart kids I’ve seen on this forum. I’ve seen kids apply to all reach schools and get 100% rejected. They’ll be spending their first semester at community college. It sucks to get rejected from your favorite schools, but it’s just a part of life. Make the best with what you have. A scholarship is nothing to be ashamed of. You’re adult self will thank you later.

Seems like any school with a decent reputation is a “reach” these days. I am amazed at what I have been hearing and seeing the past few years about top notch candidates getting rejected.

OP, you rock. ASB President, 1520 SAT and near 4.0 gpa was a shoe-in for Harvard long time ago. All I know is many Asian kids (probably other kids also) with your stats or even better are denied from UCLA and Berkeley every year. There are too many Indian kids with great stats applying to top schools, and some of them have very strong ECs in their interest areas also. I think you will get into at least one out of remaining schools though. Let us know.