<p>GPA: 4.0 at one of the top five high schools in Michigan
ACT: 35
Exceptionally talented musician with own professional ensemble, long record of compositions, high level of dedication
Many years in academic competitions
Extensive participation in Boy Scouts</p>
<p>He applied to pre-Common App Michigan and believed himself to be such a shoo-in that he put no effort into his essays. He was not accepted. </p>
<p>(He did, however, get into Northwestern RD)</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus
I am aware of Texas House Bill 588; however, seeing his ‘rejection’ surprised me as I’ve seen people outside of the top 10% get into Texas A&M through their Gateway program (a choice the kid in question didn’t even get) with SATs of <1400 (three sections), and those people had no special extracurriculars. I also saw another person ranked top 30% and with a mediocre SAT get into Gateway, but he was the president of student council. </p>
<p>A good friend of mine graduated last year
Was homeschooled had an act of 31 and was hispanic, affluent
Took senior year at cc with a 3.9 GPA</p>
<p>Ole Miss- Decline
Notre Dame- Accepted
Vanderbilt- Weight-listed
Local CC offered him a full ride including books and he is there with a 4.0 this year. Notre dame would have been 35,000 dollars in loans so he chose to not attend</p>
<p>Admitted to Reed, Amherst, Macalester, Franklin & Marshall, Bard. Waitlisted by Bennington. Facepalm. A bunch of people with lower GPA’s and test scores and abysmal essays got in, and they needed so much more aid than me.</p>
<p>The home school probably confused Ole Miss’ admissions process (or perhaps he was missing a check-box requirement in his high school course listing), since Ole Miss is not normally difficult to get into.</p>
<p>Deferred (later admitted) from top ivy. Everything going for him–4.0, perfect SAT, highly underrepresented state, significant leadership, significant talent/experience (making this school a great fit). I could hardly imagine a more perfect applicant. Everything going for him, except white/male. He was truly Mr. Outstanding in Every Way. So surprised he didn’t make it in first round. (If they didn’t accept THIS kid, who got in?) He is doing VERY well, btw.</p>
<p>My friend, 32 ACT and top 9% in a competitive private HS, got accepted to UCLA but waitlisted at UT-Austin RD, while I, who barely made top 10%, got in (RD).</p>
<p>Another friend, 35 ACT and top 1-2% in same school, got into Georgetown but rejected from Tulane (granted, they’re notorious for Tufts Syndrome and he listed ALL his schools on his application (he applied to every ivy) and didn’t submit the “optional” Why Tulane essay)</p>
<p>@Juvenis UCLA/UT-Austin are around the same level (and UT doesn’t have RD, just rolling). Not sure how that’s unlikely; their decisions were sketchy this year because of the 75% (top 7%) rule.</p>
<p>@Juvenis
UT Austin without top 7% is a tough one, especially depending on the major. What did you apply for, and what did your friend apply for?
Also, the second case is a clear example of a lack of interest.</p>
<p>Sorry. When I said RD I meant in mid-March. I just found it weird how he got waitlisted and I didn’t when he was ranked higher than me. And his credentials are more impressive than mine. We both applied for the Natural Sciences school. This was last year, when it was the top 8% rule.</p>
<p>@atomom Out of curiosity, what is he doing know? Glad it(mostly) worked out for people who posted here. :)</p>
<p>My sister’s friend was Co-Valedictorian,4.0 GPA,Strong EC,lots of national/international awards in math,French,Geography,science,Debate,etc.,went to a #1 East Coast boarding school with at least 30 Harvard go-ers each year,NMS,URM,Ron BRown,Coca-Cola, and Gates MIllenium scholarships,etc. She got into Yale,Harvard,Stanford,WUSL,University of Chicago,UC Davis,and some others. She was rejected by UCLA. She’s a California resident. Btw, she gave 100000% on each app including the UCLA one. Everyone was shocked,but she’s happily attending Stanford.</p>
I haven’t looked in about 5 years, but back then the stats of the kids in PSU Schreyer Honors College were virtually identical to Harvard, Yale, Princeton… I doubt it has changed. So your post is really not surprising at all, because it makes that school the same crapshoot for high achievers as the HYPS schools. Congrats on your acceptance!! Are you starting this fall or are your already there? If you are there, how do you like it?</p>
<p>@Juvenis - It is not Tufts Syndrome at Tulane. How do I know? Because not only did my D (and lots and lots of others) get in with stats of (in my D’s case) 2330 SAT and 3.9+ GPA, 7 AP’s with all 5’s (although Tulane only knew about 3 of the 7 5’s at the time), etc. but a couple of years ago Tulane had 3 people that won the Presidential Scholar award (you know, the national one that only 144 people get out of about 2.5 million graduating high school seniors), which was more than Duke, Vandy, WUSTL, and a few others. Admittedly that was an exceptional year, but still not very compatible cases for a school that is supposed to have Tufts Syndrome. Like WUSTL, Miami and many others, Tulane wants students that appear to really want to consider attending. As Fredjan said, it was a clear lack of interest that made your friend’s app an easy decision. Not filling out the Why Tulane essay is a nearly certain way to get denied. Like most schools, being wait listed at Tulane is essentially the same as a denial.</p>
<p>Sorry, I get a little touchy about the whole Tufts Syndrome thing, and especially about Tulane, as you might expect :)</p>
<p>I think the “Tufts syndrome” thing is misconstrued by people who don’t really understand holistic admissions. </p>
<p>My daughter was accepted at Barnard, Berkeley, Chicago, NYU – wait-listed at Boston U. and Brandeis …but I don’t think that was particularly surprising. It definitely was not due to high stats-- I can hypothesize very good alternative reasons that my d. did not make the cut at those particular schools.</p>
<p>I do think that it’s valuable to pay attention to which school have need-blind admission. In general, the most elite (most selective) colleges do not consider need in their admissions decisions, but many of the schools that the high stat app might consider to be matches or safeties do. </p>
<ol>
<li>Accepted to Vanderbilt (where I will be attending), but Rejected ED double legacy to Duke (not even a deferral)</li>
<li>Originally deferred by Tulane (likely due to some of the things mentioned earlier, but I did show some interest)</li>
<li>Initially got a rejection letter from Kentucky’s honors college, but I got it overturned because I got into a special program within the honors college.</li>
</ol>
<p>But the strangest thing was the college (Alabama) that sent me an acceptance letter three business days after my school submitted all of its information in January.</p>
<p>And also, @fallenchemist I don’t think that Miami considers interest like Tulane does. I applied there on January 1st and showed no additional interest. I was accepted in the first round of acceptances for RD, given about a half-tuition merit scholarship, and invited to interview for a full one (which I didn’t get). But, I would be at Vandy even if I had gotten the full ride. Fortunately, my family has no problem with full tuition!</p>
<p>Isn’t “Tufts syndrome” basically another way of saying the same thing about colleges considering level of applicant’s interest, assuming that an “overqualified” student is not that interested unless s/he actually shows interest in some way that satisfies the college? (whether or not Tufts actually does this kind of thing any more)</p>
<p>@SurvivorFan - You could well be right about Miami. I thought they took it into account, but maybe not so much.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus - As I understand the definition of “Tufts Syndrome”, schools, if they did it at all, did it to pump up their yield numbers and keep down the acceptance rate. That is still the end result, I guess. It is the supposed motivation I question. Doesn’t fit the facts “on the ground”.</p>