<p>Bummer. I had a slight dispute, but no screaming matches. Thank God. I thought my mom would go postal, but she was surprisingly chill.</p>
<p>I understand the purpose of the SATs, but seriously, they're the only thing keeping me out of my top choice schools. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Last night wasn't so bad, but when I got my October SATs, I was up all night. Look what this damn college admissions process is doing to us. Im so anoyed/frustrated/stressed/tired, and if I don't get into a college that I'll be content with, I'm gonna blow!!!! Dec. 31 when my EA decision comes out better be the best day of my life, and April better bring some more joyous days to my life, because as of now, my life sucks!!!!!!!! </p>
<p>Ok, I'm done.</p>
<p>am i the only one who thinks that colleges desires to have "well-rounded" students is slowing people down? id much rather read and learn about the brain then participate in a club i don't care about. you know what you get when you try to put a square peg into a round hole? and crappy shaved down round peg, that is less then it once was, just to fulfill someone else's expectations...</p>
<p>That sucks, Honestea... what were they angry with you about? :(</p>
<p>The college admissions process is fraught with amazing stories of kids who get in who scored well below you, kids with legacy who seem wholly unqualified, and kids who don't get in whom you thought were shoe ins. There are stories of arbitrary and capricious decisions. There are stories of wholesale disregard for the enormity of the decision and there are more stories about kids who apply and get in but have no intention of attending. I even know of kids who applied to muddy the waters and see if they could bump off their so called friends.....girl drama at a private school in the south known for being full of spoiled brats. There are stories of kids who look like snow white on paper but in reality are very nasty people with very poor ethics. There are stories about colleges with waiting lists that are so long its an insult. My kid got waitlisted at WashU St Louis last year. We actually thought that a good result being as how it was a reach. But when we heard that kids with stats a tad higher than my kid being outright rejected there, it made us ponder. And my kid got rejected at a dream school that was a PERFECT match and where they had attended a summer program and done extraordinary work, then heard about the list of legacy kids who got in with scores well below my kid and it made us puke. BUT......there is a silver lining in these clouds.</p>
<p>My kid ended up at a school we did not put high on the list of likely schools to attend, due in large part to how blown away we were after we got the acceptance letter and financial offer and visited the school in the April "acceptance drama weeks"....an orientation for admitted students on a blustery and wet weekend....and we were sold. My kid turned down several other prestigious offers VERY GRACIOUSLY and in writing. Two of the schools we turned down wrote back to THANK US for taking the time to be so gracious and to wish us luck and to say we were welcome back there if we changed our minds. Moral of that story? What goes around comes around. BE GRACIOUS in how you behave. Dont throw rocks at anybody. My kid is now extremely happy and thriving and has never looked back. Its true, true, and more true that its REALLY REALLY important to examine your match and safety schools very carefully....there may be diamonds in the rough there right before your eyes. And when weird things happen, just roll your eyes and keep a sense of humor. </p>
<p>These are TOUGH MONTHS coming for all of you. I empathize immensely. To say "salt in the wound" is an understatement. So brace yourselves, KNOW YOURSELVES and keep you head high and your INTEGRITY higher. Be gracious to all who get in even if you are filled with rage and envy. And for goodness sakes, if you DO get in where your heart really wants to go....DONT GLOAT. Be humble and kind and COMPASSIONATE to others.</p>
<p>I know of more than one friendship that was trashed by misbehaving people (mostly girls) who said and did horrible things during these application/admissions months. But come May 1 2008, when all your FINAL decisions are due on the ONE school you accept, it will all be okay. Its much more important to be somewhere you FIT, than to be somewhere that is prestigious or elite but where you may not fit in. If you get into that dream school, congratulations and best of luck to you. </p>
<p>I can also tell you from experience there is about 4-6 weeks next September when you all report to your respective colleges where wilding takes place. It will shock you to see and hear all the horrific stories of debauchery and drunken behavior. From kids with supposedly moral backgrounds and VERY high scores. Then, as grades start to pile up and mid terms come and go...reality sets in....and its "OH MY GOD......I am a 4.0 student and 1500 SAT kid and I am FLUNKING OUT OF COLLEGE!" It happens. It happened in my kid's dorm this year to ONE person. GONE. OUTA HERE after mid-terms.</p>
<p>College is a SERIOUS academic endeavor. ITS NOT AN ANIMAL HOUSE or PARTY CENTRAL, despite what you hear. If you engage in bad behavior you are taking enormous risks....financial, social, medical and academic. Its not high school. They dont hold your hands. If you blow it, you will get booted. </p>
<p>On a positive note, it can be an enormously rewarding experience and life changing event if you behave yourself and work hard. My kid has been happier than I have seen him/her in years. We made the RIGHT choice, even after all the tears and frustrations of LAST YEAR'S ADMISSION CYCLE.</p>
<p>So chin up, be stoic and gracious. And then when you report to college, be strong and work hard. The rewards are there for you. But so is the punishment if you don't.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>BRANDEIS - the "special" blue letter that states that the applicant had expressed interest but had not applied, and that if the applicant applies there will be no fee, is TOTALLY BOGUS! All Brandeis wants is to up their numbers, and they don't give a hoot about the applicant. Don't waste your time falling for this.</p></li>
<li><p>VASSAR - the "interviewer" who meets you at Pain Quotidian, has you PAY for her hot chocolate, tells you how great you are and that she will visit you on campus next year, and then you are rejected! What a boob! </p></li>
<li><p>HARVARD - the minority applicant who lies on her application and says she was Class President, when in reality she ran for CP but didn't win, and gets into Harvard. Don't they CHECK these things? Granted, her grades are good ... but shouldn't HARVARD make sure their selected students aren't liars?</p></li>
<li><p>VANDERBILT - they REALLY should make sure that their alumni interviewers actually LIKED the college before they ask them to meet prospective students! My "interviewer" was a pathetic guy who told me I could do so much better and not to even bother looking at Vanderbilt! LOL</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have some more complaints!!! Glorious things, they are... and yes, I do tend to overdramatize these things, although I'm really not that frazzled about these things at all, but that's just my writing style.</p>
<p>1) I sent in my early action application to Northeastern U. on time. I made sure my counselor and teacher recs were sent in on time, and I sent in my official transcripts way ahead of time. Alas, I just received today my counselor recommendation today, sent back to me because 17 cents of postage was due. GRRRRRRR..... I told my counselor specifically at least twice that I DID NOT NEED MY OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT INCLUDED!!!! I already had sent in those separately. But did she listen???? No, of course not. I even gave her a pre-paid stamped envelope, specifically for 1 counselor recommendation (not a thick h.s. transcript). So now, I have to send it in again with extra postage, and hope to god that I'll still be able to get an early action decision. Otherwise, regular decision for me... grrrr... Moral of the story. Put 2 stamps on everything, no matter what. Freakin idiot (me or her, or both...).</p>
<p>2) Similar to the Vanderbilt interviewer story above me, I had my Georgetown Interview a while ago. My interviewer, although quite nice to talk to and kind-of funny, was an alumni who seemed incredibly not into his school. He pretty much told me, why don't you stay at the local state college instead, and save all this money? Alaska has nicer climate, too as D.C. is too hot (<em>cough</em>). He also said that he grew up right by Georgetown, his dad was a professor there, and that this school was his neighborhood school so inevitably, he ended up going there. He also sounded like, because of this, he was roped into being an alumni interviewer. Great... now, I have no idea what his impression of me was, but I hope it wasn't bad. I just think it's weird to have an interviewer who is pretty evidently not into the school that he's interviewing students for.</p>
<p>I just hate the entire process to be truthful.</p>
<p>And I also hate it when people I know apply to the same schools I want to go to, and flat out lie on their application. Yet no one can do anythng about it. Plus, this person does not work as hard as you. And when she also USES YOU in their stupid application essay to better themselves, and what they said about you was not true. At all.</p>
<p>And I hate deadlines. And arguing with my parents constantly about money and worth. And I hate that anything private, smaller, and more intimate to enhance your learning costs around $50,000.</p>
<p>I think the waiting game is the worst thing possible.</p>
<p>It reminds me of the time I went on standby to go visit my girlfriend in another country. And I didn't get on the plane cause it was too full.</p>
<p>An Indian man broke the news to me. It sucked.</p>
<p>College app process not much different =/</p>
<p>Or when a kid at your school is a complete "screw-off" and just happened to do well on his ACT and has been accepted at more schools than anyone else.</p>
<p>Or the kid who paid the English teacher to write his essay. And it's a school you're applying at.</p>
<p>Or when someone gets into Princeton via athletic recruitment and has little else to offer. Not a brilliant mind either. Oh, well. That's life.</p>
<p>Another vote for the waiting game here. I got into my safety schools but my #1 choice doesn't send out early action decisions until mid-late January. November to January is a long wait for an anxious student! The worst thing would be waiting so impatiently only to find out I didn't get in.</p>
<p>Oh and what's the deal with the UC system requiring 2 SAT subject tests? No other college I've come across required individual subject tests.</p>
<p>i think 2 is pretty standard.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.**********/2007/02/23/college-rejection-letters-a-humorous-reaction%5B/url%5D">http://blog.**********/2007/02/23/college-rejection-letters-a-humorous-reaction</a>
Really funny letter that a kid sent to schools that rejected him.</p>
<p>Office of Admissions
Any College
Wherever, U.S.A.</p>
<p>Dear Any College:</p>
<p>Having now reviewed the many rejection letters received in the last few weeks, it is with great regret that I must inform you that I am unable to accept your rejection at this time.</p>
<p>While I realize that, whatever you might read after that first sentence may be of little consolation, I would still like to clarify some points for you.</p>
<p>This year, I applied to a great number of fine colleges and universities and, of course, received many rejection letters. Unfortunately, the number of rejection letters that I can accept is very limited. It is for this reason that I was forced to reject the rejection letters of many qualified institutions.</p>
<p>This was not an easy task. Each rejection was reviewed carefully and on an individual basis. Many factors were taken into account, such as size of the institution, student-faculty ratio, location, reputation, cost and social atmosphere.</p>
<p>I am certain that most of the colleges I applied to are more than qualified to reject me. I am also sure that some mistakes were made, but I hope they were few in number.</p>
<p>I am aware of the disappointment that this decision may bring, for these were not easy judgments. Throughout my deliberations, I have kept in mind the importance to you of this decision. I wish it were possible to cite specific reasons for each of the determinations I have made but, frankly, it is not.</p>
<p>It was even necessary for me to reject some letters that were clearly qualified as rejections. This is surely my loss.</p>
<p>I appreciate your having enough interest in me to reject me, and, although it may seem inappropriate to you at this time, let me take the opportunity to wish you well in what I am sure will be a highly successful academic year.</p>
<p>See you all in the fall!</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>P. Devlin
Applicant at Large</p>
<p>
[quote]
What are the chances that one kid's application materials gets mixed in with those of another with exactly the same name?
[/quote]
that happened to someone i know too late to be fixed.</p>
<p>I hate it when people just cheat their way through everything and get what they want. I just found out a fellow classmate got a 34 on the ACT because he copied the kid next to him during the test</p>
<p>I hate how our class valedictorian cheated his entire way through high school, was a huge ******* to everyone else, was extremely cocky, and STILL retains the title of valedictorian (even though my SAT is better HA). Yet he's still going to be the one who will have a higher percentage of getting into Berkeley...</p>
<p>^ that's very annoying.</p>
<p>Earlier I had posted that I was waiting for my ED school back in November...well I received a small envelope in the mail on December 15, saying that I had been DEFERRED and they could not give me an answer until APRIL. So here I am, waiting for April 10th to roll by, and hoping that I won't get a rejection in the mail.</p>
<p>I think I'll just laugh so hard if I get a rejection come April. They'd have strung me along for all this time, when they could have just rejected me in December and let me have my peace. :P Oh well!</p>
<p>The waiting and not knowing where I shall be next year is definitely the worst part.</p>