<p>I applied for a somewhat prestigious summer program just last month at Rutgers University- nothing RSI.
well this week i get a letter saying that i've been wait-listed (in case someone doesn't correspond by the deadline). NOw..
Can somebody PLEASE tell me if this can be a hint on what i can expect these coming years?? (yes yes I am freshman (yay!)</p>
<p>I had straight A's in every science course I took and wrote a kick butt essay about science and technology- and i Get WAITLISTED? my sister tells me that I have to get used to 'failure' because not everythings going to be perfect in high school.</p>
<p>..or am I just paranoid?</p>
<p>Nahh, failure is not going to be in your future. You just have to look at it from a different perspective. After you spend next summer (which is a looooong time away) doing something productive, you'll look back and reminisce how you wouldn't have done that if you had gone to the prestigious program. And anways, most summer programs that I've heard of are for juniors. So I'm sure you'll get into one in a future summer.</p>
<p>Oh, and having a few things during high school not going your way is far from a bad thing, if you look at how many good things you have going for you. Trust me, I know from experience. I tend to dwell on the negatives.</p>
<p>Take for example Harvard. They take their 2004 or 5 or whatever student body out of an applicant pool. They can take that same quality student body out of that applicant pool numerous times. A lot of really presitgious stuff is very competitive, it comes with the territory. It doesn't say anything about college, especially since you're only a freshman, but also--it's just bad luck. Sorry you got waitlisted, you may have been just as good as the guy next to you, that's just how it works out sometimes.</p>
<p>thanks guys- you cant imagine how much you just helped me.</p>
<p>As a mother I will tell you this has been a hard lesson for my son. When you are the best at your school and in your town it is hard to understand that as you get older you face bigger competition from all over. So keep your confidence and know you are very able but try to put yourself in opportunities with competitors from more places and you will grow.</p>
<p>any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated- theres alot of ppl in my position who are to scared to ask this question (probably woried they'll sound dumb)..thanks</p>
<p>i feel that a major flaw of people our age is overconfidence. it really sucks when you're so sure you'll get into a certain college, or win a competition, or make the top grades and then you don't. i'd say it's good that you've been exposed to this early in hs. you know, i got the whole straight A's, top of the class, nearly perfect transcript (couldn't squeeze in a few AP's that i wanted to take) sort of thing, and people labeled me as an exceptional student. to be honest, i felt that i was exceptional. for as long as i can remember, i knew that i was going to stanford, princeton, or MIT. there was no bending my will when i was younger. but now... i know that i'm nothing special compared to those exceptional people out there in the world, and now i'm not even applying to those places. it's a humbling experience, and i feel everyone should have that, even the smartest person to have ever walked the earth. arrogance is probably the most annoying thing to me, and i'm sure it is to many others. so... always keep your ego in check. </p>
<p>i guess some of that could've come off as somewhat offensive, i'm not calling you arrogant, i'm just saying be careful not to develop arrogance.</p>