Waitlisted/Rejected at all schools

Applying to College
1

Hi!

So, I just wanted to get outside perspective on what might be happening with my application.

For a little background:
I’m at the top of my class (not vale.) but I have a 3.7+ unweighted gpa/4.8weighted. Taking 7 AP classes.
I have mediocre test scores (ACT 27)
I’m in many school clubs like NHS, Leo’s Club (and president), French Club, etc.
I figure skate and I play another, non competitive sport, which is more for leisure.
I’ve started a non-profit, I’ve been a mentor, have had two jobs throughout the school year, and I have done over 200 hours of community service.

Anyways, I applied to one Ivy League because it was close to home and ideal. Other than that, I applied to competitive schools, some of which didn’t require test scores. These colleges were selected by my guidance counselor and I and the goal was a group of schools which I would get into and have many choices to choose from, with three reach schools.
(Eg. Wake Forest, Boston College, Colgate, Case Western, U or Richmond, Conn. College, St. Lawrence, etc.)

Anyways, I have been rejected at all of them except for 3, and I was waitlisted at those. (Wake, Conn., and U of Richmond.)

I have been told by many people that I have a very strong transcript with great essays and recommendation letters, thus, I really don’t know why I’ve been rejected by so many schools. I contacted a few and they only respond with “an increased and competitive applicant pool… it’s nothing that you could have changed.”

I’m not sure if people have heard of what is happening in college admissions or if you have had a similar experience, but I never imagined I would be in this situation.

Thanks!

2

Your ACT is low for almost all the schools you listed. Otherwise your profile looks good.

3

IMO, you didn’t apply to a true safety. Your stats should be well into the 75th percentile to be a safety. And you should actually like it. I think your ACT score is in the low side.
Don’t count on the waitlist. Find colleges with rolling admissions, or wait for the list that will come out esrly in May with all the colleges that still have places. Many of them are really great colleges. Good luck.

4

I think your gc did you a disservice with that list. With a 27 ACT score, all those schools with the exception of St Lawrence are reaches to high reaches. Perhaps she can help you ‘work’ the wait list. I am curious to what her reaction is to this

5

You could still apply to University of Pittsburgh, since they have rolling admissions.

6

Well, a few of the schools, even ones I didn’t mention, didn’t require test scores. So, it isn’t necessarily the test scores that weighed me down, especially at SLU. She was surprised by many of the decisions; she had spoken to a representative or two and it was solely because I didn’t visit the campus or I needed financial aid.

7

Your GC needs to call them to find out why you were rejected, if these are mostly test optional this is strange. She needs to speak on your behalf on the WL schools. As for the FA, were any of the schools need blind? I assume you are a US resident and not an international?

For the WL you need to send a LOCI briefly explaining why you want to go there and that you are still very interested.

As others have said, apply where you can and see the list in early May of what is available.

8

A school told your GC that you were rejected because you need financial aid? Wow, even if it is true, I’ve never heard it explicitly stated. I hope your GC is incorrect.

9

Yes, not all were need blind but many stated that it wouldn’t hinder my application. Unfortunately it is true because my school’s GC department was outraged. They basically said it’s because they couldn’t give me a package that I would be able to afford and therefore by accepting me and giving me something, they saw me as someone to take up space on the accepted list.

10

There’s an international student on that forum that said he’s/she’s received many rejections that say just that: asking for too much aid.

11

Demonstrated interest is important at some schools and 2 on your list where that is true are Wake and Conn. You don’t necessary have to visit but do need to make some contact. Wake and Conn also recommend interviews. What test optional means at many schools is that the rest of the app needs to be stellar. Your gpa is very good, but those schools likely see a lot of UW 4.0 applicants. I am very surprised that your gc didn’t have a true safety on the list and from the looks of it St Lawrence was the only match

12

What’s your budget?
The nacac list that comes out in May (with colleges that miscalculated yield) could help depending on your budget.
Another possibility would be to take a gap year - in that case I’d recommend taking the act again asap and before you graduate.
Do you attend a private school? Are you an international or are you a citizen/permanent resident?
Are you a resisent of any state?

13

look for schools that are still taking applications. your score was too low for those schools, but it’s fine for others. hendrix college in arkansas is solid and you’d have a good shot. search for other possibilities. look at ‘colleges that change lives’ for other possibilities.

14

@STEM2017, if a school is not need blind, that is what it means – that students who need FA may be rejected if they need a lot of aid. Agree that the OP was not well advised.

15

I disagree that I was not well advised and I do think the only people ill advised are the ones that think my success and college potential rest on a single score on a single day when I took a standardized test when I had mono. Granted, maybe some students don’t take standardized tests well, I think that is besides the point.

16

You were not well advised because you were not provided with financial and academic safety schools.

If you had mono why didn’t you retake it?

17

@mulligan2020 you were ill advised bc you are competing at those schools with kids who have 5-8 points over yout ACT, and have 4.0 UW gpas. It is not just your ACT. almost all of your schools were reaches. Your GC should have made sure you had at least one acceptance by now with a school within your score ranges.

Don’t lash out at people who try to help. They know a lot more than your GC it seems. They are shocked you were rejected bc of FA? That is not uncommon at all. Get your GC to call the waitlist schools and promise you will come if you get it (I hope you can afford them?)

18

Just curious as to what type of high school you attend. Size, public or private, rigor of curriculum, % going on to college, etc

19

Did you apply to any in state public universities? Are there any that are still accepting applications?

Agree that your list is very reach heavy, with the exception of St. Lawrence. I am sorry that you were ill advised by your GC.

I have heard that many competitive colleges and universities had unprecedented numbers of applications. Some of my daughter’s friends have been waitlisted at mid-range places where I thought they would be solid matches. It does seem to be very tough this year.

20

I think you were ill advised because your GC apparently didn’t let you know that interest is important at some of your schools, and also because some of your schools are not need blind – thus making your admission less likely. As @SeekingPam said, you didn’t have an actual safety.

Here are 50 schools that were still taking apps in May in 2014:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/irswatch/2016/03/26/irs-commissioner-admits-defeat-due-to-budget-squeeze-irs-now-poised-to-lose-5-billion-per-year/2/#5e1a33ce67a0

The NACAC list for this year doesn’t come out until May, and they take the old ones offline, but Fortune pulled some of them off into a list in 2014 that are in this article. These would be schools it would be worth looking into. What can you actually afford?