<p>I considered BU a safety school (and was told by several people that that was a valid assumption), but was disappointed to find that I’d been waitlisted.</p>
<p>I also spent a lot of time on my supplement, applied to Honors College (extra essay), applied for the Trustee Scholars Program (extra essay), and e-mailed admissions several times with questions, etc. I had reasonably strong essays and recs, and good ECs.</p>
<p>So why could I have been waitlisted? And what should I do? I’ve already been accepted to Northeastern with a big scholarship, so I thought the same could happen at BU… Does this mean that I won’t receive any merit scholarships? If so, then BU is off the table for strictly financial reasons.</p>
<p>We don’t know what role applying for FA played in the decision re “need aware” or whether as Maxy write, it could be a case of yield protection on their part…</p>
<p>If it’s yield protection, that doesn’t seem fair. I mean, I genuinely want to go to the school!</p>
<p>I’ve already been accepted into Northeastern, but flat-out rejected from WUSTL… Still waiting for Brown, Columbia, Tufts, and Tulane. If none of those work out, looks like I’m screwed, since there’s no way I can afford Northeastern (15k+ a year in loans…). Even if I do get into BU off the waitlist, I’m assuming I won’t get as much fin aid, and I’m obviously not getting a Trustee or Presidential scholarship…</p>
<p>Edit: So it could have been need-awareness too?? There must be some reason since a waitlist means I’m obviously “good enough.”</p>
<p>It is not yield protection. Some people have posted here that they were admitted with little or no financial aid and thus attending is impossible. If yield protection ruled, these applicants would have been denied.</p>
<p>@br2pi5, what do ECs have to do with SAT/ACT scores? I can understand someone’s GPA suffering from a lot of ECs, but tests are one-off and you can easily prepare for them with a couple hours of work a week for a month or so.</p>
<p>Well, if it’s not yield protection, then…?
All I’m saying is that I don’t see why I was waitlisted. If they don’t want me, then why not reject me? I have a low EFC, and obviously I need money to attend, so if they do want me, then why not accept me and give me a fin aid package? I’m not saying I “should have been” accepted, but this decision makes no sense to me. Any insight, anyone?</p>
<p>@br2pi5 i had extracurricular activities (some i have had leadership positions in and nation wide awards). im just putting stats because these do remain the single most important factors in all college admissions and many of the candidates that were rejected/wait listed had stats way above BUs average and were willing to attend. It just doesn’t seem right.</p>
<p>I said ECs because people’s applications can be considered interesting and worthy of an acceptance even if they don’t have a 2100+ SAT. Just because they don’t have a high score in the SAT doesn’t mean they are, as you put it, “mediocre.” I, myself, had a 1970 but 730 in chem, 760 in bio, and 800 in spanish. I have a 3.73 UW GPA. I was in 2 teams throughout high school, varsity volleyball and ice hockey. I have lots of awards and work experience as well as community service. It’s not all about the numbers, that’s all I’m saying.</p>
<p>ALSO people don’t talk about the essays, but that plays a HUGEEEE part in decisions. You’re not a mediocre person and not worthy of an acceptance without a 2000s SAT ;)</p>
<p>I said “mediocre scoring students”, anyway, I wasn’t talking about ECs or essays. I’m not saying people are mediocre, just that their scores are.</p>
<p>Scores aren’t everything…like br2pi5 is saying some students (like me) have had some really interesting experiences and have overcome lots of obstacles compared to others. I’m sorry you didn’t get in, but wasn’t BU just a safety for you? Why is it such a big deal? I mean, I understand getting into safeties is really important, but it sounds like you wouldn’t even have wanted to go to BU, so why does it matter? At least in my case I really loved my safety school (UC merced) and was completely okay with going there.</p>
<p>OP here— though BU was a “safety school” for me, it was one of my top choices. I was excited about it because I really wanted to go and thought I’d be accepted with scholarships. I need a lot of aid money to be able to go to the kinds of schools I want to go to, so BU was perfect because I could have potentially received merit aid and need-based aid, as well as be happy to attend. It’s not my “first” choice, but if Tufts, Brown, and Columbia turn me down, I might be stuck in-state. I would have loved to have been able to go to BU.</p>
<p>I also applied to American and Tulane, so hopefully those work out as “matches”.</p>
<p>Edit: I say “would have” because, though I was not rejected, I know now that I won’t get much fin aid, and I definitely won’t get a Trustee, etc. scholarship.</p>
<p>@vulpes, that quote right there^ was me. You’re right - I was not attached to BU, it was a safety, and I’m not sad about getting rejected - just confused. I didn’t mean to sound arrogant at all, but everyone has safety schools, and to be rejected from one is a little bit of a slap in the face.</p>
<p>^I’m still waiting to hear back from all my top choices in the US, so BU would have been a nice indicator, but past that I don’t care, I wasn’t considering going there anymore since I heard back from UK universities. I’m just interested in the trend at this point.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sure that’s true for some, but I doubt that’s true for a majority.</p>