<p>If denied, have you been able to be happy elsewhere?</p>
<p>my top dream school rejected me but accepted really, really dumb kids with money/no financial aid. i’m applying as a transfer, but right now my bitterness and disgust outweighs my former love for the school.</p>
<p>right now i hate my school but since i’m doing really well, i’m considering other schools way better than my dream school back in high school. an ivy, even, but we’ll see. i’m not too worried because i know i’ll get in somewhere, and it might not be my top, and that’s ok, as long as i’m out of here.</p>
<p>I got into my dream college. I can’t imagine a better place for myself in the entire world - I love it here. It’s more than I ever thought it would be. I’m amazed at how early on (since sophomore year) I knew it was the best place for me…</p>
<p>I was rejected from my dream school, and ended up attending a large state university instead. Although I felt pretty terrible at the time, I’ve determined that the college I’m at is where I was MEANT to go. I’ve made amazing friends and connections, and I can’t imagine going anywhere else.</p>
<p>In this post I wish I read more about how Dream school turned out not so great experiences so I can show my daughter. Right now, my daughter got rejected from her ED school where she had set her heart on. Although it was a slight reach for her a lot of other kids got in there who have lower Stats,ECs and lower Scores. My daughter is so heartbroken she is refusing to fill up more applications for RD saying she will get rejected anyways. She even wants to drop all her AP classes and resign from her EIC position of school newspaper. She is extremely diligent and hardworking. As a mother I’m heartbroken for her and do not know how to get through to her. She refuses to talk to anyone avoiding FB because she does not want to reads others getting into their choices. She goes to a extemely compititive HS where kids are brutal. My daughter has gotten into 3 safe state schools and is saying she will just go to any of those but refuses to apply RD anywhere. We think she can do better, but cannot get through her. This is very stressful for kids.Some kids apply 20+ schools which is not fair to others kids as they hold up spots. Any opinions?</p>
<p>that was me senior year. i applied ED to my dream school, got rejected, and saw kids get in with FAR worse grades. i too stopped going on facebook, and still don’t have one bc i deleted it bc i know i’ll get jealous once i see facebook pictures, statuses about how awesome their school is, etc. </p>
<p>make sure your daughter knows it goes on, and the best part is, she can kick butt at her new school and possibly apply to other schools ranked way higher than her dream school if she wishes. that would be her way of “getting back” at them for rejecting her.</p>
<p>^^ exactly what happened to me! I got rejected from my dream school last year and was totally devastated when I learned that kids with farrrrrr lower stats had gotten in. I was very depressed and stopped going on facebook for awhile. I’m a freshman at my safety school now, and while i hate it, i’m doing my best to get great grades so I can transfer to a great college. </p>
<p>Just make sure she knows that if she really really does want to go to that dream school, she can always transfer!</p>
<p>Thank you so much, belief and MsBainTrain. It hurts as a mother to watch the child heartbroken after watching countless hours of studying and watch while some other kids who have paid College Counselors who even have their essays written for them get into college. Just hope my daughter can pull through this. The sad part is this drama will continue until April as no other good news are expected right away. The mood in my house is so somber, christmas is not looking great anymore.</p>
<p>I had a dream school for a good long while, then, for a number of reasons each dumber than the one before, at the very last minute (like, the week of the ED deadline) I decided to apply elsewhere. I got in and just finished my first semester and I can’t help feeling like I’m in an arranged marriage - like, I tried to force myself into to loving a place I never even really wanted to go in the first place, I tried to convince myself that this was the right choice when it really wasn’t. I should have known, because when I visited the school I’m at now I didn’t feel anything. I was just kind of like “huh, that’s nice I guess” because I was so enamored with another school, I had no visceral “I NEED TO BE HERE” like I had with my first dream school. The weeks leading up to going, I was miserable, not just that I didn’t want to leave mommy and daddy but that I just didn’t WANT to go, I wasn’t excited. And now, when I’m there I spend all my time wanting to be elsewhere, and when I’m elsewhere I can’t enjoy it because I’m dreading going back. Over breaks I won’t even see my friends from HS because I can’t deal with how happy they all are at their schools. I guess what I would say is that applying to the place I’m at now seemed like a good idea at the time. I wanted to apply someplace ED and chose it for bad reasons. My advice to HS’ers out there (a little late but possibly still applicable) would be to really think hard and consider every factor before committing yourself to a school. Do your research. But also to some extent you just need to feel it, the school that just feels right probably is and someplace that feels off probably isn’t the right place for you. Even if you can’t put your finger on why it doesn’t feel right to you, that’s still good enough a reason to question going there. I’m now back in the app process hoping I’m not too late to go to my dream school… wish me luck!</p>
<p>** If you, too, had a “dream” college, how did it work out for you?</p>
<p>If accepted, did it turn out to be everything you’d hoped for?</p>
<p>If denied, have you been able to be happy elsewhere? </p>
<p>**</p>
<p>Yes. My dream school was MIT. I was in love with everything about it, but as ashamed as I am to say it, one big thing I was in love with was its prestige. I was denied.</p>
<p>I ended up going to St. Thomas University in Miami, Fl, a teeny tiny private Catholic. I LOVED IT. I fell completely in love with the school and with everything about it. However, I knew that MIT was the place for me to be, and after a year’s worth of maturity and growing up, I applied again and got accepted only a year later (after my initial denial.)</p>
<p>Now that I’m at MIT, I would never go back in my decision. It truly is as AMAZING as I had imagined and 1000x over. Absolutely incredible, the best place in the world. St. Thomas was still absolutely incredible and I am very happy I went there. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I would be at MIT without my initial stop at STU. I love both of them and believe it or not, both of them have pros and cons. Can you be happy somewhere else? Absolutely. You just have to find that part of yourself that you wanted to explore at your dream school (in my case, mathematics and the natural sciences) and explore them somewhere else. In the end, you are your OWN person (in my case, a scientist) wherever you go. As long as you become that person (regardless of where) you’ll be happy. </p>
<p>although I didn’t call it a “dream school” at the time, Cornell was the only school I ever really wanted to go to. I got in ED and it was a great decision. everything that I knew I would love about it, I do, and there were a lot of perks that I couldn’t have known about when I applied. even though I bet I could have a higher GPA at some other schools, it is good to be challenged. plus, I am taking so many great courses, and the other opportunities are awesome as well…and I love Ithaca, it’s just the right size for a college town. I think it is still the perfect fit school for me, and I’m a junior now.</p>
<p>I got in to my “dream school” and turned it down for an other one of my top choices. (I had four top choices altogether and only got in to these two)</p>
<p>I know I would probably have been happy at my dream school but between applying and getting accepted off the waitlist at the school I ended up going to, I realized that even though my dream school was a great fit, this other school was too, except better.</p>
<p>If I didn’t get in here I would have had no regrets about going to my dream school. I didn’t become disenchanted with it, I just found somewhere else that fit me better right now.</p>
<p>I never really had a “dream” school. When I was visiting colleges, I liked a LOT of them and really felt like I would have been happy almost anywhere that I applied, even at one of the safeties. I did know that I liked Carleton, UVA, Williams, and Amherst the best out of everywhere I had looked/applied, but I honestly felt like I would have been happy anywhere.</p>
<p>I didn’t apply ED anywhere because of financial aid, so I was a little bummed when I was waitlisted at Williams and Amherst, but I was accepted to almost every other school to which I applied. I ended up narrowing it down to Carleton, UVA, Northwestern, and one or two other schools, and when I received all of the financial aid letters, I decided that I’d visit Carleton and UVA. I had <em>great</em> visits to both schools, but ultimately I just felt like I connected more with the atmosphere, culture, and general student body that I found at Carleton. It was a risk – Minnesota is really far/different from my home in CT, and I knew my parents were hoping I’d pick a school closer to home. I didn’t know how I would fare in a small school. But I decided to do it, because everything I had read about Carleton sounded incredibly positive.</p>
<p>Now that I’m here, I’ve realized that Carleton <em>is</em> my “dream” school, in that it meets all of the criteria that I had dreamed of in a college, even if I didn’t know it when I deposited. The culture is very open, accepting, and fun, the academics are tough but really really interesting (my profs are great!), and there is always something to do. I love my roommates and my floor, and I was able to play a varsity sport (soccer) on the most welcoming, supportive team I have ever played on. Basically, this past fall has been the happiest in my life, and I cannot WAIT to go back for next term. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I had gone to another school, but I’m so happy at Carleton that I just don’t really care.</p>
<p>If you, too, had a “dream” college, how did it work out for you?
I had 3 “dream” schools persay - Georgetown, Claremont McKenna, and Pomona College. They were “dream schools” for me because I wouldn’t be able to afford them/applied because I thought I would love to go there but highly doubted my ability to get in. I never had any delusions about “if I don’t get into any of these colleges I’m going to fail at life.” </p>
<p>If denied, have you been able to be happy elsewhere?
I got waitlisted from Pomona & Claremont McKenna, and then rejected from Georgetown. I was never intending to attend any of them anyways (monetary issues) so it was really inconsequential to me…I could’ve been happy anywhere. I still got into a lot of good schools, just not these ones. In hindsight, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed any of those schools nearly as much because of their lackluster Div I sports (with the exception of Georgetown’s bball) and lackluster school spirit. I go to Michigan State now (woo scholarships! & an amazing visit) and I absolutely LOVE it. Perfect atmosphere for me, love the spirit, love the sports, and the academics (being in a residential college/honors college) have actually impressed me here too. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. Plus, there are very few snobby/uber-competitive kids here, with a much more happy/laid-back environment that suits me so much better. Whereas high school I had very few friends, I have tons of close friends here who are from a much more diverse background.</p>
<p>Daughter was accepted to her dream school (Notre Dame) and could not be happier. She loves the school. I couldn’t imagine her anywhere else. Fit is important. Dream school should not be most elite school. For example my D was also accepted to Cornell and many people may think that she should have attend Cornell. As long as dream equals best fit school - you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>My “dream schools” were Yale and Williams, and when decisions rolled around, I was waitlisted at both. It’s kind of funny that this thread came up now, because almost exactly a year ago I was devastated at not getting into Yale SCEA.
Fast forward quite a few months and here I am, incredibly happy at Smith. At the end of the day, Smith was the best fit for me personally, academically and financially, and my first semester has been tough but also a dream come true. I love my house to bits, I am being incredibly challenged but am also having so much fun, and even though we’re at the beginning of finals period I am still incredibly happy to be here. It’s been a few months and I still get up in the morning and walk to class and think that I go to the best college on earth - I could not see myself anywhere else and am more than happy that things worked out this way!</p>
<p>Yeah, I applied somewhere ED that I thought was a completely sure thing and got deferred. Gave up on it then; didn’t bother trying to show I was “still interested” by sending in information or anything. I despise the institution and don’t like to refer to it by name.</p>
<p>Harvard is the other place I would consider my dream school. I still think I was built for it.</p>
<p>I’m at Brown… It’s fine, and it’s a good school for a lot of people, and some days I like it more than others, but I can’t help but feeling there were better fits elsewhere.</p>
<p>Some days I still think about the rejections… Occasionally they motivate me, occasionally they depress me.</p>
<p>God this thread is depressing. Why am I going to be attending a top 5 engineering school for $38k a year when I could attend my state school (decent engineering but nothing special - my GPA would be higher, easier classes, etc) for $21k? My family is top 5% income, but still - $68k saved over 4 years. I will just say this: this top engineering school better be ****ing worth that extra $68k.</p>
<p>I don’t know…I’m just scared as hell, b/c if I went to my state school, 4 years of hard work would be wasted. I could have gotten into my state school with minimal effort.</p>
<p>I have very little personal experience with getting rejected from one’s dream school, but I’ll try to say a few things anyway. Because I agree: it’s way too early to throw in the towel. I had a friend in HS whom we thought would get in everywhere he applied. Great grades, great scores, incredible ECs including high level research with awards, brilliant, beloved by all his teachers–and an amazing writer, too. But he was rejected or waitlisted from three of his top choices, including his dream school.</p>
<p>There was one school that did accept him–a very high-ranked university, basically a peer of the other three. They courted him aggressively, sent him a likely letter, gave him special perks and money to do more research in the summer with them; evidently someone in that admissions office thought they would have a lot of competition for him. But of course once the dust cleared on April 1 there was nowhere else comparable for him to go and nowhere else he wanted to be.</p>
<p>I’m telling you and your daughter this story because it really shows how capricious the admissions process can be. These very similar schools with similar admissions rates took a look at the same kid. Three of them didn’t want him, or didn’t want him enough. One not only wanted him, they were willing to pull out all the stops to make sure they got him. They weren’t wrong; one look at his resume could tell you he was a special kid. It’s just that so much of elite college admissions is determined by weird little coincidences and impossible decisions. Is the adcom reading you first out of the applicants from your school or seventh? Is it a beautiful fall day (one might be inclined to be more generous), or is it pouring rain? What are the adcom’s biases–will he take the outgoing, gutsy theater kid who is sure to become a huge presence on campus or the reserved but brilliant scientist? The chips will fall differently at every school, and that’s often the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.</p>
<p>And I’m telling you this because I want to encourage your daughter to get out there and apply. To my friend, right now it matters not at all that those other three schools rejected him. It only takes one.</p>
<p>One last thing: I know many kids who ended up at their safeties. One in particular was forced by bad admissions luck and financial problems to attend the impersonal state flagship we were all sure was wrong for her (too big, too easy to get lost). She just finished her first semester there, and is deliriously happy–in some ways I think happier than I am at my Dream School Forever After. Schools can be good fits or poor fits, and we can be wrong about both, but ultimately it’s not the school that makes you happy. You can build a place for yourself anywhere–and you can also be miserable at the University of Perfect For You In Every Way. It’s hard to explain, but take it from me: even if your school is everything it’s cracked up to be, being there isn’t going to be everything it’s cracked up to be. </p>
<p>(Which I suppose is my answer to the overarching topic of the thread. It’s not my college. It’s me.)</p>
<p>I was accepted. And for the first few days after acceptance, suddenly Stanford didn’t seem that great. If i could get in, then why not go Harvard. But really, i’m not a Harvard girl. Stanford was chosen as my early school as a reason and so i’m 95% sure i’ll end up matriculating there.</p>