<p>I just spent my entire study hall reading all of these, and I can honestly say that some of these stories give me hope. 2 weeks ago I was deferred from my top two choices, and I was flat out devestated. I cried for days, and I had given up hope. It took some time, but I came to realize that it’s not over yet. It’s not going to be over until I get a final decision in March or April. I know that whatever happens, happens. However, I still hope that my dream of attending a certain school will come true. Most importantly, I hope that a year from now I can come back to this thread and tell everyone (hoping that I get into my dream school) that it was everything in more.</p>
<p>@SeventeenWords</p>
<p>I’m sure that a year from now you’ll come back to this thread and tell everyone that you got into your dream school and that it was everything you expected!!!</p>
<p>You’ll see! :)</p>
<p>BTW… what’s your dream school??</p>
<p>I was rejected early by my dream school MIT. That day, I thought it was the end of the world. I agree that dreams are fluid. You will wake up one day and forget that the school you are at wasn’t your first choice, the pain will ease and you will wonder why you were so upset being rejected in the first place. But most importantly, you won’t be able to imagine going anywhere else.</p>
<p>@amodeluniverse I smell a bitter ■■■■■. </p>
<p>As for myself, I was rejected early from both Columbia and UChicago a few weeks ago. Though I have the bottom quartile of the stats necessary that are usually accepted into both institutions, I was still kind of hopeful – especially for UChicago. </p>
<p>When the time came, and I was rejected from Columbia, I just a little upset and just shrugged it off. However, I had fallen in love with the University of Chicago, something which should not have happened, and I was extremely depressed when I was rejected. </p>
<p>I began reflecting on everything that I had and hadn’t done in high school, and to the best of my effort, I tried to not rationalize anything in my past. But I came to one conclusion: Life’s hard for an introvert. The reason that I was probably not accepted was because of my SEVERE lack of extracurricular activities. But still, I could have just sucked it up tutored a kid for a year or two.</p>
<p>The experience has left me uncertain of what to expect from the regular decision cycle, so I’m just rushing like a fraught horse to rack up as much scholarship money as possible to be able to attend the state flagship.</p>
<p>To put this in perspective, for amodeluniverse especially, I live in a small town in rural, deep-south Florida. My class valedictorian, and a friend of mine, is openly gay and has been since Jr. High. He took an all dual-enrollment course load (No AP or IB offered), was vice president, and also has an internship. He applied to three schools and has been accepted into all of them on full scholarships, none of which are Ivy or even in the top fifty of USNWR. He didn’t care, he’s majoring in zoology and picked the program that suited him best.</p>
<p>You have nothing to whine about, even though I’m probably extremely liberal, i follow the staunch philosophy that you didn’t succeed, you did not work hard enough – especially if someone in similar or worse circumstances did.</p>
<p>@YalieGirl Towson University :)</p>
<p>Both my kids toured about 10 schools each. They each had one school they really liked. One kid got rejected, so ended up attending a second-choice school. He is really enjoying it and has been on the Dean’s list all 5 semesters. Second kid got deferred, and then accepted at her “dream school”. She had so much fun that she failed most of her classes first semester and is now back home, attending a local college.</p>
<p>I had a dream college. I was about to apply when I saw the “pricetag”. I would be in debt for years and I decided it just wasn’t worth it. Plus, I would feel terribly guilty if my parents paid for it and got into debt for me. I decided that going to a less expensive college would be better and probably just as good as my dream college. I’ve heard smaller colleges, like the one I attend, is just as good as the larger, popular ones in many ways.</p>
<p>@amodeluniverse: i’m sorry that you faced that kind of crap from those people. but i don’t understand how vitriolic raging at people who go to prestigious institutions makes up for their abuse. there are people here who have undergone enough adversity to put your words thoroughly to shame. i hope things worked out better for you, but for god’s sake, next time, lay off the incredibly insensitive generalizing of people who attend prestigious schools–or you’re really no better than those who made fun of you. </p>
<p>If you, too, had a “dream” college, how did it work out for you?</p>
<p>i did have a dream school: yale. i visited for an academic conference in my sophomore year and i just fell in love with the place. never actually thought i had a chance at getting in–i’m not a legacy, not unusually wealthy or athletically talented, not a researcher or an olympiad winner, not a URM, an a geographic ORM. just a good student with a passion. </p>
<p>If accepted, did it turn out to be everything you’d hoped for?
i got in, and the ride has honestly been incredible. i’m doing well in classes i love and i have incredible flexibility with my academic options. there are some people who are a little more stuck-up then i’d like–everyone here seems to be pretty used to success, which means that they can get a little irritating when they don’t get their way–but these people are far outweighed by the generous, outgoing and plain hilarious students who make up the bulk of yalies. and people are freaking SMART–the abundance of sheer talent can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but i’ve found my niche and all in all, i just love it here.</p>
<p>My dream college was Washington University in St. Louis, and that’s why I applied there Early Decision. My counselors and mentors and the coach recruiting me thought that it looked really good, but we were all pretty surprised to hear that I was deferred. I just told myself that everything happens for a reason, and indeed this holds true, as I was accepted and will be attending the University of Chicago, IMO a better name to have when I graduate! If I was accepted ED at Wash U, I wouldn’t be able to do anything with UChicago because it would be binding, so everything really does happen for a reason!</p>
<p>I got rejected by California Berkeley today. I loved the prestige of it and the idea of living in California, which would a radically different experience from living in Ohio. I agree with one of the previous posters about believing that if you didn’t get in, it’s because you didn’t try hard enough. My scores weren’t as high as they could’ve been because I hated studying math. I had pretty extensive ECs and leadership but nothing in terms of study abroad or national competitions. However, I’m not sure if just having high scores would’ve made a difference-I’d rather think they didn’t just to make myself feel better.</p>
<p>Right now I’m trying to decide between OSU and University of Michigan. Michigan is about four times more expensive than OSU, but after hearing how many people think it’s amazing, I’m tempted to go there. It’s tough to decide if you want to put your parents (or yourself) in crippling debt or to go somewhere that isn’t your first choice. I think that I’ll be happy at either place, but I want to be a bit farther from home and have a real sense of independence and a new identity (as many people I know will be attending OSU). But as they say, it’s not where you go that determines your happiness, but your attitude.</p>
<p>Unfortunately most people can’t say this, but my first choice was a safety; and I go there now. In hindsight, I guess, it’s been a great experience but I’ll always know deep down that I could’ve gone somewhere way better.</p>
<p>What does your GPA have to be to get into spelman…mines is a 78 right now but I have been trying to bring it up. So by the end of this school year it will be higher</p>
<p>kini17, try here [Spelman</a> College - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/spelman-college/]Spelman”>Spelman College - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>I didn’t really have a dream college in the sense that I was completely fixated on just one, but I did have my heart set on Harvey Mudd. I was accepted… but financial aid was sparse. So on that reason alone, I chose NJIT instead, with a full ride+. And I’m glad I did. </p>
<p>So far, I’m enjoying myself here. Not to sound demeaning, but I’m kind of thankful to be a less academically rigorous environment; it’s less stressful, it’s easier to keep my grades up, it gives me more time for other activities and gives me more opportunities than if I had been just part of the average student body of a prestigious college. Aside from that, public transport is quite convenient in Jersey, which is important since I don’t drive, and I love NJIT’s proximity to NYC. Plus I’ve met some amazing people here!</p>
<p>I love stories like this, although I am also convinced that there people in the world with open minds and positive attitudes like Muscovy’s who will do well wherever they land.</p>
<p>When I was a high school junior/senior I applied to 14 schools. I was accepted by 7 and rejected by 8. I was foolish because I am a first generation American as well as a first generation college student. So I had no idea what was coming my way in terms of picking the right college. I just thought, I mean hey it’s college right? College is awesome, college is amazing. Ivy Leagues are the best, and that was that. I honestly wanted to get away from my state because I was tired of the people that I had grown up with my entire life. Not to mention that everyone from my high school was going to the EXACT SAME COLLEGES. These are the people that I had been in school with since Elementary years. 12-13 years with the same people only to be with them another 4? Uh uh. Not only that, but I had weight issues for some part of my life and I didn’t want to be around them anymore. So I chose a school out of state and for a good time I thought I was going.</p>
<p>WRONG.</p>
<p>It turned out that there’s such a thing called “private” and “public” colleges and that it just so happened that ALL of them were private! (No wonder they looked so good…) I was guaranteed an internship with work study related to my major. I had to give all of that up because I couldn’t afford it… So yeah, for a good while I was super crushed because the college of my dreams had been snatched right from under my nose. It had been too late to apply for community college so while I watched in agony over Facebook how everybody was loving college I had to stay at home and work. I got into a public university next semester and it TOTALLY SUCKS! I’m making a transfer to a university that’s cooler and closer to home.</p>
<p>In hindsight, yeah I definitely believe that it’s better if I didn’t go to the school out of state. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I would have racked up some monster loans (The school was just that awesome)</p></li>
<li><p>It was very far away and inconveniently my family had lost both of our vehicles so there would be no way to keep taking me back and forth to college. </p></li>
<li><p>If I didn’t like the school and I wanted to transfer back home I would lose a great portion of my credits.</p></li>
<li><p>The state is so different from my own that I’m not sure I was even going to fit in with the locals!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, if anything, my heart didn’t die a great tragedy from this experience. It’s just a big lesson learned. :)</p>
<p>I was pretty big on schools like Duke and Rice (rejected by Duke and WLed by Rice) and I was pretty bummed about it, because I put a lot of effort into my app and supplements for both of them. Plus, my Duke rejection came on a day when I was rejected from 3 other schools, so it was pretty tough. </p>
<p>I realized, though, that I not only had acceptances to great schools in front of me, but I was also lucky enough to receive great financial aid packages. I really love it at my current school. The academics and athletics are top-notch, the people are friendly, the city is great, and I’ve already made some close friends.</p>
<p>I was accepted as a transfer student to my dream school. I don’t really know why it was my dream school, but looking at pictures of the campus, I think I just associated it with that “college experience”. Small town, GORGEOUS campus and all of that good stuff. I mean, it was good in my major and was the highest ranked public school for undergraduate teaching in the country. </p>
<p>I got there and was so excited only to find that excitement going steadily down the crapper. I met great people, but it didn’t take too long to figure out that it wasn’t the place for me. Sure, it was great for undergrad teaching but I wanted to grad school for bio and looking back on it, leaving a city full of top ranked hospitals and nationally ranked research institutions for Middle-of-Nowhere, Ohio probably wasn’t the brightest idea. The “best” lab in the biochem department was so sketchy, IMO, to be working with DNA. Just not at all what I thought it was going to be like. And the lack of diversity was intimidating at first and extremely annoying towards the end. When I get called an “oreo” for not being a thug, have people seriously sit me down and try to tell me that black people are inherently more violent for being black, or get asked ridiculously offensive questions on a regular basis, etc. I either need to walk away or someone’s gonna get hurt.</p>
<p>Transferred for the spring to a cheaper school that I’ll commute to (since the school is cheaper, I can buy a car for my birthday). I lost my job, but those $14 checks did jack diddly anyway.</p>
<p>I was waitlisted from NYU, which I thought was my “dream school,” but it turns out that I would’ve hated myself if I had gone there. I actually disliked NYC so much; I will never, ever live there or go to school there. I desperately wanted to get away from my state because I needed a good change, so I ruled out ALL of the in-state schools I got into - the best decision I’ve ever made. I’m currently at my “#3” choice, but I am so happy. The only downside of Penn State is the weather here. I’m so used to the west coast, so the whole east coast weather and lifestyle took me by surprise. But I love it. Over the past summer, I visited USC (LA) and I fell in love with the school. I really like my current school, but my aspirations have changed toward the media/communication, so I’m actually going to apply as a transfer to USC for the upcoming fall. Penn State is totally awesome, though. State College is a great place to be independent and live life for college students.</p>
<p>I suppose I had a dream school, more so my mind was just set on it. I didn’t even visit before applying and getting accepted. I don’t think I had a grasp on finances when I looked at schools because I didn’t really keep tuition in mind. Also, I assumed my parents had some saved money for my education, which was not the case. I got 20k from my dream school to be used taken off the tuition over 4 years but it ended up not being enough. </p>
<p>Instead I am going to the university in my high school town, which isn’t so bad. I was originally just going to get my generals done cheap and then transfer but the more I thought about the debt, the more I just wanted to keep it cheaper. Especially since I don’t dislike my school, it just wasn’t the plan. And as a senior I didn’t know specifically what I wanted to do within my interests in art so spending so much would have just been crazy. I have friends who are going to schools that cost 40k a years and they are undecided on their major, which I just don’t get. The only think I dislike about the current university is that one of my majors is being cut, and the last year has just been annoying with regards to how the university is being run.</p>
<p>In retrospect I with I would have applied to more places (I was picky because of application fees). I had a 3.8 gpa in high school and I didn’t apply to any top places just because I didn’t think I could get the ACT or SAT scores to impress (which may have been true). I wish I would have looked into UW Madison more. The size is larger than I like but the city is great and it is a top. And as a Minnesotan I would get in-state tuition.</p>
<p>Overall, I am not going to my dream school, but I am $0 in debt. And my current school is nice and smaller (especially within the art department). I have felt more challenged than expected and learned a lot which is what I wanted. I still crave the sweet taste of independence, but now when I get to move at least I won’t have to work off student loans for decades. I think a school is what you make it and that has worked well for me.</p>