@mwac2021 It’s impossible to ever say for sure why an admissions decision was made. DS’s stats are good, but fall in the average range for Wharton. My guess was there was some weakness admissions officers perceived with either ECs or the essays.
Wharton is also the most competitive business school in the country, which means plenty of qualified candidates do not gain admission. My suggestion now is to focus on other schools for RD, and not to let the setback weigh too heavily on you.
Hi. My daughter was rejected by Yale. What does this mean for her regular decision options? Wondering if we should take it down a notch? 98 gpa 34 act. URM.
I’m a UChicago legacy. My weighted GPA is 4.0 and my SAT is 1430. I have very strong awards, leadership, community service, and internships. I was rejected from Brown ED. Should I bother applying to UChicago?
@massmom2018 Your daughter’s GPA and ACT are both good, but there is only so much I can say about an application from those alone. If you are worried about RD admissions options, I would suggest a mix of schools; one or two still in the highest tier, most in the mid to high tier, and one or two safety schools.
If you want to stay New England based, I would suggest Boston College, Boston University, Wesleyan, Middlebury College, and Brandeis as schools to look into.
A single rejection from an Ivy League is not much of a judgement; these schools reject most of the students who apply. While some reevaluation is good, don’t let this setback cause undue distress.
@championdino The essays are one of the most important parts of UChicago’s application, and among the hardest college essays to write. If you are confident in your ability to write them, then UChicago could be a reasonable choice.
Two caveats; if your GPA is 4.0 out of 5.0, your chances are lower, and your extracurriculars could also effect your chances. Choice of major doesn’t matter as much for UChicago, but they are an institution far more focused on theory than practice.
My D21 was deferred from Yale yesterday. She is one of the top two students (class of 385) at her rigorous public school, taken most of the APs offered (6 APs so far, three in senior year, all 5s) with a 3.94/4.0 UW GPA (no ranking and no weighted GPA), 35 ACT. Her school send some students to Ivy and top LACs each year. For ECs, among other school clubs, she has started her own sustainable company and has leadership position in a national youth activism platform. She has won several prestigious Art awards over the years and is on the National points list for her sport. She has also won numerous national & regional tournaments and won top academic awards in her school and nationally as a student athlete. Her essays are quite good and LORs were outstanding as per her GC/teachers. She has been accepted into 2 other state schools with merit aid. Not sure if she was deferred because she applied from an over-represented state and also Asian. She will be applying to other target and some reach schools for RD but Yale was her dream school. Also, not sure if it matters but she did not request financial aid and will be full pay. She is interested in PPE/Econ/Business. What do you recommend as next steps for Yale and also for other colleges?
deferred from dartmouth - any tips for next steps? like when I should send in a letter of continued interest, etc.
suggestions:
write a LOCI and send to admissions rep to add to file.
include in the letter an update with further accomplishments or awards that may come along.
send another meaningful LOR.
have your school advocate on your behalf if possible
I was in your shoes last year and I’m a Jumbo now. Don’t give up hope and while you wait keep an open mind about so many other amazing schools.
IvyScholars. I have a child who applied EA to one of the HYPS. Got turned down. Didn’t have high hopes but like to get your feedback.
A female, 16 years old, but with a presence of a 20 year old.
Parents have legacy foot print at all 4 schools, HYPS
4.0 UW Fall 2020 with 5 APs/College Dual, overall 8 AP/College
3.8UW overall with over 30 H.S. credits as a Junior but Senior standing
NHS
Junior but ready to graduate in June 2021
Eagle Scout
Summit Scout Award
Congressional Gold Medalist
President’s Volunteer Service Award - 3 Gold with 500 service hours
National level musicals award/recognition, performed nationally/intl.
Rowing Sports at a strong Club, competitive athlete at a D1 school.
Shooting Sports, National Awards
Speaks 4 languages
Lived in 3 countries and 4 major cities around the world
Service projects in 3 countries
Seeking ROTC path to college
Aspiration to study JD/PhD and serve in one of the three branches of the gov’t after military
Family has 200 year history with strong record of service and leadership positions in high offices in medicine, government, military, business.
Compelling essays
Exceptional recommendations
No SAT/ACT due to center closures. Tried six times. Applied without one since no testing required and will not be prejudiced. Is this true? Or fake news?
No financial aid needed
What do you see as the problem?
We are looking for second round schools, she was deferred from Wisc and Tulane. D wants similar schools. 
Hello,
I was deferred from Harvard REA. Here is some of my info:
-I’m an African-American applicant from CA
-First-generation
-Class rank 6/345 (top 2% of class)
-Unweighted GPA = 3.77, Weighted = 4.0256 (Will slightly increase once transcript updates with fall semester senior year grades). 8 AP Courses are offered at my school, and including senior year, I’ve taken 6, along with 8 honors courses
-I’ve held a few different leadership positions over the course of high school in my extracurriculars, including club president, secretary, treasurer, etc
-Essay topic: How my parent’s death impacted me
To boost my application, I’m hoping my fall semester grades will help. I’m also considering uploading a new personal essay that will better reflect who I am. Thoughts? Anything is appreciated 
Hi. I got deferred from Cornell as a male international but US citizen student for the Fashion design and management major at Human Ec. To be honest I thought I would get in, but I was hoping I could receive some advice on what to do to get in.
My GPA was 96.5, SAT: 1580; 2 SAT2 800s; 4 5s for APs (maximum I could’ve taken at my school was 5), competitive high school that is relatively well known among colleges. I also placed in Cornell’s fashion competition.
I feel really concerned because my school is very competitive and I will have to compete with all of the students with much higher GPAs that got rejected from their early schools. I would really appreciate suggestions!
@bkhstips and @butterfly1997,
Ivy league schools want to see students with a hook; something that makes a student stand out from their peers. In the case of deferral, you are qualified enough to attend, and have aspects of your application that make it worthwhile, but do not stand out enough in the field of early applicants. While the pool of applicants who apply early is smaller, it is also generally better prepared and more competitive.
For next steps, if you accomplish something meaningful in terms of extracurriculars, then you should update admissions. Continued interest is assumed for deferral, those letters are generally only necessary once you have been waitlisted.
@bkhstips specifically, applying from an over-represented state likely didn’t help, and econ is one of the most competitive majors to apply to, because so many students want to study it. While sports accomplishments are impressive, they rarely aid an application unless a student is an athletic recruit. For next steps, consider other colleges in the same tier or with similar values to Yale, along with my deferral advice above. I would suggest looking into Barnard, Middlebury College, Brown, and Wesleyan for schools to apply to RD. Applying as a business or econ major will be very competitive, so make sure her list of extracurriculars supports her candidacy there.
@McGuiver Your daughter has a very strong candidacy, but so does every student who applies to these schools. Rejection is not necessarily an indication that a student isn’t good enough, but instead that the school thinks they would fit better elsewhere.
As to why that might be, these schools are all looking for specialized students. While high level generalists, such as your daughter, can get accepted, it is more difficult. When I read through the list of ECs and accomplishments, nothing really stands out. Each is impressive enough individually, but they don’t build a single cohesive narrative. Stanford particularly is looking for students who aren’t perfect yet, but who have a great deal of potential.
Legacy status can help in admissions, but it only grants a second look, which isn’t enough to tip the scale most of the time (while legacy students are admitted 2 to 3 times as often, that still comes out to a 15-20% acceptance rate).
Stellar athletic performance is impressive, but only helps with admissions if a student is recruited for their athletic ability.
I hope this has been helpful. Sometimes there isn’t a singular problem. It is possible to make no mistakes and still not achieve success.
hi @ivyscholars, I’d like to do the same! I’ll post in a chanceme thread and link it to you thanks so much
@erd1020 or Wisc I assume you mean University of Wisconsin?
For similar schools to Tulane I’d suggest Wake Forest, UVA, and Emory. Similar to UW check out University of Florida, UGA, and UIUC.
@teenager146 You would be a competitive applicant at a number of top schools, so make sure you apply to some outside of Harvard. When writing your personal statement, make sure the focus is you, and not your parents. It is a delicate line to walk, but schools are admitting you, and use these essays to learn who you are as a person and as a student.
hi @ivyscholars, here’s the link to my chanceme:
Thank you!
@jokesonmehaha Your candidacy seems strong from what I can see. Were your essays and rec letters also competitive? Top schools care a lot about essay quality, so having strong essays is the best way to take an already strong application to the next level.
If the 96.5 GPA is weighted that might also influence their decision. There isn’t much you can do if you are deferred, besides keeping your grades high so the mid-year report reflects your continued excellence. If you accomplish something truly impressive in terms of awards or extracurriculars, it may be worth updating the school about that.
Also make sure you are applying to backup schools, as there are never any guarantees when applying to the Ivy Leagues.
Hi! I have been deferred by Stanford. No SAT, WGPA 4.04, GPA 3.82, APs - 9 (Scores 3, 4, 5)
Suggestions are appreciated.