Get some real guidance if it doesn’t cost that much.
Yes, with your credentials, there are no match schools.
However, there are a lot of schools in between the Ivies and UArk. Some of them meet full need yet are easier to get in to. Especially if you apply ED. In fact, with your profile, if you apply ED anywhere, your chances would go up significantly.
Though with your family income, I doubt you’d get fin aid.
There are some schools with big scholarships that you could try for: Emory, UVa, UNC, USC (possible at UChicago, JHU, and Rice as well) and just getting in to one of those places is quite good. Tulane also has those scholarships.
I feel for you man. There must be something in your application that you’re missing, cause with those stats you would have been bound to get into atleast 1 of the schools you applied to besides UArk.
I’m so sorry that you are in this situation. You are a super-talented, smart individual who will go far in life – and getting through this disappointment will only make you stronger in the long run. On a practical note, put together a letter to Yale with any additional information that may help you get off the wait list. There are numerous threads here on CC about what kind of information to include and how to word your statement. Wishing you the very best.
Sorry you are so upset. These types of,threads are posted EVERY year. What did you do wong? It sounds to me that yiur essay was very typical. Why would you write about the stereotype of being Asian and your paretns wanting you to get a good educstion when that is the total stereotype of Asians anyway?
And I agree with others, you had NO match schools. No one can call any of the schools you applied to, except for Ark, a safety or even a match. I am not trying to be hard on you, but wow, you didn’t even apply to one single match school. Didn’t you think you should at least consider CMU, or U Rochester? You could have done much better than Ark as a safety or match. EVERY school on your list is a reach for every single person, regardless of stats.
It is a shame you have only one acceptance. It would have been good if you had come to,this forum well before yiu had applied. Anyone would have warned you.
I suggest you
A. Take a gap year, try again with match schools next year, do really cool stuff over the next 12 months.
Or
B. Look at the colleges with rolling admissions, or wait for,the May list from NACAC, which will have lots of great colleges that haven’t met their yield and are looking for students.
There is a very good thread here on Cc, it is called No Acceptances. A young man found himself in your shoes, except he didn’t get one single acceptance at all. He took a gap year and used it wisely. The next year, he applied to,mostly all new schools, with safeties and matches and got in almost everywhere. He ended up happy, at MIT.
Take nothing for granted. Unfortunately, you have learned a lesson the hard way. Best of luck to,you.
Others have given the advice that I would give, but I just wanted to chime in and say that you are absolutely amazing. I was seriously wondering if you were a real person when I read your profile. I’m sorry your GC considered schools that are notorious for rejecting perfect candidates your “matches.” That was not good advice and I’m very sorry that you are feeling so upset.
Hi again. Thanks for all the support, as well as the harsh honesty, I really do appreciate it. I think I should note I was originally going to apply to the UC schools (Berkeley, UCLA, UCI, UCSD) as matches/safeties too but unfortunately due to a complicated and personal financial situation out of state tuition is out of reach (this applies to many state schools not just the UCs, and was an important motivating factor in applying to mainly Ivies that meet full need), and by that time I had already applied to twice the number of schools my GC had advised so I didn’t see a point.
I’m so so sorry you’re in this kind of situation. I feel like a lot of people in this thread have given great advice, and I don’t have anything to add but I just want to let you know that even if you don’t feel it now, things are going to get better. No matter what you choose to do, you’re eventually going to find great success and happiness, regardless of whether it’s from where you expected. Your profile shows how smart, determined, persevering (and way more than that) you are. Best of luck to you, and don’t let this stop you from pursuing whatever it is you love! Hopefully, in a few years, you’ll look back at this experience and realized you gained something from it
Search yourself online and see what comes up. Make sure it is all positive. More and more admissions reps search applicants online.
I don’t know why U Ark can’t meet your needs. Start there and transfer out later if you can’t find your niche there. Make the best of it and be the star student, conducting research starting your freshman year. Even if you plan to transfer out, act as if you are there to stay so you actually get involved. This will make your freshman experience better and will enhance applications to transfer of you decide to go that route.
@rejectedlion2016 - you clearly have many talents, and a great future ahead of you. I’m truly sorry you have found yourself in this situation.
Be advised, as you look at your options going forward: few of the schools you applied to would have granted you need-based aid given your family income (likely only Harvard and Princeton), and none of these schools offer merit scholarships. Even if you had been accepted and received aid, it’s likely your cost of attendance would have still been more than full-pay at the UCs.
With your credentials, you would certainly qualify for automatic merit scholarships at many schools, even if you do not qualify for need-based aid. If you decide to take a gap year, research your options carefully and focus on schools where you have a good chance of receiving merit aid along with an acceptance.
I worry if you take a gap year and somehow your GC or recommenders did a poor job that you could have issues next year, too, even with lower tier schools.
This happened to me, although my stats were not nearly as awesome as yours. I’m probably going to go to my state school work me butt off and try to get into one of the top ten for graduate/medical school. I regret not applying to any matches that I liked. I thought if I applied to 13 of the top twenty schools I would have a chance of getting into at least one. Nope. I received rejection after rejection and like two waitlists. I hate life.
Well… I would have your GC call Yale to try to help you get off the waitlist. And maybe ask them to call a couple of other schools (maybe Dartmouth?) to see if they can give some feedback on your app to help you if you decide to take a gap year.
@rejectedlion2016 I feel awful for you. Your school choices were obviously ill advised but you didn’t have the guidance that a lot of people on here have when making your list. It might be worth your while to make a few phone calls to places like Alabama or Florida that are really looking for kids like you and might have room still. You can always transfer later.
Whatever happens, feel free to PM me when you graduate if you need a job. There are a lot of people like me who would love to hire someone like you, regardless of where you go to school. It probably doesn’t feel like it right now, but you are going to do just fine.
Agree with the statement above stating your college focus was further off the mark if getting financial aid was important to you with a family income of $200-250K. There are many schools with USNWR rankings in the 20-60 range that would have loved to have you bolster their stats and would have likely given you merit money. If you can’t imagine going to UArk and choose to take a gap year I would focus your attention on those schools. Unless your parents were prepared to pay the full cost of nearly every school on your list then admission would have been of no value anyway. It is always sound advice to spend more time choosing safeties that you can be happy with than choosing reach schools. Good luck to you.
@rejectedlion2016 I don’t need to re-hash what everyone else said, but I’m SHOCKED. I’ve been around the block and those are top notch stats/achievements/ECs (and it’s not even like you were applying from an overrepresented geographic region…). Sure, you should have applied to more “matches” but there’s no denying that you were screwed (unfairly imo) by the college admissions process. But that’s the system, and you legitimately can’t say you didn’t give it your best shot. Your intelligence and work ethic may not have paid off today, but it will at some point.
For those of you chastising the OP for putting together a poor list for applications, please remember that this is a 17-year-old who evidently got terrible advice from his GC. Unfortunately, there are thousands if not millions of students in this country who don’t have the benefit of top-notch guidance departments or parents who are extremely knowledgeable about college admissions in 2016.
On the bright side, with all those AP scores you’ll get loads of credit at Arkansas and graduate in 2 or 3 years. And considering your stats, I’m sure you’ll get very high marks there.
Not sure what Yale’s wait list statistics are, but I think you need your school/GC to call Yale and tell them of your plight. I would make it clear that you will absolutely attend if you are selected from the wait list. Update them on any noteworthy accomplishments. Reach out to your regional admissions officer. I’d do everything you can to boost your chances of Yale NOW, and if that doesn’t work, then focus on alternatives. But I’d be focused on Yale now if I were you.
@rejectedlion2016
Clearly there are some strange things going on here. Your numbers/stats/ECs/recs are incredible, and I would have thought the region of the country you were applying from would have helped you a lot. The GC didn’t do right by you, and your school’s lack of a track record with those Top schools would have hurt you in several ways.
I love the advice you are getting here, and I would seriously consider that Gap Year idea. The only thing I would add is this: Use that Gap Year wisely-- and by that I do not mean compile a lengthy list of accomplishments. You have maybe TOO many accomplishments on your resume and it gives the impression that you were knocking yourself out trying to get into college. Use the Gap Year instead to pursue a passion…and do something distinctive with it. Preferably something that will leave a legacy, give you a great story to tell (and capture on a blog or site), and make you realize that there are a lot of things that are, in the long run, way more important than having an Ivy League diploma.
And then, in your applications for next year, you can include some of the same schools if you want-- but have an ED/EA (one you really want), have a list that includes some excellent schools that are also great with FA (others have suggested them in the responses) and stay engaged. You are ridiculously talented, and talented ultimately will win if it’s paired with a great attitude, a sense of humor and a willingness to be passionate and focused about something.
And the whole thread has made me wayyyyy more sensitive to Asian Male dilemma.
I applied to transfer to Johns Hopkins a month before the start of the 2nd semester my sophomore year and got accepted for the 2nd semester. That was a long time ago and it probably wasn’t the best choice for me. However, some school may be more informal about admissions, understand your situation, and be willing to take someone with top scores. I would try calling some admissions offices, tell them briefly your scores and so on, and see if they are interested.
You could also go to U. Arkansas for a year and transfer. Schools a little below that list will definitely be interested.
Obviously terrible choice of schools to apply to. Probably GC in Arkansas and parents didn’t know better.
