<p>Wesleyan isn't a match or safety for anyone. It is a very very tough school to get into. It is a reach school for everyone.</p>
<p>As for the OP: You might want to read The Gatekeepers, which is about the Wesleyan admissions process. Like all selective schools, their decisions are idiosyncratic, and a mystery. Unless we looked at everything -- your essays, your recs, etc., -- we can't tell why the decision was made. </p>
<p>OTOH -- I would advise you to forget about Wesleyan, and move on. I know that's really hard to do, but for your own emotional sanity it probably is best.</p>
<p>Sorry, neither one of us has ever been on this forum until this week, but both mom and daughter used same log in. However, we both do exist and questions and posts are true.</p>
<p>Yeah, I kind of thought my SAT's weren't Ivy level, but they were mediocre for Wesleyan. But.....I thought playing a sport at Wes would be my hook, and didn't the coach kind of owe it to me to contact me if she had changed her mind, or knew that I was getting rejected? That was pretty tuff to take, given that she had approached me!!</p>
<p>You've made me feel better---many of you.
Yes, I will get over this, but I need to vent and greave (and be jealous), and ask why.</p>
<p>I know it happens, sometimes just the luck of the draw. I thot my essay was great---it was not school specific----talked about my love of bball and hard work and fulfillment (it was from my heart). The other was a poem I wrote on myself---unique and interesting (I am a bit artsy too and write occ poetry) which I thot would stand out and be different. </p>
<p>But who the heck can judge. What I loved didn't grab an adcom and that's what matters in the decision process.</p>
<p>But please answer this----do they prefer first generation college applicants? Does having blue collar parents help one get in?</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks to you all. This site has helped me work thru the rejection, and I did get into one great LAC.</p>
<p>The problem with the athletic hook is that it only works if there are not other/better athletes in the same sport. The coaches will try to recruit or attract as many good players as they can, but once the applications are in, then they are going to narrow it down to the very best. If a school offers ED, that definitely favors the athletes who go that route because it lets the coach get someone who is guaranteed to attend. Plus, the admissions committee is only going to allocate a limited number of spots per sport -- and basketball is a sport that doesn't require a huge team. So the luck of this year's draw may be that Wesleyan had more athletes than it needed by the time they were looking at RD applicants. </p>
<p>Kids like you don't get rejected; you simply don't get chosen from the very competitive crowd. Its like the sports you play: you can play the best game of your life and still lose the game, if the other team happens to do better that night -- and sometimes the other team's win is more a matter of luck than ability. </p>
<p>All applications have strengths and weaknesses, and the applications are looked at as a whole. It's not your test scores: by definition, half of the students admitted have scores below the school's median. Its the way things all come together and either mesh - or fail to mesh -- with the school's needs at the time. </p>
<p>I also highly recommend that you read The Gatekeepers - its a great look into the process. It also shows how it can be that one person on the admissions committee may be advocating very strongly to let you in, but if the others don't agree... you end up waitlisted or rejected. All of the different ad com members end up having their own personal favorites and are essentially working in competition with one another to get their chosen candidates in -- so again, it isn't a game you lost but merely one that you didn't win.</p>
<p>felisha-dash4: I have a similar academic/athletic situation, though my SATs are a little lower and my class rank is considerably lower. I applied to about 12 schools to increase my odds of admission; 7 reaches, 3 matches, and 2 safeties. I got into all of my safeties and matches without any help from a coach. I was happy about that. Among my reaches (where I was clearly out of the SAT range), I only got into elite schools (two) where the D3 coach seemed really interested in me. I was wait-listed or rejected at every reach school where I wasn't recruited plus one reach school where I was recruited. Maybe the coach who hosted you didn't have the pull necessary to get you in. It isn't your fault and you aren't alone. Rejection hurts, especially when it surprises you. Did you have any safeties or matches?</p>
<p>Whats the chance Weslyan remember the particulars about your app out of 7000 it received? I would move on. Congrats on making one of your top choices, move on and enjoy the exciting college life that awaits you.</p>
<p>come on i know how you feel. I got freakin waitlisted from Rice when i got into Columbia (the college 7.6% acceptance rate). I was so ****ed at Rice but oh well i'm ok now. I'm going to columbia and never really thought about going to rice. I guess they knew that i wasn't gonna go.
just out of curiosity where r u going?</p>
<p>just a couple of things- why would it bother you if she got a full ride at an ivy? ivy league schools do not give merit aid, so her family must have it pretty rough financially to get full rides. i just don't see how her financial aid package bothers you.
to answer your question, i don't think that first generation is all that important. only something like 10% of any given class at an ivy is first generation, so i really don't think it factors in that much. (don't quote me on that percentage, i do know that i read it somewhere either in a viewbook or college guide). although i guess it could look good because first generations most likely can't get homework help and must work extra hard given that parents never went to college.<br>
how were your interviews? a major part of college admissions is "personal qualities" so maybe in your essay or interview you came off has having a personality that the adcoms didn't like. you do seem ultra-competitive: keeping track of the val's stats and admissions and financial aid packages and all, so maybe you came off as uptight and perfectionist? who knows
maybe the ivy that you got rejected from and she was accepted at saw something different in her? or, i'd hate to say this, but if you're white and the val is black or something, then that could play a part in admissions. i think you shouldn't compare yourself so much though. it only makes things worse. the decisions are made and you should be happy at your lac.<br>
other than that, ivies are a crapshoot. it also can depend on if you go to a feeder school or a crappy public school. there are many private schools that send several students to ivies each year.
you probably should have also applied to actual safety schools. wesleyan's acceptance rate is only 28% according to collegeboard.com, so you should never have used it as a safety or even a semi-safety, even though your sats, gpa, and sports/community service are all great.<br>
maybe if you gave us more info, we could help you cope better or point out major flaws that shot up red flags. but really, dwelling on this will only make it hurt for longer. just put this behind you. everything will be okay :)</p>