Will I Regret this Someday

College Search & Selection
1

<p>After having three years of friends go through the college application process, as a rising senior it seems to finally be my turn. The difference between my friends and myself, however, are the college choices available to me.
Nearly all of them were average(no, not CC average, but truly average) to bad students, who ended up at the community college or a small branch of the state school. Basically wherever they got accepted. Here I am, with decent stats and a good shot at any number of schools in the country....</p>

<p>Here's the thing: I'm too scared to apply to a top 20 or even 30 school. at some level I do fear the rejection, but at the same time I'm scared to fall in love with a school and for some reason or another, not be able to go......</p>

<p>So, to avoid this, I am setting my sights to decent(but not great) schools where i'm pretty sure i'll get in and be able to afford to go(maybe even get some merit)...and i'm okay with giving in...</p>

<p>but, do you think i would look back and regret not attempting a place like Williams, Bryn Mawr, or maybe even Stanford...</p>

<p>Is it worth me trying? </p>

<p>(sorry if this comes off as a chance me thread, i don't want my chances, just your take on whether or not i should even consider schools like these...or if i would just be creating false hope)</p>

<p>Really quick stats(in case you wanted a reference)</p>

<p>34 ACT
National Commended student for PSAT
4.0 uw GPA, 4.4 with weight
3/447 at decent public high school
AP Psych, AP Lang, APUSH, (and hopefully AP Calc, AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Lit)..the rest was honors..plus a few college classes through U. of Pitt</p>

<p>2nd place debate team(partners) in PA
3 time national qualifier for debate
editor of yearbook
newspaper columnist
President of Debate
President of Theatre Club
NHS
Brain Bee Team(first place in regionals)
State Geography Bee finalist</p>

<p>1000 hours of volunteering
work part time at a Dairy Queen</p>

2

<p>I think you really need to get past your fear of rejection and just put yourself out there. You’re going to be doing the same thing for the rest of your life with job applications, etc. and you’ll never reach your potential if you don’t even try for things. You have very good stats! There’s truly no harm in applying and I do think you may regret it because you have a good chance at getting into some really great schools.</p>

3

<p>Definitely go for it.</p>

4

<p>GO FOR IT! you have nothing to lose
the worst mistake is not trying at all and under-selling yourself</p>

5

<p>Yes, you will.</p>

<p>Even though I was really happy with my choice of college and was glad I had gone there, I do regret that I did not apply to more selective liberal arts colleges - top places like Williams, Amherst, Dartmouth, Stanford…I was afraid that I would fall in love with them and not be able to afford them. My parents were not contributing anything, and our EFC was impossibly somewhere around $20,000 (that was a quarter of my parents’ combined salary when I applied in 2003 – how did the government expect my parents to fork over 25% of their salary every year?!)</p>

<p>I instead applied to schools a tier below my qualifications, but that I knew I could get substantial merit aid from. At my alma mater, I was an above-average high school student, but at a place like Williams or Stanford I’d have been par for the course (actually, probably less than that).</p>

<p>Cast a wide net - apply to reaches, matches, and safeties, all which you like and all which you could see yourself at. Decisions are best made at the end of the process – in May. It’s one thing to realize you can’t go because it’s too expensive, but it’s a complete other to realize that you would’ve loved to have gone somewhere but didn’t even try because you were afraid.</p>

6

<p>^thank you…your situation sounds very similar to mine</p>

<p>is it worth 70 plus dollars for a shot in the dark though?</p>

7

<p>To paraphrase, not many post on their tombstones ‘I wish I had taken fewer risks’</p>

<p>Rejected is a bitter pill to swallow but it also can burn a competitive fire within you, allowing you to achieve great things.</p>

8

<p>Listen,<br>
you would be pretty dumb not to apply to a top tier school. get past your pansy fear of rejection and start thinking about the question of “top LAC or top university?” If you need suggestions for school, pm one of these people.</p>

9

<p>Yes, you will regret it if you don’t try…
If your not getting rejected 50% of the time then your not reaching high enough. Many top schools have more money to spend on students than middle of the road schools do, so don’t let money be the deciding factor until you see the final price after financial aid.</p>

10

<p>You mentioned wanting to be sure you can afford the college. Taxes were recently calculated. This is the perfect time to sit down with your parents and do some preliminary worksheets on how much they may be expected to contribute. Many people will gasp at the amount. Run FAFSA and CSS Profile. Ask your parents what they can contribute without eating ramen through their retirement years.</p>

<p>Your family plan can then tell you if you need to really work the merit money system in addition to having the reach/dream school list - knowing that the financial aid may not come back as generous as a huge merit award. Too many kids have posted their dismay that he parents can’t come up with what the college thinks they can pay.</p>

<p>There are several threads about merit awards at different colleges and one that sums up the full ride opportunities. Lots of research on this will really pay off.</p>

<p>You will be competitive at most colleges. Spread the applications around geographically so that you won’t be competing just with kids from the northeast for northeastern/midatlantic schools.</p>

11

<p>As Robert Kennedy said, only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.</p>

12

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</p>

<p>Louise, there is nothing in your profile that would keep you out of those schools or any college in America. There are no guarantees of course (except the negative guarantee that if you don’t apply, you won’t get in).</p>

<p>Have a balanced list, be consistent in the culture and ambiance of each school across varying levels of selectivity, learn how to craft an application that lets your personality shine through.</p>

<p>Step one: educate yourself on financial aid. If your family qualifies for need based aid you may find some of the more selective colleges are actually the most generous. If you will require merit based aid, you will have a very different list.</p>

<p>You may be aware that many colleges wave their application fees for low income applicants and some are free on the internet.</p>

<p>Most importantly, stop focusing on where you’ll be accepted and start thinking about where you want to go (within the context of reach/match/safety).</p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how you do.</p>

13

<p>listen dude your stats are better than mine (theyre here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/683757-end-joourney-actual-results.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/683757-end-joourney-actual-results.html&lt;/a&gt;) and i got into 2 top 20 schools (JHU and WashUSTL). Honestly you’d be crazy if you didn’t apply to a few reach schools. and ask yourself this: “Is spending about 280 (for 4 reach school apps, pobly less than that much $ anyway) now worth it to see if I can go to my dream school and be happy for 4 years?”
its pretty obvious man def apply to some top top schools, the worst they can tell you is no.</p>

14

<p>I will say one thing:
If you don’t want those stats, then I’ll take them haha </p>

<p>but on a serious note, you have worked so hard…why let fear stop you from achieving even higher, put yourself out by at least applying. I had the same feeling and I somewhat regret not applying to UCLA/Berkley.</p>

15

<p>I agree with the sentiments above. Definitely aim for some reach schools. By that I mean top tier schools.</p>

<p>

In my opinion, yes. A few hundred dollars pales in comparison to tuition fees, and you only apply to college once. Applying to 12 reaches probably isn’t smart, but 3-5 won’t hurt. They’re all lottery tickets.</p>

16

<p>yes u will regret not applying…
whats the worse that can happen? -> rejection
whats the best that can happen? ->…</p>

17

<p>thanks again to everyone…</p>

<p>i guess i just wouldn’t want to waste mine(or any adcom’s) time…
but i suppose you’re all right…it wouldn’t hurt anything to try…</p>

18

<p>First make sure that you know which schools you and your parents can afford.
Second, remember the Ivies are a crapshoot for EVERYBODY! Over 90% of all applicants get rejected at almost all of those schools!
Third, you have very competitive stats to be admitted to several top 20 schools. You have better ACT and a slightly higher GPA but very similar EC to my D, and she was accepted at WashU, Vandy, Wake Forest, Rice, UVA, William and Mary plus some other lower ranked safety schools. She was waitlisted at Duke but I think you could definitely be admitted there.
Try to visit AND interview at as many of your schools that you can afford. WashU in particular if you decide to apply there.
I don’t think you have anything to worry about as far as being admitted to some awesome schools.</p>

19

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<p>It’s time to step it up. This is not the cry of a lion, it’s the timid, unsure squeak of a mouse.</p>

<p>There’s nothing wrong with not going to one of those schools, but at some point in your life you’re going to have to pick up the self-confidence from the floor and take measured risks or you’re not going to find that you’re happy with what you’ve lived looking back.</p>

20

<p>Applying to college, despite the overwhelming statistics, is not a lottery game or roulette game. You have superb stats. Now focus on what you want out of a college experience from all the angles. Write down your interests, objectives, personality traits, geographical interests or limitations, financial stuff.</p>

<p>Make a matrix.</p>

<p>Then make a list of schools. And don’t blow off “match or safety schools”. Sometimes those schools give you more money, will challenge you plenty, and actually be a better fit for you in the long run. Nothing wrong with the proverbial reach schools (though your stats are high enough you are in that category already). But it becomes really important to find schools where you will thrive socially and academically.</p>

<p>College is a time of amazing personal growth. There are brilliant kids at most every college. Is Ivy League your dream and personality? Or a flagship state school that offers a totally different experience? Are you weather sensitive? What kind of people do you like being around the most? Do you prefer bucolic rural settings or the big urban experience? Small school that is up close and personal (and likely very nurturing) or a large anonymous self directed/motivated somewhat impersonal school like a really big state school? The prestige of Michigan or USC or Texas is not that far off the mark from many so called “elites”. Its a matter of personal preference and circumstances, frankly. </p>

<p>Its all about picking the right schools for you. </p>

<p>Do you like balance in your life or an intense academic environment? Being gifted/smart is just part of the picture of who you are.</p>