@fizzy110 I understand what you are feeling. Haha I got a bunch of rejections too and i’m scared too! I’m praying for all of us and hopefully we all get in X_X [-O<
I’m trying not to think about it, so I’m passing the time by attempting to start studying for AP exams. In 8th grade my whole “college you want to go to” was about Yale, but now, I’m just like if it’s meant to be it will be. I have yet to be rejected to anywhere, but then again I only applied to 8 schools (3 safeties, 1 match, and 4 reaches). I’ve already been accepted to Rice, so now I’m just waiting for Ivy Day and hoping that if I do get in that they are affordable.
@easycandence @chal123, it’s so discouraging. But I keep on reminding myself that each school is looking for something unique. If I really belong at X school they will accept me.
@tola2015 congrats on your winning streak!
@easycadence I feel the same way! I wa await listed at a bunch of colleges that I thought would be safeties, so I have no clue what to expect now…
Yale is probably my favourite school that I applied to. And the probably is only in there as a form of last minute self protection. I’m in the UK and got into every school I applied to through UCAS (Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, and Bristol), and so far have an offer w a merit award from UChicago - so I should be not stressed at all. And yet I’ve grown far too attached to Yale than can be considered healthy by this point <</3 It just sucks my first form of rejection will come from something I care about so much, though I feel bad for complaining aha
Best schools I have been accepted to so far are Wash U and Johns Hopkins. Flat out rejected by Stanford and U Chicago. After submitting the application, I read my Stanford/Chicago essays and didn’t feel satisfied. I guess one can hope that Yale will like my essays (My English teacher and I thought they were great).
@elaras I’m in a similar situation to you. I have offers from Cambridge, UCL, LSE, and Birmingham to study Econ so I should be revising meticulously for A-levels rn but instead I’m spending the majority of my time worrying about my US apps. Truth be told I’m having second thoughts about which course I want to concentrate in at uni, and I would actually rather study Physics than Econ. That, on top of the liberal arts system, campus, people, EC activities etc. etc. is making me unhealthily desperate for Yale haha. And yet, I know I’ll be rejected.
Gotta ask the Brits in this group. With an offer from Cambridge, why are you interested in the expense and distance of Yale?? Is the intention to eventually remain in the US? From this side of the Atlantic, Cambridge looks pretty good. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
@PennAlumParent I guess it depends from person to person, but for me personally I want to go to a university where I don’t have to narrow my academic horizons. My main academic interests are Physics and Econ, but I also like to study German, Japanese, Maths, Chemistry and History. If I went to Cambridge, I can only study one of these subjects. Also, I think US colleges like Yale try to encourage community and social interaction, whereas Cambridge don’t place an emphasis on it so much. I think our 4 years at college should be memorable rather than just diligent, and Yale offers a memorable experience more so than Cambridge does. I also enjoy sports and participate in a variety of clubs in and out of school, but I think it’s fair to say that EC opportunities are pretty limited at Cambridge outside of maybe rowing, so again Yale is a more attractive option. Basically, Cambridge is a very academic driven environment where you study one subject for 3-4 years and aren’t encouraged to do much else. At Yale, you benefit from an education where you can study whatever you like, and you also have the freedom to pursue your interests sport, culture, drama, politics, charity and so on. That’s just my personal take though, and Cambridge is still an amazing university, but I don’t think it’s a natural fit for me.
@bvborussia Interesting! Thanks for the comprehensive answer. I didn’t know about the relatively narrow path required by British universities.
I really do wish everyone all the best on ivy day! And I totally undertand the rejections- I was deferred from Duke and then rejected and then also rejected at Stanford and johns hopkins- but then wait listed at Uchicago so I don’t know how that happened… Looks like anything can happen in the admissions process so keep your fingers crossed- and yes we will kick ass whereever we go!!!
@easycadence May I ask to which schools you applied that you considered backups? Yes, I do think some schools will reject applicants when they think they are being used as a backup. It is called “Tufts Syndrome.”
@PennAlumParent Basically what @Bvborussia said - and the fact that studying in the US would work out a LOT cheaper for me.
I also got all my offers from the UK and 100% agree with what @Bvborussia said.
@LegacyMom yes - I perceived northwestern, washington university, and duke (to a degree) to be back-up schools. i’m just most surprised by the fact that i wasn’t admitted at WashU…
@ easycadence – Well, that is your problem right there. Those are not “backup schools” IMO. Any school in the Top 25 with a “most selective” category should not be taken for granted. I don’t know much about Duke, but they seem pretty close to Ivy. I have observed WashU to be very unpredictable, seemingly deliberately rejecting highly qualified kids almost as if to just say they can. I know Northwestern cares very much about level of interest. If you didn’t visit or in some other way show that you really want to go there, they do take that into account. At some level admission officers can tell when they’re being treated as a backup and will respond accordingly. Don’t take it personally if you were rejected by these schools. But if you have younger siblings, you can advise them how to approach the process in the future. Kids go through school being the smartest kid in the class, forgetting that there are thousands of kids all over the country experiencing the same success in high school. You can’t assume that anything less than Ivy is a backup. Not trying to be harsh – you couldn’t have known if you were insulated in high school. But that is the reality, Good luck to you.
@easycadence don’t worry about Wash U, all the schools you listed above are pretty tough to get in to! Many (myself included) would consider them reach schools - congrats on northwestern and duke!!! Getting into those is a big achievement.
@fizzy110 oh i was saying i didn’t get into any of those schools, but was most surprised about wash u 
@easycadence oh I’m sorry, I must have misread. But again those schools are largely considered ivy equivalents, so don’t worry about it too much! You seem to have other great prospects anyways 
@easycadence I feel you. I have been rejected by so many ‘safety schools’ already and the worst part of it all is that the rejection is actually based on my inability to pay for the full cost of attendance… Most of these colleges were need aware so I am relying on the need blind ones now… fingers crossed! Hope we all get in! 