WillDaSnail, I see you were also waitlisted at UCSB. Are you planning to write the college a letter?
Also @ Will, I totally understand how you feel. I sort of expected four rejection letters in my mind the whole time. Hey, the whole time I was apathetic about college until I was sucked in to give some degree of s'hit about college & my future. It hurts that I was mindlessly doing the right things all along, but coulda been more successful if I put an extra mile to the application process. I was overhearing some classmates happily discuss UCLA and Berkeley, and I felt immensely inferior to my peers.
If some of you people are so sure you'll be rejected from colleges, why do you still apply to them? You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Rick Wrote:If some of you people are so sure you'll be rejected from colleges, why do you still apply to them? You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
So you're saying if a top-performing, academically sucessful, well-rounded valdedictorian wants to apply to an Ivy League (example: Harvard University), they shouldn't because they'll be facing against 30,000+ other valedictorian-status applicants from around the United States and the world for one of Harvard's 2,500 spots in the freshman class (< 10% acceptance rate)?
My point: You never know if applying to a "dream school" might yield results. It may be a guaranteed rejection, but the point of applying to "dream schools" is that you have a chance at getting in, despite the odds.
WillDaSnail Wrote:My point: You never know if applying to a "dream school" might yield results. It may be a guaranteed rejection, but the point of applying to "dream schools" is that you have a chance at getting in, despite the odds.
And then there's the point where you pass in to nothing more than blind hope. That's when you apply to 26 of them >.> I wish you guys wouldn't do this to yourselves.
Rick Wrote:If some of you people are so sure you'll be rejected from colleges, why do you still apply to them? You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
To add to this Will, you didn't really even answer the question directly. Someone with the background you suggested does have a shot at getting into an Ivy League school.
It's almost the same as when I didn't apply to my rival school because I knew that when I did get accepted, I wasn't even going to give them a second-glance.
Rick Wrote:And then there's the point where you pass in to nothing more than blind hope. That's when you apply to 26 of them >.> I wish you guys wouldn't do this to yourselves.
I know you live in NZ, but if you take one step back and fill the shoes of a student in the United States, you'll then realize how this is pretty much serious business all around.
And today in the United States, college admissions are getting tougher and tougher. As years go by, getting into colleges is getting harder and harder, hence why some of us have to go to extreme measures to ensure a safety cushion in case things go wrong all of a sudden.
tl;dr - today's college admissions environment is very, very competitive.
Willis I know all about the college application process in America. I talked extensively about it with Harrison when he went through it. The bottom line is you had not a hope of getting in to some of the schools you applied to (yes, I know your scores, have read your essays and everything) even if somehow the entire round of current accepted were wiped out. Why do you set yourself up for failure?
Rick Wrote:Willis I know all about the college application process in America. I talked extensively about it with Harrison when he went through it. The bottom line is you had not a hope of getting in to some of the schools you applied to (yes, I know your scores, have read your essays and everything) even if somehow the entire round of current accepted were wiped out. Why do you set yourself up for failure?
Why shouldn't I? Even though those schools were expected/10 for rejections (or simply hard to get into, which there's good reasons why they are called far reach/dream schools in the first place), it was still enough that I would have a sliver of chance to try applying - and get accepted - into it.
I had nothing to lose, basically. If I get rejected, I get rejected. Oh wells. So why not just apply and see what happens, even though there's a great chance I could be rejected?
Of course, there were some of the higher-tier schools - better than the dream schools that I had applied to - which my parents wanted me to apply to, but I chose not to because I would be going on a suicide mission, basically.
On a lighter note...wow Rick, you know way too much about me.
Well, Will, you did lose alot of money for those application fees. . . .
Kind of a technicality, but college application fees are VERY expensive.
I didn't apply to many schools because 1) I knew I was getting into Hawaii, 2) Those fees are too much to waste if you pretty much know you'll get rejected.
In your case I see how it would be worth it, because you had way more of a chance than I, but still statistics are against you. :/
My cousin's boyfriend went there, and I just remember the story he told me. Freshman at MIT can view their applications and what notes were written on them, and one of his friends had only two things circled on hers: Girl, and Mississippi (may have been another southern state, not sure).
Guess being a white, middle class boy that lives in Massachusetts was my downfall.
2011-03-26, 11:33 PM (This post was last modified: 2011-03-27, 01:37 AM by WillDaSnail.)
Kabanaw Wrote:Rejected from MIT
My cousin's boyfriend went there, and I just remember the story he told me. Freshman at MIT can view their applications and what notes were written on them, and one of his friends had only two things circled on hers: Girl, and Mississippi (may have been another southern state, not sure).
Guess being a white, middle class boy that lives in Massachusetts was my downfall.
Oh boy. xD
Anyways, GG to me. 2 rejections yesterday, one more rejection came in today. I'm pretty much done for. Only one school left, but if anything, the rejection streak has pretty much brought me to my knees this week. :\
Meh. Gonna have to look over the safeties and the few lucky reaches I got accepted into and decide by next month where I'm going to go for the next 4 years. I had never thought that this castratrophe would never hit me: getting rejected from most of my reach schools. I can understand getting rejected from dream schools, but if that trend creeps down to my reaches, that's when it really hurts. What a huge, fu'cking fail for me. >_>
Will, I'm not sure what you're planning on studying, but you could also look at doing 2 years at something cheap and then transferring for a specific program. If that's an option, anyways.
Also, keep this in mind: Everything will work itself out.
Also, if you feel like reading...
My college story
While in high school, I learned about something called the A+ program. Simply put, you were required to do 50 hours of tutoring (and maintain a certain GPA and attendance rate) over 4 years of high school and upon completing the program, you could go to a community college for 2 years for free. This was my ultimate fallback if nothing else worked out - and until February of 2010, was looking like I was heading there. I didn't know what I wanted to study and major in, and my reasoning was "Why go somewhere if what I want to do they don't offer/aren't certified/whatever else?" So I had issues with actually wanting to apply anywhere.
Backing up a bit, during my junior year, my history professor talked about this History Bowl and that they were putting a team together. I volunteered (I do know SOME history...kinda) as the third person if nobody else offered because the other 2 guys who wanted to do it were really interested in history. So I went with them, we won (mainly due to them) and each got a 10k scholarship to that school.
Back to around February 2010...since I had the 10k scholarship, I went ahead and applied to that school. Based on my ACT score (29), grades, and that scholarship, they gave me an offer of about 10k per year (40k total). Since that was about half the tuition and would pay for approximately 2 years, and allowed me to get away from parents, I decided to go for it (my student loan was going to be about 5k each year).
I took the ACT again in June just to see if I could get any more money. For whatever reason, it felt really easy - I scored a 33 on it. The school adjusted the financial aid based on my score and increased it to about a full ride (I have a 2.5k loan for books, extra fees and whatnot to cover the unexpected).
I came to this school, started volunteering in the TV studio because it sounded interesting and became a Mass Communications (with TV emphasis) and Digital Cinema Arts double major.
I've made a ton of friends, had a lot of fun experiences and I'm glad that everything worked out how it did. I even met my amazing girlfriend because I came here (her best friend goes here as well).
So, because I came to Lindenwood, I've fallen in love, figured out what I want to do, and am enjoying life a lot more. The reason I ended up here? Because I didn't know what I wanted to do. Because my history professor found out about this history bowl and wanted to put a team together for it. Because for some reason I enjoyed academics and was willing to help other people. Because my parents raised me well and they decided to live in this district. Etc etc.
Simply put, everything will work itself out. I know there's this huge emphasis on college and everything, but just relax and enjoy life as it happens.
Rick Wrote:Willis I know all about the college application process in America. I talked extensively about it with Harrison when he went through it. The bottom line is you had not a hope of getting in to some of the schools you applied to (yes, I know your scores, have read your essays and everything) even if somehow the entire round of current accepted were wiped out. Why do you set yourself up for failure?
The point of applying to an "impossible" school is to play an expensive lottery ticket. The chance, however small, does exist. The real problem with Will is that he applied to many schools that are pretty much guaranteed-in for him. That's just a waste of money. At most, he should have only apply to two CSUs, because they were 99% safeties. He shouldn't have bothered with most of the out-of-states, because he wasn't going to go anyways.
I only had one safety school when I applied. I didn't even need it. I spent a total of $360 applying to 6 UCs and I thought that was a lot.
Will had somewhat decent scores. They were about the same as mine. He should have had a good chance to get into Davis, Irvine, and SB, and an almost guaranteed admissions to SC, (which could have served as one of his backup schools instead of all those CSU's), but I heard that the UCs toughened up this year by a lot. I think it's because the ratio of in-state acceptance to out-of-state acceptance changed. At least he's not going to Mt. SAC.
WillDaSnail Wrote:On a lighter note...wow Rick, you know way too much about me.
He didn't actually read your completed essays. He read some of the older forms of the first essay as I was editing through it, but he didn't see the second one. He does know your GPA and your ACT scores though, so I apologize for not being able to keep my mouth shut. :/
2011-03-28, 01:00 AM (This post was last modified: 2011-03-28, 05:45 PM by WillDaSnail.)
2147483647 Wrote:Will had somewhat decent scores. They were about the same as mine. He should have had a good chance to get into Davis, Irvine, and SB, and an almost guaranteed admissions to SC, (which could have served as one of his backup schools instead of all those CSU's), but I heard that the UCs toughened up this year by a lot. I think it's because the ratio of in-state acceptance to out-of-state acceptance changed. At least he's not going to Mt. SAC.
Bolded for truth. =\
2147483647 Wrote:He didn't actually read your completed essays. He read some of the older forms of the first essay as I was editing through it, but he didn't see the second one. He does know your GPA and your ACT scores though, so I apologize for not being able to keep my mouth shut. :/
Thanks Harrison. Way for me to put trust in you as a trusted friend.
Final results - accepted and denied
Arizona State University - Admitted
- Barrett the Honors College (within ASU) - Admitted - California State University: - San Luis Obispo - Admitted
- Northridge - Admitted
- Fullerton - Admitted
- Pomona - Admitted
- Long Beach - Admitted
- Los Angeles - Admitted UC:
- Berkley - rejected
- Los Angeles - rejected
- Davis - rejected
- San Diego - rejected
- Irvine - rejected - Santa Barbara - waitlisted - Santa Cruz - admitted
- Riverside - admitted
- Merced - admitted
- University of Southern California - rejected
- University of Wisconsin - Madison - rejected
- Reed College - rejected
- George Washington University - rejected - American University - admitted - University of Massachusetts - Amherst - admitted
- Occidental College - rejected
- Chapman University - decision pending
12 acceptances. 12 rejections. 1 waitlisted. Just wow. I'm pretty much done for as I have very limited unique choices. CSUs are pretty much all the same anyways, with the exception of Cal Poly Pomona and SLO. >_>
well I was accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design but I won't be going because I can't secure loans for out-of-state private tuition, which is a real bummer because I love love love the school. my plan was to just enroll at a junior college for now and get my basics taken care of since I'm paying for college, and then just transfer to University of North Texas since I have a lot of friends that are going, BUT I might be going into the army since I made a 95 on my asvab and can pick whatever job I want. they'll pay for undergraduate classes as long as I'm active duty and Texas has the Hazelwood Act which means after I come out of the army, they'll pay an amount equal to 150 semester hours at the most expensive public college in the state. they'll still pay for a private college, but only as much as the most expensive public college. this sounds like a really good deal but I have no idea what I'll end up doing lol
FrozNlite Wrote:Will, you forgot to bold American University, to which you were accepted, and which is a great university. You should go there.
Fixed! That somehow escaped my eye, lol.
I will consider that school, but I'm still going bonkers over the $53,000/year cost. Not sure if I should drain my parents - financially - that way. And I'm irked about the huge loans I may have to get. :\
VirgilDiablo Wrote:well I was accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design but I won't be going because I can't secure loans for out-of-state private tuition, which is a real bummer because I love love love the school. my plan was to just enroll at a junior college for now and get my basics taken care of since I'm paying for college, and then just transfer to University of North Texas since I have a lot of friends that are going, BUT I might be going into the army since I made a 95 on my asvab and can pick whatever job I want. they'll pay for undergraduate classes as long as I'm active duty and Texas has the Hazelwood Act which means after I come out of the army, they'll pay an amount equal to 150 semester hours at the most expensive public college in the state. they'll still pay for a private college, but only as much as the most expensive public college. this sounds like a really good deal but I have no idea what I'll end up doing lol
