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For those top students who are disappointed by rejections and probably experiencing academic "failure" for the first time, just keep a few things in mind:
1. Assuming you applied smartly (ie not just HYPSM) you will likely gain admittance to one of the top universities in the country.
2. Your college doesn't define you, it's what you make out of your opportunities, and believe me they are endless at any top school.
3. Even if you feel like you're "settling" by going to a "lesser" school than whatever your dream school was, chances are that you'll find a ton of people at that school that are more driven, more talented, and more intelligent than you. Don't underestimate the caliber of students at any of the top schools or else you'll suddenly find yourself an average or below average student.
4. Once you decide on a school to attend, forget about the rejections or other schools you turned down. Don't wallow in misery and bitterness that you aren't attending your dream school. If you give your school a fair chance, you'll probably end up loving wherever you attend. |
Best of luck to everyone in the middle of receiving (and anxiously waiting for) college responses. A lot of the students I tutor in math and standardized testing are also waiting to hear back from their universities as well. I like living vicariously through my students every year, listening to their stories of the application process and hearing how nerve-wracking it is to wait for those acceptance and rejection letters  I never really had to deal with such anxiety, as I got in to my first choice very early on in the college acceptance process, and so I didn't need to apply anywhere else (I knew where I was going from around November of senior year).
If anyone is going to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, let me know! I got my bachelor's and master's from there (in mathematics and math education, respectively), and I'm still there doing my PhD in math education. Finishing up my first year now
On March 23 2013 23:05 Zambrah wrote:Show nested quote +On March 22 2013 09:08 Disregard wrote:
Every year I'm surprised at the lack of architecture, art or designed related majors. So left out. Seems like everyone is into science or math nowadays...
There's definitely been a huge push for more students to enter into the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), although there are still plenty of humanities majors. Math and science in particular tend to be relatively polarizing; many students have very strong feelings towards those subjects, and so they'll either go all out with involvement, or really be turned away (by the course material or a teacher, etc.).
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On March 22 2013 09:26 ampson wrote:Show nested quote +On March 22 2013 09:05 Kenpachi wrote:
I'm still a junior but I have a 2000 on the SAT, haven't taken SATIIs yet, play piano (going to take NYSSMA Level 5 in June), attend JSA (only started this year though), and around a 90 avg cumulatively. uh, My rankings in my grade is 38/91 and I am taking AP Stats, AP English and will take Calc BC and AP CompSci in my senior year. Its pretty hard to compare it to what I've been reading in this thread cause I'm definitely not top 1% at all. I'm still practicing to get a higher SAT score and plan on getting more community service hours (I think i racked up about 100 so far). Then again, I'm not planning on going to an ivy and I'm just curious where i can go to at this rate If you already have 100+ community service hours, more are really unnecessary (still a good thing to do though). I'd focus more on studying for the SAT/ACT's and getting those grades and class rank up, as well as getting involved in EC's if you're not already.
I'd suggest doing a musical supplement to your app (I played violin and had piano friends, but I forgot how y'all's ranking system works, but I'm guessing you're pretty good).
Don't do service hours unless you care about the activity and enjoy it. Focus on the things you're really involved in and enjoy and think about how you can write about them and otherwise convey your enthusiasm. Think of teacher recommendations. At this point your grades aren't going to make any impactus giganticus, so just keep them up. A higher SAT/ACT is always a goal to reach for, but really focus on writing a good essay.
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Waitlisted by Richmond LMAO i've lost faith in college admissions
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Accpeted: Ball State University, IUPUI, and Purdue University.
Going to: Purdue University to study Computer Science
OR SO I THOUGHT.
I recently joined the Army Reserve to help pay for college, and my training will cause me to start college a year late. I notified Purdue, and they said I had to get accepted again, (I even paid my $200 NON-RUFUNDABLE deposit). I was told there was a law that protected military personnell from losing their current civilian positions. So for example, say I worked at taco bell, and I have to fulfill military obligations that will keep me away from my job for a month, Taco Bell would not be allowed to fire me. Whats going on here?
Edit: I was told of that law by my recruiter, not Purdue.
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You were accepted, but you're not technically in the university. You need to actually be studying there before you can use that.
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There is accepted and then theres enrollment.
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yeah in Quebec, unless you are shitty bad at school you can get in anywhere in almost any program. and these universities are still among the best in the world. + we have "good tuition fees" compared to what most places get.
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denied from Claremont Mckenna and Washington University in St. Louis. Waiting on a bunch of other reach schools. I'm pretty depressed right now. I'm pissed because I have the same GPA as an "academic all-star" at my school, with more extra-currics and the same level of accomplishment. I don't get that award though, and she has gotten into better schools. She's gotten into most of her schools too. Wtf.
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CA10830 Posts
On March 26 2013 23:39 docvoc wrote:
denied from Claremont Mckenna and Washington University in St. Louis. Waiting on a bunch of other reach schools. I'm pretty depressed right now. I'm pissed because I have the same GPA as an "academic all-star" at my school, with more extra-currics and the same level of accomplishment. I don't get that award though, and she has gotten into better schools. She's gotten into most of her schools too. Wtf.
sometimes you just have bad luck. she could also have written a mind-blowing essay. also, if she's going into physics/math/engineering she'll have an easier time gaining admittance to those schools.
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On March 27 2013 03:06 LosingID8 wrote:Show nested quote +On March 26 2013 23:39 docvoc wrote:
denied from Claremont Mckenna and Washington University in St. Louis. Waiting on a bunch of other reach schools. I'm pretty depressed right now. I'm pissed because I have the same GPA as an "academic all-star" at my school, with more extra-currics and the same level of accomplishment. I don't get that award though, and she has gotten into better schools. She's gotten into most of her schools too. Wtf. sometimes you just have bad luck. she could also have written a mind-blowing essay. also, if she's going into physics/math/engineering she'll have an easier time gaining admittance to those schools.
Yeah, good points. College really is a huge crapshoot, and even while you see it happen to people who come before you and understand that it does happen, the luck that goes into admissions (so many factors, really) really invalidates comparisons you might feel compelled to draw. Try to keep your chin up doc >.<
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CA10830 Posts
for those top students who are disappointed by rejections and probably experiencing academic "failure" for the first time, just keep a few things in mind.
1. assuming you applied smartly (ie not to just HYPSM) you will likely gain admittance to one of top universities in the country.
2. your college doesn't define you, it's what you make out of your opportunities, and believe me they are endless at any top school.
3. even if you feel like you're "settling" by going to a "lesser" school than whatever your dream school was, chances are that you'll find a ton of people at that school that are more driven, more talented, and more intelligent than you. don't underestimate the caliber of students at any of the top schools or else you'll suddenly find yourself an average or below average student.
4. once you decide on a school to attend, forget about the rejections or other schools you turned down. don't wallow in misery and bitterness that you aren't attending your dream school. if you give your school a fair chance, you'll probably end up loving wherever you end up.
ps: i worked as a college counselor/advisor for a private tutoring center so i feel like i kind of know what i'm talking about with regards to college admissions
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Cool stuff! Put that shit in a mod note or something <3
Also, people say it every year, but truly: college is definitely what you make of it--you get out of it what you put into it. I know a lot of people who even went to one of the HSYPM schools and actually hated it there; a lot of it is fit as well, so try to visit :3
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On March 27 2013 03:25 LosingID8 wrote:
4. once you decide on a school to attend, forget about the rejections or other schools you turned down. don't wallow in misery and bitterness that you aren't attending your dream school. if you give your school a fair chance, you'll probably end up loving wherever you end up.
This. I believe over time, everyone gets over the fact that they didn't get into the school they wanted and simply ends up loving the school they do attend. Once you start going to college, you'll start to notice that college becomes much more significant than just an academic pursuit. So getting into a higher ranked school isn't necessarily a good thing.
In the end, employers don't really give a rats ass about which school you attended anyways, unless there's some huge gaping difference between the two (for example Harvard and ITT Tech). There are way more important factors employers are concerned with. My mom worked as a recruiter for Harris, this large military contractor, hiring hundreds of programmers and engineers. An applicants choice of schools was one of their least concerns. Other things like what they did in college, their work ethic, their experience, etc. basically determined everything.
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On March 18 2013 05:41 Angry_Fetus wrote:Show nested quote +On March 17 2013 14:00 WGdwarf wrote:On March 17 2013 13:57 Pinkie wrote:
Weaknesses: Most of my awards were in Senior year so updates might not have come in time to influence decisions. Also I felt my essays were strong but maybe not. Kind of disheartening watching kids in my school get into Harvard or similar with lesser stats but they are- how should I say... Ethnic...
Dude, I know that feel. Some of my friends worked so fucking hard since like middle school and got rejected from all of their schools despite being quite qualified... then you see on facebook a bunch minorities with much worse stats get in. That's kinda why Im glad I didnt try so hard. Yeah, being a white male makes life so difficult...
Still better than being an Asian applicant to a top Ivy.
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On March 26 2013 23:22 crazyweasel wrote:
yeah in Quebec, unless you are shitty bad at school you can get in anywhere in almost any program. and these universities are still among the best in the world. + we have "good tuition fees" compared to what most places get.
you are crazy if you think education in Quebec is as good as other schools lol, most of their schools are party schools, and the only good school I can think of is mcgill which isn't easy to get into
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Is McGIll really that amazing of a school? I always hear things about it.
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Isn't university of Montreal or the university of Quebec more or less equivalent with university of Calgary or university of Alberta? I mean yea it doesn't really have international prestige, but its still decent in Canada. Like the equivalent of state flag-ship school in the US. The only two universities that really have international prestige is pretty much just UofT and Mcgill lol.
Edit, to the poster above, its the only other Canadian uni besides UofT in the world top 100.
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On March 26 2013 21:25 BBoyXELAnt wrote:
Accpeted: Ball State University, IUPUI, and Purdue University.
Going to: Purdue University to study Computer Science
OR SO I THOUGHT.
I recently joined the Army Reserve to help pay for college, and my training will cause me to start college a year late. I notified Purdue, and they said I had to get accepted again, (I even paid my $200 NON-RUFUNDABLE deposit). I was told there was a law that protected military personnell from losing their current civilian positions. So for example, say I worked at taco bell, and I have to fulfill military obligations that will keep me away from my job for a month, Taco Bell would not be allowed to fire me. Whats going on here?
Edit: I was told of that law by my recruiter, not Purdue.
If you haven't signed a contract yet, I would tear it up. Every military branch has options for you to sign up in an officer program which PAYS for your school and then requires you to serve for "X" number for years after you graduate. (This is before you go to boot camp.)
One immediately off the top of my head is the Navy Nuke program. Another option is ROTC scholarships and another is serving after you graduate and receive some loan forgiveness.
ALSO* The law does not apply to college acceptance and such. I know of a lot of National Guard and Reservists who came back after deployments and didn't have jobs waiting on them to come back to. The legal hassle was too much and too long, so they just had to find work elsewhere anyway. Recruiters will paint the world beautiful for you, but they regularly stretch the truth.
The Government sequester also cut military Tuition Assistance btw. So don't let him tell you that TA is available either.
Edit: The Navy Nuke program not only PAYS your school fees, it also gives you a monthly stipend for living expenses.
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On March 27 2013 03:25 LosingID8 wrote:for those top students who are disappointed by rejections and probably experiencing academic "failure" for the first time, just keep a few things in mind. 1. assuming you applied smartly (ie not to just HYPSM) you will likely gain admittance to one of top universities in the country. 2. your college doesn't define you, it's what you make out of your opportunities, and believe me they are endless at any top school. 3. even if you feel like you're "settling" by going to a "lesser" school than whatever your dream school was, chances are that you'll find a ton of people at that school that are more driven, more talented, and more intelligent than you. don't underestimate the caliber of students at any of the top schools or else you'll suddenly find yourself an average or below average student. 4. once you decide on a school to attend, forget about the rejections or other schools you turned down. don't wallow in misery and bitterness that you aren't attending your dream school. if you give your school a fair chance, you'll probably end up loving wherever you end up. ps: i worked as a college counselor/advisor for a private tutoring center so i feel like i kind of know what i'm talking about with regards to college admissions
Please put this in a mod note. I've been depressed about this for literally a week now and this made me feel significantly better. Thanks LosingID8, also to answer your question, yes she's applied as a science major, I think pre-med. So that makes it a bit harder and a bit easier all at the same time.
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docvoc, what schools did you apply to?
So far i'm 2-2-2 for the regular decision list.
Waitlisted by Middlebury (understandable), waitlisted by Richmond (LOL).
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EPT
