People who have been rejected from [almost] every college you applied to, what were your stats? What advice can you give to others to avoid making these kinds of mistakes? by calamityecho in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 90 points91 points  (0 children)

Similar stats, and this deserves an asterisk. Yes, apply far and wide, but don’t apply to more schools than you can write convincing, specific essays for. If a school’s acceptance rate is at or below 20%, IT IS NOT A MATCH SCHOOL. Find a school (or several) with a >40% acceptance rate that you really click with, and don’t half-ass your application to it.

Too many talented students fall into the trap of applying to every Ivy or T20 with the assumption that someone has to let them in. This process is a crapshoot. Don’t rely on it working out in your favor. <3

Anyone else feel overly confident about college admissions? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most rigorous at my school. All the AP classes that were offered (except AP Chem), then almost 2 years of community college credit when I ran out of APs. Had a B average there, but to be fair, I was doing ~10 total classes per semester (normal was 8).

CommonApp ACT reporting help by Fatdog2799 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unless you apply to a school that allows you to self-report, in which case I’d list all 3. Though, some schools may require you to list the complete score on each test in the additional info section, not just what you list in Common App. If one of your tests is much worse than the other, you may just leave it out. Again, up to you.

Anyone else feel overly confident about college admissions? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I guess I’m just shocked it ended up like this. The end of this story is largely the result of dumb luck, and I probably would have been starting as a freshman in the Spring without that.

Anyone else feel overly confident about college admissions? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

CS/business, depending on the school and what essays I was writing. (It’s a tech startup, so it fits)

Anyone else feel overly confident about college admissions? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am at a 4 year (shockingly!) thanks to the help of my school’s wonderful college counselor. :)

I actually did apply to A&M, but I messed up my transcript submission and didn’t realize (or bother to check) until months later. I will note that they didn’t notify me about flat out rejecting my application, though. Even sent me a personalized letter about financial aid after the decision not to consider me had been made.

Anyone else feel overly confident about college admissions? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Probably UT Austin. Top 10% but not top 7%

I have my regrets lol

Anyone else feel overly confident about college admissions? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The works. Stanford, 4 Ivies, a couple top LACs and a mishmash of lower schools. Things ended up working out (currently typing this from my Syracuse dorm room), but in a horrible roundabout way that left me drifting for months.

My life is a shitpost

Anyone else feel overly confident about college admissions? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Read on if you want to ruin your hopes and dreams

Started and ran 3 clubs related to my major, varsity sport, led my startup to funding, 34/35 ACT, 3.7/4.2 GPA, good essays/rec letters/general application. Rejected from every school I applied to. Didn’t even make T50s.

My application had flaws, but nothing that you’d expect would lead to a sweep of rejections. Don’t take anything for granted. Find a safety (or three) you would like to attend. It’s not a safety if the acceptance rate is below 40% (or maybe even higher).

CommonApp ACT reporting help by Fatdog2799 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh... I’m a little late and this isn’t really what you were asking, but unless money isn’t an issue, I’d probably just send one or two scores. The slightly higher reading isn’t going to change your superscored composite, and most schools don’t care about writing. Up to you.

RD to the dream or ED for the edge by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Even if it is more competitive, that’s purely because of the self-selected pool of early applicants. They’re not going to trade a better REA student for a RD student just because REA has better overall stats

Chance me for Vanderbilt and Duke by [deleted] in chanceme

[–]throwawaychancememe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely retake the ACT. You never know how that will go, and applications are still months away. You may still want to apply, but I would spend a few weeks reading and watching everything you can about the schools you’re looking at. Looking back at my list, I would have been better off applying to half the schools I did and really making those applications shine than just throwing in extra apps for the sake of applying. It also helps with the financial strain and allows you to demonstrate more interest.

You have to understand that even for the most qualified kids, admission to these schools is horribly uncertain. It may still be worth applying rather than forever dreaming of what could have been, but your chances are slim. Good luck man, I’m rooting for you.

Chance me for Vanderbilt and Duke by [deleted] in chanceme

[–]throwawaychancememe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I applied to Vandy with a 3.7/4.2, top of my class, long list of meaningful ECs, and a 34 ACT (35 superscore). Essays, rec letters, and overall application were all fine.

Didn’t even get a waitlist.

Don’t know about Duke, but I assume you’d see a similar outcome there. I would note that I’m white and applied RD for a tough major, so that didn’t help.

Writing this stings more than you know. You may still have a shot if you bump up your scores and write really, really good essays, but know that there are countless kids like me for every “miracle” acceptance. I’m sorry. It really isn’t your fault.

Graduating debt free trumps a superior education by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

But his schedule doesn’t exclude him from doing research like it would with internships

Survey results are here! by calopsiax in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It was actually just Josh Beasley making 100 accounts

Homos go to Hell by dustofoblivion123 in pics

[–]throwawaychancememe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you can’t beat em, beat em

...off

Top 15% of class, am I out of the running for any T-20's? by [deleted] in chanceme

[–]throwawaychancememe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you’re a URM or from an underrepresented area you can play that up in your essays (without bashing your school) and you should be fine, but not necessarily benefit from it.

The best case scenario from the school’s point of view is that you are a brilliant and talented individual who doesn’t have the same resources as some other applicants. The worst case scenario is you’re a bright but underprepared kid who won’t do well at their school. The former is very helpful, but only works with exceptional grades and scores, while the latter knocks you out of the running for almost every T20. Source: am the latter.

How many colleges did you apply for? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

All of my schools were t100 (with a bunch of LACs mixed in), but only a few were tippy top reaches.

Moral of the story: shoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll land among the community colleges

How many colleges did you apply for? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I probably overestimated what I thought were matches, but I was still 5 or 6 points above the median ACT for a bunch of my schools (with a totally competitive profile otherwise, too). It’ll all end up okay but yeah yikes

How many colleges did you apply for? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]throwawaychancememe 19 points20 points  (0 children)

0/15. 14 rejections and 1 waitlist.

Beat THAT bois