Help! Our son was not accepted anywhere!

Sally_Rubenstone · 03-29-2008, 12:00 PM

Question: Our son did not get into the only school he applied to. We are looking for information to help make this next year as productive as possible — junior college? volunteer abroad? As well as looking for direction…. Sorry to hear that you’re scrambling at an already hectic time of year, [...]

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Roger_Dooley · 03-29-2008, 03:04 PM

I hope we don't end up with many CC members in this position, but every year there are a few community newcomers who got bad advice (or ignored good advice) and applied only to reach schools. Here are some things to do when you find yourself with no good college choice...

pamplemousse25 · 03-29-2008, 03:11 PM

He could work for a year and take courses at a nearby college, to get credit.

diginetgod · 03-29-2008, 03:24 PM

I would definitely suggest that. Consider it taking a year off to get better preparation. Taking courses at a local college allows him to built up a solid college transcript and the job will help pay for the college he goes to afterwards.

the_hitch_hiker · 03-29-2008, 03:30 PM

Hi, Last year my SAT scores sucked, so I applied to colleges a year after everyone else. I'm ending up going after a gap year I wish I didn't have to take.

In any case, after school ended, I found myself with a lot of free time. I worked a lot (at newspapers and a research facility), learned french with that money...prepared to take DELF and joined art classes. I also kept in touch with my teachers and counselors so they wouldn't forget me or my achievements in school.

I also got time to concentrate on my SAT. Most of all, I had more time to research colleges, and the fact that I'd been held a year back was a humbling experience. I was much more aware of the application process. I found schools that I had a realistic chance of getting admitted to with reasonable fin aid etc.

I was much less arrogant when applying and I think I've gotten into pretty much the best college I could have. That helped me get more admission letters this year than my classmates got last year. While the extra year has been embarrassing and lonely, it is also a blessing if I get to go to a good college. I really hope things work out for your son.

debate_addict · 03-29-2008, 04:32 PM

A gap year could be harmful if not worked through properly, so I would most definitely second work (even better than working at the local diner would be an internship, even at a field he is interested in), and college courses.

Muffy333 · 03-29-2008, 04:42 PM

the NACAC list - colleges that have room after May - has had some decent colleges on it. I know where I am a lot of local four year colleges advertise on the radio through the summer for students...and most people do have a community college option. There is a lot of opportunity to make the situation positive.

lollybo · 03-29-2008, 04:57 PM

Wait, your son was only applied for one school!?!?!?!?

He should have seen this coming. Always apply to at least 2 safeties (some may argue more).

pharmakeus01 · 03-29-2008, 04:57 PM

I miserably failed this year in college applications...
taking 10 ap classes and rank 14 in my school.. i can't believe that non of the colleges I applied accepted me....
My ACT score is not bad at all, it is 30.. and my sat II are all pretty decent, 700ish... and I have only been in the U.S for three brief years and started to learn english from the scratch since 9th grade.. btw, I'm a u.s citizen...
I applied to one safety. Maryland College park.. NYU and George Washington, Georgetown and JHU...
and i got all rejections...
I have no idea why!
I think the gap year thing is interesting.. you can also join the army... um.. or apply to schools outside of the U.S
Colleges all over asia still accept applications...
and in Europe, great schools like École Normale Supérieure are still accepting admissions..
I'm going back to my home country to study for a year...... and if admit into the best university in China.. I'm thinking about doing graduate study in state.. but whatever.. U.S colleges are so freaking expensive... the best colleges in China only cost you like 3000 bucks a year without financial aid.. and europeans colleges don't even cost a cent... if you are the citizen of an european country...
I'm just so frustrated with the admission process....

walt99 · 03-29-2008, 05:03 PM

I'm surprised you didn't get into GWU pharmake...

newyorker22 · 03-29-2008, 05:06 PM

How about having your son do a PG year? that's a post graduate year---an additional year of high school at a boarding school. He can build study skills, re-take SAT's and do the college admissions process all over again. It's a popular choice for kids in this situation.

And it is the only "gap year" option that would really work. Applying to schools from a travel gap year isn't a good idea, though it is possible to do it. good luck

sf49rox · 03-29-2008, 05:17 PM

rolling admission! then transfer

lje62 · 03-29-2008, 05:26 PM

I have wondered what happens to kids in this situation.
My daughter's former best friend, who if she had stayed on the right track would have no doubt, been one of the top ten in the class, messed up a lot in the last couple of years.
She went form being inducted to NHS as a junior to a sort of drop out-self teaching combo. Do not understand how this happened,but when she has talked to my daughter , said she is taking a year off and maybe go somewhere next year.
To me, that translates to not even going to try to go to a local community college and I worry that without being in high school, she will lose the resources that she will need to get her foot in the door anywhere.
Not to suggest that this is the same issue with the OP's son.
In all honestly, my older daughter only applied to one school too. She was going to apply to others RD, but she got accepted to her first choice.
It was a crapshoot that she won.

jbhgy · 03-29-2008, 05:30 PM

Some schools will still take you! There are top tier state schools with rolling admissions. University of Iowa, for example. Attend a school with rolling admission and then transfer out a year later.

jake · 03-29-2008, 05:37 PM

My friend's D had a 3.92 GPA, 1510 SATs out of 1600, and excellent ECs, yet she didn't get into any of the Ivies and near-Ivies (Duke, Stamford, Johns Hopkins). NOR did she get into her backup choices, Univ of Maryland and Univ of Delaware. Could the two state schools have viewed her as overqualified and not likely to attend?

I'm not sure if she was accepted anywhere that semester though I heard she had many choices, including Columbia and Yale, six months later.