I applied to a load of schools. Included are the matches and reaches that I applied to.
Accepted
Fordham University (with around 50k in merit and need-based aid)
NYU Stern School of Business (with Stern Scholarship)
Waitlisted:
Tulane University
University of Chicago
Rejected:
Northwestern
Emory
Columbia
How does one get rejected from Northwestern and Emory, but waitlisted at UChicago?
Stats
ACT: 31 Composite: 35E, 34R, 29M, 25S
GPA: 3.5 UW, no W
Class rank: 33/~250 public high school in Mississippi
APs: none submitted
Race: AA
EFC: $0
ECs: Member of school debate team, paid intern for a political committee
Awards: winner of state InvestWrite competition (this was in 2018. I’m hoping this will get me off of some of those waitlists)
Common App Essay: About my experience doing not so great in my first Debate tournament
Other Essays: My UChicago essay was about how the GPD wasn’t a good indicator of economic health, others I don’t remember.
Recommendations: Four teachers. One was very personal and eye-catching, one was short and sweet, one was meh. I haven’t read the last. I didn’t read counselor’s recommendation.
I’ll likely be attending NYU this fall.
Congrats, really happy for you. You really landed a big fish.
Emory College likes high GPA’s not sure about Oxford.
Why is this surprising? A WL is almost the same as a rejection, BTW.
@PurpleTitan it’s surprising to me because Northwestern can be considered a hub of UChicago rejects. Emory and Tulane are competitive, but not as much as UChicago. I’m surprised that I was outright rejected to Emory and waitlisted at Tulane and also waitlisted at the most competitive school in the nation.
Uh, most people don’t consider Northwestern “a hub of UChicago rejects”. And a WL is essentially the same as a rejection, in almost all cases.
Many schools have a habit of putting thousands on the WL and taking a handful or none off it.
You might get off the wait-list for UofC or Tulane. You never know.
“How does one get rejected from Northwestern & Emory, but get waitlisted at UChicago ?”
Northwestern University had 40,425 applications this year & accepted 3,392 students for an overall acceptance rate of
8.39% (same as for the University of Pennsylvania 44,482 apps. & 3,731 admitted = 8.39%).
Emory University is a hotbed of activity due in large part to competition for tremendous merit scholarships. Plus, it is a great school in a great location.
While I am a big fan of the University of Chicago, several prominent college consultants maintain that this school manipulates numbers for US News rankings better than any other school. (Although NorthEastern in Boston may be giving that status a challenge.)
No great mystery. Uchicago must have seen something in your application, such as the essays, that made you stand out. Plenty of stories of folks getting into Harvard and rejected at Penn. These are highly subjective processes. However, Uchicago tends to waitlist as a form of polite rejection. Very few get off the waitlist.
Fordham wants to invest in you. Always go where you’re wanted in life. Forget the ones who rejected you, they are dead to you now. Same with the waitlisted bunch, if they can’t make a decision now, forget them too. Stay with the folks who are in your corner. Good Luck.
@BennyBop I understand that Fordham wants to invest, but it costs 75k and they gave me 50k. With an EFC of $0, that simply isn’t possible. Thanks (sorry for the late response).
Did you apply to Ole Miss? You should get good merit there. My son is a very high stat kid, and even with big awards we can’t do the big name schools either. The Honors College at Ole Miss comes highly recommended.
@elodyCOH yeah, I applied to Ole Miss. Since I’m in-state, I received a full ride. However, I will be attending Howard University in DC this fall.
@PurpleTitan , I have to disagree. Very often a waitlist is little better than a soft rejection, and getting off waitlists is unlikely and unpredictable. But a few kids do get off them, including my child, who got off two waitlists. It’s not a random thing though. The LOCI matters, as well as financial considerations.
Congratulations!
How did you choose Howard over Fordham, NYU Stern, and Ole Miss?
@MYOS1634 Howard offered 38k in need-based and merit-based aid (no loans). Howard costs 40k. I will likely work part-time to cover the difference and pay for books or take out the $5500 personal federal loan.
NYU offered 70k (with personal loans and 3k work-study). It costs 76k. NYU offered the Parent Plus loans to cover the difference, but, as I have an EFC of $0, I don’t think that it would be possible for my parents to get approved.
Also, COA increases every year. So what may be manageable the first or second year (in NYU’s case) may not be in subsequent years. Also, I don’t want to financially struggle in college.
Fordham offered 50k, including loans. It costs 75k.
An EFC of $0 really means zero. Colleges don’t seem to understand that. I understand that not all colleges meet full need, but it makes no sense to leave a deficit of around 9k (in NYU’s case) and expect me to take up the difference. It seems that’s essentially a soft rejection.
I like Ole Miss, but Howard seems to be a better place for my major and future profession (Economics) and the difference in COA is virtually nothing. Also, as I’m AA, I feel that Howard will contribute much to my sense of my place in the world. It’s gonna be a big change from Mississippi, I know.
Thanks!
Very well thought out. Choosing Howard makes 100% sense. Congratulations!