I don’t understand what is the admission process in different Universities of the USA including ivy league schools. There is no transparency. Particularly for International candidates they are giving a very little chance even if their SAT score is good, the essay was well written and with good numbers of extracurricular activities. When someone is appealing to know the reason of rejection , they are not ready to give any reason and sending a very bland reply. Even in University websites nothing is mentioned.My appeal to all USA universities Kindly make your selection process transparent.
For U.S. candidates at certain schools, they have little chance eve if their SAT score is good, the essay was well written and with good numbers of extracurricular activities.
Supply and demand.
Why all Universities are not making their admission process transparent. Sometimes they are taking very low SAT score and average students but reject students having good SAT score
Let’s pretend you’re on the admissions committee. You have 2 slots left for international applicants. You have 50 fantastic applicants left after the initial round of cuts. They all have very very good academics (+98 percentile). Do you simply look for perfect SAT scorers? Or do you read them deeply and allow yourself to choose someone who might not be a perfect scorer?
Let’s say in the end, there were two 2,400 scorers in your group of 50. You choose one applicant who had perfect scores and another who has a 2340 but has other amazing qualities. Later inquiries from rejected applicants come in, including the other rejected 2400 scorer. What do you tell her and the other 47 denied applicants?
US college admissions is not an exact science.
It’s called holistic admissions. They’re not just looking at the numbers. They’re thinking about everything from gender balance to trying to get students from lots of states and countries to making sure they have athletes, poets, musicians and student government people to people interested in majors across the curriculum to more and more and more factors and that’s without even talking about recruited athletes, legacies and members of under represented minorities.
They don’t owe you or any other rejected applicant an explanation of why your particular balance of qualities, traits, activities, interests and general personality wasn’t exactly the right one and, assuming you’re academically qualified for a school, the answer is almost never simple and straightforward. If you want a general sense of how the process works, read The Gatekeepers by Jacques Steinberg.
Yes but if a student has very good SAT score as well as very good in all types of extracurricular activities then also why all USA universities are rejecting?But I know some students having low SAT score and not have much in extracurricular activities, they got seats in some well known universities of USA.I think all USA universities must keep their selection process transparent. It seems as they are playing lottery and picking of students just randomly
Now you are understanding our system! It is a lottery. No one knows exactly who will get in.
It is not a right to go to a US college.
Many US students cannot afford to go to a US university, or maybe a student couldn’t get in; welcome to their world.
The first students chosen are children of donors, celebrities, olympic athletes, recruited athletes and URMs. The remainder of the spots go to high stats kids that a university feels will fit the school, and the group of kids that will attend.
. Sometimes they will take a lower scoring students because that student is a resident of that state, and his parents pay state taxes. Just because they are lower scoring doesn’t mean they aren’t qualified. Maybe their essays and letters of recommendation were very good. (You may want to take a big hint in this area and pick up the slack in your grammar skills).
No, you can’t compare yourself to them. Just because you think your scores are better, doesn’t mean the schools thinks you were better for them. The universities want students who will study hard but who will also play well together.
Universities in the United States are funded by their states, their alumni and their donations. They don’t have to admit anyone. That’s pretty transparent.
No they are not at all transparent. Exactly what I said before ,they are just pinking up students randomly. There is no clear cut selection process in any University of USA.But anyway now in other parts of the world also good Universities are coming up. So no one can stop a good students to progress…
No they are not at all transparent. Exactly what I said before ,they are just pinking up students randomly. There is no clear cut selection process in any University of USA.But anyway now in other parts of the world also good Universities are coming up. So no one can stop a good students to progress…by the way what is the meaning of" they don’t have to admit anyone"…
Just because you don’t understand the process doesn’t mean it’s “random.” Many people seem to think students should be ranked according to their test scores and the highest scorers should be given first dibs. That’s not the way our system works. The number of EC’s isn’t important; the type and the student’s commitment to them are.
Colleges define their own institutional goals and select students to meet them. People you consider “average” because of their test scores may or may not be considered “average” by the colleges. Applications are more than test scores and you’re seeing only a small part of each student’s profile. Colleges make their decision based on the whole thing. They aren’t trying to “stop” the progress of good students.
Concentrating on the opportunities you have in your own country is a good plan. Good luck.
Call Obama and demand your desired transparency!
This is a competition. Like all competitions your results depend on your competitors. You can’t predict who your competitors will be. All you can do is prepare the best you can.
Test scores are a very minimal marker at the most selective institutions. 2200=2300=2400. All mean you can do the work and the difference between those scores often is just one question per section so it’s insignificant. Everything else matters much more. That’s where comparisons with your competition comes in. Telling you why you weren’t admitted they’d have to tell you about your competition which they can’t tell you (legally).
If you applied this year and want an honest evaluation you can pm me your profile.
@manindia if you want transparency, try to get into Oxbridge and most other elite international universities. All you need are the best test scores and grades, boom, you’re in. And that is the way they do it. Ain’t the way we do it here, so just accept it and move on. The others have already said it: Grades and test scores are not the only things considered at top colleges here. If you had done any research at all, you would have known that before you bothered to apply. Can’t believe you asked the colleges why you were rejected. You and 33,000 others were rejected from Stanford or wherever. Just deal with it.
Actually, many top sschoolq, including Oxbridge, have an interview which is a sort-of oral exam where part of the exam is that you don’t know what they want and they test you on your ability to think on your feet. It’s not transparent either in that just like in the US, your scores get you in the door, but between top applicants ultimately it’s soft factors.
Dear I did all research and asked to all Universities. They don’t bother to give any proper reply.After that only I have written this.
Like I said in my post #3, what do YOU think is a proper reply?
Give it up already. They’re not going to tell you any details.
@MYOS1634 , yes, I know about the interview. Back in my husband’s day, they also gave you an on the spot essay, test, whatever, as part of that process.
@manindia we don’t call people dear here, unless they are immediate family or spouse. And why should they tell you? Why? Imagine if all 33,000 rejected applicants asked. What a waste of time.
@manindia selective schools only have a limited amount of space, and have to turn down many otherwise qualified applicants. They don’t have to tell you why you were rejected. It’s the same thing with a lot of job applications.
I hate to bash on grammar, but as @“aunt bea” mentioned, your English skills need work if you want to study at a top US university.
No, admissions is not a random process either. It may seem random from our point of view, but I believe it’s not.
@manindia
Just because you lack an understanding of the admissions process doesn’t mean you should pass off your lower scoring peers’ acceptances into these elite universities as “random”. These universities have a very good system of determining the applicants they want at their institution, it has nothing to do with whether or not you think the applicants deserved to be accepted. You don’t know what their essays or letters of recommendation looked like. Perhaps they showed more passion or put more thought in their essays. And as multiple people mentioned, your grammar is lacking; you may have good scores, grades, ECs, etc. but if you don’t have at least a decent, grammatically correct essay, you can forget about going to a top institution.
the important thing is to apply to a wide range of colleges so you can be sure to be admitted to one.
Or use a paid admissions counselor to help you focus your application.
34,295 students apply at Harvard, but only about 2000 get in. They don’t have time/money for that.