<p>So, I got into big H yet waitlisted at CC. This was surprising, considering I’m a NYer and one of columbia’s more famous alumni wrote a recommendation on my behalf. Is this a mutated version of tufts syndrome, or just bad luck?</p>
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Barack Obama?</p>
<p>Ruth Bader Ginsberg?</p>
<p>Alexander Hamilton?</p>
<p>Haha, well he’s a dean at manhattan…I’m not mad at all, it was just a mild surprise that helped me make my decision faster.</p>
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<p>This is a typical example of the gross overstatements on this board when people talk about their stats/credentials, similar to how everyone has amazing letters and wrote essays that brought tears to peoples’ eyes.</p>
<p>Some random dean at “manhattan” (what is that anyway?) is one of Columbia’s more famous alumni? I doubt most of the adcoms would know some random person like that, nor would they be particularly impressed.</p>
<p>it’s sounds like you’re the one suffering from the syndrome, not columbia.</p>
<p>you got waitlisted, get over it. do you honestly expect to get in everywhere just because you got into harvard?</p>
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<p>now THAT would be special! </p>
<p>how does being a dean make you famous??</p>
<p>lol… one of Columbia’s more famous alumni is a dean? Are you ■■■■■■■■?</p>
<p>Wow guys, let down a bit maybe?. All he did was express his surprise. Its not as if he said: </p>
<p>“ZOMG I got waitlisted after I got a rec from GOD!”</p>
<p>No need for he apparent hostility.</p>
<p>Uh, yeah. agreed.</p>
<p>Getting a rec from a dead guy. Your passion could be mediating between this world and the next…</p>
<p>The idea of the “syndrome” is that an applicant is rejected for being overqualified, which is an impossibility for any Ivy League school. </p>
<p>Also, you say this dean wrote you a recommendation. But, for what? Did you just stroll into his office and ask him to write a letter about how great you say you are? It’s one thing if you did a two-year long research project with this guy, but a letter alone is hardly a “hook.” And, like I said, even if it were that important, it’s not as if you have perfect standardized test scores or are the valedictorian of your class. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, you’re an extremely qualified applicant, but saying that you’re <em>overqualified</em> for the forth most selective Ivy League school is a bit arrogant.</p>
<p>piccolojunior, Columbia really doesn’t care about the social, religious, or political caliber of whom you receive a recommendation from. It’s the substance and how well they are able to write about you that counts.</p>
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<p>It helps to have someone important to the extent that their importance allows them to provide context that an unimportant recommender cannot say. If you did research for a Columbia prof as a high school student, an he’s able to say that you’re as smart as the best Columbia students, that’s way better than your high school bio teacher saying you’re the best kid in the class.</p>
<p>But the general point stands. The adcoms aren’t impressed by who signed the letter.</p>
<p>i said rob & big was the most recent show/film i enjoyed in the past year so i hope i get in</p>
<p>Tufts syndrome is more apparent than ever this year at Columbia and all the Ivies. Harvard and Princeton’s abolition of ED has thrown every admissions department’s yield calculations off whack.</p>
<p>CC has a <10% admit rate. I think that kind of nixes the idea of “Tufts Syndrome” there. Are you going to say that Princeton has “Tufts’ Syndrome” because it has a slightly higher admit rate than Harvard but turned down a Harvard acceptee? Columbia is known for having its own, kind of weird, UChicago-style admissions process. They probably just thought that you weren’t the best fit. And it sounds like Harvard’s great for you. Congrats!</p>