*drum roll, please* Rejected from Stanford! Could someone give me a hand?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I’m a long-time lurker, first-time poster, and let me just say that I’ve consistently been amazed at the support the community here has given people - it’s truly remarkable.</p>

<p>I realize I’m in the same boat as a lot of people here, but I just got rejected from Early Admission from Stanford, my first choice school by far. (In fact, I only applied to UCs and Stanford, and (UCLA/UCB/UCI) only because of the November deadline. I’m looking, now, into applying to a couple other high-end schools. I’m pretty confident in my ability to make it into UC’s, so I’m treating those as my fallbacks. </p>

<p>My dream is to start the first successful recording studio franchise - I’ve always loved business, management, and people in general - I’m quite social and have an informal love for law and debate. I also love music with a passion, having started my own band, Conducted the high school band, and composed probably 200 works for piano, for band, for orchestra, etc. I’d like to study Entrepreneurial Business/Recording Arts/Contemporary Music, in roughly that order. More importantly, I want to be around high-caliber, motivated people.</p>

<p>Finally (sorry!), I’d like to be near a big city (hopefully with a good music scene), and favor the Coasts (hence EA to Stanford.) </p>

<p>I’ve posted my stats below, any help you could give me would be INCREDIBLY appreciated!</p>

<p>My current app plan:
NYU (Tisch)
John Hopkins (Peabody Conservatory)
Harvard
Yale (Somewhat as a fall back, as I’m Legacy)</p>

<p>Thanks once again!</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180 M: 800 CR: 680 W: 700
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Math 2C: 800, Lit: 700, Chem: 670
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97 (Freshman year B+)
Weighted GPA: 4.8 (Acad. 10-12), 4.5 Total
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/493
AP (place score in parentheses): AB Calc (5) AP Lang (5)
IB (place score in parentheses):
Senior Year Course Load: Hardest Possible w/ ECs (2 Periods of Band (Marching/Symphonic), AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Phys, H Gov/Econ, ASB Student Leadership)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semi-Finalist, Academic All-American Water Polo 2 Consecutive Years</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
-High School Band (Student Conductor, Clarinet Section Leader x3)
-Water Polo (Varsity x3, Selected for Olympic Development, 1st Team All-Area, Highest Scorer x2, 2nd Highest All-time Career Goals for High School, 1st Team All-League, MVP etc., Significant Outside-HS Involvement on International Level)
-Swimming (Varsity x4, Most Inspirational, Coaches Award)
-ASB (Athletics Commissioner)
-Piano (Gigging Solo Pianist, 80-song rep., Self-published first album, also Started my own band, that I write the songs for)
-Recording Engineer (Internship at a local recording studio)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: 2 years Senior Lifeguard (Certified), 1 yr USA Water Polo Referee (Cert.)
Volunteer/Community service: Teaching local kids to swim, performing with my church’s worship group, Refereeing community games
Summer Activities: Extremely high level water polo (year-round), Worked a job, produced my album</p>

<p>Writing (Rate Quality on 1-10 Scale; 10 as Best):
Essays (Include Subjects):
Common App Main: Finding what I wanted to do with my life in a stagnant environment, Passion for Piano 8.5
EC Short Answer: Wanting to start first Recording Studio Franchise 8
Intellectual Vitality: Trippy philosophical stream-of-though about natural duty to dream audaciously and live accordingly 9.5
Roommate: Growing up the son of a Pastor, wanting someone social 8
Why Stanford: Taken my current environment as far as I can, Stanford’s freedom 9
Other:
Teacher Recommendation #1: AP Lang teacher, 10? Did not read, but she still refers to me in her current English class as an example of a good writer, and said I was her favourite of the past ten years.
Teacher Recommendation #2: H Chemistry, 9? Did not read, but he really liked me.
Counselor Rec: Most likely a 10, she visited one of my Los Angeles gigs before writing the essay, and talked about how much she enjoyed it. She knows of my drive and passion.
Additional Rec: Water polo Coach, 1-10. We got along very well and he respected me, but it’s entirely possible that he blew it.
Interview: N/A
Art Supplement: Encompassed all the different work I’ve done - very, very well-produced. 10</p>

<p>Other
Date Submitted App: October 8
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, High-level but not incredible
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 120K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Autistic Younger Brother</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Extra Curriculars, My Essays, My Arts Supplement
Weaknesses: SATs not too great, not a ton of APs, Perhaps not enough focus in Application, though I tried to show the breadth and depth of my various occupations, which I thought I did well.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Middle-Class-California-White-Male Syndrome, as well as Stanford already had accepted a Questbridge Asian Female from my school a week earlier. Possibly due to SATs.
What would you have done differently?: Not a thing. I gave it everything I had.</p>

2

<p>I’d add USC and UMiami. You seem interested in the business side of music. These two schools would be ideal for that.</p>

3

<p>I have to second the USC suggestion - from your self-description and preferences, it sounds like an excellent fit for you. The Music Industry major for example: <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/programs/industry/[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/programs/industry/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>You cannot under any circumstances consider Yale a ‘fallback’ unless you are famous and/or donate copious amounts of money to the school. Just being a legacy won’t get you anything - Yale could probably fill its freshman class several times over with qualified legacies. Yale is a reach school for just about everybody.</p>

<p>That said, you have excellent stats and enough interesting extracurriculars that are a blend of athletics and some interesting things that show passion (like your piano accomlishments and the recording engineering). I think it’s difficult to rate one’s own writing ability, though, so not sure how I feel about those. I don’t think that Stanford rejected you because you are a middle class white male from California. I think they had lots of qualified applicants who look just like you in terms of grades, test scores, and extracurriculars and had to pick someone, so they just didn’t pick you. Having an autistic younger brother is NOT a hook. That doesn’t even really have anything to do with you.</p>

<p>Anyway, I second the suggestion of University of Miami - it has a great music business program. Drexel also has a music industry major, with concentrations in business and in technology. There’s also Berklee College of Music’s music business/management major. I know that SUNY-Oneonta has a music industry major (my friend went there and majored in that), but it’s in a rural area in upstate New York so you may not be interested. Northeastern has a music industry major as well. You say you want to apply to Tisch, but Steinhardt has a music business major.</p>

<p>You also need to add some safeties to that list - you don’t have any. Miami might be a good match/safety and Drexel I think would be a safety for you. Whatever you do decide to add to the list, make sure that you have 2-3 safeties at which you would be happy, and can afford, in case you don’t get into your reach schools. No, Yale is not a safety.</p>

5

<p>I’d agree (fourthed and thirded, respectively) on USC and UMiami. Any reason you haven’t considered USC? I believe it’s too late for USC’s priority deadline which was December 1 for merit consideration, but you can still apply.</p>

6

<p>If you were rejected by S, you can assume that Yale will do the same. Any legacy advantage was lost by not applying EA to Yale.</p>

<p>Do some research on Hopkins. The Peabody Cons is not on the main Homewood campus, and while shuttles go back and forth, course schedules are not very well coordinated – at least they have not been historically. While JHU is attempting to address that problem, it is still an issue.</p>

<p>Consider USC and Rice. For a safety, look at Puget Sound.</p>

7

<p>To the contrary, keep Yale in the mix if you want to. My S had a friend last year who was rejected Stanford SCEA. She’s now at Yale, and was also accepted at USC. Georgetown and a couple of other top 30 places. She was not a legacy to Stanford or Yale.</p>

<p>Take a look at the Stanford threads. It’s clear that their admissions decisions are pretty black box. The only take away I get from Stanford is they seem to like applicants with different/quirky ECs who’ve done well with them.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Exactly. As a legacy NOT applying to Yale EA, the OP signaled to Yale (in no uncertain terms) that it was not his/her first choice. But sure, keep it in the “mix”, but the likelihood for everyone is rejection… And, you gotta play to win; not applying is a 100% guarantee of non-admittance!</p>

9

<p>researchmaven: I’d add USC and UMiami. You seem interested in the business side of music. These two schools would be ideal for that. </p>

<p>alamemom I have to second the USC suggestion - from your self-description and preferences, it sounds like an excellent fit for you. The Music Industry major for example: [USC</a> Thornton School of Music : Academic Programs: Music Industry](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/programs/industry/]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/programs/industry/)</p>

<p>schrizto I’d agree (fourthed and thirded, respectively) on USC and UMiami. Any reason you haven’t considered USC? I believe it’s too late for USC’s priority deadline which was December 1 for merit consideration, but you can still apply. </p>

<p>*<em>Thank you very much, guys! I originally thought that I was not able to apply to USC as the I had thought December 1st was a final deadline, but I will definitely be applying now. I’ll also look into UMiami, a school I’d previously not heard of. At the risk of sounding condescending, is it a top-level school? *</em></p>

<p>juillet<br>
Anyway, I second the suggestion of University of Miami - it has a great music business program. Drexel also has a music industry major, with concentrations in business and in technology. There’s also Berklee College of Music’s music business/management major. I know that SUNY-Oneonta has a music industry major (my friend went there and majored in that), but it’s in a rural area in upstate New York so you may not be interested. Northeastern has a music industry major as well. You say you want to apply to Tisch, but Steinhardt has a music business major.</p>

<p>You also need to add some safeties to that list - you don’t have any. Miami might be a good match/safety and Drexel I think would be a safety for you. Whatever you do decide to add to the list, make sure that you have 2-3 safeties at which you would be happy, and can afford, in case you don’t get into your reach schools. No, Yale is not a safety. </p>

<p>**I’ll apply to Drexel as a safety - I’ve been receiving emails from them about free applications for NMS Semifinalists, and you can’t beat a free application. I’ve actually considered Berklee, but initially decided against it, as I thought I’d prefer to avoid attending an “Arts Only” school - a big thing for me is meeting different types of intelligent, passionate people. After doing some research into it, though, I’ve heard that GE courses are taken at nearby colleges like NYU, so I may still apply. Speaking of NYU, I listed my decision as Tisch due to it’s included Clive Davis Dpt. of Recorded Music, a program that really, really interests me.</p>

<p>UCI is another safety school I’ve already applied to (guaranteed admit), as well as UCLA and UCB, and while I don’t believe the last two are both 100% guaranteed admission, I think I have good chances.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your reply - I’m definitely going to look into UMiami/Drexel.**</p>

<p>FindAPlace To the contrary, keep Yale in the mix if you want to. My S had a friend last year who was rejected Stanford SCEA. She’s now at Yale, and was also accepted at USC. Georgetown and a couple of other top 30 places. She was not a legacy to Stanford or Yale.
Take a look at the Stanford threads. It’s clear that their admissions decisions are pretty black box. The only take away I get from Stanford is they seem to like applicants with different/quirky ECs who’ve done well with them. </p>

<p>bluebayou<br>
Exactly. As a legacy NOT applying to Yale EA, the OP signaled to Yale (in no uncertain terms) that it was not his/her first choice. But sure, keep it in the “mix”, but the likelihood for everyone is rejection… And, you gotta play to win; not applying is a 100% guarantee of non-admittance! </p>

<p>**Sorry guys, I was a little foolish in listing Yale as a safety - that’s what I get for posting after midnight >.< . I’ll definitely still apply, just with a bit of a more realistic mindset.</p>

<p>I’ve also decided to cross Johns Hopkins off my list - I did some research into the location, and I really didn’t like it.**</p>

<p>My Current List is looking something like this:</p>

<p>Definitely applying/Top Choices:
NYU (Clive Davis Dpt.)
USC
Yale/Harvard
*UCLA
*UCB</p>

<p>Maybes (Need More Research):
UMiami
Berklee</p>

<p>Safeties:
Drexel
*UCI</p>

<ul>
<li>Already Applied</li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks guys, if there’s anymore insight you could give, I’d really appreciate it - you guys have been great! Also, if you’d like to read my essays, you’re 100% welcome to them, I’m an open book.</p>

10

<p>

Are you an NM semifinalist? If you advance to NM Scholar, USC will give you an automatic 1/2 tuition scholarship (worth about $19,285 this year) - even if your application is received after the Dec. 1st scholarship deadline. (Be sure to meet the regular application deadline, though.) Good luck! <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/grants_scholarships/undergraduates/meritbasedfo.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/grants_scholarships/undergraduates/meritbasedfo.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>Welcome to the club, kid!
stanfordrejects.com</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>I would say UMiami is an up-and-coming school. It’s right outside the top 50 of the US News rankings and it might do some more climbing. </p>

<p>USC’s final deadline is Jan 11 so you still have time.</p>

13

<p>*UCI is another safety school I’ve already applied to (guaranteed admit), as well as UCLA and UCB, and while I don’t believe the last two are both 100% guaranteed admission, I think I have good chances.</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180 M: 800 CR: 680 W: 700
*</p>

<p>Since you’re a NMSF, then definitely apply to USC…you’ll likely get accepted and get a half-tuition scholarship! :)</p>

<p>Have you visited UCI? Did you like it? If not, it shouldn’t be your safety.</p>

<p>UMiami might also offer you a NM scholarship.</p>

<p>Tulane will offer you a scholarship.</p>

<p>University of Rochester</p>

<p>Boston U</p>

<p>Your SAT is very good, but not spectacular, so you need some match schools. </p>

<p>What is your $$$ situation? Can you pay full-freight? If you’ll be needing aid, do you know what your EFC is and can your parents pay it?</p>

14

<p>alamemom<br>
Are you an NM semifinalist? If you advance to NM Scholar, USC will give you an automatic 1/2 tuition scholarship (worth about $19,285 this year) - even if your application is received after the Dec. 1st scholarship deadline. (Be sure to meet the regular application deadline, though.) Good luck! <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/gran...itbasedfo.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/gran...itbasedfo.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>schrizto<br>
I would say UMiami is an up-and-coming school. It’s right outside the top 50 of the US News rankings and it might do some more climbing. </p>

<p>USC’s final deadline is Jan 11 so you still have time.</p>

<p>**Yes, I am a current NMSF - I will definitely apply to USC, and if it turns out that I have been selected as a Scholar, I’ll switch my first choice to USC (assuming their scholarship still stands) and probably attend if Yale/Harvard doesn’t work out. Thank you so much for the tip!</p>

<p>I’ve decided not to apply to UMiami, after doing a little more research into it. I just honestly don’t think I’d be happy in the area, but thank you for the suggestion!**</p>

<p>mom2collegekids </p>

<p>Since you’re a NMSF, then definitely apply to USC…you’ll likely get accepted and get a half-tuition scholarship!<br>
Have you visited UCI? Did you like it? If not, it shouldn’t be your safety.
UMiami might also offer you a NM scholarship.
Tulane will offer you a scholarship.
University of Rochester
Boston U
Your SAT is very good, but not spectacular, so you need some match schools.
What is your $$$ situation? Can you pay full-freight? If you’ll be needing aid, do you know what your EFC is and can your parents pay it?</p>

<p>**Definitely applying to USC, thanks! I’ve already applied to UCI, but will also be applying to Drexel as a safety - the research I’ve done into Drexel has led me to believe I’d be content going there. UMiami/Tulane/Boston U haven’t interested me from the research I’ve done, but University of Rochester is definitely an idea. I’ll definitely look into it. <edit: i’ve=“” decided=“” against=“” it,=“” as=“” i=“” will=“” be=“” applying=“” to=“” berklee=“” college=“” of=“” music,=“” instead.=“” thank=“” you!=“”></edit:></p>

<p>I probably won’t be able to pay full-freight, but I could probably get pretty close. Family income ~100k a year, but my little brother will be hitting college soon.**</p>

<p>Updated list looking like:</p>

<p>Definitely applying/Top Choices:
NYU (Clive Davis Dpt.)
USC
Yale/Harvard
*UCLA
*UCB</p>

<p>Safeties:
Drexel
Berklee
*UCI</p>

15

<p>Have you looked into being recruited for water polo? Or is it too late by now? Based on your description, you sound like you are really really good and would be an asset to a collegiate team, so maybe you should try getting into contact with a coach at a school you’re interested in, as that can be a HUGE help in getting in. Some prestigious east coast schools have surprisingly competitive water polo teams (princeton, MIT, brown)</p>

16

<p>I probably won’t be able to pay full-freight, but I could probably get pretty close. Family income ~100k a year, but my little brother will be hitting college soon.**</p>

<p>Does this mean that you haven’t yet asked your parents exactly how much they can spend each year? Typically a family with an income of about $100k per year cannot come close to paying the $50k+ per year for various private schools. </p>

<p>Good luck with USC, Yale, Berklee, etc… :slight_smile: In the meantime, ask your parents exactly how much they can contribute each year towards your education. :slight_smile: Believe me, you don’t want some shocking surprises later.</p>

17

<p>I probably won’t be able to pay full-freight, but I could probably get pretty close. Family income ~100k a year, but my little brother will be hitting college soon.**</p>

<p>Does this mean that you haven’t asked your parents exactly how much they can spend each year? Typically a family with an income of about $100k per year cannot come close to paying the $50k+ per year for various schools. </p>

<p>Good luck with USC, Yale, Berklee, etc… :slight_smile: In the meantime, ask your parents exactly how much they can contribute each year towards your education. :slight_smile: Believe me, you don’t want some shocking surprises later.</p>

18

<p>jackpot<br>
Have you looked into being recruited for water polo? Or is it too late by now? Based on your description, you sound like you are really really good and would be an asset to a collegiate team, so maybe you should try getting into contact with a coach at a school you’re interested in, as that can be a HUGE help in getting in. Some prestigious east coast schools have surprisingly competitive water polo teams (princeton, MIT, brown)</p>

<p><strong>I actually have met with the Harvard coach two or three times at Junior Olympics last year - he wanted to fly me out to the campus to check out the team and housing, but as their recruitment weekend ended up being on the same day as the Stanford information meeting, I wasn’t able to attend. I will definitely be contacting him, and it should be a plus on my application - at least helping me get in, even if I don’t end up playing. Yale/NYU don’t have water polo teams, and while I will contact USC’s coach to see if it will help my admission, I probably do not want to play for USC’s team if given the chance - I have heard horror stories about the extent which it disrupts the players’ education. Thank you for the advice, though!</strong></p>

<p>mom2collegekids
Does this mean that you haven’t asked your parents exactly how much they can spend each year? Typically a family with an income of about $100k per year cannot come close to paying the $50k+ per year for various schools.
Good luck with USC, Yale, Berklee, etc… In the meantime, ask your parents exactly how much they can contribute each year towards your education. Believe me, you don’t want some shocking surprises later.</p>

<p><strong>Yes, that’s exactly what it means. :] I will be sure to ask them later today, but I do not mind graduating with a loan if my parents cannot fund my entire education - I am relatively confident in my future ability to pay it off, though, of course, I’d avoid it if possible! Thanks for the luck - I’ll post a response later today after I’ve spoken with my parents.</strong></p>

<p>Final Application List (In Rough Order of Preference)
NYU (Clive Davis Dpt. Recorded Music - Extremely Selective)
USC (1/2 Tuition Scholarship for NMS (Still pending, though) very attractive. Without Scholarship, below H/Y)
Harvard/Yale (Would depend on Financial Aid/Water Polo Obligation)
UCLA
Berklee College of Music
UCB
Drexel
UCI</p>

19

<p>Haven’t heard of Miami? Even the athletic teams and such?</p>

<p>Miami is a decent but not great private school in Florida that dishes out some impressive Gauranteed Merit-Aid based on test scores. Music Business and Marine Biology on top of their natural sciences are some of the strongest programs. Good weather, strong athletics, but smaller than most athletic-based schools. I don’t have first-hand experience, but I’ve heard people expect the campus to be nicer than it is given the location, but a decent school nevertheless.</p>

20

<p>I think your stats are amazing. Who in the heck did they admit??</p>