Good luck. Stay strong.

thecoldcut
Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:29:46 +0000

So guys. Ordeal over with.

I think I must have been hit the hardest here. 9 out of 9 rejections, but life moves in mysterious ways.

I hope you don’t mind my telling my story, and I hope this helps some of you to come to terms with your rejections (as I am still doing):

So I’m a student from the UK. I attended boarding school, leaving with straight A’s at A-level (Maths, Physics and Chemistry) and 6A*'s and 5A’s at GCSE. I sat the SAT I (2180) and SAT II’s (2250) and prepared a really strong application. I always had hope that I would be accepted somewhere in the US, a country a love.

I wasn’t. There really is something against me in all this I feel- no matter how much work I put in, I am never going to attend a university in the US. Now I am going to attend a university at Bristol in the UK. My stats are below, and comforting comments would be much appreciated.

I’ve worked for this for my whole life, trying to become the best at what I do, be a good person and hope that good things happen to good people. What I have recently learned is that sometimes what we think is the be all end all isn’t always the best for us. I am a prime example of this, and I am starting to think that everything will be okay. My university place will have no impact on where I eventually end up- its put the fight in me… I will cherish those rejection letters, allow them to fuel me and hopefully look back on this and laugh. Why was I so worried?

I hope you all got in to your top choices. And if you didn’t, try and put things in perspective. Life goes on.

If you want to have a chat about all of this, just let me know.

Location/Person:


State or Country: UK (but parents live in the Netherlands). Have lived in US, Malaysia, Scotland, The Netherlands and other places. Expatriate lifestyle.
Info: Male, White, Middle Class, No Legacy, International
Major: Engineering (particular focus on Comp Sci and MechEng). Hoping to fast track first year and work part time for IBM).
Graduated June 2008- Currently on 9 month internship with IBM UK, before going to another company in May (hopefully Apple/Shell/something else)


Stats:


SAT I (by section): 660 CR, 760 W, 760 M (2180)
SAT IIs: Maths I 740 Chem 740 Phys 770 (2250)
GCSEs- 6A*'s, 5A’s
GCE A-levels- 3 A’s- Maths, Physics and Chemistry (plus AS level in Economics)
GPA: 4.0 uw (moving on the presumption that an A at A-level is a 4)
Rank: within top 5 out of 100
School Type: highly competitive boarding school in Gloucestershire. In the year before me, 20% of people got into Oxford or Cambridge.
Course load: Fairly tough, but most stress was developed by EC’s and 6 day school week (yes, we worked saturdays… and yes, it blowed!)


ECs/achievements listed on app:


Engineering- Recipient of Arkwright Scholarship (2 year engineering scholarship with job opportunities) and Abbeydale Trust Prize (for engineering contribution). Academic Scholars Society. Scholastic Achievment Awards (top 5 students) for 3 years running. Two patent applications under review. Been shortlisted for IBM Extreme Blue scheme for summer 2010.
Journalism/Publications- I run three websites. One is down at the moment (updates- Taxomni) but the other two are The Cold Cut and Be All End All - College applications made simple… My interviewers were all really interested in hearing how succesful these were… fortunately, my music site has been going for 2 years now and somehow featured on rollingstone.com amongst other things. I love writing about music and also helping other people out so its one of my main passions. Last year I was fortunate enough to attend a number of European festivals as press, a huge step for me and something I hope to continue this year. Be All End All is actually a site I’m starting with another international applicant, offering advice for people in our situation. We know how tough/lonely it can be, so we wanted to help, using our experience.
Music (Instrumental)- Grade 7 Saxophone (Distinction), Grade 5 Music Theory (Distinction), School Choir, Amateur DJ. In most school bands (concert, jazz, sextet and combo). 1st saxophone.
Community Action- As a team lead in the community action team, I helped put on concerts and workshops for the local schools and care homes. 200 hours.
Drama- Dip VCM (Hons)- Diploma Victoria College Of London (Honours)- gives me letters after my name-, Lamda Drama Grade 8 (Merit). Roles in school productions and musicals (both supporting and leading), and weekly drama lessons.
School prefect- (kind of like Student Govt., but perhaps more hands on). Elected by staff and students (and confirmed through interview), prefects act as school representatives and help to run the school on a day to day basis (ie supervising meals, chapel, breaks, punishments).
Debate/Speech- Competitor in school public speaking competitions- highest rank of 2nd on competition where I spoke as Chairman and Speaker.
Sports- nothing varsity, just stuff to keep fit. I was hoping to run the Flora London Marathon this year but didn’t get a ballot place- going to try next year. Also play squash, swim and run to school standards (not varsity though!).



Job/Work Experience: 3 week work placement at Comic Relief during the Sport Relief Campaign- raised £3000 in time there, and helped on event day at BBC Media Centre by chaperoning celebrities. 1 week work placement at Macmillan Cancer Research in Events team. Another 2 week work placement at Comic Relief in different teams second time around, primarily Product (RED) initiative. 2 week work experience for Shell at their global HQ working with chemical engineers. Currently on 9 month internship with IBM UK working as a software development engineer. Work experience at Aston Martin obtained for summer 2009, after IBM.
Essays (subject and responses): The world that I came from- my parents are expatriates so I talked about all the different cultures and countries I’ve lived in, and how it has shaped me as a person, broadening my perspective. Related each country to the characteristics it gave me, and how the conflicting education systems made me mature rapidly and develop different skills. Probably high quality but not excellent in comparison to standard US college application essays.


Essay on my activities since school- great opportunity to talk about the work done at IBM and my summer activities without appearing to brag.

Essay- ‘Perseverance’. Talking about my defining quality. I’m not the smartest or best, I’m just driven to keep going and never give up. Particular examples included how I emailed Steve Jobs for work experience, leading to phone interviews and now potential internship this summer/next summer. Still in application process. Capitalised on experience when applying for jobs for my gap year (in the UK, some people take a year out before college to work and earn money/experience)- obtained jobs with a fair amount (~10) of companies, but applied to 50! Never gave up.


Teacher Recs: Both great, if different. One is from a Dr. of Chemistry from Cambridge, who spoke at length on how I was ‘only getting better’ and that ‘what is already there is extremely impressive’, talking about my development through school. Another from my housemaster and Economics teacher who spoke of my ‘drive’ and ‘unbelievable sense of where he was going’. Candid… not sure how US rec letters are usually written.
Counselor Rec: An analysis of my time at school and how I managed to maintain my EC’s, grades and social life whilst going beyond the norm and succeeding in my professional life.
Extra Rec: Current boss at IBM. Talking about how I have made an impact in my short time at IBM- very unusual to get a personal recommendation from an employer, so I was extremely appreciative. IBM letterhead etc- looks great!
Applied on: 12/20
Pseudo-Hooks (if any): Web-entrepreneur , international student with worldwide experience? Unsure of this one.