<p>I am a HS senior’s mom, this is my first time to come here. Just say hi to everybody.</p>
<p>Welcome! Why did you wait so long? ;)</p>
<p>I didn’t know this website until my son got rejected by the top schools.</p>
<p>Well, better late than never. My D is a college sophomore, and I didn’t find CC untill about 2 weeks ago. 
My S is a 10th grader so hopefully I can use all this good information this time around.
A have learned <em>so</em> much in just these couple of weeks. It’s scary to think how we ever got through this process with our D without knowing some of this stuff!
Welcome, aspiration88.</p>
<p>Welcome aboard!!! (I didn’t find this group until the app process was all done for one-and-only son)</p>
<p>aspiration, where will he be attending? My son is not at a “top school” but is getting a great education and really loving his life. Sometimes things work out in the end, hoping that is the case for your son.</p>
<p>Welcome!</p>
<p>I’m a college student. I just lurk around and sometimes give totally ignorant parenting advice.</p>
<p>LOL corranged…I’ll let you in on a little secret…shhh…all parents are totally ignorant. We have just learned to fake it in our old age.</p>
<p>welcome aspiration 88!
[ebeeee- you’re not supposed to tell anybody that, remember? [wink!]
and corranged-you offer better advise than a lot of parents!</p>
<p>My son got accepted by the top Canadian university. We are canadians. But he doesn’t want to go. The reason is that he feels he didn’t get accepted by the U.S top colleges because he didn’t know how to prepare it.
He is thinking to take a gap year and reapply, and have some fun.
Most people don’t agree with himi.
I am seeking help here. Do you happen to know anybody who got admission by the top (Ivy) schools after a gap year?</p>
<p>Merely taking a gap year and reapplying to the Ivies that have already rejected you isn’t a high percentage plan. What are you going to do in that gap year–discover the cure for cancer?</p>
<p>Something I wrote on another thread in answer to a mother whose son applied to the Ivies, was rejected and planned on taking a gap year with the idea of re-applying…</p>
<p>"You should definitely read the Andison saga and examine closely what he did in his gap year. He split his time among three or more activities. He took the time to examine his life, to re-think and re-craft his list of schools to apply to in the fall. He ended up getting into a number of colleges, including MIT, a school to which he hadn’t applied the year before.</p>
<p>"I believe that taking a gap year and then re-applying to the Ivies with the idea that this gap year is going to make a difference is a low percentage proposition. I think Andison re-applied to one of the schools that rejected him on his first go-through. They rejected him on the second go-through.</p>
<p>“Use the time wisely to really think about what you really want in college, without thought to prestige. It’s easier to do when you’re not in the feeding frenzy of senior year of high school. Find colleges that really fit your bill. Build your list up from the bottom.”</p>
<p>Same advice applies here.</p>
<p>“Have some fun”? Depending what he means by that, his results next year might not be what you’re hoping for.</p>
<p>May I ask, though: if he was accepted by “the top Canadian university”, why in the world wouldn’t he want to go? Please don’t tell me it’s “Ivy or nothing”…</p>
<p>"My son got accepted by the top Canadian university. We are canadians. But he doesn’t want to go. The reason is that he feels he didn’t get accepted by the U.S top colleges because he didn’t know how to prepare it.
He is thinking to take a gap year and reapply, and have some fun.
Most people don’t agree with himi. "</p>
<p>Due to the numbers of current h.s. juniors in the U.S., next year is expected to be the most competitive year ever in college admissions, which means that your son’s chances of getting into top U.S. colleges will be even less than his chances this year.</p>
<p>Doing a gap year and reapplying to the same colleges where one was rejected rarely results in an admission. </p>
<p>Doing a gap year “to have fun” would lessen the chances of admission as gap years only are a plus for admission of students filled them with activities that colleges would view as productive.</p>
<p>He is very likely to find himself in the same situation next year - but without the option of the Canadian U (unless he can defer his admission there)</p>
<p>Study the threads about “Gap Year” (use the “search this thread” button at top right of Parents Forum) to see some of the kinds of heavy-duty projects he might try to impress US schools next year. Right now you’re in Parents Cafe, but the Parents Forum has the more serious topics, so do your search there.</p>
<p>If he’s up for a more serious gap year project, and he also picks a range of US colleges next year (not just top schools), he might find more choices next year but no guarantees. If he just hangs out for a year, or travels around, forgetaboutit. I can certainly understand why not knowing how to prepare a strong application bothers him, and he doesn’t want to give up the chance to try the process again, only better. He needs to understand that it’s not just about making his application up to par, but also adapting the wiser strategy of making a list of Safety, Match and Reach schools on this side of the border. Even the best US students don’t just apply to all top schools any more.</p>
<p>Perhaps if he weighs all of that against his acceptance to the top Canadian school, he’ll make a thoughtful choice. For a young person to wonder forever,
what if I’d known what I needed to know to compete…is pretty frustrating.
But he needs to really understand that it wasn’t just that he didn’t know how to apply to top schools; it’s wrongheaded for ANYone to apply to only top schools anymore. </p>
<p>Also, I’m not sure what “top” schools mean to you, but there are enough of them to consider “top” that there should be some left that he’s not yet applied to, and are still “tops.” </p>
<p>Additionally, he might explore transfer options from the Canadian university to a U.S. university in his sophomore year. Or come here for graduate school; maybe “top school” or maybe not.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters above, just not as categorically.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody.
He got accepted by McGill and Queen’s. I guess he can defer the offer for one year.
He just wants to try one more time because he didn’t do good application last year. He only apply for four Ivy League colleges.
He has some Math competition awards in Canada and U.S. And got National AP scholar award in Grade 11. His GPA is 4.0, has taken 10 AP courses.
SAT I, Math 800, Reading 800, Writing 690, SAT II, Math 800, Physics 800, World History 800.
He gets involve in many activities in school and has done some volunteer work. He plays some instrument and plays very well.
However, he didn’t do a brag sheet to sell himself.
I was told that even students with perfect SAT and perfect application still got rejection from those Ivy schools.
I worry much that after good preparation, he might still get rejection.
What are you suggestions?
My son said the transfer admission rate is very low, and also there is no money for transfer students. He is still confident to get admission next year. But I am not confident.</p>
<p>You have come to the right place!
Your son has very good “stats” - good for him! He can be proud of that, but he also should realize that American schools are not all about the numbers.
They are looking to build a class of diverse students with wide-ranging interests and a lot of personal qualities to bring to the table as well. He should ask himself, what are his strengths and what are his interests. What are the common threads that run through his extracurricular activities as well as academic interests that would reveal to an admissions reader <em>who he is</em> as a personality and how he might impact their campus? This takes some self evaluation as well as research into what the various colleges offer and what they might be looking for. </p>
<p>I hope your son isn’t under the delusion that there are only 4 American schools worth attending, and they are all ivys. If he does, then he has a lot more work to do, as his entire attitude needs adjusting!!
This is a great site to learn about the many wonderful colleges on both coasts, as well as in between. I hope you stay and read and learn. If this site can convince you that there are many schools that would serve your son as well if not better than the “top 4” he applied to, perhaps you can help him see that. There are many, many great colleges that would have loved to admit your son and would have served him very well- but they weren’t on his radar because they didn’t have an ivy label. </p>
<p>It’s late now and time for me to turn in, but I know you will get some wonderful advice on this site. I do think that your son will get into a fantastic school the next round, IF he can broaden his search as well as his mind.</p>
<p>I will leave with one thought. Never underestimate the value of your flagship state university! Your son would qualify for the honors program at your best state university, and probably would receive scholarships as well.
It needs to be on his list next year, along with others that he knows will admit him.</p>
<p>As a Canadian student who went through this process, here’s my advice:</p>
<p>If McGill and Queen’s will allow him a year’s deferral and he really truly wants to take a gap year (and I mean in a way other than “I’ll take a gap year and get into every Ivy”, because that’s not realistic), then he should do it. However, the odds for him to have much more success after a gap year are not good. It takes an extremely cogent and crafted gap year to really change a person in a college’s eyes, and “having some fun” probably won’t quite do it. Added to that is the additional pressure that at many schools internationals have a much harder time than domestic applicants; there are boatloads of statistically amazing international applicants to every Ivy; in many ways that pool is much more competitive than the domestic one. At less prestigious colleges the trend is reversed and internationals often get scholarships and easier admissions, but at top schools it’s tough. If it’s Ivy or bust for your family, it might save you time, money and effort to just go to Queen’s or McGill - neither of which are by any means bad universities.</p>
<p>However, if he truly feels that focusing more on his applications could substantially change their content (more cogent presentation, etc.) then it might be useful to re-apply. Adding some colleges to the list in addition to 4 Ivies would also be a good idea.</p>
<p>aspiration, I’m sorry that things didn’t work out for your son. Since you have another thread operating on the same subject, perhaps you could ask the moderators to merge the two threads.</p>
<p>I’d suggest that he take a multifaceted approach.
- The good news is that your son was accepted to some fine Canadian universities. These are his aces in the hole. They may not be his first choice, but they are not bad choices, so at least he’s covered.</p>
<p>If he decides to take a gap year, he should definitely defer admission to one of these schools, just as an insurance policy. If there is financial aid involved, you should make sure the money will still be available if he defers.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Was he waitlisted from any of the other colleges that he applied to? If yes, then he should keep his waitlist status alive with supplementary materials.</p></li>
<li><p>The concept of taking a gap year and reapplying is an unreliable strategy. There have been two cases on this board that I’m aware of. Andi’s son reapplied after a productive gap year and was admitted to university as good as his previous first choice, but he was not admitted to his previous first choice the second time around either.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Nopoisonivy’s son changed his focus, from artschool to an all purpose university. He honed his application during a productive gap year and was admitted to the ivy league university that had rejected him the year before plus several other selective colleges.</p>
<p>You will note that in both cases the gap year was “productive.” What this means is that the student used the year to do something that made him a more appealing candidate. </p>
<p>As others have said, the percentage of Canadians who are accepted into selective U.S. colleges is woefully low. You son has wonderful statistics and even if he had a perfect application his chance of admission would still be low.</p>
<ol>
<li>So, in summary, I would agree with the posters who urge your son to either A) Live with the good choices available to him or B) If he’s determined to reapply widen his list to include other than the most selective universities.</li>
</ol>
<p>“He has some Math competition awards in Canada and U.S. And got National AP scholar award in Grade 11. His GPA is 4.0, has taken 10 AP courses.
SAT I, Math 800, Reading 800, Writing 690, SAT II, Math 800, Physics 800, World History 800.
He gets involve in many activities in school and has done some volunteer work. He plays some instrument and plays very well.
However, he didn’t do a brag sheet to sell himself.”</p>
<p>I truly doubt that his rejections were due to not doing a brag sheet, something that many CC students do, but probably relatively few students do who are applying to top colleges.</p>
<p>While your S’s scores and grades were wonderful, from what you’ve posted, there’s nothing that would make your S stand out in Ivy admissions, which get an overabundance of high stat, math-talented, classical music-playing students with a smattering of unfocused community service. He may, however, have better odds at places like CalTech, and possibly MIT, which have less need of attracting academically diverse classes of students than do places like the Ivies.</p>