I'm Baffled at Rejection From Some Great Schools

Applying to College
1

As of right now, I have been accepted to University of Michigan, and that’s it. WashU, NorthWestern, and USC rejected me. Case Western waitlisted me. I am waiting to hear back from Yale, Stanford, and Princeton. Given my decisions so far, I’m not very hopeful.

Going in, I thought at least Case Western and NorthWestern would be safe acceptances. Here is a rough outline of my resume:

4.0 GPA, 4.43 Weighted, 1550 SAT, 35 Composite ACT, 34 Not Composite
Class rank is unique rank 1 of 536
I took 22 semesters of AP coursework, 3 of IB, and 5 of Dual enrollment
AP: Calc, World History, Lang, Macroecon, Physics C, Lit, Comp Sci, Chem, Government, Envi Sci (senior year), Psych (senior year)
IB: business management, Theory of knowledge
Dual Enroll: Multivariable Calc 1 and 2, general physics, scientific computer programming, bridge to higher mathematics (senior)

My AP scores average just above 4

I thought my recommendations were pretty good. For extracurriculars, I am a percussionist. Marching band, jazz band, and ensemble (I play 4 mallet marimba). Senior year I was class secretary on senate, senior selection committee, and a local youth orchestra. I was captain of blood drive.

My biggest selling point (in my opinion) was that I played Magic the Gathering. It is a card game. I played a ton, traveling around across the Midwest to play in tournaments. I was invited to the Pro Tour and Wizards of the Coast flew me to Vancouver and payed for my hotel to compete. At 15, I was the youngest competitor by like 6-7 years. That was the topic of my essay, which I spent over 20 hours revising and perfecting. I thought it was fantastic, as did my counselor.

Bottom line, I can’t believe that these tier 2 schools didn’t want me. I broke my schools record for most AP/IB/Dual coursework. Great grades and scores, lots of EC, and even an international unique achievement. My counselor really thought I would get into the Ivy league. I know half a dozen kids from my school alone that are less qualified than me but got into schools that rejected me. I’ve talk to friends and they are at a loss as to why I got rejected. People keep comforting me, that U of M is a great school, but I don’t want to hear that my safety school is great. I want to know why this is happening to me.

2

Oh, but I am a middle/upper income white male, so that was a definite disadvantage. I forgot that bit.

3

Ouch. I’m sorry you’re hurting. It has been a tough year for admissions.

If I could make a small suggestion - vent here where you’re anonymous and don’t repeat these things in your real life. It’s normal to be hurt and lash out, but make sure you don’t shoot yourself in the foot with some of those comments.

BTW, UMich is a fantastic school. At some point you will realize you’re hurt and having some first world problems, but your “consolation prize” - going to UMich - is pretty freakin’ awesome.

4

You only need one. Congrats!

5

Yield protection. They thought you’d get better offers and wouldn’t come.

I think U Mich is going to be a real winner this year. There are multiple posts on CC this year of amazing kids not getting into tier 2 schools. The problem isn’t you. If U Mich is where you end up, you will definitely be in great company.

6

UMich is a terrific option and why would you think Northwestern (which is an Ivy-equivalent in every way) could be a safety for anyone?
If your attitude that they (and Case) were tier 2 schools came through in any way, that would do it.

7

If you can afford Michigan, then stop doing the post mortem, close the body, and bury, cremate or recycle the literature from the schools that rejected you. Then move on and look forward to the next chapter.

If you can’t afford Michigan, we have to look for more schools for you to apply to that are still accepting applications.

8

I’ve been on this site for just a few months. In the past two weeks, I’ve read so many similar posts, top students in the same position. I agree with above, vent here and in a then embrace UMich as an awesome school/experience! And perhaps another option tomorrow.

9

Wash U, NU, and USC are not safeties – they are all reach schools now, and reach schools are a crap shoot for even the best students. It’s a brutal process and it hurts like hell, but UMich is considered on of the best schools in the country, congratulations! I know you don’t believe this, but rejection can be a point of growth. Mourn and then move on – you have great things ahead of you!

10

@PurpleTitan & @SadStrong: PurpleTitan is absolutely correct, Northwestern University is an Ivy equivalent. Referring to NU as a “second tier school” indicates that you do not know this school well & that probably was reflected in your application essays.

Northwestern’s admission rate for this year is expected to be about 8%.

Regarding Northwestern University as one of two safeties shows that you do not understand much at all about NU.

11

Unless you are a Michigan resident, even that is not a safety. I know this process is hard, and made harder I’m sure by everyone telling you that you were sure to get in everywhere, but as we’ve seen on this board over and over, there are very few sure bets these days, and you are not alone. Michigan is a fantastic school. Congratulations!

12

On what planet is Northwestern a safety? U Michigan is a safety? No, never, for either one. NU has a 10% acceptance rate!

If it’s any consolation, there are a bunch of other posts just like yours right now. You applied to very selective schools. CWRU isn’t a safety for anyone if you don’t show interest and they think you wont attend. Your record of taking the most AP classes, sorry to say, will not likely be seen as a positive thing, because it may appear you are an academic grinder. Your recs and essays might not have been as great as you thought.

I’m glad you are into Michigan, which is a great school. You applied to one match school, maybe two if you are instate for Michigan. No safeties. Frankly, you are lucky you have Michigan. Top stats do not guarantee anything these days when you are applying to schools with minuscule acceptance rates, and which also practice holistic admissions.

Enjoy Michigan! I hope at least one person benefits from your post.

13

White male, non-first gen, is one of the very toughest demographics. Only Asian males have it tougher. Realize that this is not a merit competition, and move on. It all evens out in the end.

Keep in mind that admissions officers are relatively low-skilled, unimpressive people, often with poor education credentials and work experience themselves. I can’t remember where I read it, but some article or book pointed out that students need to be careful to not be “too clever” in their essays because they run the real risk of admissions officers’ “not getting it.” The author advised simple, straightforward prose and uncomplicated presentation of theme. That advice makes sense to me.

Edit: Perhaps it was Steinberg’s The Gatekeepers? Can anyone confirm?

14

Let it play out. Are you a ORM? Do you have hooks?

15

Demographics. (Read preferential admissions). Also, if your APs averaged 4, which is perfectly respectable, they may have thought the 4s should have been 5s. Particularly ironic, because they probably admitted people who took far fewer APs than you did.

Embrace Michigan and go on to great things. No one could say that U Michigan is a lesser school.

16

“Keep in mind that admissions officers are relatively low-skilled, unimpressive people, often with poor education credentials and work experience themselves. I can’t remember where I read it, but some article or book pointed out that students need to be careful to not be “too clever” in their essays because they run the real risk of admissions officers’ “not getting it.” The author advised simple, straightforward prose and uncomplicated presentation of theme.”

Wow. That is a horrific attitude. While I don’t know them personally, it’s hard for me to believe that the AOs at Northwestern, CWRU and WashU were just too stupid to understand the gifted genius at work here.

17

First of all, I am so jealous of the magic the gathering! My kids taught me to play and it is a great game.

I will throw something out though and I may be way off base. Magic is a very niche hobby. It has quite a “nerd” stigma attached to it. I am NOT trying to denigrate it or you. I started a thread looking for colleges for my nerdy, D&D playing daughter. Nerd culture has come a long way in recent years thanks to shows like Big Bang Theory, however, it is still not widely accepted. My husband used to say that it would be easier to come out to his office as gay then as a D&D player. Its possible that whoever read your applications at these schools was put off by it. Maybe they thought it was not the right “feel” for the school. I have no idea. My daughter is going to put “founder of the school’s D&D club” on her record. Its not because she thinks its the most prestigious achievement in the world, but because she is looking for a school that won’t be put off by it. The school that thiks, “Thats awesome!” is the school she wants to go to.

Again, I have no way of knowing if this is the reason or not. But I have seen that the anti-nerd stigma still prevails in many places. I have seen it among my peers and colleagues so its a possibility.

18

I completely agree that my mindset of evaluating these schools. My definition of “tier two schools” is horribly skewed. I’m sorry if I sounded like I was looking down on any of these schools. I reread all my essays for Case and Northwestern. @PurpleTitan @Publisher I don’t think any negative attitude came through in my essays. I spoke highly of the schools and I really do think they are great schools. Hence the title of my post. I may be wrong, because I always read it in my own voice and the admissions people cannot. but I don’t think so.

I have been mourning. People would say, “you still might get into stanford/yale/princeton,” and I would counter with, “if all of these tier two schools don’t want me, why would the top tier ones.” The point might be valid, but this was, of course, a gross grouping of schools that divides them not by academic prestige or acceptance rate but rather by who has accepted me personally or not. If anyone was offended by the comment, I’m sorry.

@Lindagaf I have always thought some top colleges would be pretty safe. This mindset is abnormal but it has been reinforced by how unusual I am, counselor views, and comments from my friends who go to Michigan right now. I am a Michigan resident. Michigan was the only one that I considered a true safety. Maybe I’m right or maybe I’m lucky. Either way, that one worked out. I always thought of my coursework as a small plus on the side of my app. It would be such a shame if I was marked as an academic grinder, but that would make sense :frowning:

@SatchelSF I never thought of admissions essays in that way. My essay was pretty short in prose but heavy in meaning. I studied Hemingway’s staccato writing. It was witty and had a lot of subtle humor. An admissions officer failure would be one of the saddest ways to be denied, and I hope it’s not the case.

Thanks for all the help. Even if you tell me something you think I don’t wanna hear, it helps me get more perspective and I appreciate it.

19

@milee - Here is an example of what I was thinking of:

(Discussing Steinberg’s book here: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-myth-of-american-meritocracy/.)

20

"White male, non-first gen, is one of the very toughest demographics. Only Asian males have it tougher. "

“Oh, but I am a middle/upper income white male, so that was a definite disadvantage.”

Oh, please. If it makes you all feel better, sure use that as an excuse. Females face tougher admission odds than males at most colleges anyway - they apply in greater numbers.

I agree with the post #16 that the Magic essay might have been a mistake. How would a school read it and relate to how you could add value to the school’s community from that essay?