I was recently rejected from the University of Pennsylvania, I took it on the chin, I know that admissions to these institutes are a crapshoot. I was also not particularly hacked off when I received a grand total of 5 waitlists from institutes with varied selectivity from 5% to 30% CMU SCS, Berk EECS, UCLA, Gtech, UIUC. I am just starting to get excited about attending my safety, believe me the last month has been just a bit gory on me, but I kept it in and did not break down once.
Yesterday, I checked the mail because it was about time I should be receiving my admissions packet from my safety, I saw a huge packet and got all excited only to break down when I opened it, it was from Penn, a packet for prospective students labelled “At Penn you can” it went on to say how I was a great fit for Penn and that I would be able to get the best education at Penn. Why would you send this to someone who you have already deemed not good enough?
I had fallen for crap like this, I know that these schools were not completely out of reach for me but, it made me realize all the mistakes I had made like applying to Columbia and Penn instead of UMich and UT Austin. Applying to all these Ivies because of this “we want you” crap.
It is okay that you rejected me, honestly I know they cannot accept everybody but this, this is beyond what I am capable of withstanding I hate you forever Penn.
By prospective do you mean geared towards trying to get you to apply? I think I can top you. I was wait listed by Penn (this is back in the pre internet notification days of 2005 when big packet vs. little envelope was the key to acceptance vs. waitlist/rejection) and received a big packet that contained all of the material sent to accepted students except that the acceptance letter had been switched out for a wait list letter. Was later able to find out I was an 11th hour switch from the acceptance list to the wait list and in the rush to get everything out on time, they didn’t fully switch out my mailing.
EDIT: didn’t even fully process that you were also talking about Penn. Too funny that 10 years later they’re still screwing this stuff up.
Wow @iwannabe_Brown, that’s a pretty shocking level of incompetence. They would have gotten an angry phone call from me and my parents lol. How did you find out you were switched from accepted to waitlisted at the last minute?
Okay, I appreciate your frustration, but it’s MARKETING JUNK-MAIL, nothing more or less than an advertisement from the local pizza joint (at least they usually include coupons) or a flyer for a lawn service. Throw it in the trash, forget about it, and look forward to four great years at college.
My older son graduated from high school three years ago. He just began receiving a bunch of e-mails inviting him to DePaul. He auditioned for their Theatre School in 2012, but did not get in. Did they presume that he sat at home sulking since then?
Yeah, it is just a booklet, no need to act like it is the Magna Carta. Sorry you had a rough admission cycle. Many times students think that applying to more of the higher selectives mean you will get one but it doesn’t work that way. Some range in the applications helps. I know you are in at UW seattle and have a couple of waitlists. Just kick butt at Seattle. If you are accepted to transfer into CSE you are golden, really, you will be in a very exciting area for internships. If not and your record is good you can look to transfer (assuming you are a full payer international.) I believe you have two or three chances to transfer. They seem like they want to see very high grades in your CS and math but also they value well roundedness in CS applicants, CS skills and interests in something greater than just yourself.
There’s a quote I like to read in situations like this: “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
So many people will say no to you in your life. What will make you successful in life is NOT how many people say no to you - it’s how you persevere when they do.
Saw you’re in at UW. I’m from Washington had a lot of friends there. It’s a great school with a great CS program. Go kick butt at UW and I guarantee you will be just as well off as if you’d gone somewhere else within a year of graduating. You got this!
I would have no problem with the booklet if it would have been a marketing thing, but, this was different, this was sent AFTER I had already been rejected. To me it is just plain stupid and a bit disrespectful to send a rejected candidate mailing that says I am a great fit.
Thanks for all the support guys as I said earlier I am just starting to get excited about UW, I also have 5 waitlists, kinda a lot and with priority at CMU could be good, but for now just focused on UW and doing the best I can there. Plus this college list was mostly courtesy of GC, and she even predicted the flood of waitlists when I got a 33 on the ACT instead of a 34.
I asked some schools why I was rejected and the most resounding answer I got was that the schools were unable to understand my schools way of awarding academic credentials and they turned to ACT to evaluate my academics which they said was a bit low for a competitive pool like my country (India). @julyinoh@toptier@brownparent
I suspect Admissions’ data base and Penn’s undergraduate advertising firm’s are not integrated. Yes, they probably should be (assuming that does not add any significant cost) and yes it’s an error, but – among life many challenges and real problems – you may eventually find this to be quite minor.
A similar story is that a good friend of mine who is a double legacy at Penn (undergrad & law school) got hit up for donations two days after his son was rejected by Penn ED. The caller soliciting the money said “oh, he must not have had the grades for Penn”. BTW, that son ended up at Princeton.
Anyway OP, schools make mistakes and schools don’t coordinate as well as they should. That’s life. You burned the brochure so at least you had fun with it. Don’t waste your energy “hating”. Move on with life and enjoy UW.
@happy1: Good story. FYI, what you’ve described is a real concern at Duke; we worry about it and we try hard to avoid it (not with universal success). The root cause is that many of the most-selective institutions manage in a highly decentralized manner. Therefore, development does its thing, pursuant to its schedule, and often provides calling assignments to alumni and/or current students months before there’s contact. Simultaneously, admissions is diligently assessing applications and making its decisions to its criteria. Unfortunately – but understandably – not too many alumni parents recognize the implications of this managerial approach, especially when their alma mater has just denied their “darling child.”
@Bored1997 I have a similar story with Colby. They rejected me, no problem. I was fine with that. A week later, I get a little flyer in the mail: “Experience life at Colby! Discover why the students are so ____!” It featured fun, smiling faces of past ACCEPTED applicants. I agree that it’s a little inconsiderate but then again, it’s marketing just like the thousands of letters were before you received the decision.
This is even worse. After my kid was incredulously deferred and then denied from Ohio State, we received a phone call yesterday to see if he had any questions that might assist him in deciding whether or not to enroll! The kid on the other end was apologetic when informed of my son’s denial, but it really was the icing on an already disappointing situation with OSU admissions this year.
@sltxdad, THAT is definitely the worst. At least in the other stories, one can see the disconnect among all the offices - marketing versus development versus admissions. The Ohio State’s mistake was an awful one. It really looks like your kid dodged a bullet there by not getting in.
While getting marketing stuff from a denied school can be upsetting, we never took the shiny marketing stuff seriously and 99% were tossed immediately.
@SlackerMomMD My older child went to OSU and she had a great experience. I don’t know what’s going on in that admissions office right now, but I recommend other aspects of the school highly to those with the stomach for navigating their currently incomprehensible and frustrating admissions processes.
University of Washington waitlisted my younger son last year, but we continued to get emergency alerts about campus situations for months after he had turned down a place on the waiting list, and notifications designated for UW students.