<p>Would it be a terrible idea to answer the Common app “failure” prompt by writing about not getting into college last year?</p>
<p>Maybe it seems like a bad idea at first, but that’s the most real failure I’ve ever experienced. I was forced to re-evaluate what I’m doing. Should I just hang my head and go on to a state school or double down and really put ALL of my effort into getting into a top tier institution, something I regret to say I didn’t do the first time around.</p>
<p>It’s not necessary that I write about that experience obviously, but I feel like it could make a potentially great essay. What are your thoughts?</p>
<p>^^ Yes, you should go to your state school, as most state colleges are fabulous institutions if you give them a chance. Warren Buffet was famously rejected from Harvard and instead attended the University of Nebraska. It worked out for him and thousands of other students across the country . . . and it could work out for you!</p>
<p>I think you misunderstood my question. I may very well go to a state school, but not this year. I’m taking a gap year and this is a question about essay topics. Thank you for the advice though!</p>
<p>No, I didn’t misunderstand the question. Aside from bragging rights, the biggest difference between a state school and an elite institution are the people you meet. The classes at Harvard, for example, are not any better than the classes you will find at William & Mary or The University of Virginia (both state schools). Depending upon the state school, you can get just as good an education * if not better * than at an elite institution. Truthfully! My niece is attending William & Mary. She’s a geology major and has traveled the world through W&M, including two tours at Palmer Station in Antarctica. My daughter is at Harvard and she’s been in the classroom the entire time (and she hates it . . . but that’s a story for another time.)</p>
<p>If you decide to take a gap year, spend a considerable amount of time reflecting on what went wrong. Not everyone gets into an elite college – there just isn’t room for everyone. So, what went wrong? Did you not have the tippy-top ACT/SAT scores needed for certain schools? Was your ranking at your high school too low? Did you write lackluster essays? Did your teachers write tepid recommendations? Did you not apply to enough target schools – schools where your test scores were in the college’s mid-range? So many things can go wrong in the college applications process that you’ll never know exactly why you were rejected. So, if you do re-apply, know this: Most colleges keep an electronic file of rejected applicants for 3 years in case one of them does re-apply. If you re-apply next year to the same schools you applied to last year, you must check the “previously applied to this college” box on the Common Application, so colleges will know you are re-applying and will consult your old application to see how it compares to your new one.</p>
<p>If you do some soul-searching and can come up with mature reasons why you think you were rejected, and can write an essay about your biggest failure and how you turned things around with a gap year, well then I think Admissions Directors might admire the sentiment. They still might not accept you though because your GPA or test scores were too low to begin with or they just didn’t get all “gushy” when they read your file. Bottom line: you could write a killer essay about your biggest failure, apply to the same schools, maybe even some lower-tier ones, as well – and still be rejected (again). Or, you could be accepted, attend that school and have a miserable time. </p>
<p>My advice is still the same: Go to your state school . . . and if you really hate it, apply someplace as a transfer student.</p>
<p>^i think u completely, i mean COMEPLETELY misunderstood his question. Hes not asking if he should go to a state school or not. He is.asking whether he should write about college rejection for his essay.</p>
<p>Now, to answer ur question
It could be looked down upon u for taking a gap year cuz u got rejected everywhere. Could make u look like a kid obsessed with getting into a private uni. </p>
<p>The only plus i see is that not alot.of.people can write about it.
Thats cuz they didnt take a gap year after being rejected. </p>
<p>My advice: write a first draft, just sit down and let ur juices flow. If it seems to have potential, then go for it. Otherwise, change ur topic</p>
<p>I don’t want you to think I am putting off your advice, it is obviously good advice. </p>
<p>My original plan was to defer admission after getting accepted to college. That didn’t happen. Since I wanted to take a gap year anyway, I didn’t see why I couldn’t try again and treat college applications with the seriousness they deserved. </p>
<p>It wasn’t my scores that kept me out of school. If anything it was my procrastinator’s approach to the apps. Instead of working on essays, I played video games and generally squandered my time. </p>
<p>And because you mentioned re-applying to schools that rejected me, I’m not. I will reapply to the schools that waitlisted me, otherwise I am applying to different schools.</p>
<p>muhammad thank you! That’s the problem though, I’m NOT taking a gap year because I got rejected. I’m taking a gap year because I want to “vagabond” before life gets in the way and I’m not able. I know that will be hard to prove in light of the situation though :P</p>
<p>I will sit down and see where it takes me, though. Thanks.</p>
<p>Honestly, that was my first thought. I wrote a rough draft and a friend of mine (who is just completing her masters in english) said that she didn’t think colleges would like me putting something else before my education.</p>
<p>lol. Far from it I’d bet. It’s wanky. Schools that are universally accepted as “elite” or “top tier” know darn well how they are perceived…but they don’t want you to tell them that you know that they know how they are perceived. ;)</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, were you rejected from all schools you applied to? Did you not have a safety school? What happened exactly? This is a bit off topic and feel free to ignore it if it isn’t something you want to post about. </p>
<p>And to respond to your question, I do believe that could make a good essay. Of course, it would need to be written right and have a good focus.</p>
<p>Actually I got into my safety and I was waitlisted from 3 of the 7 other schools I applied to. I didn’t see any point in deferring admission at my safety though so I will reapply there.</p>
<p>Basically what HAPPENED was that I kept putting off and putting off doing my essays until I only had like a week to do them and I barely got them done even then. Obviously they weren’t very good.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d write about your travels. I know a kid who took a gap year to hang out in Greece (he worked while he was there though) and he wrote about his experiences (including falling in love and all the crazy things that happened to him) and he got into Princeton. Then again, he was a legacy student, so you might want to take that with a grain of salt. But ultimately I think an essay about your gap year (maybe a time you failed during your gap year?) would be a much more interesting and unique topic. :)</p>
<p>I do not like the topic. It is too meta. It doesn’t have potential. There are minefields.</p>
<p>Your first though to talk about what you are doing with your gap year is gold. I think your friend is completely off base. Colleges are pretty supportive of gap years. As long as you are doing something meaningful to you. Many students are more mature and ready after taking one. But some, like you, just are seizing an opportunity that you won’t have for quite some time. Go for it.</p>
<p>Also, #2 makes you sound like a much more interesting person than #1.</p>
<p>Go for it. This is an easily relatable topic, and it doesn’t get more obvious the weight of your disappointment than to skip a full year. </p>
<p>However, the effectiveness of your argument will be contingent on what you do in your gap year. Were you taking classes, working - demonstrating some sort of progress over your high school years? I can guarantee you that while traveling may be enlightening, talking about it too much is akin to academic suicide.</p>
<p>It can</p>
<p>1) Give a bad impression on your reader. ‘The kid is running away from his responsibilities’ sort of line will pop up in everyone’s mind.
2) Your travel experiences can throw you off. It’s a big world out there. A lot of what you see will change you. Sometimes, it’s better going into school a little naive and just grind through the requirements. You can do your traveling once you’re in school, working part-time, and have the right kind of time to set aside for it.
3) Extensive travel prior to getting a real job is seen as a rich-kid luxury in the admissions scene. The same can be said of summer abroad experiences. It feels trite, sometimes turns people off.</p>
<p>By the way, you don’t have to justify applying to ‘elite private schools’. They don’t know your dream college list, and frankly, it’s none of their business to judge you on it. </p>
<p>Your topic is fine as long as you can back it up with some hard evidence that not only did you feel the weight of the failure, but you’re also committed to excellence this time around. </p>