<p>If you were not qualified, RPI would not be accepting you. You can still appeal UC.
Also if money is the issue, how were you going to pay for UCLA or Berkeley?
Maybe there is a UC requirement that was not met. Again your college list needed tweaking. You applied to colleges with <25% acceptance rate. You said you were waitlisted at UCD.
Do not give up. If you absolutely need to be in UC and California, sure you can go the community college route. I know many many people who have gotten xfers to the big UCs from community college.</p>
<p>The thing now is for you to plan out next steps. I do believe you are a very bright individual but just misguided on college apps.</p>
<p>In previous posts it was said that you did not take the required art class for admission to UC’s. Did you satisfy that some other way? If not, getting in via the CCC path could solve it like it does for so many others. Good luck!</p>
<p>(Deleted my other message because I realize you wrote you are a CA resident.) What we spend a lot of time discussing on CC is that it takes more than grades to get into selective private colleges. Frankly, the way you construct your application, the strength of your essays, how you answer any supplemental questions, your letters of recommendation, even your extracurriculars- all this matters. For strong science kids, the CR scores can sometimes be forgiven. But, the competition nowadays often “has it all.” </p>
<p>RPI is an excellent school. I think you are saying you got all but $14,000 in financial aid-? That would put you where many US families are- struggling to find a way to finance the education. Many don’t want to take loans to pay the gap. If your problem with the UCs is related to the art requirement, why not resolve that and then move forward?</p>
<p>i’m thinking here that you do have have permanent resident status? if so, you are considered an “international applicant”, the same as if you were applying directly from another country. </p>
<p>that raises two separate problems that would’ve killed your application. even though your math and science scores are high relative to native students, in comparison to the asian international pool they are merely average, nothing to make an admission officer choose you over another applicant. </p>
<p>more importantly, none of the schools on your list is need blind for internationals and you mentioned that your family is low income, which dramatically lowers your chance of admission. and you didn’t apply to anywhere rolling as a safety, which was highly dangerous- you could’ve easily had no acceptance, period.</p>
<p>And don’t forget the CSU’s. They may also have the arts requirement, but are way cheaper. That’s what a lot of Californians do; that is, those that get to go to college. Way more Californians at CSUs than are at UC’s! But they only count reading and math SATs, at least if you apply as a freshman</p>
<p>Your story is breaking my heart MYOMOO. You are obviously a hard working person with a stellar mind, but certain important things were stacked against you—your international applicant status, and the schools to which you chose to apply being first among them. I want to wish you the best of luck in whatever you end up doing. I hope you’ll stay in the U.S., and find a way to pursue your education here. People like you are an asset wherever you go. People like you do big things in this world. Please don’t give up. I know you’re extremely disappointed, and perhaps feel that things are hopeless. But, something tells me you have the strength and tenacity to find a way around any obstacle. You will find a way to fulfill your dream.</p>
<p>Many many successful people have started out at community colleges. If that is what your family can afford right now, then start there. The CCCs have good articulation agreements with the UC and CSU systems. Make an appointment with the counselors at the CCC that is easiest for you to commute to, and find out more about how the transfer process can work for you. While you are there, ask about English courses for people who are still mastering the language. A semester or two of English for Academic Purposes can really make a difference for you.</p>
<p>I think you are old enough to realize that we all have to live with the limitations our environment places upon us. We all work hard to overcome these limitations. There are plenty of chinese born kids in IVys and stanford. There was an article in the NYtimes (written by Nicholas Christof)yesterday about a kid from Central Africa who was admitted to Yale. You should read that. </p>
<p>Instead of trying to spin a guilt trip on others - you would be better served by listening to honest advice from others here - which can be summed up as 1) with your GPA and SAT scores - you should not have applied to Ivys, UCB and UCLA. If you had posted your stats on this forum before you applied - everybody would have told so 2) RPI is a great school. You can till pursue your dreams of being scientist at RPI.</p>
<p>You future success will NOT hinge on a dream college. It will depend on having a strong “can do” attitude. Let me put that another way: life will include many disappointments and tough challenges. You could go to the “best” college and still bring yourself to failure by seeing everything as negative. You need to convert your attitude.</p>
<p>Plenty of kids overcome disappointment because they refuse to be beaten down. They find solutions, not sit around and gripe.</p>