<p>It sounds like a reasonable plan, but you might want to think about how Pepperdine fits in with your goals given that you found the St. Olaf’s students to be not all that engaged in the classes you sat in on. </p>
<p>Williams seems like a very high reach school, even for ED1, and especially if your counselor is not going to check the box indicating that you took the most challenging courses at your high school. (I’d ask the counselor if he/she would tell you this, since I think it ought to be an influence for your list.)</p>
<p>(Are you full-pay? If not, that might also be something you want to consider.)</p>
<p>SUNY SB’s Honors College is exceptional. You’re in a very small cohort, and have an enormous amount of opportunity to conduct research with professors across the country (they’ll work to place you with professors at other schools for summer research if you so desire). Also, you have the whole New York thing to do, which is awesome. Go banking! So yeah, Of the ones you were admitted to I would strongly encourage you to look into SUNY SB.</p>
<p>Might I suggest taking a “peek” also at Grinnell College and Oberlin College. May be “slightly reachy” – and of course you are going more for matches this time around – but excellent small colleges with diverse and interesting student bodies. They both have what you are seeking: highly motivated students and rigorous academics. Macalester in the Twin Cities is also really worth a look, as more of a match. And hey, if financial aid is a real consideration, though it is a reach, St. Olaf’s neighbor Carleton College might be less of a reach than Williams or Haverford. Carleton has very generous financial aid and, though a top-ten LAC, gets fewer applicants than W or H, and typically has a higher than 25% acceptance rate. Problem is those Minnesota winters, but it is a spectacularly good school and worth a look. As I say, easier to get into than W or H, but just as good!</p>
<p>While Carleton is less of a reach than Williams or Haverford it’s not by much. And it’s certainly more “reachy” than Oberlin and Grinnell. </p>
<p>OP, while I understand you may feel you missed out on some of your school acceptances I don’t know why you’re fretting. You have some very good choices on the table. If you were my child I would tell you to pick one.</p>
<p>OP, the key to a good gap year is the planning. Take a look at The Gap Year Advantage by Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson. Lots of great resources and ideas. </p>
<p>And I agree with Swingtime - check out Oberlin, Grinnell and Macalester as matches. Also Colby and Bates in Maine.</p>
<p>My D will be happily attending St. Olaf and had a different visit experience. She sat in on physics and a great conversation class and found the students very engaged in both. She and a friend who will also be attending (from the west coast) are both IB diploma students, AP scholars with distinction, etc. You may be underestimating the students at StO.</p>
<p>On the question of why not accepted at some of the others . . . if a school has a freshman class of around 400, the chances of any one strong student being chosen is not great. You appled to reach LACs on the coasts, but neglected the heartland where you would have provided some geographic diversity (assuming you are from NY area) and may have had an admissions boost. Agree that Grinnell could be an alternative as it is more diverse in terms of geographic origin of the students. However, their admissions have tightened up this year.</p>
<p>Your family is “very low income.” You have “some money” saved up from a summer job. How exactly is it going to make you a stronger person to blow your limited savings on a gap year???</p>
<p>You want to become a stronger individual? Attend one of the three excellent schools that admitted you . . . and use your summer savings to pay some of your expenses!</p>
<p>Taking a gap year is either a luxury (for students whose families can afford it) or a necessity (for students who have no other option). You don’t have unlimited resources and you DO have other options! </p>
<p>Applying to college is not the same as dining out at a fancy restaurant . . . you don’t get to pick and choose lobster over shrimp or sirloin over strip steak. College selection is NOT within your control . . . as much as you thought that you were making the choice when you put together your college list, in the end, it is the colleges that make the decision, and not the other way around. Yes, there are lots of other schools out there that are absolutely wonderful - but there’s absolutely no guarantee that you’d be admitted to any of them.</p>
<p>You want to be a stronger individual? Go to college and get started with your life!</p>
<p>Ah, yes, the obligatory disparaging comment about Minnesota winters. Look, the OP applied to St. Olaf, Middlebury, Dartmouth, and Bowdoin, as well as schools in Chicago and upstate NY. I would take that as pretty good evidence that the OP is not daunted by winter, which makes the swipe at Minnesota entirely pointless.</p>
<p>And isn’t it odd that we never see such gratuitous disparaging comments about winter in Middlebury, which is similar to winter in southern Minnesota except that Middlebury gets about twice as much snow and about half as many sunny days?</p>
<p>To bclintonk. Good grief, it was sarcasm, not a swipe. I live in Minnesota, and suggested other Minnesota LACs to the OP (Macalester and Carleton). You could have just PM’d me if you are THAT offended.</p>
<p>“Taking a gap year is either a luxury (for students whose families can afford it) or a necessity (for students who have no other option).”</p>
<p>I don’t agree with this – it can just be a choice, as opposed to a luxury or necessity. A lot of people take a gap year, work, and save up money. If you’re living at home, it’s not hard to do. If that’s really what the OP wants, I don’t think it is a bad call. It’s probably not too late to defer entrance to St. Olaf. Most kids are stunned by how much there is to learn in a year working in retail or food service.</p>
<p>ichabod- Your post was very thoughtful and in the end you should do what you and your family feels is best. My two comments are (1) be absolutely positive that you will retain your scholarship at StO if you defer for a year – get it in writing if at all possible and (2) unless you do something that drastically changes your application, I would personally not apply to Williams ED and in essence over-reach a second time – I’d use the ED to be sure you get into a school that is a strong match this time around. Just my two cents. Good luck whatever you decide.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone, for your responses. I am leaning towards taking a gap year. It was something that I was considering even before the college results came out, and I feel like if I am going to college I should be excited and ready for the experience. I think most people in the US have a slightly different perspective on gap years. In the UK, a lot of people take them and they are really quite common. In the US we seem to view them as something for over-privelaged kids or people who just loaf around at home. I do think I am “ready” for college however, the idea of traveling and experiencing new cultures just seems a bit more exciting than heading off to StO. I am really thankful for the great scholarship I have received, but according to StO that isn’t going anywhere. In my opinion, what is going somewhere is the opportunity to travel for a year while working in the EU, where I have citizenship. Of course, I will spend a lot of my savings on a gap year, but I also plan to work and hopefully make up some of my expenses. It seems like a lot of people think this is not a great idea, but I think I may go against the grain on this one. What do I have to lose? I know my gap year will not include unlimited resources, but I will be able to get out of the states and experience life for a year. I probably won’t end up taking the SAT’s over, just because I plan to be in Europe by then. I will however, re-write my essay and write about something that sets me apart this time.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate your help, and will keep you updated when I have decided.</p>
<p>Good luck and do keep us posted. Seems you have thought this out and are making a decision that works out for you. In the meantime, if you end up applying again, hope you look at some of the match schools I suggested for you, such as Oberlin, Grinnell, and Macalester.</p>
<p>I do think I am “ready” for college however, the idea of traveling and experiencing new cultures just seems a bit more exciting than heading off to StO</p>
<p>If you are very low income and you have limited savings, where are you going to find the money to travel and experience new cultures?</p>
<p>I think a gap year can be a fantastic idea, if a student has a clear plan, and Plan B in case Plan A doesn’t pan out, and the means to make it happen.</p>
<p>Thanks Swingtime, I appreciate your help and will definitely look into some of the match schools that you have mentioned. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in your responses. Thanks again!!</p>
<p>Given your results, I think there’s a possibility that some qualitative part of your application was not as strong as it could have been – essays, interviews, or recommendations. I would talk about those factors with a third party before you apply next time. You might consider choosing new recommenders – perhaps someone who taught you senior spring?</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice, Hanna. That makes sense to me. Most of the interviews I had were alumni, but I do very well expressing myself verbally, and felt that they would only strengthen my application. I do think my choice of essay topic could have been better, maybe something that will make me seem more unique to the admissions committee. I believe one of my recommendations was extremely strong, the other one was probably very good, but maybe not quite as stellar as the other one. I may try getting an additional recommendation from a college professor whose class I took. I ended up getting the second highest grade in the class among a class of college students at a private university. Perhaps that could help. Thanks for your input.</p>