@sunnyschool: the major I listed on the apps varied, depending on what each college offered. But in general I chose environmental science, ecology, or earth sciences/conservation biology. No engineering or CS. I’d rather not say what school I go to. Its one of the higher ranked TSAO schools. Most of the students in my school already have heard rumors about what happened to me. So to preserve my privacy I’d rather not give out more details. But suffice it to say that most people here (and college admissions officers) would recognize the name of my BS.
Counselor also recommended against sounding too desperate to Columbia. He is going to push for my case later this week, but he advised me to get my letter of interest ready.
@vegas1: your son’s story sounds encouraging. I’m worried about applying to one of the rolling schools now and then dropping out, just like your son. Sounds like a gap year might be a good idea for me.
@h1313276 Totally understand about privacy! But that helps, I wondered if it were a “top tier” school or not. Seems like the Guidance Counselor would have more pull at those schools. But maybe not in this evolving era of Admissions (this was the worst year ever, I keep hearing!). Please know this is not your fault, but the system. (It sounds like you know that; and that’s good!).
I personally think sounding desperate could help you, but what do I know !?! But remember he cares more about the schools reputation wheras you NEED the admit. But then again, the gap year could give you fresh choices, and there are excellent gap year programs out there. There’s one at Woods Hole MA where they have HS and college-level courses (associated with UNH and Cornell and maybe addtl universities):
" But in general I chose environmental science, ecology, or earth sciences/conservation biology"
Sorry this happened to you but if those are your areas of interest, there are so many excellent schools you could have applied to which would have been better than many of the schools you listed for those areas of study.
www.nacacnet.org puts out a list around May 1st with colleges still accepting applications.
Be very careful about coursework if you decide to take a gap year. Don’t take anything that might compromise your freshman status.
@h1313276 feel free to PM me with any more questions you might have on the specifics around how we handled the gap year, reapplication process. In hindsight, we never would have let our son accept the spot at the rolling admission college. It was a touch road financially for us and emotionally for our son. It also left us with less time to put together a game plan to reapply to schools and how to spend his gap year.
There is something wrong with OP’s application. Most likely it has to do with teacher recs. Possibly an additional issue with essays.
OP: Consider a PG year in order to build a new & better reputation at a different school and, more importantly, get a new set of teacher recommendations.
With your scores & upward trend in GPA, it is difficult to believe that a top TSAO school wouldn’t pick up the phone for you. There is something not revealed here.
@Publisher: counselor parents and I had a deep dive into my application already. Apart from the grades no glaring weaknesses. This has already reached the headmaster and I sense a storm brewing.
No discipline problems. Recommendations were overall positive with no negatives. Essays were “pretty good” according to my counselor. Took a total of 10 college level/AP over the last 2 years. Cumulative GPA 3.45. Last 2 years GPA 3.68. Estimated rank bottom 3rd decile. ECs: did 2 summer internships in labs. 2 posters and one publication. Supplemental recc from science mentor.
Not hiding anything. If there something else i forgot i will be happy to divulge.
@Publisher “Cumulative GPA 3.45. Last 2 years GPA 3.68. Estimated rank bottom 3rd decile.”
The only thing wrong with the application was the overabundance of schools where the GPA above fell in the bottom 25%. Elon and Union should have been accepts - but Elon recommends a campus visit and Union recommends an interview. They both have Early Action programs. OP, did you get rejected EA? If so, that should have sparked more apps to safe schools.
This is the beauty in state university Honors College. Two levels of admission. The state university may be a safety while the honors college a reach.
The OP didn’t use rolling admissions or appropriate safety schools. But, most importantly, OP did not reveal his medical condition–which was just plain foolish.
Also, I have tried to help OP privately, and I understand why OP may not be getting the type of support that he should from his school.
There is more to the story.
Both you & I know that he could get admitted this week to some fine schools. But all one can do is offer to help.
@h1313276. Please let me know if I can be of any help.
My degree is in the Environmental Sciences. I concur with @doschicos that there are many more colleges with strong programs in that area.
But, you want to work on on Wall Street? How do you reconcile the course of study versus your career objective? I am not trying to give you a harder time than you have already had, just the inner mom in me wants to ensure that what you are studying is in alignment with your life and career objectives. Wall Street and environmental sector jobs intersect at close to the null set.
Related to that, I presume that admissions readers can sense from an application when someone is really “real”. Even if an applicant’s stats are not steller, if there is some proverbial sparkle in the application, they notice. So, if you are taking a GAP year, which not only sounds like a great idea, but a blessing, maybe you can do the “inner work” to reconcile what you are looking for in an education. Having that clarity will make negotiating the college application process easier this coming Fall. Maybe your parents can help. Once Senior Spring is over and the dust has settled, can you enlist your parents to help you get in deeper touch with the inner @h1313276 ? For instance, have you read Wishcraft, or What Color is Your Parachute? There are probably newer books in the marketplace that help guide you towards aligning who you are with what you want to do. Have you tried Yoga? Just for the sake of quieting the mind and getting the voice from your inner self to percolate up–not just the constant nagging and whining of your “monkey mind”.
As a parent, I would remind you that your parents most likely don’t resent or regret the money they spent on your BS education. I live in a nice suburb that is known for its good school system. Most of my neighbors do probably think I am little bit crazy to have sent my child to BS when the public schools are exceptional. But, I do not regret all the sacrifices. Knowing my child got to learn English around a Harkness table brings great satisfaction. She got to delve into subjects not possible in the public schools. And, she has bonds with her teachers that are deep and meaningful. (BTW, I went to a TSAO school, as did my daughter. I totally get how you can be in the lower decile of your class with decent grades and awesome test scores.)
So, figure out what YOU really want. Based on your original list of schools, do you live in California? If so, then worst case, you could go to a state school and then transfer to UC Davis or Cal Poly or UCLA, or CAL. But, again, my advice is to listen to the inner voice, first, of what you want and then follow a path to honor that. It is hard work, especially with ADHD or ADD, but worth it. You have so much going for you. I honor your intellect, courage, and willingness to seek advice. Please let me know if I can be of any help.
P.S. @h1313276 , please talk to your College Counselor and parents about applying ED1 and/or ED2 next year. Since your family can afford to pay full tuition, the odds for getting in early in the ED1 or ED2 rounds are substantially higher than RD. Almost staggeringly higher. At my daughter’s BS, if a student was able to commit to a single school in the ED1 round, and their changes were not just high reach, they were encouraged to do so. (You probably saw this at your school, too.) The inner Wall Streeter in you should gravitate towards this strategy. If your odds are like three times better, why would you NOT apply ED1? Also, along those lines, we learned from a coach she met, that it really helped to let the school know you really, really want to go there. That is, assuming your scores and grades are in the Navient range of probability. This won’t work at Stanford, for instance.
But, if you can willingly choose a school with both your heart and your head, and your stats are decent, please consider an ED1 application. Also, LET THEM KNOW in no uncertain terms, that you are interested. Which is to say, visit the school, reach out to the Admissions counselor, have an interview, write your interviewer a thank you note, etc.
If a school has limited openings, all things considered, they most likely would prefer to fill them with candidates that really, really want to attend. My two cents. Totally rooting for you!!!
Hello all: a few updates and answers to questions:
Rationale for major: I spoke to several IB/WallStreeters and they all told me that the major that I study is completely irrelevant. The firms that I’m looking at all pay a lot of attention to “target” or “semi-target” schools. So I decided to apply and list a major that I have interest in: environmental studies. This also might help in the long run because I eventually hope to cover the financials of the emerging green energy/environmental industries. So having a background related to this might be helpful. Most of the schools that I applied to didn’t have finance as a major anyway so I couldn’t choose it anyway.
Columbia wait list: this past week my counselor had a phone call with the Columbia regional officer. Apparently this year Columbia has over 1000 students on the waitlist. Their waitlist is unranked, and they take between 40-50 students off the wait list each year, depending on yield. Some years they take none. So he said that it depends on how well Columbia estimated their yield this year, which won’t really be known until May 1. So based on this it looks like a long-shot. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed.
In terms of other schools that are still accepting applications: my counselor pointed me to several notable UK schools that are still open for applications: University of St Andrews and Edinburgh. He said that by May 1, a list of schools with openings in the US will be released. I have a meeting with a former alum of my BS who now is an I-banker, and want to ask him how the UK schools would be viewed by US banks. Counselor made a call to both of the schools who are interested in my application. He said that the chances of me getting accepted is close to 50% at both schools because I don’t need financial aid. He said that I should hurry though if I want to take this route.
Other options: counselor pointed out the Penn LPS program and Harvard Extension School. These programs are designed for students who are going back to school after being in the workforce. He said that I could take some part-time classes at these programs and then apply again as a freshman. Being in either of these programs won’t make it easier for me to get into the corresponding undergraduate college (Penn Arts & Science or Harvard college). But he said that the course rigor would be better than simply taking classes at Community College. I’d have to secure my own housing, and come up with a plan to fill in the rest of the time to make a compelling gap-year. Perhaps working in a lab? volunteering? Would love some advice from others.
The headmaster at my school made a few phone calls. There were a couple of schools that were interested (Davidson and F&M) but since I didn’t make an application to either they suggested that I apply ED in the fall. Everyone in my school whispers behind my back, and almost everyone knows what happened to me. A lot of people, including teachers, come up to me and tell me how bad they feel. In a perverse sense, I’ve almost become a pariah.
Many thanks to all of the parents who sent me PMs with useful advice: THANK YOU. There has also been one parent who pushed me to reveal private info via PM, and then sent me a nasty note when I didn’t. You know who you are. If you don’t have any useful advice, please stay off of this thread. I have enough stress at this moment, and dealing with pushy parents is not at the top of my priority list.
@vegas1: I tried to send you a private message. But apparently since I am so new, this feature is not available to me. Would you mind sending me a PM?? I had a few questions for your regarding your son’s gap year.
" I spoke to several IB/WallStreeters and they all told me that the major that I study is completely irrelevant." “Most of the schools that I applied to didn’t have finance as a major anyway so I couldn’t choose it anyway.”
I disagree. Look at resumes/linkedin profiles of individuals going that route. You’ll probably see a lot of economics majors from schools that don’t have finance/business majors.
I like the idea of St. Andrews and Edinburgh. I know students at both, especially St. Andrews, and they are all very happy there. Lovely schools to boot. I’d get in applications ASAP.
If you do take a gap year, I’d recommend skipping the extension schools and just do a meaningful gap year. You need to be very careful about what classes you take during a gap year to retain your first year status if you are going to be applying again. Make sure any courses you take don’t put that at risk because otherwise you’ll be considered a transfer student and face even tougher odds.
Sorry you are facing discomfort both at school - and here on CC. Please report the offensive poster to the moderators. You shouldn’t have to put up with obnoxious busybodies on this forum.
Sending you good vibes and well wishes.
You can send private messages now that you’ve reached 15 posts.