<p>I agree that there are many extra-curriculars available that are entirely free. But it seems like colleges really need a hook like doing humanitarian work overseas and other big extracurricular projects. In fact, my freshman high school had aid missions overseas as part of a trip that all of the juniors went on. I never got to experience that, though I would’ve loved to.</p>
<p>What I’m saying is that those big opportunities are tougher to get into when you’re not part of an environment like my freshman high school’s environment, where taking part in big, important community service projects is ingrained into the culture of that school.</p>
<p>About the counseling comment: I appreciate your sentiment, but I don’t think it’s necessary to speculate on whether or not someone should continue therapy (I know you meant well, but this is a personal thing for me). I went through over a year of consultation with a psychiatrist who has become a lifelong friend, but the weekly therapy sessions with psychologists were horrendous. The office I went to for therapy literally changed staff every month and there was no way for the therapists to become involved in such a short time. The psychiatrist was much more helpful. And besides, I don’t even think that I’m eligible for Medicaid at my age now, so it would be an extra expense. I’m confident that I’ve genuinely moved on from my depression, but I will be keep myself aware about continuing therapy if it appears to resurface.</p>
<p>Thank you. I absolutely agree that every applicant should follow their instincts. It would be much more fulfilling to have written about my depression in a way that I felt was meaningful and see how colleges would’ve reacted.</p>
<p>It’s good to hear that you were able to transfer and transition into an environment that complemented you better. I will go into ND with an open mind and a desire to open myself up and see where that takes me.</p>
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<p>I’m sorry to hear about your depression and it’s unbelievable that there are people who would belittle you for your family’s economic status. It sounds like you are an incredibly mature person and I’m sure you will be a great applicant. I think the gap year was a really good decision for me and colleges are definitely coming around to it. They can understand that there are some students who just feel like jumping from high school to college for four more years is like being on a conveyor belt. I think that the people who realize that gap year’s are a fulfilling experience are the majority and there’s very few people who would look down on it as a sign of a lack of commitment.</p>
<p>I came into this thread under the impression that you were not accepted in any school you applied to, but from what I understand, you got a full ride to Notre Dame – the school that seems to be a close fit considering your political views and belief system.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why you’re upset that you didn’t get into your safety schools – would you have rather gone to a “safety” over going to Notre Dame full ride?</p>
<p>I understand where you are coming from, because I, too, had a horrible experience for 6 years due to crippling depression, and I was only able to rise above it my junior year. There were many opportunities lost and sometimes I wish I could repeat those 6 years. But one thing I’ve learned from my experience is that happiness is completely subjective, and I’d be jumping for joy if I came out of high school attending a school as wonderful as Notre Dame. The world is tough on people with depression, so be grateful when one school is able to see you for who you truly are. Would you have rather attended a university that rejected you previously because they could not understand your situation?</p>
<p>** Definitely not. ** In fact, many admissions officers have stated the exact opposite. It’s not what you have, but what you do with what you are given. The sort of hooks they look for are national awards (free), leading a large project (free), passion developed and exhibited in a certain area (can be done free), athletic recruitment (not free…), URM, legacy, developmental admit, etc. Others are simply well rounded leaders. still others worked full time to support their family and had no time for ECs. But the reality is that all stand out in some way - no one is just an above average student at the top 15 schools. </p>
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<p>The reason that I suggested further counseling is that it seems that the therapists you were matched with were abysmal. Of course, if you are happy with your life, I am in no position to judge you. I just wanted to convey that therapy isn’t always horrible, that the office you went to was an outlier, and that therapy is usually helpful and nothing to be ashamed of. I have been in therapy multiple times throughout my life, and sometimes it took 2-3 therapists to find one that worked for me. I just wanted to point out that you should try not to think of all therapy as of poor quality. With regards to affordability, most colleges have mental health services free of charge/included in tuition. Congrats on moving away from depression, and I hope your happiness continues.</p>
<p>OP, i dont really have anything more to contribute to the discussion but I just felt like I should respond and say that I understand. My initial feeling after reading your first post was that you really were a very thoughtful and mature person, like you said. So I was a little surprised at some of the hostility you were met with. I think its perfectly acceptable and only human nature for someone to not be entirely happy with what they’ve got when they miss out on something that they believe may have been better. And lots of very nice, considerate people in real life end up being unnecessarily harsh to nameless, faceless strangers on the internet, so dont take it to heart. I get that you’re just a confused kid that wants to talk about things, and thats fine.<br>
I too am sometimes upset or disappointed with the way things turn out or feel that things are unfair, but even then, when I really think about it, I would never trade my life for someone else’s. Its just too beautiful the way it is. Im confident that you would feel that way too if you thought about it.
Anyway, Im sorry to have gone off on such a tangent. Congratulations again on notre dame. Im sure you will do very very well there and in the rest of your life.</p>
<p>I was put off by the original post’s sense of entitlement. The OP implied that he received fee waivers for all the applications he submitted. That represents roughly $1,500 worth of services. He then complains that the adcoms did not work hard enough for him, after he applied for their waivers.</p>
<p>Please do not misunderstand me. I do not believe ANY institution should treat applications differently based on whether or not the applicant can afford the fee. If that institution claims to be needs-blind then it would be even more wrong to do so. However, I also believe that applicants who use waivers should recognize that they are receiving a gift and have a sense of gratitude.</p>
<p>As a middle-income parent, I will be paying over $5,000 in application fees and test fees for my twins to apply to schools next year. I will then be forced to reveal every detail of my financial life so that colleges can determine how much of my income they will allow me to keep.</p>
<p>“Stellar” ECs are not things like overseas humanitarian work–in fact, a lot of people will say that those trips are just expensive vacations. “Stellar” ECs are those in which the student shows deep interest and personal achievement in some area–it really doesn’t matter that much what it is.</p>
<p>Your GPA is pretty good but unless you had an amazing hook, you’d have to have gotten pretty lucky to get into any of your reaches. People with higher GPAs than yours with perfect SATs and impressive ECs have gotten rejected by them. Your “safeties” were also kind of iffy for your stats. You didn’t have enough actual safeties. You set your sights very high and had unreasonably high expectations. </p>
<p>But yet you got a full ride at a more than decent 4 year college and that’s nothing to kick about. I’m sure that the people who were rejected or wait-listed for Notre Dame would view your griping over your “settling” for ND as ungrateful, bordering on arrogant. So stop with that attitude right now. By ruminating over what’s past and second guessing your strategies you are preventing yourself from moving on and starting off college on the right foot. </p>
<p>I’m sorry that your life has had its troubles and you certainly didn’t deserve it, but you now have to start looking to the future instead of dwelling on the past. The game is over. You actually won, but you just haven’t realized it yet.</p>
As an aside, statements like this always rather irritate me. The implication is that every student accepted to those schools not only has a perfect SAT, but a perfect GPA, and EC’s to knock your socks off. Were that the case, their “middle 50%” SAT/ACT scores would be very thin lines at 800, and there would be no admittances in any lower ranges.</p>
<p>I completely agree with this. Stellar ECs are the ones where students take initiative. They usually don’t cost any money. I would not call a parent funding a two week “volunteer” trip to Costa Rica a stellar EC in the least. </p>
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<p>No, the statement says that 1) Not all perfect SAT/GPA combos get in (50% of 2400s are rejected by Harvard. and 2) Impressive ECs, a high GPA, and a high SAT alone are not always enough to get in, so why would lower stats be good enough? Generally you have to have at least 2 of the 3 and some luck. The OP had subpar qualifications in all three categories. </p>
<p>You missed the part that said “without a hook.” Half of ivy admits have a hook (and many of these hooked candidates account for the wider score ranges). But for the unhooked students, most do have 2300+ SAT scores, 3.95-4.0 GPAs, and stellar ECs.</p>
<p>^^ That’s completely true. People should learn how to read statistics properly. If the 50 percentile of SAT in a school is 2200, that basically means for EVERY 2400 SAT students accepted (assuming there are some) there are that many people with 2000 score or even lower, since the population in the 2200-2400 would be higher than the one below.</p>
<p>I’m one of the people who think if you’re well-above the academic quota of a selective school, you have basically the same chance as the other ones in the “qualified” group. Meaning if the quota is around 2100 + 3.5 gpa, then the difference between 2150 + 3.6 and 2300 + 3.9 wouldn’t be a critical one. That’s where the fit, interest, diversity, essays, and recs kick in.</p>
<p>I see what you mean. I suppose it was an exaggeration to characterize my therapy as horrendous (most of the therapists were understanding and supportive), but the sessions just didn’t result in any meaningful progression out of my depression (though the sessions with my psychiatrist were very helpful). Ultimately it was just returning to a normal life and finding a school that I enjoyed that did the most for me. I keep that in mind with regards to college’s therapy. Thank you.</p>
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<p>I will gladly post the essay I submitted. It really did talk about mythology (I even quoted the Rig-Veda, haha) as way of analyzing the Plato/Play-Doh question, though I was just being creative.</p>
<p>If you really want me to post this to prove I’m not a ■■■■■, then I will.</p>
<p>Thank you for this compassionate post. I think what people were reacting to was that when I wrote most of my post (back in May) I was very distressed and shocked and it came across as insensitive.</p>
<p>It’s definitely true that posters on the internet can be quite harsh especially when they’re dealing with a stranger. And this forum is full of many competitive, confident people who wouldn’t naturally be inclined to be sympathetic towards someone that comes off as immature to them. But misunderstandings happen; I’ve kept that in mind and I’m not hurt by these posts because most people here are being realistic and honest.</p>
<p>I am genuinely looking forward to Notre Dame and all great opportunities that will come with it.</p>
Like I said before, the essay was not meant to test your knowledge of mythology and philosophy. In fact, if you cited mythology and philosophy, that was probably what the adcoms WERE NOT looking for, since what they are looking for are insights into your inner, personal character.</p>
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“Demanding accountability” is just a label. You realize that the same thing could be said about the OP’s allegedly elitist/entitled post - that he was demanding accountability. The arrogance in the post I cited came from the fact that the person was basically putting down the OP and telling the OP how it was all his fault, all in a tone of condescending authority.</p>
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This does not necessarily apply to the OP, but:
Not everyone is wealthy enough that they can be shuttled around by car to whatever activities they need to do on a moment’s notice, or maybe even to have their own computer to look for internships and do homework on. Some people might have to hand write all their homework , which takes longer. Some people might have to spend 30 minutes biking to and back from the library in order to access a computer. Some people have to help out at home with chores and helping their siblings because their parent(s) have to work long hours. The fact remains that having money makes it much, much, much, easier to participate in tons of activities and do all sorts of things with them.</p>
I’m sorry but if you’re looking forward to ND then what was the purpose of the thread? Especially with a title of “Qualified Applicant Rejected from All Schools?”</p>
<p>You had a tough life, yet it seems that you’ve taken on a 99.9% woe-is-me-I-can-do-no-wrong mentality, People, especially adcoms, hate that. It comes across as arrogant, like you demand a handout/acceptance simply because you had difficulties.</p>
<p>I said all that before I read a little further into the thread. You seem to have calmed down since then, and you sound like thoughtful young man. However, it looks like you let your emotions slip into important matters quite easily, causing you to look at things form the extreme. “I was rejected from ALL my schools,” “I have to settle for ND,” “this can be traced back to a single factor that was not my fault,” etc. Take a step back, breathe, get pumped for ND, and try to be the same, calm, sensible kid you seem like in later posts.</p>
<p>Everything in my original post was stuff that I had written specifically to post on this forum. It bears little to no resemblance to what I sent in to colleges in my personal essay (even parts of my personal story were changed around to present here).</p>
<p>Obviously, I would’ve had no reason to write in such a manner (ie venting) when I was making my personal essays for college anyways, so I think people still don’t quite realize that what I wrote here is not a very clear reflection of what kind of person I am (it’s a reflection of my frustration).</p>
<p>I just ended up writing so much on here because I needed to explore what went wrong with my applications and that took the form of venting. I think some people blew it out of proportion and failed to realize that they were reading something that was half distress (college rejections) and half serious personal story — it’s probably my fault for entwining the two stories because they are so disparate. Or at least it’s my fault for expecting people to contextualize my original post without me giving a further explanation of what has been going through my mind recently — ie the posts that I made after the original one.</p>
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<p>Don’t worry, I’m relieved to be moving on.</p>
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<p>Sorry, I didn’t explain it properly. What I meant to say was that I didn’t take the Chicago supplement as a chance to spout off about mythological stories and facts. Instead, I weaved them into a personal essay that gave Chicago an insight into my creativity and passion for storytelling.</p>