<p>I just got rejected by my safeties. Does it augur well for my Reaches then? It does put a pin in your neck upon chancing a rejection mail, doesn't it?</p>
<p>It depends on how biger the gap between your Safety and Reaches.</p>
<p>What schools are your safeties?</p>
<p>oberlin 10char</p>
<p>Oberlin's not a safety.</p>
<p>Heard Oberlin is as selective - if not more - as MIT and Caltech, because it covers your tuition. And MIT is as selective as any Ivy. So I would say you still have hope on your Reach.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Oberlin is not a safety for anyone. You made some bad decisions and might end up with no where to go to college that you really want to go.</p>
<p>anotherNJmom: I think you're thinking of Olin, not Oberlin. Oberlin, while not a safty for most, is certainly not as selective as MIT, and does not cover tuition. </p>
<p>cuRRent: It doesn't boad well, obviosuly, but it's not hopeless, either. Oberlin is not a true safty for people who don't have HPY stats, and it is the kind of school that really focuses on fit, so it's possible that they didn't think you were a good fit. Maybe some of your matches or reaches will.</p>
<p>Did you apply to any other safety schools, or match schools? If not, and if you're really worried, you might want to start thinking about applying to a safer school that's still accepting apps (they are out there), or about taking a year off. Figure out which of these you'd rather do: if you're ok with the year off, just sit tight and wait it out. You still have a good chance of getting in somewhere.</p>
<p>My bad, yeah it is Olin. :)</p>
<p>OP: I second the sentiment that Oberlin is not a safety. If I were you I would start looking at lists of schools still accepting admissions and get on the stick unless you are happy with the idea of a gap year.</p>
<p>You can ensure yourself a place for September. If not, start planning a gap year in case things don't work out or consider the community college.</p>
<p>I suppose I will take a gap if all comes down to nothing. Thanks for the advice! But in the meantime, it's not over until all the decisions (acceptances hopefully) come in!</p>
<p>Definition of safety school: </p>
<p>A safety college is one that </p>
<p>1) is pretty much certain to admit the applicant, based on its known behavior in acting on admission applications,</p>
<p>2) has a strong program in an area the applicant is interested in,</p>
<p>3) is affordable based on its known behavior in acting on financial aid applications,</p>
<p>and</p>
<p>4) is likeable to the applicant. </p>
<p>Usually colleges with a low base acceptance rate, even if you are well within the statistics of the admitted students, should not be considered to meet criterion 1.</p>
<p>what are your matches/reaches? Oberlin is quite selective; it's one of the top liberal arts colleges in the US.</p>
<p>He said that it was Olin, not Oberlin.</p>
<p>Since I know very little about either, I'll give a word of advice on what would be a good course of action.</p>
<p>Since it is possible to be rejected at your matches/reaches, it would be a good idea for you to apply to one of the schools still accepting applications and hopefully get an acceptance. There are a lot of decent schools that having rolling admissions and they'll save you a gap year. Remember, it's always possible to transfer after a year and a gap year is easy to avoid.</p>
<p>No, the OP applied to Oberlin. Another poster mistaked it for Olin.</p>
<p>It looks like OP lives in Singapore so it is probably extremely difficult for him to gauge likelihood of admission to selective colleges. </p>
<p>But lots of people get rejected by a "safety" and are accepted at other colleges; don't worry too much yet. If the worst case scenario happens, try to talk to a college counselor from the United States about your options.</p>