I don’t understand why I was rejected by so many of them. I applied to sixteen of them and have so far been rejected by ten. I didn’t apply to any ivy leagues, and the majoirty of them were well within my reach. I consider myself to be a diverse student:
minority,
low income (well below the poverty line),
first generation,
oldest sister
participated in many extracurricular activities such as music for about 15 hours a week every year since Freshman year,
participated in an internship at UC Berkeley for Journalism,
did summer music program for five days a week for ten weeks,
became Features Editor and Cartoonist for my school newspaper in Senior year
Wrote for the Paper in Junior Year
Peer Tutored in Junior year
Took Honors Physio., Honors Chem, Honors English, Honors History, AP Gov. AP Literature, Hon. Political Theory,
pretty good writer…
in a college enrichment program that gives tutoring and internships, etc. I do that almost every weekday
Familial problems that I had to suffer through since Freshman year
etc…
3.58 weighted GPA, SAT: 1590
That’s as much as I can sum up for now… The only reason why I don’t think I got into so many of them was because I didn’t emphasize the hardships that I went through these past four years. I have a friend whose pretty much been the same economic and familial situation as me all four years. She has slightly higher GPA and same (if not lower) test scores. Fewer extracurriculars as well, but she got into some pretty competitive schools, and a lot of them.
I didn’t say much about my family trauma because I was uncomfortable with sharing it…I had other people reading over my essays and i didn’t want to be “in the spotlight”, so to speak… Is that bad?
1590 out of 2400 should be compared to the 25th and 75th percentile SAT averages for those schools that rejected you.
It’s also possible she got better recommendations or told more of her personal story than you. Like with many things, if you don’t reveal personal details, there is no reason necessarily to believe your life was any tougher than the average person with your EFC.
Some people might work for a year and try to get their SAT score up.
If you are rejected by more than half, then your list has too many high match to reach schools. Not only Ivies are competitive, any schools with 25th percentile score higher than your score would be reaches too.
Hey, thanks for the replies so far! @rhandco My friend getting better recommendations than me…I think that could be a factor. We did ask one of the same teachers, but from what it seemed the teacher we both asked had especially high views of us. We both had an EFC of $0. She did report that she gave ALL the details of he life. For me, I didn’t do that. It was both very personal for me and I did not know what things to talk about since so many things have happened to me in my life. Plus, by my college program, it was emphasized that I talked about how I overcame my obstacles, so a lot of the “juicy details” of my life I took out because my advisers said it was turning into a “woe is me” essay. They are still doing that to me about scholarships.
@bjkmom To date, I have 4 acceptances: UC Merced, Mills, SF State, Humboldt. I believe three of those are going to be ruled out because Mills and SF state are way too local for me. I cannot be around my family’s drama anymore. I might not be able to do Humboldt because I didn’t have time to sign up for the ELM. And lastly, UC Merced is not a liberal arts school, which is where I wanted to go, but I might have to deal with it.
I am glad that I even got into college, but just… not like this. I feel almost like I deserved to do better because of all the hard work I have done. I have literally been my own agent in this process; none of my family members know how to this beause they did not go to college. All four years I have been overwhelmed and obsessed with getting into a good, liberal arts, private school that was far away from home…
@rhandco By the way, we did not apply for the same majors. I was more into the humanities and biology and medical scieneces. while she was more into social sciences (hopefully those are not alike!) I 'll keep it at that.
I think your choices sound great and you should focus on the good news that these are all possibilities. I would find Mills a very attractive LAC (since that is your target) and Humbolt’s location happens to be in one of my favorite areas of CA. And who doesn’t want to live in San Francisco? And UC Merced may not be quite as good a fit for your interests, but is still a great school. So try to ignore the family drama issue and consider each of these choices for the opportunities they offer and how well they fit your interests and needs. Don’t get distracted from the good news by rejections or comparisons.
Where did you apply?
Also, if you don’t have much confidence in the next 6 schools I would seriously start looking into schools with rolling admission.
I wouldn’t compare yourself to your friend. College admissions is becoming more and more holistic so you can’t just compare stats. You can either choose one of the places you have been accepted to, equipping a more open and flexible mind. Or you can apply to more schools with rolling admissions.
Don’t know what your financial aid package was from Mills, but if it would be affordable for you to live on campus, I’d take that in a heartbeat - it’s an excellent school, with lots of personal attention, and if you’re living on campus, it doesn’t matter if you’re 5 miles from home or 500!
And, as @oneofthosemoms pointed out, there’s plenty of time left to sign up for the ELN, so if that’s the only thing stopping you from attending Humboldt, then it looks like that’s a good option also.
And to heck with the schools that rejected you - that’s ancient history. Focus on the ones that accepted you!
At the end of the day, you’ve got to play the hand you’ve been dealt. Comparing yourself with your friend won’t accomplish anything other than making you feel bad.
Take a look at the schools to which you’ve been accepted, and choose from among them. And decide that you’re going to be thrilled with the school you’ve chosen. Then go on from there.
Are you still waiting for acceptances?
Yes, speaking about your hardships is essential, but you can’t do that in a way that sounds “whiny”. It should be “this is what horrible thing happened, and how I reacted to it/what I learned from it/why I did x.”
Read this as if may help for the scholarship essays: http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2013/08/got-grit-then-show-it.html
@MYOS1634 @bjkmom @ajsmiles12 @dodgersmom @TheDidactic @gdlt234 @profparent @oneofthosemoms @rhandco @billcsho @yikesyikesyikes THANK YOU ALL FOR RESPONDING AND BEING SO HELPFUL. I just wanted to let you all know that I got into UC Berkeley today. It is a surprise given my test scores and GPA; I never thought twice about it when I was applying. I don’t know if I will go there, but at this moment I am highly considering it–and am still shocked by getting in! I guess I am not too worried anymore. Thank you all!!
And lastly, UC Merced is not a liberal arts school, which is where I wanted to go, but I might have to deal with it.
