Rejected from my low match/saftey...wondering whether it is time to throw in the towel

Applying to College
1

Hey guys, this was my info:
Objective:
[ *] SAT I (breakdown):
Total 2340
Math 750 Reading 800 Writing 790
[ *] SAT II: Math II 800 Physics 800
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83 (Weighted 4.24) (all of my B’s were in freshman and first sem sophmore year, 4.0 for the last 4 semesters including 1st sem senior year)
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
Language and Composition (5)
U.S. HIstory (5)
Statistics (5)
Calculus AB (5)
Calculus BC (5)
Physics 1 (5)
Physics C: M (5)
Computer Science A (5)

[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
AP Physics C, AP Gov (1 sem) AP Econ (1 sem), Law, Brit Lit, Spanish 4 H
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): not major but qualified for AIME and am silver (probably gold for rd) level participant in USACO, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist

[ *] Extracurriculars:
Varsity Tennis Team
Varsity XC Team (Captain)
California Youth Symphony Orchestra

[ ] Job/Work Experience:
Taught at competitive A Math Camp for CS and Math (5 weeks, 40 hours/week)

[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
Tech Museum
English Language School
After school Study Buddies Tutor

Other
[ *] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[ *] Intended Major: Computer Science
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): California
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): N
[ *] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Indian
[ *] Gender: Male

and basically I got straight rejected from UIUC. It was one of my low match/saftey schools, as the average person from my school that was accepted had a 3.65 and a 2100. In addition the College of Engineering has a 35% acceptance rate. The rest of the list: UCB, UCLA, UCD, UCSB, USC, CMU, UMICH, Georgia Tech (was deferred in ED) all have less than 20% acceptance rates (or barely above) and as such i feel like there is very little chance I get into any of them. I have gotten into Purdue and UMin, and for both of those schools they want me to let them know quickly so I can find good housing. I’m wondering if it’s time to give up on these other schools and just go to Purdue/Umin, as both are decent schools and I’m sure I will do well there.

2

Even though you’re a disfavored minority, I think there’s ZERO chance that you won’t get into at least one of the rest of the schools on your list.

IMO you’ll get into several of them.

(And, UCD and UCSB are well about 20% acceptance rate, close to double that)

3

Unless your essays and recommendations raise several red flags, you’ll get into schools much more selective than UIUC. Your profile is strong enough for several of the top public schools on your list, and as a California resident you should have little trouble getting into most of the UCs.

I suspect UIUC made a similar assessment, assumed you were using them as a safety, and rejected you to keep their yield high. There’s even a name for this phenomenon: Tufts Syndrome.

I’m also speaking from personal experience. My first rejection letter came from a school that I considered a low match. It arrived a week after my acceptance to a reach school that’s everything the former hopes to become.

4

I’m surprised at the rejection, particularly since you’d be a full pay OOS student (though the CS major probably had an effect). I would have your GC call to make sure there was no mistake. I agree you will definitely get into a few other schools.

5

UIUC does not use “level of applicant’s interest”, according to http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=982 .

However, general admission stats do not capture the fact that UIUC and other schools have different admission buckets, such as in-state versus out-of-state and majors or divisions of different levels of selectivity. The OP is out-of-state and applied for what is probably UIUC’s most selective major (CS), so s/he may be facing a much higher barrier to admission than someone applying for one of the many less popular majors. Be very careful about assuming that a school can be a safety if applying for a popular major at a school that admits by major.

Looks like the OP already has two admissions, which are safeties if they are affordable. However, both do require a secondary admission process to enter the CS major. However, it seems odd that the OP did not apply to a larger list of UCs and CSUs to reduce the risk of being shut out of the relatively inexpensive good choices available to a California resident.

6

Why the doom and gloom. Illinois is a good school, but no better than Minnesota or Purdue for engineering. Move on.

7

Assuming everything your listing, saying on this thread is true …

Unless there is some red flag in your record – disciplinary issues or something like that, your essays, or letters of “recommendations,” I’m convinced you will get in some of the schools on your list.

Good Luck!

8

I agree with above poster. Not the end of the world. There are other good schools. But does UIUC still have “the box” to check saying you would consider admittance to the school even if you were not an admit your declared engineering major? And did you check it? If so, it is strange with your stats you weren’t admitted at all.

9

AT UIUC CS engineering has been one the hardest to get into in the last few years and many with high stats (including many non-Asians and many in-state) get rejected for it (as many have reported, they have been rejected for CS engineering at UIUC but accepted elsewhere such as Michigan). Did you list a second choice major in your application? If so what was that? If you listed a second choice major and got rejected for CS, they would have considered you for second choice, and then if rejected from that second choice they would have considered you for undeclared major in the Dvision of General Studies. If you did not list a second choice major, then if rejected for CS, you do not get considered for any other majors and thus are rejected based only on the CS decision.

10

@ucbalumnus While UIUC doesn’t factor interest in, they probably have an expectation that students who are overqualified aren’t likely to have UIUC as their first choice. Hard to know, of course, because we aren’t UIUC admissions officers.

11

It definitely wasn’t being overqualified as a few of by friends got in that had objectively better stats (4.0. 2350 and 3.95, 2360) so it just looks like it was a rough year. However hopefully what you guys say about its cs program being really hard is true and I will get into somewhere else.

12

The admissions process is long and stressful, and the Illinois decision is understandably discouraging. You’ve got a great record. Don’t lose heart. Wait for the others.

13

I understand your disappointment but if it makes you feel any better, Illinois higher ed is a mess right now. UIUC is big enough and strong enough that it going to be fine but others are beginning to struggle. We have been without a budget for 7 months and the state is not paying the money it owes to schools, hospitals, etc. Living in the state and working in higher ed here, it is a huge emotional drain on me and my colleagues, not to mention students who have not received the financial aid promised by the state. The regional schools are slashing programs and even tenured faculty are on the chopping block there. This may be a blessing in disguise, because even thought UIUC should be fairly stable over the long term, the current political atmosphere is hurting the morale of both students and educators. I wouldn’t be surprised if some UIUC faculty begin looking for greener pastures in other states.

14

I am in a similar situation as you. I had a 1600 Math + CR (UIUC doesn’t consider writing) and 3.95 GPA and was waitlisted from UIUC… I applied CS in the COE. I was really surprised at the decision, but I would be more surprised if you don’t make at least one college in that list

15

However, that is almost as good as a rejection if CS is the only major the OP is interested in. Enrolling at UIUC and trying to transfer in the CS major later is very difficult. The student needs a 3.67 GPA with at least A- grades in two prerequisite CS courses to be eligible to apply into the competitive admission process to get into the CS major: https://cs.illinois.edu/prospective-students/undergraduates/transfer-students/transferring-another-university-illinois-major .

16

You simply were overqualified there!

17

We saw in an in-state student with similar stats rejected earlier this week. CS is a ridiculously difficult major to get into there these days – I think the OP misjudged it as a safety when in fact it was not. Assuming your essays and recs are solid, I would expect you will have at least a couple more acceptances. If you accept the Purdue or UMN offer, you may lose your deposit if you change your mind later – and you may have both enrollment and housing deposits, But sometimes there is some refundability – one of D1’s schools refunded the housing deposit when she changed her mind. If you can afford to lose the deposit, you could deposit at one of those and give it up if you get in someplace else that is preferable. Check into what deposits are required and what is refundable/not refundable. I wouldn’t give up hope on the rest, though.

18

Unfortunately, the OP was not “overqualified” for UIUC CS. The program has become their most competitive major to enter in recent years. They had an extremely high amount of very well qualified applicants this year, they received 3,200 applications in 2014 and over 4,000 in 2015. The average ACT score for CS was 34.6 for incoming freshman in 2014 and has likely grown. No one is “overqualified”. However I agree that OP has great chances at other schools.

19

I believe you can sign up for uminn housing even before a formal acceptance by putting down a small deposit. Given the housing situation at Minnesota Thats probably wise. Though I too think you’ll get in other better schools.

20

I got into UIUC as an OOS Computer Engineering major (a bit different from Comp. Sci, but similar nonetheless) with a 35 ACT. I got rejected from UC Davis, however. WHAT THE ****.