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<p>Two years ago I would have said this was crazy, but today, sadly, I have to agree.
Sadly because it is SO much work both for the student (admission app) and parents (financial aid app). But I think that given admission statistics and it’s total randomness , it is necessary</p>
<p>A mother of a current HS senior who applied to 14 (or 15, can’t keep track anymore) schools.</p>
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</p>
<p>Exactly. I am sorry you are hurting, but it wasn’t realistic in the least to think that any of these schools were “safe.” I personally think any competitive school with an acceptance rate of 30% or below is a reach for everybody - you just don’t know. Did you not think the competitive pool of the other applicants looks pretty much like you?</p>
<p>I sometimes get the sense on CC that people way undervalue the strength of the applicant pools. If you’re in the top 5% of your class - that doesn’t mean you’re in the top 5% of the applicant pool at any selective college.</p>
<p>The definition of a safety is a school one is able and HAPPY to attend. Financially and academically. </p>
<p>Too little attention is given to building a solid application from the bottom. The top down process is often a recipe for disaster in April.</p>
<p>Your definition of a safety is horribly, horribly wrong. Pitt is a safety. Even schools like Michigan and Virginia, with excellent business schools, are not safeties for you. It makes me question why you didn’t apply to a couple of the elite publics - somewhere in between Pitt and your top choices.</p>
<p>I’m sorry you feel the way you do. Spend the weekend grieving. Take out your grill and barbeque the viewbooks and T-shirts of the schools that rejected you. Have no mercy! </p>
<p>Then put it to bed and move on. No point in beating a dead horse. </p>
<p>Do your best at Pitt and give it a chance and go in with a positive attitude, it may surprise you. You haven’t failed anything. You are still you. Good luck.</p>
<p>Did you apply to any ivies? I’m sure you got in. I too am faced with almost the same dilemma. I got into all my safeties and one match. I got rejected everywhere else (except for three I’m waiting for). I think the problem is that people like us applied to safeties that we weren’t sure would make us happy if we had to end up going there. My advice is just to learn more about Pitt. Do your best to make it a nice experience and then try to transfer out if you’re still not satisfied. That’s my plan right now.</p>
<p>Well, I’m an international student and had applied for international FA to 22 colleges (1 tuition free college - Cooper Union - with no FA app).</p>
<p>2280 SAT
800 Math 2, 800 Physics, 790 Chem.
115 TOEFL
Multiple international wards in math.
Editorial Board President
Blogger + other ECs
Volunteer at various organizations
And good essays, some really exceptional (not my words).
Great recs (read them all)</p>
<p>Now, I have only been accepted to WPI till now, and I have Stanford and Cooper Union decisions left to check.</p>
<p>Rejected from 7 ivies and loads of other colleges (including Bucknell and Lehigh - 2 safeties which accepts people with much lower stats than mine)</p>
<p>Waitlisted at Case Western Reserve (Tufts’ syndrome?), Caltech (maybe because of strong math background) and UPenn (I think their essay was the best of the lot for me).</p>
<p>I wonder how this is fair, when people not applying for international FA or applying as American citizens get in so easily. -.-</p>
<p>It’s not “unfair” that American schools don’t have unlimited financial aid for internationals.</p>
<p>Yet another thread with a title that flat out says someone was rejected across the board when in fact the poster was accepted somewhere. The fake drama gets a little tiresome, no?</p>
<p>You guys are so hard on the OP about safety school. This is true story: a kid I know was rejected by ALL schools he applied to. His safety? YALE SCHOOL OF MUSIC!!! No kidding. BTW, he’s a violin performance major.</p>
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</p>
<p>These are NOT safeties!! </p>
<p>To future applicants who read these threads with fear, take away these two lessons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you are an international student, especially one who needs financial aid, figuring out your “chances” at US schools is nearly impossible. No matter how good your stats, there is a really good chance you will get no offers of admission. </p></li>
<li><p>Be conservative. I agree with Pizzagirl, that every school with an acceptance rate of 30% and lower is a reach, no matter how sky high your stats. When figuring out a safety school, be very risk averse – a school with an acceptance rate of 40-50% is NOT a safety school. I don’t care if you have 2400 SATs and are a valedictorian, schools like Bucknell and Lehigh are not safeties.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Yale school of music is a graduate program only.</p>
<p>@himanshusahay hey!! I’m in same boat! rejected from ivies and waitlisted at Case Western Reserve. I’m an international student applied for FA as well.
I also accepted to WPI and still thinking whether to go or not.</p>
<p>@fireandrain</p>
<p>do you know how many students got accepted in top schools with a straight A and 2400 on SAT?</p>
<p>Only about 200 international students get a perfect test score. And only 10-15 of them need aid as most of perfect scorers are rich. So it is really horrible to say that those universities with <30% acceptance rate are reach for every international. And there are many factors in college admission. No college is going to take an international students because he asked for little aid. </p>
<p>I’m giving you an example. </p>
<p>Consider two students who are applying to a top school.</p>
<p>Student 1 and 2 both have every single thing matched( very unlikely < .05% ) </p>
<p>but student 2’s essay showed hardship in his life. While student 1’s essay is swift and good.</p>
<p>Well, student 2 is going to get accepted by university although he is international needs full ride. Why? Because most universities who give aid to internationals have a amount of money to give to internationals who need money. And if any university wants a student, it will give whatever a student needs.</p>
<p>Most of the people in cc are high school students . It is impossible to figure out what a adcom is thinking. You and I can say that a international got rejected just for financial need. But most of us don’t want to understand that there could be a better qualified student.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention one thing.</p>
<p>Colleges do care for GPA .</p>
<p>As fer as I know it matters even more than SAT ( for internationals) score. A student with 3.6 GPA and 2350 might get rejected while a student with 4.0 and 2300 might get in. And in the schools he mentioned, almost every international who got accepted with aid has a UW gpa >3.95 this year. 3.8 is much less than that. >3.95 backed up by 2320+ will get you in top 2% of total applicants while 3.8 with a 2340 will get you in top 15% of total applicants. To get admitted into a highly ranked school with financial aid as international, you need to be in the top 5% of total applicant pool with great LOR, Essay. Correct me if I’m wrong.</p>
<p>Go to actual result thread, I can tell that I’m 98% correct.</p>
<p>@ hmanshu: </p>
<p>From which country are you though? </p>
<p>I am an international student too, and I feel like there is a vast difference among acceptance rates for different nationalities. Nobody officially states this, but I am convinced that colleges want students from as man countries as possible and a very proportional number.
As a science-math-eng student from china, India or other Asian countries, I bet it is much more difficult.
In addition, your chances decrease as your financial resources decrease.
I guess the latter fact is also underrated by most internationals.</p>
<p>I am an Indian living in Dubai. And well, I wasn’t asking for ‘unlimited financial aid’, (less than half really). </p>
<p>Moreover, if you notice any American university (the top ones), it is us Asians that take the best grades and come out on top. It is no secret that we as a race are very smart. And while we acknowledge that these are ‘American’ universities, they brand themselves are truly global and it is only fair that they be more open to internationals. They need not meet full need, but they can at least give us a bit.</p>
<p>Moreover, if the colleges really want the cream of the crop, they need to widen their horizons abroad as many internationals often have much better skills/stats than most Americans. </p>
<p>I’m not showing disrespect to Americans, but I had to let out this pent up anger at the system. </p>
<p>But well, who am I to change it?</p>
<p>himanshusahay, you have quite the pompous attitude. I suspect that it came through loud and clear on your applications and turned off the readers. It turns me off. You obviously don’t understand that once you reach a certain level, other factors rule in competitive American college admissions. I can see why you don’t like the system. It allows them to filter out people like you who feel entitled. I’m not sure sure that they made any mistakes on you. American universities admit plenty of international students and many do get aid. </p>
<p>Most financial aid at American universities if funded by the generous donations of Americans. I think that your statements do show a real lack of respect for Americans and our values.</p>
<p>You really think I’d let off such steam on my applications? I’m not stupid. </p>
<p>And we’re the ones who run all the tech companies and stuff that run your businesses and your economy so do your research before you come talking the next time. </p>
<p>I do know what I have achieved in my 12 years at school and that’s quite sizable compared to a lot of others. </p>
<p>If you want to espouse your American values then well, I have my own free will to talk and I really don’t care what narrow minded people like you think. </p>
<p>Buhbye.</p>
<p>For you, the best thing you can do is apply to state schools right now to make sure you get in somewhere for college.</p>
<p>For posterity, anyone else reading this should take a lesson and learn that you MUST appy to a safety school. Somewhere that you are either guaranteed to get into or have a high likelihood of getting into AND that is on a rolling admissions so you know you’re in SOMEWHERE early on in the process.</p>