Hey everyone. So up until a few days ago, I thought I had a good list of schools that I was applying to. But last week, I got rejected from Fordham, which was one of the least competitive schools on my list. So now I’m wondering if I’m overshooting myself
I’m from southern CA, and the price of schools don’t matter. My family is full-pay regardless, we have the highest EFC
GPA: 3.75/4
SAT: 1320
11 AP Classes when I graduate
Major: cognitive science
Extracurricular:
Founder and President of volunteering club
Varsity tennis team captain
Country Club Team Captain
Mobile app developer for my school district, endorsed by mayor & UCR & google
Continental math league
USC Pipeline program
Common app essay: 9/10. Really raw, personal, wrote about the ending of a friendship that sparked personal growth
USC Supp: 9/10. Really USC specific. Named clubs, professors and classes. Even named my dorm. Talked about why I would attend USC because of specific interdisciplinary programs
USC optional interview: 8/10. Went a pretty long time, the person in front of me never showed up so it made me look better. Towards the end of the interview, bonded over being jewish with the interviewer.
Brown supp: Super specific, name clubs and classes I want to take. Also really raw and liberal, appealed to Brown a ton.
Uc essays: 8/10. Strong voice, touch on all aspects of my personality and what I’ve done in high school.
Recommendations:
Counselor: 7/10. She loves me, explains that I could’ve had a higher GPA if I took the easy route but I challenged myself. Really shines on my outgoing personality and my ability to get involved.
AP Computer Science teacher 10/10. Speaks on my meetings with Google, the mayor, and my school district officials concerning my app.
African American Studies teacher 8/10. I haven’t seen it, but he loves me and he’s been trying to get me as his student the last 4 years so he’s going to say good things (i hope)
Also used those letters for berkeley ^
Just for USC: a letter from a current usc med school admissions counselor that’s been working there for 20+ years, says I’m the “finest student he’s seen applying for undergrad”
Hooks: urm (black and Hispanic), female in stem/computer science
I applied EA to Tulane, Fordham and Baylor, then RD to Brown, UMiami, USC, Case Western, UC Berkeley LA Irvine Riverside SD SB.
I’ve already been accepted into U ornate az with great merit money, but it’s a safety at that.
Super lost and feeling down, any advice?
If you don’t qualify for any need based aid, the price of university can still vary considerably between different schools. However, with your being from California, you have already applied to several in-state schools which should be relatively reasonably priced for you (or for any family that would be okay with “full pay” at out of state schools).
“I thought I had a good list of schools that I was applying to”
I agree you have applied to a good range of schools, and you are likely to get into some good schools on your list (such as UC Riverside – I will note that all of the UC’s are very good universities). The entire process of applying for universities in the US is a very stressful situation which puts many students on an emotional rollercoaster – you get one rejection and feel bad, then a few days later you are likely to get an acceptance and feel great.
Regarding @dad2020’s comment: I agree that your SAT is low for some of the schools on your list (Brown, UCB, UCLA). However, to me your scores look quite good for UC Riverside. I don’t know what “U ornate az” is so I can’t comment on your acceptance there.
Mostly I think that @tremai12 is right: relax, and see what happens. I would expect you to get some more acceptances at good schools, as well as some rejections. You can only go to one school at a time so you really only need one acceptance from a school where you would be happy to attend.
@intparent I meant raw in the sense that my personality shines through, and they aren’t flooded with meaningless vocabulary words or unnecessary sentence structure. I also didn’t talk about stupid meaningless cliche topics, instead I used essays to bring my application full circle. But yes, I had School counselors, teachers, friends, and I also had a college counselor. @Dad2020 I think(?) it’s either near or above Fordhams average. There’s lots of people on the thread that had lower stats, so I just assumed I guess. I think Brown, Berkeley, LA, and Case are my only reach schools? I think the rest are match or high match. Correct me if I’m wrong? For UCB and UCLA, it’s above their 25% so I’ll take that. UCR is too close to home hahaha so it’s a pretty good match School. It’s also at USC’s 50% percentile. @DadTwoGirls , it actually works out that going to a private school would be cheaper than going to UC’s. We’re above the income level for any tuition breaks, which is why I described us as “full-pay”
Feel your pain. DD has similar stats and was deferred by Fordham which she thought was a solid match (though in retrospect test scores seem more important then essay which is her strength). Also pessimistic about Tulane EA. We are in CT so not familiar with UC schools. DD is considering changing an RD to an EDII to increase chances. Do you have a school you feel strong enough about attending that you would be willing to do ED (especially since finances are not an issue)? Will you apply to additional schools before the January deadlines? I’m curious to hear how you proceed. Best of luck!
@Cof22mom I’m pretty sure I got deferred for Tulane, which isn’t the worst because I’ll have good first semester grades at least. I was going to apply ED to brown, but I didn’t feel I would’ve put my best foot forward (retook the sat in December and score went up 100pts) If I do apply before January deadlines, it’ll either be to GWU or Occiental. I feel confident about UM UCR, and UCI and I’m a little on edge about USC. I don’t think I’ll apply to anymore before January though, to answer your question. I’m not sure if your DD is interested but she could probably apply to Tulane under ED II assuming she’s deferred. Tulane is the only school I applied to with ED II so we’re stuck there
On order to have a good shot you need to be above the 50% mark. A match for you is if acceptance rate is above 40% and your test scores+ GPA place you near the top 25%, threshold. I’d add a couple more that match that.
What are you looking for?
You have excellent course rigor so you’d benefit from applying to holistic Universities, perhaps at test optional schools (look those up - Wake Forest, American for instance.)
@MYOS1634 ahaha honestly not too interested in either of those. I thought I had a good choice of schools picked out. I’m not under 25% for any of the schools I applied to and I’m near 75% for ucr so I figured that was one
Given you’re willing to pay full price, and given your science interests, I would add a few more liberal arts schools to your list (in addition to Occidental). Not just score, you GPA is also a tidbit on the low side, until and unless URM. There are many liberal arts colleges with strong science programs/departments.
@fivesages I didn’t know my GPA was low! Thought it was at or above most of my private school averages. I am URM though. Is ucr really the only school you think I’ll get into?
@ihopeigetintbh Your URM status will help, and GPA is fine. What criteria did you use to come up with colleges like Fordham and GW? I see you’re interested in Cognitive Science.
@my2caligirls oh, yeah. UC GPA is around 4.1. But it actually worked out that USC would be cheaper to attend than Berkeley last time we used the calculator.
@fivesages there’s truthfully not a lot of schools with cognitive science which Made it a bit easier. But I have cousins at GWU and Fordham because my family is from the NE
@ihopeigetintbh While your cousins are at GWU and Fordham, they are not what comes to people’s mind for sciences, let alone cognitive science. Also, they have a very different environment (Urban, large) compared to Occidental (suburban, small). Cognitive Science is a relatively new and an interdisciplinary major (Neuroscience, Psychology, Philosophy).
Edit: A general thought…given majority of students change their major at least once after going to college, if I were you, I would expand the college list beyond a single major.