Tufts syndrome at RPI??

Poseur
Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:49:07 +0000

Hmmm. Who knows what schools look for in their applicants? Yield protection is of course a factor in many schools’ decisions, but don’t be too hasty to call “Tufts syndrome.” Schools also want a diverse student body, and honestly, a lot of that depends on luck: perhaps they had just reviewed a similar applicant and didn’t see anything unique about you.

Also, most private schools (although I’m not sure about RPI in particular) are not need-blind for international applicants; if you needed financial aid (which was hinted at in your first post), this may have decreased your chance of getting in.

Orinox: I was accepted (and got into the Presidential Scholars program), but you may find it helpful to know that I did list the other schools to which I was applying, which included two Ivy Leagues and ~four top 20 schools (I don’t know offhand what exact schools are top 20, but you know what I mean). Also, I did not interview – not because I wasn’t interested but because I only interviewed at the schools that contacted me, since I was too slow/ignorant about contacting schools. XD My qualifications stats-wise are an SAT of 2390 and an unweighted GPA of 4.0 (weighted 4.81, rank 2) as well as some subject tests in the 700s, six completed APs, and six more this year.

HOWEVER, I’m legacy – my mom went there – so maybe that pushed me over the edge and into the “accepted” pile, despite my lack of demonstrated interest (my parents put their alma maters at the bottom of our priority list for touring, 'cause they were like, “Uh, I can just tell you about it…”)