Very embarrassed. Valedictorian rejected from top schools.

Applying to College
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The OP was painful to read because I see my D doing something similar. She’s in 10th grade and completely focused on getting into an elite university. School is fairly easy for her and she scores highly on PSAT/ACT … but not high enough for the Ivys, etc. Has almost no social life. We keep telling her to have fun NOW and worry about college later. AFAIK, many of her fellow students at the highly competitive public high school are similar. This pressure that high school kids are feeling these days is not a good thing in the long run … they are going to be burnt out by the time they get into their professional lives, where things really matter.

I probably won’t get any likes for what I’ll say next but … take what you’re passionate about right now and explore it with the same effort you applied in high school. It doesn’t need to have a purpose other than to satisfy your curiosity about the subject. In high school I was obsessed with music like most teenagers, so I bought a guitar at a pawn shop and learned how to play it. I also made my own guitar effects so I could sound like the rock bands of the time. I was a terrible HS student (200th out of 400, yikes – watch the movie “Slackers” to see what it was like growing up in the late 1970s in Central TX) but I managed to get into UT-Austin in EE based on my SAT score. That led to an obsession with computer programming. Had summer jobs writing code and worked at Motorola’s fab near Bergstrom on weekends while in school. I ended up dropping out of UT around my senior year but the programming experience I had accumulated got me a job at a small company and that led to a large software company. I now have my own small software company.

Go to UT or Rice. Thoroughly explore what you’re interested in right now and what you’re exposed to in college. You already proven you kick a** in what you want. I imagine the opportunities at UT are an order-of-magnitude greater than when I was there. The university you go to isn’t as important as what you do with what you’ve learned.

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Forgot to add: watch the Steve Jobs Stanford commencement address on youtube.com. You’re making the dots right now. There’s no way to know how they’ll connect.

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It’s important to balance your high school life. You only go around once. Focusing solely on academics, avoiding any social life will not help your college application anyway. There are so many school schools out there. You have no way of knowing if your best friend in life is waiting for you at HYPSM, the state flagship or somewhere else. Work hard, have fun and be ready to be happy and grow anywhere.

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Hello all! I went back to Rice on Admit day (April 10th…lol I showed up on the wrong Admit day, but they kindly let me register there).

I did like this visit more than the Vision visit, BUT…it didn’t really make any decision clear for me. I decided just right now actually, the very moment I logged onto college confidential, that I would just go to UT.

I was/am still struggling between Business vs. Engineering…

It’s funny because I checked my TAMU fin aid a couple days ago, and it turns out that TAMU will also be paying me close to a full ride in scholarships. HOWEVER, I got accepted into Mays Business Honors at tamu, not Engineering.

It’s like life is trying to make this an extremely difficult decision for me. If I were to choose business, the perfect school now would be TAMU (my brother goes there now also and one of my closest friends will go there). I got accepted into Business Honors there and will get a good amount of scholarships.

Then there is UT, where I got accepted into Cockrell, but not honors.

You know what…I’m just going to stop thinking about it and just choose UT. I’ve done too much thinking already and the fact that I’m still struggling to even THINK of letting go of UT should show me that UT is the school for me.

I will go start at UT as a Mechanical Engineer. Hopefully, it won’t be as difficult as I imagine it to be (I’ve spent countless nights reading about how Engineers have no life vs. Business majors have all the fun).

But you know what…I’ll never know how my OWN experience will be if I don’t try it. The worst that can happen is that I end up not liking Engineering and try to switch out to Business.

On the bright side, I have almost all my first year at UT paid for because of my Valedictorian tuition exemption and FAFSA grants.

As for Rice, I think I will always regret turning down the $98,000 because it shows that Rice is really interested in me as a student. That was something that I never expected and that I still appreciate SOOO much. I wish I could send Rice University so many thank you cards and gifts to show them how much I appreciate it. But, in the end…I can’t go based off money. I have to base it off of what school is right for me…and from what I’ve been struggling with for a while…I think that school is UT.

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All of these “top schools” you were rejected from are reaches for everyone. The valedictorian of my class got rejected from Stanford and MIT. Nobody laughed at him. Being valedictorian does not guarantee you an acceptance to a top ivy league school. Our salutatorian got waitlisted at Cornell and Princeton. While you say that a few of your fellow classmates have been accepted into better schools, I promise you that 99% of them would not have a slither of a chance at the schools you were aiming for.

Life is an endless cycle of inferiority. I am in the top 10% of my class. A remarkable achievement for some students out there. However, there is always someone out there that is better than me, you for example, THE TOP of your class. Being valedictorian is a far more remarkable achievement than being in the top 10% of your class. Still, there will always be someone out there that is better than you. A valedictorian with more remarkable extracirriculars and achievements. And again, there is someone out there better than that person. It is an endless cycle of inferiority that you will never win.

Being a valedictorian is a remarkable achievement by itself. Excel at UT and be a more remarkable person than you were in high school. An endless cycle of inferiority means that you have endless room for improvement.

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Congrats on making your final decision! You went back to Rice to give another chance and still felt a stronger tug toward UT. That’s what you needed to know, I think you made the right choice for you, and you’re going to to love it there. Wishing you all the best!

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Hi again, you elicited some great words of advice…but in the end, as others are saying, it is YOUR decision. They really are two great options.

So glad to hear that you are set for next year. And I really appreciate your coming back to let us know. it has been an interesting thread, and you shared a lot of your thoughts and feelings and assimilated a lot of feedback. It was thoughtful of you to come back and let us know the final decision. Congrats!

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Congratulations. You’ve put so much energy and thought into this decision – and I’m confident you made the right one. Can you give yourself a break now, and celebrate? Go out for an ice cream sundae or something equally decadent. And focus on enjoying getting ready for UT. No more thoughts about Rice, or other schools or what if’s. Embrace the present and the future you’ve worked so hard for.

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Speaking as someone who was very similar to you and majored in engineering at UT, don’t be surprised if you struggle a little at first. You will be surrounded by bright kids. I had made only one B in my life before college, and that was in 5th grade! So when I got a 45 on my very first test at UT, in honors physics, I thought my life was over. I ended up with a C for the semester! I was pretty discouraged. But I kept trying and improved to a B second semester. After that, I made mostly As and graduated with high honors. So if it’s tough at first, don’t give up!! And remember to ask for help early if you are struggling at all. I hope you love UT as much as I did. :slight_smile:

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^ Thank you all SOOOOO much. You all probably can’t imagine how much every single one of your comments mean to me. I feel as if I have all the support in the world right now.
Thank you.

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@MaineLonghorn I definitely have to go in with the mindset that a C is not the end of the world, rather just a minor set back.
That will probably be the hardest thing I’ll have to come to terms with, but at least I’m starting to do so early haha.
Thank you so much!!

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I voted.

Wow. Thanks for sharing, and so sorry. I’ve read about such things, but it’s hard to imagine. I hope you have something special planned for a very deserving mother on Mother’s Day.

And what you’ve achieved despite it all? You are definitely your mother’s daughter. Kudos

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are you kidding me? UT is awesome and extremely difficult to get into… a lot of kids would love to get in these days. Austin is amazing and the startup scene will blow your mind… UT will open up an amazing number of opportunities and btw UT is also one of the big feeders into Silicon Valley too. I agree watch the Steve Jobs video… stay hungry stay foolish. this may be the best thing that ever happened to you… but you can only connect the dots looking backwards:)

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@1Dreamer Thank you so much!!! We definitely will be planning something special for her as always. Thank you.

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Oops, I didn’t realize I couldn’t post links on here. Sorry about that, won’t do it again. @MaineLonghorn

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Your post would probably become one of the best valedictory speeches I have ever heard, but I know of course you did not say those lines in your speech…

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@babz123 ,
Wasn’t your screenname @rasophia when you started this thread?

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@babz123

In regards to your original thread, I completely understand how you feel… From what I’ve read you sound like an amazing individual! I mean how many people can self study for 11 APs? From what you’ve posted you not only revealed that you are extremely intelligent, but that you are an incredibly motivated, ambitious, and determined human being!

And in all honesty, I am kind of in the same situation as you in regards to how I worked hard but in the end the results did not satisfy me.

I worked hard all throughout my high school career as well (I was in the top percentage of my grade) but in the end I have to attend community college because of how my family cannot afford any of the schools I got accepted into (Including all of my top ranked schools as well as my state and safety schools).

I also felt embarrassed about my situation because of how a majority of my peers are heading off to UPenn, Harvard, Colgate, Vanderbilt, and other top universities. I would have felt better about attending community college if I received a full ride (In which all students who are at the top of their class percentile receive in my state), but I couldn’t qualify for that either because of how I am still not a U.S. citizen (despite living here nearly my entire life).

The fact that my parents can’t afford any of my schools and how I can’t even receive a full ride for my hard work in community college, completely broke me down because of how much it seemed that my hard work was wasted. But in the end I guess we just have to accept life’s struggles and move on… Unfortunately there’s no use in crying and laying about depressed (trust me I spent a lot of time doing this haha). Now I’ve just come to accept my situation and move on even if it is difficult to swallow :D.

I hope you don’t mind my long post :slight_smile: but in conclusion, I just wanted to tell you that you are an amazing person! You are so smart and ambitious, so I’m sure that you will succeed regardless of where you go!

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@dream98 18 years seems like a long time for citizenship, especially in anticipation of college. Is there anything standing in the way of citizenship? If so, community college sounds like a great opportunity.

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@dream98 YOU are an amazing person!!! I am so sorry about your situation, but trust me…EVERYTHING happens for a reason. There must be a reason for this. I know, just from reading your post, that you will thrive at your community college and be extremely successful afterwards. There’s not a doubt in my mind.
Thank you so much, and just remember…everything happens for a reason…only time will tell. Good luck, and I hope you soon realize your dreams!!