I am an international student from China, and I basically get rejected from all the colleges I applied to.
My stats are 110 TOEFL, 1490 SAT, 3.9/4.0 unweighted GPA, 42/45 IB predicted grade, 150 Duolingo, decent activities and honors. I get admitted to Kenyon college with 44k scholarship per year, Denison with 60k per year, UToronto with 25k per yer, bard with 30k per year, and also Northeastern, Rutgers, OSU, UCI, UPitt. Get waitlisted from Boston college, Colby, and UCSD.
I get rejected from Wesleyan Middlebury WashU UVA Tufts Colgate UCLA UNC Washington and Lee Vassar Pitzer College of the Holy Cross UT Austin Brandies
Emory
Colorado college
UIUC
UW-Madison
U-Florida
I almost get 10 rejection letters in one single day. I know my background may not be that standout but at least decent. My counselor also can’t figure out why I get so many rejection. I don’t really care about the ranking and “prestige” of the colleges but my family does. I like kenyon college and happy to be there, but I’m just overwhelmed from the pressure from my peers and family, especially when my peers have similar and even lower stats and get in to those “well prestige” colleges.
I’m planning to learn film and environmental science. Is Kenyon a good choice for me? I like its vibe (and decent scholarship). I used hate those people planning to transfer out before they start their college, I truly respect those colleges give me offer. But now, since I most likely need to get back to China when graduated, I may need to transfer out to some college having “well prestige” in China. Where should I go now. Kenyon? U-Toronto? northeastern? Please give me some advices, thanks.
“I get admitted to Kenyon college with 44k scholarship per year, Denison with 60k per year, UToronto with 25k per yer, bard with 30k per year, and also Northeastern, Rutgers, OSU, UCI, UPitt.”
Please look up the meaning of rejection in the dictionary. Congrats on many fine acceptances. All fantastic schools. I hope one is affordable for you.
Kenyon is fantastic but so is Dension, U Toronto (much bigger), and the others. These are different schools (some big, some small) - all fantastic. You should pick the one right for you. Film is not a good major for finding a good job - the school you go won’t matter.
As for rejections, you are international - and from an over represented country - there’s no way to know why you are rejected. But you got into great and prestigious schools.
Congrats on all
Your acceptances! Almost all the schools you were rejected from accept less than 10
Percent of their international applicants so please take heart there is nothing wrong with you! .
I’ll let others suggest which of your many acceptances is best. But definitely pick someplace that YOU think you will be happy.
None of this is surprising - your list is filled with “reach” schools that are not guarantees for anybody. I know of many domestic applicants with stats higher than yours that got rejected from some of these. The fact that you were accepted to schools like Kenyon and Denison and also got some money as an international applicant is a great accomplishment. You did very well.
I would forget about the waitlists and the rejections. They don’t matter.
You have some great acceptances. All of these schools are very good, although how well known they are in China may vary.
The University of Toronto is one that I am particularly familiar with, since I am originally from Canada. It is very good in general, and very good for environmental sciences. U.Toronto is also well known worldwide (including in the US). I have known students who got a bachelor’s degree from Toronto and then did graduate work (either master’s degree or PhD or both) at top universities in the US, including Stanford and Princeton. Toronto is large and is very academically demanding. Admissions there is largely stats-based, and given your excellent stats I am not surprised that you were accepted. I am surprised that you were offered merit aid (which is rare as far as I know). I do not know anything specifically about film at U.Toronto. I am wondering if U.Toronto has any relationship with the National Film Board of Canada, which is excellent.
Kenyon college has less than 2,000 undergraduate students. Toronto has more like 40,000 undergraduate students (although I think that this includes all three campuses). They are quite different at least in size.
Northeastern University is also very good. One daughter was accepted there but it was over budget for us (she went elsewhere, did very well, and switched to a major that Northeastern does not happen to offer, so it worked out well). Rutgers is very good. I know multiple people who graduated from Rutgers and did very well. Ohio State is very good. U.C.Irvine is very good. U.Pitt is very good.
You have a long list of very good acceptances. You can only attend one university at a time.
Forget about the schools where you were rejected. They do not matter. You have a choice to make from among many very good acceptances.
If it can help with the prestige issue–I hold a Ph.D. from an Ivy and am a professor at a major Research 1 University (a well-regarded public flagship). My husband has the same credentials. Our daughter, with similar stats to yours (slightly higher) from a very rigorous selective admissions high school in the US went to Kenyon and had an amazing experience. Their academic rigor exceeded our expectations and at least in the humanities and social sciences it was on par with the Ivy school where we both taught undergrads (it was even a better experience because of their individual attention to students and undergrad focus). So, I wouldn’t worry about the level of education you’re going to receive. Congratulations on your excellent options!
I’m shocked that you think you were rejected when you got into all of those schools. Most of the students in the US don’t get those opportunities. You received merit scholarships that a lot of our students in the US would not even be considered for. In other words be grateful that you got in to a US university. I’m sorry your parents don’t think they are prestigious enough, but that’s their issue.
If you are majoring in film and you got into UCI, then I would suggest UCI because it is close to the film industry in California. The UCs ARE well regarded. They are KNOWN throughout the world. It will be expensive. But it does have both majors.
I agree that the film industry is not considered a good prospect for finding jobs in the US, but you’ll be returning to China after you graduate, so you should research that industry in your home country.
U of T is one of the best universities in Canada and the world. It also apparently has a very good program in both cinema/film and environmental science. It may have over 50,000 students at the main campus and thousands more over the three locations, but it also has 35% Chinese with many being international students. Considering the price, the demographics, and the quality of education, this looks like an excellent choice for you if you don’t mind the large school environment in a large Canadian city.
UCI also has many international students and an Asian population of about 40%. Irvine also has many Chinese living in its community and there are many Asian markets and restaurants relatively close by. You could use a car, though. It’s also expensive for international students price wise. However, it’s really not that close to “Hollywood” and is about an hour and a half drive to any major studios. It’s a great school like people say, but is not necessarily known for its film program, more so for its engineering and to a lesser degree its business programs.
OSU, Rutgers, and Pitt are flagship state schools of their respective states. All fine colleges. They are all large universities with quite a few Asian and international students. Although Rutgers does have the highest percentage and is relatively close to NYC. Ohio State is not necessarily close to any city with a high number of Asians as is Pitt.
I can’t speak much on Kenyon or Denison, but they are small LACs that are reputable schools. Kenyon and Denison are in Ohio and have very small Asian or Chinese populations.
NEU is a good school in Boston with about 20,000 students. Boston is a fine city with a lot happening and is great fun for the students who all seem to get together from the different schools. BU is literally down the street with Harvard, Tufts and MIT close by. They also are known for their co-op programs and may allow you opportunities to work in the fields you are interested in. However, I do not know how this works for international students.
If I were in your shoes, I would probably look at U of T very closely since it’s a great global school with a very good program that has a large international and specifically Chinese community.
My son, a US citizen who grew up in Japan, is a recent Denison graduate. I don’t know about Kenyon, but according to Denison’s current Fast Facts, the school has 17% international students and their top country is China, with Japan, Nepal, South Korea and Vietnam also in the top ten. So the school actually has a substantial Chinese and Asian population. I do not know the school’s reputation in China, but I would think it would be among the better-known US LACs given this track record. It’s a terrific school, and that’s a very impressive financial award.
I will echo others–you have some great offers and a mix of such offers and rejections is expected with your application list.
I would assume Toronto is probably the most globally famous institution on your list, and Toronto is a fantastic fun diverse city. So that is one good choice.
I would not rule out Kenyon, however. Even in the US, the casual public may not know much about such Liberal Arts and Sciences Colleges, but people in academia and other next-step gatekeepers do. And a lot of times, what happens is a person from an LAC goes to a better-known university for graduate or professional school, or gets a job at a well-known corporation, goverment agency, non-profit, or so on. And then it really does not matter if everyone you meet knows your college. And they benefit from a great education and a lot of support for getting that next step opportunity.
Of course I can’t answer how it works in China, but at a minimum I would keep in mind that you could follow Kenyon with grad or professional school.
One thing no one has mentioned is the political situation in the US right now. And although this is not the politics thread, it’s important to know that many US colleges are advising international students not to leave the country this summer as there are fears they might not be able to get back in. We don’t know how that will all play out, but it’s just something to think about and weigh as part of your decision. Obviously you can avoid that entire situation since you have the University of Toronto acceptance. Good luck as you make your decision among the great choices you have!
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