<p>There are similar threads on CC about kids who don’t make it into all their top choice universities; unfortunately, I don’t know any off hand. Unfortunately, your predicament is all-too-common. If you take a gap year and reapply, realize that it’s almost application season already; you need to come up with a plan AND some results before reapplying. You also (obvious in hindsight) need to come up with safety schools. I wouldn’t recommend early applications to schools of the level that rejected you before; you have to have completed, or at least made a significant dent in, the “beef up your application” that Jason mentioned first. </p>
<p>In addition to safety schools, try to determine where you went wrong. For Harvard and Duke and maybe some of the others, your failure could have been nothing more than not winning the lottery. But it could also be your essays or your recommendations; analyze your essays carefully. Ask your recommenders if they could in good conscience recommend you for Harvard-caliber schools. Figure out what it is that you like about the schools that you applied for and see if you’re really a good fit, or where you may fit better.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you take college credit courses, you may have to apply as a transfer, and transfer admissions are more difficult than Freshman admissions at most top schools.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>