Why you were rejected

johnny879
Mon, 19 Dec 2005 11:22:07 +0000

So many people have gotten on this forum to share stats and talk about why certain people were accepted or rejected. HolySpirit has a whole thread going about it. Obviously he was qualified, as are so many others. In fact, he is probably more qualified than many accepted applicants, but he didn’t get in. This makes no sense under ED–Penn could have had him if it had wanted him. Why didn’t they take him?

A lot of people scrutinize tests and EC’s and try to find some fault. However, there is no perfect application (or if there is, it is probably fabricated), and looking for minor faults is not going to expose the reason for rejection.

Everyone is forgetting the main reason for rejection: the adcom did not think it was a good match. They don’t just choose the smartest people, they choose the people who will be happiest and most successful at Penn. They are matchmakers. For those who have been rejected, there are three possibilities.

You were unqualified. Hardly anyone is not qualified, especially on CC.
You did not demonstrate that you were a good match. This is the whole point of the college application. The reason you did not demonstrate you are a good match is probably because you aren’t. If you care about getting into Penn, you will take the time to show that on your application.
You tried to demonstrate that you were a good match, but the adcom disagreed. I’d say this is where the vast majority of those rejected are. The adcom looked at who you are and thought that Penn wasn’t the ideal place. Sometimes the adcom is wrong on this, but sometimes they are right. If you are rejected, I’d suggest choosing to believe they are right.


Basically, what this means is that the long posts of numbers and lists of achievements are somewhat pointless. The truly important thing is whether or not you are a match for Penn. Sometimes people don’t even know that they are really not a match, and for these people, a rejection is a major blessing in disguise. The top schools are different, and people will have different experiences at them (see my other thread). Matchmaking is not a trivial matter, and there are factors that go into it beyond minor details on the application.

So to those who were not accepted: be happy, seriously. And keep trying at other good schools, because you have an excellent shot.

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