The Official "I Did NOT Get In and I Need Some Encouragement!" Thread

[Meg]

yes thats a great example. Loads of people meet Harvard's applicant pools and are 'matches' but it doesn't mean they'll get in. Sometimes it's just a bit of a crapshoot.

 

[MichelleYue]

I got capped from UT Austin... I did get accepted into SMU, so I suppose it's not all too bad.

 

[eternitygoddess]

^I did all AP's and honors.

 

[Sweet Jane]

^what were the reaches?

 

[eternitygoddess]

^Oh lord. ><. Here goes.

Harvard
UPenn
Columbia
MIT
Stanford
Berkeley
Dartmouth

0 for 7.

 

[carioca]

Also like smartarse mentioned, there are lots of community colleges in California that are designed to transfer into UC schools provided you maitain a certain average.

not to mention it's a lot more affordable taking that route. you get your 2 years of GED done at a community college, and you will literally save thousands in comparison to the fresh/soph years at a UC. also you get the exact same classes as a UC student in a CC, except, obviously not the name recognition of a UC school.

it's an option i'm thinking about heavily, but i'm still applying to UC's and privates, except my senior year isn't until next.

 

[Sweet Jane]

^Oh lord. ><. Here goes.

Harvard
UPenn
Columbia
MIT
Stanford
Berkeley
Dartmouth

0 for 7.

those are incredibly difficult schools to get into! you shouldn't feel bad about it. and if you're not a California resident its almost impossible to get into Berkley, even if your a genius.

 

[clarex]

Reading this thread as someone from the UK makes the US application procedure sound sooo complex!

 

[KhaoticKharma]

Reading this thread as someone from the UK makes the US application procedure sound sooo complex!

It is. And, sadly, the level of difficulty in college admissions is fairly recent, sparked by the popularity of the online application that makes it possible for nearly everyone to apply anywhere they want to; as more people go to college as well, the applicant pool is now huge. So for private schools, like the Ivys, they are limited in spots.


eternitygoddess, if it isn't too personal to ask, are you in a public or private high school? If you go to a public school, I can almost gaurentee you that that's why you didn't get into any of your reach schools... they (private institutions, especially Ivy leauge ones) have a certain amount of spaces avaliable to public school students, and they probably filled a great many of them in early admissions (not all of course; most public school students need to wait for scholarships and aid, naturally).

 

[eternitygoddess]

^I attend one of those elite prep schools that regularly send batches of kids to the Ivies, including many of my classmates this year.

sadly, i wasn't one of them.

 

[ptowngal]

The Ivies had a record # of applicants. 27,000 at Harvard I heard. I assume it's the same for the rest of them as well.

I'm posting here because I need some serious encouragement. I did get into my top school early decision, but today I just received a warning from my academic advisor about my grade in math and possible rescindment which could follow. I'm guessing our 3rd quarter grades go to colleges? I already withdrew my other apps as you are required to by ED contract. If I get my acceptance withdrawn I don't know what I'll do! Does anybody know? Will one bad class give you the axe?

 

[fashion_boi_01]

The Ivies had a record # of applicants. 27,000 at Harvard I heard. I assume it's the same for the rest of them as well.

I'm posting here because I need some serious encouragement. I did get into my top school early decision, but today I just received a warning from my academic advisor about my grade in math and possible rescindment which could follow. I'm guessing our 3rd quarter grades go to colleges? I already withdrew my other apps as you are required to by ED contract. If I get my acceptance withdrawn I don't know what I'll do! Does anybody know? Will one bad class give you the axe?

When I got my acceptance letters, they had explicitly stated required marks for specific classes (like English with at least 70%.) If I don't fulfill that requirement on my final grades, they can rescind my offer. They don't do that with midterm grades though, as there's still time for improvement.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

^I attend one of those elite prep schools that regularly send batches of kids to the Ivies, including many of my classmates this year.

sadly, i wasn't one of them.

Well, on the flip side, perhaps that hindered you; after all, they do have to take some of us financially challenged folk.

And, as said earlier, they are reaches for a reason. I am willing to bet good karma points that you'll get into the majority of your good matches.

 

[shmooey]

Hi, I'm currently in college but from my senior year experience, the better the university the more likely they will to be accommodating to a minor lapse into senioritis. Worst case scenerio, you can always offer to make up the grade in summer school. They know you've worked hard to get in.

Is the warning letter from your academic advisor or from the college itself? I wouldn't worry to much about actually getting the acceptance rescinded if its from advisor--usually advisors send out such notices to get students back on track and talking to him/her about possible solutions should be immensely helpful. If the letter was from the college, definitely talk to your advisor first to get his/her full support behind you when you call the college.

Congrats on getting into your first choice and good luck!

 

[ptowngal]

^It wasn't a letter. My academic advisor talked to me today because our grades for this quarter are given in a few days. But he's been at my school for decades and has the most experience. Usually he jokes a lot, but this time he was really serious. And when I talked to my college counselor afterward, what she said wasn't much different. I haven't received a letter from the university- they usually warn students about this if they're really in danger right?

 

[ptowngal]

When I got my acceptance letters, they had explicitly stated required marks for specific classes (like English with at least 70%.) If I don't fulfill that requirement on my final grades, they can rescind my offer. They don't do that with midterm grades though, as there's still time for improvement.

they didn't mention what the requirements were- so I really have no idea. they just said, you'd better maintain your grades.

 

[ptowngal]

I've never heard of that happening to anyone before. And one of the common misconceptions about early decision is that it is an official or legal contract. They are usually not created as official contract but are more like a gentleman's agreement. You do not legally have to go to the school no matter what anybody tells you. The schools collectively, however, usually agree to not grant admission to those who back out of their early decision agreement. It annoys me how universities blatantly take advantage of their applicants.

I'm with you! But I probably wouldn't have gotten in otherwise. But right now all my other apps and acceptances I received are voided. So I'd have nowhere else to go!

 

[ptowngal]

I have to sign off now, but thank you all for your advice and support! You really made my day a whole lot brighter!

 

[shmooey]

I actually don't know of anyone who's received such a letter from the university, only a few seniors who stopped going to class or something similar and received strict warnings from the high school. They all turned out fine, and I believe, since your advisor caught the problem mid-semester, the university will not even hear about it. Actually, wait, don't know if quarter grades are sent; I went to a semester school. But nevertheless, as long as you bring up the grade to a respectable C or B (and advisor should really talk to the teacher too if bringing up the grade might be an issue--mercy for your last semester!), it would be very unreasonable, and very unlikely, for the school to rescind your acceptance. Especially considering that by applying ED you've committed yourself.

 

[Sweet Jane]

I have to agree with Sweet_Jane about being a California resident. A boy from my high school scored a 2400 on his SAT in one sitting and was rejected from both Stanford AND Berkeley because he was from NYC. He appealed and it didn't do anything.

Yeah, most of my good friends got into Berkley (I live in CA) with pretty good scores, but a few of my friends out-of-state had waaay better scores and got rejected (one of their parents even donated like over a million dollars to school!). All the UCs are like that, since I guess the point is to offer good education at a lower cost to California students (and other states schools are like that too) but I know Berkley is the most extreme.
As for getting an offer reascended, what I've heard is that its extremely unlikely unless you fail a class, don't graduate on time, that sort of thing. Your counselor was probably just warning you to make sure your grade didn't slip more... if you got into a competitive school, probably just making sure you don't get a C is enough I would think.
Oh, and I don't think that colleges receive quarter grades/mid semester reports? That's what all my teachers have been saying, because my quarter ends this week...