To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me

[AlphaFrog]

College selection is like recruitment... Not everyone is top tier material, as un-PC as it is. It's not the sorority's fault that the PNM is totally unremarkable. Also, college isn't for everyone - someone that mediocre is probably destined for a life of retail, with or without the degree to prove they can sit still for four years.

/Preaching to the choir

[sigmadiva]

Its always a good idea for hs seniors to apply to their dream schools, like the Ivy Leagues, and safe schools, like state schools.

[Gamma Xi Phi]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

College selection is like recruitment... Not everyone is top tier material, as un-PC as it is. It's not the sorority's fault that the PNM is totally unremarkable. Also, college isn't for everyone - someone that mediocre is probably destined for a life of retail, with or without the degree to prove they can sit still for four years.

/Preaching to the choir

I agree.

Admissions is also very much like casting for The Real World (the better years, not the current years). Many top tier colleges want the most diverse pool possible. Here's a few things I've learned:

• A compelling story (achieving against the odds) is always more favorable than simply having great test scores and grades
• Students are often competing against one another from the same state, not from a massive pool of 20,000+ applicants.
• Under-represented states are less competitive. (At schools which boast a freshman class representing all 50 states)
• Legacy only matters if mommy/daddy are donors
• The interview always matters. Alumni interviewers are really only looking at *fit*

I am only speaking of private, top-tier schools.

[KDCat]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

College selection is like recruitment... Not everyone is top tier material, as un-PC as it is. It's not the sorority's fault that the PNM is totally unremarkable. Also, college isn't for everyone - someone that mediocre is probably destined for a life of retail, with or without the degree to prove they can sit still for four years.

/Preaching to the choir

Even the "top tier" can't take everyone who is qualified. There are only so many seats in a new member class or in a freshman class. Harvard has space for X number of students and Yale has space for Y number of students and Wash U has space for Z number of students. Harvard might see something they like in a student who hates Harvard and is set on Wash U. Meanwhile, she can't get the time of day from Wash U. And thousands of other freshman are headed for perfectly fine careers from University of Illinois or Missouri Science and Technology.

It's okay and it will be okay. Time to grow up, kid.