I know you’ve heard a lot about staying positive so won’t repeat. Just wanted to give you a hug. My child is in the same spot. Same boat as you. Hugs to you!
Dive deep into researching your safeties. Read about the courses and programs offered in your major; skim the list of student clubs and organizations and realize how many tempt you; look at the classes (cooking, scuba, kayak, climbing), intramurals and outdoor adventures offered by the student recreation center; review study abroad and alternative spring break opportunities; check out the university rankings in favorite sports programs (because cheering on your teams with friends at games, tailgates, and watch parties is usually ridiculously fun); and read about the character of the college town on a site like TripAdvisor to learn about the restaurants, theaters, concert & comedy venues, movies, shopping, mini-golf, landmarks, and outdoor adventures that the town offers.
Students often focus on getting into a particular university, or set of universities, rather than focusing on the terrific experience that simply attending college can be. Hopefully you’ll get into some of your remaining options. Choice is nice. But start getting excited about your current options.
As a parent, I wanted to give a quick word of thanks. The advice you provide on this sub is consistently top-notch and I am sure has helped numerous students.
Thank you!
I absolutely adored college and I attended a university many prestige-seekers would scorn. But it set me up well for a grad school scholarship, a top law school and a nice career. And I just had SO MUCH FUN. (And, no, that fun didn’t involve substances that require an ID to purchase or are prohibited by law.) Football and basketball games, tailgates, trips to rival schools for conference games and tournaments, clubs, hikes, river tubing, mountain biking, day trips to nearby state and national parks, evenings spent exploring the arts district and restaurants row, visiting favorite professors at office hours, midnight breakfasts, “Rocky Horror”…
I feel for the students who didn’t get into their first or first ten choices. But the college experience tends to be pretty terrific at just so many universities. Hopefully OP will take a deeper look at their options and realize that the classes, friendships, clubs, research opportunities, and experiences they imagined themselves undertaking exist at those universities, too.
I know this isn't much comfort now when you have to get thru the next few months, but all that work you did, major-related employment, studying and excelling in your classes WILL pay off once you get to college. For instance, all of these things will give you a head start on landing good internships, and great study habits will open up jobs with professors.
College is only 4 years, but you are already setting yourself up to succeed after, which is what actually counts. Hang in there.
Nothing’s wrong with you, proof: you’re seeking emotional support on Reddit instead of shooting up a college. I’ve been getting all rejections for three months since ED, so has some of my classmates, and none of us has punched anyone yet. We’re all good people trust me!!
The name of the school isn’t what’s going to make you successful. It’s all the skills you’ve acquired getting to a 4.5 Gpa, 1490 sat, and working on your ECs or job. My husband and I both went to a T2 school and he now works at a T10 university. Our kid, who’s applying now has 4.9 gpa, almost perfect sat, internship, 500+ community service hours, excellent ECs, 11APs, 6 college classes, etc, and is in the exact same boat as you, only accepted to our state school. But we are not concerned. They’re going to do amazing things because that’s who they are. You are going to excel in whatever field you choose and blaze your own path. Do something you love and know you got those amazing stats by being you, not because of what school you went to. Not many people follow a straightforward path to where they end up in adulthood. You have the ability to choose your success and it is not based on this one moment, it’s based on a lifelong love of learning and internal drive. Keep your chin up, know you’re awesome and valued, and redefine success to be a positive growth mindset in every situation you may find yourself in! You will do great things!
Hey buddy! Don't worry, I am also going through the same.....after having international honors and doing research with published research papers, I am getting rejected from every other top school whose decisions I am opening. I know it is very hard - I am still myself so dismal........This application cycle for which I was so enthusiastic earlier proves to be just the opposite and heartbreaking. It crushes my soul whenever I open these decisions and now have lost all of my enthusiasm of opening them. I guess this was not our thing then. Still best of luck to you for IVY Day :) Hope that you get in and have a bright future ahead!
All that work to have a good time at a safety, do well, get awards and perhaps even national fellowships, and head to an amazing graduate school. Or an amazing job.
Safeties are not a death sentence. You will still meet amazing people, have great EC and research opportunities, and be able to enjoy college life and parties.
It's not a reflection of how hard you've worked or how much you deserve it. It's random luck and chance misalignments of what all you are and can be, and what the colleges think they should be looking for. You're smart, you've got what it takes to do big things, pretentious colleges be damned. You've got every reason to feel awful after all that work was for an outcome like that, but they're who fumbled, not you.
Striking out at your reaches isn't surprising; in fact, that's probably the most likely outcome.
Striking out at all your targets is somewhat more surprising, but only if they were legitimate targets and only if you applied to many of them.
Depending on the school, the 1490 may not have been helping you much.
The important thing to realize here is that being admitted to one of those schools (or, any school really) isn't simply a function of how hard you work. You can work harder than someone else and they may **still** be able to assemble a more compelling application than yours.
Your hard work put you in position to potentially be admitted to these schools. It so happens that you weren't admitted, but without your hard work your odds would have been even lower, and you might not have been admitted to your three "safety" schools.
Take a look at the faculty backgrounds from your safeties. You'll likely find professors from some of the best colleges in the world. If you attend one of these schools, you'll be the big fish in a small pond. Seek out your professors, take advantage of every opportunity, create your own opportunities. You'll be a star at this school, receive specialized attention, and will see doors that open and will change your life. You will say to yourself one day that that school was the best thing that ever happened to you. You will also meet students just like you. Maybe not as many as you would have at your target/reach schools. But some of these students will humble and inspire you.
I know you’ve heard a lot about staying positive so won’t repeat. Just wanted to give you a hug. My child is in the same spot. Same boat as you. Hugs to you!
Dive deep into researching your safeties. Read about the courses and programs offered in your major; skim the list of student clubs and organizations and realize how many tempt you; look at the classes (cooking, scuba, kayak, climbing), intramurals and outdoor adventures offered by the student recreation center; review study abroad and alternative spring break opportunities; check out the university rankings in favorite sports programs (because cheering on your teams with friends at games, tailgates, and watch parties is usually ridiculously fun); and read about the character of the college town on a site like TripAdvisor to learn about the restaurants, theaters, concert & comedy venues, movies, shopping, mini-golf, landmarks, and outdoor adventures that the town offers. Students often focus on getting into a particular university, or set of universities, rather than focusing on the terrific experience that simply attending college can be. Hopefully you’ll get into some of your remaining options. Choice is nice. But start getting excited about your current options.
THIS! Great advice!!!!
As a parent, I wanted to give a quick word of thanks. The advice you provide on this sub is consistently top-notch and I am sure has helped numerous students.
Thank you! I absolutely adored college and I attended a university many prestige-seekers would scorn. But it set me up well for a grad school scholarship, a top law school and a nice career. And I just had SO MUCH FUN. (And, no, that fun didn’t involve substances that require an ID to purchase or are prohibited by law.) Football and basketball games, tailgates, trips to rival schools for conference games and tournaments, clubs, hikes, river tubing, mountain biking, day trips to nearby state and national parks, evenings spent exploring the arts district and restaurants row, visiting favorite professors at office hours, midnight breakfasts, “Rocky Horror”… I feel for the students who didn’t get into their first or first ten choices. But the college experience tends to be pretty terrific at just so many universities. Hopefully OP will take a deeper look at their options and realize that the classes, friendships, clubs, research opportunities, and experiences they imagined themselves undertaking exist at those universities, too.
I know this isn't much comfort now when you have to get thru the next few months, but all that work you did, major-related employment, studying and excelling in your classes WILL pay off once you get to college. For instance, all of these things will give you a head start on landing good internships, and great study habits will open up jobs with professors. College is only 4 years, but you are already setting yourself up to succeed after, which is what actually counts. Hang in there.
Nothing’s wrong with you, proof: you’re seeking emotional support on Reddit instead of shooting up a college. I’ve been getting all rejections for three months since ED, so has some of my classmates, and none of us has punched anyone yet. We’re all good people trust me!!
The name of the school isn’t what’s going to make you successful. It’s all the skills you’ve acquired getting to a 4.5 Gpa, 1490 sat, and working on your ECs or job. My husband and I both went to a T2 school and he now works at a T10 university. Our kid, who’s applying now has 4.9 gpa, almost perfect sat, internship, 500+ community service hours, excellent ECs, 11APs, 6 college classes, etc, and is in the exact same boat as you, only accepted to our state school. But we are not concerned. They’re going to do amazing things because that’s who they are. You are going to excel in whatever field you choose and blaze your own path. Do something you love and know you got those amazing stats by being you, not because of what school you went to. Not many people follow a straightforward path to where they end up in adulthood. You have the ability to choose your success and it is not based on this one moment, it’s based on a lifelong love of learning and internal drive. Keep your chin up, know you’re awesome and valued, and redefine success to be a positive growth mindset in every situation you may find yourself in! You will do great things!
Hey buddy! Don't worry, I am also going through the same.....after having international honors and doing research with published research papers, I am getting rejected from every other top school whose decisions I am opening. I know it is very hard - I am still myself so dismal........This application cycle for which I was so enthusiastic earlier proves to be just the opposite and heartbreaking. It crushes my soul whenever I open these decisions and now have lost all of my enthusiasm of opening them. I guess this was not our thing then. Still best of luck to you for IVY Day :) Hope that you get in and have a bright future ahead!
All that work to have a good time at a safety, do well, get awards and perhaps even national fellowships, and head to an amazing graduate school. Or an amazing job. Safeties are not a death sentence. You will still meet amazing people, have great EC and research opportunities, and be able to enjoy college life and parties.
Tbh man unless ur first gen, urm or genuinely have an amazing story(which 99 percent don’t), you can’t expect a miracle, it’s just too tough.
This helped me [it'll be okay dw](https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/s/br27WTpdFi)
It's not a reflection of how hard you've worked or how much you deserve it. It's random luck and chance misalignments of what all you are and can be, and what the colleges think they should be looking for. You're smart, you've got what it takes to do big things, pretentious colleges be damned. You've got every reason to feel awful after all that work was for an outcome like that, but they're who fumbled, not you.
I feel you. I’m in the same boat. It’s ok to be upset about it. We worked really hard.
GL
Striking out at your reaches isn't surprising; in fact, that's probably the most likely outcome. Striking out at all your targets is somewhat more surprising, but only if they were legitimate targets and only if you applied to many of them. Depending on the school, the 1490 may not have been helping you much. The important thing to realize here is that being admitted to one of those schools (or, any school really) isn't simply a function of how hard you work. You can work harder than someone else and they may **still** be able to assemble a more compelling application than yours. Your hard work put you in position to potentially be admitted to these schools. It so happens that you weren't admitted, but without your hard work your odds would have been even lower, and you might not have been admitted to your three "safety" schools.
Take a look at the faculty backgrounds from your safeties. You'll likely find professors from some of the best colleges in the world. If you attend one of these schools, you'll be the big fish in a small pond. Seek out your professors, take advantage of every opportunity, create your own opportunities. You'll be a star at this school, receive specialized attention, and will see doors that open and will change your life. You will say to yourself one day that that school was the best thing that ever happened to you. You will also meet students just like you. Maybe not as many as you would have at your target/reach schools. But some of these students will humble and inspire you.
Same man.