I made a 1400 on the SAT✔
I am in the top 5% of my class✔
I’m class president ✔
I volunteer… A LOT ✔
I play 3 sports at a high level ✔
I took 6 AP classes ✔
But I still didn’t get into my dream school! ❌
WHY?
Ultimately, college admission is not really about you; it’s about the college. A rejection is not a reflection of your worthiness or lack thereof; it’s about what a college needs in a given admissions cycle.
When it comes to selective schools (i.e., those that accept less than 50% of applicants), you may be surprised to learn that admissions decisions have less to do with you and more to do with factors that are out of your control.
7 Annoying Reasons you May be Denied that have Almost Nothing to do with You
Annoying Reason 1: Numbers
Colleges receive WAY more qualified applicants than they can accept
- Highly selective schools may reject 10 or more highly qualified applicants for every 1 they accept
- For the 2021 admissions cycle, UNC Chapel Hill received 1,940 applications for its early action deadline. Up 10% from 2020!
- By January 5, 2021, Brown had received 46,469 applications. Up 26% from 2020!
- For the 2021 admissions cycle, the University of Georgia received more than 20,500 applications. Up from 17,000 from 2020!
You get the point; it’s not personal; it’s a numbers game.
Annoying Reason 2: Holistic Admissions
A holistic approach to admissions is positive, but not perfect.
- Let’s face it, “holistic review” is just another way of saying “subjective review.”
- What an admissions counselor or team is looking for when your application is read, who knows?
You get the point; it’s not personal; you don’t get to decide what matters.
Annoying Reason 3: Being Human
All people are subject to bias, even if unintended.
- At the end of the day, admissions counselors are human
- Is it possible your essay resonates with someone on a personal level and tips the odds in your favor? Absolutely.
- Is it also possible that the person who reads your essay woke up with a migraine and no matter how good your application was, it had no chance from the start? Possibly.
You get the point; it’s not personal; admissions counselors are human too.
Annoying Reason 4: Economic
Most schools do not have need-blind admissions
- Less than 110 schools in the U.S. practice need-blind admissions; that leaves over 4,000 that are not
- Colleges don’t print money; they can only afford to give so much away
You get the point; it’s not personal; it’s economics.
Annoying Reason 5: Resources
Other applicants had more resources than you did.
- Plugged in counselors
- Standardized test prep
- Independent college counselors
- Elite private schools
- Educated parents
- Legacies
- Athletics
You get the point; it’s not personal; it’s not fair; privilege gives some people a leg up.
Annoying Reason 6: The Impact of Yield on Rankings
Yield = the number of accepted students that enroll. Colleges really care about rankings.
- Higher yields reflect positively in rankings
- A stellar application at a competitive school could signal that it is not your first choice
You get the point; it’s not personal; fortunately, this is likely a rare occurrence.
Annoying Reason 7: They want X, but you are Y.
- You just weren’t what they were looking for at the moment your application was considered
- Maybe they didn’t need another biology major
- More education majors would round out the class; too bad you’re an engineering major
You get the point; it’s not personal; it’s about whether or not you fill a need.
What can you do?
Focus on what you can control. Put your best foot forward. Be authentic. Remember it’s not so much where you go, but what you do while you are there. Put yourself out there; take calculated risks; a rejection, though disappointing, is not life-ending. And…
Remember, it really isn’t personal!
Questions? Drop me a line at kathy@fineeducationalsolutions.com.
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