College Admissions - Please Read

[Greg Marra]

That was posted by Ben Jones, right?

I read Ben's article, and it is extremely wise and insightful. (Ben Jones is a really cool guy, if you ever go to any of the MIT roaming presentations and get a chance to talk to him, do so). There are plenty of opportunities in life, and if one doesn't work out for you, you just have to look around and find something else.

FIRST has really shown me this. When I joined my school's team last year, it was because I heard they needed a new programmer. What I found was so much more than that. I became interested in lots of different aspects of the team, and I learned a lot about how science and technology are used in the "real world" that I never would have gotten out of my high school education otherwise.

Because of FIRST, I applied to a number of engineering schools (and it certainly didn't hurt my odds of getting in). Who knows where each of us would be if we hadn't been affected by this program?

Life isn't a set track: you have to go out and make your own path.

[dubious elise]

Wow Genia. I'm glad you sent this to me and posted it on CD. After watching my four older siblings go through the same gauntlet I'm going through right now, it's always enlightening to see the other side of the wall.

[techtiger1]

Originally Posted by dubious elise

Wow Genia. I'm glad you sent this to me and posted it on CD. After watching my four older siblings go through the same gauntlet I'm going through right now, it's always enlightening to see the other side of the wall.

Basically, Genia this post says it all about this thread, I recently got rejected by a college as well and was feeling really bad about it. However, this has shown the other side of the story which is never really seen or mentioned. Also I must meet this Ben Jones who is quite the insightful person himself on the subject.

Excellent post,
Drew

[Tim Baird]

Hey guys,
As someone who has gone through undergrad, currently getting my MS and applying to business schools to hopefully get my MBA, I've learned one thing about applying and searching for schools from my buddy Frost: life goes on.

If you don't get into your top choice school, it's a good chance that you'll still get a very high quality education from another institution. Just make sure that you apply to several schools, spend the proper amount of time writing your essays to give the best impression of yourself, and just keep up the good work with your daily grades. If you do all of that, you're doing the best you can do and it'll show come time for admissions.

Goodluck,
Tim

[RoboMom]

Ah Genia,
Big hug headed across cyberspace to you.

I've got one son in college and another in high school. What you all are going through is insane.

Not that I am by any stretch of the imagination, any sort of a role model, but what I was convinced I wanted to do "when I grew up" changed so much from when I first entered college. I transferred 3 times, dropped out to take one of the best jobs I ever had (washing dishes in the White Mts.), and finally got an undergraduate degree after 8 years. I also have earned a graduate degree.

You are going to do fine and be fine at any school you go to. And if you don't like where you end up, transfer! The hurt will fade, you will move on. You are so full of life and spunk; you are going to end up making a difference in the world and I predict in ways you haven't even thought of yet.

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

Like many above have said, moving on is best. I spoke to my parents, I spoke to my friends. I posted the admissions decision on a public forum, and I accepted it . Good luck to everyone applying, and I will post when I find out my next 3 decisions over the next two weeks.

[Mark Pierce]

Great Post!

I've watched my two kids and getting close to 50 FIRST students going through the college admissions process. It can be a lot of work and an emotional roller coaster. It does seem to work out in the end, wherever they end up at. Since they started as great kids, they do well as long as they keep applying themselves.

I'd also like to recommend the College Confidential website as a resource for anyone trying to figure our the ins and outs of college selection and college life. My wife and daughter participate and highly recommend it.

Good luck to all the seniors as they go through this!

[Kevin Sevcik]

It could be worse. You could get accepted to Caltech and Harvey Mudd and still not be able to (sanely) afford to attend cause of how silly their financial aid policies are... Not that I know anyone (else) that has happened to. As Tim said, big name schools are really neat, but your higher education is what you make of it. There are still lots of opportunities to do great things at other engineering schools. You'll just have to seek them out more than you would otherwise.

[Tim Baird]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

It could be worse. You could get accepted to Caltech and Harvey Mudd and still not be able to (sanely) afford to attend cause of how silly their financial aid policies are... Not that I know anyone (else) that has happened to. As Tim said, big name schools are really neat, but your higher education is what you make of it. There are still lots of opportunities to do great things at other engineering schools. You'll just have to seek them out more than you would otherwise.

Exactly. Regardless of what school you go to, it all comes down to the effort you put into your studies, the opportunities that you pursue, and the friends you meet that make up your college experience. While the name on the diploma can seem important, it's what you learn and how you grow personally that matters.

And, I might sound a hair biased on this one, but have you considered WPI? MIT was my dream school earlier on, but I wanted (and I mean no offense to anyone in love with/going to/graduated from MIT) a more well rounded education from a smaller school. WPI provided all of that as well as the ability to see the world. I did two overseas projects, one in Reykjavik, Iceland and another in London, England. I liked it so much, I'm now getting my MS in ME there part time. Plus, they have a decent FIRST team.

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

I think the college decision process itself is somewhat ridiculous. I applied to 3 safety/matches (PU, U Mich, Northwestern) and 4 hard/reaches (Cornell, Stanford, Yale, MIT). Knowing that the last 4 were reaches kept me more grounded than some of the people I saw posting on the MIT blog site.

[JaneYoung]

I'm watching 2 friends in my neighborhood struggle with rejects right now. They each have learning disabilities. Cool kids. They've grown up with me, blowing up things, putting wires together to make noise, bringing me loads of geckos and toads - their mother sends them over...

Always asking w-h-y. They fit all the criteria in the letter you posted except they can't make those incredible grades...no way. Ever.

I've encouraged them to think about Jenny's road. It is rock solid. They are making alternative decisions now and I'm hoping those decisions include fun. Photography, drawing, welding along with the academics.

And The Beatles. Never discount The Beatles. No matter the road, the choice, be it MIT or GIT, Harvey Mudd or CalTech - or hey, down here at UT - The Beatles - they'll get you through. 'good day sunshine, bumpadump, good day sunshine....'
Jane

[Avarik]

Thanks for the post!

I too was rejected from MIT after dreaming about it for 6 years now. But, like many here have said, I managed to move on, and realize that all isn't lost. It's an emotional time for all college-bound high school students, as I've learned in the past few weeks. After some good, hard thought, I came to the conclusion that it's best not to put too much love into one school - atleast not until they accept you anyways.

[ScoutingNerd175]

I'm here with you on the craziness that is the college application process. I don't know that we've talked of much else other than college for most of the year. Since the day I started receiving letters (those scary small ones that you are afraid to open, and it turns out that they are just writing to tell you about an open house.) opening the mailbox has been an exercise in my emotional strength that is not over yet. (still waiting on one) At this point my goal in life is to make my final decision and send my deposit before I leave for nationals.
So I'm with you on the absolute craziness of this process. I just try to remember that I've applied to amazing schools and I will be happy wherever I go. I'm sure that the same goes for any of us.

[RoboMadi]

Genia I'm really sorry to hear about that. But as alot of people has said it before, moving on is the best. I myslef applied to MIT, and got waitlisted (sigh). Looking at the facts from the previous years, i only have a 5% chance to get in. But i myself is looking on the bright side and is moving on to my other options. Almost 11000 people applied and only 1100 got in.
The main point is that it doesn't matter where you are what you do.... its all about doing the right thing on the right time and at the right place as my dad said. I'm not sure as of now which college i'm going to attend, but i did get excepted at BU, WPI, V-Tech and George Mason.

Good luck to all of you with your college admissions.

[Rick TYler]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

It could be worse. You could get accepted to Caltech (...) and still not be able to (sanely) afford to attend cause of how silly their financial aid policies are... Not that I know anyone (else) that has happened to.

Interesting comment. CalTech in particular has a reputation for being generous with financial aid.