College acceptances... What is it like being rejected by your top school? If you could go back, would you pick your top school?

[________________]

Do you buy the whole "It's not about where you go, but what you make of it" thing?

 

I didn't have this issue because I got into the school I wanted. 

 

But like yeah. Those 4 years really shape who you are. So I always wonder if people that didn't go to their top choice (within their reach) would have wanted things to turn out differently. All the people they met from college wouldn't be in their current circle.

 

But ugh. If I didn't get into my first choice, I would've been sad. 

 

I didn't apply to any Ivys since I knew I wasn't going to get in. But I don't know if I would've studied harder and tried to get into an Ivy if I could go back in time. 

 

But yeah. I feel like people who didn't get into their top choice and their top choice isn't an Ivy/that hard to get into, they should try to transfer. I know people that transferred and they were happier. Someone who got to my univ and didn't want to be there transferred to an Ivy and she's way happier.

 

I think transferring is cool. You basically have a decent amount of friends from two different schools. A school that's easier to get into. And a school that's harder to get into.

 

If I was qualified for an Ivy league school but didn't get it, I'd be pissed. But nowadays, the actual program itself is more important so -shrugs-.

[modella]

Crazy thing was, I applied to Harvard, did the phone interview and everything, but my teacher never submitted her personal essay she was supposed to write for me so my application was never finished.

I ended getting an e-mail from the person I'd interviewed congratulating me on my early acceptance, only to e-mail me a bit later saying that it was a mistake (my application wasn't compete). All these years I was like damn. If my teacher had written my recommendation like she was supposed to, would I had been at Harvard?

[HoneyPopCupcake]

Idk man, it depends. I went to a top College thanks to a scholarship but I feel like it depends a bit on both. I went to a public high school and when I got into College people always asked me if I went to this popular private one, they were shook when I said no. But then there's also hella awful garage colleges and they suck even if you're a great student I don't think you could do much there. Jobs wise most of the times you don't even apply what you learned in College, but like you said, those years really shape you as a person

[________________]

Crazy thing was, I applied to Harvard, did the phone interview and everything, but my teacher never submitted her personal essay she was supposed to write for me so my application was never finished.

I ended getting an e-mail from the person I'd interviewed congratulating me on my early acceptance, only to e-mail me a bit later saying that it was a mistake (my application wasn't compete). All these years I was like damn. If my teacher had written my recommendation like she was supposed to, would I had been at Harvard?

Dude that's kind of stupid because it's not your fault.

[blue7kaoru]

I got into the school i wanted but if i didn't i'd probably be sad then move on lol

[capital]

Devastating. Yes I got in the top department in another stream, but not getting into my dream college floored me completely.

[FactMan]

I applied again the following year and got in.

[caffe]

This is true story: I've been the 1st in row to get into my dream uni TWICE (I mean that if the uni accepted 40 new students, I was the 41st..). And they take new students only once a year. 

 

:-))))))))))))))))))))))

 

So on the 1st time I picked the 2nd uni that I had applied to and it was a complete rat hole. We didn't get any kind of guidance from our teachers and the atmosphere in my class was seriously bad.. I managed 1,5 years of it until I finally gave up last month.

[sublime]

i did have a first choice but didn't make it. i'm the type who don't care where i'm studying as long as they have good credibility and track record + the building is nice and has the resources i need.

[· Moonrise ·]

ahaha I‘m just reading this because I haven‘t heard back from my favorite schools yet

[rebelheart]

"It's not about where you go, but what you make of it" is true to some extent, but it's very contextual. If you want to work for companies in the same city/state as that school, attending a school and starting a life in that area will make the process so much easier when you start applying for entry level jobs. If you don't really care where you work, are good at networking, or are talented enough to beat all the local applicants for a distant position, then you can do well in an average school. But you should also keep in mind that the better the school, the better the networks, the better the jobs. Networking is unfortunately one of the most important things as far as jobs go. 

 

All these years I was like damn. If my teacher had written my recommendation like she was supposed to, would I had been at Harvard?

That must be horrible to live with, rip..

[modella]

"It's not about where you go, but what you make of it" is true to some extent, but it's very contextual. If you want to work for companies in the same city/state as that school, attending a school and starting a life in that area will make the process so much easier when you start applying for entry level jobs. If you don't really care where you work, are good at networking, or are talented enough to beat all the local applicants for a distant position, then you can do well in an average school. But you should also keep in mind that the better the school, the better the networks, the better the jobs. Networking is unfortunately one of the most important things as far as jobs go. 

 

That must be horrible to live with, rip..

Honestly, it didn’t hurt me too bad. I’d gotten into a University that I absolutely fell in love with and subsequently got into a great nursing school where I made life long friends! Even though I didn’t get into the Ivy Leauge, what you said is true, it’s what you make of it.

[Mrs. Morale]

I don't have a 'dream college'. But I do have a conditional offer for the college I applied for.

[dnb]

Do you buy the whole "It's not about where you go, but what you make of it" thing?

There's a lot of truth to that. The following talk addresses that topic, though its intro is rather long (maybe 3 minutes):

 

[________________]

There's a lot of truth to that. The following talk addresses that topic, though its intro is rather long (maybe 3 minutes):

 

Plus you can transfer lmaoo.

 

And what I started to realize was... at the end of the day, you're gonna be out of school eventually. And you'll need to take the initiative to find circles/friends/opportunities/communities/networks on your own since you won't have an entire school to do all the work to you.

 

Didn't watch but I'll get to it.

[cherry yuuki]

I never actually applied to my top school, just because I knew I could never afford it. I've since gotten my degree from my local university and despite how much I wanted to go to my 'dream school,' I'm content with my college experience anyway. Sure, I would've liked to move away and especially get to live on that beautiful campus, not to mention the school itself is one of the best ones in the country. However, my college wasn't bad (a bit of a mess, but other than that not bad,) had a nice campus, and most importantly, allowed me to get a degree without drowning in debt.

 

However...if I could go back, I would; I'd try 10 times harder at school just to get the best grades possible in hopes of getting scholarships. Ah, well.