By Sally Springer
While many students find themselves excited by the task of choosing
a college once their acceptances are in, others find themselves
disappointed. Students who are admitted only to one or two colleges
they never really liked, but denied or waitlisted by those they
really wanted to attend, may not be excited by any of the choices.
It isn’t fun to be told “no” by a school you
are really enthusiastic about, and when several such colleges say “no,” it
is even harder. Understanding how uncertain the outcome can be
at highly selective colleges can make it easier to accept each
outcome gracefully – whether it is an acceptance or a denial.
The best approach to dealing with disappointment is to avoid the
problem in the first place. The key is to distribute your college
applications among three categories based on the likelihood of
admission, making sure that all of the colleges on your list are
ones where you could actually see yourself attending happily. You
want to be sure that you have at least one or two choices in the “good
bet” category. A “good bet” college is one where,
given your record, you are almost certain to be admitted. The next
category, which we call “possible” colleges, involves
chances that can range from “pretty likely” to “fifty-fifty” to “not
too likely.” The final category, “long shot” colleges,
includes those where the college’s acceptance rate in conjunction
with our own record makes admission unlikely but not impossible.
Developing a college list can be an enjoyable process for you and
your family. We encourage you to begin with a careful self-assessment
using a questionnaire, like the one we include in our book, Admission
Matters, to identify college characteristics that are important
to you. Then use the results of the questionnaire to develop a
list of good fit colleges, narrowing the list as you learn more
about the schools themselves and their degree of selectivity in
relation to your own record. Often students spend most of their
time selecting long shot and possible colleges, with good bet colleges
an afterthought. This is a mistake. A good college list is the
result of a lot of thoughtful introspection, as well as thorough
research about colleges. With over 2,000 four-year colleges in
the United States, there are many that will be a good fit for you.
Joyce Mitchell, a wise high school counselor, advises students
to select colleges in such a way that each is a “first” choice.
This is excellent advice.
Can I appeal my denial?
“
OK,” you say, “I understand all of this. But is there
anything I can do to turn a deny decision at my dream college into
an acceptance?” Students often ask if they can appeal a denial.
The reality is that selective colleges only rarely admit students
following an appeal. Although some colleges may invite appeals
based on new information, most consider their decisions final except
in the case where a serious error has been made. Every now and
then transcripts get switched, for example, or tests are mis-scored.
The recent mis-scoring of several thousand SATs from the October
2005 test administration resulted in colleges reviewing admissions
decisions for many applicants. But these situations are rare. If
you are thinking about an appeal, contact the admissions office
first and ask about their appeal process. Then decide if it is
worth your time and energy to proceed, knowing that a positive
outcome may be unlikely.
What about a “gap” year?
Students who are denied by their dream college sometimes ask if
they should defer going to college for a year and then reapply.
Should you? Sometimes a student can strengthen his or her case
for admission by using a gap year to make their background more
distinctive through special study programs, travel, internships,
etc. If test scores were a concern, a gap year can provide an opportunity
for retesting. But often there is no particular problem that can
be remedied by a gap year – the student may have been well
qualified for admission to his or her top choice, but there were
simply too many applicants for the number of spaces available.
And given that this is most often the case, there are no guarantees
about admission the following year either.
Can I transfer after a year?
Given the uncertainties associated with a gap year, it may be wiser
to attend one of the schools that has accepted you, with an eye
toward trying to transfer the following year. Although the most
selective schools can be as difficult for transfers as freshman
admits, the transfer route remains a viable option to consider
especially if you do exceptionally well during your freshman year.
College websites include information about their transfer application
process and deadlines. But you may find, as many students do, that
thoughts about transferring fade once you start to feel at home
in your new school.
Waiting list limbo
A waiting list consists of applicants who are not admitted or denied
outright but who are notified that they will be considered for
admission if space becomes available later in the spring. What
should you make of a letter that essentially puts you in limbo
at your dream school? Usually there is little movement from a waiting
list until colleges have a clear indication of how many admitted
students will actually accept the offer of admission, and that
generally doesn’t happen until after the May 1 reply deadline.
Mid-May through June are the busiest times for waiting list notifications.
If you decide to remain on a waiting list, you will need to return
the card that comes with your notification letter. It is also wise
to discuss your interest in the college with your high school counselor.
Your counselor can help your cause by contacting the college and
conveying support for you, as well as your enthusiasm for the college.
A letter from you expressing interest, as well as any new accomplishments,
is also important.
Remember, the movement from the waiting list at a selective college
is a long shot at best – many more students are placed on
the waiting list than will be admitted. You will need to submit
a deposit by May 1 to one of the colleges that accepted you. If
you are admitted off the waiting list at a college you’d
prefer to attend, you’ll need to submit a deposit to the
preferred college. You’ll have to let the first college know
you won’t be attending after all, and you’ll end up
forfeiting the first deposit. The risk associated with remaining
on a waiting list is that it will spoil your excitement about getting
ready for college since you are still hoping to be admitted somewhere
else. Sometimes the need for closure is far better than the emotional
limbo that staying on a waiting list can create.
Putting things in perspective
Dwelling on the negative, as well as the “what ifs,” does
little to move you forward if you find yourself initially disappointed
with the outcome of the admissions process. All colleges, no matter
how highly rated or well regarded, have faults. And all colleges,
even the most humble by most measure, have good points. We can’t
emphasize enough that if you have done your research carefully
at the outset, you can be confident that your choice will be a
good one no matter what form it finally takes. One young woman
was denied by all colleges except her one good bet. Disappointed,
she decided to approach things as positively as she could. Ten
weeks into her freshman year, she enthusiastically reported that
she was very happy with her choice. She loved her classes, her
new friends and the college itself. Each year thousands and thousands
of students have similarly happy endings after things didn’t
work out according to their original plan.
Sally P. Springer,
Ph.D. is associate chancellor at UC Davis and the co-author, with
Marion Franck, of Admission Matters: What Students and Parents
Need to Know About Getting Into College, Jossey Bass, 2005. A sample
chapter can be found at www.admissionmatters.com.
|
