not getting into the college of your choice?

Does anyone else share the pain?

I had my heart set on Berkeley. Found out today that its not going to happen. I'm quite upset.

I got accepted to USF which was my second choice but its too expensive, $50,000 too expensive. Should I go there and not make money an issue. My parents don't want me to be burdened with paying of loans after I'm done with college, especially not to that degree. What do you think I should do?

What about second and third choices? Are they options?

I applied to several colleges that I didn't get into simply because my transcript was late for those colleges (I don't know whether I WOULD have gotten in otherwise, but they didn't even consider me!) So I was disappointed.

I ended up going to a college that was like.. my FOURTH choice or something. And guess what? I thank god that I didn't go to those other schools because I am so very happy where I ended up!

Colleges are not all equal, but there is not going to be just ONE college that is right for you. You have to make these decisions based on all the factors.. location, cost, personality of the school. What I'm saying is that even if you go to a place that is less expensive, you can still get a great college experience and a great education. You can get financial aid (look into this asap).

I think you should go to the school that you want to go to, and worry about the money later. There are always options.

Making decisions about colleges can be incredibly difficult, especially when you have your heart set on one for whatever reason (program, reputation, location, etc).

Did you apply to more than USF and Berkeley? Looking at how many colleges kids apply to these days, I'm going to assume you have multiple schools to choose from. Take a step back and forget about the rankings you had in your mind before you received acceptance letters. Let those all go, and only look at the schools you've been accepted to, not the ones you wish you could attend. Write down your priorities for a college. Do you want a specific major? Perhaps a pre-professional program (pre-med, pre-law)? A certain club, demographic, or political orientation? Then go back and see what schools best fit these priorities, and go from there. But remember, don't ignore the gut instincts and feelings you get being on campus! These are just as important as what's on your paper!

As for money:

Paying for college in America is hard for nearly everyone. It sucks. But luckily there's plenty of scholarships, work-study options, tuition reimbursement programs (ie if you work for certain volunteer programs after college, they'll help with your debt), and it's becoming more and more popular for businesses to assist their college new-hires with paying off loans! As for now, search the web for scholarships; you can get money for nearly anything if you look in the right places! The only thing I would not recommend is joining ROTC or other military programs as a way to pay for college. This is a serious commitment of your life, and is by no means on par with taking out loans or grants; these two options are not interchangeable. (ROTC is best for those who would go into the military regardless, and would like a college education prior to their service, not the other way around.)

And best of all, you can always transfer! I know that sounds semi-scary, but I did it, many of my friends have, as well as both my parents! It's difficult to make the right choice about college when you've never even been to college! Don't rely on this option as you pick a school, but if you arrive on campus and realize you have truly made the wrong choice for whatever reason (you can't afford the school, you change your major, etc), it can be done!

Sorry for the long, detailed, and probably boring response, but I know this time of the year puts a huge stress on high school Seniors. Best of luck with your college search, I'm sure you will be successful in time!

I've been looking through pages and pages of scholarships online and none of them seem worth it. The only people that have been getting any substantial scholarships are the valedictorians at our school and everyone else just gets screwed out of them. We don't qualify for any financial aid, we're kind of in that little bubble where we're not poor but at the same time we're not rich so my parents don't have any money to pay for college. All of the scholarships they have online are only around $500-$2,000 and unless I get around 20 or 30 of them I feel like its not going to make a difference. Especially compared to $200,000 worth of tuition.

Even a $2,000 scholarship can make a little bit of a difference, but when it comes down to it, choose the school that fits you best regardless of money.  Money is difficult, but it tends to work itself out one way or another.  Have you looked into work-study options?  Even if you don't qualify for work-study as a form of official financial aid, many schools are able to find you a small job if you request it. 

You have to qualify for financial aid in order to do work-study. I might just go to University of Santa Cruz and then maybe try to transfer to different university later on even though its more competitive for transfers. I just don't think my parents would let me go to USF.

Edit* nevermind about Santa Cruz. Its a great school but I hate stoners and potheads. I'll just probably stick to USF and then maybe transfer whether my parents like it or not.

I've been wondering about this too. I want to take my bachelor of science at our hometown university. But if i don't get accepted, I don't want to have to travel to go to a differnt uni!

Can you keep applying and re-applying until you get accepted lol.

(haven't applied yet, but I'm nervous about it)

 

amberrr,

I don't think there is a set "limit" to how many times you can apply, but admissions is looking to see a change in your academics, or progressive change otherwise, between each application. If you don't get in the first time around, the second time admissions will look to see how you've spent that year. Did you raise your GPA? Did you gain a leadership experience, ie internship, volunteer, etc? It is typically somewhat difficult to get into a school you were originally denied admissions to without making a significant change to your application.

peacecalilove,

Do you have other options besides UCSC and USF? Going into a school knowing you'll transfer might not be the greatest time. As for the work-study, it's not classified as "official" work-study, but after all the jobs are assigned to students who qualified for financial aid, often times schools will open up the left over jobs to students who didn't receive a large enough financial aid package. It's more of an "on-campus job", as opposed to work-study, but you still receive a paycheck, and you can put this money towards your tuition. If you have your heart set on a school but can't afford it, make an appointment with someone in the financial aid office to talk about options, such as on-campus, or nearby off-campus, jobs.

Original Post by amberrr:

I've been wondering about this too. I want to take my bachelor of science at our hometown university. But if i don't get accepted, I don't want to have to travel to go to a differnt uni!

Can you keep applying and re-applying until you get accepted lol.

(haven't applied yet, but I'm nervous about it)

are you a high school senior? Because College admissions closed a long time ago, you can no longer apply nor can you reapply for the same reason, admissions closes after deadline of your application which for California was in November 30, 2007. You can appeal their decision if you do not get accepted, but it is very rare for them to accept you after that unless you have some breakthrough information which you could not list on the application.

Original Post by annelindseyb:

amberrr,

I don't think there is a set "limit" to how many times you can apply, but admissions is looking to see a change in your academics, or progressive change otherwise, between each application. If you don't get in the first time around, the second time admissions will look to see how you've spent that year. Did you raise your GPA? Did you gain a leadership experience, ie internship, volunteer, etc? It is typically somewhat difficult to get into a school you were originally denied admissions to without making a significant change to your application.

peacecalilove,

Do you have other options besides UCSC and USF? Going into a school knowing you'll transfer might not be the greatest time. As for the work-study, it's not classified as "official" work-study, but after all the jobs are assigned to students who qualified for financial aid, often times schools will open up the left over jobs to students who didn't receive a large enough financial aid package. It's more of an "on-campus job", as opposed to work-study, but you still receive a paycheck, and you can put this money towards your tuition. If you have your heart set on a school but can't afford it, make an appointment with someone in the financial aid office to talk about options, such as on-campus, or nearby off-campus, jobs.

Being that my parents are frugal cheapos, no I didn't get into any others, I didn't apply to that many in the first place even though I wish I had, they're $60 per application. Of course I'll get a job while in college but that money will be used to just live and get by. I'll probably just take out loans and then try to pay it off for the rest of my life. I plan on being radiologist anyways which make around $200-300,000. So I'll be packing on more debt from med school anyways. If I don't decide to go to med school and become a teacher instead then I'll probably just be screwed but I don't think I'm going to go that route.

I know this is heresy in many circles, but have you considered going the junior (Community) college route for your lower level classes and then transferring later?  Nobody ever looks to see if you did all four years of undergrad at the same uni and 100/200 level courses are about the same everywhere.  Financially it is much cheaper and because of the way classes are set up, you can often find time to work part-time at the same time.  Most JUCOs or CCs have transfer programs already set up and can ensure you are taking classes that will transfer to most in-state universitie

Anyway, just another option

I just really don't want to go to a community college. I can't stay at home for another two years. I just need to get out.

I just went through the same thing today, I got rejected from all three of the Ivy's I applied to....and I have a 4.0 and almost perfect sat scores, which obviously didn't matter enough. But I'm moving on past rejection and going to go to a good honors program at a state university, and still have a fabulous college life!!

cowcow-- It's not just about the academics, you've got to have a strong extra curricular standing too.

As for me, I got into my first choice and had the acceptance packet (housing, deposit, etc) in my hands less than 24 hours. I agree about the community college option too though.

yes i'm aware its not only about the grades, but i try to be as involved as possible too. It's ok, i'm actually really happy with the school i'm going to and its not far away from home.

why not get out n try college in europe...........in ireland.......fees are bout 800e per yr.....so like around 1200dollars.........so for me for the four yrs it was 3200euro..........there was lots of americans in my college........i dnt kno how u guys do it......fair play to you...cos i know if i lived in america i wud av no choice,college jus wudn be n option......so expensive.........

o also my friend did n exchange thing to a university in santa barbara and sed its absolutely brilliant there........

neway sorry to here u didn get wat u wanted.....

I did community college for two years (by choice, I Definately had the grades for UC schools and only decided on community college after I had heard back, and gotten in, to all of them) and consider a great decision. Just a little perspective, my two years cost approximately $3000, TOTAL- yup, that's including books and everything. It let me decide what I really want to do in concerns with my major, gave me the opportunity to visit friends at various schools during session and decide where would really be the best fit for me.

Long story short, it is now nearing the end of my sophmore year of school. I've just heard back (good news all around, again) from berkeley, santa cruz, santa barbara, and san diego. I've thought it through and decided on ucsc, and I'm SO excited. Don't be so quick or harsh to judge (from your above comment on 'stoners and potheads'- aren't they the same thing, anyway?). You WILL find druggies anywhere, YOUR experience and who you hang out with are Your decisions. You'll get out of school exactly what you put into it.

Good luck, sorry you didn't get into your first choice.

Maybe I'll see you at school next year ;) along with all the stoners and potheads, haha!

carloil-- the costs aren't the same for international students. What Americans would pay is much much higher.

peacecalilove-- I can't justify paying $50,000/year for undergrad. Public universities have admissions deadlines in May (sometimes even later) so you can still apply to other schools.  

This year was killer application-wise. Nearly every college saw record numbers. The competition is absolutely INSANE.
The valedictorian of my class [she's ridiculously amazing at everything & is an involved/ terrific person in general] is going to her safety school because she got rejected from ALL the Ivy or just-below-ivy schools she applied to. My other friends in the top 10 of my class are going through the same thing. Everyone's having to settle now because we had no idea it was gonna be like this- these kids would normally have been shoe-ins for these schools.
Luckily, I never had my eye on any specific college, never had a #1 choice. I just applied where I was interested & waited to see what everyone would offer. Honestly, I don't know how I would have handled not getting into a school that was my top choice, if I had one. I would have been absolutely devastated.

In conclusion [warning: potential boasting ahead] I got zero rejection letters & am going to be attending a college that I adore in the fall with a full-ride scholarship. I couldn't be happier.


& next year's going to be even worse application-wise. It's really becoming a huge problem.

I got into my dream college, FIU. It was the first college I visited, but every college I visited after that was crappy compared to it. If you go to USF, you can go to college near me, a complete stranger! :D

I'm sorry you didn't get into your dream college. But don't let it bum you out too much, I'm sure you'll get a great education and have fun just about anywhere you go.

Whoever said that the application process this year is INSANE is right! The class of 2008 is the largest class in the history of all graduating classes, with the largest percent expected to go to college.

 

I was rejected from half the schools I applied to, and I met all the qualifications (SAT scores, class rank, extra curriculars, awards, etc). I still got into a few really good ones, and I'm thrilled about it. I think I'll have more fun at a less intense school anyway.

 

Just remember that everything happens for a reason and do what you need to do to be happy :)