:(. I'm obviously disappointed by this, but at the same time I'm not crushed. I realize that Columbia is one of the most selective schools in the country and, regardless of how intelligent I think I am, there are hundreds of other kids in the country who applied who think the same exact thing and are just as qualified, if not more so, than me. I was reading collegeconfidential.com (a momentary weakness, it won't happen again, I promise), and saw that one of the few people on the thread to say they got accepted was some guy from a tiny school in Iowa who works on his farm every day, had an SAT score in the 2200's, was on the varsity football team, and had been the star of two school plays (yes, I know this could be made up, but I'm inclined to believe it). I realize there's no way I can compete with that. Honestly, I wasn't 100 million percent sold on Columbia anyways. Don't get me wrong, I love it a lot and I did want to go there (which is why I applied Early Decision in the first place), and this isn't a cop-out, but I wasn't really sure if I would've been able to adjust to the fast-paced city life that is NYC. I would have figured it out eventually, but it might have adversely affected my college experience.
I try not to, but my rejection does make me second guess myself. I know my SAT score and GPA were high enough to get in, and I'm pretty certain that I did all I could within my ability to burnish my extracurricular resume (and I feel my extracurriculars should have been sufficient for Columbia), so it keeps on coming back to my essay. Did my personal essay make me sound too conceited? Too underhanded and dishonest? Maybe it just wasn't written well enough? But when I look at my friends' essays and compare it to mine, to me mine seems to be a lot better written and have a much better communicated message than their's. Maybe it was my "Why Columbia" essay? I'll admit to having looked up random famous Columbia professors on Google and included them in my essay, and maybe Columbia saw through that.
So what's next for me? I definitely want to get into Georgetown. That's my new #1. Georgetown is also a very selective school, but I'm hopeful (and even confident) that I can get in. The only problem with applying to Georgetown is that I'm going to have to take another SAT II, because they require three, and one of their essay questions asks about my "goals in life". I don't know what my goals in life are- I'm only 18 man. Whenever I get that question in person I try to deflect it, so it's annoying being forced to formulate a well-crafted answer to it. (Georgetown, if you somehow find this blog and are reading this, please know that I still love you and would be extremely honored to attend your college.) (Other colleges that might read this, know that my love of Georgetown doesn't diminish my love for you and I'd still be grateful to be accepted into your school.) In addition to the Georgetown essay, I now have to write 10-15 more (relatively short) college essays for the other eight to nine colleges I'm applying to. It's going to go back to the school-clubs/sport-homework-college apps-sleep cycle that I was on while applying to Columbia. Four years from now, when I graduate, I hope it'll all be worth it, and my rejection from Columbia just a bump in the road. Only time will tell, I guess.
It's difficult to see when you are 18 but I can assure you that one day, 30 years from now, you'll look back and see that 'not-going-to-Columbia' was as much instrumental in shaping your life positively as 'going-to-Columbia' would have done. That it is as important stepping stone in creating a life-path. So cheer up, you are in a truly exciting stage of life, enjoy it to its full extent :)
ReplyDeleteAnkit: One door closes, another opens. Manzilein aur bhi hain! Your life is what you make of it, not what your university makes of you. Do you know the story of someone who set out to become a university professor and became, instead, a successful entrepreneur?
ReplyDeleteI think that the most important thing that you have to bear in mind is that most college admissions have an element of luck associated with them. When it comes down to it, half of it is about who reads your application, when they read it, and so on. Don't be too hard on yourself for the rejection; they just can't admit every qualified student who applies so you got unlucky. That being said, I'm sorry to hear about this and good luck with the rest of your colleges!
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