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amitroy5
June 12th, 2006, 06:13 PM
After applying to multiple schools, an average person gets rejected from many of them. But, an application costs $50! And when I get my rejection letters, all they say is "we cannot offer you admission". After paying that much money, I feel that I deserve a specific reason as to why I was rejected. Was my GPA too low? Not enough extracirriculars? I need a specific reason. And if they say my GPA is too low, they should specifically tell how high it should be.

sheilnaik
June 12th, 2006, 07:13 PM
They won't give you a specific reason, because the reason is often very subjective. One person might have accepted you, and another might have denied you. It all depends on the recruiter (at least, that's what I want to believe).

Where did you end up getting accepted, and where do you plan on going? Maybe you'll join me here at The College of New Jersey :)

aysiu
June 12th, 2006, 09:01 PM
There are a couple of reasons you're charged a $50 fee--neither of which entitles you to an exact reason you were rejected.

1. To ensure that you're not blindly applying to schools. Sure, the very very rich can afford to apply to 30 different schools, but for most people $50 is enough of an investment to say that you're a serious applicant but not enough to break the bank if you're being selective about which schools you're applying to.

2. Admissions isn't a cheap business. There's a lot that goes into recruiting, marketing, and the admissions process itself. $50 helps to make up for some of that cost. If you think that's steep, just wait until you actual enroll in college and see how much you get charged!

Admissions isn't an exact science, which is why they can't tell you an exact minimum that your GPA must be. There isn't an exact amount.

Admissions offices are seeking to get geographic, academic, extra-curricular, ethnic, gender, and personality diversity. They don't just take your GPA and SAT scores and pop them in a machine that spits out a class.

If that were the case, why would they interview you or ask you to write an essay?

They want different personalities. They can't have all their applicants wanting to play soccer. Who would populate the lacrosse team, then? They don't want all their applicants to be white or to be female. They want a balance. They don't want all their applicants to be from New York. They want some people from Minnesota. They don't want all their applicants to be poor--they need some rich students; otherwise, they can't operate. They don't want all their applicants to be rich either.

Well, you get the picture. There are a lot of factors outside your control. If you're an Asian kid from a top school in New Jersey who plays the violin and is interested in computer science, and they already have 30 of those--tough luck. If you're their only Native American applicant from Idaho, you're probably in.

For more information on how admissions works, read The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142003085/sr=8-1/qid=1150142614/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-0245541-9835828?%5Fencoding=UTF8).

kanem
June 12th, 2006, 09:18 PM
1. To ensure that you're not blindly applying to schools. Sure, the very very rich can afford to apply to 30 different schools, but for most people $50 is enough of an investment to say that you're a serious applicant but not enough to break the bank if you're being selective about which schools you're applying to.
While I agree with the rest I have to disagree with this one. There are other ways to keep people from mass applying to every school. An easy way is just to make the application itself be very involved and and detailed.

Have anyone seen an MIT application? It's huge! And when It came time for me to complete it, the fact that I saw it as a chore rather than an opportunity made me realize that I must not want to go there that much, so I didn't even bother with the application. I doubt that someone who wasn't a serious applicant would take the time to complete it.

Also, I'm sure that $50 is enough to keep some poorer students from applying to as many schools as they should.

aysiu
June 12th, 2006, 09:19 PM
Having been through the application process myself, I'd much rather pay $50 application fees than have to write separate essays for every single school.

#1 may not stand on its own, but in combination with #2, it is a legitimate reason.

Also, when I say "serious," I don't mean "absolutely dedicated to coming." I mean "not approaching this haphazardly." Schools do not necessarily want you to apply only if they are your #1 school. They hope that even if they are your #3 school, you'll apply. This is advantageous to them because you may not get into your #1 school or #2 school, and because they can maybe convince you after you apply that they should be your #1 school. It's harder to convince someone who hasn't already applied.

Remember--they just want to know that you're serious--they don't want to drive away applicants. Admissions directors everywhere have to report on their application numbers to the president of the college, and they want those numbers high, but they do not want them inflated.


Also, I'm sure that $50 is enough to keep some poorer students from applying to as many schools as they should. Many schools offer fee waivers for those in dire financial circumstances.

xtacocorex
June 12th, 2006, 09:30 PM
If you think getting into college is hard, try finding a job after college...

No, I agree that it is hard to get into college and that money does play a big part of it. My mom didn't turn in an application of mine just for that reason. I was pissed off when I found out, but in actuality, it was a good thing she did. My aerospace engineering degree would have been subpar to the one I have. This is also where I learned to not let my mom do important stuff for me.

aysiu
June 12th, 2006, 09:33 PM
If you think getting into college is hard, try finding a job after college... I agree.

At least with college applications you can have "safety schools." There are no "safety jobs," unfortunately. They usually pick the one best candidate (but who is usually already living in the area), and if you're not it, tough luck.

There's also something called being "overqualified" for a job, so not even McDonald's is necessarily a "safety job."

amitroy5
June 13th, 2006, 12:45 AM
I live in India so I was applying to Indian schools mostly. That proposed 49.5% quota is killing me because some schools have implamented it for this fall. ARRG!

aysiu
June 13th, 2006, 12:47 AM
Well, all I know about admissions is from American schools, but my guess is that admissions offices around the world operate pretty similarly.

America is preoccupied with race, but I'm sure in other countries, there are class or other issues of overrepresentation, underrepresentation, and mostly... tension.

ArizonaKid
June 13th, 2006, 01:18 AM
I just graduated from Arizona State with a B.S. in Business Management, and I can also attest to the high level of stress in applying to both jobs and schools. I had to apply twice to ASU. Once to ASU Main Campus(which is easy), and then to the Business School my junior year, which is much more difficult.

An admissions officer in fact told me that the application fee is a useful tool to help narrow the pool of applicants. Although it can be a barrier to those without financial means, there are waivers to bypass the application fee. It’s just a matter of making further efforts to waive any fees.

ArizonaKid
June 13th, 2006, 01:24 AM
I have to add, you should invest in college guides, such as the Princeton review. They typically list averages and means for successful school applicants, such as mean GPA, basic profiles, etc...

I was told a basic rule was to apply to (numbers given for example)


2 easy schools
3-5 schools that have applications that match your qualifications (as stated above)
2 schools that will be hard to get into.

RAV TUX
June 13th, 2006, 02:17 AM
After applying to multiple schools, an average person gets rejected from many of them. But, an application costs $50! And when I get my rejection letters, all they say is "we cannot offer you admission". After paying that much money, I feel that I deserve a specific reason as to why I was rejected. Was my GPA too low? Not enough extracirriculars? I need a specific reason. And if they say my GPA is too low, they should specifically tell how high it should be.

Simple answer: it was your choice to apply to those Universities that charge such fees. Free will is a wonderful thing.

My wifes who attends one of the top Universities in the world, only applied to Universities that waived the application fee if you applied on-line.

My suggestion: only apply to Universities that waive the application fee if you apply online.(There are a lot of top universities that do this)

...or start at the community college get your associates and prove yourself academically. Get the highest GPA imaginable and then you will be accepted anywhere.

Remember now a days a BA/BS is just like a high school diploma, you must stick with school and get a graduate degree, preferably your Doctorate.

teet
June 13th, 2006, 02:38 AM
I know exactly how you feel. I applied to 3 colleges my senior year of high school. Two of them were in-state public institutions, Mizzou and Truman, both of which are fine schools and one school that I deemed my "wish" school, UNC Chapel Hill.

I got offered scholarships to both of the in-state schools but I didn't even get in to UNC. The application fee for Truman and Mizzou were $0 and $20 respectively, while UNC's fee was $50. All that I ever got back from UNC was a single page nonspecific rejection letter...it really whizzed me off.

I've always wondered what it would have taken to just get in to UNC. I guess I'll never know.

With that said, you have to keep in mind that you really can't judge a person based on their application alone. I knew several people at my college that probably had a 3.8+ GPA, were very involved with clubs and organizations, and had a lot of research experience -- you know, all the stuff that looks great on an application or resume -- but (tyring to put it as nicely as possible) just didn't have "it".

-teet