No Acceptance Letters? What Now?
I recently received email from a panicked student who had been waitlisted at every single college to which he applied. The student's situation, unfortunately, isn't uncommon. Thousands of applicants are finding themselves with no acceptance letters. If you find yourself in this unenviable situation, what now?
First off, while you might be incredibly disappointed, there is no cause for panic. Your college dreams are not dead. Several options are still available to you:
- Consider a "gap year" -- a year off from school during which you do something interesting. Some students travel, volunteer, work, teach, or take classes. If you do something productive and interesting, your college application will be stronger next year. Some top schools such as Princeton like to see students take a gap year. Students arrive on campus with more experiences, more maturity, and a clearer sense of direction.
- Attend community college or a college that still has vacancies for a year or two, and then try to transfer to your top choice school. Transferring to competive colleges is not easy, but this route does give you another possible pathway to the college of your dreams.
- If you've been waitlisted, read these tips for getting off a college waitlist. The situation is largely out of your hands, but a little effort to demonstrate your continued interest and update your application can help.
- If you've been rejected, realize that a few rare situations can justify an appeal. To learn more, check out this article on appealing a college rejection.
- Be patient. On May 5th I'll post a link to NACAC's space availability survey -- it will have a long list of colleges and universities that still have spaces available for the fall. While you won't find Harvard on the list, many good schools will still be looking for a few good students
- Finally, while you should move ahead with other plans, don't give up on those waitlists. With the high number of applications many selective schools received this year, we're going to be seeing more waitlist activity than usual.
Good Luck on the April 9th ACT!
Also keep in mind that over 800 colleges are now test-optional. The test-optional schools include some excellent choices: Bowdoin, Holy Cross, DePaul, Pitzer, Wake Forest, and many others.
More ACT Articles:
Georgetown University Acceptance Rate Drops to 17.98%
Georgetown University
tvol / Flick
Many of the country's top universities saw record numbers of applicants for the class of 2015, and acceptance rates are dropping as a result. The yield on those applications is hard to predict, so we're likely to see a lot of waitlist activity this spring and summer.
Related Reading:
Register Now for the May 7th SAT
They May 7th SAT is a popular choice for high school juniors. The scores get posted online on May 26th. If you aren't happy with your scores, you'll have plenty of time to study over the summer and retake the exam in the fall.
The regular registration deadline for the May exam is Friday, April 8th. For a $24 late fee, you can register up until April 22nd. Visit the College Board website to sign up for the exam.
More SAT Information
Duke University Admit Rate Drops to 12.6% for the Class of 2015
Duke University
mricon / Flickr
Related Reading:
MIT Acceptance Rate Drops to 9.6% for Class of 2015
MIT's Great Dome at Night
controltheweb / Flickr
We can expect these numbers to change a little as the admissions cycle plays out. High achieving students are applying to more colleges on average than in the past, and this trend makes it more difficult for colleges to predict their yield. As are result, we're likely to see another active year for college waitlists.
Stanford Acceptance Rate Drops to 7.1% for Class of 2015
Stanford University
matsuda.yukihiro / Flick
These numbers aren't the end of the story. Like last year, the high number of applications colleges received this year makes it hard for them to predict how many applicants will accept offers of admission. We're likely to see an active year for college waitlists.
Ivy League Acceptance Rates for the Class of 2015
Harvard University
David Paul Ohmer / Flickr
The chart below shows what the Ivy League application numbers and acceptance rates look like for the class of 2015. To learn more about each school including typical SAT and ACT scores, click on the school's name in the table.
College | Number of Applications | Acceptance Rate | Source |
Brown | 30,948 | 8.7% | Brown News and Events |
Columbia | ~35,000 | 6.9% | Columbia Spectator |
Cornell | 36,392 | 18% | Cornell Daily Sun |
Dartmouth | 22,385 | 9.7% | Dartmouth Now |
Harvard | 34,950 | 6.2% | Harvard Gazette |
Princeton | 27,189 | 8.4% | News at Princeton |
University of Pennsylvania | 31,659 | 12.3% | Daily Pennsylvanian |
Yale | 27,282 | 7.4% | Yale News |
Compare ACT scores for the Ivy League | |||
Compare SAT scores for the Ivy League |
Spotlight on Presbyterian College
For a college of just 1,200 students, Presbyterian College is quite remarkable. Located in Clinton, South Carolina, Presbyterian is one of the smallest NCAA Division I schools in the country, and it represents an excellent educational value.
Presbyterian College
Jackmjenkins / Wikimedia Commons
As the name suggests, Presbyterian College is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Students come from 29 states and 7 countries. Students can expect a lot of personal attention -- Presbyterian has a 13 to 1 student / faculty ratio and an average class size of 14. Students can choose from 34 majors and 47 minors, and the most popular majors -- biology, business, English, and history -- reveal the college's academic breadth. The college is selective, but not unreasonable for any hard-working student. The four-year graduation rate of 61% is strong for a school with Presbyterian's student profile.
With over 50 clubs and organizations, student life is active at Presbyterian. On the athletic front, the Presbyterian College Blue Hose compete in the NCAA Division I Big South Conference. The college fields eight men's and eight women's Division I teams. Football is particularly popular.
With a price tag of over $40,000, Presbyterian College is not cheap, but the price tag has little to do with the actual cost. Financial aid is excellent and nearly all applicants can expect substantial grant aid.
To learn more about the school, check out the Presbyterian College admissions profile as well as the school's official website. If you have visited or attended Presbyterian, please share your impressions with prospective students below.
I regularly spotlight great colleges that might be off the radar of college applicants. If there's a college you'd like to see featured here, please post your recommendation in the College Admissions Forum.
March 12th SAT Scores Available Thursday
If you are a high school junior, you have plenty of time to take practice exams, beef up your test-taking skills, and retake the exam this spring or fall.
To see how your scores measure up with matriculated students at various colleges, check out the SAT articles and comparison charts below:
- What's a Good SAT Score?
- SAT Subject Test Information
- SAT comparison charts for The Ivy League | Top Liberal Arts Colleges | Top Public Universities | Top Engineering Schools | Top Private Universities | Top Catholic Universities | University of California System | The Atlantic Coast Conference | The Southeastern Conference | The Big Ten | More Comparison Charts
- SAT scores for top colleges in: California | Florida | Georgia | Illinois | Indiana | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | New Jersey | New York | North Carolina | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Texas | Virginia | Washington
- Colleges that Don't Require Test Scores