How to Know if You Got Rejected From a College
You've sent out your applications and can't stop envisioning yourself at your meridian-selection school. But then the unthinkable happens: you get a college rejection letter. You start to wonder: what went wrong? What do I exercise now? Is it withal possible to attend my summit-choice school? The truth is that I've been in this verbal aforementioned situation. In 2008, I got rejected from my top-pick school, Stanford. Though the rejection letter injure, on the plus side, it taught me a lot about what I did wrong, both in my application and my overall high school career. In this commodity, I utilize my own rejection experience as a guide to explain how likely a college rejection is for y'all, how to avoid getting rejected from college, and the steps to take in case your top-pick school just isn't that into you. First things first, how likely is it that you'll actually get rejected from higher—more importantly, from your top-choice school? The reply to this question varies depending on ii main factors: As you lot might've guessed, your chances of getting rejected from higher depend a lot on how difficult your tiptop-pick school is to get into. Many students' acme choices are Ivy League institutions, such as Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, or other prestigious superlative-25 schools, such as Stanford, Rice, and the University of Chicago. At present, what practice many of these schools have in common? That'southward right: extremely low credence rates. These rates dramatically bear upon your likelihood of getting accepted (or getting rejected). Beneath are the credence rates for the top 25 universities, equally determined by the most recent Us News rankings for 2022. All schools are listed in guild of ranking. (Pro tip: click the school name to learn more about its admission requirements!) Every bit you tin encounter, your adventure of credence to meridian-tier colleges ranges from just four% to as much equally 21%. Your chance of college rejection is highest for schools ranked in the top 10. At these colleges, the typical bidder has a whopping 90-95% risk of getting rejected. These are very, very general estimates, though. How loftier or depression your chances of rejection are will ultimately depend on the overall strength of your awarding (we hash out this more below). To go a slightly more accurate idea of your access chances to a particular school, use our college admissions calculator. Still, the point is articulate: most applicants to highly selective schools become rejected. Your take chances of getting a college rejection letter will be less likely if your top-choice school is ranked lower and has a higher admission rate. The other major cistron that affects your chances of getting rejected from college is the strength of your application. A strong college application commonly has the following features: For the Ivy League and other highly competitive schools, you'll definitely demand to stand out from other applicants. And the best mode to do this is to create a big spike in your application. A spike is essentially something you're passionate about and have continuously striven to chief. It could be annihilation from a beloved of writing short stories to a passion for chemical science. About importantly, your spike should be a field you lot're truly committed to and for which you have sufficient evidence to evidence your commitment. If you take a spike too as loftier test scores, a high GPA, etc., you'll have a much improve risk of being a pinnacle-selection candidate for your school. All of this also means that you should avoid aiming for a well-rounded application. This can put you right in the crapshoot of higher applications, significantly reducing your chance of acceptance (and thereby increasing your chance of rejection). For more than tips on how to put together a strong application, look at a real Harvard awarding and credence letter, supplied by our resident perfect Saturday/ACT scorer. Some of you reading this might exist wondering why I'thou writing this article. Well, let me commencement with some facts. Rejection is nothing new to me. I applied to college in 2008 (yeesh, I'm getting old!). At the time, Stanford was my top selection, so I applied restrictive early on activity, meaning that my application was due earlier (by November 1) and that Stanford was my #ane choice for college. A piddling while later, I received a rejection by email. It was the first university I heard back from in the application process, and its letter was past far the most painful. I call up bursting into tears as shortly as I finished reading it and so running to my parents for comfort. And so many questions ran through my caput: how come up they didn't like me? What did I do wrong? Did I mess up my application somehow? Was I simply not good enough? Months later, I got accepted to USC and decided to attend that school instead. And I had a blast: I joined a couple of clubs, wrote for the schoolhouse paper, worked on campus, made practiced friends, and had an overall fun and eclectic experience I'd never merchandise for anything. Sometimes, though, I recollect dorsum to that initial college rejection and wonder: how did I manage to get through such a difficult, stressful time in my life? And how tin I employ what I know at present to help other students in the same position I was one time in? Here's why I'm telling y'all all of this: Now that you lot know my story, let'south start with the positives: how to avoid getting rejected from college in the first place. If this doesn't piece of work out for you, no worries—I'll likewise requite you advice on what to do if y'all do get rejected. Since getting my first college rejection from Stanford, I can tell you this: I've learned a lot about what I did wrong in my application. For ane, my application wasn't unique enough. I didn't have a "spike" that made me stand up apart from other applicants; instead, I naively believed in the misconception that well rounded was what all top schools wanted the most. (Hint: information technology's non!) In improver, my SAT score wasn't up to par. At the time I idea I'd done adequately well on the test, just I didn't realize that pretty good isn't usually adept enough for top schools similar Stanford. These days, you'd need to score at least a 1500 (or in the peak 2%) merely to see the average at Stanford! Finally, I didn't take reward of the AP/honors classes available at my high schools (I moved and attended two schools). I recall thinking that two or three AP classes and a couple of loftier AP scores would be practiced enough. Again, though, this isn't that impressive to top-ranked schools. So what tin you exercise to ensure that you have a ameliorate chance of getting into your top-choice school? Here are my acme vi tips. Most students probably know this, but y'all'll demand a pretty loftier GPA to keep from getting rejected. Why? Well, a high GPA proves that you're non only responsible and studious but as well capable of performing consistently well in a variety of disciplines. By excelling in several classes, yous're providing direct show of your deep commitment to learning and academic success. And then what constitutes a loftier GPA? The respond to this volition depend on the school yous're applying to. If you're applying to a summit-25 school such as Stanford, aim for a 4.0 (unweighted ) or pretty close to it. If you're not sure how high of a GPA your schoolhouse expects, try looking on the schoolhouse's website for any information or data most the average GPA of admitted applicants. That being said, getting a high GPA lone isn't equally important equally getting a good GPA and taking a challenging course load. Hither'due south what I mean past this: when applying to top colleges, a iv.0 unweighted GPA is no doubt cracking. Withal, y'all'll be a much more competitive applicant if you have, say, a slightly lower 3.8 GPA and have as well taken loads of challenging AP/honors courses. This means that yous could go mostly As and a couple of Bs in challenging AP courses and nevertheless have a higher chance of getting accustomed over someone who got all As simply took simply like shooting fish in a barrel classes. This is because colleges like to encounter that y'all're continuously challenging yourself. For me, this was a critical point I didn't get at all in high schoolhouse. I took a few AP and honors courses, but I didn't accept well-nigh as many every bit I should have. Instead, I stuck mostly to classes I knew I'd get As in and refrained from truly challenging myself past taking harder ones. This is probably part of the reason Stanford rejected me. Like the tip above, this is kind of a no-brainer, simply you lot'd be surprised how fiddling I thought of it when I applied to higher back in 2008. Note: Every bit a result of the pandemic, nearly every schoolhouse became test-optional for at least 2020 and 2021, and some schools accept decided to become permanently test optional. This means that, if you're applying to one of these schools, you don't need to submit Sabbatum or Human activity scores, and your application won't be at a disadvantage. Yet, a high Deed or SAT score can however exist a pregnant boost to your application, specially if you lot're on the bubble in other areas. While colleges empathize that the Sabbatum/ACT is only one part of your awarding, it's still pretty of import to get a high score on one of the two tests—peculiarly a score that sets you apart from other applicants. A good SAT/ACT score will vary depending on the schools y'all're applying to. For example, if you were applying to Harvard, you'd want to aim for 1580 on the Saturday or 35 on the ACT. These are the 75th percentile scores for admitted applicants to Harvard. In other words, get this score level and y'all'll take a higher score than 75% of applicants. Even if you got slightly lower than this—such as a 1570 on the SAT or a 34 on the Deed—y'all'd notwithstanding be in relatively good shape. The point, however, is that yous desire to shoot as high as possible so you lot can requite yourself the best chance of access. On the other manus, if yous were applying to a less selective school similar the University of Houston, y'all'd simply need an Saturday score effectually 1300 or an Human activity score around 27. Once again, you lot could still get accepted with slightly lower scores than these, just aiming loftier ensures you'll have a great shot. As yous can run into, what'south considered a high SAT/Human action score will depend profoundly on where you're applying. If you can hit (or almost hitting) your peak-pick school's 75th percentile score, you lot'll stand out and lower your chances of rejection. To notice your schoolhouse's examination score information, search for "[School Proper name] PrepScholar" on Google. Click our link to the school's Admission Requirements folio to see the school's average SAT/ACT scores and its 25th/75th percentiles. This piece of advice is essential for those applying to the Ivy League or Ivy League-level institutions (and it's definitely something I wish I'd known back when I practical to Stanford). And here's what it is: part of crafting an incredible college awarding is working on developing a spike. I briefly introduced this concept earlier, but now let's look at in detail. Your spike is what makes you stand up out from other applicants. This is typically an ongoing passion for and commitment to some kind of academic or personal involvement. For instance, perhaps you're a lover of writing who's published his own self-help ebook and tutors unproblematic school students in creative writing on weekends. Or maybe y'all're a science whiz who'south conducted numerous experiments and submitted her results to conventions. Get the picture here? Remember of this spike equally the reverse of being well rounded. When I practical to Stanford, I assumed that well rounded = automatic acceptance. I was a fellow member of my schoolhouse's honour society, ran on the cross land squad for 2 years, and played the piano in my spare fourth dimension. All of this, I thought, made me a well-rounded, ideal candidate. Boy, was I wrong. In truth, colleges—particularly selective ones like Stanford—see tons of applicants like this. This is likely a big reason I got rejected: I wasn't unique enough! Instead, I should have spent more time developing the hobbies I enjoyed most and participating in activities more strongly tied to my nearly passionate interests. That's what I did wrong. Now, here's what you can exercise right. Below, I list some options you can try to help you further develop your spike: All in all, don't rely on the trap of being well rounded, particularly if you're trying to become accepted to highly selective schools. Even if yous've got both stellar grades and a high SAT/Human action score, schools want to come across that yous're an interesting, passionate person who is committed to learning. This is why it's important to spend a lot of time crafting an impactful personal statement for your application. In general, a skilful personal statement will accomplish the post-obit: The argument is a great opportunity to explain what your spike is, how you got interested in it, and what kind of role you meet it playing in your futurity. For a detailed look at what makes for a powerful personal argument, check out our assay of more than than 100 higher essays. In addition, the personal statement lets you explain the context of your academic situation. For example, does your high schoolhouse not offer any AP or honors courses? Or are you the first person in your family to attend college? Information technology's of import to answer questions similar these in your essay and so that the school can take into account your personal circumstances as well equally how these might have influenced the quality of your application. This way, you won't become rejected merely considering y'all didn't take any AP courses (even though none might accept been available to you lot!). Many schools stress the importance of because each applicant'south circumstances. For example, here'due south what Stanford says on its website: "We take into account your background, educational pathway, and work and family responsibilities. Past focusing on your achievements in context, we evaluate how yous have excelled in your school environment and how you have taken reward of what is bachelor to you in your school and customs." And hither's how Duke considers your background in applications for access: "As a office of our holistic approach, we consider both your academic and personal interests, what yous've accomplished, and your unique experiences, perspectives, and background." Evidently, the personal statement isn't just an opportunity to showcase your spike and strengths—it's also a chance to explicate your personal situation. Do all of this, and you'll be far less probable to become rejected for something like a slightly lower SAT score. Desire to write the perfect college application essay? Go professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the footing upwardly. Nosotros'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk y'all through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the finish, y'all'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't get out your college application to chance. Observe out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: If your top-choice school offers an early action or early decision program, definitely practice it (but simply exercise the latter if you're 100% sure this is the schoolhouse you desire to attend). Most early activity/early decision deadlines are November one or Nov fifteen. These deadlines are about a month or ii earlier than most regular decision deadlines. And then how does applying early activeness/early on decision affect your access chances? Data shows that those who utilize early activeness or early on conclusion typically have higher acceptance rates than those who apply regular decision. This doesn't necessarily mean you'll get accepted. I practical early on action to Stanford and however got rejected. However, an early awarding might give you lot a slight edge over other applicants, as it shows the school you're committed to it and really want to continue your education there. The only drawback to applying early action/early decision is that the early deadline gives you lot less time to put together a strong application. If you're struggling to prepare an effective application for an early action plan, consider applying regular decision instead to give yourself more time. This leads me to my next signal ... Whether you lot're applying early action/early decision or regular decision, it can exist tempting to rush through the application procedure, peculiarly since most students are extremely decorated at the start of senior year. Even though this is a stressful fourth dimension, effort your best non to blitz through your application to your height-choice school. Simply put, don't write your personal statement the day before the deadline, and don't ask for letters of recommendation from teachers at the last minute. Why is this so important? If you spend too niggling time working on your application, you run a much higher risk of doing the following: I suggest spending at least a few months on your college applications. And while all applications are as important, information technology's OK to spend a little extra time on the application for your top choice, if just because it's the school you lot're nigh interested in. Also, don't be afraid to ask questions by emailing or calling the school. For example, dislocated about application instructions? Send an e-mail. Not sure what a "supplementary certificate" is? Call the admissions section. Better to brand sure you're following the rules than to chance getting your application disqualified considering you made a huge (just entirely preventable) mistake. When I applied to Stanford, I thought I'd taken my time to do the application, but I really hadn't. It was only after I submitted it that I realized I'd made some dire mistakes. Here'due south my almost memorable: at the time, Stanford allowed applicants to attach supplementary files. So I fastened a sample affiliate from a novel I was writing to prove my passion for writing. But after submitting my application, I reread the awarding instructions and realized that chapters of fiction was something Stanford specifically requested applicants to non transport in. Oops! Unfortunately, even if yous heed all the tips higher up, yous could still current of air up with a college rejection letter. I'll exist honest: getting rejected sucks. But information technology certainly doesn't mean your academic career (or life, if y'all're dramatic similar me) is over. Here are some ways to cope with a higher rejection, as well as options on what to exercise after you get rejected from college: This is really, really important. Once you get the dreaded college rejection letter of the alphabet from your peak-choice schoolhouse, it can experience as though the whole world is crashing downward around y'all. I'one thousand hither to tell you that this feeling is totally normal. Later all, you're substantially grieving—sounds cheesy, I know. But it'due south the truth. And when something bad happens, it's important to take time to let yourself feel sad about it. In this instance, even though you likely worked really difficult in school, y'all lost the opportunity to attend the college of your dreams. All of your future plans must alter, which sucks. It's OK (and even expected) to be upset well-nigh this. Hither are some good for you options for coping with a college rejection: Although grieving is important, don't permit yourself get wrapped up in your sorrows for too long. Once you've given yourself ample time to cope, get off the ground and focus on the other options you've got in your life. Besides, try not to let the rejection negatively impact your grades, extracurriculars, and other college applications (if yous oasis't finished all of them nevertheless). While your superlative-option school might've rejected y'all, remember that this is but one school, and yous (hopefully) have several others you're applying to or already applied to. These are the schools it's time to get excited about, regardless of whether you've heard back from them. In that location is a reason you applied to each schoolhouse you applied to. As you get through the schools you've been accepted to, concentrate on the specific features and opportunities you liked about each school. For example, what inspired you to use in that location? Tin you envision yourself feeling at home on campus? What kinds of classes and majors does it offer? Do you like its emphasis on Greek life? What near its crawly football team? If possible, talk to current students at the schools so yous can start to imagine yourself attending them. Doing this volition not just brand you excited about your other options merely will likewise forbid you from daydreaming nearly what might've happened had you been accepted to your top selection. Finally, remember that you will likely be able to written report what y'all want to at these other schools as well. Merely considering your top-selection school rejected you, that doesn't mean yous yet can't get a BA in Psychology or a BS in Information science. If you didn't go accepted to your tiptop-pick schoolhouse, a gap year can help yous figure out what kind of education you desire in life while also providing you with some interesting experiences (which could potentially strengthen future college applications!). After your gap year, yous tin can and then reapply to your top-option school, with a fresh perspective and a slightly better understanding of where your application might've gone wrong earlier. While there's nothing wrong with taking a year off before college, be sure you're really making your gap twelvemonth worthwhile. Neither colleges nor your parents will exist impressed if all you practise is sit down at abode and play video games all day. Brand your gap year an adventure: work a new chore, travel abroad, intern at a visitor, bring together a community society, learn a strange language. Hopefully, yous'll get experiences out of your gap yr that'll help you in the field you want to major in. For example, if you're thinking about majoring in English, taking a twelvemonth off to write a novel and submit stories you've written to literary magazines would exist an excellent use of your time (assuming your parents are OK with information technology, of class!). Later, when you lot begin the process of reapplying to your top-choice school, you can explain in your application what you did during your gap twelvemonth and why you chose to take a year off before starting higher. If you make up one's mind to reapply, it'due south a adept idea to use your erstwhile awarding every bit a reference. Think almost where you might've gone wrong and how you lot tin better on it this fourth dimension (ideally, by incorporating some of your gap-twelvemonth experiences into it). A discussion of circumspection, though: don't put all your eggs in i basket. In other words, don't expect to get admitted simply because y'all applied earlier and now deserve to go far. Admissions is ofttimes a brutal procedure, and nobody (except those on the admissions committee) knows what a college is looking for in terms of applicants. So every bit y'all reapply to your top-option school, make certain you're applying to other schools also—ideally, a combination of reach schools and rubber schools. If you make up one's mind to attend a different school you got into (which most people exercise, including myself!), know that it might be possible to transfer to your pinnacle-choice school in a couple of years. While I wouldn't nourish a different higher with this exact plan in mind, knowing that transferring is an pick in case you still really desire to attend your top-option school should make you feel a lilliputian more at ease with your determination to (temporarily) attend a different schoolhouse. Note that to transfer to a school, yous'll normally need to submit an entirely new transfer application meaning that information technology tin can't be the same one you lot submitted before when applying as a freshman. Moreover, transferring is not guaranteed. Many schools, particularly the Ivies, have very few transfers each year. Harvard stated that they typically accept about 15 transfer students out of nearly 1,500 application, an acceptance rate of 1%. Equally you lot can see, hither y'all really accept a lower hazard of getting accepted every bit a transfer student than you do as a freshman applicant (the current acceptance rate for which is 4%). If y'all're curious almost the transfer acceptance rate at your top-selection school, contact your schoolhouse straight or check out CollegeTransfer.internet, which contains tons of information on schools and their transfer rates. In the end, though, who knows what'll happen? Y'all might terminate up loving the school you attend and wouldn't even consider transferring out of information technology. There is one final option you accept when it comes to college rejection, though it's one I honestly don't recommend doing: highly-seasoned, or challenging, your rejection. Challenging a college rejection is pretty much what information technology sounds like. When yous get rejected, you have the option to tell the college you lot think they're wrong and ask them to reconsider your application. And then what's the trouble? Yous tin can't appeal your rejection just considering you lot're upset that you didn't become accustomed. This is not a good enough reason to ask a college to look at your awarding again. Even if a school did agree to reevaluate your application, it'southward unlikely a second look-through would modify their minds (particularly if your main complaint is that they failed to recognize how admittedly incredible you lot are). Instead, you tin just appeal a college rejection if y'all have any new, significant information to add to your application, or if there was a major error or trouble with your application. For example, did you win a big honour or somehow dramatically amend your GPA? So see whether you lot tin appeal the rejection. (Not all schools will allow you exercise this, though!) In terms of technical problems, did your SAT/Deed score get reported incorrectly to your higher? Or did your transcript get messed up and evidence you got Ds when you actually got As? Then appeal the rejection; most likely the college volition allow it in this instance since the problem is not actually your fault. In some cases, colleges will not let you to appeal your rejection at all (fifty-fifty if you won the Nobel Peace Prize). In fact, nigh elevation-ranked schools don't let appeals of admission decisions. If y'all disagree with their decision, y'all simply have to look and reapply the post-obit year. If you're non sure whether your top-choice school allows appeals or not, wait at the school's official website or contact the school straight. While rare, information technology is possible to get into a college through an appeal (though it's admittedly far less probable to get in this way). Hither'due south an case of a student who got accepted to UC Berkeley through an appeal. After getting my Stanford rejection letter, I cried a lot and talked to my parents. Eventually, I moved on and started to get excited nigh my other options. I ended upwardly attending USC, where I had a fun, stimulating, and all-around memorable feel—something I wouldn't trade for the world! Still, getting rejected isn't fun. Unfortunately, it tin be a likely event if you're applying to highly selective universities and don't have the grades or test scores your school expects. The easiest manner to avoid getting rejected from college is to produce the best application you can. For peak schools, this ways you should typically have the following: If possible, apply early action/early conclusion to your top-choice schoolhouse. Applying early raises your gamble of admission only slightly, as it highlights your commitment to the school. Finally, make certain to take your time with your application—don't rush whatever part of it! Allow's say you practice all of this, though, and still become rejected from your top-pick schoolhouse. Bummer. At this point, you've substantially got five options (which you can mix and match, equally desired): No matter what you cull to practice, take intendance to remind yourself that getting rejected doesn't mean yous're a bad student or that your application was horrendous. It just means that the school could simply admit so many people, and you happened to not be ane of them. Even though the college admissions procedure can experience like an uphill battle, just know that yous're definitely not alone. As we say at my alma mater, "Fight on!" Desire more tips for raising your chances of getting accepted to college? Bank check out our handy admissions calculator to learn how to estimate your chances of acceptance based on your current GPA and examination scores. Need help applying to Harvard and other top schools? This guide covers everything y'all need to know to get into the nation'due south best colleges and universities. Struggling with the application process? Nosotros're hither to help! Our adept guides teach you how to build a versatile college application and go over the application timeline to help you lot stride yourself. Want to improve your Saturday score by 160 points or your Deed score by four points? Nosotros've written a guide for each exam about the summit v strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: 
How Likely Is Information technology That You'll Get a College Rejection Letter of the alphabet?
How Competitive Is Your Meridian-Choice Schoolhouse?
School The states News Ranking Acceptance Rate Princeton 1 four% Harvard 2 (necktie) 4% Columbia ii (tie) iv% MIT ii (necktie) 4% Yale 5 5% Stanford vi (necktie) four% University of Chicago 6 (tie) half-dozen% University of Pennsylvania viii vi% Caltech nine (necktie) 7% Johns Hopkins 9 (necktie) vii% Northwestern 9 (necktie) 7% Knuckles ix (tie) 6% Dartmouth 13 6% Brown 14 (tie) 5% Vanderbilt 14 (tie) 7% Washington Academy in St. Louis xiv (tie) 13% Rice 17 (tie) 9% Cornell 17 (necktie) ix% University of Notre Dame xix xv% UCLA xx 14% Emory 21 13% UC Berkeley 22 17% Georgetown 23 (tie) 12% University of Michigan 23 (tie) 20% Carnegie Mellon University 25 (tie) fifteen% Academy of Virginia 25 (tie) 21% 
You have a lower hazard of getting rejected from NYU than you do from Columbia. (jpellgen (@1179_jp)/Flickr) How Strong Is Your College Application?
My Feel: I Got Rejected From Stanford
Unfortunately, my tips for avoiding rejection don't utilize to asking people out on dates. How to Avoid Getting a College Rejection: 6 Tips
#i: Maintain a High GPA While Besides Challenging Yourself
#two: Get a High SAT/Human action Score
#3: Work On Developing Your Spike
The only matter you want to exist well rounded is the chimera you're bravado. #4: Write a Compelling Personal Statement and Consider Context
#5: Apply Early Activeness/Early Decision, If Possible
#vi: Take Your Fourth dimension—Don't Blitz the Awarding Process!
Got rejected? It's OK to get a niggling dramatic. How to Deal With College Rejection: 5 Essential Tips
#1: Give Yourself Time to Process the Rejection
#2: Get Excited About Other Schools
Apparently, yous can even brand your ain Disney caste at UC Berkeley! #3: Accept a Gap Year and Reapply Later
#4: Call up That Transferring Is an Option
#five: Consider Challenging the Rejection
Seriously, first a Disney major and now a successful appeal? Starting to retrieve I should've attended Berkeley ... Decision: How to Deal With Higher Rejection
What's Next?
Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English language in Nippon via the JET Program. She is passionate about teaching, writing, and travel.
Source: https://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-deal-with-college-rejection
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