[tknoodles]

Hi guys. I'm a senior in highschool, and like all other seniors, i have applied to college majoring in genetics/biological sciences. The colleges i applied to are UCI, UCD, UCSD, UCLA, and Cal. However, I've only been accepted to UCI which will be the school I will be attending, but it's not my dream school. I really wanted to attend UCSD or UCLA. I had a weighed gpa of 4.125, unweighed of 3.9, sat score of 1800, and pretty good personal statements. so, i don't really know what I did wrong. I have no choice but to go to UCI now. I know that it's not a bad school; in fact, it's a really good school, it's just not what I was aiming for. A lot of people I know had lower stats than mine, but they got into the schools such as SD and LA, and I don't mean to be presumptive or arrogant, but it hurts to find out that less deserving people who didn't want it as bad as you achieve the dreams that you wanted. I don't know why, but whenever i am asked about where I'm going to college next year, it hurts to say UC Irvine. How do I get over this feeling of rejection, and be proud to say that I am going to be a student at Irvine?


sorry for such a long post, but i've just been really depressed lately, and none of my friends really understand how i'm feeling.

[ANJEE<3]

you know what

DON'T GO TO IRVINE THEN

and i'm serious


wait and apply again to UCLA and UCSD for the spring semester or whatever

DON'T SETTLE when you know you have the grades and everything for it..
if you really want to know why you were rejected, call and ask
then work on it for the next few months and APPLY AGAIN

i don't know how the system works in the states..
but seriously, your grades sound really good..
so don't settle for a school when you know you can do better
i say this because you honestly just sound really depressed
this is NO WAY to spend your next 4 or 5 years

[PDURRR]

heh rejection is part of life..life isn't fair
i'm sure once you attend your school, you'll appreciate it much more

uci is a good school, don't feel too down
did you get a full ride to UCI atleast?

--
i'm not sure if she can apply for spring because of budget cuts

[l0vel0vek0rean]

Ah maybe you are talking about me? Who is the less-deserving one? Hahahha~
Hm....you know, there's a saying, when someone is smiling, someone is crying, sorry for the bad translation.... but....it's true.....see, if you think it this way, like if YOU were accepted to for example, LA, and took that one spot, that means someone, who may be from anywhere, who also thinks they are deserved to go to LA, will not be able to go......

Sometimes life is....weird, there may be people who others think they were supposed to get in didn't get in, and there are people who others don't think they've got a chance, got in....

Everyone has their reason to be accepted~and congrads to you on getting accepted to UCI!:)
i heard that it wasn't that easy to get in this year~

You never know, you might LOVE Irvine later on~and realize that it's the best school for you!:)

This is just my opinion, and it's also what I say to comfort myself from the rejections too~heheh~I feel you!:)
But good luck!!!:)

[f0reveralways]

yeah i don't know what's up with admissions this year. everything is WHACK, i tell ya. [see the Major Rejections thread.] be happy you got into irvine. i know someone who is way smarter than I am but for some reason was rejected from irvine (whereas I accepted). i don't get what's going on this year. this girl with a weighted gpa of 3.2 and almost non-existent extracurriculars got into UCSD at my school, too.

life is unfair.

[soorangee]

I def. feel ya. I didn't get into my top choices, and I had pretty good stats too. I knew people who had lower stats who got into the schools I wanted to go too. I ended going up to my backup choice. Yea...it does hurt, but you shouldn't let this get you down. In the end for me, I pretty much got a full ride to college. If I've gotten into my top choices which were private ($$$), I don't know how I would've afforded to go to school. I'm really happy with where I'm going since I don't have to worry about debts after school. Sure, some schools have prestige, but undergrad is pretty much all the same. You can always transfer too, but what really matters now is grad schools and professional schools. So, hope this somehow helps you. Hope that wherever you go you will be happy and proud to say "that's my school!" :]

[jjessiessong]

*hug*
I am on the same boat.
I have a 4.55 GPA and got rejected by Cal when my friend with a 3.0 flat got in. Sad, huh?

College acceptances are mere luck. You just have to acknowledge that. It's not that you are not good enough it's that colleges are blind to see your potential through a simple application. It's something not within your sphere of influence, so why bother wasting time moaning about it? Just learn to let go... I am!

UCI is not bad at all! I live right next to the school. they have a REALLY beautiful campus. and hey, it beats UC Riverside, SB, etc etc!

Just remember, all my friends who got rejected last year eventually ended up LOVING where they are now. So don't be so obsessed over something that is not your fault, and just learn to accept the environment that you are in.

[x teehee]

^wow, 4.55 GPA? that's amazing. how did your 3.0 friend get in? They must've done something super spectacular...

Rejection sucks, especially this year, when the competition is so high, and the UC admissions are messed up due to proposed budget cuts and whatnot. UCI is a fine school, and you could always go there and get 90 credits done ASAP so you can transfer ASAP. My friend has visited UCI a couple times and he says it's a beautiful campus, and my other friend who goes there says she really loves it there. If you hate UCI that much, opt for community college to finish your 90 credits, which will definitely be cheaper. Either way, it will be easier for you to transfer into the UC of your choice once you finish your GEs. Good luck

but why I got into UCD and UCSB but not UCI, I will never know... T___T

[chinese tears <3]

A lot of times life isn't fair and not everyone gets to go to their dream school. But you know, a lot of times what doesn't seem like it's going to be a great path to take just might turn out to be the perfect path. It never hurts to try it out. If you don't like it, and you truly want to push for something more, your chances aren't over. You can take other options like other people mentioned, whether it's applying for a different quarter or transferring into the school you want to. It's not impossible to transfer from UC to UC either, though it's easier through community college.. A lot of times it might seem like it hurts our pride to have to do these things, but it's what we have to do if we really want to reach our goals. Honestly though, I wouldn't say undergraduate studies are as important, if you plan to go to graduate school then I would say do well in Irvine since it's technically not as competitive and go to graduate school at LA or SD.

But yeah, competition was especially tough this year. It wasn't fair for a lot of people. My dream school was UCLA too. I know a girl at my school who only has decent grades and never took a single AP class and she got into UCLA. Kind of hurts for the rest of us who didn't get in and went through a lot of trouble like AP courses in high school huh? But sometimes life ends up working out for the best. ^^

[kOoHII]

my stats were a little lower but about the same as yours and i got rejected from irvine (keep in mind average stats were also lower back then). it's a part of life. if you don't like irvine, transfer. a lot of people i knew didn't like their school but went anyway...they worked hard their first year, transferred, and are now very happy with their "dream school".

getting rejected isn't the end...you still have another chance to get in.

[theedqueen]

you also have to keep in mind that different departments have different acceptance rates. Your desired major sounds like one of those really competitive ones, so it might be that they had a huge pool they had to sift through. But don't be too hard on yourself, colleges are like that. My roommate at my first year at UCLA was an IDIOT. And I'm not saying it to be mean, she really was and I have _NO_ idea how she even got accepted. Who knows what the acceptance committee was thinking.

If you're dead set on going to UCLA or UCSD, you have a couple of choices:
1) wait and reapply for the winter
2) take a year or two at junior college and transfer
3) go to UCI and then transfer (I have a friend who did that)
4) appeal to UCLA or UCSD to reconsider and see what they say

at any rate UCI is still a really good school, great campus, my brother went there. You'll have fun. Good luck!

[hellotiffy]

if you wanted the other schools that badly, why didn't you appeal? if you're think you're deserving, there isn't a reason why you can't/shouldn't appeal. my friend was asb president, active in school government, etc. and was rejected from ucla and so he appealed and got in.
i don't mean to sound mean, but no one's forcing you to go to uci. and you shouldn't go there if it'll make you unhappy.

[_simple.dreams]

i'm quite surprised... i made it into ucsd but not ucla... my gpa is a bit lower than yours.. but my sat scores are a bit higher...

today my chem teacher gave us the spheel about not settling and such. he said if you dont make it this year... you can go to junior college and apply again in two years... those colleges really like it or something.

also this year's admission was a bit messed up in my opinion.. people who should have been admitted didn't get in.. while others who shouldn't have got in...

i hope you're happy with whatever you're planning to do & i wish you luck (:

[erure]

Hmm. Your GPA sounds good but your SAT score is kind of low. Did you do any extracurricular activities? I didn't do a lot of extracurricular activities (I played in the musical pit orchestra, youth orchestra, wind ensemble, worked at SAT school, and helped write and publish a book to help children cope with cancer) and my GPA was lower than yours but my SAT score was higher (2100) and I got into UCSD but rejected from UCLA. However I'm a sophomore at UCSD now so that was ages ago. Anyway UCI is a really good school too so don't be too down - besides, it's the graduate school that really counts

[tknoodles]

I know for sure that UCI is a good school and I'm willing to go there, I really am. I just think that I deserved more. I did lots of community services and what not too and spent countless nights staying up and studying for tests for my ap classes to actually learn and retain the material instead of just studying for an A and forget everything later. I don't know maybe it's just that my expectations for myself and my family's expectations weren't met. And you know the whole asian thing, my sister is the total polar opposite of me (total book worm, didn't really have a social life) and got into Cal. she is currently a sophomore there w/ a 4.0 Gpa and my parents can't stop comparing me to her. They said if i acted more like my sister instead of hanging out /w my friends, i would've gotten into the schools i wanted.

Extra Curriculars: (all of which i did over the course of 4 years each at least 2 years)
Tennis varsity
Red Cross
Tech Museum volunteer
Pharmacy volunteer
NHS (national honors society)
CSF (california scholarship federation)
Chinese Vietnamese Club (officer)

and others.

[thislove]

I really don't see anything wrong in ur gpa or SAT scores so I can't seem to figure out why u only got accepted to one UC. I would be upset but u should definitely applied for the spring qtr. if u don't want to go to UCI. My friend did tat when she got rejected the UCSD and got accepted to the winter qtr instead. So u should definitely try again or can't u petition or something so tat the UC's can re-evaluate ur application again. Some of my friends did tat for Berkeley and LA and a few got accepted.

Don't settle for UCI if u really don't want to go and u know u have the grades to get into the UC of ur choice.

[SouthernBelle82]

heh rejection is part of life..life isn't fair
i'm sure once you attend your school, you'll appreciate it much more

uci is a good school, don't feel too down
did you get a full ride to UCI atleast?

--
i'm not sure if she can apply for spring because of budget cuts

I agree. I would just go a long with the flow. And who knows this school might do more for you than the one you wanted. Personally I don't believe in coincidences so there must be a reason why you're to go to this school. Of course just my opinion. I'm sure it's a fine school none the less.

I def. feel ya. I didn't get into my top choices, and I had pretty good stats too. I knew people who had lower stats who got into the schools I wanted to go too. I ended going up to my backup choice. Yea...it does hurt, but you shouldn't let this get you down. In the end for me, I pretty much got a full ride to college. If I've gotten into my top choices which were private ($$$), I don't know how I would've afforded to go to school. I'm really happy with where I'm going since I don't have to worry about debts after school. Sure, some schools have prestige, but undergrad is pretty much all the same. You can always transfer too, but what really matters now is grad schools and professional schools. So, hope this somehow helps you. Hope that wherever you go you will be happy and proud to say "that's my school!" :]

Definitely a big plus if you don't have to worry so much about debts. That can totally kill people's finances. Be very glad if you don't have to worry about that as much as other people. But yeah I too agree with grad school if you're planning on going. I'm going to a community school for my undergrad work and if I do have to transfer I'm going to a local university for grad school. It's a lot cheaper way too and there are a lot of pluses too I think anyways. Of course there are pro's and con's for both.

[litoxshortaii]

my advice is that you go to irvine for the first year and then consider transferring for your second year-- that's what im doing right now. originally, i thought i had made a mistake in choosing the school i currently go to.. i passed up NYU to go to a school that was closer to home, but not as academically challenging. i made the decision based on the pressure of the may 1st deadline. however, i actually ended up getting used to/liking the place where i am right now. the only reason im transferring is because despite the qualities i found to like in my school, it's not up to par academically, which i feel is the most important factor. now that i think about it, i dont think i would've enjoyed my time at NYU. im applying to smaller, liberal arts schools as a transfer after realizing i preferred a smaller, more personalized setting. i also feel like ive become a stronger candidate for the schools im applying for transfer to this year than i was last year. the classes i took last semester werent as challenging as i would've liked them to be, but at the same time, that gave me a chance to raise my GPA, allowed me to make the dean's list and get invited to join the honors society. because i spent less time studying, i had more free time to get a job and become more involved in clubs and other school activities, which looks good for colleges no matter if ur a transfer or a freshman applicant. being one of the top students in my class has also raised my morale and confidence-- definitely a change from senior year college rejections haha. so i guess my main point is to give irvine a chance. if you really hate it, you still have the option of transferring and you might even be more prepared. but you also might end up liking it, who knows?

[t1ffiexp]

UCI's bio department is really good, but if you DON'T want to go there.. then you should just attend a community college and transfer from there. It's a lot easier to transfer from a CC to a UC than UC to UC. Plus you'll save a lOT of money. It was HARD to get into a good college this year, huh? =x

[toffys191]

^

What if everyone that didn't get into the UC that they want thinks like that and all attends CC. Doesn't that mean you'll be facing the remaining applicant pool in two years? So even transfering is competitive for class of '08