
Ask HN: I got rejected by all the US colleges I applied to. Now what? - sloka
- I got a low ACT score (28). Took the test only once.<p>- I applied to all the Ivy’s plus half a dozen other private undergraduate colleges. Got rejected from all.<p>- I assumed my ‘other’ credentials will make up for my low ACT score. I guess i was wrong.<p>- I scored straight A’s in my A Levels.<p>- I co-founded a company that has been successfully running for 3+ years now.<p>- I play a very popular sport at the state level.<p>- I expected to at least get into Babson (for its entrepreneurship program). But nope.<p>- Not an expert yet, but i can code (python, javascript).<p>On the plus side, i have saved 100,000+ USD that i can use as seed capital if i launch my company.
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drewbitt
Your "low" ACT score is in the 89th percentile. You simply should've applied
to some state schools as backup—you definitely would've gotten in some. If
you're still focused on only going to top private schools, you retake the ACT
and try again next year but should really consider applying to others as well.

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burlesona
Crikey. With that experience and that much money why do you want to go to
college? You’re so far ahead of the game right now, you could continue your
entrepreneurship with a level of freedom and resources that most folks could
only dream of.

If you want to learn stuff for your own benefit, or for potential
entrepreneurial application, I’ve gotten a lot out of Coursera over the years.
There are many great courses covering a broad range of interests.

What is it you’re hoping to get out of college?

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8bitsrule
Another path you can take is to enroll at a community college for a year or
two to demonstrate your ability to succeed in coursework. Check with the
school to be sure that the coursework credits you earn will transfer to a
larger school of your choice.

A relative of mine took that path (due to the crappy school he attended as a
teen) and graduated as a chemistry honors student from a State University.

Reliance on ACT scores (yours isn't all that low!) is a mechanical, shitty
practice. Route around the damage.

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cbanek
Take a year and do your company and apply again next year? It seems like the
whole university system is kind of wondering what will happen in the fall
right now due to the virus. You could have more time to prep and do the ACT
over again, and apply to the same schools again and maybe add a couple of
others just to widen the net? Seems like you really have a good head on your
shoulders. Best of luck.

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kingkongjaffa
In context those A-level results are good enough for any of the top 20 if not
top 10 universities in the UK, it's a good qualification if not quite top 5
levels ( oxbridge / top london uni's. )

I suspect the Ivy leagues have enough domestic applicants that a very
respectable, but not outstanding candidate with less well understood grades
would not make the cut here.

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doopy1
Grow your business, fuck college. Also, one little known fact is that you can
appeal these rejections. Just write a letter to the head of admissions
explaining why you think your denial was mistake, tell them about yourself and
your experience.

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hkiely
Does that ever work?

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doopy1
It worked for me! Remember that college is a business and writing an appeal
letter = "Please take my money."

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wdn
Go to a community college. If you live in a big city, some of the professors
are senior manager or executive from some of the largest firms in the area.
Not only that, the professors there really care about the students.

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camclay
East Coast private Schools, also heavily favor SAT Scores over ACT. ACT is
preferred in the Midwest and South.

Definitely check out some big state schools like University of Maryland, U of
Wisconsin, U of Michigan. These schools have large research grants and
funding, and they have access to some of the best large scientific computing
platforms (HPC and Mainframes).

They may not have the entrepreneurial prestige, but they all have decent
business schools in addition to great compsci programs, so you could dual
major or minor.

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toomuchtodo
Double down on your company. That success will be your credentials and how to
make you’re living.

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Foober223
You may not realize it, but you have happy problems.

Many of your peers are starting adulthood with $0. They are about to take on
massive debt for a useless degree. All to become an modern day indentured
servant to interest payments. For the rest of their life. It makes the old
time 7 years of indentured servitude sound like a pretty good deal.

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rayhendricks
Feel free to apply to UW (University of Washington
[http://www.dailyuw.com/news/article_1219baae-7c21-11ea-99ac-...](http://www.dailyuw.com/news/article_1219baae-7c21-11ea-99ac-6b0327844d89.html))
for 2021. They will not be requiring SAT/ACT scores. This is assuming you want
to spend $$$ for a degree, which may or may not be worth it.

IMO I'd go for a local community college and do the first 2 years there, which
is much cheaper. Also schools in EU are cheap/free not mortgage the damn
house.

Also you can reapply, it is not the end of the world life for the majority of
us is long... I got rejected from all 5 ivy-level biomedcial PHD programs I
applied to, barring one with a late application date which I could still get
rejected from lol.

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yitchelle
The question is why is getting into a US college so important for you? Is it
academically interesting for you, or is it getting the rights to add some
letters at end of your name?

Once you have answered it, it may turn out that it is not so important after
all. My advise is to look deeper.

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sergiotapia
1\. Why do you even want to go to college? It'll bore you out of your mind
given your credentials.

2\. Go to a state college, it's infinitely cheaper for nearly the same thing.

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matheweis
I agree with what others have said about the value not being there given your
current accomplishments.

If you are one of the rare few looking for the real value in attending an Ivy
League college (relationships you’ll make with professors and other students),
get a full time job - can probably even be a janitor if nothing else - at your
university of choice, then audit your choice of courses as staff are generally
allowed to do without any admission requirements.

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ghastmaster
> Now what?

Launch your next company. Invest in your ability to grow capital. Higher
education is massively over priced right now, in general. I know firms who
have hired lawyers for jack squat to replace paralegals because we have a glut
of graduates. Graduates are serving drinks and driving ubers. You have a
talent that a college cannot teach. Use it.

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keiferski
I’d say you have two options:

1\. Look into universities in Continental Europe. Most are free or have low
tuition and will still give you a solid education. I recommend somewhere in
Germany, Austria, Sweden or the Netherlands. Depending on the city, $100,000
will cover your expenses for 5-10 years.

2\. Spend the next year prepping for the SAT. Hire a private tutor, sign up
for courses, etc. Then get a high score and reapply next year.

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leoh
Woah can $100k really take you 5-10 years? What are cities you're thinking of?

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keiferski
Most smaller university cities in Germany and Austria are very inexpensive.
Leipzig, Heidelberg, Kassel, Münster for example. Even Vienna or Berlin are
not too bad if you are okay living further out and with roommates.

~~~
kyawzazaw
But I think very few courses in Germany are offered in English at the
Bachelor's level.

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keiferski
Eh, I wouldn’t say very few. Depends on the subject and many merely require
that you learn German within a year of attending. This design school, for
example, is mostly in English:

Kisd.de

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rotterdamdev
Have you considered The European Union? University education is very
affordable, and you can live off 100k USD for 2-3 years comfortably. I can
recommend the Netherlands, good tech universities here. It would also be an
experience that few of your generation can afford.

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Joof
A lot of people who care about credentials seem to have done undergrad in a
state school, then moved on to graduate school in ivy leagues.

That describes maybe half of my coworkers.

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paypalcust83
ACT requires prep. Ivy college admissions without legacy typically requires
hiring an application coach 2-3+ years before applying.

The big things you lose by not going to college are dorm life and
friendships/networking.

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ikeyany
Several schools like Colgate, Vassar, and BU are dropping their ACT/SAT
requirements due to coronavirus, so you might not be completely out of
options.

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kyawzazaw
That's for next year. But you are right, I think the only aspect OP is missing
is standardized test scores. Multiple colleges will go optional next year, so
OP should retry again.

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tomohawk
Consider applying to a different school, perhaps a state school. A common
strategy is to go to a community college for 2 years and then transfer.

~~~
paypalcust83
I did that on a TAA even though I was GATE, NMS, and had a perfect math SAT I
800.# It loses dorm life and social aspects, doesn't save much money, it
messes up course scheduling, and there can be an impedance mismatch in terms
of course content/prerequisites. I would recommend against it if at all
possible.

# 4-5 years of Boston snow or flambéing in Pasadena didn't seem appealing.

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kyawzazaw
It seems like you are an international student, within the British Education
system. Is that correct?

If so, check out /r/intltousa

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moneysake
Are you international? If so, not surprised. You need to be einstein to get
into anywhere interesting with international status

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atmosx
Why do you want to go to college? Have you thought about the possibility of
studying in Europe instead?

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lonelappde
Why do you want to college in the US?

Why do you want to go to college? You already have a career.

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Viralsneezer
Ask Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison ... Interesting
that a guy with your background would even need to think about going to a
college ...

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freeslugs
Think about where you want to be 3-5 years from now. From an IRR and ROI
perspective, not all colleges are equal and often trade schools yield higher
relative returns. You definitely have a lot of capital and can invest in
future endeavors. Try to apply for a software internship for the summer --
strong way to gain hard skills and determine whether tech life is a good fit.

