1
3 years ago
Admissions Advice

How many people get into their "Long Reach" schools?

I got rejected from Barnard's early decision which was a "long reach" for me according to CollegeVine. I agree with that and wasn't too surprised I got rejected. However, there are other schools that I would love to attend that are considered "long reaches". It says I have a 1-5% chance of getting into Wellesley and a 1-6% chance of getting into Smith or Bryn Mawr.

I understand that it's likely I won't be able to handle the academics at any of those colleges but it still bums me out knowing that it's likely that I won't get into those schools. Have you ever heard of anyone who used CollegeVine, who was told they had less than a 10% chance of getting into a school, who actually got in?

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@DebaterMAX3 years ago

I havent gone through the process yet but wrong reaches have about the chance of rolling snake eyes. Definitely possible.

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1 answer

8
3 years ago

Hi, W.! Big hug 🤗 for you.

Barnard is the hardest women's college to get into in America. Personally, I think this cycle, getting into Cornell or Dartmouth is about the same because so many qualified smart young women applied to Barnard ED because it was test-optional.

I think it's best to take inventory of all the other great women's colleges in the US and smaller LACs liberal arts colleges. Although I got in early into Columbia ED, I want to tell you that I spent the last 2 years traveling to check out all kinds of schools that I thought as a young woman I would be happy at.

My suggestion is that consider looking at Scripps College in CA, Mount Holyoke, Smith College, Skidmore College, Bryn Mawr, and some liberal arts colleges that are great for women as well like Vassar, Kenyon College, Hamilton College in NY, Bates, Union College in NY, Trinity College in CT, Macalester, SOKA CA, Sarah Lawrence NY, Bennington VT, St. Olaf, Franklin, and Marshall.

Personally, I loved Mount Holyoke, it was a beautiful campus and I felt at home there. Vassar was equally awesome, Even Trinity College in Hartford CT made me feel at home. They have their own fine arts movie theater on campus and even though it's super small, the vibe was great and there are lots of smart kids from all over the country.

My point is that you can get a fabulous education at hundreds of schools. Where you go, doesn't define you. Where you go isn't who you will be.

But if you make a big deal of clout, prestige, rank, reputation, perception, etc., it will debilitate you and prevent you from being your best.

Each college even one that you might not know very much about has a unique history and track record of great humans that graduated from there. You should instead focus on being one of those great humans that graduates from wherever you attend.

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/about/notable/alumnae-changemakers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Trinity_College_(Connecticut)_people

https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-scripps-college-alumni-and-students/reference

https://www.kenyon.edu/academics/career-development/outcomes-notable-alumni/

Good luck

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