Why Wasn’t I Admitted? What Did I Do Wrong? What Could I Have Done Differently?

As college decisions start to roll out, some students will receive good news, and others will receive bad news. While the majority of colleges in the US admit more than half of their applicants, there are approximately 200 institutions that are more selective than that—and a couple dozen even admit less than 10% of applicants! It is natural for students who have not been admitted to a college they were excited to attend to anxiously ask:

Why wasn’t I admitted? What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently?

The answers to these questions depend on a lot of factors. There are some students in every applicant pool who are not academically qualified. The college does not want to set a student up to fail, so these applicants are easy to turn down. There will also be some students each year who feel like “rockstars”, and they’re the ones who are easiest to admit—for any number of reasons. They could be academic rockstars; they may have been recruited for their talent in the arts or as varsity athletes; they could also have connections through alumni or donors.

Most students fall into what I call “the muddy middle.” They are academically qualified and have some compelling factors, but the college knows they don’t have enough spots for every student like this who applies. That’s where the bulk of the work of the admission team will go—deciding among those qualified candidates. Admissions decisions are unpredictable, even when you meet the standards set by the previous year’s admitted class because of this simple fact: selective colleges don’t have room for every qualified applicant.

Institutional priorities will drive many of these decisions. There may be a charge to enroll more in-state students or more international students. There could be a new major or a growing department that needs to be populated. Sometimes, schools also have new athletic teams or other initiatives that are prioritized.

As you seek to understand why you were not admitted, it is helpful to review the Common Data Set for each school. Published by the vast majority of colleges, the CDS is a standardized set of data about each institution as a whole. Section C is specifically about the admissions process, and C7 charts the relative importance of many application factors like GPA, academic rigor and extracurricular activities, as well as character and the applicant’s level of interest. At most colleges, your academic experiences—usually quantified as the rigor of your courses and the grades you received in them—is the most significant factor driving decisions.

It can be frustrating, but I hope it’s also comforting to understand that most students who do not get in probably haven’t done anything wrong.

Being turned down by a selective college often has nothing to do with you specifically. Qualified applicants are often not accepted because colleges are simply choosing the students who are the best fit for them within the particular circumstances of each admission cycle.

While being admitted is incredibly personal and says a lot about who you are as a student and as a person, it doesn’t go both ways. A denial is usually about the college and the applicant pool, not you.

It’s hard to predict admission, especially at selective schools, because the goals and priorities of each institution may change from year to year. Sometimes these goals even change from one round to the next in the same application year. This means that the students who were admitted last year would not necessarily be admitted if they applied again this year—not because they’re unqualified, but because they may not be the most compelling candidates given the current applicant pool.

What could you have done differently?

Maybe nothing (and you’ll never know for sure). However, if you’re a student who hasn’t applied yet, you can use this advice proactively. Knowing that you’ll likely be qualified at the bare minimum, there are lots of ways you can ensure that you are the most compelling applicant possible at each institution.

One is simply to do your research and understand who the college is. It is important to specifically distinguish them from other schools—especially the ones that seem similar on paper—and find ways to prove that you know what makes a school unique. In the same way that students want to be seen by colleges as singular, special individuals, the admissions reps at each institution like to know you feel that way about their school. That’s why they’ll ask questions in their supplemental essays like: Why are you interested in this school? Why are you pursuing this major at our school? How do you anticipate contributing to the community on our campus?

Responses to questions like these should be incredibly specific, but remember that these supplements can also be an opportunity and a two-way street. If you use your response to simply compliment the college about the cool-interesting-unusual things that they do, they may appreciate hearing it, but they already know what they’re really good at. What they want to hear is how you’ll take advantage of the unique opportunities they offer, and how you’ll contribute something to their community.

We teach students instead of merely answering the question, “Why this college?” answer as if you were asked “Why you for this college?”. You can drop in very specific details about yourself: past accomplishments, skills you’ll bring with you and opportunities you hope to take advantage of in that college community. If you’ve visited the campus, you can mention the people you met, the conversations you had, and the things you saw and experienced. Otherwise, you can do deep online research and reach out to resources on campus for more info: faculty, current students, admissions officers, career departments and other staff.

High school students who have shared a major or career interest in their application often struggle to explain how they have already started to pursue that interest outside of the classroom. While not every student will be expected to have done academic research or a high profile internship as a teen, colleges would like to know you have done something more than taken courses at your high school. Some things that you can do (and mention in your application) are follow an expert on TikTok, go down a YouTube rabbit hole, watch a documentary, go to the library to research, conduct an informal interview with a family friend and start a discussion group at school. It’s rare—and therefore incredibly mature—to see a student be self-motivated to do any of these things, and it indicates a passion in addition to their aptitude for the subject.

A final way students can really stand out is by how much personality they’re able to get into their applications. College apps are composed of 15 to 20 PDF pages, and it’s really hard to glean a genuine sense of somebody’s personality through just reading those PDFs. There are a couple of opportunities in a typical application that will give you the chance to go beyond the required factual information. You decide what to say when you write your essay, respond to supplemental questions, and interview. Do your best to make the most of each of these opportunities to share as much as you can, and you can feel confident that you’ve submitted a strong application, which gives you the best chance to be a compelling applicant at each school. Good luck!

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the top reasons why an applicant isn’t admitted?

  The simplest reason you are not admitted is that you aren’t academically qualified. The other common reason is the college runs out of space; it’s not anything you’ve done wrong.

• My student didn’t get into their dream school, and they are taking it really hard. How can I help them?

  Not getting something you’ve been hoping for is difficult, especially when you feel you have worked very hard and “deserve it”. It’s natural to grieve that loss, and you can support your student through that by listening to their feelings and offering comfort. It’s also helpful to remind them that they haven’t done anything wrong and a “no” from a college isn’t a judgement about who they are. They will find a college home; it always works out.

• Why did another student with similar stats get admitted but not mine?

  Admissions offices make decisions based on many factors. Decisions are unpredictable because you can’t know the whole picture of the college’s priorities. You also can’t know another applicant’s entire story. While you may have a sense of how they compare to your child, there is no way for you to know the details of their application or their circumstances.

• What role does indicating a college major on the application play in admissions decisions?

  Some colleges admit students to the institution regardless of their intended major. Others will review applications in groups based on the major they intend to pursue or the specific college they are applying to (within a larger university). In those cases, some majors or schools may be more selective than others. It’s not helpful to try to apply to a less selective program and transfer later because in most cases, internal transfers will be restricted in order to prevent students from playing this game.