I get questions all the time. Here’s a popular one I receive from applicant…
Q: I am at the top of my class, my GPA is 4.2, my ACT score is 35, and I have awesome extra curriculars…why did I get denied by UPenn?
A: Ugh. I get this question ALL THE TIME! And unfortunately, there is not answer. One thing I can say is that it highly unlikely it is something you did or did not do. Remember, you don’t know a lot of things in this process. You don’t know who the other applicants are, what do they do, what their profile is, and why they stood out. You also don’t know what the school was looking for this admissions cycle. Some years they want more under served kids (this is happening more and more) some years they want more humanities kids, some years they want kids from public school. We just don’t know. You did all that you could, and that’s all we can ask for. I know it hurts. But DO NOT take it personally. Regroup, think about an ED2 if one exists were you want to be, and if you haven’t submitted your RD apps (and I hope you did already) get going on them. But rest assured, there is a great school out there, and you will land there.