If you recently received a rejection from Bowdoin in the Early Decision round, you aren’t alone. The ED acceptance rate for Bowdoin is quite low, and admissions is extremely competitive. That doesn’t make it hurt less, though. An ED rejection is always gutting, as a dream school rejection is, to put it bluntly, the rejection of a dream. But it isn’t the end of your college dreams. You can still get into an exceptional school. To pull that off, you need to figure out what to do next.

If you’ve recently received a rejection from Rice in the Early Decision round, we know that this wasn’t the plan. You picked Rice ED because you are in love with what they offer, and it felt possible. Not easy, probably, but possible. But now you have a rejection in your inbox, and you have to figure out what comes next.

Harvey Mudd College is a small, STEM-focused liberal arts college located in Claremont, California. The school is a part of the Claremont Colleges, which means it shares a campus and resources with Pomona, Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna – and you can take classes and join clubs at any of them! Harvey Mudd is also tiny. Microscopic, even. With approximately 900 undergrads, it’s the size of a medium Texas high school. And if you’re here, you’re considering applying ED2 to Harvey Mudd, and we’re here to help.

You had a plan. You would apply to Johns Hopkins Early Decision, get in, and be done with the college application process. Or, if you didn’t get in ED, you’d at least be deferred. A deferral is far from an acceptance, of course, bouncing you into the Regular Decision pool, but Johns Hopkins would still be in the mix. However, that isn’t what happened. Now you are grappling with a rejection ED and trying to figure out what comes next.

Pomona College is a small, highly selective liberal arts college nestled in Claremont, California. Pomona is the founding member of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five undergrad colleges (Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd) that share resources, cross-registration, and community. It’s a true, super interdisciplinary, liberal arts college, and it’s definitely going to appeal to students who love learning for learning’s sake.

If you recently received a rejection decision from Carnegie Mellon in the Early Decision round, you probably don’t feel too great. It’s frustrating when plans don’t work out, and you almost certainly thought you’d at least have the gentle reassurance of a deferral. Instead, you’ve got a letter of rejection in one hand and the need for a plan in the other. If you feel frustrated or overwhelmed, that makes sense. Don’t let yourself get wrapped up in that feeling, though, because we can help.  

Any rejection is upsetting, but college rejections — especially in the Early Decision round — have a particular sting to them. There is so much hope, optimism, and hard work wrapped up in college applications, that having a dream school like Northwestern shut down that potential future is frustrating, to put it lightly.

Swarthmore College is a small, elite liberal arts institution located just outside of Philadelphia. Founded in 1864 by Quakers, the school has long been known for its academic rigor, commitment to social responsibility, and close-knit campus culture. Swarthmore is part of both the Tri-College consortium (with Bryn Mawr and Haverford) and the Quaker Consortium with Penn – which means you have a lot of flexibility and can take classes at any of these schools.

If you recently received a notice of rejection from Boston College in the Early Decision round, that is a major downer. It wasn’t the plan. You picked Boston College for Early Decision because it is a dream school that seemed feasible. You didn’t assume you would get in, but you also thought that you had a solid chance to at least be deferred. Unfortunately, this ED rejection tells us that Boston College didn’t assess your application as “highly competitive.” In this post, we’re going to break down what this means, why it may have happened, and what you need to do next to get into a dream school.

Northeastern University is a fairly large, urban, private research university located in Boston, MA. Popular programs for undergrads here include business, sciences, engineering, and computer sciences, but what draws most people to Northeastern is their unique opportunities. The co-op program, their study abroad and satellite campuses, and their service-learning programs are really popular with students, especially those looking for career placement after graduation.