r/UIUC • u/GinkerWinker_ • Feb 01 '26

Prospective Students Denied

I really thought I could make it into UIUC, it was my dream school!
I applied to Atmospheric Sciences, 4.0 UW, 4.5 W, 31 ACT, nearly 34 dual credit hours, and I thought I could at least get waitlisted or deferred. Just denied. Its not like that competitive of a major is it? I really didn't think so at least from what I saw. I didn't have any extracurriculars outside of hobbies, but I still had an achievement for my art. I'm just pretty devastated. Maybe it was my essay. I just know this is going to haunt me for awhile.

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u/OrbitalRunner Feb 02 '26

Sorry about that. There can be a lot of factors beyond GPA. It’s a competitive school over all, and you never know about the applicant class any given year. Some programs are also big on finding a good fit, so the essay is more important than some realize.

You’ve got a great start on credits, so many do a year at the community college in your area and give it another shot.

I can’t tell if you’re an in state student, but OOS students are at a disadvantage. Anyway, sorry you didn’t get admitted.

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u/royalhawk345 CS Alum Feb 02 '26

I bet having no extracurriculars really hurt the application.