Why did I get into one top school but none others (even schools ranked a lot lower)?

[openthebox]

I know this isn't a terrible problem to have, or if it's even a problem, but I was admitted into one economics PhD program at a top school (Columbia) but I've been rejected literally everywhere else, including places ranked roughly the same (Harvard, Chicago, Northwestern, Yale) and places ranked a little to a lot lower (Madison, Cornell, Rice, etc.). Is this normal?

I'm worried that I only got into Columbia because one of my letter writers knew someone there and that I'm not actually qualified. Does this seem weird to anyone else?

Edited February 25, 2016 by openthebox

[TakeruK]

It's not weird that you got into this one school and not the others and also not weird that you feel this way, because "imposter syndrome" is pretty common amongst graduate students.

If it helps, here are some potential lines of reasoning to explain your result:

1. If you are an international student, then it's often the case that you will get into private schools (usually highly ranked) but not public ones (lower ranked) because of international tuition costs.

2. Admissions has a pretty large random component to it. Most people good enough to get into top tier programs aren't so good that they will get in anywhere. So getting into one out of 5 or 6 top programs is a common thing. It's much more likely that you only got into 1 out of 5-6 top programs because they are highly competitive, not because that one school somehow screwed up and admitted you by mistake!

3. As for the lower ranked schools, if you are just looking at schools slightly lower ranked then the above still applies. And in addition, there are also many nebulous components to admissions, such as "fit" and other attributes that aren't easily quantifiable or measurable. You could be a great candidate but the fit isn't right, and you won't get an offer. Or, you could be the 3rd candidate in specific field Y and they already have 2 other candidates in specific field Y so you might get passed over in favour of someone else who isn't as good but is doing something different. 

Overall, I would not read too much into what it means to get offers from one place vs. another. In most cases, graduate admissions is not about admitting the best overall candidates, but instead, it's about admitting the best fitting candidates that meet each department's specific needs each year. So, I would not view a rejection from anywhere as an indication that you aren't qualified---you probably were, but just not what they are needing this year!

[geographyrocks]

51 minutes ago, openthebox said:

I'm worried that I only got into Columbia because one of my letter writers knew someone there and that I'm not actually qualified. Does this seem weird to anyone else?

If you weren't qualified, they would not admit you.  They don't want to look bad.  Seriously.  And no, that thought doesn't seem weird.  It's called imposter syndrome.  Even though you've done the work and others confirm that you are worthy of grad school, you still question it.  There are varying degrees, of course.  I spent my entire first semester in grad school convinced that they made a mistake or that I tricked them into admitting me somehow.

Congratulations on being admitted!