Can you be rejected from a college for being "over qualified"?

I think I remember someone working at the guidance office in high school saying that, but can not remember. I ask because my gf applied for a masters at a bunch of schools and was surprised to find a rejection letter from one school she thought she was a shoe in for, but has already been admitted to a school that is generally thought to be superior. Her GMAT is sick (like, literally, just below the average score Yale students get) and GPA very good. Her TOEFL, which is a very important test for foreigners hoping to study in the states is also really good, well above 100. She hired a counselor to help her apply for schools, since she is not from America. And the counselor told her that sometimes a school will refuse admittance to students they feel are too over qualified, because they are afraid of being refused by that student. I can not remember if this is true, after all, she is in China, and obviously, her counselor is also Chinese, so maybe they are not totally sure of the admission at American Universities? But it kind of reminds me of something teachers told us in HS. So can not remember.

 

i've never heard of that, and i don't see how it would even make sense. colleges want people with great qualifications so they can brag up their student body and show higher average test scores and whatnot.

the rejection gave no sort of explanation? maybe her program was already full or something.

 

on the other hand, i would assume you "can" be rejected for pretty much any reason. i'm just not convinced that you would be.

 

Id think they would accept anyone who can pay the tuition...that seems to be the criteria here

 

Yah, I mean, when she spoke with her consular they were surprised and that was the reason they told her, that maybe she was too qualified. But I dunno, what you say makes way more sense too.

No reason for the rejection btw, and I know the program is ultra competitive. Maybe she was just too late in applying.

 

maybe the school filled their quota for qualified chinese students

that'd be my guess

gotta have room for the stupid races

 

Well, odd. She has been accepted to every other school so far. All of them superior. Perhaps not too far off the mark.

 

Oh yeah.
Story of my life.
That's why I post on forums instead of go to school.
Too cool for school.
Too much knowledge for college.

 

as someone already said, i would think it has more to do with quotas. i have several friends (korean and chinese) who were rejected from berkley last year and they are top notch students. one of my good friends who is already a student there said something about the administration or whatever putting limits on the number of asians accepted to certain programs

 

too much masturbation for education?

 

Yah, that is most likely.

Well, thanks everyone.

 

Yep.

Sounds like a school that follows the affirmative action guidelines to a T.

 

some schools will reject you because you're asian or east indian because people of those ethnicities on average to better in school, hence, would be at disproportionately high numbers at colleges if there wasn't some reverse affirmative action goin on.

 

last i heard, any college can reject anyone for any reason they feel like. most have better sense then to make a habbit of doing so.