College Admissions Questions (2 Viewers)

[TennesseeJed]

Our senior son is only applying to 5 schools and we are OK with that. Said he didn't want to apply to a bunch of places he wasn't serious about. Has 4 of 5 submitted including supplemental essays for several honors colleges. Still has one with a dec 1 early application deadline. No ED applications submitted.

Any really safe schools? I think the chance of something flukey happening is the biggest argument against keeping the list so small.

I'm old, but I think you can have 1 reach/pipe-dream, 2 or 3 hope sos, and 1 or 2 slam dunks.

My son has been advised to apply to 10+ schools... Only 5 or 6 of them he'd actually want to go to. Just seems pointless.

We had the same.

I think if the student has an honest assessment of where they are a good fit academically, than its 1-2 Dream schools, 2-3 Good schools. Maybe 1 safety state school.


Having said that, I think I mentioned last year that one of my daughter's classmates got waitlisted at nearly all of his "top" schools - but never got into any of them. Ended up at the safety school - and is looking to transfer into another school next year. And, at many of those top schools, it's a coin flip for many of the qualified applicants - so I can understand the desire to get as many those coin flips as you can. But, the student really should want to go to any school they apply to - otherwise that is a waste of time.

 

[zoobird]

Our senior son is only applying to 5 schools and we are OK with that. Said he didn't want to apply to a bunch of places he wasn't serious about. Has 4 of 5 submitted including supplemental essays for several honors colleges. Still has one with a dec 1 early application deadline. No ED applications submitted.

Any really safe schools? I think the chance of something flukey happening is the biggest argument against keeping the list so small.

I'm old, but I think you can have 1 reach/pipe-dream, 2 or 3 hope sos, and 1 or 2 slam dunks.

My son has been advised to apply to 10+ schools... Only 5 or 6 of them he'd actually want to go to. Just seems pointless.

But, the student really should want to go to any school they apply to - otherwise that is a waste of time.

Totally agree with that. But assuming that there are a lot of schools they'd be excited about, I think it can make sense to apply to a lot. If they have a 10% shot at each of those, the more shots they take, the more chance they get into one of them. That said, obviously shouldn't do so if it's going to create excessive stress or if they're going to end up half-assing the applications in order to get to all of them.

 

[rockaction]

We're hearing reports from my son's NYC private school that Jewish parents and their kids are boycotting applying to the Ivies this year due to ongoing campus conflict over Israel and Gaza. (One of the parents last year was the guy who got the Harvard pres booted)

Well...Ok.

Anybody else hearing this kind of stuff?

I think considerations of where your child will feel welcome and safe should be paramount for everyone, including Jewish families. But these particular conflicts don’t seem to be isolated to Ivy League schools.

What I've been hearing... True or not... Is that the southern and Midwestern schools weren't as volatile, which is part of the supposed increased interest vs the ivies

For what it's worth - I am not sure there are any protests (at least not of a significant kind like last semester) at Vanderbilt. We were there for move-in - mid August, and Family Weekend early September, and I was just there this week - never saw anything,

Uh, they took over a building at Vanderbilt. They expelled a student for (doing a bit more than) a little more than jostling a security guard to gain access to the building. While they were occupying the building they demanded food and tampons. It lasted several days. Unlike many of the schools that saw serious protests, Vanderbilt immediately disciplined the students.

But your overall point is taken and the Southern and Bread Basket Midwestern schools (UW and UMich had serious protests) had fewer problems. The paid protestors (sorry, couldn’t help it) went to Ole Miss and were roundly greeted with what about you’d expect from the South even though there’s an added element of Judaism to these protests. I don’t think they made inroads at any school south of Chicago in the Midwest and the further you get into the Big Sky areas and Mountain Time schools, the less you see there. Once you hit the West, those were often somewhat violent and present in California and more northern cities. There was extensive property damage at UCLA and Cal-Berkeley.

UCLA had the wildest scene of any school in the country. The college girls made a scene by daily praying to Mecca in their “encampment.” After the protestors and their supporters clashed with Los Angeles Jews there was basically a violent vigilante war staged by Persian Jews where explosives and missiles were thrown into the encampment, prompting a full-on brawl between protestors and counter-protestors. It was dangerous and shockingly so.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/us/ucla-student-protests-counterprotesters-invs/index.html

I have not paid attention to the campuses this year. There is a lot to be said about these protests, but better for another time. I will say that El Floppo notes that Jewish parents are boycotting the Ivies. Harvard, Columbia, and Penn had prolonged demonstrations (encampments) that many felt were anti-Semitic in nature and resulted in many Jewish Americans who have school-age children being revolted by the scenes, the university responses, and the views of the students participating.

To wit, UCLA protestors would not let Jews (at least those Jews who are Zionists and who did not denounce Israel and deny its right to exist) free passage to certain areas of campus, and a judge had to step in and mandate that the University not allow the protestors to do this, something which the University then protested (the judge’s ruling).

But yeah, without veering too heavily into politics, Vandy had a building taken over and it resulted in at least one or more expulsion.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Uh, they took over a building at Vanderbilt.

I think most people were aware of the visible protests in the spring. The question/comment was directed to what is happening on campus this semester. I was not there last spring but have been on campus now on 3 different occasions this fall and did not see any of the visible signs of protests that were present last spring.

 

[rockaction]

Uh, they took over a building at Vanderbilt.

I think most people were aware of the visible protests in the spring. The question/comment was directed to what is happening on campus this semester. I was not there last spring but have been on campus now on 3 different occasions this fall and did not see any of the visible signs of protests that were present last spring.

Oh, my bad. I thought you were talking about last year. My apologies. I think the expulsion and disciplinary action probably had quite a bit to do with the change.

eta* I see that you are talking about this particular semester. A little reading comprehension goes a long way. Would have saved me the long-winded comment.

 

[dnurk]

Our senior son is only applying to 5 schools and we are OK with that. Said he didn't want to apply to a bunch of places he wasn't serious about. Has 4 of 5 submitted including supplemental essays for several honors colleges. Still has one with a dec 1 early application deadline. No ED applications submitted.

Any really safe schools? I think the chance of something flukey happening is the biggest argument against keeping the list so small.

I'm old, but I think you can have 1 reach/pipe-dream, 2 or 3 hope sos, and 1 or 2 slam dunks.

My son has been advised to apply to 10+ schools... Only 5 or 6 of them he'd actually want to go to. Just seems pointless.

But, the student really should want to go to any school they apply to - otherwise that is a waste of time.

Totally agree with that. But assuming that there are a lot of schools they'd be excited about, I think it can make sense to apply to a lot. If they have a 10% shot at each of those, the more shots they take, the more chance they get into one of them. That said, obviously shouldn't do so if it's going to create excessive stress or if they're going to end up half-assing the applications in order to get to all of them.

He has a mix in those 5 schools. He will for sure get into 3 of them and 1 is a slight stretch and 1 is a reach. Seems like a good mix to us. And he felt that applying to schools he wouldn't want to attend over the safe schools he did apply to was worthless.

 

[jabarony]

what are you doing for these essays? Kid is a sophomore.

Kid writes it, we provide a ton of feedback

My general advice:

• They should start way early. It's really tough doing it under time pressure.
• Their main essay should be something that could not be written by anyone else.
• If there's nothing unique about them...there's still time to do some stuff with the essay in mind (I've done other posts in this thread about this general idea)
• Most of their supplemental essays should highlight something significant that they want to call attention to, or be some version of "Here's why only your school is perfect for me and how I specifically am perfect for your school"

My son wrapped up his early apps recently. His academics & test scores are great. His extracurriculars are average (?). His essays were bad. But it’s definitely the real him - a poor creative writer. They’re not so bad it will DQ him from post-secondary education, but they won’t help at all.

He should be a good test case for how much weight essays have. I’ll report back in a couple months!

 

[jabarony]

And I need a vacation after completing the CSS. It was brutal. And I’m hoping I didn’t screw anything up. Some of it was quite confusing.

 

[El Floppo]

And I need a vacation after completing the CSS. It was brutal. And I’m hoping I didn’t screw anything up. Some of it was quite confusing.

Take my wife, please.

 

[The Z Machine]

what are you doing for these essays? Kid is a sophomore.

Kid writes it, we provide a ton of feedback

My general advice:

• They should start way early. It's really tough doing it under time pressure.
• Their main essay should be something that could not be written by anyone else.
• If there's nothing unique about them...there's still time to do some stuff with the essay in mind (I've done other posts in this thread about this general idea)
• Most of their supplemental essays should highlight something significant that they want to call attention to, or be some version of "Here's why only your school is perfect for me and how I specifically am perfect for your school"

My son wrapped up his early apps recently. His academics & test scores are great. His extracurriculars are average (?). His essays were bad. But it’s definitely the real him - a poor creative writer. They’re not so bad it will DQ him from post-secondary education, but they won’t help at all.

He should be a good test case for how much weight essays have. I’ll report back in a couple months!

GLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

 

[Oracle]

MIT NEWS

 

[El Floppo]

We're hearing Dec 12th is the day they'll announce Early application admissions.

 

[jabarony]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

 

[MAC_32]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

Given the changing market place, expect them to, just be careful before committing. Depending on where you live, closures / mergers are on the horizon. Goofy accounting can mask financial problems, but this is a great tool to evaluate them over the last 5-10 years, and will become more useful the further we get away from covid.

It's a state-to-state thing, but affordability is increasingly becoming the priority with education. As it should've many, many years ago. Expect more trends like this one. Don't know how old your kids are but mine are 14, 12, and 9. I'm gonna start tapping the brakes some on their 529 accounts. Will still contribute the max, but not beyond. Starting to think it might not be needed by the time they get there.

 

[Oracle]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

At minimum, I expect Harvard to follow MIT (quickly ). They share reciprocity. My daughter attends MIT, but has taught and used services at Harvard.

 

[zoobird]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

At minimum, I expect Harvard to follow MIT (quickly ). They share reciprocity. My daughter attends MIT, but has taught and used services at Harvard.

I think a lot of it will depend how large the schools' endowments are. If they've got $10b+ AUM, then at 5%, they can cover $500m (5,000 students at $100K) per year without dipping into the endowment. The very top schools probably have that much, but I suspect most others don't.

 

[El Floppo]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

At minimum, I expect Harvard to follow MIT (quickly ). They share reciprocity. My daughter attends MIT, but has taught and used services at Harvard.

I think a lot of it will depend how large the schools' endowments are. If they've got $10b+ AUM, then at 5%, they can cover $500m (5,000 students at $100K) per year without dipping into the endowment. The very top schools probably have that much, but I suspect most others don't.

The wife is far more involved in the research, but we've been targeting these bigger need-blind ivies partly because their endowments make going there for us more affordable than some of the other great liberal art colleges out there that don't match the endowment size.

 

[El Floppo]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

At minimum, I expect Harvard to follow MIT (quickly ). They share reciprocity. My daughter attends MIT, but has taught and used services at Harvard.

What is she studying and teaching?

 

[Oracle]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

At minimum, I expect Harvard to follow MIT (quickly ). They share reciprocity. My daughter attends MIT, but has taught and used services at Harvard.

What is she studying and teaching?

Piper is getting her PhD in chemistry at MIT. This is her research and also what she teaches.

 

[El Floppo]

MIT NEWS

Wow. I'll tell my kid to apply there. Unlike most FBGs, I qualify for "free".

Hopefully other schools follow suit.

At minimum, I expect Harvard to follow MIT (quickly ). They share reciprocity. My daughter attends MIT, but has taught and used services at Harvard.

What is she studying and teaching?

Piper is getting her PhD in chemistry at MIT. This is her research and also what she teaches.

That's freaking amazing!!

If my son is lucky enough to get in and go to either of those places, ill have him reach out. I don't know if chemistry is his thing, but he's very interested in research and sould stand to learn a ton from anything your daughter had to say.

 

[El Floppo]

We're hearing Dec 12th is the day they'll announce Early application admissions.

That's this Thursday, for those playing at home.


Good luck everybody!

 

[zoobird]

We're hearing Dec 12th is the day they'll announce Early application admissions.

That's this Thursday, for this playing at home.


Good luck everybody!

You too!

I'm mostly super-duper hoping my daughter gets into her ED, so we don't have another month of her and my wife stressing before we hear from the EA schools (some of which she'd be just as excited to go to).

 

[El Floppo]

We're hearing Dec 12th is the day they'll announce Early application admissions.

That's this Thursday, for this playing at home.


Good luck everybody!

You too!

I'm mostly super-duper hoping my daughter gets into her ED, so we don't have another month of her and my wife stressing before we hear from the EA schools (some of which she'd be just as excited to go to).

That's great she's jazzed about all of them. best of luck to you guys- really hope she gets what she wants!

My kid's ED is tied to a joint program with a music school... so even if he gets in, we'll be waiting until March to get final word about acceptance to the joint program (he's already been accepted to the music school- step 1). But he's so worn out, he's saying he's tempted to just accept if he gets in. I don't blame him, but I also will push for him to hold out- he's worked really hard throughout HS on his music and has wanted to do some kind of joint studies with it beyond minoring in music. Gotta keep the tired, stressed out eyes on the prize! He's applying regular admissions to another joint program as well- also a March reveal.

@jabarony did Jaborony Jr do Early too?

Trying to think who else here has Srs this year.

 

[jabarony]

We're hearing Dec 12th is the day they'll announce Early application admissions.

That's this Thursday, for this playing at home.


Good luck everybody!

You too!

I'm mostly super-duper hoping my daughter gets into her ED, so we don't have another month of her and my wife stressing before we hear from the EA schools (some of which she'd be just as excited to go to).

That's great she's jazzed about all of them. best of luck to you guys- really hope she gets what she wants!

My kid's ED is tied to a joint program with a music school... so even if he gets in, we'll be waiting until March to get final word about acceptance to the joint program (he's already been accepted to the music school- step 1). But he's so worn out, he's saying he's tempted to just accept if he gets in. I don't blame him, but I also will push for him to hold out- he's worked really hard throughout HS on his music and has wanted to do some kind of joint studies with it beyond minoring in music. Gotta keep the tired, stressed out eyes on the prize! He's applying regular admissions to another joint program as well- also a March reveal.

@jabarony did Jaborony Jr do Early too?

Trying to think who else here has Srs this year.

jabarony jr (I should start calling him that - he'd be annoyed as hell!), applied early at 6 places. He didn't apply ED as he doesn't have a dream school, which I see as a blessing in case he didn't get it. He'll roll with the results not matter what. He received 2 acceptances from local schools, which were not surprising at all. These were also the 2 near the bottom of his list. They may turn out to be at the top of dad's list depending on how the finances look.

I think the first answer from the top of his list is Notre Dame on the 17th. That's actually "restrictive ED", but it's pretty much the same as EA - non-binding.

 

[jabarony]

We're hearing Dec 12th is the day they'll announce Early application admissions.

That's this Thursday, for this playing at home.


Good luck everybody!

You too!

I'm mostly super-duper hoping my daughter gets into her ED, so we don't have another month of her and my wife stressing before we hear from the EA schools (some of which she'd be just as excited to go to).

That's great she's jazzed about all of them. best of luck to you guys- really hope she gets what she wants!

My kid's ED is tied to a joint program with a music school... so even if he gets in, we'll be waiting until March to get final word about acceptance to the joint program (he's already been accepted to the music school- step 1). But he's so worn out, he's saying he's tempted to just accept if he gets in. I don't blame him, but I also will push for him to hold out- he's worked really hard throughout HS on his music and has wanted to do some kind of joint studies with it beyond minoring in music. Gotta keep the tired, stressed out eyes on the prize! He's applying regular admissions to another joint program as well- also a March reveal.

@jabarony did Jaborony Jr do Early too?

Trying to think who else here has Srs this year.

jabarony jr (I should start calling him that - he'd be annoyed as hell!), applied early at 6 places. He didn't apply ED as he doesn't have a dream school, which I see as a blessing in case he didn't get it. He'll roll with the results not matter what. He received 2 acceptances from local schools, which were not surprising at all. These were also the 2 near the bottom of his list. They may turn out to be at the top of dad's list depending on how the finances look.

I think the first answer from the top of his list is Notre Dame on the 17th. That's actually "restrictive ED", but it's pretty much the same as EA - non-binding.

Actually Yale is also the 17th as well. We'll get that one out of the way too

 

[El Floppo]

We're hearing Dec 12th is the day they'll announce Early application admissions.

That's this Thursday, for this playing at home.


Good luck everybody!

You too!

I'm mostly super-duper hoping my daughter gets into her ED, so we don't have another month of her and my wife stressing before we hear from the EA schools (some of which she'd be just as excited to go to).

That's great she's jazzed about all of them. best of luck to you guys- really hope she gets what she wants!

My kid's ED is tied to a joint program with a music school... so even if he gets in, we'll be waiting until March to get final word about acceptance to the joint program (he's already been accepted to the music school- step 1). But he's so worn out, he's saying he's tempted to just accept if he gets in. I don't blame him, but I also will push for him to hold out- he's worked really hard throughout HS on his music and has wanted to do some kind of joint studies with it beyond minoring in music. Gotta keep the tired, stressed out eyes on the prize! He's applying regular admissions to another joint program as well- also a March reveal.

@jabarony did Jaborony Jr do Early too?

Trying to think who else here has Srs this year.

jabarony jr (I should start calling him that - he'd be annoyed as hell!), applied early at 6 places. He didn't apply ED as he doesn't have a dream school, which I see as a blessing in case he didn't get it. He'll roll with the results not matter what. He received 2 acceptances from local schools, which were not surprising at all. These were also the 2 near the bottom of his list. They may turn out to be at the top of dad's list depending on how the finances look.

I think the first answer from the top of his list is Notre Dame on the 17th. That's actually "restrictive ED", but it's pretty much the same as EA - non-binding.

Actually Yale is also the 17th as well. We'll get that one out of the way too

I think Yale is the 12th... Extra out of the way!

 

[TennesseeJed]

Good luck everyone!

 

[zoobird]

What time are everyone's target schools releasing the decisions? Ours is 7pm, but I think most others are earlier.

Sure...why not drag out the torture a few more hours.

 

[TennesseeJed]

What time are everyone's target schools releasing the decisions? Ours is 7pm, but I think most others are earlier.

Sure...why not drag out the torture a few more hours.

If I recall correctly, Vanderbilt released their decisions at 6:00 PM - but that was Central time, so 7:00 PM for those in the East Coast.

 

[El Floppo]

What time are everyone's target schools releasing the decisions? Ours is 7pm, but I think most others are earlier.

Sure...why not drag out the torture a few more hours.

Reddit says 7pm "at the earliest" for us as well

 

[El Floppo]

Deferred.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Schrödinger's Decision - both accepted and rejected.

I've always felt like a deferral is a tough decision to get. Certainly, it keeps the dream alive, but it also makes it harder to move on and be excited by the 2nd and 3rd choices. Fingers crossed this ends well.

Is Floppinho looking at any other Boston area schools with a link to the joint music program?

ETA - the good news is - Flopinho is obviously in the mix, and will be a competitive applicant at any school in the country as a result.

 

[El Floppo]

Schrödinger's Decision - both accepted and rejected.

I've always felt like a deferral is a tough decision to get. Certainly, it keeps the dream alive, but it also makes it harder to move on and be excited by the 2nd and 3rd choices. Fingers crossed this ends well.

Is Floppinho looking at any other Boston area schools with a link to the joint music program?

ETA - the good news is - Flopinho is obviously in the mix, and will be a competitive applicant at any school in the country as a result.

They defer almost everybody... Like as a bizarre courtesy. So it's basically meaningless. His school counselors (including somebody who worked admission at that college) feel like his wasn't a courtesy - that he's still in the mix- but didn't really explain why they thought that.

He's definitely applying to a couple others in Boston area and another one elsewhere we all actually prefer- but based on his school stats, the odds were supposedly in his favor for going the way we went.

Now, were all pretty much gutted, having gone from confident (based on guidance counselors confidence) to ...well...gutted. were looking into getting a school friends family to adopt him in the next month or so so he can be a legacy from a rich family.

 

[El Floppo]

I'm hoping somebody else had or will have better news about their early application...

 

[Nigel]

Deferred at ED school here as well, back to the meat-grinder…

 

[zoobird]

My daughter got into her ED and will be going to the same school at the same time as our older daughter for the first time in their lives next year. I'm super excited for her that her extremely hard work paid off, and really gratified how many of her classmates seem to be genuinely excited for her.

I feel for those of you have a few more weeks of applications, and (in some cases) months more of waiting to figure everything out. Fingers and toes crossed that everyone ultimately ends up somewhere that they're very happy with!

 

[Galileo]

To all those wrestling with the disappointment of rejections and deferrals...I know it sucks in the moment, but try not to dwell on it. Move forward with confidence and focus on the opportunities you do have. Things are going to work out just fine for you and your children. There is more than one place that is a good fit for your child, and your child is going to get out of it what they put into it wherever they land. I never dreamed that my son would be rejected anywhere when we went through this process. He was. He was rejected and waitlisted by what he had determined were his top two schools...Georgia Tech and Berkeley. He ended up at 3rd choice, Purdue, and has thrived. He will be graduating in the Spring. He has his post graduation job offer already signed and in hand stemming from his internship last summer at a major company in his field. In fact, he has continued to work part time for the company while finishing up his degree. He has made great memories and many friendships along his journey. For mom and dad, it ended up being cheaper, and more convenient as Purdue was a lot closer to home. I hope this post does not come off as a brag, and I am not trying to be dismissive of the very real emotions you are feeling right now. I am merely trying to give you an example of what lies ahead for your children and give you hope. The disappointment of these early rejections/deferrals is temporary. I promise.

 

[Orange&Blue]

I'm an engineer and my son thinks that he wants to be one as well but he isn't really sure. I've always told him I want him to do what he wants and not what he thinks i want him to do. i also think his skill set is different. although he has gotten good grades in stem (taking precalculus honors chemistry as a sophomore in highschool through at local tech engineering academy) it's not his strong suit.

This came to light today as his pre-act results came in. He didn't study at all and didn't do any prep work so we weren't expecting anything other than getting test experience. But his math was a 22 and overall 27 with 32 in reading and everything else around the same composite score.

Can't help but think he needs to truly assess if engineering is what he wants. thoughts? any recommended aptitude tests?

 

[El Floppo]

To all those wrestling with the disappointment of rejections and deferrals...I know it sucks in the moment, but try not to dwell on it. Move forward with confidence and focus on the opportunities you do have. Things are going to work out just fine for you and your children. There is more than one place that is a good fit for your child, and your child is going to get out of it what they put into it wherever they land. I never dreamed that my son would be rejected anywhere when we went through this process. He was. He was rejected and waitlisted by what he had determined were his top two schools...Georgia Tech and Berkeley. He ended up at 3rd choice, Purdue, and has thrived. He will be graduating in the Spring. He has his post graduation job offer already signed and in hand stemming from his internship last summer at a major company in his field. In fact, he has continued to work part time for the company while finishing up his degree. He has made great memories and many friendships along his journey. For mom and dad, it ended up being cheaper, and more convenient as Purdue was a lot closer to home. I hope this post does not come off as a brag, and I am not trying to be dismissive of the very real emotions you are feeling right now. I am merely trying to give you an example of what lies ahead for your children and give you hope. The disappointment of these early rejections/deferrals is temporary. I promise.

Good stuff, thanks.

We know this at a basic level, and I've always felt confident that he'll be fine no matter what happens or where he goes or even if he doesn't go to college- I trust and respect his choices and know he'll make the most of whatever he does.

Our gutted reaction is strictly from his being told that he was in the top 20% of applicants from his school for his early choice, where data says 35% of their applicants are admitted.

What we weren't told, was that the admitted kids are almost all lesser students (across the board including extracurriculars) who are legacies or major donors (we're talking buildings), along with only 1 non-legacy of a specific demographic: each of the last 3 years that student has been fully deserving, exemplary kids, including this years who is a good friend of my son's.

They keep saying he's still a top candidate, but at this point all we can do is look and see how many other legacies will take those spots before he even gets a chance. And tbh- his entire class are all double and usually more legacies at the ivies and beyond.

So despite being one of the top handful of students in his grade tests and grade-wise along with his robust music extracurriculars at Juilliard and head of every club and initiative starting... We know feel like he's on the outside hoping for a prayer to get into one of the schools his counselors thought he was a "strong candidate". Feeling back to being a have not and get not... which ****ing sucks.

 

[El Floppo]

But yes! It's only the early application... Just sharing the immediate reaction. Aware he's still in the running for everywhere else...

 

[jabarony]

jabarony jr went 0 for 2 today. Deferred at his top choice and rejected at the Ivy. Bummer. Doesn't make me hopeful for his 2nd choice (January), either. The ivy wasn't a surprise, but he was at the top/above the ACT/SAT ranges for his top choice, with a 4.0 and a bunch of APs. I guess that's not enough these days.

Frustrating that there was so much time spent on this and he'll likely end up going to a state school that he was going to get into regardless.

 

[stbugs]

To all those wrestling with the disappointment of rejections and deferrals...I know it sucks in the moment, but try not to dwell on it. Move forward with confidence and focus on the opportunities you do have. Things are going to work out just fine for you and your children. There is more than one place that is a good fit for your child, and your child is going to get out of it what they put into it wherever they land. I never dreamed that my son would be rejected anywhere when we went through this process. He was. He was rejected and waitlisted by what he had determined were his top two schools...Georgia Tech and Berkeley. He ended up at 3rd choice, Purdue, and has thrived. He will be graduating in the Spring. He has his post graduation job offer already signed and in hand stemming from his internship last summer at a major company in his field. In fact, he has continued to work part time for the company while finishing up his degree. He has made great memories and many friendships along his journey. For mom and dad, it ended up being cheaper, and more convenient as Purdue was a lot closer to home. I hope this post does not come off as a brag, and I am not trying to be dismissive of the very real emotions you are feeling right now. I am merely trying to give you an example of what lies ahead for your children and give you hope. The disappointment of these early rejections/deferrals is temporary. I promise.

Good advice. Oldest son is stuck out at Iowa State right now doing research for his company in Raleigh/RTP. His top choice was UNC and he got waitlisted and went to Clemson (Honors college) and loved it. We told him about how friends got off the waitlist but he just said F them, they didn’t want me and he made the most of it. He’s doing great off on his own right now and we’ll see him at Christmas. Middle son got in his top choice (App St, he’s smart but studying not his priority lol) and is loving every day, living at his fraternity in a party house but also worked with Samaritan’s Purse gutting flooded homes after Helene and they fund raised $10k. They couldn’t be more different at times but they both jumped head first into college and really enjoyed/are enjoying it. As long as you get in to a college you like, you can make the experience as good as any others.

I guess I’ll continue with my last son’s update:
He has now heard from Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee. He got scholarships from all 3 and won’t hear for a couple months on their honors colleges/programs. He wants to do Finance/Computer Science and I think he’s down between SC if he gets honors and UNC but he won’t here from UNC/NC State until late January. SC already offered him in state tuition so cost wise, it would be the same as NC schools. Clemson doesn’t tell you $$$s until March but probably same as UT which was about half the out of state difference. He’s my most frugal already invested kid so I think price will be a factor. We won’t tell him, but I think coming out loan free is a big thing. We made a deal with middle son that if he went in state, he wouldn’t have to take out loans like my oldest. Fair trade as App is very reasonable and it was still his top choice.

He also applied to Auburn and College of Charleston but he never made accounts so we don’t know their decisions SMH. I don’t think he’s that interested so we may never bother looking lol.

 

[El Floppo]

To all those wrestling with the disappointment of rejections and deferrals...I know it sucks in the moment, but try not to dwell on it. Move forward with confidence and focus on the opportunities you do have. Things are going to work out just fine for you and your children. There is more than one place that is a good fit for your child, and your child is going to get out of it what they put into it wherever they land. I never dreamed that my son would be rejected anywhere when we went through this process. He was. He was rejected and waitlisted by what he had determined were his top two schools...Georgia Tech and Berkeley. He ended up at 3rd choice, Purdue, and has thrived. He will be graduating in the Spring. He has his post graduation job offer already signed and in hand stemming from his internship last summer at a major company in his field. In fact, he has continued to work part time for the company while finishing up his degree. He has made great memories and many friendships along his journey. For mom and dad, it ended up being cheaper, and more convenient as Purdue was a lot closer to home. I hope this post does not come off as a brag, and I am not trying to be dismissive of the very real emotions you are feeling right now. I am merely trying to give you an example of what lies ahead for your children and give you hope. The disappointment of these early rejections/deferrals is temporary. I promise.

Good advice. Oldest son is stuck out at Iowa State right now doing research for his company in Raleigh/RTP. His top choice was UNC and he got waitlisted and went to Clemson (Honors college) and loved it. We told him about how friends got off the waitlist but he just said F them, they didn’t want me and he made the most of it. He’s doing great off on his own right now and we’ll see him at Christmas. Middle son got in his top choice (App St, he’s smart but studying not his priority lol) and is loving every day, living at his fraternity in a party house but also worked with Samaritan’s Purse gutting flooded homes after Helene and they fund raised $10k. They couldn’t be more different at times but they both jumped head first into college and really enjoyed/are enjoying it. As long as you get in to a college you like, you can make the experience as good as any others.

I guess I’ll continue with my last son’s update:
He has now heard from Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee. He got scholarships from all 3 and won’t hear for a couple months on their honors colleges/programs. He wants to do Finance/Computer Science and I think he’s down between SC if he gets honors and UNC but he won’t here from UNC/NC State until late January. SC already offered him in state tuition so cost wise, it would be the same as NC schools. Clemson doesn’t tell you $$$s until March but probably same as UT which was about half the out of state difference. He’s my most frugal already invested kid so I think price will be a factor. We won’t tell him, but I think coming out loan free is a big thing. We made a deal with middle son that if he went in state, he wouldn’t have to take out loans like my oldest. Fair trade as App is very reasonable and it was still his top choice.

He also applied to Auburn and College of Charleston but he never made accounts so we don’t know their decisions SMH. I don’t think he’s that interested so we may never bother looking lol.

Congrats! Great news for all 3 kids, but love hearing success story for your youngest so far with his applications (3 great schools already!).

 

[stbugs]

To all those wrestling with the disappointment of rejections and deferrals...I know it sucks in the moment, but try not to dwell on it. Move forward with confidence and focus on the opportunities you do have. Things are going to work out just fine for you and your children. There is more than one place that is a good fit for your child, and your child is going to get out of it what they put into it wherever they land. I never dreamed that my son would be rejected anywhere when we went through this process. He was. He was rejected and waitlisted by what he had determined were his top two schools...Georgia Tech and Berkeley. He ended up at 3rd choice, Purdue, and has thrived. He will be graduating in the Spring. He has his post graduation job offer already signed and in hand stemming from his internship last summer at a major company in his field. In fact, he has continued to work part time for the company while finishing up his degree. He has made great memories and many friendships along his journey. For mom and dad, it ended up being cheaper, and more convenient as Purdue was a lot closer to home. I hope this post does not come off as a brag, and I am not trying to be dismissive of the very real emotions you are feeling right now. I am merely trying to give you an example of what lies ahead for your children and give you hope. The disappointment of these early rejections/deferrals is temporary. I promise.

Good advice. Oldest son is stuck out at Iowa State right now doing research for his company in Raleigh/RTP. His top choice was UNC and he got waitlisted and went to Clemson (Honors college) and loved it. We told him about how friends got off the waitlist but he just said F them, they didn’t want me and he made the most of it. He’s doing great off on his own right now and we’ll see him at Christmas. Middle son got in his top choice (App St, he’s smart but studying not his priority lol) and is loving every day, living at his fraternity in a party house but also worked with Samaritan’s Purse gutting flooded homes after Helene and they fund raised $10k. They couldn’t be more different at times but they both jumped head first into college and really enjoyed/are enjoying it. As long as you get in to a college you like, you can make the experience as good as any others.

I guess I’ll continue with my last son’s update:
He has now heard from Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee. He got scholarships from all 3 and won’t hear for a couple months on their honors colleges/programs. He wants to do Finance/Computer Science and I think he’s down between SC if he gets honors and UNC but he won’t here from UNC/NC State until late January. SC already offered him in state tuition so cost wise, it would be the same as NC schools. Clemson doesn’t tell you $$$s until March but probably same as UT which was about half the out of state difference. He’s my most frugal already invested kid so I think price will be a factor. We won’t tell him, but I think coming out loan free is a big thing. We made a deal with middle son that if he went in state, he wouldn’t have to take out loans like my oldest. Fair trade as App is very reasonable and it was still his top choice.

He also applied to Auburn and College of Charleston but he never made accounts so we don’t know their decisions SMH. I don’t think he’s that interested so we may never bother looking lol.

Congrats! Great news for all 3 kids, but love hearing success story for your youngest so far with his applications (3 great schools already!).

Thanks. Hopefully, everyone in here has too many choices to make!

 

[El Floppo]

Floppinho did NOT get an audition for Yale Graduate School of Music.

That ends his hopes of doing a dual program between Yale undergrad and YSM. Always the longest of longshots to get in as he competed against music college conservatory graduates as a HS senior....so he he didn't feel bad. actually felt good and proud about the work he put into his application and screener, needing to learn a bunch of complicated tunes. Even if he had somehow gotten in, he'd have them had to get into undergrad Yale as well as the joint program, where it's typically only 1 per year, and usually a pianist or violinist

I think we hear about USC and UMiami in a week or two. And then the big wait for March and the rest of the schools. Still in play for his main joint program as well as everything else.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Fingers crossed GB.

 

[The Z Machine]

GLLLLLL to Flopinho

 

[El Floppo]

I know it's been discussed, but reopening the discussion on people's take on kid being asked to interview.

I don't think it reflects much.. but curious.

 

[The_Man]

I know it's been discussed, but reopening the discussion on people's take on kid being asked to interview.

I don't think it reflects much.. but curious.

For general admission to a regular undergraduate program, it genuinely means almost next to nothing. It's more of an Alumni engagement tool than an Admissions one. If the interview is for a scholarship or some highly selective program, it could mean something - especially if it's with an admissions rep or an administrator from the specific program. But if it's with some random alumnus, then it's really not important at all. I guess turning down an interview appointment could be construed as lack of demonstrated interest but even that is unlikely

 

[El Floppo]

I know it's been discussed, but reopening the discussion on people's take on kid being asked to interview.

I don't think it reflects much.. but curious.

For general admission to a regular undergraduate program, it genuinely means almost next to nothing. It's more of an Alumni engagement tool than an Admissions one. If the interview is for a scholarship or some highly selective program, it could mean something - especially if it's with an admissions rep or an administrator from the specific program. But if it's with some random alumnus, then it's really not important at all. I guess turning down an interview appointment could be construed as lack of demonstrated interest but even that is unlikely

Thanks, that was my less informed take too after doing interviews for my alma mater for a few years (and not a single kid getting in!).

At the same time, I have to figure it means at least a pass through the initial cut? Or why bother interviewing the kid?