<p>I don’t judge - just an observation. Using a college counselor is a little like buying a betting sheet at the track. Anything for an edge? It’s your money.</p>
<p>Point I was trying to make was - trying to steer or question a kids college options? is identical to steering or questioning an adults career choices. Most everyone agrees; the pursuit of happiness is what counts. And its the kids happiness I’m talking about here, not those trying to live vicariously through them.</p>
<p>I read the first two pages and Im just skipping to the end.</p>
<p>Most people don’t know how insane this whole process has become. I am sure there are many kids out there who did not get in any colleges because they just had no idea whats going on in college admissions right now.</p>
<p>So lets just be nice and give everybody a break. We are all just trying to do the best we can. We are all frustrated with this whole process and the out of control prices on some of these educations.</p>
<p>So be nice. Everybody. Just be nice.</p>
<p>I’m with you Giterdone. Bloom where you’re planted!</p>
<p>Also, there is still time to apply to colleges. Every year at this time someone posts the list of schools which are still accepting applications and often there are some surprises on the list. I don’t have that link and haven’t read the entire thread so perhaps someone has posted it already but if not, time for a new thread w/ that info. Anyone?</p>
<p>Most of us have very meaningful life with a thriving career, we don’t need live vicariously through our kids. I think it is foolish to assume a 17 or 18 year old knows exactly what he/she wants out of college. If these 2 kids have received good guidance from some adults, they would have applied to different schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Different strokes for different folks. I had never heard of private college counselors before coming to CC.</p>
<p>One of the best things I ever did? was let my kids figure it out on their own. Advise? of course. Steer, cajole, persuade, push, prod? at 17/18 years old?? Okay… like I meant. Glad you’re happy with it, and that it worked out for you.</p>
<p>Very happy to be able to give D2 a very stress free senior year - priceless.</p>
<p>Goitedone - would like to know if your kid would pick the state school over Brown. Of course, choosing Brown would be because of “fit.”</p>
<p>Have any of you read “The Price of Admission” by Wall Street Journal bureau chief Dan Golden? If not, you should. He outlines the real chances middle-class high achieving students have of getting into the very elite schools. The vast majority accepted to the Ivys are legacies, top athletes, and children of the rich and famous who could endow a new scholarship or wing to the library, that leaves very little room for all the rest clambering to enter the inner sanctum. If you read this book, your outlook will be forever changed and future applicants would make their applications with a realistic hope and not any expectation.</p>
<p>We could go on and on about our different approaches to this process. The OP asked for suggestions for ways she could help her son. The most helpful advice in this thread, I think, is in katliamom’s post #13 and jvtDad’s post #17. There are schools that will still take an application; if I were the OP, I’d scour the list of schools with rolling admissions, do some 11th hour research and make some calls if my goal were to get my son into college this coming fall.</p>
<p>Yes, those posts are very helpful to OP, and he should make some of those calls.</p>
<p>There are future applicants who are also reading this thread. I am hoping they are seeing some of the lessons learned here - to be realistic, and have a good list of colleges.</p>
<p>I really don’t have personal experience with whether or not the process is “insane” as some put it.
Both our kids were accepted to all the schools they applied, perhaps it was because they were first generation? My oldest applied to schools first, thirteen years ago & even though it was long before I had heard of Cc, not having the resources to hire a private counselor didn’t impact her, there was even * way back then * 
a ton of information on the web & in libraries for those with an open mind.</p>
<p>Of course neither one was “clambering to enter the inner sanctum”.</p>
<p>EK. the amount of applications at schools have increased so much in the last few years that there are many more kids with acceptable stats getting turned away than before. It is harder to stand out now. So even though you have the numbers you may not get in to a school. Some kids are unlucky enough to not get into any of their schools. Even safe schools are turning down high stat kids as they think that they will be admitted to better schools and not accept the invite. Some of these kids are just unlucky.</p>
<p>here is an interesting article on admissions numbers . This article states some schools are beginning to see less applicants after the huge surge of applicants in an earlier year.</p>
<p>UPenn up 40% in the last three years. Duke up another 6% this year.</p>
<p><a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?;
<p>"…Columbia reported an 8.9 percent decrease in applicants to 31,818 for the 2011-2012 year after surging 33 percent last year when the school joined the Common Application. MIT had 1 percent growth, the smallest increase in seven years, while the number of students applying to the University of Pennsylvania fell 1.7 percent after jumping 40 percent in the past three years combined</p>
<p>I am jumping in late in the discussion. mini’s post caught my eyes. Quite interesting. It got me thinking an ordinary parent/student without a professional counselor or a savvy GC, would know to package their kids for admissions as descibed below? If they don’t know how, does that mean they didn’t deserve to get in? I get that it’s a buyer’s market and you should package as well as you can. But the know-how seems to require more than what can be expected of an amateuer applicant.</p>
<p><a href=“At%20American%20U.,%20their%20office%20of%20institutional%20admissions%20posts%20the%20actual%20%22chances%22%20-%20the%20real%20thing%20-based%20on%20every%20SAT/ACT%20score%20and%20every%20GPA%20level,%20for%20every%20applicant%20in%20the%20previous%20year.%20It%20shows,%20quite%20naturally,%20that%20the%20higher%20the%20SAT,%20or%20GPA,%20the%20higher%20the%20chances.%20It%20also%20shows%20that,%20at%20every%20level,%20there%20are%20students%20with%20lower%20SATs%20and%20GPAs%20that%20get%20in.%20I%20could%20go%20in%20and%20plot%20the%20stats%20of%20Mary,%20MG,%20and%20my%20own%20kids%20and%20know%20what%20the%20%22chances%22%20are,%20and%20hence%20also%20know%20how%20much%20ground%20would%20have%20to%20be%20made%20up%20in%20other%20ways%20in%20indications%20of%20creativity,%20intelligence,%20commitment,%20etc.”>quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Wow, the response to this thread has been absolutely overwhelming and I wouldn’t even know where to begin to respond to posts individually. Nonetheless, I am sifting through all the replies, most of which have been tremendously helpful and all would have been invaluable to me had I found collegeconfidential earlier in the admissions cycle.</p>
<p>[Duke</a> Offers Admission to 3,105 High School Seniors | Duke Today](<a href=“http://today.duke.edu/2012/03/regulardecision12]Duke”>Duke Offers Admission to 3,105 High School Seniors | Duke Today)</p>
<p>“…A record 31,600 students applied for admission this year – a 6 percent increase over last year and a 55 percent increase over just four years ago.”“”</p>
<p>^^^
Future SAT question. At this rate, in what future year will every student apply to every college? :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Get off CC? No way! Too much good stuff here, in addition to college admissions.</p>
<p>Seriously, oldfort is being really honest here and we ought to appreciate that. I wish I knew better and sought some help. Going to world competitions without a coach hurts you.</p>
<p>Bovertine - Fortunately, commonapp limits them to 20! </p>
<p>The problem comes down to expectations. If there are safeties or auto admissions in the application mix, it would never come down to not having an admission for a 2020 SAT score kid. UT Dallas, a tier I university, has two ways of admission - top 25% of the class or 1200 in CR/M or 1800 in all three areas. So there are schools out there that admit a student simply based on an SAT score.</p>
<p>They are still open for admission.</p>
<p>I also think Iowa State is still open. I put in a free application in fall for my kid back in September because they guaranteed a 48 hour turn around, and sure enough it came through in 40 hours. No need to submit anything as long as you are being honest about your grades etc. and they only need your final transcript. If anyone doubts they are not good enough, one of the Iowa State profs won the chemistry nobel prize in 2011.</p>
<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Shechtman[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Shechtman</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/apply/freshman.php[/url]”>http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/apply/freshman.php</a></p>
<p>Agree with Sax. Admissions has become insane. We all do the best we can as parents to guide them. The one lesson I learned was to cast a wide net. Have reach, match, safety and the go-to-if-all-fails schools on that list. Told d to love them all and not to have a dream school. We had success and failure at every level.</p>
<p>^I agree. I’d also like to add what was a safety this year may not remain so for the next cycle. Just wish you the best.</p>
<p>I agree with what talaria says, except that I don’t think it’s a good idea to think of safeties as the “go-to-it-if-all-fails schools.” Better, as talaria urged his or her D, “to love them all.” There are many, many, many terrific options for kids at all levels of selectivity. There is no reason to apply to any school you wouldn’t be thrilled to attend. This is just as applicable when it comes to applying to reaches for prestige alone as it is when it comes to adding safeties or matches to the list when you are lukewarm about those schools. No one should apply to a school that makes him or her say, “Meh.”</p>