@collegemomjam I don’t think yield will go down necessarily. If they select 8400 students and 2200 attend it will be the same exactly as last year. Unless they accept more kids but that could be a problem of over enrollment. I think it will end up with a low 20s acceptance rate and modestly higher average profile. But that is just a guess.
@matt2306 The financial aid should either 1) Come with the physical acceptance letter that comes in the mail, 2) Be online on your portal beginning December 20, or 3) Arrive in January as it said on the acceptance letter
@LawrenceKid confirms you will receive package in mail which would then include a Gabelli invitation to apply.
@AC19411, You should feel pretty good getting deferred,
I was rejected and had:
GPA: 3.7
SAT: 1420
20 Total AP/Honor classes
Lotsa EC’s
Does anyone know when we should receive our letter in the mail?
@Oneiota I am surprised that people with your stats got out rejected…I know a girl as well who applied to MCAS with similar stats to you (I think even a higher GPA) and she was also outright rejected. I think the applicant pool was a lot more competitive this year because of the REA being changed to regular EA.
I agree with @privatebanker that the average profile will likely go up a bit this year as a result.
I feel badly for those of you that were deferred/rejected with amazing stats and there are a ton of you. But I have to admit I think this might have been a good move for BC (dropping the restricted part). I feel like it doesn’t always get the respect it deserves in the rankings (which I know are not the be all and end all) and people that don’t know the school or of someone that applied, they don’t really get how amazing it is, both academically, socially and as it relates to post grad career opportunities.
I’m somewhat concerned by this decision to change EA policy. Here is my thinking. Obviously the quality of EA applications was ridiculously high this year, as you could argue that most of the extra 6,000 applications came from the strongest students who were also ED1’ing to top schools (and in past years would have been barred from applying EA to BC). As a result, they accepted an absurdly high-quality group of students and deferred a group of also VERY high quality applicants. The group they accepted are the ones that are more likely to get into most elite schools. I personally think this drives yield down. If i’m one of these amazing and qualified students who was deferred, I’d ED2 somewhere else since I don’t have BC in my back pocket and realize that ED2 gives me a much better chance than RD. I find it really hard to imagine a scenario in which yield goes up because of this change.
To answer a prior question, BC does not care about demonstrated interest in the classic sense. They realize that not everyone can afford to visit and don’t want to penalize those students. Since they still have a slight bias towards legacy, you could argue that this is a way to accept someone who is more likely to attend. My personal view is that BC has decided to not manage the acceptance/yield stat at all. Unless or until Georgetown and Notre Dame go ED-route, I don’t think BC will either…
My son was accepted with stats similar to @oneiota, but higher test scores and far fewer APs. There is so much that goes into the decision from recommendation letter, extracurriculars, rigor of high school, strong essays, to sheer luck and the application/essay striking a chord with the admissions reader. Additionally, there are many factors (institutional priorities) that we aren’t privvy to such as perhaps last year’s yield from your high school was low, or your intended major is impacted. Likewise, my son was deferred at another school while many with similar/lower stats were accepted, and many from his high school attend. The reality is we just don’t know why one with these stats is accepted while the other is rejected.
I think my son understands that his acceptance to BC was a little about being qualified, and a healthy dose of good luck.
For those who were deferred or denied, keep your chin up. There are far fewer slots than there are qualified students and your deferral/denial is likely more a reflection of this than of qualifications. Best of luck to all.
If I recall, acceptance rate is no longer included in the USNews ranking calculation, though test scores are. I’m not sure whether yield is included in the ranking calculation, but predicting yield is always a concern, to avoid over-enrollment. I would expect another long waitlist this year, their best tool to hedge their bets on yield. It’ll be interesting to see what the RD app numbers look like, typically announced in a January news article.
@BostonJD I agree with your line of thinking.There are just a lot of different possible scenarios and the one you paint is definitely one of them.
ED2 is much harder than ED1. And, as you said, the deferred candidates are so strong, many of them probably really have a shot RD, so I’m not sure so many kids will leave the RD pool.
I also think of those 6000 kids that applied this year that didn’t in the past because of the restriction, they may not have considered BC at all until this year as an option (I think many kids don’t even bother with RD schools sometimes because they are so exhausted by all of the EA schools, including the popular state flagships with essays like UVA, UNC, Michigan, and even Maryland.) So now these top kids (many of which will probably NOT get in ED1 to their Ivies…sad but true) are IN BC. BC starts mailing them stuff. They talk to people and find out how awesome BC is, how great the recruiting is, how it has everything to offer so why wouldn’t you just got there??? (I realize I’m exaggerating, but I’m a big fan).
It will be interesting to see…I still overall agree with @privatebanker’s thoughts that this will probably decrease the acceptance rate a bit and increase the profile, but it might be just slightly.
And just to be clear…I actually do agree that the yield might go down a little, but not a lot. I think in the end this being a good thing for BC. But harder now (maybe just a little?) to get in.
I also agree with the Georgetown and Notre Dame comparisons…once any of the three offer ED (which they say they won’t) this could change things for everyone.
Acceptance rate may have been eliminated (or decreased in importance) in USNews, but make no mistake…it’s top of mind when many students look at schools.
@collegemomjam, thx for the message. I realize it’s hard to distinguish between kids with so many qualified applicants. I guess my biggest issue is the academic rigor part. You could not have taken a harder curriculum than I have so far in HS, well I guess you could but not much. Essentially every class was Honors/AP at a large public Northern NJ HS. 20 Total AP’s and Honors. Could I have taken 10 and had over a 4.0 GPA? Probably as I recieved an A in every non Honor or AP Class. So in that respect I’m not sure going all out on AP/Honors is actually the best strategy(and I’m well aware we are told it is).
Congrats to the accepted…moving on
Hi, quick question! So I got accepted to Boston College early action and I had sent in my FAFSA and CSS Profile, but had no idea I had to send in a physical copy of tax returns and W2s since I thought they were already included on FAFSA. I’m doing that today, but did I miss a deadline? Did I screw my chances at financial aid? Or do I just get it later?
I dont get it…
Does anyone have an estimate for when the physical acceptance packets will be received?
I am willing to bet that you’ll see a higher average profile and more Pell grant eligible students in rd. I think the move down in rankings against schools that are not considered peers (Second level ucs and some other flagships). Watch them jump to #25 to 28 in sept and then stay there for the next decade. I think it rankled some people with the sudden change in ranking philosophy and they have a huge endowment and big projects. No time for moving back.
This is just a big time guess and I have no real idea. So please don’t attack me. It’s just a thought and a post. If I’m wrong it doesn’t matter and if I’m right it doesn’t matter.
Does anyone know when the enroll confirmation fee is due?
Will BC send a paper acceptance packet in addition to its email notification?
And does anyone know what the process is for notifying students that they are eligible for the Gabelli Presidential Scholarship? If no mention is made in the acceptance, does that mean that they are not in the running?
@rosie99. Yes you receive a package. Invitation for Gabelli is included then.
Anybody know if I should send a physical or email copy of my letter of continued interest? I was just deferred EA. Also, if I am to send it physically, do I send it to the undergraduate admissions office? Or if I’m to send it electronically, who do I send it to?
Thanks in advance!