I don’t think anyone is “entitled” to feel annoyed.
I would say she is more “confused”…after getting into Grinnell, with the exact same grades, SAT, common app essay, EC’s, LORs, etc.
Only obvious difference is that Grinnell is need-blind. Need-aware at CWRU, Wesleyan, and Bryn Mawr.
Of course there are a ton of other differences, I know; Grinnell is more STEM-focused, so the fact that she is a physics major may have made her more attractive to them. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter WHY, but she DOES wonder.
I really appreciate and agree with your attitude here. I have seen some of your previous posts and admit I was surprised about this waitlist too! But there are so many unknowns about the open slots that Bryn Mawr needed to fill, and if you’ve followed LAC results in general you know that across the board there are admissions/rejections that seem wonky when you are just comparing basic stats due to their holistic admissions.
FWIW after researching this particular school extensively I do think that BMC puts emphasis on different parts of the application - their CDS states that academic rigor, essays, and letters of recommendation are weighted heavier than GPA or test scores, and the interview is also considered. My daughter’s results seem to back this up.
So kid just told me she DID get merit from BMC. $15K a year. But still $65K vs $35K at UCSC or Cal Poly is a hard sell. Not sure it would be worth it. We have the money but $120K would cover grad school.
Congrats on the great choices. Having been part of the same decision, my 2 cents is that there is little value added for the additional $30K a year. I think the socioeconomic and intellectual diversity one encounters at UCSC outweighs the experience at BMC, and would better prepare your D for post-college life since she would be dealing with a more representative experience. (Same for Cal Poly, which attracts its fair share of CA’s best students.) Banana slug loyalty runs deep!
Well that’s the (literally) $120K question isn’t it
UCSC isn’t all a calk walk though. My kid is trying to decide between several degrees at UCSC and enquires which one is best for pre-med. One department literally told her, they don’t talk to admitted freshmen? Huh? She’s been admitted to your major but you wont talk to her.
In the mean time BMC pre-med advising team have already scheduled a call with her. So the big question is how much is this attention to detail worth?
Depends on the long-term trade-off you are seeking. Going to a UC teaches students how to make things happen for themselves. My own set up virtual meetings with academic counselors before enrollment (but after accepting) at their UC behemoth, so it’s possible. I would rather trade 4 years of attention for developing the lifelong skills and self-sufficiency to deal with the DMV’s of the world. The attention ends once you stop sending the checks.
UCSC - 1) depending on where you are coming from, Santa Cruz can be a pain to get to/from 2) campus is beautiful but spread out and in some instances hard to navigate (bus system) 3) housing challenges 4) some people might not like drug/cannabis culture 4) lack of close urban settings (San Jose and San Fran are hours away by car.)
BMC + : 1) comfortable on-campus housing available to all 2) can take classes at HC and Swat, also plenty of other colleges in area 3) Philadelphia accessible by public transit 4) small classes 5) institutional history and traditions - owls and lanterns
Thanks. That’s very useful. The main concern for her is housing but our understanding is that money can solve that problem. What drug culture do you refer to? On campus or off campus?
Santa Cruz has always had a counterculture and experimental reputation since its founding in the 1960’s. These things are subjective, though, and not necessarily indicative of whether drug use is in fact higher than other universities. The school is big enough where a person that is not so inclined can find a niche outside of that scene.
I’m not sure whether this is still true, but back in the day, BMC guaranteed housing for incoming students. Very few undergrad students live off campus. A higher percentage UCSC students live off campus, but housing in Santa Cruz is high and transportation challenging.
Bryn Mawr still guarantees housing for all four years, and prefers the students to stay on campus. My impression is that a very small percentage live off campus, even senior year, but I could be wrong.
These two places are completely different so you are really choosing between types of schools. You are just not going to find the socioeconomic diversity at a LAC that you will find at a UC school. If your objective is to broaden your horizons, meet people from all parts of society, and prepare you to deal with society after school, this choice is a no brainer.
