Can more graduated seniors do "actual results" threads?

Chance Me / Match Me!
2443

S23- urban public school in NC in largest county. Ranked 94 of 439, 31 ACT (one sitting), GPA 4.29 weighted, 3.79 unweighted. 2 APs, 11 IBs. Two year varsity sport, part-time job, service related work with the church. Anticipated Biology major.

Accepted:
Wofford - 27K merit, 6K financial aid
U of SC - 17K merit, capstone
UGA - no merit, awaiting financial aid

Waitlisted:
Clemson

Rejected:
UNC
N.C. State- First Year Life Sciences
Ga. Tech

Probably a Gamecock (has to decide soon), Spurs Up!

10 Likes
2444

S23 (not URM) - suburban public school (very diverse and relatively low SE stats), CO. Full Pay.
Ranked 3 of 298 (3.96UW, 4.6W, 1490 SAT). Rigorous courseload of 15+ APs. ECs were pretty strong - focused on music, poltics/student govt and leadership (include state level offices with leadership programs). He’s interested in doing something interdisciplinary related to politics, economics and maybe philosophy.

Accepted
Occidental College - $62K (RD, $20K/yr merit)
Tufts - $82K (RD, full pay)
USC - $88K (EA Deferred, Accepted RD, full pay)
American University - $56K (RD, $20k/yr merit, honors program)
SeattleU - $41K (EA, $28K/yr merit; finalist for a full ride scholarship, but didn’t get it)
Loyola Marymount - $59K (EA, $21K/yr merit)
Denison - $69K (RD, $10K/yr merit)
Willamette University - $31K (EA, $33K/yr merit)
University of Puget Sound - $45K (EA, $30K/yr merit)
Lewis & Clark - $41K (EA, $36K/yr merit)
University of Denver - $44K (EA, $33K/yr merit, honors)
CSU Fort Collins (EA, merit & honors)

Denied
Northeastern (EA Deferred, Denied in RD, he loved the area, but was concerned it was too big for what he was looking for, so wasn’t super bummed)
Claremont McKenna (RD, I’m an alum, so he had legacy - this was probably the biggest bummer)
Brown - this was the big reach and we knew applying RD wouldn’t help

Probably headed to Occidental although he’s still considering Tufts too.

15 Likes
2445

Some kid on Reddit posted that he got into Cornell but was waitlisted by BOTH UNC and NCSU. It is getting ridiculous to get into these two schools if your child is at Meck, Wake or Chapel Hill school districts.

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2446

S23 not URM, 7 APs, Eagle Scout, Works as Life Guard.

Applied to CS(Computer Science) everywhere and CE(Computer Engg in some colleges)

Accepted:

Cal Poly SLO
Cal Poly Pomona
Rose Hulman
Miami of Ohio
Missouri S&T
Oregon Tech
SJSU
Univ of Arizona
UC Berkeley(EECS), Attending
UC Davis
UC Merced
UC Santa Barbara (Admitted as Undeclared to L& S)
UC San Diego (Admitted as Undeclared to L& S)
Univ of Pittsburg
Washington & Lee

Waitlisted:

UCLA

Denied:

Stanford

8 Likes
2447

I agree. Word is within the UNC world, the admissions department is in disarray. Take with grain of salt, but it seems to be evidenced by the assymetry you just described.

I think NC State depends on the college you apply, too, although I would say that they are really GPA conscious it seems to me.

Also, not sure with the current state of UNC politically (tug of war with the legislature) plus the mental health crisis at NC State that I would want my kids there right now. Read the parent boards and you will see the reality of what’s going on. I highly recommend that for any parent searching for the right school for their kids.

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2448

Twins! Both white females; no special hooks; highly competitive public HS in MA. Put in a lot of road time to ensure they could show demonstrated interest at most schools where they applied.

D23 #1

  • 4.28w GPA (school doesn’t rank); strong upward trajectory of grades over past 3 years
  • 1 AP course, mostly honors otherwise
  • Took SATs twice, got the same decent-but-not-a-wow-score both times :face_with_symbols_over_mouth: so went test-optional
  • Strong but not extraordinary ECs, including top editor at school paper; leading one non-academic club; PT job
  • Tremendous essay (I think this was a huge difference-maker for her), and what we suspect were very strong LORs
  • Applied as a prospective Psych major

ACCEPTED

  • Lafayette (ED) — full pay (this was a definite reach, so we were floored when she got in)
  • Willamette University (EA) – $$$$ merit (plus a terrific acceptance mailer… great hand-written note, and the scarf was super-cool and very Hogwarts)
  • Lewis & Clark (EA) — $$$ merit
  • University of Denver (EA) — $$$ merit
  • UNH (EA) — $ merit
  • Montana State (EA) — $$ merit

WITHDREW AFTER ED

  • Gettysburg (EA — where we were convinced she’d end up before we got ED results)
  • UVM (EA)
  • Hobart & William Smith Colleges (EA)
  • Dickinson College (RD)
  • Franklin & Marshall (RD)
  • St. Lawrence University (RD)
  • Whitman College (RD)

D23 #2

  • 4.66w GPA (school doesn’t rank) — mostly A’s, outside of 3yrs of Mandarin Chinese. So much for “yeah, taking Chinese seems like a cool idea…”
  • 3 AP courses, everything else was honors-level
  • 1430 SAT superscore; rolled the dice by submitting it everywhere. In retrospect, that might’ve hurt at more than once school. Strange times.
  • Strong (but not crazy) ECs, including years as a starting GK on a top local club team and several great community service items
  • Tremendous essay (and completely different from her sister’s — again, I think this was a big difference-maker), and (again) what we suspect were very strong LORs
  • Applied as a prospective Environmental Science/English double major

ACCEPTED

  • Connecticut College (RD) — $$$$ merit
  • Dickinson College (RD) – $$$ merit
  • Macalester (EA) — $$$ merit (Enrolled! They did a tremendous job of keeping her engaged and interested after she got the decision in Dec)
  • Skidmore (RD) — full pay
  • University of Miami (EA) — full pay
  • UVM (EA) — $$$ merit
  • UNH (EA) — $$ merit
  • Whitman College (RD) — $ merit
  • University of Montana (EA) — $$ merit

WAITLISTED

  • University of Richmond (EA — an early favorite, and the sting of EA deferral was redoubled with the WL in March. We thought her odds were good here, so this one hurt.)
  • Colgate (RD)
  • Carleton (RD — a pleasant surprise, and the empathy and humanity they relayed in the WL decision letter was really remarkable… and a marked difference from Richmond)

DENIED

  • Middlebury (RD — tough school any year, but seeing ~70% of spots claimed in ED (check out the late March thread on CC for details)? Wow. That’s a pretty strong “if you don’t apply ED, don’t bother applying” message to 2024 students.)
  • Vassar (RD)
8 Likes
2449

I agree on Middlebury. My daughter attends and we love the school but I think it is awful how schools basically force kids into ED.

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2450

This is a well-hedged, well-thought out college list. Great matches, some reaches, you did your geographical homework. Nicely done @smbayguy

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2451

White male. Public hs about 400/class. 3.3-3.4 gpa. Only 2 AP classes (many offered, he just didnt take them). 35ACT.
Sports: Football, track, rugby.
EC’s: Choir, band, 2 acapella groups. 9 musicals. Lead for acapella group.
Jobs: Bar/pub runner/cook. Ski instructor. Summer work at foundry. Horse rescue work.

Major: Vocal performance

Accepted at all schools applied to. Music majors require double admit-both audition musically and also academically. COA listed below is tuition and room and board only.

Northern Arizona University. 9k merit. COA 39k

Jacksonville U (FL). 45k Fine Arts and Academic Merit (did not hear about TE). COA 16k

U of Louisiana Lafayette. 27,696 Live Oak Scholarship. COA 8k (plus additional 800-1600/yr if do 1 or 2 choirs)

Loyola New Orleans. 32k Esports Scholarship. Denied TE. COA 28k

Stetson- Set rate-41k scholarship via TE. COA 29k.

Baldwin Wallace- Full tuition scholarship via TE. COA 9k

DePaul- 29k merit given. Denied TE. COA 26k

U North Florida (awaiting financials)

Xavier (OH). 25k merit. Denied TE. COA 33k

Gustavus Adolphus. 41k set rate TE award. COA 24k

Ball State. MSEP tuition. COA 25k

U of Dayton. 24k academic merit. 4500 Music merit. Denied TE. COA 35k

Western Michigan. 2k merit. COA 29k

U of Minn-Twin Cities. k4 merit. COA 24K

Syracuse- Set rate TE-41k. Plus additional 20k Music Leadership Scholarship. COA 18k. Committed.

Indiana U- 7K music merit.

18 Likes
2452

Asian/White female. Catholic HS about 3.7UW GPA, 4.01W, took 6 APS, test optional

ECs, Varsity Cheer Captain, artist, track, hospital volunteer (200hrs), town library teen board, Leadership at school, paid lifeguard

Major: Studio Art/Communications

Accepted at all schools with merit.

Hope College 25.5k merit
Miami University (Ohio) 23K merit
U of Arkansas 14K merit
Southwestern U 30K merit
Butler 24.5K merit
Creighton 22K merit
Sewanee 28K merit
Furman 28K merit
Trinity U 22K merit (including fine arts scholarship) Attending!
Elon 7.5K merit
Baylor 20K merit

What I think we did right: D23 knew she wanted to leave the PNW so we tried to pick schools that might be interested in a half Asian kid from Washington. Not sure if it came into the admission or merit decision or not. We also showed loads of demonstrated interest to the smaller schools, loads, we visited everywhere except Miami and Arkansas, and many schools twice. D23 did virtual tours and virtual info sessions and wrote thank you notes. I think she also didn’t try to get into anywhere too difficult.

What I think we did wrong: not much :slight_smile: I think maybe too many schools that were never really a possibility but I was worried that she didn’t know what she wanted. I guess she could have aimed for a big reach but we were pretty pleased with Trinity as her reach and she got in!

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2453

So happy to be DONE!!

Hispanic female from Maryland
Art Major
Attended public art magnet school for visual art
4.0 uw, 1560 SAT (one sitting), 5s on five AP exams
Class rank: 5/231
ECs: National choir, 2 tours with another choir in Europe, equestrian, part time job since 14 years old, various clubs at school
Awards: various art awards: regional, national, and international
National Hispanic Recognition

Wanted a university and not a purely art school. Only applied to schools that offer merit or were state schools since we are in the donut hole of too much income for needs-based aid, not enough to pay full price.

Accepted:
UCLA (OOS/no merit)
USC (no merit)
Boston University ($45K merit)
University of Maryland (full ride, Banneker Key scholarship)
University of Delaware ($15K merit)
Northeastern ($14K merit)
George Washington ($25K merit)
RIT ($21K merit)
University of Michigan (OOS/no merit)

Denied:
None! It was a good application cycle.

Decision: It was VERY HARD to pass up the full ride to UMD, but the art program there was not great after spending four years in an art magnet program. Appreciated BU’s big merit package but ultimately wasn’t a fan of the campus. In the end, UCLA and their fabulous art program was the clear choice! GO BRUINS!!

19 Likes
2454

S23
White Male
CA Public school
4.0/4.6+
ACT 35
Rank 5/400
12 APs (did not take all exams and did not send scores)
2 PT jobs in areas of interest to him
Good but standard ECs (volunteering, varsity sports/captain, minor awards)
Essays were good and authentic, interviewed where offered
Major: Economics

Accepted:
Hamilton College (Will Attend)
Holy Cross ($20k/yr merit)
UMass ($16k/yr merit + Honors College)

Waitlisted:
Bowdoin
Middlebury
Colby
Boston College

Rejected:
Dartmouth (applied ED, referred to RD, Legacy)
Notre Dame
Vanderbilt
Amherst
Williams

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2455

D23
white female
CA public school
IB Diploma
4.0/4.6+
35 ACT
Rank 1/550
3 APs (all 5s)
7 on the only IB exam she’s taken so far
PT job
Good ECs demonstrating interest in major, JV sports, minor awards
LOR were likely excellent (didn’t read)
Essays were amazing, interviewed where offered
Major: Radio/TV/Film + Sociology

Accepted:
Northwestern-- Comm (Will Attend)
Univ. Colorado (EA)
Univ Wisconsin (EA, Honors program)
Wesleyan
Syracuse-- Newhouse ($30k/yr merit)

Waitlisted:
Univ. Michigan (deferred from EA)
Emory

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2456

So, my understanding is that NC State puts a premium on class rank. UNC to a certain extent as well. My son was rejected from UNC but to be fair, he had zero interest in UNC. We made him apply. He was accepted to NCSU for spring. His dream school for engineering. But he is going to Alabama. Love the school that loves you back.

4 Likes
2457

I think I posted my son’s stats somewhere. But here we go:
Hispanic male in NC/Wake County
Large semi competitive HS, class size >500, rank – don’t remember but I’d say between 10-15th percentile
GPA 3.7/4.3; SAT 1420 (690V/730M); submitted everywhere
Major – Chemical Engineering almost everywhere except UNC (Chemistry, IIRC)
Course rigor – highest available per school. AP Seminar/Research thingy. Six or 7 APs, 2 DE (Calculus based Physics). PLTW. Mostly honors except core classes without honors option like spanish 1/2. Highest level of math AP Calc BC (5).
ECs – Nothing special. Standard stuff. Music is a big one. Very competitive jazz program considered one of the best in NC and nationally.
Essays – I’d say 3/5. Not a motivated writer. Very STEM style writing.
Awards – AP Scholar, Carolina Scholar, Latin Honors, College Board Recognition Program
We chased merit because I was not willing to pay $35-50K based on various NPCs.

Accepted
University of Alabama (Full tuition for 4 years + $1000 + first year room + EPIC scholar + $2500 engineering honors; all of it auto merit except EPIC, which was by application) – ATTENDING! Roll Tide.
North Carolina State University (Spring admit with fall launch option in Prague; this one stung him bad as this was his dream school, in the end he chose the university that really wanted him and showed love)
University of South Florida (Worked out to be about 50% scholarship; COA $17K)
Clarkson University (COA ~$30K)
UNC – Charlotte (Can’t remember but $3-4K scholarship maybe??)

Waitlisted
Lehigh
Lafayette
In hindsight, they are much more holistic and prefer ED candidates with a lot of TO and full pay kids. My son decided not to accept spots.

Rejected
UNC - Chapel Hill. He was not interested but we made him apply. Lol!

In the end, the visit to Alabama sold us. I am glad we both set aside preconceived notions and took up the offer to visit on the Capstone Scholars Weekend. They did a great job rolling out the crimson carpet. Overall, it was a pretty low stress journey for my son.

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2458

S23’s stats 3.7 UW 4.3 W 1260 SAT 4 AP Decent Extra curricular
A bunch of schools that are not usually mentioned on here.
Needed Merit child #3 in college within 5 years.

Accepted Schools
Coastal Carolina - 13,000 per yr merit
FGCU - 10,000 per yr merit Honors offer to apply
Florida Southern - 23,000 per yr merit applied TO Honors offer to apply
Roanoke - 20,000 per yr merit Honors offer to apply
Rowan - 6500 per yr merit Honors offer to apply
St Leo’s - 17,450 per yr merit Honors offer to apply
** University of North Florida OOS Waiver +$4500 merit per yr Accepted to Honors College (Attending)**
University of Tampa Deferred to Spring with 15K Merit per yr - this one still confuses us as to why he was deferred - he applied by early September.
University of Tennessee - 6000 per yr merit
University of SC - 10K per yr applied TO

He loved his visit to Hicks Honors College!

10 Likes
2459

S23
White Male
Public school
IB Diploma
4.0UW
1490 SAT
Class Rank 3/390
National Merit Finalist
14 IB/AP classes
7 Honors classes
ECs demonstrating passion in arts, outdoor sports, and outdoor leadership
LOR were likely solid
Essay was good

Accepted: Middlebury ED1

8 Likes
2460

D23. White female, mid-size Michigan public high school. 1310 SAT. 3.9 unweighted. 5 APs. Extracurriculars are mostly visual arts. 3 years of cross country but does not want to run in college. Job in food service, evenings and weekends, 15 or so hours per week and full time in summers. Interests in visual arts and biology.

Accepted
Wooster
Dension
Earlham – attending
Kenyon
Michigan State (does not want to go to a big school, but I told her she had to apply to one public and she chose MSU. She did enjoy her visit there)

Waitlisted
Grinnell (disappointed, but OK. This school is farther away from home than she desired)

COA at Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, and Earlham were similar but she felt the strongest connection to the students and professors she met at Earlham. Cost will be about $3K more per year than MSU. She’s saved a lot of money over the past couple of years and agreed to contribute to the difference.

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2461

D23. Female, large midwest competitive public high school. SAT 1370, uwGPA 3.94, wGPA 4.4, 6 APs, 5 Honors, 6 DE, AP Scholar, EC clubs with leadership, varsity sport captain, national competition in sport, volunteer hours and part-time job, solid essays. Business/Finance major.

Accepted

Pitt - no merit
UofSC - $15,500 merit and Capstone
Tenn - $15,000 merit
OSU - honors and $2000 merit (instate and attending)
FSU - no merit
UF - no merit
SDSU - no merit
USD - $25,000 merit
Trinity University - $30,000 merit
Pepperdine - $5,500 merit
Furman - $29,000 merit
Arizona - honors and $32,000 merit
ASU - Barrett and $15,500 merit

Waitlisted

UWashington

Denied

UNC-Chapel Hill (long shot)
NYU (long shot)

Wanted the big school experience. While the weather sent her looking in the warmer regions, she ultimately settled on the best school for the best price. Go Bucks!

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2462

Congrats to your D. I haven’t visited Earlham, but do like what I know about it. Just wanted to say I know someone who chose to attend there over Cornell and Vassar…said the same thing about feeling a special connection when they visited. Good luck to your D!

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