His profile is excellent, he will surely get other acceptances
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They waitlisted more than 20% applicants last year
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This is stellar academics. It is unfortunate, but pretty sure your son will excel no matter where he goes. College admission have become a game of chance, without predictability of outcome.
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We thought so as well when we started this process. MIT, Caltech were rejected and we thought maybe itâs because he didnât have any science fair/ISEF type credentials in his resume. He is a 3 time AIME qualifier, has leadership in two clubs in school. Rejected in NW and waitlisted in CMU and JHU. Just going crazy looking at the results.
If of Asian heritage, you know itâs difficult. My son was waitlisted at Chicago and JHU despite taking the hardest of curriculum at our flagship and scoring on some 25 classes with Aâs or 5âs on all his APs. I hope your son applied broadly and has acceptances for his in-state schools.
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Yes Asian Male STEM puts his resume right in the bottom is what his brother was warning. He is into humanities and is attending one of HYPSM. S23 has GaTech, UCLA, UIUC and Cambridge UK so far. Lets hope and see what this week brings in. You can never be sure is the lesson I take away.
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Waitlisted SCS. 1550+ SAT, 3.9+ GPA, 15+ APs, some research/olympiad/humanities ECs. This was my last app and was kind of an afterthought, super surprised I didnât get rejected.
Those are terrific options he already has, especially GaTech if pursuing CS. For math, Cambridge definitely!
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It is unfortunate. Nothing wrong with what your son did. The tea leaf readers (ahem holistic admissions) did not pick him in their so called curated class. With those great accomplishments and the hard work ethic, he has inculcated he will do well no matter where he goes. What major did he apply? If engineering or CS, no one takes seriously without a grad degree. He can go to grad school after couple of years. If he has so much transferrable credit, he can shave off a year from a robust state college and enter grad program at any top college quicker and can be better off in the long run. But as a 17 year old it hurts at the seeming unfairness of it all, as fellow classmates get in and you donât despite working harder and succeeding. Ask him to Keep his chin up and use it as a chip on his shoulder.
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Heâs an amazing kid with amazing accomplishments!
Did he apply CS or math at CMU?
Thank you so much for those kind words. means a lot to me especially today with all the WL.
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Physics and Economics
question: is it in bad taste to opt in for the priority waitlist, get in, and then not go to cmu? i thought of course but i have been told otherwise.
No, not at all.
CMU will pick applicants off the waitlist solely to meet any unfilled institutional priorities. If they can choose who they want, so can you (since you arenât in a binding contract like ED).
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Got into COE! Was feeling depressed after NWU and other rejections/WLs but this feels nice. My top choice so far, but still waiting on Ivies and Stanford.
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Despite the fancy âpriorityâ label, it basically sounds identical to every waitlist. You usually hear very quickly in early May if youâre going to get off the list and usually have just a couple days to commit and you usually lose your deposit at whatever school you already committed to.
This doesnât make sense at all. His resume couldnât get any better for what he intends to study. Did he apply the same physics/econ major at NW and JHU? This whole admission system needs an overhaul.
BTW, congrats for other fantastic options he has in hands already!
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Congrats and best luck!
Is he waiting for any other decisions? Reading your post, its clear he is exceptional and works hard and I have a feeling he will have other options after next weekâŠwishing him the best of luck. I know it will turn out even better than he imagined! I also have an older son at a HYPSM (humanities) and my younger STEM son has said many times that he feels the pressure because of this (even though we tell him not to, that he is his own person with his own strengths, different than his brother). Sending postitive admission vibes your familyâs way 
I was accepted to the College of Engineering at CMU today! Wondering if anyone has any suggestions now that I have to choose between UMich and CMU for Mechanical Engineering. Financial aid packages are good at both places, CMU costs a little more, but not much. UMich is closer to home but I like the smaller campus feel at CMU. If anyone has experience with either of these colleges or any advice for me, that would be greatly appreciated.
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