We learnt that verification of household information was missing. Better check the portal bottom right. You would never know as the portal isn’t intuitive in prompting missing documents. Haven’t received FA yet
CMU is very intense and kids work hard on their subjects.
But I would say there is also a strong community and frat/sorority vibe.
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that’s great to hear!!!
My son is a freshman in the SCS and it is a lot of work,about 45-50 hours a week. CMU is intense but he found outlets away from studying, In his case, he was in the band and is joining a fraternity. Finding a balance is important. Congratulations on your admission.
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haha waitlist here but thanks!
Is there a specific “campus day” with planned events and tours for admitted students? Or just a general tour on any day?
D is waitinglisted for CMU SC and did not get into the top schools either. Thought she had a pretty good chance. Took the most rigorous courses including 3 college level math classes. 3 times AIME, qualified for MPFG. 11AP all 5 for 6 APs up to junior. NMF. SAT 1580. USACO silver. So what could be wrong? I think maybe she had a B+ for foreign language even though the overall GAP is still above A, and it hurts the GPA ranking? or is the EC too focused on math competition? Have to admit she does not have other ECs other than math and CS competition. We thought a strong math background could be a boost for CS application, but it does not seem like the case. any ideas? i know it is too late, but want to figure out what went wrong. is it the main essay, or GPA or EC or rec letter? or all of them?
Nothing is enough or right/ wrong when we apply for high demand majors like CS to a top college. I also thought my son had good chance for all top schools. He has all A’s , took 18 AP’s , mostly 5’s so far. Good EC’s like research, aime, USACO , music awards and more than 500+ hrs of community service. He started a non profit that he enjoys working for. Essays were very good.
I am sure your daughters essay were good too. I don’t think the AO’s have that much time to read the essays and really understand the applicant. They get so many applications because of test optional. I seriously think it’s like winning a lottery to get into top colleges these days. It’s the students who help the school ranking go higher or lower. More applications each year for same limited number of spots so every year the acceptance rate goes down.
When we say top schools , first it is based on the acceptance rate and then stats of some students who got in. But we don’t know when that student gets in , there are many other students with similar stats who get waitlisted or denied. Your daughter has very good stats and so does my son or many other kids. I am sure their essays were great too and they would have been great students at these “Top” schools but I am also sure they all will do great things wherever they go. They did everything they could but they were just not that Lucky. The rigorous course work and hard work they did throughout the high school will definitely help them in whichever college they go. You never know, the colleges wherever these kids go may become top schools in few years!!
All the best to your daughter!
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Thank you. But she got nothing from 10 top 20 schools so I think that must mean something is wrong with her application.
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It is likely there was nothing “wrong” with the application but she might have had some factors stacked against her.
Is she from an over-represented area (NJ, downstate NY, CA, MA, CT, NOVA)?
Does she attend a HS that sends a lot of kids to top schools, so she was “competing” against very accomplished classmates or classmates with strong hooks to top schools?
Yes and Yes to your questions. so it is basically because she does not stand out among her peers in the same school?
My son goes to a very competitive private school .kids from the school usually go to MIT, Stanford, Harvard or other top schools. My son is a top student at the school. Not a single one at his school this year got into any top schools. 
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At that point it is to some degree just luck. Colleges are going to take a certain number of kids from her area/school. If there are 100 kids that meet the requirements they are looking for, how do they choose the 2 they take? Do those 2 really “stand out” from the others? Maybe, but not necessarily because they are more qualified. Maybe one of them wants to minor in anthropology and the other plans to join the musical theater club, and this year the admissions officers haven’t seen enough people this year who want to do those things.
My son got in GAtech which is #5 for CS so he is very happy about it but was really hoping to get in one of the four #1 schools for CS. Got waitlisted by 2 of those but getting off the waitlist is almost impossible. I should not complain because I see so many talented and hard working students waitlisted or denied admissions to every college they applied. Students applying to schools in future should definitely apply to more safety schools and state schools.
I have one more child that would apply in few years and we are not really going to see the rankings and the prestige anymore. Getting in the schools they want is not completely in their hands. Let them continue to do hard work and do things they enjoy.
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It’s impossible to stand out when there are thousands applicants, all with the same stats.
ETA: Harvard (for example) selected 2000 out of 57,000 applicants. They simply cannot take everyone, and the vast majority are going to be rejected.
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This part isn’t true, if you consider the full 36 ACT and/or near perfect SAT scores, and other combinations of really hard academic rigor, 20+ APs or DE coursework, scoring 5s or As in college classes, and ranking 1/2 in class rank - there’s a handful of these kids usually in a city, and really 1-2 in a school district. They are standouts by a mile, and they have put their heart & soul into their academics, as opposed to other bright kids who strike a good balance between academics and ECs (sport, music, community engagement, competitions etc). But, the latter are typically favored by AOs, in absence of other hooks (athletes, URM, first to college, legacy & such). The sheer academic brilliance has become hard to evaluate (through the “holistic” lense), even though it is the most objective criteria there is.
None of the platitudes offered here are going to placate the exceptional. Yes, they will do well no matter where they go, but hurt they will in the short run (parents included).
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I am in northern Virginia, where there are tons of applicants with those stats. Maybe some might have a 35 ACT or a 1580 SAT, but the schools aren’t obligated to take only those with the highest scores — they are looking for diversity (beyond just race and economic status). For every kid who is a straight A student, there is an A-/B+ student who can bring something different — but equally valuable — to the table. If you are Gen X, you should know that hard work does not always equate to instant success! 
There is some 5-6000 who get a full 36 ACT nationwide, and less than 500 who score a 1600 SAT? When you combine these stats with other objective criteria, really there is a handful of these. This cohort is routinely eliminated by T20 (again, barring other hooks), typically destined to state flagships (with merit scholarships). As Gen X’rs, we have taught our kids there is a reward waiting at the end of hard work, but the reality is that college admissions to selective schools isn’t one of those rewards.
I am not taking away anything from other bright kids who strike a balance, but these academically exceptional students don’t have a home at T20, not guaranteed anyways.
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All this is fine, after you have seated at that table the absolute straight A students who also shines in other objective criteria. Their scores (ACT or SAT) aren’t in isolation, it’s in addition to.
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In SoCal there are dozens of these kids at most high performing high schools, with many students ranking in various things amongst the very best in the nation. It is just a really crowded field.
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