Rank has virtually nothing to do with this. Some of the most selective, highest ranked schools have the worst grade inflation. Major has a significant portion to do with it too.
We are in a new era. Anyone can learn anything, essentially for free. If one goes to a great value school, doesn’t learn anything, and then faults the institution, that’s on them.
I can also say, as someone who went to professional school like your daughter wants to, much of what I learned was simply forgotten from lack of use.
I told my teenage daughter that she goes where the bank account says she can go. If she wants to go private or out of state, she can, but she needs a scholarship or affordable financial aid package. Those are the schools your daughter got into. Those are her choices. And they’re GREAT offers. Trinity is a strong school, especially when she’s in the honors program. I drive by that university every morning on the way to work. Traffic is not heavy. She can park at 7:56 and be on time for an 8 am class. TCU is GREAT offer too, especially with a tuition scholarship.
You can actually ‘gift’ anyone any amount you want to every year. If it is more than $16k (per person, so parents can give $32k) you must fill out a form for the IRS. Most likely there will be no taxes owed until your death. Personally, I wouldn’t worry about it but of course I don’t have more than $16k to give to anyone, but if I did I’d just file the form and not worry about it until my death, and even then I’d not worry because I’d be dead.
my daughter has taken a gap year after graduating last year and turning down all her acceptances. She is young for her grade (missed the cutoff by 2 days and we pushed her forward anyway). This gap year has been the best decision we’ve ever made. she has worked nearly full time, is an avid mountaineer so climbed a lot, attempted a summit of Mt. Baker, skied a ton and is traveling Europe for a month in May once the college season is done. The amount of growth she has had is noticeable–I have no doubt that she is absolutely ready for college in the fall.
Doing the process again this year does not seem to have hurt her at all. Her reach school deferred her in ED but it has helped her reframe her expectations in a healthy way. The schools she applied to this year are almost completely different from senior year except one and more inline with who she is vs. who she thinks we want her to be. She applied to 7 schools that she knew she would be happy with no matter what. Her latest acceptance from a school in the Northeast (we are in the PNW), gave her $140K merit scholarship. total surprise. So if a gap year seems like a good option for your kid, don’t be afraid to do it. I will say that it has been great for our family in general to have the extra year with her–she has all the freedom of a college freshman and we are getting used to having an adult in the house LOL
TL:DR – the answer is “yes,” chances of not getting in ended up being 100%. She was waitlisted or rejected at all schools she applied to beyond the 5 safety/safe-target schools that already admitted her by the time I made my post. Her weighted GPA went up second semester (UW is 4.0) and she did more ECs, but….
Here’s how this inglorious applications cycle came down. Schools listed in rough order of when the decisions came out:
Schools she was in for before my post:
Missouri (accepted, out-of-state tuition equalizer scholarship). Once she got other acceptances, Missouri became less attractive due to location, so she didn’t apply for other scholarships
University of Hawaii (accepted, got a huge scholarship – in the end, this ended up being the cheapest option, even with cost of travel)
Trinity University in San Antonio (accepted, offered a very large scholarship that makes tuition about half of what our local state schools would have been; invited to interview for, but did not get, a full ride scholarship);
TCU (accepted, offered ½ tuition scholarship)
UNC-Wilmington (accepted, no merit with original offer and daughter chose not to apply for other scholarships or to pursue the application further because other safeties were a better fit)
Schools my “chances” post was about:
University of Michigan (deferred EA, waitlisted, not yet sure if will accept the spot)
University of Chicago (deferred EA, invited to apply ED2 (didn’t), and was rejected RD)
Bowdoin (waitlisted. She accepted a spot and is hoping for a miracle, but very aware it’s unlikely and effectively treating it as a rejection)
Middlebury College (rejected – this one stings the most because she showed a lot of interest, her interviewer told her she’s an excellent fit and will get the highest recommendation, and a classmate with lower GPA and about the same SAT score (white male with no “hooks”) was admitted at the same time she was rejected.
Tufts (rejected. Not entirely unexpected, but it was so hard watching her dream die, and she’s still very down about this one)
Vanderbilt (rejected – wasn’t expecting anything else, so not upset)
Syracuse (waitlisted - not sure what’s going on there, except that she was close to withdrawing her application after reading all the “party school” comments on here, and did not submit the required recommendations until about a month ago, when her completist nature won out. Won’t be accepting a spot on the waitlist).
Your daughter has some good acceptances in her mix. She needs to decide if one of these colleges is where she will go, or if she wants to take a gap year and apply again to a different batch of schools.
You never know about those waitlists. Something might open up.
Sorry for the disappointment. I think the results from Middlebury can be due to the different acceptance rates between male and female applicants. Many fewer males apply and many LAC struggle to balance out the sex-ratio of the class.
Trip was great, but after a lot of back-and-forth, she decided she didn’t want to visit (as she put it, “just yet” - because UHawaii has a scholars weekend later in April and she could fly in for that). But what that told me is that she’s not that into it, if you know what I mean. And for me as a parent, the trip underscored not wanting to have a kid be so far away. Even though it was a direct flight, it’s 7 hours, and with the time difference on top of it, I’d never be able to be there in fewer than 24-ish hours if she needed me. I’d do it if she were excited, but she isn’t.
At this point, if the Bowdoin waitlist doesn’t work out, she’s likely going to Trinity. I asked her about the gap year option again, but she doesn’t want to delay.
That’s very wise of her. Even after a gap year, odds are strong that the outcomes would be the same, leading to a lost year and even deeper disillusionment.
The important thing to know is that year in and year out 80% of survey respondents say they were happy with their undergrad, no matter where it fell on their application hierarchy. We build this myth that life will be grand if we just get into the school. It’s that, a myth. I know plenty of T20 grads struggling to find their way. It’s about making the most of your opportunities. If any story should be a comfort, it’s your personal journey.
Trinity and TCU are both very good schools. Once she gets closure, and gets on campus with new friends, all this concern will melt away.
If it’s any consolation, anecdotally it seems like Tufts didn’t accept a single kid RD this year. I am positive she would get in off the waitlist at SU if she wanted.
I am sure you mentioned this upthread, but did she submit test scores to all of these schools?
It’s unhelpful 20-20 hindsight, but this list is very reach and safety heavy, with only Syracuse being what I would say is a match. Schools like Rochester, Case, Lehigh, Lafayette, Richmond, Conn College, etc would have fit in well.
In the big picture, of course, your daughter is the type of student who can succeed anywhere. Good luck.
Thank you so much for the update. I’m sorry that the college admissions cycle didn’t finish how you hoped it would, but your daughter has some great acceptances and IS going to do well no matter where she attends. You should both be very proud of everything she has accomplished, and she has a great role model in you. You have done amazing things in your life, and your daughter is on the path to do the same.
Sharing this post from the excellent Higher Ed Data Stories blog. If you look at Middlebury, the most recent data available indicates men have a 5.18% admissions rate advantage.
Just curious how long and arduous the trip to Bowdoin is. Maybe there are direct flights for you to Boston (which is still a trek) but likely there will be stops if you want to fly to Portland.