If she remains interested in Michigan, I would recommend she send a letter of continued interest; not sure if it is still the case but in the past I believe the deferral email gave suggestions on what to do if still interested (where to send a letter/update). With the ease of sending so many applications now, I think many schools are looking for confirmation of genuine interest and a letter to the AO may impact her likelihood of admission in light of today’s deferral. Good luck!
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There are 28,000 high schools in the US. That means at a very minimum, there are 56,000 Valedictorians and Salutatorians. With so many highly qualified kids applying to all the same schools, they don’t have room for everyone.
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Ha, “oddly disparate” is exactly right! 
She started with a ranked 100-college spreadsheet and narrowed it down from there. It’s basically a sliding scale of (a) has the type of programs she’s interested in for child psych; (b) not in a major urban city like NYC/DC; (c) school has the “feel” she’s looking for - not too southern, not too conservative, with D3 track or D1 club sports, and (d) area where she’d love to live for 4 years. That’s how we ended up with a list has has both Tufts and UNC-W on it - the check off her “main” criteria.
As to why we applied to TCU/Trinity if she wants out of Texas, it’s because she was hoping to get a full scholarship at one or both of them. And if either one is free (still a chance with Trinity), that would change her mind on staying in-state if she gets into none of her dream schools.
RE: GPA - I frankly don’t understand this either? Maybe our school is not doing this right, or my daughter isn’t? She definitely has all As all four years so that’s a 4.0. But then when they do “weighted GPAs,” they do using 100 instead of 4.0, and hers is 101.8 (making her top 11%). The school said to just divide by 4 to convert that to a 4.0 scale, is that not right?
Yeah, I totally get that. I think I was just hoping that not all of them speak 3 languages, work part-time in the general area they want to study, and have an interesting family background.
Live and learn!
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Thank you for this! That’s good. I’d feel like a monster putting her through that again.
There is no where else she’d apply - this oddball list is a distillation of 100+ initial colleges we started with in summer 2021, so that die is cast.
I really appreciate your advice, and you reading through my ramblings on a Friday evening, no less!
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Yes, several virtual sessions, talked to an alumn and a current student, and we’re planning a visit soon.
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She’s already working on one - glad you hear it may help. Thank you so much!
I agree she’s probably going to get into Syracuse, but it will be big bucks. Michigan is a reach for unhooked OOS students. Write the 250 word LOCI they asked for, but mentally put that in the no column.
Is she planning on grad school? If so, I would limit what you shell out for undergrad, especially since you have some relatively low cost options.
It sounds like she applied Tulane RD and missed EA…that’s not great. The RD round will have a low single digit acceptance rate and includes many deferred EA apps which may have an edge because they demonstrated greater interest (which Tulane demands).
If she receives no more acceptances, which school would she choose? Are you looking for recommendations for additional schools to apply to?
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Yep, RD for Tulane. But of all her remaining schools, Tulane and Vandy are likely the only two she won’t be too upset if she isn’t accepted into. She likes the programs there (and that’s why she applied) but the schools are still too far south for what she’s been wanting for her undergrad experience.
She will definitely be going to grad school if she sticks with the currently planned major/career plan. That makes paying $$ for all but a few select schools really unattractive to me.
I don’t know what we’ll do if she doesn’t get in anywhere else. Will depend on whether she gets any more merit from any of the safeties, I think.
If not, I honestly wonder if taking a gap year and hiring a career counselor to help with essays/deciding on whether to apply test-optional, retake SAT, etc would be a better idea? She’s young for her grade, can coach full time during the gap year, and still be the same age as most kids who start in 2023.
There is a thread somewhere on here about someone’s “average excellent” daughter. It is well worth reading and will give you insight into the process.
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Thank you. As for waitlists/deferrals, as I mentioned we were on many waitlists with my son - UCLA, Michigan, GT, etc. Submit the letter of continued interest, call the admissions office, local admissions rep. if you are from OOS, etc. and let them know the school is the top choice. I have heard some advisors tell people not to bother the admissions office, but my feeling is do everything you can to let them know you would accept if offered, and do it quickly to get their attention. There is no defined set of rules in this college admissions game.
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The schools will look at your financial aid forms (Fafsa and at some schools the CSS Profile) and will compute your financial need. Some of the colleges on your list don’t meet full need for all. Some only provide need based aid. Some give merit aid. But the schools will calculate your need and determine how much they think you can pay.
Did you run the Net price calculators for these colleges to see your estimated net costs?
Thank you, I really appreciate the explanation! Yes, I ran the calculators, and my daughter added the “net cost after aid” to her spreadsheet for the schools where she’s accepted.
We won’t have any “demonstrated need” and my EFC is outrageous, in Texas public schools filing a FAFSA is a graduation requirement, and several schools required me to do a CSS profile too. I never saw a waiver option that said you’re not asking for aid and don’t want to submit your FAFSA, so I was wondering if I missed that somehow?
If she’s definitely going to grad school and clearly urban is ok bcuz of Tufts, etc so I’d look at her original list.
If Arizona is on there (the list of 100), it’s an easy app. With a 4.0 it’s $35k off of $37k tuition. It’s a great school, the Honors dorm is awesome with dining hall on the bottom and gym adjacent and frankly it’s a quarter of a million dollars less that your top schools. Grad school is happening so think about that. Again the app is easy.
The other schools I’d look at with late apps are Alabama and Alabama Huntsville for smaller school in a progressive mid size city… it southern. but more likely Alabama. Your tuition would be similar to AZ. So too Southern you say ? Not with the majority of kids from OOS because of merit. Not strong enough you say ? They have more than 900 Nat Merit Finalists on campus.
Again we are all different and what you value is different than me but with grad school on the horizon, no way I’m spending $325k+ when I can spend $80k. I don’t know your finances but that money can grow over time and help pay for cars, homes, weddings, grad school. I mean psychology is not a major for the well paid !!
It does seem like Hawaii has auto merit…$2k a year what I found. Tuition is still half of Tufts, etc. so even without merit it’s cheaper although more $$ to get there.
Uncw is $19k so literally 30% of Tufts.
You can’t say I’d go if merit. You have to look at bigger picture.
Merit is not to reward you. It’s the school giving a true market price or trying to bring in star students. Tufts gets near the best of the best. They have no need. Hence they don’t offer merit.
Syracuse might offer a marginal student nothing. But for an outperformer like your daughter $10-15k in order to grab a better than average student and help their #s. But the true star might get $25k or more (think 1600 sat). Your daughter has great but not elite stats.
I see psych, grad school and big bills. I don’t know your bank account but I think personally you have smarter options than your favorites.
And yeah I threw a few more out because they are easy apps. And big $$ which since you noted no merit at Hawaii and UNCW…theirs are auto merit and lots of it…to make you feel good.
Good luck
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Have you visited all her safeties?
Today, my daughter and I visited one of her safety schools. It is not particularly highly ranked for what she wants to do and ended up on the list primarily because of location and affordability. Before today, I would have ranked it near the bottom on her preference list.
And after our visit (maybe the 10th or 11th campus visit she has done), she said for the first time, “This school makes my heart happy! I finally had ‘that moment’ during a campus visit.”
I was shocked. It might not have the prestige, but our pocketbook is sure feeling the love! We are still waiting on some decisions to come in, but there is a new front-runner.
I share this just to say that visits might turn a frog school into a prince. Sometimes parents and students both fall in love with the name of a school, and its reputation, and because we both WANT to love it and want to show the world that our talented student belongs at such a place. But there may be a less flashy but much better fit school that is being overlooked.
Your daughter sounds awesome and I think she stands a good chance of getting into schools on her target and reach list. But if not, maybe check out some of those “yes” schools a little more closely before you start over. She may find herself falling in love with a school that loves her back.
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Love this story! We’re visiting the Texas schools this month, already visited UHawaii and that was an easy sell for my kid, just not for me. The rest will have to wait for late Spring because it’s now track season and weekends are full of meets. But at least by then she’ll have a better picture of where she’s accepted?
There is a question on the common application…asking if you will be applying for financial aid. If not…you could have said no there.
Also, if you don’t submit any of the financial aid application forms, the school will rightly assume you aren’t applying and will not send you an aid package even if you are eligible.
No one is required to submit the financial aid applications to any college.
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You’re amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to offer so much analysis and great advice! Just to clarify on schools/money to date.
Right now, if we look at cost after aid (tuition only for now because I’m comparing value of education, not affordability necessarily, my daughter’s schools look like this:
Mizzou - $15K/yr after scholarship/instate waiver
Trinity- $17K/yr in tuition and fees after aid (prior to interviewing for more)
UNCW - $22K/yr
TCU - $27K/yr
UHawaii Manoa - $32K
I don’t think she’s going to get enough from Arizona to beat Trinity, right? We’re in Austin and to me having her close would be as awesome as it would be sad for her not to move somewhere entirely new and exciting. 
Plus, she doesn’t want to go to a big party school. Bama is STRAIGHT out (we’re big UT fans 
)
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Wait, but I thought even if you don’t expect need-based aid, you must send in a FAFSA to the school if you’re planning to take out loans? I’m planning to self-pay, but I was hoping not to have to cash-flow full tuition every year.
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In Texas, you can file an opt out form to waive the FAFSA graduation requirement. I know it’s too late for you, but hopefully this will help others. FAFSA is required if you want to take out the Federal Student loans ($27K max for undergrad).
https://tea.texas.gov/academics/college-career-and-military-prep/financial-aid-requirement
What schools required you to file a CSS Profile (assuming you checked you aren’t applying for need based financial aid)?
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