From MD here. Applied to a lot of “safe” schools b/c I don’t test well but I speak well with adults and my interests are wide and varied but goal is Med school eventually. Science Grades are top notch. - Also applied to see who would give me more $$ to attend (Parents not paying at all) - and most college applications with the exception of one were free so… why not?
Got accepted so far to:
Baylor - Waco, TX
St. Mary’s College of MD (St. Mary’s City - by the water)
Saint Vincent College (La Trobe, PA)
Stevenson University (MD)
University of the Sciences (Philadelphia)
Still waiting for:
*Case Western Reserve University - Dec 17
*UMD - College Park - Feb 1
Fordham University
Ursinus
Philadelphia University
@Hangdog do you live in CT? My D will be applying next year and she is also at a Cath. HS - in CT. My S applied this year, also at a Cath. HS and he was weak on the standardized test too. I heard the Cath students (my son has done Cath his whole life) had a hard time with the SAT because it is based on a CC curriculum now - my kids have never been taught by CC curriculum Just curious if your daughter was in the same predicament?
As a freshman, my kid wanted to just go to a top 100 college nearby, and I wasn’t stressed at all because I thought he would be able to get accepted to that college if he didn’t play computer games too much. As a sophomore, my kid wanted to go to UCLA or UC Berkeley, and I started to worry because I realized that it was very hard to get into one of these schools especially as a CA resident. As a Junior, this kid started dreaming of attending Stanford and I was really worried and stressed because there were so many smart kids at his school and he wasn’t one of top 10 in his class GPA wise. I freaked out when he decided to apply REA (I didn’t even know what REA meant so I had to google to find out it meant Restrictive Early Admission). And then two days ago, I find out that he got accepted to Stanford as a REA. And now I am worried about how much money it’s going to take to allow him to graduate from Stanford because I don’t think we would qualify for financial aid. One last, slim chance left to convince him to attend an Honors College at a decent University for almost free.
I never pushed him to excel in school or apply to certain schools. But I never discouraged him when he wanted to do something and applauded him for his effort despite the result.
I am actually more often than not more impressed by stats of kids who got deferred or rejected than those kids who got accepted into Stanford. I also wonder how some kids know that their essays were 10/10 or even 9/10 because I just thought my kid’s essays reflected who he was and thought “I am sure there are better writers than my kid.”
I told my kid I would be just as proud of him if he got into Stetford instead of Stanford because in high school, he really tried very, very hard. He’s definitely not a genius or even greatly talented in his field of interest, but he showed a marked improvement every year and if I may say so, is a very nice kid who kept on plodding along even when he knew he was not as smart as some kids in his school. I am just happy that he’s super happy about getting into his dream school. Basically, I am glad at least one of his high school dreams came true.
In the end, I don’t think my kid got into Stanford as a REA applicant because he was smarter or more accomplished or talented; I happen to think he got in because he was more likable because his essays reflected who he was as a person. I tend to think he described himself well indirectly, and the adcom began to like him.
My D from Northwest Indiana was admitted to:
Baylor (not accepted to Baylor2 Medical scholars though)
Butler
DePaul
Indiana University
Loyola Chicago engineering
Purdue engineering
(Academic scholarships to all)
@websensation, First of all, big congrats on your son’s acceptance. Your son must have something other than the numbers can tell. I would contact and consult with the FA office at Stanford. There are many people getting FA if they think they are not qualified. You never know, especially schools like Stanford with ample financial resource will try to meet your need at least partially.
I’m looking for info on SAT/ACT preparation? My son’s scores were average with no prep. My daughter is at an 1150 PSAT as a JR and is looking to increase. Anyone on here or a parent of a kid who used a national program like Kaplan etc. to prepare and felt it really helped? Please advise. Thank you!
@jyc1230 Tx. Will contact them and see. Not prepared because didn’t think he would get in. Up to now, my realistic hope was that he would receive a huge near full ride scholarship from a top Honors College.
@xaviermom2017, My son spent about 3 weeks at the local Kaplan. They helped with some problem solving skills and strategies. Some prep institutions claim they can help improve scores dramatically but don’t believe them. It really depends on the dedication and attitude of a test taker. (Been there :^o )
@websensation, every family has a different financial priority and thus I wouldn’t claim one is better. One thing I can almost surely say is that if your son thrives at schools like Stanford, it more than deserves a financial burden. He will likely have a shorter payback time after getting a (decent) job upon graduation than going to any honors college. Although it depends on the financial gap, I would do my best to send him to Stanford despite it may require additional student loan. I believe it is worth trying. But again, it is just my personal opinion. All the best!
@radioflyer, Conratulations! It is a great school. My sibling went there and she really loved it. My son’s ED result comes out on Thursday and I am trying to keep my expectation low.
ASU
University of Kansas (Honors College)
DePaul University
California University, Fullerton
Pending:
UCLA (Film and Television)
UC Berkeley (Film Studies)
UC Davis (Film)
UCSC (Film)
UCSD (Film)
Northwestern University (Radio, Television, and Film)
Chapman University (Film Production)
Loyola Marymount University (Film Production)
Baylor University (Film)
ASU’s Barrett Honors College (Filmmaking Practices)
Vanderbilt (Film and Media Arts)
Cal State University Northridge (Film)
Cal State University Long Beach (Film)
San Francisco State University (Film)
Wake Forest University (Communications)
Texas Christian University (Film)
University of Washington (Digital Arts and Experimental Media)
University of Texas-Austin (Radio, Television, and Film)
New York University (Film)
University of Utah (Film)
I was accepted to the University of Minnesota’s Honors College with a very generous scholarship. I applied EA to Harvard and will hopefully hear back soon.
@radioflyer, Oh my sister went there in mid 80s and I remember the Logan Airport was frozen and had a big delay before the Christmas break. Since I was from CA, I was wondering how on earth the students could live in MA. :-*
@radioflyer it was the Blizzard of '78. (I grew up in MA). It was so bad we had to bring the horses into the front hall of the house and feed them canned corn.
Just curious if your daughter was in the same predicament?
