It means that the AO did not fully appreciate the message.
People communicate at different levels.
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How would you know that? You haven’t read the rest of that rec or her application. And you don’t know her or us or the teacher. That teacher was the one who gave her a leadership position which she has taken to a new level and has been praised for this year by many. You do not know of which you speak and it’s odd for you to be even commenting on it.
I know we put ourselves out there when I started this thread. I hope you will all appreciate that I’ve shown an honest story of how a college search can unfold. It’s not a straight arrow and I think a lot of kids have similar experiences. And sometimes we can maybe figure out why or why not kids got accepted or denied but we mostly do not know.
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I am assuming you all have moved on from analyzing back handed compliments
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You’re right, you didn’t offer a review of the BC campus after this most recent visit. But earlier you said she was “underwhelmed” by the BC campus and that she didn’t like the separate freshman campus.
I’ll just throw in that my middle daughter went to BC and that after all was said & done, she and the other kids found the freshman campus a plus because it helped them to bond as a class. It did take more planning because they had to catch a bus to the main campus, but she didn’t mind. They also had to find somewhere to spend time if they had an hour or two between classes. Couldn’t go back to their dorm room.
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Didn’t you say she thought the BC campus was a little cramped?
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Maybe? I know I didn’t comment recently and not since our last visit. I guess that’s what I meant. Listen, if she hated it that much from an earlier visit, we wouldn’t have re-visited. She wanted to see it again.
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Homerdog - Always enjoyed the Journey! It does take alot to put oneself and one’s child out there from the beginning -thank you for sharing! Looking forward to the final selection! Great options crossed off and great options left - can’t go wrong whichever way. Very familiar with most (almost all) of your D’s original application list and makes total sense - some schools not the best fit in the end for her but for others maybe the best fit…interesting to see what ends up being more sensitive/desirable to one that could be less than a concern to another. That is the beauty of the student’s wants/needs and the college’s overall offering/vibe and finding the optimum match.
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my current guess is that homerdog’s D21 will pick Colgate. But then I am second guessing due to the small town/harder to travel to it aspect. But I’ll stick with that guess.
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Oh my goodness I feel the need to change my vote back to Colgate. Oy!
Earlier it was asked why this student did not apply to Tulane and Miami. Interesting- at our HS many who apply to those 2 schools also apply to Colgate. Similar students- smart, successful, strong students, social, relative wealth (at least by us), and not the type to spend hours sitting under a tree discussing anthropology (although some certainly might).
I am switching back to Colgate. I think this student will fit in nicely with the social scene.
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Homerdog- you’ve probably said this, but has your daughter decided? Heavily leaning one way? Or still mulling it over?
Colgate released its acceptance rate for this year: 17.2%. As with most colleges, I’d interpret this as preliminary.
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BC sent an email out to parents and alums today with some class of 2025 admissions info:
18.9% overall acceptance rate
39% admitted without a test score
1495 average SAT
34 average ACT
42% are AHANA students
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We rec’d communication as well. And that my friends, is the definition of “institutional goals“ & “holistic” process at work in admissions.
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Homerdog, just want to add my thank you for sharing so openly and honestly. You’ve created a case study with all of its twists and turns. So appreciative that you’ve let us peer in through this window and thereby to learn from your experience. Again, many thanks and all the best from here on.
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Throwing in my bet on Colgate because it has more of the original “wants” (Greek life, not religious, less intellectually focused/stressful, etc). Pretty much only missing on the warm weather factor. Contrasting that to BC with no Greek life, rooted in religious/Catholic tradition and I’m thinking her daughter will be much happier at Colgate.
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100% agree
I also appreciate you sharing your D’s journey here! Its been a fun distraction as I go through the application process with my own senior. I can see my D23 being interested in many of these same schools when its her turn, so its been helpful hearing your and your D’s impressions of each school as the list gets narrowed!
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@homerdog: I apologize for unintentionally offending you by offering my reaction to the shared comment. Posting a comment invites reactions & comments on the shared quote.
Everyone admires your willingness to put your experience online for all to read. It takes guts.
I offered an honest reaction to a shared comment. When you wrote that you were removing the comment, I removed the quoted comment from my post.
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I haven’t been on cc and am living vicariously through your post since my S21 was accepted into his 1st choice school way back in Dec. I urge you to reconsider Santa Clara University and go for a visit. My oldest turned down other great offers (Rice, USC, Colorado College- she was all over the place) because she fell in love with the beautiful campus at SCU. I will admit that I am not happy with the way they have handled Covid (I don’t think that most schools handled it well, but CA is a mess in general), but the campus is opening up and 600 freshman recently arrived for spring quarter on campus (classes still mostly online) in addition to those that were already there. SCU has a lot of positives: perfect size IMO, a good academic mix (college of arts and sciences, business school, engineering school, Law school), probably the most beautiful campus we looked at with ideal weather- students can be outside studying under a tree most days, offers greek life if you want it (my daughter tried it but preferred the Socrates club (philosophy) and Into the Wild Club (outdoor excursions to Yosemite, Big Sur, Sawtooth Moutains). The one complaint from my academic daughter is that a lot of students prioritize partying over academics (Pomona might have been a better fit 
). We visited BC but she felt it was too religious and that the students were somewhat cookie cutter/not very individualistic during the student panel. Didn’t visit Cogate because it was a bit remote for us. Each of my 3 has pursued his/her own pathway, and as a result, I have had 3 kids in 3 different time zones for the past few years (S21 was in boarding school in the northeast). But I think each has found their best fit school. It really is about fit, but that’s tough to know without visiting campus. BC seemed quite conservative and religious (not to the extent of Notre Dame) to us. While SCU is a Jesuit school, it is very much in the background, and California really has a live and let live attitude-- very west coast. Your daughter has great choices and you are obviously being extremely thoughtful in this process, but don’t exclude SCU purely because you think the campus is closed. Here are a couple of excerpts from a recent email from SCU admin: “Beginning Week 2 the Residence Life team will offer in-person and virtual engagement opportunities that adhere to university, county and state guidelines for in-person gatherings. Community Facilitators (CFs) are busy planning events for the term (paint nights, movies, game nights, meditations, etc.” “Last week SCU conducted a total of 1914 COVID-19 tests, including entry tests for more than 600 students moving into residence halls. Of that total, there were only ten positive results (all students who live off-campus), for a 0.5% positivity rate. This low positivity rate is a great start for our quarter.” “Complete the “Vax Verify” process to be considered “fully vaccinated” and exempt from further testing.” Best of luck to your daughter!
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Just to confirm, BC is also Jesuit.
That outdoor club sounds pretty awesome - Yosemite, Big Sur…sign me up!!
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