“Lower” GPA’s are certainly not being admitted into Cox as the norm !!! Further, the escalation in selectivity at that school (Cox) just in the past 2 years is astounding. The caveat though in all the “chance me” posts riddled with basic numbers/stats is that some of the MOST important factors are boxes checked on an application (race, sex, 1st gen, full pay or not, athlete, location, tuba-playing-basket-weaver-who-cured-coivd etc). So at the end of day, decisions are made through a lens that heavily weighs institutional goals revealed in those checked boxes. GPA, rank, scores and the like are simply less important for some applicants and certainly do not tell the whole story or chance and applicant faces. The sooner one realizes this the better. Again, admission is not MERIT based as many view “merit” …
I think that your response is misdirected to me; you may have misunderstood my post–perhaps it wasn’t clear.
I think that we are on the same wavelength.
P.S. Please read the last sentence in post #1479 by the OP (Homerdog).
P.P.S. To be clear, I have never (to the best of my recollection) encountered a student-applicant who dismissed a mid-sized or larger school on the basis that others with lower GPAs were admitted to that school.
Also, I am a fan of Cox & I appreciate SMU. But, in this thread, my preferences do not count; it is what OP & OP’s daughter wants that matters. My view is that SMU is a better match (than schools to which she applied) for OP’s daughter based on what has been shared in this thread, but I do not know OP or OP’s daughter so I may be mistaken in my belief.
For example: I cannot imagine OP’s daughter being more comfortable at Furman & several other schools than at SMU–but I could be wrong even though I know both schools fairly well.
We did the Richmond/Wake/Elon (you would sub Davidson) tour with my son. It was a good trip. I wonder if Richmond and Wake look similar online, because in person, they are quite different, both in physical campus and vibe.
And yes, unfortunately, having good weather has meant nothing in terms of LMU (or other CA colleges, or heck K-12 for that matter) accessibility, unfortunately. It is interesting to me how CA state and LA county restrictions seem to really tie the hands of schools, yet in other states with similar lockdowns, some colleges found a way. And I don’t think it’s the easy answer of money, because well UCLA and USC. Maybe it is all about the county. And I suppose, in such a huge county with a lot of financial power players, even UCLA and USC couldn’t get their way. I hope that the recent easing up on dining restrictions means the dam is breaking!
Richmond and Wake do feel and look different- totally agree. It will be interesting to see how this student feels!
To me, LMU is worth checking out if possible. It seems like an academic match, given what we have been told about this student. Honors comes with a lot of perks!
Outdoor dining is opening today in LA county. But if you’re not comfortable with that, it is so easy to grab food to go from almost anywhere and just head to a beach or park, and most days, that is perfectly pleasant. It really doesn’t feel as ‘closed’ here as you describe it. You have to understand that many of our social spaces are already outdoors, i.e. malls, entertainment centers, etc. They have been open and remain open. Until this week our weather has been spectacular, so being outside for just about anything is easy. The only time I’ve had to wait to get into a retail store in the last few months was for Van’s (shoe store). Fly to John Wayne or Ontario airport, both are less than 30 miles from LMU, to avoid flying into LAX, if that is of concern. They are much smaller, outside of LA county and far less crowded. It looks like LMU is open for self guided tours. Not ideal but better than nothing. good luck!
Thx! Our concern is more that (1) you’re supposed to quarantine ten days when you get to CA and I don’t know how hotels are handling that. Are they looking the other way? Maybe we could do Airbnb instead. We’d be happy to get a test before we leave but I don’t know what happens when one gets to the airport in CA. Are they stopping people and asking where they are staying? And (2) I don’t think we can even walk on campus. We are trying to find out more about that.
I actually thought the quarantine was arrivals directly to LA County only, and ‘recommended’ only. I knew plenty of people who had visitors fly in over the holidays who stayed in hotels, quite frankly, because it was safer than staying with the relatives. But formally, it seems hotels are open and allowed to have customers. Maybe call the one you have in mind? https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/#hotels-guidance
Also, LMU website says self tours permitted but maybe this is new info. https://admission.lmu.edu/campustours/
sorry, i meant quarantine recommended only for counties other than LA. Also, LMU is a little further than I thought from John Wayne - 44 miles - but there’s much less freeway traffic these days, it’s not a big deal.
Ok thx. We are waiting to hear back from the AO about what’s allowed when it comes to visiting campus. I know, at Wake, you cannot get in unless you sneak in the “back” and evening then people have been stopped and asked to leave. Maybe I should just call the admissions office and ask. The AO might be busy reading apps.
The Covid numbers in CA are getting better (trending down):
Totally agree! After eliminating BC, my son was down to Richmond and Wake and visiting solidified his decision. They do have some similarities but being on campus truly helped him. As mentioned earlier, I really do hope @homerdog 's D21 can visit these schools.
Yes, maybe just call them…wish I knew a current student there to ask for you! I didn’t know Wake was actively stopping people. We stopped there in August and while we were not allowed to drive onto campus, the gate guard gave us a campus map, told us exactly where to go park in order to walk onto campus, and no one stopped us when we were walking around…maybe things have changed.
I have a similar question for you - My CA kid wouldn’t apply to LMU but did apply to Loyola Chicago and got great merit. We want to go visit but no formal visits right now…do you think it would be difficult to walk on campus there ?
Not 100% sure but I’m fairly certain you could walk around. It’s kind of part of the city. It’s not gated in any way. Chicago is also opening up more. Outdoor dining never stopped. Fun to have a meal in an igloo. Indoor dining opening up to 25% of max too. Museums are also open. Of course, you could call as well but I have to believe it’s fine to walk around.
My D attends LMU and her roommate/friend who is a tour guide says that virtual visits are starting up again soon and they will know more Tuesday. Campus access is very, very tight and no, you can’t get on and walk around yourself. I think the part about Self Guided tours on the website is old, at the top with the covid info it says that all visits and events are virtual. Right now, everyone is just hoping for ANY kind of access during spring or graduation at all. They did send out info today that they plan to reopen for fall.
As for my questioning about CA/LA county, today’s message by the LMU president does make it sound that it is county restrictions that are holding them back.
My D flew back to LA recently from winter break and was required to quarantine, she had to fill out a form ahead of time and list where she was going when she landed. No one actually checked after that. You can quarantine in a hotel.
@2ndthreekids , I’ve visited Loyola Chicago twice and that campus layout is such that yes, you could walk around. It’s immediately surrounded by city, whereas LMU is up, on a bluff, with only two physical entrances that are gated and checked; the bluff making up about half of the border and the back part, that butts up to residential neighborhoods, is walled.
what do you mean by virtual visits are starting up again? They will have tour guides walking around campus live and prospective students can sign up to do a live virtual tour?
Honestly I don’t know if that is what it means, I assumed it was just zoom because when I was there in august, this roommate was doing ‘tours’ from her bedroom. By “again” I thought it meant since winter break. But D says the roommate will get more info on Tuesday so I will post an update. I love the sound of what you ask though…that’s better than nothing, and better than an online presentation. Are schools doing that?
Yes. D did one like that with Davidson and Tulane. It was pretty cool! They walked around campus and the prospective students could even ask questions!
Ooh that’s great! That’s one of those covid-developments that will be really good if it stays. That could help so many students who don’t have the time or resources to do on campus visits.
Thank you for your insight!
@homerdog thanks for taking us all on this ride…because of your sharing of D’s journey, we’re now looking at Richmond for one of our S23 twins. I had never even heard of it until joining CC.