I wouldn’t send another LOR but if you’ve won awards or have additions to your application that have happened this semester, go ahead and email a letter of continued interest with the information, and telling them that they are your first choice (if they are).
@plantmap I know a student who is extremely happy at UW Madision - great school! Just curious - your OP said you were waitlisted at one top LAC and I think also admitted to a ‘less selective LAC’ as you put it. Is the less selective LAC not one you want to consider attending?
Which LAC accepted you? I would definitely stay on the WL at Carleton, send in your letter, and then plan to attend one of the colleges that accepted you. Then if the WL comes through, great. But I do think it’s better not to dwell on it for too long.
Just St Olaf haha. UW Madison is cheaper and I think more “me” than St Olaf is.
I have read many good things about St. Olaf on these boards, but I haven’t visited it myself. I you feel that UW is more you, then it makes sense to go with that and focus on what that campus and college has to offer. Then, if you are lucky and there is some movement on the WL, you can deal with that option at that point. I am sorry that you aren’t as happy with your options as you had hoped, but I do think you have some good ones.
Those are really good choices! Congratulations!!!
Send an updated resume (latest GPA, any project completed, any new achievement) to Carleton.
Go spend an overnight at St Olaf and UWisconsin. Both are excellent and would be different. (And by the way, although St Olaf is less selective than Carleton, it’s still considered a highly selective LAC. In the Midwest, you have Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester, and St Olaf. That’s a pretty rarefied group.)
After the overnight, decide which you preferred.
Look into Chadbourne at UW and into Great Conversation at St Olaf.
I like all three schools, Wisconsin, Olaf, and Carleton. I understand how Wisconsin could be more you than Olaf after visiting both of them. Don’t sell St. Olaf short though. They have an impressive relative new Science building and excellent science professors. They have a great 1st to 2nd year retention rate & 4 year grad rate. A high %age of their students study abroad and they are recognized in music and the arts. U of Wisconsin is very highly regarded in the US. Their research facilities are world class and they have many renowned faculty in each department. Some of their undergrads could have gone anywhere, but chose UW. Madison is a great mid-sized college town and Northfield, MN is a great small college town. Best of luck getting off the wait list at Carleton. Can’t say enough good things about them…
For what it’s worth, my son had a 1560 SAT, 800 chemistry SATII blah blah blah. He also was wait-listed many places and didn’t get into any of his top choices. He did get in to a top 20 LAC, but it’s too expensive. Also got in to BU with a little bit of merit aid, but probably still too expensive. Anyway, chin up. You will get a great education and have a bright future ahead of you.
Wisconsin is a great school. No one is getting in with no EC’s and average grades and stats.
Go to UW and get ready to Jump Around.
I know how you feel. I could have written your post #9, except my applications were nowhere near as good as yours. If it helps, you sound amazing and you’re going to do great in college. You’ve already had three years of internships – that’s more than most students get in all of high school and college combined!
You don’t sound entitled or arrogant; you worked hard in HS, and you deserve to feel proud of your accomplishments. It’s heartbreaking when hard work doesn’t pay off (which, contrary to popular belief, happens a lot in life), and you’re right; part of that is because college admissions are a crapshoot, but think about it – if you knew freshman year you’d get accepted to those schools, would you have stopped volunteering at the animal shelter? given up on your internships? stopped photography? Hopefully not. So don’t let it stop you now.
It’s ok to feel bitter for a while because it’s not fair and you didn’t do anything wrong, but try to get excited about whatever college you attend in August.
Bonne chance!! 
UW Madison is one of top public research schools, especially in STEM area. Very nice campus also.
Hi again! I decided to commit to UW Madison. I’m actually really excited about it now, I found some really cool STEM programs and even got a roomate!
Good for you! Now go and thrive!
Congratulations!!!
Did you apply for Honors college?
Chadbourne? (residential college really asked rhe university feel more personal)
There are plenty of students who would LOVE to be admitted to UW-Madison. It’s quite competitive for OOS students especially. My ACT 34/4.0 kid is probably going to matriculate there this fall. He is also looking at the residential learning communities. It’s a really well rated and regarded public institution and if it’s affordable for you all the better. He had some disappointments through application season too but you still have a great option! There are many very smart students there especially in engineering.
ETA - I just saw you committed! Congratulations and On Wisconsin!
Congrats on your decision to go to Wisconsin. It is a great school, especially for engineering. I can understand that you wanted to go to a smaller LAC, but please know that at larger schools it’s still possible to find your people. In fact, in some cases, it can be easier as you can tell by all the discussions on CC about the atmosphere/fit at small colleges. Stay involved as you have been in high school, sign up for activities that truly interest you, and approach college with an open mind. I know it’s easy to feel defeated by the college application process, especially with what’s been in the news lately. It sounds like you had a good understanding of how hard it is to get into an Ivy, but top LACs can be difficult as well. Look at the results threads for some of them, and you’ll see amazing stats of students who did NOT get in. You did nothing wrong. You have been through a lot and should be PROUD of your accomplishments.
Yes I am applying to the Honors College and my top housing preference (Madison does the housing lottery so everything is randomized, no application or anything) is for the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) learning community! With WISE professors come and give talks about their research and often ask for students to intern in their labs, students do science outreach events, stuff like that Chadbourne is my second choice for their learning community.
I think I may have been a bit caught up on the prestige-whoring by some people on this board, at my school, etc. But now I’m more confident that I’m determined and passionate enough to get the opprotunities I want, regardless of whether or not it’s a “fancy” private school or a big research school
Good luck @plantmap, I am confident you have a great future ahead!
I’m glad you decided and that you realize you can do well at UW. Like I said before, I know quite a few happy and successful students there.