My D did the opposite somewhat in reaction to limited opportunities to visit schools due to the pandemic and other factors. We also made the decision to limit college visits when school isn’t in session because our older son didn’t like any school if it was empty when we toured.
My D also noted that it was difficult to know if she wanted a big school or a small school when she has only ever attended a high school in the LAC size range. A big university might sound appealing but you can’t really know in advance,
So, here we are with 6 EA acceptances and a bunch more applications still in play and Omicron affecting opportunities to visit. Add in a still rigorous high school schedule and it seems difficult to fit in the virtual visits. Plus, after being out of in person school for 3 semesters she is doing a bunch of extracurricular activities and valuing her social time with friends.
All this to say that this process hasn’t been smooth for these kids caught up in the pandemic. Hopefully your child will do well at one of her options. If not, she can always transfer to another school.
The point is that college admissions aren’t random. It is knowable what criteria make one a competitive candidate at a given school.
Most colleges accept most applicants (which is the case in the US where there is excess college capacity), and the future potential of most students is not tied to where they went to college (generally data show only a future benefit for low-income students who attend highly rejective universities). Hopefully this thread won’t turn into another tiresome debate on holistic admissions.
No. How am I to know that a college’s cellist is graduating but they’ve got enough tuba players to fill the orchestra three times over? Don’t see it as a problem. Just like it’s not a problem when the CIA needs new hires fluent in Korean but has enough Mandarin speakers this year. They want who they need…
I didn’t actually say this. I said it’s known to someone who is making admissions decisions.
It’s a given that GPA, test scores, letters and rigor are important to selective schools. I would argue though, and no one has ever offered any evidence to the contrary, that at most schools, no one on the outside knows what separated those who were admitted from those who weren’t.
D19 ended up applying to 17 schools. She threw a wide net into the ocean for sure. We were on the hunt for merit and need based schools wouldn’t really work for us. She did apply to two elite schools but definitely did not put in much effort in those.
D19 thought she wanted an urban campus. She was almost set on it. I did make her apply to MiamiOH. It was almost like pulling teeth. Miami was the last visit we made in April of senior year. Miami is anything but urban. The guide on our tour legit told our story as hers. Mom made her apply and she didn’t want to go. But in the end she loved it. It was almost like I set it up myself.
I have two thoughts about the whole urban campus. First is things to do in urban cities usually cost a bit more $$$. Second if you can’t find stuff to do on a campus with 10-30K kids on it even if it is in the middle of nowhere then you have issues to some degree. Lastly small college towns are really usually geared to the colleges and are pretty fun little places.
I understand, and didn’t mean to put words in your mouth.
I agree we don’t know what factor(s) get an applicant in the admit pile, yet…applicants have information at their disposal that will allow them to prepare a better application package (assuming we are talking admissions at highly rejective and/or holistic schools).
Just one example, Tulane’s virtual sessions and blogs will literally tell an applicant in what cases to submit a test score or not (and if it’s still not clear, your AO will help), and give very clear guidance on how to write one’s “Why Tulane?” essay. Overall, these applicants are relatively more likely to be admitted as compared to those who did less research because they submitted a stronger application package.
It is possible to estimate needs for some varsity athletics though. When one of my sons was looking to contact coaches about lacrosse recruitment, the roster of graduating seniors showed if any positions might be needed more than others. When he was applying, all the NESCAC schools he was considering seemed to want long poles. He was a middie.
I think the scary thing about a small, narrow list is the tmes we are in. It’s just been a blood bath this application season with record numbers of applications. I know the kids just need one acceptance, but it is hard to watch these kids who really worked hard have less choices than ever, maybe no choices, because of a record breaking year in number of applications. Such is life …but a lot of kids compensated for that by applying to a crazy amount of schools. So the kids that limit their choices to the schools they really like, which is probably a better way to do it, may not hvae choices like they would if they were in another application year. Again, it is what it is, but it’s been real eye-opening to what’s going on out there.
Hence why I was worried about my daughter applying to a narrow, short list. Next time around with my son, I hope he adds some of those to have in his pocket.
S22 applied to four schools. Three were safeties. One was a financial reach. Since he is a likely NMF, he has chosen the cheapest with the best scholarship since he wants to maximize his savings and scholarships. This whole process will be done in a few weeks. S22 never wanted to apply to T50 schools. He could have and realistically would have been accepted at some. From the jump he stated repeatedly that he did not want to deal with the pressure at those schools. He wanted a good education and college experience. I respect him for that. Interestingly, his peers at his private high school had few or no safeties on their lists. The applied EA to T15 schools and were shut out. They spent their holidays scrambling trying to apply RD to T50 schools (for computer science no less!). When S22 and I talked about, I mentioned that the admissions rate for Carnegie Mellon computer science was 7% last year (across all admission profiles). His friend had applied RD. His friend applied OOS to Washington for Computer Science (3% admission rate). For some reason his friend thinks schools like Purdue are safeties. We’ll see. In the meantime, S22 is picking out decorations for his dorm. He will have a private room (very important to him for playing VR games).
Your son sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders. Kudos to him for knowing what he wants and for realizing that you can get a great education at many schools. Best of luck to him!
Are there more kids applying or just more applying to more schools?
Assuming there are the same number of spots for freshmen at all schools, and the same number of hs seniors applying, it should work out. Sure, some kids will get accepted to 10 schools, but each can only go to one.
My daughter is the same way. I just let her know, if the schools turn out to be duds, she can start at community college. Her response…“Eeeewww! DAD! COMMUNITY COLLEGE?” That’s usually incentive enough have an open mind.