DS22 Journey B/C Student on Long and Winding Path

College Search & Selection
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My S20 was in the 3.0-3.4 GPA range (lower end of that grades 9-11.0, improvement 11.5-12) and accordingly we applied to a lot of schools. In his case several schools deferred S20 from EA to RD specifically so they could see if the improvement he started the second semester of 11th grade would continue into senior year. Fortunately, he did continue his better grades and most that deferred him to RD ended up accepting him.

Also, many schools waitlisted him. Some were originally RD decisions, while others had first deferred him from EA to RD. The 2020 cycle was the first affected by C19, so itā€™s hard to say if what happened to S20 was normal or a side effect of C19, but he ended up with several WL acceptances. Some were quite late, as in late June all the way to late July.

Lastly, a couple of schools denied acceptance for fall admission but offered January admission. January admitsā€™ stats donā€™t go on any lists (example, for USNWR rankings consideration) so some schools move lower stats admits to January.

The entire process was one continuous learning experience. I found the key for me was to be flexible and be ready to respond to any questions quickly. In the end, it all worked out great for S20. With all the work youā€™ve put in, it looks like itā€™s going to be a great result for your student too.

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My S20 just changed his major - Iā€™m not an "Econ"Pop any more. At first, he considered the act of changing his major to be an admission of failure. Now that heā€™s done it and met with his new advisor, he feels so much better. Heā€™s excited about his new major and has loaded up on classes for the Spring semester to help close the gap in what he missed his first year by not being in that major. Surprisingly, he made the decision himself to take a larger load of credits next semester.

This is all a process and Iā€™ve learned there is no ā€œfinish line.ā€ Itā€™s not over when a kid gets a certain test score or GPA. Itā€™s not over when all the applications are done. Itā€™s not over when the decisions are released, or when the student chooses a school. Itā€™s not over after the first year of college. Our kids are growing and maturing and changing their minds because they learn new things about the world and themselves.

Personally, Iā€™ve learned to embrace each new thing for him. I listen when he talks, advise where I can (probably too much,) and encourage constantly. itā€™s fun to watch the process.

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You are so right that itā€™s a learning experience. I hadnā€™t considered the January possibility but that makes sense as another way it could go. His older brother graduated in 2020 and the uncertainty and waitlist movement that spring was nuts. Where did your ds20 end up?

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Heā€™s at the University of Dayton. So far, so good.

Itā€™s nice that every semester he likes being there more and more. Heā€™s mentioned how some of his friends that ended up at some of his preferred destinations now dislike where they ended up. A couple of his close friends hate the schools theyā€™re at, two schools S20 originally preferred. One of his best friends is on the verge of transferring, and S20 admits heā€™s glad he likes where he ended up.

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Dayton has been mentioned to ds22 by a few folks, but heā€™s decided not to apply anyplace else. Hope your son is happy there!

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He was lukewarm at first, because it was a complete unknown early in the research+application process. Even when he first settled on campus he thought he would end strongly considering transferring. But every semester he ended up liking it more and more. Now in his 3rd semester there, he considers it his home. So much so that he was telling me yesterday he canā€™t understand why one of his friends is planning to move off campus for year 3. S20 enjoys being on campus so much he says he canā€™t imagine moving off campus, much less transferring.

Iā€™m glad heā€™s found a home at college. I know this could have happened at most colleges, but his affinity for UD and the advances heā€™s making there makes it seem like all the work was worth it.

I understand wanting the application process to be over, but UD has a relatively easy application, and itā€™s on Common App. It might be very easy to click the ā€œapplyā€ button and see what happens.

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So for people who may be reading this thread and looking for schools for their B/C students, I thought I would do some more detailed posts about the individual schools ds22 chose to apply to and why.

Might as well start with University of Tampa since it was his original 1st choice and he just got his acceptance on Thanksgiving. About a year ago, ds announced his interest in Tampa based entirely on climate. As you can imagine, dh and I were not on board right away with this reasoning alone. At the same time, we were working with him to develop a list, and we felt like we needed to honor his interests and be open to it. We agreed to do some research.

Our initial skepticism faded when we explored the school online, attended an online open house as a family, and heard positive things from a couple of acquaintances who either have kids there or know others who do. We also have family living on the gulf coast about 3 hours south, so we were comfortable knowing that someone was nearby if he had an emergency. DS has varied interests, but heā€™s primarily focused on business and the program seemed solid. He decided to apply as a finance major.

When he was given access to Naviance at school, we saw that he fell below the necessary stats to consider it a likely, so we were of course concerned that he would be disappointed, but it stayed on the list. Most of the schools he has applied to accept between 70-90 percent of applicants. The 2 exceptions are Tampa (45% according to Naviance) and Syracuse (44%), which is his long shot reach. Still, no student from his HS has been rejected from Tampa according to the Scattergram, and while his GPA is below their median, his SAT scores fall squarely in the middle. So, we had discussions about being realistic, planned to visit if he got in, and left it at that.

Since then, we learned that they do not guarantee freshman housing, and they even if he commits early, he wonā€™t know if he will get housing until July. Not living on campus is a hard no for this kiddo, so Tampa has moved to the back burner. He is totally on board, as other schools have risen to the top of his list since then. To be honest, we are relieved. Super proud of him and excited for the boost to his ego the acceptance has given him, but with everything he has been through, we would rather see him closer to home.

For those of you with B/C students looking at Tampa, Iā€™m honestly not 100 percent sure what to make of their acceptance rate. I expected ds to be deferred to regular decision with his 2.8 gpa, so I think if your student is really interested, itā€™s clearly worth applying.

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Thatā€™s great news. My ds20 did end up transferring (UMass to UVM). So happy for that class that they can now be away under slightly more normal circumstances.

I hear you on tossing in another app and have made that argument a couple of times to no avail. He created an alternate list of 3-4 schools that he agreed to apply to RD if he didnā€™t get in anyplace he was super excited about in EA, but since heā€™s got 2 acceptances right now, we arenā€™t broaching the subject again unless he doesnā€™t get in to his top choices EA.

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Love seeing these details @CTCape! So helpful and motivating for other families to see whatā€™s possible.

@EconPop thanks for the insight on your S20ā€™s progress. Weā€™ve been deep in the ā€œto transfer or not to transferā€ talks here and I suspect S21 will end up in the same league as your son. Heā€™s appearing more and more committed as time goes. When the semester is over Iā€™ll update on his thread for folks too. I do believe that our kids, because of early challenges, have developed a fairly high level of willingness to change paths (majors, schools etc) and thatā€™s a life skill for sure. Their apertures are set wider. Really interesting to see it through their eyes.

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@ububumble I was dying to visit Roanoke with ds22 after following your sonā€™s journey. In the end, he said he was only willing to leave the northeast for someplace coastal and warm, hence the Tampa and College of Charleston apps.

Glad to hear your son is warming up as time goes on. I will say that having been through the transfer process with ds20, and having done it myself back in the olden times, Itā€™s a lot less intimidating than it might seem. DS20 had a level of clarity about what he wanted from having spent a year someplace else, so his focus was pretty narrow and the process was a lot less fraught with twists and turns.

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Not sure if Iā€™m linking this correctly, but I got a lot out of this thread in the early stages of the process with ds22. In fact itā€™s why he ended up adding Plymouth State to his list:

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And of course @ububumble you thread last year was a huge inspiration for parents with kids who donā€™t fit the typical CC profile. Here it is for reference:

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@CTCape Thank you for posting your sonā€™s success story. It shows a combination of resilience and family support and listening that is inspiring. I have enjoyed the contributions on this thread from start to finish. Reducing the pressure and finding schools that fit sounds like a win-win to me. Please update from time to time, Iā€™m now curious to find out where your son eventually will attend.

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Might he be interested in Coastal Carolina? Itā€™s easier to get into than Tampa (he could see if, based on his 11-12th grade results he might get into Honors, which would offer more personalized classes) and they do have Housing for 1st years.
Eckerd would be a reach. Barry a match.

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Will do!

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Coastal Carolina was in the mix before the final list was determined. I think the graduation rate was a concern for us if Iā€™m remembering correctly? He wasnā€™t jazzed about any other schools in the south other than Charleston for some reasons and weā€™re fine with that.

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I just came across this thread and want to thank you for starting it - and kudos to your son.

Having worked in an average public high school for 20 years, sometimes I feel like Iā€™m the ā€œexchangeā€ parent on CC since my experience at work is so different from many on here. I went to an excellent public high school myself, so ā€œget it,ā€ but there are so many students below the top 3% and they donā€™t often get much screen time here. I wish they did.

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Got it :+1:
Just in case:
https://www.coastal.edu/honors/futurehonorsstudents/
The benefits would likely offset the reasons for the low graduation rate (better students with smaller classes for which they get 1st pick, personal advising, community and financial support, would likely graduate at a good rate, but if this were needed you could check) and 1st year honors housing is guaranteed.
I understand that weather considerations have probably taken a backseat :wink: at this pointā€¦and thatā€™s a good thing!

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Thank you :blush:. Bookmarking in case he changes his mind about additional apps.

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Omg yes to feeling like an exchange parentā€”totally hits home! Iā€™ve found some good conversations with parents of more average kids on threads for specific schools, but more often than not they primarily heat up when decisions are being released and then die down. The main forums tend to skew higher stats for sure.

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