Just found this thread and read through. Thank you so much for sharing your son’s journey and your approach to to expectations and boundaries through the college admissions process. And congratulations on the acceptance to his top choice!
I appreciate everyone’s comments on this thread; it has been very heartwarming.
So happy for him and you!
Thanks—I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Meant to add that if you are able and/or are interested in visiting St. Mike’s, they have come up with some clever incentives to get students up to campus. First, the app fee is waived if you attend a campus tour or other open house program. Next, if you do in interview/info session, you automatically get a $1500 per year scholarship if you are accepted. Lastly, if you apply EA and are accepted, you receive a free 3 credit class.
A long-winded response to why I wonder if my kid might not “fit” at an elite school:
I have concerns about “duck syndrome” for one thing — everyone looking smooth, confident, and accomplished on the surface while paddling frantically and filled with anxiety underneath the surface. I am not sure my kid would thrive in a pressure-cooker environment of pretty much all competitive high achievers. Having more “chill” people around could help maintain needed balance. I guess I am skeptical that a ton of chill “it’ll be fine” kids could squeak through the admissions process at a lot of elite schools.
I also have concerns that, although there is a wide representation of nationalities and racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, the cost factor means that there may be an over-representation of the very wealthy and lower-income groups, but not a big contingent of middle-to-upper-middle average public school kids (whose families do not qualify for need but many of whom aren’t comfortable at full-pay). I certainly want my kid to meet and befriend people of all backgrounds, but also be able to bond with people who have shared similar experiences and perspectives. I was the first in my family to attend a private college and was surprised to see that, even at an institution with a reputation for being welcoming and egalitarian, the wealthier kids from elite high schools tended to gravitate toward each other over time, leaving us average public school brats to form our own friend groups.That’s an over-generalization, but there was a trend.
Finally, I wonder if the elite schools are better for more theoretical and/or entrepreneurial thinkers — the kind destined for academia, think-tanks, or start-ups — and less for more practical-minded kids like mine, who want to quickly apply what they learn to solving existing problems (kids perhaps too risk-averse/poor to start a new company and not “cerebral” enough to want to pursue a PhD?)
Duck syndrome really resonates with me. I see a lot of that with my students, and it’s heartbreaking when it inevitably surfaces.
DS received his acceptance packet in the mail from St. Michael’s yesterday. We were blown away by the merit scholarship (28k per year). He also received a 1500k per year scholarship for his visit/interview. It’s going to be hard for anyplace else to beat the cost at this point. So grateful and amazed!
Edited to Add: For those looking at this thread in the future, St. Mike’s has been lovely. From the branded socks they included with the You’re in! packet, to the personalized message handwritten at the bottom of the acceptance letter, to the visit scholarship (and app fee waiver), to the personalized parking spot in the admissions parking lot when he interviewed, they have made DS feel wanted. This is huge for a kid who has gone through so many ups and downs and has struggled in school. I truly believe that this is why it went from a place we made him look at when we dropped his brother at UVM in August to a place he can see himself thriving. I strongly suspect this is where he will land, and I’m just so incredibly happy for him.
So happy for you! I know someone who works at St. Michael’s and have been secretly rooting for that school to be your pick. 
Thank you! He’s thrilled and we are truly surprised. We didn’t expect him to receive much in the way of merit at all, and we’re just so happy that he was accepted. He’s pretty sure he’s going to commit, but is understandably waiting for a few more responses before asking us to write the check.
Great news! I’ve enjoyed following your thread.
Thanks so much!
Another EA decision in today—deferred to regular decision at College of Charleston. We haven’t visited yet and weren’t planning on it unless he was accepted, so he hasn’t had the chance to develop a preference for it at this point. They say decisions will be out by 4/1, so we shall see. I think he will have probably made up his mind by then, but you never know.
Coastal is very different than CoC. Mostly because Myrtle Beach and Charleston are so different. Coastal is out on a separate dedicated campus away from other things and CoC is right downtown in an urban area.
One reason for the grad rates at some state schools is that they also have local kids and adults who start, but take longer to finish. Many instate kids are not able to keep up the GPA needed to retain their state scholarships, so they can no longer afford to be full time with room and board.
Another South Carolina state school near the coast to consider is USC-Beaufort. It is near Hilton Head and Savannah, Ga. Nice dorms and some great programs.
Lots of news today. Rejected from UVM, deferred at a few others. He took the rejection really well. It was a reach, so not unexpected. Here’s where he currently stands:
Accepted: U. Of Tampa, St. Michael’s, Plymouth State
Deferred for 1st semester grades: Salve Regina, Indiana U, Southern CT State, College of Charleston
Still waiting to hear: URI, UConn, Syracuse
St. Mike’s is still in the lead. Again, just so happy he has choices.
I so appreciate the EA route your son took. A few folks questioned my S21 going EA everywhere he could. Because his grades were still going up and he had a lot of ground to make up. My S’s take was that he wanted to know early if he would have to think about a plan B or C, not in March or April and that if he was close they would defer looking for first semester grades. Any place that declined him he didn’t think would change if they had another couple of months of grades. And he was right. He went with a school that held off for grades but also had a couple in hand by early December and so was breathing so much easier.
And breathing easier is what we wanted for him.
I remember, and I found it so helpful to read that in your thread last year! How is he doing now that he has a semester under his belt?
It’s been a journey for sure. I’ll update on his thread when grades are in next week. He’ll be home on Saturday and his last final was today. He’s very excited to have a break.
So the kiddo decided to commit to St. Mike’s, and we are over the moon for him. While he still has a few responses to go from which he was deferred to RD, I think only Salve Regina could potentially sway him. We sent the deposit, registered for accepted students day in April, and will be picking up some swag when we’re up in Burlington for a visit with his older brother at UVM over our Feb break.
I will report back on how he fares on the remaining schools in case anyone following along in the future is interested in the outcome for a kid with similar stats/profile. For now, thrilled for him to be done and happy 
.
DS received an acceptance from the University of Rhode Island today, College of Arts and Sciences undeclared, no merit $. He is still set on St. Michael’s but was proud of the acceptance all the same. He visited when we took his older brother a few years ago and liked it, then we did a drive through visit on our way home from Salve this fall to refresh his memory. He thought the campus was pretty and he liked the proximity to the beaches in Narragansett. He knows it has some solid programs for things he’s interested in, but he’s not swayed from St. Mike’s.
@ububumble I think EA is really great for that reason. Having even just one acceptance in hand is such a relief, (so, rolling admission even better)! But we also planned to use EA decisions to scope things out and see if the net needed to be widened for RD rounds.