<p>
</p>
<p>You never know, Bella. I don’t know how small his class is, but D1’s class of a little over 100 had 6 girls accepted to Stanford. That’s a lot for a class that small.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4, wow 6 girls into Stanford. That is amazing! That is encouraging for sure. The school my son applied to is tiny, only around 450 a class so I know it is possible for them to take two boys from the same school but it is unlikely. Thank you for your comment!</p>
<p>Bella,</p>
<p>The gender make-up of the school might make a (favorable) difference as well. Perhaps the school would like more males.</p>
<p>I would not read too much into the accepted and rejected that posts on CC fro ED. It is really not a reliable sample. Obviously, accepted kids are more likely to post than all of rejected kids (geez, I don’t think I could have done so at 17), and no one really has the full perspective to know about intangibles, such as if essays or recommendations were truly outstanding. I read the admissions thread as well to get a gauge or try to discern patterns of “what works” but recognize that this is far from the complete picture.</p>
<p>^^^
I’m fairly certain everyone on here is aware of that. At least I am. Even if I wasn’t, I woulnd’t try to draw firm conclusions from a tiny sample posted on a website.</p>
<p>I think all people are saying is that if you have a kid with basically perfect grades, basically perfect on all test scores, top few in the nation in various competitions (eg both Chem and Bio olympiads, etc) or other areas, and they are not even deferred it is safe to say that student is pretty high quality and it is rather tough to get into that particular school. i can’t imagine such a student would be presenting atrocious essays or recs.</p>
<p>That’s obviously not to say there isn’t someone else chosen for some other reason.</p>
<p>Applied to Trinity College in Connecticut.
VERY NERVOUS.</p>
<p>DS was rejected from Stanford’s SCEA on Friday. He was a very strong contender and we are doing the same thing as Saints–rethinking and mourning. He’s white but also has Hispanic ancestry on DH’s side. >2200 SAT, multiple 5 APs, Math II 800 and other subject tests >750. UW GPA around 3.9, weighted around 4.3. Multiple legacy (he filled that category out entirely from DH’s side and we have donated a fair amount every single year since S was born). Biggest weakness by far was less than stellar EC’s and volunteer work. His essays were pretty darn good. Not a single applicant from his very competive public high school has been accepted to Stanford in the last two years and only one three years ago. Thank goodness he is a strong candidate for UCB (and wants to go there very much now) and is in love with a second tier UC where he is basically guaranteed admission and probably some merit money. We are grateful to live in Cal and that those applications are in already! We’re going to look at other privates after he finishes finals this week. Straight A’s so far this semester, so that’s good.<br>
I actually think H is taking it worse than S–when I called to tell H, he went down and ripped the Stanford license plate holder off his car with his bare hands and threw it away (at work, not in front of son!). He then came home early to pack up every piece of Stanford clothing and memorabilia (his and son’s, including two of my favorite wine glasses) and put them in a box in the attic. In front of S he has been nothing but supportive and proud of the effort S put out, but in private he has been a bit of a mess. I hate to admit it, but although I am very sorry for S’s disappointment (and cried a few tears myself in private), I am also relieved since we do not qualify for need-based aid but would have struggled quite a bit to pay for Stanford. UCs we can do much more easily even with the recent tuition hikes.<br>
Thanks so much to everyone who posted, it has been very helpful. I don’t post much but I wander around here quite a bit.</p>
1 Like
<p>im getting so nervous about George Washington ED 1 results.
i was hoping they’d come out earlier like the past 2 years but apparently not. i’ve visited twice, did their colonial connection overnight program, interviewed, emailed back and forth with my interviewer and 3 regional admissions reps, did a class visit in feb. and basically showed how in love with it i am and now im sitting here about to burst into tears because a lot of people in my school got denied ED for cornell (im not applying). i’ve already gotten 2 admissiosn from 2 schools i dont even remember applying to. i wear my gw sweatshirt a lot and the tshirt to sleep . its soo frustrating waiting :(((</p>
<p>WorldWorld - That is a really a tough rejection - I feel for your family. I always wonder what a university is thinking when they deny an obviously qualified candidate that applies SCEA or ED, and has a strong family legacy?? Do they really have that many candidates that meet that same criteria? Is it really worth it to upset an entire alumni family? I just don’t get it. </p>
<p>Sounds like your son will have wonderful options, so best of luck to him!!</p>
<p>It is such an up and down trip to figure out which school is best for you. My DD went from wanting a large university to eventually wanting a LAC. This came after she decided upon IB at a high school outside of our neighborhood. It operated as a school within a school. From that experience she welcomed the intimacy the smaller class size provided and the relationship she had with her teachers.</p>
<p>When she looked for colleges she picked a very selective LAC school on the east coast, she fell in love with the idea of going to school on the opposite coast. The funny thing is after visiting the school she was unimpressed with the tour as well as the campus. (Dad absolutely hated it) Because she was so in love with the idea of the school she still applied ED and was deferred. It was the best thing that could have happened. Her second choice was also a very selective LAC on the west coast. Still quite far from home but at least in the same time zone. When visiting this school it was an amazing experience with the students as well as the campus, she applied there and was accepted. (Dad loved this one as well) I asked her recently if she was glad this is the school she wound up attending and she admitted she fell in love with the idea of the experience rather than the college itself. She is so happy where she is and we feel fortunate she was deferred, I don’t think she would have liked it half as much as where she is now.</p>
<p>It is good to have first, second and third choices to embrace and not to romanticize the experience. And visit the school and listen to your inner voice, it will tell you far more than all the hype surrounding colleges today.</p>
<p>WW, wow, we feel for you–the college admissions world has gone cuckoo and sometimes makes no sense. Our close friend had a similar Dad melt down last year with Yale for their very well qualified, double legacy son. He got rejected or WL everywhere else, except his “safety” (BC) probably in part b/c colleges also believed he was headed for Yale (there was no other reason—he really was one of these kids who had it all). He, btw, did not apply early (which at least gives time to adjust with other options) and still wishes he had more choice at the end of the process.</p>
<p>WW - so sorry! Like everyone has said, things happen for a reason & it sounds like you still have great options.
I’m getting more nervous by the day.
I find myself looking at Vandy Spiritwear & thinking I’m going to jinx it! I’m hoping I can keep myself busy with errands & wrapping & cleaning all week. DS asked me in church today if I thought decisions would be sent earlier than Thursday. There is no where to escape!</p>
<p>
For the right kid Tufts might be a viable option - only slightly smaller and also a well regarded research university that’s tops in a few majors. But for most I think it’s better just to apply widely in the regular round and to take a second look at letters of recommendations, essays etc and see if there is room for improvement. (I know there was for my older son.)</p>
<p>this is obviously a parents’ discussion thread, so i apologize for barging in. @mathmom and other users, how did your sons/daughters improve their applications after ED/REA rejection? i’m an international without many resources or adults nearby to help, so i’m trying to get as much advice from CC as possible. thanks.</p>
<p>My older son had dragged his feet about getting some outside recommendations from people who were actually able to speak to his academic abilities far better than his teachers. So those got sent in. He also had some Science Olympiad awards that got added to the applications. If I could have I’d have had him tweak his essay, which was of the “pretty good for an engineer” variety. But I don’t think it was critical. He got into some top rated schools even though the EA schools which deferred him ended up rejecting him.</p>
<p>I am a wreck! This is my first time around. My son applied SCEA to Yale. We are not legacy. He is not an athlete. We are not a minority (unless you consider Jewish a minority 
He is just like all of your kids, hard working, intellectually curious, well rounded, talented, funny and, subjectively speaking, adorable. He loved Yale but he also loved a few others. So I am hoping that he wont be too devastated on Thursday. As a high achiever, he is not used to rejection so that will be the toughest part. If it works out…OMG! It will be very exciting. But as a mother, I am trying to be prepared so I can be there for him.</p>
<p>Reading the advice and about the experiences of the parents who have been through this already has been very helpful. Thank you.</p>
<p>I wish you all the best of luck!</p>
<p>Twoboys2 - Sending good thoughts your way! I’m feeling overly emotional the last couple of days & hope it’s a crescendo of happy tears, not me trying to contain to show strength, when the letter comes. As parents we watch our kids work hard, become these wonderful and independent people and we hope that admissions see them in that same light. When they’re rejected it hurts a little (some alot!) because we feel they deserve a shot. It’s the lesson in picking up the pieces that we have to remember that can make them even better people. On that note, hoping you all don’t have to go through that & all our kids get the acceptance they want :)</p>
<p>This is my first post ever, though I’ve been wandering here for a long time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings here, your posts really help another nervous mom like me.
I feel you, WW. When my son told me one of his classmate got accepted Stanford SCEA, me and my other son initially asking: how about X? X is another classmate of son, a hard-working, double lagacy, strait A, great ECs student, and teachers adore him. X also has a minor disability since small. So I bet X must have stellar essays since he has to overcome his disability to achieve so much.
My son doesn’t apply EA because of X. My son thinks he had no chance to compete with X in the early round. However, Stanford doesn’t pick X, instead picking other kid (Asian male) who excels in math and science. So you never know what the top colleges are looking for, and I bet what they’re looking for changes year by year.
I hope the above story comforts you and your husband a bit.</p>
<p>
I have to wonder if that might not be the case. With >1000 grads each year the legacy applicants certainly add up. And if the school looks at more than the nuclear family (which I infer from WW’s post) then it gets even more competitive. According to this article from the Stanford Daily (<a href="http://www..com/thread.php?thread_id=1154090&mc=5&forum_id=1%5B/url%5D">http://www..com/thread.php?thread_id=1154090&mc=5&forum_id=1</a>) “The majority of legacy applicants who apply for admission are actually not admitted.” This despite >18% of the class of 2013 having legacy standing.</p>
<p>Edit: You can find the article by searching for Legacies a fifth of the Class of 2013 by Alex Yu.</p>
<p>What is the admit rate for legacies at Stanford? They were saying at Yale it’s 20%, Havard over 30%. I understand the frustration of alums but if it is too high, then non legacies are not happy. It is a fine line and I am curious where each institution draws the line.</p>