D got her first acceptance letter Friday. It is from a small LAC. She got a half-ride right off the bat. I think she partly only applied because she was bored at work one night. There was no app fee and no essays to write. Hence this college is not hard to get into. It would be classified as a safety school for sure. Just some exciting news in house. I can honestly say I don’t know if I have the stamina to run this marathon that is the college selection process.
Congrats to your D! We found that having that early acceptance was worth it’s weight in gold psychologically.
Congrats. And as a marathon runner myself, I subscribe to the belief that “the race is not won by the swift nor the strong, but by those who endure to the end”. Equally applicable to college selection process and running 26.2 miles.
To have a true safety in the worst scenario and bolster my kid’s (and mine) confidence, I had him apply an OOS Honors Program college in the West which gave a full ride plus costs to any National Merit Finalist applicants; the college also had only one page application which did not require essays for applicants with GPA above certain level and NMFs. I actually thought this was a great idea by the college. Anyway, heard back within a week and was given a full ride plus costs. We even visited this college to get the feel for it AFTER he was accepted. After acceptance to this college (not a bad college if you intended to major in certain areas), my attitude was “the worst scenario is my kid can go to a college for free.” And that made me feel very good. Therefore, if you are qualified with hard stats, apply to an Honors Program which will give you a great merit money.
After the first “easy” acceptance, our tactic was just focus 80% of time and effort on the essays for the 1st choice college for our kid and then the remaining time on one Common Application for several UCs and another more difficult OOS Honors College, and let it ride. After all 3 applications (one application to the 1st choice, one Common Application for UCs and another application for OOS Honors College) were submitted, I prepared my kid psychologically to feel good that he did his best and to let the chips fall where they will fall and then proceed with the next best option in case his preferred option did not work out. As a result, his Senior year turned out to be the most relaxing year and he even had lined up a summer paid internship 2 months before his HS graduation.
Having a first acceptance is a wonderful thing, even if it’s not a school that your kid would necessarily want to go to. Getting a nice scholarship makes it even sweeter. There’s still a long road ahead, but you can relax a bit and go at a comfortable pace until you hit your stride. We’re here to cheer you on!
Congrats!
One added benefit of that first admission is that it might eliminate the need to apply to other safeties – or at least no other safeties that would be less desirable for your daughter than the LAC that admitted her, assuming that it is affordable with the half scholarship. She can focus her search more toward match or reach schools
But do figure out that affordability part – half tuition at most private schools along with room and board costs is certainly beyond what I could afford … and most important at all is a financial safety.
Nothing like having a safety in the bag early! Congrats!
If you have an affordable safety in the bag, all else is gravy! Congrats. Kid here hasn’t pushed go on anything yet and we have a little work to do before we get there.
I still remember what both of our kids said when they got that first acceptance…
“I’m going to college!”
Neither went to that first acceptance…but it sure took the edge off!
Congratulations!
I’m going to give a slightly alternative viewpoint. My kid’s first response out of 12 was from UC-Davis, which was an acceptance. So I know in his mind that he thought he was going to get accepted everywhere. After that, he took L after L for the next 2.5 weeks which was very depressing.
So as long as your D treats each event (result) as a separate unrelated occurrence and not make any assumptions, then things will be fine.
Thanks everyone. D is playing things close to the vest not showing much emotion. The half ride is for half of the COA. Still more than we want to pay/borrow. Thanks for the advice as well.
Congrats my daughter has 1 guarantee, 2 safety, and like 11 reaches lol.
My daughter received her first acceptance in July because Bowling Green State University in Ohio is eager for out of staters. No fee, essay, or recommendations. It has the academics she’s looking for, her great-grandmother went there, but she doesn’t like the corn fields of the area. Still great to have that safety net. :
An acceptance, regardless of where, is a big deal. Congrats. S had most of his high matches first and got several declines. That was a rough patch, but then several matches and a reach came in positive (you just never know). While we were waiting, I told him to just apply to a definite right away. He literally submitted a common app to a popular destination around here and was admitted within 24 hours (didn’t even send the transcript which was weird). So then we knew he “was going to college”. Fortunately that turned the tables positive and the rest for all admits.