Well, humbug. (re: Rice)
But still, yay USC!! Hope the suspense re: FA pays off with a great offer!
Options narrowing and becoming clearer?
Those are very classy. Butā¦Wait, no sticker?
Anywayā¦ CONGRATULATIONS!!! 
Very happy for you. You richly deserve all your acceptances and I love that you have such an embarassment of riches.
@OHMomof2 yes, a little bit.
@MYOS1634 @aquapt Thanks so much!
Happy to say that I was selected for Regents at UCSD!
Will you keep us updated about your decision making process?
@Kelvin82 tomorrow brings your last decisions, then financial aid trickles in over the next few days, right?
@MYOS1634 of course. I started this long journey with CC (I joined College Confidential in the winter of my freshman year) and I fully intend to end it with CC as well. (Well, maybe not end per say, as there is still the College Life section)
@OHMomof2 yes. Not expecting anything from tomorrow, though. Will cry if I do get into one.
Iām excited for you, @Kelvin82! I hope Ivy day brings you lots of good tidings, and that the FA packages will work for you.
Youāve come such a long way from your first post I came to know you, back when you were āFeeling lost and breaking down.ā
Congratulations! Ivy day is super stressful but I wish you the best of luck with everything
Possibly financial aid news from USC today, right?
I didnāt realize Ivy Day was tomorrow - good luck!!
Iād like to begin this post with an apology for the silence.
Ivy day was, well, painful. The one rejection that most stung was Dartmouth. I thought I had cried all my tears after not being selected for Questbridge finalist; I was dead wrong. I dreamt about doing research in the lab as a freshman through WISP and running through apple orchards and traveling the world with FSPs and singing in an acapella group and munching on FoCo cookies and doing an externship with their alumni and mentoring other first gen low income kids via SEAD. It still hurts. Having all those ambitions being extinguished made me feel, well, at a loss
I am sorry. Rejection really hurts, no matter how much we know it will and no matter how prepared we think we are.
You will have similar dreams and sustain similar ambitions at other colleges. Dartmouth is not the only college with mentored research and where you can help first gen students, sing a capella, and study abroad.
You know what you like - look for the same things on every campus that admitted you. Contact the students involved in those and compare their experience.
Ask Admissions any and all questions thzt occur to you as you start reading - now the tables have turned, theyāre going to be the ones hoping you choose them.
Ahh, sorry 
I feared the silence meant it was a rough day.
I know Dartmouth was your āfirst loveā college-wise - you got flown out there, soaked in the ambiance and the features large and small, and really pictured yourself there. Itās hard to let that go, even if you know intellectually that you can make a lot of the same things happen wherever you end up. This process is all about imagining multiple futures, of which only one is going to happenā¦ and then you have to mourn the ones that wonāt happen. Itās hard, and you have to take some time to grieve, even though you know you still have your pick of stellar opportunities (how does USCās FA offer look, btw?) and an exceptionally bright future waiting for you to embrace it.
I honestly believe the day will come when youāll look back on this and be grateful that things went the way they did. But thereās no shortcut to that day, so you just have to feel what you feel about this disappointment. You will be more-than-okay, but it takes time.
@Kelvin82 My friends son got in Dartmouth back in the day he is in his late 20ā-30ās now. He had dyslexia. He also got into Maine maritime acadamy. He had tons of support at Maine Maritime academy, but felt he would not have the same supports at Dartmouth. Therefore he went with the latter school and is doing great right now out on a ship. Passed his engineering test. Took him a few times, but he did it. Make sure to check out your options. I actually live somewhat near Bates here in maine and it is a nice campus.
Iām so sorry about the Ivy Day disappointments, particularly Dartmouth.
I know you know this already, and I know it doesnāt easy the pain, but you already have some pretty amazing options ā love the schools that love you back!
@MYOS1634 @aquapt @LoveTheBard Thank you, all, so so much. I do have lovely options, and I am so grateful for them. I think I was so immersed in Dartmouth that I forgot and failed to look at all the options in front of me.
@fun1234 Thank you for sharing the story of your friendās son. I am so glad that everything ended up well for him. As I am diagnosed with myopia and heterotropia, people have made me aware that Dartmouth is not the best place for someone who is visually impaired. Although I wish I applied for Bates, I didnāt and was admitted to Colby. I also want to say congrats to your son on Rice! I hope he is having a phenomenal time there.
On the bright side, money is not a concern for me anymore, because I was awarded with a 10K renewable scholarship. So honestly stunned by the scholarship, because it means that I wonāt have any financial worries throughout my four years of college. I was also awarded a 5K renewable scholarship from Elks after being selected for the leadership conference. Although I think the scholarships will be taxable.
Iāll make a pros and cons list for the colleges I have been admitted to.
@Kelvin82 Sounds like you have a great out look! I know all the schools Bates, Colby and Bowdoin all near me and I do think my sonās doctor may have gone to Colby for his undergraduate. All three are great schools! I remember they came and talked and I also remember hearing about not giving loans I thought during the presentation. Yes it is important to find a school with the best fit. My son loves Rice and feels it is the place for him. Being from the north east he is hoping when he finishes heāll get to work in Texas since he really does not like the cold and would rather just take advantange of air conditioners instead of heaters when he finishes since he loves the warmer weather! I will say the one thing I wish Rice had more of was tutoring! It seems the office hours donāt work for the students a lot of times since they happen when kids are in class. Maybe that is typical for a top school. Though my son loves everything else so I am sure he feels there probably is not any perfect school out there. Which I tend to agree so just check them out and see if you can be happy with what they have to offer.
I agree with @MYOS1634. There are great opportunities at every school. As a freshman, my son was doing research in the biomedical engineering lab at UT-Austin. A big school like that has SO many things you can do. And even at a small, āno nameā school like Susquehanna, my daughter is having a wonderful experience, including working with a fantastic mentor. You will do great wherever you go!
