<p>Congrats to all! Even those who did not get what they wished for, I’m sure it will turn out great for our very bright kids.</p>
<p>D applied to 10 schools. Waitlisted at Reed, Richmond, Kenyon.
Accepted: Denison, Willamette, Lewis & Clark, Knox, UOP, Ohio State, University of Arizona.
All gave very generous merit scholarships, but except University of Arizona all really turned out to be Unaffordable. I was thinking/hoping that need would be met and then meirt would pay the EFC. NOT the case. After the initial disapointment of not being able to attend first choice (Willamette) we are getting excited about University of Arizona and the advantages that a big school and the honors college and the very small expenses will provide. </p>
<p>Good luck to all. And thank you for your help and support.</p>
<p>After much thought and discussion, a decision was finally made. D will be attending Skidmore College.
I will be looking for your support again in two years when D2 goes through the process.
Congratulations and best wishes to all!</p>
<p>Congratulations everyone! 
I’m applying to colleges this fall, and this thread is beyond inspiring!!</p>
<p>Sent from my iPhone using CC</p>
<p>Congrats To occdom4 and BVMomof2. Its such a relief to have a decision; now its time to get excited for the changes and opportunities that lie ahead!</p>
<p>Just catching up with all of the final news.</p>
<p>Congratulations to lapagan, BVmom and occdom on all of the wonderful decisions. Glad to hear that all of the kids are getting excited about their next new adventure!</p>
<p>D2 has decided to attend Pomona College in the fall. It was down to Pomona and Yale, with much better FA at Y. It was not an easy decision and we had many discussions about the financial implications of attending each school. Both are affordable, but choosing Pomona leaves less for grad or professional school in the future. I’m happy that she’s happy and relieved that the admissions cycle is finally completed.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone on this forum for their mutual support and sharing. Your company has made a long and sometimes difficult process much more pleasant!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all! We are embarking on our own journey for Class of 2016 and will benefit from the experience and advice of all who have come before. In particular, a shoutout to entomom and itsv, who have provided an enormous amount of research and time for the rest of us.</p>
<p>I was more active on this forum last year when my son went through admissions. I was happy to see so many good outcomes. I think it is important to remind kids that the very selective colleges/unis are not really “reaches” but “crap shoots” as they practically could fill their freshman classes with the qualified hispanic students who apply so there is no such thing as being a fit or even a reach for such a school. I, personally, advised my son to consider “reaches” the schools where one of his stats was below the top 75% even if acceptance rates were 50% or more. In our case, his GPA 3.4 UW made him a reach at most selective schools even with tippy top scores on AP and SATs. Only the third tier state school could be considered a safety with that GPA. The Ivy’s, stanford, MIT, etc need to be treated as lottery type admissions to avoid disappointment. I suggest that kids, even with excellent scores/grades have 4 types of applications
- Lottery
- Reaches
- Fits
- Academic and Financial Safety</p>
<p>I’m having a hard time helping my son compile such a list. Because we’re in California with a severe budget crisis, all schools are iffy. I mean, even the state school where my son is auditing the hardest u/g physics course and will be doing graduate level research this summer has an admit rate of 30% (My son is not considering this school) and this is with average SAT CR scores of 480-580 and M 500-610. It’s just that so many in state residences apply there and they only have so much room. It’s a so-so school (I graduated from there, for goodness sake, and I was no great student).</p>
<p>It really depends on where you live, what you kid is interested in, what their special qualifications are besides being Hispanic that might dictate their list. My son’s list would probably look like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Lottery (3-4 schools)</li>
<li>Reaches (3 schools)</li>
<li>Fits (0 schools)</li>
<li>Academic and Financial Safeties (2 schools)</li>
</ol>
<p>I don’t really know what a “fit” school is for my son. I could say the local UC school would be a fit but I’ve seen kids with exceptional records (test scores, gpa, coursework, etc) turned down for far less qualified candidates. Our UC system is <em>not</em> determined to take the best students; they have some other criteria; thus, I can no longer think of it as a safety or fit. 
All college admissions seem crazy out there.</p>
<p>Closing this thread as it appears all decisions are in and discussion is heading towards the Class of 2016.</p>
<p>Using my moderator powers to add this final post. In the hopes of helping future Hispanic applicants, I’m posting some generalized information about D2 and her results.</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2200+ (all sections 700+) superscore over 2 sittings
[</em>] ACT: NA
[<em>] SAT Subject Tests: took 2, both 750+
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Weighted GPA: NA (most rigorous schedule)
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of about 300 (crazy school w/multiple Vals)
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 3(5); 1(4)
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: 5 solids (3AP, 1 H)
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NA
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): good but not spectacular
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: summer internship
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: modest amount
[</em>] Summer Activities: summer internship
[<em>] Essays (subjects and personal opinions):[list] Great! (does anyone ever say otherwise ;)?)
[</em>] Common App Main Essay: Family trip
[<em>] EC Short Answer: Singing
[</em>] Additional Essay: Scrabble
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation 1: Great! (see Essays)
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation 2: Great! (see Essays)
[<em>] Counselor Rec: hard to tell
[</em>] Additional Rec: employer
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): West
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] Gender: F
[</em>] School Type: suburban public
[<em>] Country of Origin: half South American country
[</em>] Educational level of parents: way too much
[<em>] Income level: upper-middle/lower-upper
[</em>] Adversity overcome: personal loss
[<em>] Involvement in Hispanic community: relatives, volunteering
[</em>] Other hooks (recruited athlete, development, etc.): NA
[/ul]Colleges[ul]
[<em>] Accepted: Yale (deferred EA), Pomona, Carleton, UMinn-TC, UWisc-M, Pitt, IS public
[</em>] Waitlisted: Brown, Amherst
[<em>] Denied: Dartmouth
[</em>] Likely attending: Pomona
[<em>] Outside scholarships: NA
[</em>] Institutional scholarships: Carleton (2k/yr), UMinn (19+k/yr), Pitt (12k/yr), IS public (8+k/yr)
[/ul]Reflection[ul] It was a long and sometimes arduous journey, but we made it!
[<em>] Strengths: academics
[</em>] Weaknesses: ECs
[/ul]General Comments: Look for those schools that will value your unique talents and will fit your personality. Make a realistic list of admissions AND financial safety, match and reach schools and you’ll be fine.</p>