Nobody, not even me can spell RPI - Rensselaer. I google it every time I talk about it here.
Poor essays are more than grammar, spelling, syntax. They can start with a poor choice of topic and treating it like a hs assignment. All those kids writing about first grade or grandpa aren’t giving adcoms much to work with.
@trumpet1 Yes it is one application for UC, but it is $70 per school. It costed me $420 when my D16 applied and got into top 6 UCs. OP is planning to apply to 9. It will cost her $630 for UCs alone.
And then add to that the 20 or so additional schools…but OP wants it this way. So that’s the way it’s going to be.
And then add to that the 20 or so additional schools…but OP wants it this way. So that’s the way it’s going to be.
At least CWRU is easy to spell 
@MYOS1634 didn’t say the thread should be closed, just an FYI to the posters who are trying to be very helpful to the op
I’m finding this thread helpful as well.
As long as we focus on being helpful and sharing insights rather than expressing our shock and judgement, the thread can go on as summer is good time to plan application.
To OP:
I think being a graduate student or researcher at a university is a very different experience from being an undergraduate.
I never had to take and took any class outside of my department as a grad (no ballroom dancing for PE, no club, no study abroad, no dorm life, no collaborative projects outside of research, no studying in library for finals, no dating, no partying) and I rarely interacted with anyone outside of the department.
The college research would be most useful if your C did it. That way he/she will be most motivated and least annoyed when slogging through 28 different essays if he/she chooses to do so.
You can start with coming up with first cut of UC plus 20 schools based on your criteria and assessment of your child (geography/accessibility to airport/weather/size/male-female ratio/academic programs/merit awards/diversity/quality of life on campus/4 yr housing/access to nearby town/city vs rural/greek life/big sports scene/number of adjunct faculty/response&attitudes to campus crime/political activism or lack of it/food quality.)
Your C will have to pair the list down to UC + 10 or 12.
Congratulations on your child’s achievements!
However it shakes out this time next year, you have someone to be proud of!
<@trumpet1 Yes it is one application for UC, but it is $70 per school. It costed me $420 when my D16 applied and got into top 6 UCs. OP is planning to apply to 9. It will cost her $630 for UCs alone. >
We saved lots of money by NOT visiting colleges. College tours would cost us several thousand dollars. Plus, I don’t have enough vacation time to travel with my D and I don’t feel comfortable to let her travel alone. I would not mind a single trip, but a multi-destination trips, car rental, etc. … I can’t send her alone and I can’t travel with her. Anyway, we saved money.
Thank you very much for your kind words 
@MYOS1634
<You need to borrow books from your town library and photocopy the pages that relate to all colleges.
(Or buy the books).
Fiske Guide - Colleges that Change Lives - Insider’s Guide to the Colleges - Princeton Review’s Best Colleges - Colleges that Pay you Back.
If your daughter shows as much awareness of “fit” as you do, it’s going to be a terrible, terrible application season.
The most selective colleges want to know you “get” them.
Columbia Dean once said that any application whose “why Columbia” essay stated, in essence “because it’s in NYC and it’s Ivy League”, was the easiest to cut.
At very selective colleges, no, I can assure you, apps aren’t read by Temps. UC’s, perhaps, due to budget cuts, and at many large public universitie that admit on a formula, certainly, but any LAC in the top 60 (75?) or any private U in the top 50? Nope.
Since your daughter is a strong student, make sure you include some good colleges that will provide her with something better than UC Merced. Would the top 3 regional colleges work as safeties with an environment that’s more comfortable than UCs and may be of similar cost? Would you look at LACs ranked 30-60? (Are you looking at LACs)?
In the UK, you can’t “change majors”. You “read” a subject - you apply for one subject and if you wish to change, you have to reapply and start back in Year 1. Each subject has specific requirements - typically, 5 AP’s including some that relate to your future course of studies. You can apply to one of Oxford or Cambridge, plus 4 other programs (including 4 similar programs at one university, or programs at 4 different universities).
Your daughter could apply to BESS (Business) at Trinity Dublin, Sciences Po Reims (in France and, I believe on the CommonApp), both of which cover business as well as general social sciences.
There are new apps: Cappex and Coalition. >
Thank you very much. It is really helpful!
<bess and="" sciences="" po="" both="" avoid="" the="" pitfall="" of="" requiring="" a="" major="" early="" on:="" student="" takes="" business,="" math,="" economics,="" history,="" foreign="" languages,="" sociology="" during="" first="" year,="" couple="" those="" only="" their="" second="" 2="" last="" year(s)="" at="" bess,="" or="" study="" abroad="" with="" po.="" beside="" trinity="" also="" offers="" ppe="" (but="" it’s="" very="" hard="" to="" get="" into)="" “arts”,="" which="" is="" basically="" “undecided”.="" you="" can="" pick="" from="" many="" different="" subjects.="" investigate="" honors="" colleges="" in="" us,="" too:="" they="" wouldn’t="" cost="" more="" than="" british="" universities,="" would="" allow="" her="" be="" undecided,="" carry="" lots="" perks="" advantages="" (more="" so="" universities),="" keep="" loop="" for="" career="" fairs="" alumni="" networks="" guarantee="" she’s="" surrounded="" by="" peers="" taught="" top="" researchers.="" http:="" www.examiner.com="" article="" the-nation-s-top-public-university-honors-programs="" www.nytimes.com="" 2015="" 08="" 09="" opinion="" sunday="" frank-bruni-a-prudent-college-path.html?_r=“0”>
Very helpful, THANKS!
<to be="" fair,="" @myos1634,="" the="" econ="" programs="" in="" us="" that="" aim="" to="" send="" kids="" phd="" are="" or="" can="" math-heavy="" as="" well.="" and="" not="" all="" uk="" phd-prep="" programs.="" lse’s="" warwick’s="" are.="" durham’s="" program="" is="" really="" a="" business+econ="" major="" (look="" at="" their="" courses).="" they’re="" clearly="" looking="" workforce.="">
Thanks!
Yes, I don’t believe in the “fit”. I believe that there are good colleges and bad colleges.100,000+ students, applying to Stanford can’t all be wrong - Stanford looks like a good college
I trust ranking. Somebody (far more professional than I am) already did the work and identified the best colleges. Why should I try to make my own ranking if I know less than professionals do?
On Wall Street: An unprofessional individual investor would not beat the market and outperform an investment bank (at least, not for long. Warren Buffet is great, but he is a professional player, I am not). Thus, I do invest in indexes, not individual companies. By the same logic, I do believe in the ranking of colleges, published online. It is not just vanity or obsession with rankings. I really don’t see how I (or my D) could rank colleges better than professionals do.
I do NOT think that she should find a college that is fitting her. I think that she should go to a really good place and try to fit it there. She is young, mentally flexible. When I came to USa, I was not looking for a Spanish-speaking college that fits me, I was looking for a good college, where I can learn and fit into American society.
^ Ah, but what are the incentives? Warren Buffett and Wall Street traders are very much incented to make the right trades and avoid wrong ones. What are the incentives of USNews (or Forbes) or any other magazine publishing a ranking?
I think you have too much blind faith and don’t examine enough.
We saved lots of money by NOT visiting colleges.
We call the “Robbing Peter to pay Paul.” It works for some families, but OP is aiming high.
So if she’s a rising senior, want to share stats?
And it isn’t about whether a mother believes in “fit” when choosing colleges for her child. Getting an admit is about what those adcoms think of the candidate, via the full app package, including records, LoRs, and what she presents in how she structures her responses and what she writes. You can think of the CA and supps as a test of sorts.
No elite will say, hey, this kid’s mom thinks fit is universal, let’s take her
@PurpleTitan
<what are="" the="" incentives="" of="" usnews="" (or="" forbes)="" or="" any="" other="" magazine="" publishing="" a="" ranking?="">
I think USNEWS has a huge incentive to get it right. Ads money. Colleges have huge incentive to correct USNEWS if they think that their ranking is not correct.
Besides, all rankings are very similar. The top 50 colleges are listed in all rankings, although at the slightly different places. They can’t all be wrong.
<i think="" you="" have="" too="" much="" blind="" faith="" and="" don’t="" examine="" enough.=""><i think="" you="" have="" too="" much="" blind="" faith="" and="" don’t="" examine="" enough.="">
I don’t have faith that I (or my D) can do a better job than USNEWS.
US News has a HUGE incentive to sell magazines/make a profit. Don’t fool yourself. It isn’t like they’re inventing equipment to save lives or improve the economy. Profit is the motive. Think.
Colleges don’t give a whit about correcting US News. It’s a silly ranking that generalizes.
Maybe you’re kidding us?
<so if="" she’s="" a="" rising="" senior,="" want="" to="" share="" stats?="">
Sorry, I don’t want to share this info. She has very good grades / GPA / ACT / AP classes. She fulfilled everything that she is expected to do. If admission is merit-based, I would not worry at all. However, the admission is holistic, so I don’t trust it. Thus - lottery.