<p>I agree completely. What a horrible letter and a ridiculous reason for deferring applicants. </p>
<p>My d’s LMU application has been complete since they first permitted access to the supplement - sometime back in September. Why wait until now to defer her? Why bother having an early action program if you intend to defer applicants you will eventually accept anyway? From this thread, it is clear they are deferring applicants who are well within their mid-50% including applicants who will likely be offered merit money eventually.</p>
<p>With respect to their promise to let deferred applicants know by April 1, don’t believe it. I know people last year who were notified of their acceptance (after an initial deferral) as late as mid-April. My d will have accepted another prom date long before then.</p>
<p>for what it’s worth, my S’s high school counselors had met with all seniors and their parents when school began to alert us that the UCs had warned that last year the number and stats of applicants had increased more than expected. They let us know that this year would be even worse, to a much greater degree, and we should be prepared for it by applying to more safety schools. We were also led to believe situation would probably hit the privates as well, particularly in CA. Perhaps this is a manifestation of how LMU is handling it.</p>
<p>norcalimom–you may be right, perhaps everyone is so nervous that early apps have become the norm and colleges are overloaded. Maybe lots of ivy-league types are applying early to places like LMU to pile up a lot of acceptances and are crowding out the kids who will really go there. But I doubt LMU’s stats are going to change so much this year that it warrants discouraging what seem, from these boards, to be some really good applicants with a sincere interest in their school by deferring them. Particularly with this letter. The last line basically says, thanks, and good luck with the rest of your life. Even if you are admitted later on, how are you supposed to be excited about a school that is so unexcited about you? I agree with johnnydoe, time to fall in love with a different college. And to megakel (student? parent?) who described the letter accurately, you deserve much better.</p>
<p>Hi everyone, I have a junior at LMU and two others in college in California (one just graduated, Yay). Anyhow, I feel for all of you. I remember being where you are just last year… This is such a stressful and emotional time. All I can say, is that I have watched over the past four years as admissions have become more and more competitive within California. Last year was nuts for my youngest who ended up at UC Berkeley. I can say with certainty that this competitiveness has affected the private universities. Kids who four years ago would use the UC’s as safeties have begun applying to places such as LMU as their safety. Stats of incoming students have just continued to rise. Another aspect that is affecting the applicant pool at the private universities is the financial aid. The UC’s do not award much merit aid. This fact alone is influencing students with very, very high stats to apply to private schools in hopes of getting more financial aid. Acceptances under EA are always limited. Many deferred will be admitted during the regular decision period. It stinks to wait, but unfortunately, it’s just the way it is. What I can say for sure is that your children will all end up in college at a place that is perfect for them. I do hope that you don’t let the words of one person in admissions influence your opinion of LMU. It is a truly wonderful university filled with caring professors. These are historic times for everyone, including the admissions officers, and I think we all must be patient and tolerant as we all adjust to this new reality. Best of luck to all of you. I do hope some of you end up at LMU. If you do, I don’t think you will regret it.</p>
<p>I have yet to have my app updated with 7th semester transcript requests nor have my admission status change from currently under review. I’m starting to agree with some of the sentiments here and am disappointed to here how unprofessional the defferal letter sounds. I applied early action to the school because its a top 3 choice and because I really want to go there, just as many other applicants. If the student profile fits than we deserve to go there. </p>
<p>Come April, I will have received all my other admissions results by then and it likely will make it easier for me to not pick LMU versus sticking with it.</p>
<p>same with me. my GPA/test scores are either right in line or above average with the median, i have great recs, URM status, sports, community service, leadership, etc…i might not be anywhere near ivy league material but i thought i was a shoe-in for LMU. the point of applying EA was so that i could make a decision long before april 1st. why would i want to go to a school that obviously doesn’t really want me?</p>
<p>NYYanks, Regarding “If a student profile fits, then we deserve to go there.” I wish this were the case but it just isn’t. I’ve seen kids with well over a 4.0 (4.4) and truly unbelievable EC’s denied from what would be a match school. I’ve seen kids with PERFECT ACT and/or SAT scores denied from universities. These students obviously fir or exceeded the admission profile and they were not accepted. There really is no rhyme or reason to admissions. It has been this way for as long as I can remember. This is nothing unique to LMU. It is going on all over the nation. I’m sorry for your disappointment. I know how hard it is to be deferred or rejected as I’ve gone through it with my own children. Hang in there. I promise you, it will all work out in the end.</p>
<p>To nyyanks and footballfeldey–it doesn’t sound like it’s over yet, and I hope you will soon be admitted EA. I have to admit I feel sheepish posting on these threads alongside you two, and megankel and all the students reading these posts. Though I was upset about the way LMU handled my daughter’s earnest and reasonable application, I know I am several steps removed from the process. You are the ones living with the constant anxiety and uncertainty and experiencing the sometimes crushing disappointments. I guess I was hoping it would be comforting to know another qualified candidate was brushed off–it was helpful to be able to comfort my daughter with the information from this thread. And I was hoping maybe someone from LMU would see this and rethink that letter. And I was venting, I admit it. But how to explain these mothers of admitted/attending LMU students posting supposedly sympathetic comments on these threads? Surely they are many more steps removed from the experience of being an EA deferral at LMU this year. Would it be comforting, as an actual applicant, to hear, “Don’t feel badly, all California schools are going to be impossible (for you) this particular year?” Is it appropriate, or even factual? I think no on all counts.</p>
<p>Don’t even know what to say to that. I was no where near implying all California schools are impossible for anyone this year. I never said that, and I don’t even know where you got that. And I take offense at you implying that my posts were anything but sincere. That is truly unfair to me. I feel genuine empathy for all of you because I know how difficult this is. By the way, you have no idea how removed or not I am from this. I had to sit with my daughter (the one attending LMU) comforting her as she got denied (yes, denied not deferred during the EA period) from her dream school. My youngest went through this last year with a 4.73, 34 ACT, National AP Scholar, Class Rank #1, as well as being a nationally ranked athlete. Sounds pretty darn qualified for any school, doesn’t he? Yet he was waitlisted at two of his top schools. He ended up being denied admission from both of them. He never received one B in school EVER and took 13 AP classes. Can you imagine how he felt? Oh and the waitlist/rejection letters from all of the universities that denied my children were not warm and fuzzy. Like I said, I’ve got three in college. I’ve seen a lot and been through a lot. You can discount everything I’ve said and chose to look at the whole admission process with bitterness and disdain every time your child is deferred or denied. Another option, is to see the bright side - that your child was deferred and still has a chance and that many others experience the same thing and end up happy college freshman at the end of the process. I also believe that if denied, a better option exits elsewhere; in other words, everything happens for a reason. I chose the second option and that’s how I presented things to my children. I found that this attitude made the whole process easier and less stressful. I meant no disrespect to anyone and I’m sorry if my attitude was offensive in any way. Like I’ve said previously, I wish you all the best of luck and I know that everyone will be happy in the end.</p>
<p>One last thing… the rejection letter that my daughter received from her dream school is tacked on her wall. It’s still hanging there as I type this. When I asked her why, she replied “At least I got some correspondence from them and it serves as a reminder to me to work hard to prove them wrong for not admitting me.” I think that is a great way to look at things.</p>
<p>Let’s not let this thread, which is here for the purpose of communicating valuable information to prospective students, devolve into anything other than exactly that.</p>
<p>Yup, I agree. I’m signing off for good. I always marvel at how this happens. My only intent was to reassure the students that this was happening all over and that everything works out in the end. Normally I try to let this stuff go, but I felt I had to respond in this case. If anyone wants any input from me, please send me a PM. Good luck and hope some of you choose LMU in the end. Go Lions!</p>
<p>If my comment was out of line, I apologize to all. These posts are the first I’ve ever made. I could have made the same points with a gentler tone. Should I ever post again, I’ll keep that in mind.</p>
<p>I wasn’t going to comment on here again… I’m sure I will hear about it. Anyhow I just wanted to say it’s okay lowkeyparent. I totally understand what an emotional, stressful time this is. I remember it well and to be frank, it was brutal. Hang in there. Now I really am off. I’m so glad to be done with all of this… It will be over soon and life will return to normal for everyone. :-)</p>
<p>I’ve been deferred… does anyone know what the chances are of being admitted after deferral? It seems to me that many people have been deferred from LMU…
Good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>Honestly I feel like half the time the admissions officers just pull names out of a hat! People who seem like shoe-ins get rejected, and those with low scores get in. The whole college admissions process seems so convoluted. I got into LMU like 3 weeks ago, so thankfully I don’t have to deal with the stress from LMU, but I am waiting on a few other schools. Anyway, good luck to everyone! & I hope you end up at a college you love</p>
<p>momfirst - I, and I’m sure many others, appreciate your insights and experiences from having gone through the admission process three times with your children. This is my third time and it doesn’t get any less stressful. Congrats to all of you who got into LMU and for those who didn’t, don’t worry - something good will come along.</p>