<p>Reading this, I feel incredibly incompetent. What about full pay applicants? Would a WL essentially be a lighter rejection for us? </p>
<p>A member of the board of trustees of a school, now need-blind, told this story. He was curious how admissions worked at his alma mater so he hung around the admissions office in the days prior to the school going need-blind. He watched as the admissions committee reviewed and ended up with a pile of files of applicants they would like to accept. Then the head of financial aid would step in and say, this is how much money we have this year for financial aid and the amount will not cover all these applicants in that pile. He sadly watched as the admissions committee went back to the accept pile and pulled out the file of a star hockey goalie, a talented poet, all fantastic scholars with bright promising futures but in need of financial aid and replaced with files of applicants, still strong candidates, but with less need. Today, now that the school is need-blind, that process of culling the admit pile for financial-aid reasons is now a thing of the past. We can only hope the ability to be need-blind can continue and spread among all the schools.</p>
<p>Probably just that they have too many kids applying whose special attributes are similar to yours, or seemed that way to them. It does NOT mean they thought you were incompetent.</p>
<p>In stargirl’s case, her results clearly seem to be about money. She’s posted that she needs full FA. There was nothing unrealistic about her expectations as she was considered admissible by an impressive list of schools:</p>
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<p>It seems they didn’t have enough space or, more likely, they simply couldn’t afford her. Getting admitted with full FA has lottery odds. She WILL do fine wherever she lands, but it’s tough to know you’re good enough but perhaps not rich enough.</p>
<p>More FP kids might not get in, but more FP kids apply. My info is on the stats thread… and thanks, ChoatieMom!</p>
<p>Forgive me if I am (too) blunt here. I think for a full FA applicant, stargirl is “too well-rounded”. If she has a “hook” of some sort such as a recruitable athletic skill, URM or from an under-represented area, she might’ve had better luck… But, @stargirl3, even so it does happen and it just hasn’t happened to you yet, so don’t be discouraged by what you can’t control. Instead work hard and do better on what you can. If you are not moved up from WL this year, continue the great work you’ve been doing in and out of school, and try again next year! </p>
<p>@Benley I agree. I come with a bunch of “mini-hooks,” but nothing the school can brag about. I’d end up in a Spanish class with upperclassmen, I’ve won lots of writing awards… but I’m white and from NE.</p>
<p>The only school that is truly need-blind is Andover (and there’s a gray area). I know I was waitlisted at one of the aforementioned schools because of money. </p>
<p>The most competitive schools are the ones with the most money. </p>
<p>Concord has the same percent of kids on full aid as Andover. </p>
<p>@waiting4marcn10 Not necessarily. There’s still the “we need a hockey player” thing. </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure it’s about 12% at both CA and PA. </p>
<p>Same percentage, not same amount. Andover is much bigger.</p>
<p>Andover is much bigger, that’s why their endownment is bigger. There’s a reason we’re talking percentages, @needtoboard. </p>
<p>@stargirl3 I guess another Asian kid with a dearth of athletic talents was not on their checklist. I’m totally taking up ice hockey now. ;)</p>
<p>It wasn’t necessarily hockey! But have fun with it. :)</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>@Stargirl3: sorry to hear of your plight. The situation is not as simple as it is made out to be. The admissions officers try to balance out a variety of factors when picking a class: gender, geography, race, country, etc. The fact that you were waitlisted indicates that the schools felt that you were academically strong enough, but for whatever reason other candidates were offered admission ahead of you.</p>
<p>Our family was fortunate for my son to have received acceptances at nearly every school that he applied (most of them very selective). We are a full pay family, but I’m convinced that this is not the only reason why he was admitted. He was also a very strong candidate: top grades, top SSAT scores, great letters, excellent ECs and also a top athlete. He was accepted at Andover (a need blind school) and we have no legacy ties, so I’m sure the strength of his application was what carried him there (and other great schools).</p>
<p>If you don’t get in anywhere off the wait-list this year, there is always hope for you next year. Focus on activities/ECs that will set you apart from the rest of the pack. Create your own hook. Continue to dream big and you will achieve. Best of luck.</p>
<p>I was in your position last year, @stargirl. There’s not much you can do now. I sent a bunch of letters to the schools I got WL’d at talking about why I want to go there, my accomplishments, and grades, and, for one of them, why they’re my top choice. It’s a matter of how many people accept their spot at that school. It may be hard to believe-I definitely didn’t until I applied again this year- but being on the waitlist is an honor. It’s painful, but it means that you are good enough for the school. They just don’t have enough beds to fit all of the deserving applicants, you being one of them since you were WL’d. You can -and should- reapply next year. </p>
<p>@bsadvisor: Please don’t perpetuate the myth that “smaller” or “lower tier” schools with less “prestige” can’t or won’t serve a FA applicant. NMH offered my child 98% FA last year. Mercersburg was also extremely generous (90%) with combined FA and scholarships. Kent offered a hefty merit scholarship with their FA offer as well. The “bigger” schools – think HADES – offered nothing or much less (75-80%). Child had the tippy-top “stats” for the HADES schools. I sometimes wonder if the HADES schools prefer to give smaller bits of aid to more families and bypass many of the higher need FA students in favor of a handful of “good press” students. Just a hunch, of course. No evidence.</p>
<p>In our experience, the schools where child had stats well above the the average for admitted students were the most generous. I think many families (us included) flock to the more well-known schools with stratospheric endowments because they have the means to offer more help with FA. Just because they can, doesn’t mean they will. </p>
<p>Please don’t overlook the hidden gems. They can be your biggest ally as a FA applicant. Schools outside the NE also love having an opportunity to expand their geographic reach. Cast as wide a net as possible.</p>
<p>@Pops2017 et al., I would certainly appreciate recommendations for schools to look at, should we try again. We live in the mid-Atlantic region and don’t really want to go farther afield than central Connecticut. I don’t think I deliberately overlooked any schools in the region other than Choate, which I crossed off the list early for a very silly reason. However, I did deliberately cross off schools with smaller endowments, which may have been unwise. Both my kids have “stats” above the average for any school and strong areas of interest and ability in which they are likely to excel at any school. </p>