<p>I admit I'm worn out and a little disappointed, but my D isn't the only one with more waitlists and rejections than we thought; lots of people in our school seem to be in the same boat. Are people applying to more colleges, hence more competition for spots? Is it a big group of kids? Or is it like this every year, and my son (who was accepted everywhere three years ago) was just lucky?</p>
<p>This has been a bad year. Last year was bad too, but this year seems worse. I do think it’s because more kids are applying to a very large number of schools. Makes me think that schools are going to introduce something else to determine which are serious apps.</p>
<p>I don’t know what kind of schools your kids applied to, or if they were similar with similar stats, but I will say that in most instances, just because the number of girls who go to college is higher than the number of boys, it is easier for boys to get into colleges with the same set of stats than girls.</p>
<p>Look at some of the enrollment numbers of the schools. You’ll probably find its higher for girls. As usual, having girls is just more exhausting. :rolleyes: But, I understand it’s more rewarding as they get older.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: it may be that your daughter is a potential engineering major, in which case, I’m completely and totally wrong.</p>
<p>Okay, I hate to be unsupportive, but I have to say that I have been on the forums for over 10 years and EVERY single year people post that this was the worst year ever. I think that back in our day, it was not this hard, 20 years ago it was not this hard, 10 years ago, it was surprisingly tough. That might have been right when the baby boomer kids hit the market and starting sending tons of apps to tons of schools and the first generation that such polished perfect applications. It has been a rough decade for excellent candidates.</p>
<p>It’s a very hard year for my D, that’s for sure. I echo everything you’ve all said. I think it could be partly due to her being a girl (for some colleges in particular), and partly due to SO many kids putting in a dozen or more applications to very reachy schools. The tippy-top students get bunches of acceptances, and the also-excellent-but-not-tippy-top students get only a couple, if that. Waitlists do not offer much hope, either.</p>
<p>My S didn’t apply to super reachy schools three years ago, but he got in everywhere he applied, with merit money. Easy.</p>
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Every year the acceptance rates get lower and lower. So I believe that every single year is the worst year ever. So far.</p>
<p>Acceptance rates are going to get higher, because less people will be applying to college next year. Also, colleges might go back to individual apps.</p>
<p>Probably the hardest years are the ones your kid is applying to college. 
Do something nice for yourself. Get a massage. Buy yourself some flowers, or chocolates. Read a book that doesn’t have one intellectual idea between the two covers. Go see a movie. Take a walk. Go see a concert. Something. </p>
<p>This too shall pass.</p>
<p>^^^But the class of 2009 was the largest cohort of graduating seniors. There were less in 2010 and even less this year, 2011. But because everyone’s been hearing the horror stories, instead of putting in 3, 5 or 7 applications, maybe they’re putting in an extra 1 or 2. Multiply that by however many college bound seniors there are and that’s a lot more apps.</p>
<p>Of course, that’s not totally true. Most kids stay fairly close to home and apply to a handful of schools that aren’t uber selective, you know: state directional uni’s. Where the rise of applications is coming from is from the top kids in any given HS. So the schools that keep getting the “extra” apps are the schools that already have the lower acceptance rates. </p>
<p>While I’m all about having choices & I realize that a kid can change a lot from fall of senior year till the spring (not even worrying about the financial aid piece of it) it would be a lot easier on everyone if they could do college apps like they do medical school apps where there’s a “match day.”</p>
<p>I wish college would go back to individual applications and I agree that there should be a way to communicate to a college that they are your number one choice. I am not a fan of kids using the common app to apply to 10+ schools.</p>
<p>^Agreed with RobD and Kajon!</p>
<p>My casual observation of results in our neighborhood is that this has been a very tough year for kids applying to UCSD. Several strong-stat kids have been denied that I think would have been admitted in previous years. Something different is afoot this year.</p>
<p>Part of it may also be the high value we put on the final outcome, as if going to College A will magically open some utopian gateway, while College B condemns one to mediocrity. And let’s not even think about what happens if you wind up at College C…</p>
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<p>I think this is the source of the problem, and I will admit that my son applied to an obscene number of schools. But we are in the financial aid deadzone, and felt that we needed to see as many aid offers as possible. If the only issue was getting in, I think he would have applied to no more than half of what he did.</p>
<p>I just have to think that there will be a lot of schools going to their waitlists this year.</p>
<p>This is my fourth round with this. Yes, people say each year is the worst. My personal worst was when my 2nd one was applying to Musical Theater programs. We hit every bump in the road, and the combination of senioritus, senior hijinks and the whole college thing just about made me crazy. My third one applied the year that was statistically the worst with more kids of age to be applying to their first year at college. Surprisingly, it went smoothly for us, and it seemed to me that a lot the kids we know were accepted to selective schools. It was the best net year for everyone we knew going through the process that year.</p>
<p>We have had a good college app season despite the trepidation I felt about it. My son has low test scores but a good, though not great gpa with a difficult course load. We picked the right mix of colleges and he has some nice, affordable choices. However, I distinctly feel that admissions at the more selective schools has become more difficult these days. More kids applying to state school, more merit being sought and more families refusing to pay full freight except to the most selective and well known schools. I have a suspicion that there were more applications to the upper ring of schools. I believe that the most selective schools have become more selective. So those kids who are applying to those schools are having tougher odds.</p>
<p>I don’t get it. Are families who worry about financial aide the ones having their kids apply to so many colleges? If so, either they must be getting financial waivers or finances must not be so bad.
Money: I think that’s one reason what is pushing all this madness. If the applications really did cost ~$70 each, wouldn’t kids many think twice about sending out “an obscene number”.</p>
<p>RobD: I always thought our country should handle applications the way it’s handled in England or like med school applications. The problem: 1) not everyone gets in and 2) the process doesn’t end until just days before new classes begin in the fall. My nephew sent out >20 med school applications, but only 3 college applications.</p>
<p>poetgrl: you must be and/or have only girls. It’s not easy being a guy either. Around here, there are special programs and majors for girls, but not for guys. In fact, school itself is geared for girls. In our school, we have a big “Career for Women day” (nothing for guys) and scholarships for women (nothing like that for men), and special awards for women. Guys are “encouraged” to gear towards a pre-professional program.</p>
<p>This seems like a very hard year to me. But they all seem tough. It also seems like there are an inordinate number of waitlists, so maybe the schools don’t think they have the best grasp on their projected yield. It may turn out they end up accepting more from the WL than usual. Of course, this is purely an impression based onminimal anecdotal evidence (what I read on CC).</p>
<p>The problem is that if you need financial aid or scholarships, you really do have to apply to more schools in order to have a good chance of getting what you need. Unlike students who do not need awards, such students have dual stipulations that have to be met. They not only have to get accepted, they need to get the money. </p>
<p>My son did get a number of free applications, plus a number of inexpensive applications so the toll was not so great in that regard.</p>
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<p>Coureur: I think that you are right with respect to UCSD. I’ve noticed it too. It may be that they have gone to holistic admissions this year? I’m hearing that ALL UCs may go to holistic admissions soon.</p>
<p>cpt: I still don’t get it.
How does applying to more colleges increase your chances of getting what you want? That only seems to be true if you use one against the other.</p>