I wouldn’t wait for NACAC to come out because the schools aren’t likely to be better than Macalester which is a great college.
^ I meant, if Macalester is unaffordable. Op mentioned that there was no merit aid which I took to imply the price was to high.
If it’s the best acceptance,Op could deposit at Mac and apply to NACAC colleges to see if one is more affordable. Even though Mac is a great College it’s not worth taking parental loans for example.
I think the thresshold is different for different years. So once W has its fill of athletes, URM, first gen etc. they look at the rest of the pool and set a thresshold, for those aplicants they still can accept. All I know is that the essays were not a big deal as long as grammar and punctuation were adequate, they relied more heavily on stats. and per school, if you hit above a certain thresshold, all were offered admission. No, I didn’t misunderstand @doschicos I’ve been to the rodeo a few times and a few years now.
Sorry, not buying it either. Wesleyan is an elite LAC and they don’t do auto-admit or even pseudo auto-admit. Look at past Wesleyan threads and you’ll find plenty of 4.0 high SAT/ACT students who were waitlisted or outright denied.
Well we can agree to disagree. I spoke to Director of Admissions, did you? Just sharing my experience.
Any chance it is particular to the school, @preppedparent? there are a handful of super high-tier secondary schools that I can imagine being in that position, and there probably aren’t that many schools that the Director of Admissions (instead of a rep) would visit in person.
Did you get accepted to UVM’s honors program? That kind of community can make a larger school feel much smaller.
Mac is also a great school! Did you visit? The location is wonderful - close to the airport, at the edge of urban and suburban, with the Mississippi not far away if you want some access to nature.
Yes, I’ve heard Wesleyan’s DOA speak to a small group more than once, and there was no mention of a threshold. I too wonder if she was referring to the situation at your child’s particular school or if you misunderstood her.
http://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/faqs.html says
OP, Mac’s a great school, so if it’s affordable any acceptances that come in from here are gravy. Good luck!
Have you checked the Naviance results from your high school? From our fairly competitive suburban school, everyone with your stats has been excepted to Brandeis. However, for Wesleyan it looks like less then 25%. Good luck!
That story about Wes makes no sense.
Well, if they mean “anyone with a 3.8/1500 from PA”, I can believe it. Otherwise, no it makes no sense, especially since Wes likes pointy kids and will disregard some stats for a creative applicant who excels in their medium of choice, for instance.
OP, let us know if you get into Weslyan. I won’t be surprised if you do. thanks
@gallentjill there’s no Naviance data for any of my schools because no one applies to lacs, every year like two people apply and neither get in for most of them.
I think you are due for some good news soon - somewhere a school is looking forward to admitting a girl tuba player who volunteers to help dogs.
@illiteratemoron I understand. Congrats on your great acceptances. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Brandeis for you, although I don’t know if they give out significant aid. Good luck!
Stats are a double-edged sword: rely on them too much and you miss the next Obama (cough, Swarthmore.)
I take @preppedparent 's statement
to mean, that particular boarding school and with a further qualifier that “it depends” on all sorts of things. In any event, whatever it is he thinks he heard is now sufficiently vague to pass muster. 
@illiteratemoron Congrats on Brandeis!!
@wisteria100 thanks! I think at this point it’s gonna be a tight race between Mac and Brandeis, though I don’t anticipate getting in anywhere else.
Awesome news and two wonderful choices so far! Congrats!
Congratulations on Brandeis! Those are two incredible choices. Wow!! 
Very happy for you.