She sure sounds like an amazing young woman. Fingers crossed for good news. Keep in mind Mt Holyoke had a huge class last year. They had to really hustle to accommodate. Because of this I believe they accepted a much smaller class this year and waitlisted candidates that would have been easily accepted in previous years. Please have her send a follow up letter to Mount Holyoke!!!
@4sugarplums - I certainly relate and sympathize with your position. My daughter is also one of those who have chosen “the path less traveled” as a homeschooler with straight As but no AP courses or much in the way of proof of leadership. Much like you daughter, so much of what my daughter has been up to these past 4 years has been independent discovery (she is self-taught on the guitar and keyboard, an avid reader and has worked so hard at her part time job as a gym coach just to raise money to support herself and prepare for college). A part of me feels guilty for having not pushed her to do more to “strengthen” her application in a more traditional manner and I was also very much unaware of just how competitive the admissions process is. But – looking back – my daughter had a very happy and very productive high school life as a homeschooler with so much time and opportunity to pursue novel interests. That is something I wouldn’t want her to trade in for any college acceptance letter. I will spare you the empty phrases of “your daughter will be happy at any college she chooses” and “even less competitive/cheaper colleges can be a good fit” etc etc (which is what our friends and family members have, with good intentions, been saying to us) because it is so frustrating to know that your daughter is worthy of a chance at the college she aspires to.
@longvt Sorry for the delayed reply. The short answer to your question about Tuition Exchange (“TE”) and how much the scholarship covers, the amount is either full tuition or the set rate, which for 2010-20 is $37,000.
The longer answer about whether the TE benefit is worth seeking out a TE university for employment is more mixed. From what I’ve learned and read, I think I agree that Tutition Exchange (“TE”) in and of itself it probably not worth seeking out college/university employment if that is the primary factor. But it is a great benefit is you are already considering TE university employment.
The reasons are:
-
The “exporting” school you are at may have high competition for TE slots, and may severely limit how many employees may apply or may limit how many dependents can qualify. A school’s “exporting” slots are determined by how many students they “import.” If the school decides not to import or accept that many into the program, then the benefit is virtually non-existent from an employee perspective. At some schools (including in years past, but not recently, this could mean a lottery among employees, often based on years of service). Luckily, my institution imports a lot of TE students, so over the past decade or more, any eligible employee applying qualified.
-
It is getting increasingly more difficult to be accepted at “importing” schools where your student wants to attend. It, like admissions, in a crapshoot. The Tuition Exchange website (https://www.tuitionexchange.org/) lists all the importing schools and what percentage of TE applicants they tend to accept. But the ranges are fluid and there not much transparency at all. Many of the highest ranked schools are 10% or below for acceptances, and many of the rest 11-40%. It is so competitive, some TE parents on this board have questioned how much of a benefit it is since it may replicate the chase for merit scholarships. And few schools “stack” merit and TE, so we’ve had great merit offers from schools that are then “replaced” by TE.
-
The list of participating TE institutions mirrors the list of schools that offer good merit aid–i.e., few top 25 institutions. For example, among national universities, USC is the most highly rated participating TE school. But we found a number of additional options, from Boston University, GWU, Pitt, Mt. Holyoke, and Fordham, for example.
It can really work for you if you do your homework and cast a wide net. Plenty of excellent colleges and universities to consider. If we are lucky enough to get TE at USC, where both kids have been admitted with merit scholarships, it is amazing. So check it out, and feel free to PM me if you have any more specific questions. Good luck!
@4sugarplums, add me to the roster of strangers sending out positive vibes for the best possible path to open up for your daughter. We all know that tired adage, “When one door closes, another one opens” but I have a feeling your daughter will find and open her own door. In the meantime, don’t be too hard on yourself.
Another college your D may want to consider if she regroups next year is Bennington in Vermont. Not single sex but very “alternative”. They have a November 1 deadline for spring admission if that is something she is interested in. https://www.bennington.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid
MHC just posted the stats for the class of 2023 admissions- They are hoping to enroll 525 students. 3956 applications were submitted, an 8% increase since last year. Acceptance rate dropped from 51% to 36%. Since 2014 there has been a 23.6% increase in applications. Median SAT 1410 ACT 32.
Congrats to those who got in. Fingers crossed for those on the waiting list.
@CollegeOdyssey2001 thank you for this very helpful info!
So, the actual acceptance rate of 36% and expected yield rate of 37% for the class of 2023.
Has anyone who was waitlisted gotten an update on their portal yet ?
Hey guys - I have avoided this page like the plague because I was so embarrassed about my little hissy fit. I dreaded coming on here and being reamed out, which I probably deserved. However, I just got brave enough to log on and instead find such kind and supportive things and I am oh so humbled. To the point of tears. So thank you.
It was a tougher journey than I expected and I am realizing it was a whole lot to do with MY dreams and expectations…in my head I had seen her growing up as a cheerleader at our local little school, like her mom, and doing all the popular, go to things like prom and then touring colleges together - three generations with my mom and us - and then decorating dorm rooms and all that jazz. Instead, I got this completely out of the box kid who took this own path and did it her way, to use the old song, and I was happy to see her do it even though it sometimes completely baffled me. And I guess it was kind of a loss to not have proms and graduations and the usual rites of passage. And then to lose the dream of getting out of this dreadful state to look at colleges that I never got to see and plan dorm rooms and all that stuff…well, it was harder than I expected. And it’s still hard. But she’s honestly seemed to manage it better than me so I find myself once again learning from her.
She’s called the regional admissions officer but could never get her on the phone to try and “sell herself” off the waitlist so there is little else we can do I guess. One week she is intent on a gap year, this week she says she will decide between the two schools that seemed to want her. In other words, she’s a teenager 
. As it is, she is working full time, six days a week, to help fill the huge $ gap for both and works on school at night and still manages to be bright and cheery if not still just a wee bit perplexed at how the whole thing unfolded.
So, anyway, I just want to thank y’all again and apologize for my little snit. May all our children find their spot
@4sugarplums, has your daughter considered St. John’s College? They have a campus in Sante Fe NM and in Annapolis MD. Frank Bruni wrote an interesting op-ed about the college this past Fall:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/opinion/contrarian-college-stjohns.html
My son has a high school girl friend who chose to attend their MD campus over UChicago and UVA - her father and sister had both attended and she received merit aid so I’m sure that played into her decision. She’s a junior now and loves it.
Just thought if she checks it out online and likes what she sees, she may want to reach out and speak with her admissions rep and see if they would still accept an application. She sounds like such an interesting and accomplished young adult; seems crazy to me that it has been this unfruitful of a process thus far for her.
@txstateomind, yes it was initially on her list of schools to apply to. But, I gotta tell ya, their marketing completely turned her off. She got the one that stated how proud they were of their “most contrarian school” status or whatever and she just blanched. Plus, though she is a huge reader and lover of all things books, she had an issue with the lack of diversity in the choice of books - by WOC and the like. (I hope I have stated this right - she dropped them months ago and I remember vaguely her saying something about the lack of diversity in the reading material). I DO remember her hating the contrarian thing!
But thank you for asking!!
@4sugerplums
Welcome back! Just wanted to say I am really rooting for your D. Hopefully she will have good news soon!
@4sugerplums Most of our students were rejected or waitlisted from a few schools. My daughter was waitlisted from Skidmore even though her stats were in the top 10% for attending students, so we understand your point of view.
@4sugarplums I am still thinking about your D and wishing the best. My D is stressed by impending decisions and I am telling it’s OK to say no to everything and try again later. All will be well.
@MarlboroMom , thank you so much. She was at the point of saying no to everything but can’t stand the thought of staying in our state any longer than she has to and nowhere to go for a gap year so back to getting happy with one of her two options. So I understand your daughter’s stress. I kind of wish my D would try again later - at least we would be smarter about it all. Might not be much of a different outcome, but at least we would know this time that we went into with a semblance of good sense rather than naivety.
@MarlboroMom, did she ever get okay/happy with Bard or MCLA?
@4sugarplums My D took a gap year after she was accepted to MHC. She spent part of the year doing an internship with the Student Conservation Association. It provided housing, a stipend,and travel funds. And it qualified her for an Americorps education grant. There are also lots of Americorps positions that might work for your daughter. There is the traditional Americorps group service but there are also individual gigs that are Americorps eligible. Just something to consider.
@4sugarplums she’s visiting MCLA this week, overnight, classes etc. Bard visit was a disaster after theatre prof made a big deal out of Bard not offering conservatory style theatre training and my D currently thinks that’s what she wants…then the play we saw was a serious dark dive into troubled psyche…lol, but not! Trying to take the pressure off, only there is that May 1st thing. Fingers crossed.
@MarlboroMom, yep! Today is April 17…we are staring straight down the barrel of May 1! I’m still sad there is no excitement at our house. Sigh. Hope your D has a good visit this weekend!
Any update for anyone on the waitlist ?