Thank you. You are so kind. I do too she really has worked so hard and it’s heartbreaking to see this happen to her. She has quite a few friends with similar circumstances and some with higher GPA and ACT and both nationally ranked at their sport. And a similar scenario. Just so many rejections. Grateful we have CU unfortunately she didn’t like it at all. But maybe she will ease into it. Fingers crossed. Does anyone know, for instance if you don’t get notice of your off the waitlist with in the first 2 weeks you can count on it not happening, I know people can find out all the way until the end of summer. But is there some general guideline/ trend?
@Shiloh18 Have a look at the tail end of last year’s thread, “UC Berkeley - Class of 2022 Waitlisted Applicants Thread”. It appears that kids were accepted off the waitlist through May, and then around the end of May and beginning of June waitlist rejections were being sent.
@Shiloh18: Once the waitlists close the applicants will be notified. For Freshman, they should be done by the end of May. Sometimes appeals can run into June. Some schools will have several waves of acceptances and some will only have 1 wave of acceptances. It really depends upon the # of spots and how many of the waitlisted students end up accepting their spots after being admitted.
I recall years ago where they advertised the school using the line. “If heaven had a campus, it would be CU Boulder.” CU Boulder is a fantastic school in a lovely town. Have you visited?
Yes I love it! Would’ve loved to have gone three for college but for some reason my daughter doesn’t.
@Shiloh18 . . . late to the discussion. Sorry to read of your daughter’s woes.
A few points:
- You're California residents. @gumbymom , CU Boulder, Arizona State, University of Arizona are all options for kids from good high schools in CA, who have a hard time gaining entry to some of the "mid-tier" UCs, and they're usually native to OC, Palos Verdes, or some other nice community. So, shiloh18, it's evident she attended a well-funded, (probably) public high school, besides your not mentioning finances. Don't tell us where you're from, though. Just a few years ago, your daughter would have been a slam-dunk to enter UCI, UCD, UCSB, which would have left the 3.2/1,100/25 CA stat-students for CU, ASU, UofA.
- I'd like to see what her UC unweighted GPA (soph, jr; a-g) is. A fully weighted 4.5 can disguise a considerably lower uwgpa.
- How would you rate her personal statement? Was it only about herself; was it unique, was it GOOD, etc?
- Lastly, a suggestion. It's a bit late for this as you've already sent in the deposit to CU, but community college is an extremely viable option, especially now for those who have excellent stats, etc. I didn't quite get whether her younger sib was the prospective life-science major, or whether it was her. But cc is out there, so if she finds that CU is not her cup of tea, then your local two-year is there for her. And if this is a route she would want to take, have her apply to the honors program, which she should be a certainty to gain at admission.
- That's right, you lamented her applying to a specialty major probably an impacted one. She can correct this by going to cc. But if she does go to CU perhaps you can impress upon her to stick things out for the whole year. Then if she doesn't want to go back, she can enroll at cc. She'll need to take transferable classes to their full amount at whatever institution she were to attend.
Best of luck!
Another option… although you’d lose your Boulder deposit… is to look at the NACAC list of who still has spots available now. Check out this thread: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/2141865-nacac-list-if-colleges-with-openings-is-out.html
Yep, UCR has the first new Medical School in California in 50 years and the fastest growing UC for a reason. Great US News Top 100 ranked Pre-Med program where you could take the normal route for slightly less stress. Is one of the only colleges in the NATION with an accelerated route. The Bio-Med (Thomas Haider Program)…a year faster than regular Pre-Med…very competitive, brutal program! Received a great education/college experience at UCR…know many Doctors from my time there…some successfully completing the intense Thomas Haider Program.
That being said, although you were very reach heavy on your choices, hopefully the waitlist will come through at Berkeley/UCI. If not, then best of luck at CU…a very good school. Grow where planted and succeed!
Your post really resonates with me. My kid also had a very disappointing result from the UCs. He is waitlisted at UCSC and UCSD. He is a Computer Science major, so we knew it would be very competitive. It’s so hard to watch them go through this process. They are told (by us, their teachers, counselors) that if they get straight As, take all those APs, take classes at community college, do sports, volunteer, do other extracurriculars, get high scores on the ACT/SAT, write interesting and unique essays, then they will be rewarded with at least a few acceptances. Like you, we are SO grateful that our son also applied to some “safety” schools, and he has committed to one of those. Also, his grades/test scores led to that school offering their highest merit scholarship and honors college. We are REALLY grateful. He is now getting excited about this school, BUT, all that said, he still feels very hurt and confused. He still asks: “what did I do wrong?” I REALLY hope your daughter gets a waitlist offer; she clearly deserves one! Wherever our kids end up going to college, I’m sure they will succeed and flourish. They will look back at this experience with a different perspective, and I’m betting (hoping) they will end up feeling great about the college they attend. Best of luck to your daughter and all the hard working kids. 
@Zaney-Janey I feel for you. My younger son didn’t get CS at UCSD with a 4.0 UW and 1590 SAT two years ago. He ended up fine at another UC, but it sure took us by surprise. We wondered if UCSD was giving increasing priority to first generation, low income, URM’s and those with other hardships. Congrats to your son for the big merit and honors. Hope he gets off the waitlists so he can struggle with decisions like so many others here 
Wow, @BunnyBlue this comment is glaring and naive
It’s against the law, in California, to give priority admission based on race. Look it up.
My family is URM and they didn’t get priority admission to the UC’s where they applied. Their UW grades were high, as were SAT scores and EC’s, and their majors were impacted. Eldest (EE major) didn’t have the high scores that our son had, but she got into Berkeley and UCSD-waitlisted at Harvard.
Middle daughter didn’t get into UCLA (Neurobio), but got into all of the other UC’s, (She targeted Davis for Med School familiarity). Got into UCSF med school.
Son didn’t get into Berkeley for CS, but got in everywhere else including Caltech.
These schools are building classes of students. They look at GPA, test scores, EC’s and essays. The UCs have impacted majors and if you don’t apply to safeties, you will be out of luck.
@auntbea I was writing about UCSD. This is an excerpt from the UCSD Strategic Plan:
Strategy 5
Expand existing programs and implement new approaches that result in accessible and affordable learning for all.
While we have taken steps forward in recent years, they are not enough. Current demographic data show that diversity within our student body must expand if we are to reach a critical mass of those from traditionally underrepresented groups. We must do more to attract, enroll, and retain a diverse student body.
1996, California Civil Rights initiative, (prop 209) “prohibits state governmental institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, specifically in the areas of public employment, . . .public education”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_209
No affirmative action.
@Shiloh18 Your post really resonates with me. My kid also had a very disappointing result from the UCs. He is waitlisted at UCSC and UCSD. He is a Computer Science major, so we knew it would be very competitive. It’s so hard to watch them go through this process. They are told (by us, their teachers, counselors) that if they get straight As, take all those APs, take classes at community college, do sports, volunteer, do other extracurriculars, get high scores on the ACT/SAT, write interesting and unique essays, then they will be rewarded with at least a few acceptances. Like you, we are SO grateful that our son also applied to some “safety” schools, and he has committed to one of those. Also, his grades/test scores led to that school offering their highest merit scholarship and honors college. We are REALLY grateful. He is now getting excited about this school, BUT, all that said, he still feels very hurt and confused. He still asks: “what did I do wrong?” I REALLY hope your daughter gets a waitlist offer; she clearly deserves one! Wherever our kids end up going to college, I’m sure they will succeed and flourish. They will look back at this experience with a different perspective, and I’m betting (hoping) they will end up feeling great about the college they attend. Best of luck to your daughter and all the hard working kids.
Thank you ZaneyJaney! I’m so glad your son is excited about the school he got in to. Yes it sounds so familiar, and I agree they do all they’re supposed to and when this isn’t he result it’s hard to see the silver lining. But if anything it teaches them life lessons. My daughter was told by the UCI coach she got in but we haven’t seen proof of that yet. We are praying ? for UCBs second wave tomorrow but realistically I don’t expect anything. Unfortunately she is not at all happy about the school she did get into CU. Hopefully after tomorrow she can maybe have a different view on it. So our kids had a rocky start towards their dreams, I do believe they will be stronger in character for it. Thank you for your post. It was helpful mentally.