FWIW last spring, (2016) my daughter received letter from UC Merced inviting her to apply then. I believe they don’t get enough applications so offer spring applications to those who have applied to UC system. Not sure to anyone who meets their stats or just those denied from other UC’s?? Granted UC Merced is not UCB but may be an unexpected safety.
Hi, wow, ok. To those genuinely curious to know:
800 CR, 650 M and 780 W old SAT
790 E and 660M on the new one.
800 Biology, 760 Literature and 680 Math II subject tests.
3.94 unweighted, 4.17 weighted.
He has thoughtful explanations in his applications about the math scores in the midst of otherwise stellar scores. He has some really advanced math skills not reflected in the test scores. Truly, I didn’t start the thread to hear opinions on my S’s choice of colleges, and some of you may not have read all the posts, but I have mentioned this a couple of times graciously. The nervous jitters were about milestones, not college choices. As I’m sure many of you have noted elsewhere, you just can’t know the whole context of a kid’s application. My S has managed to accomplish a great deal being low income. There were several college matching tools used to determine reach/match/safety. Of the 9 colleges he applied to, 5 were new colleges he did not apply to last year. Of the ones he applied to last year, he opted not to reapply to 3 reaches of them. Before grabbing incorrect generalities like, “he applied to all the same colleges again,” please take the time to figure out the facts.
Thanks again for the constructive comments. I came back to post because I thought some of you may be happy to hear about the addition of a safety. My best to all those moms of students/young adults getting ready to take the next step in their futures.
Does the safety school give an automatic full ride for his stats (or affordable net price in its net price calculator) to ensure affordability, since you mention being low income? If not, it may not be a safety.
The rest of the list are all reaches.
@CoramDeo7 , I am a person who has from time to time criticized posters here for offering judgments that were not helpful to the OP. I did it again earlier today. I don’t see the point of it…
That being said, it is my impression that the posters here are genuinely trying to help, even if some are a bit more blunt than necessary. I know you asked it not to be mentioned, but it is the proverbial elephant in the room.
Criticism of a “top heavy” list may be the most common occurrence on this forum. But make no mistake, if your son is accepted to one of those schools you will get many likes. Everyone roots for the kids, including yours! But there are hundreds of heartbreaking threads that start a lot like this one.
I am hoping you prove them all wrong! But I strongly recommend you consider the possibility they are not, because they probably aren’t.
But adding a bit of brightness…some students DO get accepted to reach schools. It’s just that they are NOT a slam dunk.
We knew a kid who applied to a bunch of Ivies…and an OOS flagship. It made NO sense to us…as there were a LOT of great schools where he could have garnered very significant merit aid. Plenty in between those Ivies, and that OOS public.
He was denied admission at all but one Ivy where he was waitlisted. He never got offf that waitlist. He went othe OOS public.
He was class Val, had outstanding ECs. Lots of community service, Eagle Scout. A great kid.
CoramDeo7, I can’t speak for any of the other posters, obviously, but it sounds like most of them hope that your son will have some good options for getting an undergraduate education next year, and are simply advocating for an application strategy that will provide such options.
It seems clear from your description of him, and validated by the “metrics”, that your son is certainly CAPABLE of being a successful student at the schools to which he has applied. But, as many have pointed out, in order to do well in school, you first have to be admitted. A number of the schools on his list are difficult to get into for ALL applicants, because there are so many qualified students, like your son, submitting applications. I think that is why there has been a strong push for a few more schools were he is LIKELY to be admitted that are also affordable and where he would be interested in attending. Perhaps the one school added recently serves that purpose well.
As parents, we are all going to be a bit nervous for our children, even if they are accepted to school X, Y or Z (How will they fit in? Will they manage the adjustment well? Are they going to make good friends? Will the work load be too difficult? Will it be too easy? Are they going to be able to find a job that they like? One that pays a reasonable living?etc.).
It sounds like your son is bright and hard working, so I am guessing he will manage to find success in life one way or another. Good luck to him and the rest of your family.
It’s an anonymous message board. No ill will is intended. It might not be the question you asked but its an obvious issue (evidenced by so many in agreement on this) and we’d be remiss to NOT point it out. Bluntness comes from the fact that you don’t seem to be accepting of what we are trying to advise.
Of course, we only have what you provided to go on. I don’t see anyone saying “all the same schools” but schools of similar, reachy range, for sure.
Regarding his scores, of course they are good scores! But the new scores did not improve upon his scores from last year. In fact, they are weaker as the concordance tables between the new SAT and old SAT shows that the new SAT is scored more generously.
As we don’t know you, don’t take the comments personally. Take it as constructive advice from folks who’ve been around the block a few times both with our own bright kids and witnessing many others here. If it was just one of us saying this, that would be one thing, but a lot of people are giving you the same advice. We’re not doing it to put you down. We’re doing it because we want your bright son to have a good outcome and good choices in April.
Hi @CoramDeo7
i might suggest investing $30 into applying to UAH (Alabama-Huntsville). He would get a scholarship for full tuition + housing for 4 years.
Now granted, it’s not Duke, Northwestern, Rice or MIT. But it IS guaranteed acceptance and guaranteed affordable – a major factor if $$$ is an issue.
Maybe he will get accepted somewhere else but for me, it’s worth it to have a 100% sure thing as a fallback option – both in terms of acceptance and affordability.
Most schools, including UAH referenced above, will provide application fee waivers for low income families so its likely that it wouldn’t cost you to apply.
Thanks, @Postmodern. I hope so, too. This thread was partly responsible for reintroducing the conversation with our son about applying to at least one safety, and that got done (and yes, @ucbalumnus the financial package makes it viable for us - we’re relieved!) So I’m glad for that, and if the genuine concern is that my S has somewhere, anywhere to go as a college option in the fall that box has been checked. Everyone can breath a collective sigh of relief. 
Maybe I should now try reposting my original post without the mention of colleges, as I think that information was hugely distracting.
Here is that post edited to take out the distraction, and whittled down to what it should have been to begin with to accurately express what I wanted to say then.
-------- “Argh! The bittersweet milestones. I am just hoping the best for my son, who we love so much. On the one hand I am at peace knowing that what will be, will be. On the other hand I find myself checking and rechecking everything to see if we missed anything in the applications, any deadlines, criteria, financial aid, etc. My son is much more relaxed about it all than I am. I am feeling the nervous jitters and sentimentality of being at this stage with my firstborn. Thanks to any who have taken the time to read, and I welcome any insight - especially if you’ve been here before. I hope the best for all the dear sons and daughters you’re rooting for.” ---------
My bad for not being more clear to begin with. And again, thanks for all the helpful suggestions of colleges still accepting applications, those who wished my son well, and those who responded from the human standpoint.
^^^
all the more reason to apply and have that safety net in your back pocket
Thanks. S did apply to solid safety school. All is well on that front. Fee waivers have been used all along to pay for all college apps.
My first kid applied to,seven colleges. He was a music performance major…so had auditions in addition to his applications. He got accepted to 6 of the 7 schools. Whew. But…he also had three acceptances before Christmas of his HS senior year because he did early auditions withnthree schools…and he got excellent performance merit aid at all three.
DD…applied to only 3 schools initially. All were far away. We asked her to do a parent pick…and she did. She then asked to do one reach. She was accepted to all but the reach…not a surprise. Her initial three schools…2 were EA, and 1 was rolling admissions. She had those acceptances before Christmas as well.
To be honest. Once my kids hit the send button on their applications, I didn’t worry…at all…because their lists were very balanced lists. Not all reaches.
At this point…just relax. What will be will be. Really…there are things you could do… it since applications are apparently done…now just wait and,see.
There really isn’t anything else to do!
@doschicos, I guess all I have to left to say is that, being that the apps have all been turned in, choices made already, and the safety school added, maybe there’s not a lot left to say about the choices. Trying to be concise. I do get that many posters are seeing a problem they’ve seen before and are trying to be helpful. For some that has included making some pre-suppositions that aren’t accurate or relevant to our particular situation. But I get the main point people are wanting to discuss. I don’t know how my comments could be construed to you as me not being accepting of what’s being advised. Maybe you haven’t read all my posts. But advice has been acknowledged, thanked, and in a very real measure acted upon. There doesn’t appear to be any more to be said. Unless you want to reread my post a few back about the ‘revised’ original post and respond to what I was originally posting about.
“I guess all I have to left to say is that, being that the apps have all been turned in, choices made already, and the safety school added, maybe there’s not a lot left to say about the choices”
The choice is yours to be done when there are schools still excepting applications, but that is your choice and, hey, if you are content with only very selective reaches and a school with a 96% acceptance rate and you and your son can live with that, good for you. Seems awfully limiting and would give me “nervous jitters” for sure. I’ll drop it so you can discuss bittersweet milestones. Sincere good luck to your son!
OP, please come back and let us know where he gets accepted. I think he probably has the best shot at Berkeley. I really hope he gets in to one of his top schools. I was wondering if the school with the 96% acceptance rate is a community college. If so, would the plan be to start out there and then transfer? Your son sounds super bright, and I wonder what the peer group would be like at a school that accepts everyone for the most part. I think what is driving people to respond and give advice is that there are so many great schools in this country that would love to have your son with his excellent stats, and they would more than likely give him big money. Keeping my fingers crossed for Berkeley!!
I think that some of us put some considerable work into our posts. I know that I spent some time looking up application deadlines for a number of schools, and posted three that are great schools for a smart, creative kid and happened to still have open applications. It is frustrating, in turn, when we read that this is not what you wanted. We are concerned for your son, yes, and many of us have several kids who have already gone through this or have graduated. We have some idea of what is ahead, and learned lessons through hard experiences that we often wish to spare others.
So that part of the topic is now over, so on to the other part, the part you really intended to post.
We have all experienced anxieties and grief over our children leaving. After almost 10 years on CC myself, I can say that you will adjust, but it isn’t ever easy, and it isn’t like there is a magic moment when things settle and resolve. Kids go to college, sometimes come home, leave for jobs or more school, leave to start a family of their own- there are so many back and forths, so many transitions in life for them and for us. The hard part is that every step forward does bring pain along with the happiness.
You will get used to him being away. Some of us find new things to do to fill the void. I don’t know if you have others at home. I started art class, took lots of Tai Chi, (got a divorce!)…some get a new dog, start a new job, or relax after years of driving kids around after work and school.
The whole point of parenting is to let them go. But I meant what I wrote before about how the leavetaking does not have to be a cliff, but can be a gentle slope. That said, some need a cliff in order to leave- the separation process is different for everyone.
I think we all sincerely hope that your son gets into a school he loves, and wish you well in your own adjustment.
@citymama9 thanks! I really appreciate your post. No, not a CC. The average SAT scores at the school are about what are found at colleges with a 50% ish acceptance rate but I’m guessing the acceptance rate at his safety is higher because there are so fewer applicants. It’s a small private college with only a little over 1,000 in the freshman class, so, great student/ teacher ratios which was a plus to him.
@compmom - If you look back over my posts, as several others have pointed out, I do both acknowledge the still enrolling college suggestions and express sincere thanks for them. We did actually look into some. I do recognize and appreciate the time put into the posts here. And thanks for the words about parenting/letting go. I like the part about it not having to be a cliff, but a gentle slope. On the whole, I’m loving the journey of motherhood and am happy for my kids. I just have brief moments every now and then when it hits me!
@doschicos S liked and preferred the safety school he chose over others that were a less safety safety, but maybe the moral here is you can’t please everyone and shouldn’t bother about it if you don’t. I think if I’d simply said safety school, or cited a safety school with a lower acceptance rate the advice would deftly turn to point out that that’s not enough of a safety. He chose a ‘safety’ safety that he’s happy with. Be happy for him. We’re excited for his future and know things will turn out as they were meant to. I think I’m pretty much over wanting to ‘discuss the bittersweetness of milestones.’ It was a rare moment of looking up from the daily grind of life that I was having back then and thinking to connect with other moms currently in the same place. I see that that’s not the focus here, and I have moved on. Best to all!
I think this thread also illustrates what I see as a common problem: finding safeties for top-stats kids. It seems it does not scale proportionately as you move from the good stats kids to the great stats kids.
This is probably why the term “low match” is used, and maybe one solution is that top stats kids need more safeties than most? 4-5 maybe? With one “super-safety” backstop? Thoughts or ideas?
This is absent the influences of the finance consideration, which , of course, is the most important factor.
i insisted my son apply to a safety even though he was pretty dismissive about the school at first. it was our first application and acceptance before we started chasing reaches and big competitive scholarships at state flagships. now, as he’s less confident about the reaches and scholarships, he’s been researching the safety and getting excited about the special programs and opportunities there. so what was at first an emergency backup for $$$ reasons now seems to be his # 1 or 2 choice.
a lot can change in this process over the course of a few months. for us it was really important to lock in an early acceptance at a auto-merit full-tuition+ school. what was once an emergency fallback safety net is looking more and more like a great option for us.