If a gap year is taken, I think the focus should be on what can be done to improve the application to the extent it can be substantively improved. At the very least, finding someone with expertise in college admissions that you trust who could take an objective/dispassionate look at the narrative/package would be worth its weight in gold.
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Absolutely spot-on, and I should have mentioned that.
If a gap year is taken, your son should really take the year to shine etc so that he substantively and substantially improves future apps.
And absolutely, get someone who objectively knows the process. If your sonâs high school is so well regarded, please use the school as much as you can.
If a gap year is taken, it will be very important to find a better list of colleges. This student need a school that meets full need, it seems. And need is high. He will need to really understand other colleges that will meet his need, and how he can best present himself to those schools.
Frankly, itâs easier for him to apply to NMF schools where he can get a free ride or close to it. Iâd be considering that seriouslyâŚright now.
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This seems really crazy. This is a profile that should be getting likely letters, not rejections. If I were to guess, I would worry about his recommendation letters or essay, but more the former.
Since he is a NMF, have him apply to UTD. He will get a full ride there. If he wants to major in computer science, contact the director of the Computing Scholars Honors Program and ask if he can take the entrance test.
As a NMF he will get accepted to the honors college and given the number of APs, he can easily do BS/MS in four years or less or double major or graduate in 3 years or less.
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Totally agree. âTop schoolsâ is a phrase I use somewhat derisively now. As basically most any long-term person on CC will tell you, itâs not the school that makes the student; rather, itâs what the student makes of the opportunity.
I didnât realize that the NMF scholarship was still viable at so many of the schools that the CCâers, who are far more knowledgeable than me, have so astutely pointed out. This is an option that clearly the OP and his son canât ignore.
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There have been some great mentions of various National Merit Finalist opportunities.
For full rides: 10 Best Full-Ride College Scholarships for National Merit Finalists ⢠College Guidepost
Full full tuition: 20 Best Universities with Full-Tuition Scholarships for National Merit Finalists ⢠College Guidepost
Generous NMF Scholarships: Colleges with Great Scholarships for National Merit Finalists - College Kickstart
Some of these have probably have deadlines that have passed, but if there are universities that interest yâall, give the admissions department a call and see if you can still get a NMF deal. Colleges really like to have National Merit Finalists added to their student bodies.
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Make sure that youâve file the FAFSA for financial aid.
i am sorry about this all. I canât imagine the shock. Your son has worked so hard.
i am going to put a plug in though for looking into the state schools mentioned here.
hereâs why: My sonâs GF has Asian war-refugee parents. They wanted her to go to something more elite, but she went to her midwest state school, her stats were not as high as your sons. She thrived; had international internships, studied software engineering, and is making a killing now at age 25, no college loans. All this from a school rarely talked about. Itâs because she took the opportunities she was offered. Her undergrad degree is not holding her back in anyway.
seriously; there are amazing opportunities all over, at schools of sorts of rankings and sizes and locations. Hope you can grab one!
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your son is a genius. how do you do usamo top 100, usaco camp, AND do well in science? Oh, and not even mentioning the full stack web developer role at this point.
I could only ever wish to be a fraction of what your son can do. the college admission system is a total scam.
your son is actually really cracked at math. no matter the college he goes to, he can comfortably land a job at a quant firm (jane street, HRT, etc) and make more than what a normal harvard grad makes 
Be sure to apply for internships next year!
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oh one more thing, you can transfer schools in freshman or sophomore year.
again with the math, he might enjoy the college math competitions and hopefully place well in them (putnam, pumac,etc.). Have I mentioned quant? They love these competitions.
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I am really surprised that your son didnât get into more schools with FGLI as a hook. At my childrenâs schools, itâs absolutely a hook! But the counselor knows about Questbridge, and all kids who qualify do Questbridge.
I guess I am a proponent of the gap year IF your child can do Questbridge for next year. And also maybe get a paid programming job during the gap year. This country is SO starved for talented computer programmers. Apply on indeed.com, monster for programming jobs. Despite wanting to recruit U.S. graduates (no experience, >100k), many companies have been forced to go offshore.
On reddit, there was an international student needing full aid to come to the U.S., took a gap year, applied to 60 schools the next round and got into a good SLAC this year with full aid.
Your list of schools is also too small. If your son took a gap year, maybe he could branch out and apply to top SLACs as well as HYPSM. Maybe should add Brown, USC, Michigan, Northwestern, UChicago, UVA, UNC, UF, Cooper Union, Swarthmore, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, UCLA - and Iâm sure there are many more.
If applying for a job, also go on linkedin, and reach out to grads of schools he was interested in. Maybe theyâll give him a job and go on to be good references as well. Good luck!
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High achieving Asian males with those qualifications often get into multiple HYPSMs. I have no explanation why he was shutout, but it wasnât because of being Asian.
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Iâve just gone on r/collegeresults. The one thing I see is a lack of internships? Who supervised the research? Did you get extra LOR? Even kids without the FGLI hook got very good schools. Need to maybe apply to all ivies, good SLACs. No Harvey Mudd? Wash U? Also use ED1 and ED2, back out if you donât get enough aid.
Who were his mentors for the google competition? Does he have contacts? Maybe reach out to get a paid job next year.
I would do all this now - reach out to get a paid job. If this is allowed, take one of the acceptances, defer, and also apply next application season.
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Also 1st generation, low income. Kids with that hook from my childrenâs schools (admittedly primed to help those kids) do very, very well.
In nyc, all the schools know about questbridge.
@David_Yang1, those quant jobs are hard to get and they simply donât have the time to go to many schools. Grad school is an equalizer but thatâs a long time away.
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@davidng Note well, for UAH, National Merit Finalist Scholarship consideration, one must be admitted by April 15
â National Merit Awards
Students recognized as National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholar Corporation, and who are admitted to UAH prior to April 15th, will be eligible to receive the National Merit UAH Platinum Scholarship. Students must list The University of Alabama in Huntsville as their college choice by May 31st. The National Merit UAH Platinum Scholarships provides:
- Full tuition (up to 18 credit hours per semester), for a total of eight semesters of undergraduate coursework
- One year of on-campus housing at a regular room rate
- Course fees up to $500 per academic year
- A one-time $3,000 UAH led summer study-abroad allowance (this can only be utilized during a summer term)â
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Can I just say that several of the schools that people have touted as last minute NMF choices may not be a good cultural fit? I would not apply blindly and go just to get the NMF.
Alabama Huntsville could be a tough fit.
@davidng, what is your state school and is it affordable?
This boy does not have FGLI hook, for example. I would also look on Reddit for Asian male stem questbridge examples.
Maybe call questbridge directly.
Are any of those schools a good fit for an Asian FGLI kid? Where can he excel?
You son has excellent results and itâs a pity that many good schools refused him. Sometimes, I donât even understand the logic of the admission boards.
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