<p>^Congrats. It seems like the AI=9 is pretty good indicator, isn’t it?</p>
<p>I have been very nervous for my D who is across the country at a boarding school. I think she, on the other hand, is relatively calm. </p>
<p>However, just yesterday after reading posts from so many worried applicants, I really started to think about what it would mean if my D doesn’t get into her first choice, which is Stanford EA. It occurred to me that it is because of who she is and what she has accomplished that she is even qualified to apply to such a great school, and that won’t change just because she isn’t accepted. It really will have very little to do with her…but more to do with many other factors over which she has no control, such as more applicants than ever, diversity, whatever. And, because of who she is, she still will have many other wonderful options. They may not have been her first choice, but who is to say her first choice is the best place for her? </p>
<p>It is similar to what we went through when she got deathly ill as a junior in HS and had to drop out of school for the entire year, and then I had a brain hemorrhage. Yes, it sucked. Yes, it ruined her original plans, which included being ASB president her senior year and graduating with her friends. But instead of ruminating on what could have been, we focused on how to turn a bad thing into something positive. As a result, she decided to attend a boarding school 3000 miles away. There she fell in love with a sailing ship she never would have seen if not for…and in the spring she will help sail it back from the Caribbean. I would give up Stanford just for that experience.</p>
<p>How many stories have you heard about in which people who, in the end, felt where they actually attended turned out to be a better choice? I thought about my own husband who came from a lower middle class family, and wanted to attend Harvard. Well, he didn’t get in, but ended up attending NW undergrad and law school. Today he is a partner with one of the most respected and largest law firms in the world. Yes, there are many Ivy League graduates there also, but that didn’t prevent him from succeeding as well.</p>
<p>It was pretty much the same for me, although I eventually retired to raise my 3 children. I was the first in my family to attend college, and attended a mid-level college and law school. I did not even know what an Ivy League school was at the time! But I also worked for a very prestigious world-wide law firm. </p>
<p>So, when I thought about this, I realized my D will do great wherever she goes. Yes, I HOPE she gets into Stanford, or another equally wonderful college, but if she doesn’t it won’t change the fact that: 1.) she deserves to be in a great college; 2.) she has worked her *** off to get where she is, and 3.) she WILL succeed, no matter where she attends.</p>
<p>I know it’s easier said than done, but maybe we all need a little perspective on this entire issue. :)</p>
<p>Yeah 99 the AI of 8 or 9 is helpful. I think my son’s teacher rec’s and school counselor rec’s also pushed him over the top. I was blown away from the very kind and thoughtful words that were written about him.</p>
<p>What is an “AI” ???</p>
<p>AI= Academic Index</p>
<p>From the Dartmouth forum, everybody was posting their AI. Now that the decision for ED is out, it’s nice to see some correlation. I know it’s not 100% predictor but it’s still kind of fun to see it.</p>
<p>How do you compute an AI??</p>
<p>Waiting on ED. What does it mean when they say mid-December? I thought the notification date was Dec. 15 and was prepared to wait until Saturday or Monday, but now I see on the website that it says mid-December…very nervous that the acceptance mailings have already gone out and S didn’t get one. Do the acceptances typically go out ahead of the rejections? Adigal, what made your son choose Vassar over Connecticut or Bates? Wasn’t he going ED at one of those?</p>
<p>AI calculator
[Academic</a> Index Calculator - Hernandez College Consulting - Ivy league admission - Ivy league admissions - Ivy league consulting, consultants, consultant - college consulting - college consultants - college consultant](<a href=“http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/calculator.html]Academic”>http://hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/calculator.html)</p>
<p>S deferred from Brown ED. Sadness here for S but while I know we are sad now, a few months from now, we will be looking at a school that is perfect for him. Now my teeth can rest for a few more months until late March when other decisions start rolling in! 
On a positive note, I am so happy that he finished up ALL his other applications. This weekend, he will put together his art supplement. All ready to go; just a matter of putting them in envelopes and sending them off.</p>
<p>My D’s boyfriend got into Dartmouth ED yesterday. Now she wants to apply there. Just shoot me. So sick of sending out scores and handing her the mastercard for yet another app fee.</p>
<p>mountains – </p>
<p>ED is awfully final. There’s going to be a good reason emerge for why the delay on Brown. Meant to be, meant to be . . .</p>
<p>cgarrett101, great post! My S also did SCEA stanford. I have been waiting impatiently, but trying not to let him know. You make such a good point about all the students have already accomplished and will go on to do even more. I am so proud of him, and tomorrow will not change that. It will just help him make his decisions. I can’t imagine he will get in all the schools he is applying for, and if he did it would be a tough decision. </p>
<p>I keep telling myself this, but just so you know, my teeth are killing me!! I didn’t know everyone was having this problem. They woke me up last night, and I stayed awake thinking about our filtered water and how we don’t get the fluoridation we used to. Now I feel better to know it is not tooth decay.</p>
<p>Good luck everyone at all your schools.</p>
<p>mammall - I know you are right. Over 25 years ago, I ended up attending grad school in an unknown business school because I never heard back from an Ivy. I was living abroad then, and trying to get decisions over the phone was next to impossible. So I attended this remote school (full ride) and then the Ivy acceptance came when I was already attending the other school for a month. I opted to forego the Ivy acceptance, and I have never had any regrets. Through this other school, I got an awesome job offer before I even graduated, met my H in this company, graduated 100% debt free, and life as I know it, is fabulous. Yes, everything indeed happens for a reason. I know that to be true. Thank you for the reassurance; I need that right now.</p>
<p>If any of you have a chance, check out the Brown ED results in their forum - it’s like a blood bath. As a parent, I want so much to comfort all those kids.</p>
<p>Talking about teeth. Yes, mines are rattling and DD did not apply ED nor EA to any school. I just showed her the stats of students that were rejected(I have not visited the Brown forum yet).
On second thought, maybe I better stay out or I won’t have any teeth left.:)</p>
<p>I was just on the Brown ED site. It is terrible. No one was accepted, all deferred. What is going on with Brown? I hope this is not what is going to happen at Stanford tomorrow. Has everyone gotten hooks?</p>
<p>deepsouthmom - I think there were like a handful of kids accepted and then a ton deferred. Brown was a reach for my S (his stats were still within the range, although on the lower end) but he won a prestigious national writing award and his ECs are focused on this activity. Sorry I cannot be more specific due to privacy reasons. This award is mentioned in some college application guide books. Schools that don’t want supplements even want it sent when my S asked them about it. Oh well. I have to go to a party tomorrow night and have to make something. Ick. Like I am highly motivated right now. Now, where’s that Ben & Jerry’s?</p>
<p>Thanks for the site 99cents!</p>
<p>My D’s AI is either a 7 (based on rank) or a 9 (based on GPA). Since she’s only been there just over one year, her rank (5/142) isn’t really reflective of her grades/accomplishments. Plus, they don’t give APs much weight (3/10 of a percent). Her GPA at her previous school was one of the highest and her SATs were 2280/1550 on her first (and only) try. It will be interesting to see how she fares in this crazy game!</p>
<p>Hi 1923,
My son was talking to a coach for sports at Vassar and also at the other two schools. He was really torn between the three schools, but he saw Vassar last, and fell in love. I am not too worried about him if he is deferred or rejected from Vassar, as he always falls in love with the last school he has seen!! He is really a happy, sunny kid, and I think he will be happy at any small school that has smart, quirky kids that he can talk to about history/current events/weird stuff that he loves to talk about.</p>
<p>I am calmer, too. What happens is what is meant to happen. I do think that if Vassar rejects him, then he was not meant to go there. He was meant to go elsewhere. A woman I know who does college counseling said to him a while back, “You will have a wonderful life, no matter where you go, because you bring your joy with you.” I am blessed to know my son, Vassar student or not, and I bet all of the other parents on here are blessed to have their kids, too.</p>
<p>adigal, You have it right on. While my son is moping right now, I know he will survive this. He told us he did not want to go to school tomorrow, and we said no. Avoiding school tomorrow is not fighting back - that is giving up. Face reality, believe everything happens for a very good reason and always remember - no one else (especially colleges) defines who you are except you.</p>
<p>“You will have a wonderful life, no matter where you go, because you bring your joy with you.” I am blessed to know my son, Vassar student or not, and I bet all of the other parents on here are blessed to have their kids, too."</p>
<p>Definitely…I couldn’t ask for a kinder, more wonderful D. We are all so lucky our kids are hardworking and focused enough to be applying to the best colleges in the country…</p>