<p>Congrats to AvonHSDad and mommylaw for their good news today! So sorry to camathmom about Berkeley, although it sounds like your D has plenty of good choices. Momdoc, I’m right there with you on the WL news. </p>
<p>D got a waitlist letter today from Carleton. She was surprised, had expected to be admitted, but she’s not upset. It doesn’t bode especially well for her remaining schools, but she has acceptances that she is very happy with already, so it may be for the best.</p>
<p>Nice, Moonmaid.</p>
<p>Congratulations on all the acceptances!! I can feel the megawatt smiles!</p>
<p>oregonianmom: Sorry to hear about the WL. What a year this is. Glad D is OK with it.
AvonHSDad and mommylaw: Awesome! Congrats to your kids!
camathmom: Sorry about the Berkeley news. Glad it wasn’t a top choice!</p>
<p>moonmaid: Love your post. <3</p>
<p>Ohiomom, I’m so sorry your son is in pain and so are you. I’m really biting my lip for all the outstanding kids here that have faced or may still face the sting of a “no.” In the past, their effort has led to rewards and opportunities–good grades, school awards, top honors, etc. Now, when the stakes seem at their highest, some of these same amazing kids get knocked by a huge rejection, and you know what? They really don’t deserve it. Maybe they need to feel these first grown-up sorrows while we are here to offer them a hug and to commiserate. Sometimes life does suck. But amid this circus, we will also hear about the many glorious victories! And they’ll also learn one won’t ever gain those precious wins without playing the dangerous game.</p>
<p>momdoc, I also fear the FA packages! I’m like a broken record. :(</p>
<p>Novelisto, thanks for the movie suggestions. Both those films are on my list for this weekend. I need distraction.</p>
<p>kinderny, glad you didn’t puke.</p>
<p>OWM, I LOVE all the pix you posted. Shining moments!</p>
<p>PepperO3, I think you are amazingly self-aware and respect your new resolve. </p>
<p>ckofpng, wow on the big merit award. Pepperdine is a stunning campus. A friend of mine’s DH is head of the Art History department (if you have any q’s about art history!) and it is known to be quite conservative in undergrad, not at all for grad school. And it is quite remote, so not sure kids can get into L.A. very often, which could be a good thing? lol.</p>
<p>arisamp, I love the image of the SS Indecision because, hey, we are already well out to sea on that ship (caught in the Bermuda Triangle of FinAid).</p>
<p>momdoc, so sorry about the WL, but maybe there will be a spot open up.</p>
<p>AvonHSDad, so happy about the Northwestern surprise early announcement and the wonderful news! Hooray!!!</p>
<p>mommylaw, I’m kvelling about your D and her great USC news!!! Maybe maybe we’ll have both our kids in the same school next year??? </p>
<p>sam222, you were asking about CCS (and I am guessing you are asking me?) and we may have been at the same UCSB Chancellor’s Reception. The admission letter online listed accepted major and my son’s said College of Creative Studies. For your S (who submitted a later application to CCS) you might consider calling the CCS office and asking when those decisions will be announced.</p>
<p>camathmom, I’m very puzzled by the Cal news for your amazing daughter. . If I recall correctly, she is applying to the absolute hardest major in the entire school. But still. She’s so exceptional. You might want to ask her GC.</p>
<p>Moonmaid, your post just filled me with admiration and awe.</p>
<p>So sorry, oregonianmom and camathmom. We’re in CA, too, so I’ll be curious to hear what stories my son brings home from school tomorrow about who was a/wl/d. He didn’t apply to any UC’s, but like camathmom’s D, has been waitlisted at two schools who have always accepted kids from his school with his stats (and he had a grad school legacy connection at one!). I really think the common app has contributed to this. Kids applied to fewer schools and chose them with more care when they had to send apps by hand. With everyone applying to so many schools (and we’re guilty, too, we applied to 14, but glad now we did!), the numbers are out of control. Now it seems like all the tippy-tippy students will get into all the top-twenty schools, shutting out the very-strong-but-not-superstar kids who used to go to schools 10-20. It will have a ripple effect; no one can be certain what “tier” they fit best in anymore. I’ll be curious to see how deep schools go into their waitlists this year.</p>
<p>Anyway, commiserations with the waitlists and denials, and congrats for the acceptances. I am SO ready for this to be over!</p>
<p>Moonmaid: what a beautiful story of your family. Thank you for sharing. Congratulations to you and your husband for defying the odds that were stacked against you.</p>
<p>AvonHSDad and mommylaw, congrats to you and your kids for bagging one of their top choices!</p>
<p>for those wait listed – momdoc, camathmom, it’s indeed a brutal year but it sounds like your kids have great choices already and perhaps ahead as well. </p>
<p>moonmaid, thank you so much for sharing your perspective.</p>
<p>momdoc and oregonianmom ~ Sorry about WL.</p>
<p>camathmom ~ Sorry about UBC, but great news concerning UCLA and likely letter.</p>
<p>Wishing good FA news to all!</p>
<p>Moonmaid ~ Thanks for sharing…</p>
<p>Moonmaid: Thanks for the beautiful post. You put everthing into perspective. </p>
<p>Congrats to Avon’s son and Mommylaw’s D!!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about the disapointing results for Omom and Camathmom’s daughters. I’m glad that both girls have other great options.</p>
<p>I was catching up, celebrating with Avon and mommylaw, commiserating on the waitlists for o-mom and momdoc (though not a denial!) and shocked over the rejections that keep coming out of scary California, and relating to all the parents who are struggling with how to say and do just the right things…and I was thinking “Wow, what a great group of parents.” And their kids. Then read moonmaid’s post and thought - yes, exactly; she put into words so eloquently exactly what I was thinking. Amazing group here.</p>
<p>Mommylaw – Congratulations on the USC Acceptance. Nice that she is so excited that she started the ball rolling right away…time to start filling out forms! I’m giving my D copies of everything we send. It’s about time they started understanding just how much paperwork we’ve been doing for them all these years. </p>
<p>AvonHSDad – Congrats to your son on the Northwestern nod. Is this one of his top choices?</p>
<p>Camathmom – Ouch. It hurts worse when it’s our kid, doesn’t it? There are so many variables that it is almost impossible to say ‘ah-ha! that’s why!’ It could come down to something as simple as they already had enough kids from your zip code. We’ll all keep our fingers crossed for the official Ivy response which should make the sting go away quickly. </p>
<p>ORMom – Waitlist is a start, not an ending. It’s like when you pray and the answer comes back ‘not yet’…or like turning over a Magic 8-Ball if the religious thing doesn’t resonate. </p>
<p>And I can’t help feeling that some schools (really top schools) may find themselves going to their WL more this year than ever before. Things have been in flux in College Apps; they are getting massively more applications but even the ‘best’ schools may not be every single one of those accepted kids’ top choices. With more kids sending 10 or more apps, a lot of those acceptances may be turned down for something more promising. Despite the increase in apps, there are still essentially the same number of actual bodies chasing those openings (unless there was anothern huge baby boom 17-18 yrs ago that I was a part of w/o being aware of it). I’m sure I’m putting this badly but I think we will see movement on the WLs this year.</p>
<p>Sorry for those w/ rejections and WL. My D was lucky enough not to get any rejections but did get waitlisted at 2 schools. Today’s acceptance is the last school we’ll hear from. But it’s not 100% certain that she’ll attend. She has killer merit aid at 4 other schools & we now have to make sure USC is economically feasible, & if so , is it worth the $$$ for undergrad.</p>
<p>Congratulations to Avon’s S on NW acceptance. Wishing everyone luck as decisions & finaid are released in the next week!</p>
<p>AvonHSdad and mommylaw: Yippee! Great news for both of your kids!</p>
<p>camathmom and momdoc: Sometimes these decisions just don’t make sense! I’m glad that your kids have other good choices, but it would be better if you could waitlist the college than have them waitlist you!</p>
<p>AmandaK: As for after the prom… at our public high school, the prom is held at a nice restaurant in the area. Afterwards, the kids go to the high school where the “Afterprom” is held. It is a MAJOR extravaganza, hosted by the Junior class parents who do fundraising throughout the year to fund this event. Many, many hours are spent planning food, decorating, arranging the entertainment. Prizes are donated by parents and local businesses. The “Afterprom” is held from midnight until 5 AM. After that, the kids go home and sleep into the afternoon. The event is heavily chaperoned, breathalizer testing is done, bags are not allowed in. There is always a theme – but it is kept secret from the students until each junior and senior receives an invitation at school in early April. Last year’s entertainment included a DJ, hypnotist, blackjack tables, etc. It is a bit overdone – but it is a safe, fun night for the kids. As a parent, I’m thrilled that they have somewhere safe and alcohol free to have fun.</p>
<p>Congrats Avon HS dad! My D, also received an acceptance from Northwestern today (Engineering school). So far, yes from the 3 safetys, yes from 2 matches and rejected from one match, and yes from one reach. One more match and several reaches to go!</p>
<p>[Follow-up : My D wasn’t really that upset about her rejection from UCB. (I was more upset!) She just noted that the only kids from her HS that actually attend Cal are usually in the bottom half of the class, so it felt weird for her as a a top 4% to be rejected. Que sera sera…]</p>
<p>Yes, well, I think I better send S2 out to buy lotto tickets immediately. He was accepted today to UC Berkeley and UC Davis. The UCs were meant to be financial safeties and UCLA and Cal have COAs of over $30K instate. My DH pointed out that the UCs had raised their tuition 60% in the last 2 years. And where will they go from here? But we are pleased as can be for S2 even so.</p>
<p>^madbean- WOW! Your S has some amazing options. I agree- buy a lottery ticket. LOL</p>
<p>Illinois, which is our instate option also has COA over $30k. It actually makes USC’s price tag a little easier to swallow</p>
<p>Congrats to all with great news!! So sorry for the waitlists and disappointments. D2 found out yesterday she was admitted to one of her match schools with the Presidential scholarship. I have to say I was worried she may have been WL with all of the upsets out there. She does have high grades and stats. At least she is happy with an acceptance going into next week. Like others have said I’m not sure what I will say when she learns the news. Unfortunately, I will be at work when she logs on and finds out the decisions. She then will have to go straight to practice. I know it is going to be a bumpy ride.</p>
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<p>Novelisto - Yes. NW is one of his three top choices. The other two include a very high match/reach and a lottery ivy. Another week to wait. Ugh… But the good thing is he is very happy to have this one under his belt. He can go on his senior class trip to Washington next week with a bit less stress. We haven’t seen him this excited in quite a while.</p>
<p>I think your assessment of the WL is spot on. With the proliferation of applicants using the Common App, the number of overall apps has risen while the number of applicants has not changed much. Therefore, with many kids applying to 10 - 12 or more schools, their overall number of acceptances and the subsequent number of No Thank You’s to their lesser choices will impact and drive the yield figures upward. Because of this, I would expect to see more offers made to those kids on the various WL’s.</p>
<p>Camathmom - Congrats on your D’s acceptance to Northwestern as well.</p>
<p>Madbean - Congrats on the two UC acceptances for S2. It sounds like the entire UC admissions program is really brutal this year.</p>
<p>Moonmaid - Very well said. Thanks for the excellent post.</p>
<p>camath -
congrats on your daughter’s acceptances, but,</p>
<p>
I find this a little hard to believe, especially since the Cal CDS reports that no students from the bottom half of their high school graduating class were admitted for the past several years. Generally it’s 98% in top 10%, 100% in top quarter.</p>
<p>Granted, these reports are not precise, but it’s hard to believe they are that far off.</p>
<p>If you are talking about the bottom half on Naviance, taking test scores into account, I guess that’s possible for an extremely high scoring high school. But that’s also pretty rare.</p>