<p>i just listened to the NPR - Amherst admissions committee piece that was linked several pages back. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you must – it’s eye-opening. there is also a thread dedicated to it on the parent’s forum w/ plenty of good insights.</p>
<p>Hi all - so much good news - congrats! Sorry for the other news. We will all get some of each if we have not already.<br>
Seems like a lot of waitlisting going on. Perhaps that is the 2011 plan for adcoms dealing with both huge numbers of apps and wanting to protect yields. If you look at some of the “not quite the most selective” schools, there are a lot of higher stats/EC kids with highly selective EA acceptances or ivy likely letters getting waitlisted. The racket makes me mad! I blame the USNWR rankings in large part. That Amherst radio piece was very interesting. Seems like the mood in the room and when your app got read can make you or break you. Doesn’t seem fair to the kids who have busted it for four years to get some nice lottery tix. Perhaps I am stressing about Ds reaction to Wednesday evening, but I have just tipped over and am ready to be DONE! If one more person asks me where my D is going to school, I might smack them!</p>
<p>Margarita for mnmmonof2: Stat! </p>
<p>bklynmom – I’m glad the Oracle woke up for you…if only for a moment. Wish ours had; I found out about a couple really great schools much too late and when I mentioned one, the GC said ‘oh, that would have been good; I like that school’. I just gave him a ‘mom look’ wondering why he hadn’t bothered to mention it in, say, September. </p>
<p>That NPR piece is a real ‘head-met-desk’ listen. If only we’d known…</p>
<p>UT - WOW! I can’t tell my S about your great package, or we all might cry. So happy for you! CMC is our S’s first choice and he made the WL - he’ll stay on, but I hope he can transfer the love to another spot. Huge congrats to you and your S!!</p>
<p>Kind of a down day at our house - notified of not getting the full ride at one school, where that would have made it THE ONE. And while a nice acceptance came in, it was without the financial info. The field is narrowing around the finances, that’s for sure!
One more financial package and one more scholarship weekend to go. I have a feeling we might go all the way down to the wire around here! Like others, the good news is the schools still standing are good options. I like the post above “everyone is attending their favorite school by halloween” !</p>
<p>Not a great day here. Wl on Pomona. Wasn’t top of the list but upsetting, first because a good friend was admitted who is very clearly not as good a student as my son (though a terrific and very bright kid) and second because it hits us with the reality what a massacre wendesday may be… Thank goodness for the Dartmouth likely and the WashU and Northwestern acceptanvces. But my son his heart set on the lottery schools. Agreenthat Amherst piece was quite enraging, and it is also a school we are waiting for. Oh well by the end of the week we will know the final field…</p>
<p>Aniger, my S is waiting on Amherst too, and I’m not optimistic about it. Not because of the piece on NPR, just a bunch of other things. I wish they weren’t posting their results so late! It will be wonderful to be all done… soon.</p>
<p>Make my margarita a double! I think Amherst is shooting themselves in the foot by releasing so late. After hearing that NPR piece, I don’t really care! I know some of the adcoms really, really care, but I agree that it sounds like a dart throw to me. Not good…</p>
<p>I had thought that my daughter might end up within a couple hours of home here in CA, but she was wait-listed at Pomona and accepted at Swarthmore. Ha! This is getting interesting. </p>
<p>I like to think that these difficult decisions are ultimately a great opportunity for students to ponder what is most important. How many times in our lives do we get to decide where do I really want to be? What kind of people seem like my kind of folks? Where can I be challenged and still feel comfortable? How close to family is just the right distance?</p>
<p>My older D is already on the opposite coast, and we are generally pretty happy with our communicating by phone, text, and Skype. In fact, she is just not a huge “stay in touch with Mom and Dad” type of kid, so distance can not be blamed for that! </p>
<p>My mantra…focus on today, don’t wish these days away, focus on the positive, focus on all the fun things happening in our lives right now.</p>
<p>Reading this thread is reminding me of what it was like to tour colleges with my S during spring break a year ago. We started to recognize people on tours and at motels, and it felt like we were part of a great migratory pattern. Now we are seeing the end of the long migration, as the kids get sorted out into their new homes :-).</p>
<p>Son was wait-listed at WPI. He’s filled out a postcard declining the list. One less decision to make! We’re crossing them off left and right here. It’s surprising how fast schools that sounded good five days ago, are now dropped. A good thing.</p>
<p>Sorry for all the wait-lists! Seems to be a wait-list kind of year. Our GC is really puzzled by it all.</p>
<p>puma – sorry about the $ downer but I too believe they’ll all be attending their favorite schools by Halloween :)</p>
<p>angier – the WL is a bummer but he’s has great schools already. should take some pressure off but I hear you about Wed. I’m feeling your trepidation. look, it will be what it will be. if our sons’ top choices don’t come thru, they’ll still land gracefully.</p>
<p>50isthenew40 and calreader: thanks for your perspectives. part of my angst when my S was deferred ED and then accepted to schools he really likes in the midwest was that it finally hit me that he could be that far away from home. since his first choice is w/in an easy couple of hours drive from here, i was hoping to have him that close. now, it’s become a reality that he could be 1000s of miles away. your right calreader, it’s beginning to feel like a big migratory pattern just reading about the kids on this thread and the distance they may travel for school. have to say, this is so different from our generation. </p>
<p>thanks too for the mantra. i needed to hear that.</p>
<p>kathiep: sounds like things are working out as they should at your house. hope my S will be as decisive.</p>
<p>good night all.</p>
<p>To add more to the “waitlist kind of year” vibe … We had three (count 'em, three) waitlists in the mailbox when D returned from rehearsal today. Bowdoin, Vanderbilt, and Kenyon. Vanderbilt and Bowdoin I can understand (though D was really hopeful about Bowdoin - it really fits with her vibe, and we spend a lot of time in Maine) but Kenyon?? It was a low match verging on safety, so it’s hard to make sense of everything. The fact that D hasn’t been rejected anywhere is little comfort to her when she’s been waitlisted at SIX different schools, including 2 that we weren’t all that worried about.</p>
<p>The good thing is that she’s been admitted to Carleton - a school she loves and that I think is an incredible fit for the kind of girl she is (and probably would have been “the one” even if there were options), so we know that it will all turn out fine in the end. But making sense of the rest of it is tough for her. </p>
<p>Of course, maybe she’s just meant to live in Minnesota … in addition to honors at our state flagship, her two acceptances have been Carleton and Macalester …</p>
<p>It is amazing the amount of news on here. Haven’t looked for a couple of hours. D got into William and Mary. She is thrilled. Also, got financial aid info from Boston College and the school gave her a nice scholarship.<br>
Good luck to everyone on Wednesday!</p>
<p>College admissions this year were crazy.</p>
<p>I was accepted by Pomona and Middlebury, the two most competitive schools I applied to, and rejected/waitlisted by Rice, Carleton, and Kenyon.</p>
<p>@puma, sorry the full ride didn’t come through for your son.</p>
<p>@aniger and 50is, sorry on Pomona waitlist, but grats to 50is’s daughter on Swat!</p>
<p>@kathiep, I know what you mean about that darn waitlist being a relief in some ways just because there’s one less college to think about.</p>
<p>@OneGirlsMom, wow, your mailbox experience was very similar to ours (just substituting rejection for waitlist in my daughter’s case!) Grats on Carleton my daughter loved the vibe there.</p>
<p>@TessaR, grats on William&Mary acceptance plus Boston College $$. My neice graduated from W&M (loved it!), went to graduate school in London and now has her dream job!</p>
<p>@Manarius, you should listen to that NPR/Amherst piece if you haven’t, which kind of sort of (but not really!) explains how such things can happen. Someone had an excellent post in the NPR thread about how picking a college class is analogous to casting a school musical.</p>
<p>I’m amazed at how right everyone was that students will start to gravitate toward the schools that want them and that are financially feasible. My daughter has gained a lot of enthusiasm for Ursinus and Beloit. Though she did spend some time hugging that big, pretty, personalized Sarah Lawrence folder with a glint of not-quite-tears in her eyes.</p>
<p>So very much going on around here, I can’t keep up. Congratulations to all those getting in to schools and receiving money needed to attend. Sorry to all those who didn’t get in or won’t be able to work the money necessary to go where desired. </p>
<p>S’s final school, W&M came in as a no last night. boo. Final count is 8 yes, 4 with merit, 4 no’s and 1 waitlist. S will be attending Marquette as a finance major with $30,200 in merit scholarships. All but $4500 of that money only requires a 2.0 GPA. The 4.5K requires a 3.2. We will be paying about 12.3K out of pocket, very doable, and S will graduate without loans. </p>
<p>I have CC to thank for showing me the way. GC was not very helpful and we went contrary to much of the advice she gave us, not that she gave much. Can’t slam the whole guidance dept at son’s school, other parents have told me their s’s GC was very helpful. Not sure if that is because they don’t know what they don’t know or if they truly were helpful. We applied EA to 9 schools and it was so nice to start seeing those yeses come in last fall. I knew when to have S take the SAT 2’s (only one school wanted them, but S took them at the right time). We used the ziggi method to improved SAT’s and S ended up with a 2180. S’s GPA killed him on the reach schools and decreased the amount of merit he was offered. </p>
<p>Past couple of weeks have been busy in our household. 2 school auctions, S’s eagle scout ceremony, d’s bball playoffs, aau practices, issues with my Father, dryer kicking the bucket, accepted students days for 11yo D and just life in general. Hope to get caught up soon.</p>
<p>Good morning to everyone. I agree with the rest of you that 1) it is so hard to keep up with the news this week and 2) the process is gut-renching. I’m ready for all of you to feel that sense of peace and contentment that comes with being done and embracing the school that is your child’s future.</p>
<p>Today is NHS inducation at our high school. I learned through CC that every school selects NHS differently. For a middle-of-the-road public HS, we have a very competitive process. 4.0 minimum (weighted), 10 teacher recommendations, documentation of at least 100 service hours witih non-teacher references, and an essay. Our ceremony includes four senior speakers, selected by their fellow members to represent Character, Leadership, Service and Scholarship. One of our son’s closest friends will do character, a lifelong (girl) friend will do Leadership and our son will do Scholarship.</p>
<p>Remember that your child represents ALL of those characteristics because you instilled them in him or her. Have no doubt that he or she will succeed in a unique way.</p>
<p>I will be grinning from ear-to-ear all morning. Handsome senior boys in tuxes and senior girls in formal dresses; inductees in black suits and white dresses. Lunch at the country club and the afternoon OFF!</p>
<p>amandaK - LOL! I needed that as I sit here hyperventilating over how we are going to pay for the next four years! </p>
<p>Congrats to all - I am also of the belief that all of our kids are going to be where they are supposed to be next fall.</p>
<p>So, D received two merit scholarships yesterday - with D’s major, you have to apply to the university and then to the program - similar to an audition program. In both cases, she received substantial money and got into the universities- we know for sure she did not get into one program and we are waiting to hear on the second program. I called and it does not seem to be an error. We find this very odd.</p>
<p>Even though we are waiting on a couple schools, I think that D is reaching a decision - she is realizing the program that offers the most global opportunities and is the “hidden gem” is the one closest to home. She was accepted to her top three but the hail storms, tornados, and some creepy sites in the French Quarter in NOLA last week during accepted student days helped her realize that Boston is a great college town.</p>
<p>OGM - I am a native northeasterner and I LOVE MN. If your D loves the Bowdoin vibe, she will love the Carleton vibe.<br>
Manarius - Lots of Ds friends are getting yes at higher ranked schools than they get WL or no. Definitely a combination of crazy #s and yield protection.<br>
Mamom - congrats on a great school and affordable option. My boss is a Marquette grad and one of the smartest people I know. He has great affection for his alma mater 
OWM - have a great morning. How nice that the school makes such a big (fancy) deal about NHS. Our school has a fine thing in the auditorium, but yours sounds like much more fun!
Good luck today for whatever trickles in (JHU anyone?). Bracing for tomorrow.</p>