<p>Kelijake: Gotta love that “upward trend”! I’ve been referencing that one a lot and adding a hand motion swooping toward the sky–as if that made it more official.</p>
<p>anniezz… I can’t remember where I found that article about the need sensitive schools. I think I just googled need aware/sensitive schools and it came up… but some of the schools were surprising on that list… and most were small LAC’s… some off hand were, Oberlin( sad about this one), CC, Bates, Colby, Colgate, Connecticut College, Lafayette,Tufts, Gettysburg,Carleton, Macalester,Pitzer, & Reed. DS14 will not apply to any of these schools. </p>
<p>onesonsmom… some great schools on that Rugg’s list! My S got into Uof Denver, UVM and University of the South-Sewanee and really liked all of them… I also see St Lawrence on there:-) Interesting that Colorado College is not on the list??</p>
<p>5boys - CC is on Rugg’s, I didn’t include it since CC is ‘known’ to onesonmom. I just filtered by size and selectivity. PM me if you want to see the whole list. I just don’t know how to attach file with the regular post.</p>
<p>congratulations, nyermom and kelijake1987 and thanks for the inspirational posts!</p>
<p>Like everyone else I’m so sorry for onesonmom and her son, and I’m glad he’s bounced back. I don’t doubt he’ll attend a school that wants him as much as he loves it. </p>
<p>Congrats nyermom and nyermom’s D! This thread has saved me from many nights of chocolate milk and banana chocolate chip muffins. I wish I had known about CC’s need sensitivity, it became one of my D’s top choices and I must say I’m not confident.
The deferral today from UVM didn’t help.</p>
<p>DS is looking at adding Ohio Wesleyan, Denison, Lawrence, Western Washington and South Dakota School of Mines to his list. He likes the idea of Earlham or Beloit, but gets a little concerned as the size drops closer to 1000 than 2000. Added to Wooster, Puget Sound, Whitman (reach!) and Fort Lewis (still don’t know much about this one, but it’s a safety) and I think it looks a little more do-able. He applied to Lewis & Clark before he decided on Geology, so I guess their geology concentration is a safety as well, along with the University of Arkansas. Oberlin comes off the list now that I hear it’s also need-sensitive; not going through that again.</p>
<p>Things look much less dire today. He’s an optimistic kid overall. We talked this afternoon about changing strategies and reversing the process: first, get accepted, THEN fall in love with the school :)</p>
<p>Thanks psb… I thought that was odd that CC wasn’t on it…
cbreeze… sorry about UVM… my S was deferred as well last year… it was his first decision and it really got him worried… he was accepted pretty soon in Jan… their admissions are just plain weird… he even visited and we live in CA… I mean come on?? What was worse was looking at all the kids that were accepted who had way worse stats than my S.</p>
<p>Sounds like a good list onesonsmom… although my S was deferred and the rejected from L&C… he didn’t really like it and applied thinking it was a safety in a town he adored… so I think that was one of the hardest pills for him to swallow. They MUST be need aware too, because they have a 65% acceptance rate and my DS had 2200 SAT’s and a 3.6 GPA?? Anyway… my point is that there are tons of great schools who will love your S and offer him a great FA package and probably some merit $.</p>
<p>I am going to work your strategy hard with DS14, of not falling for a school till you are accepted… I made the stupid mistake of taking my DS12 to visit CC and that was all she wrote… just like your S onesonsmom… I always tried to take them to the schools that are easier admits first, and try to avoid the harder ones, but I was under the naive assumption that CC was a pretty sure bet for my S…hahahaha</p>
<p>Hey all. What a fun week (and when you think about it, this is really only the start!). DS got deferred from UVM–I texted him the results but DH said he’s upstairs asleep. 
Anyway–I think he won’t be crushed but a little embarrassed. Both of his brothers got in there and a good friend <em>probably</em> got in. Plus one of his best buds is a freshman there–I see some good-natured ribbing in his near future.</p>
<p>Oneson–besides loving Wooster, I’m a big fan of OWU (DS#3 is already in there–woot woot!!). It was a close second for DS#1, who ended up at Denison. OWU had great, normal kids and has the reputation of being especially strong in the sciences.</p>
<p>From the above list for geology programs–Gustavus is one of the best schools for merit/financial aid. Campus is a little drab but the town is quaint. North Dakota State University, again, not a LAC, but probably a great feeder program to the oil companies in ND right now. Morris is a wonderful school, very rural but VERY highly regarded. UW-River Falls is in a beautiful setting, reasonable out of state tuition, includes books in the tuition fees! UM=Duluth–for an outdoor nut that doesn’t mind the cold, excellent choice. Campus has a tunnel system so shorts are common in the winter in class :D.</p>
<p>5boys - exactly; to “demonstrate interest”, you take the kid to the campus, thinking it will improve chances for admission, and all that happens is you get to watch the heartbreak of unrequited love play out!</p>
<p>I’m reading and hearing about some crazy-sounding admission decisions: stellar stats denied or deferred, surprising low stat admissions. </p>
<p>I read two books recently which both helped me understand and terrified me about college admissions. Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Students Find the Right Collegeand Find Themselves, by David L. Marcus (well, this one just made me kind of sad too that we don’t have such a guidance counselor at our school) and "The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College"by Jacques Steinberg (dates from 2002, about one Wesleyan admission cycle)</p>
<p>However, I think I’ve entered some sort of parallel universe of college admissions. I actually spent time the other night on College *******, voting on admissions chances in order to accrue enough points to play Chance me on DS’ colleges (you have to register). Heaven help me. Don’t go there unless you want to waste a lot of time AND fret while doing so.</p>
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<p>Please do not be hard on yourself. It is not you, it is definitely not your son. It is that mysterious “chance” factor. You did the best you could, with the information you had and under the circumstances you had to deal with. There is the right school for your son and I am sure he will find it. Good luck to him.</p>
<p>I want to “LIKE” maze’s post 10 times:-)</p>
<p>onesonmom, you’ve been in my thoughts, it hurts to see your child in pain, brings out the “mama bear” . I have a good friend whose son was also rejected from the same school last year after a very seductive dance, I hate the games some of these schools play, I’m happy to hear your son is moving on,I know it will all work out for the best. I’ve been trying stay distracted but the waiting game is driving me crazy I had an annual physical right after the EA deadline and my BP was 145/95! I’ve never had high BP in my life!<br>
BTW Union is another college that is “need aware”, it’s on my son’s reach list but I don’t have high hopes because our “need” is high.</p>
<p>5boys, thanks for the list…sad to say, D’s ED school is on the list, and I’m another single mom needing aid. I’ve known it was need aware and that full pay kids have an advantage, but that isnt our life , so D is rolling the dice. A few more days to wait and wonder. Oneson, Earlham is one of my favorite schools and a place where students truly get a great education. I know several grads who are amazing people. Of all the schools we visited, it’s the one where students, faculty and administrators impressed the heck out of me as caring, smart, compassionate and engaged. It is small though and when combined with it’s location, probably keeps it from being on everyone’s radar. I know that they are looking to raise enrollment to 1500 over the next few years. The application requires a few extra (short but thoughtful) essays, but worth it…they really want to know the students.</p>
<p>Hang in there everyone…</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for this thread. My DD has LD & ADHD and will likely have a 3.0 after this first semester of freshman year. He PSAT scores were horrible. But she works her butt off every day and has so much to offer. I’m terrified that I am not going to guide her correctly through high school and into the right college for her. It is nice to see what others have done and to see that kids with these stats can get into good schools.</p>
<p>5boys—i agree. Maze’s post was beautifully written.</p>
<p>Hopes- please look into the ACT for your d when the time comes. My d’s PSAT scores were pretty bad but her ACT scores (with a prep class) were good enough for all the schools she considered. Do a web search and you can find checklists to determine which test is better for your student. Focusing on the ACT was one of the best decisions we made in this process.</p>
<p>I agree, the ACT testing was much better for my ADHD student. Unfortunately we started with one SAT with horrible results and I made the mistake of sending that to some of her schools she was considering Junior year. Then we immediately switched to ACT testing. She took it three times. Second ACT test date was far better than the first one. Third test was a waste - I don’t think she even tried.</p>
<p>Thanks, mazewanderer and others who have offered thoughts and support.</p>