Follow-on to the QOTD: The ease of the common app (and increased college advertising/targeting) has built a situation where people apply to many schools they are highly unlikely to attend even if accepted. No supplementals required and a fee waiver too – why not apply? I’m not judging. DD has done this too (after filtering for NPC viability).
If pushed, DD would probably say there’s 3 or 4 of the 9 schools where she’s applied that are really “the ones.” After adding in the in-state safety in case we lose our jobs next week, plus a lottery school option, were the other 3 or 4 apps really necessary? Perhaps not, but yet she applied anyway for various reasons. I’m not saying she wouldn’t be happy at those schools if they suddenly became the only options, just that they are really pretty unlikely to be the final choice. But yet for some she did an extra essay, and we paid more fees to send the CSS/Profile and ACT scores to another school, etc.
I guess I’m struggling with the difference between “happy to go there” vs. “at least somewhat likely to go there.”
Anyone with older kids, did any of them end up somewhere completely unexpected (a last minute “mom and dad” add to the list or a school that wouldn’t have made it on the list at all without a random fee waiver)?
D accepted to instate 1st choice! I was really starting to worry because her twin brother was accepted weeks ago. So so glad she had a positive outcome, she really doubts herself. I’m not sure if she will finish up the last couple of applications now.
Her brother accepted in to the same schools honor college today as well. Though it is his last choice.
We’re playing the lottery and hunting full ride scholarships, hence the large number of apps. 16/17 of the schools offer at least 1 lottery scholarship that is either a full ride or very close to it, a good accounting program, a decent Arabic program, and D1 sports with good school spirit. D would be happy to attend any of them and will choose among those that offer her the BigMAC. Given our strategy, applying to only a few schools would have been foolish and presumptuous. It is only by luck that she has won 2 and so early in the game.
And I will add that only a few of these were simple apps. Of the 17, only 8 were common app schools and most of those had supplements.
7 apps (2 were freebies and 2 had early scholarship deadlines - all 4 of these are currently out of the running)
Outside scholarships apps - 3 so far, more to come, not sure how many will get done
@itsgettingreal17 I completely understand the merit aid hunt, and that’s a great reason to cast a wide net.
Admittedly D17’s in a bit different situation because her sport, her stats, her desired program, and the merit possibilities all lined up well. I may very well find DD2020 or DS2023 applying to a much larger number of schools on a wider hunt for merit.
It’s been said before, but for those of us hunting big merit money, lots of applications is really the only way to go. D17 is the oldest of four, with D19 uneven enough in her coursework that merit aid is a more questionable proposition for her (and no way to tell yet for D23 or D25); since we desire to actually have retirement savings once all four are through, we need to score lots of money, particularly for the first.
For many, perhaps even most, there’s no reason to apply to more that four or five schools. (And most don’t—remember, CC is a weird place, and in the rest of the world applying to your local public and being done with it is not abnormal.) For some of us, however, we’ve got our reasons, and they have little to nothing to do with the Common App.
That’s why I like it here And at least in this board, I feel that the parents here really have a better grasp on reality, process, and possibilities. I know I lurked for a long time and it really was hugely educational.
@stencils, my D15 wanted to go to a small LAC. That meant big MAC. We were looking at schools all over and we’re visiting friends in VA while looking at schools. They suggested we look at a nearby LAC we hadn’t heard of, Roanoke college. We visited and it was nice enough that D applied. Truthfully, D had stats at the top of their range, but she said it would be better than our state flagship. She was actually offered a competitive full ride scholarship there, and would be in school there if she hadn’t of gotten a similar offer from another school she liked more. They were so nice it was difficult to turn that award down.
QOTD: 2 apps submitted – luckily got into REA and then withdrew OOS public EA, but that probably doesn’t really count as one to compete with @shuttlebus
Did also submit one independent scholarship app but did not make it to next step.
I am afraid to do the accounting. Applied to more than needed.
5 Big reaches. ED 1 and 2 among that group
4 Small Reaches. Except acceptance at 3-4
7 safety -mids. Only one of those will be a real contender in the end.
Countless honors and scholarship apps. Cant tax my brain adding those up.
We could have saved some money and eliminated 6-8 of those applications. But I wanted the Bama Full tuition in hand, and some wanted to try others. I also made him apply to three instate schools as financial safeties. He doesn’t want to go. we will see
@stencils, to answer an earlier question, My oldest D had a surprise ending. After applying and finishing all her apps early in September, she was bored one day. She said she wanted to apply to one more school. She asked for my opinion, and I threw out Texas. She said, where is UT, and no one from our area has ever attended. I told her to trust me, she would love austin, and she would not get in. Well she got in… She had already deposited at Wisconsin, and I offered her a trip to check it out. She loved it, went, we saved a fortune by getting instate tuition after a year, and the story had a surprise ending. Somehow, this plays in my head, as S applied to so many schools
S17 and I just came back from a long walk and were having this very conversation. In all, there were approximately 20 schools that were considered during this process. We eliminated schools and got it down to about 12. College counselor added a couple and it went back up to 14.
S17 applied EA to three schools on the list that offered EA (two in the top half of his list and one that is bottom of the list). With an early action acceptance, he has now opted to apply to only one lottery school so after all these months the “final” list has 7 schools applied to.
@shuttlebus Just adding on: you’re probably right some kids apply to schools via CA that they, in the end, would not attend. I think that is ridiculous, but it probably happens more than I think.
In our case, we had a budget and long list of schools D17 would be “happy” to attend. Truth is, some she would be “happier” to attend. Once she got a result from a “very happy to attend” school that was also within budget, she held back on some of the others. Our budget was not $0, so she will have several options that may hurt more than I was hoping, but that was the deal. Interestingly, there were more good options than I expected in then end. CC scared the cr4p out of me initially!
Hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday and received many nice gifts! Wishing a very happy and exciting new year celebration to you all!
I have a kinda dumb question about what to do after acceptance. The school portals that show the acceptances, all have an accept button ( accept the acceptance). But there is no deadline explicitly shown for the button. Is this the button that we don’t need to press till May 1? Also what’s the enrollment fee folks talk about? If you don’t press the accept button, you don’t need to pay any enrollment fee right? Can you press the accept button but later on decide not to go to the school? Sorry if I come across as very confused…
At least with respect to some schools, housing priority is determined based on when you submit a housing contract. To do that, you need to accept. Both typically involve some type of fee/deposit. Depending on the school, some of that may be refunded if you do not enroll. Fees I have seen are $50-100 for acceptance and a few hundred dollars for housing.
To answer some variant of the QOTD. I think in retrospect DD should have applied to only 3 schools - Purdue, Rose Hulman, and RPI. Maybe RIT and IU - though logically that could be done only if she was rejected at Rose Hulman and Purdue.
She actually will apply to 9… Some for not very good reasons, TBH. (And I’m counting “sticking it to my ex-BF” as one of the better reasons…)
I think a QOTD’ (prime) could be: how many different essays (“long”, 500-600 word, and “short”, 100-300 words) did your kid write.
For DD, it was 2 “long” common app essays, 3 other long ones (which were mainly scrapped together from outtakes from the CA essays), and maybe 4 short “Why X” or “tell me about one of your ECs”.
I can’t fathom getting DD to write 10+ long essays…
4 EA
2 safeties
3 matches
7 reaches
2 scholarship applications
3 interviews done, 2 more to do.
She was denied at one, deferred at her first choice and accepted at a safety (with no money so no go-ey.)
She is chugging along, will have the final three submitted this week. I am looking over essays but am otherwise not involved. DS19 has 3 prep applications he’s working on between naps and hockey. Priorities. I seriously want to stab him with a fork.
QOTD: Four applications, no real essays beyond common app one. Applied to our state flagship, two LACs and one school ED. Luckily got in ED choice with a financial aid package that was identical to NPC.
Has submitted one local scholarship application, with plans to do two more.
And at least in this board, I feel that the parents here really have a better grasp on reality, process, and possibilities. I know I lurked for a long time and it really was hugely educational.