Dd got first acceptance! Such a boost, I think! What is the protocol, anyway? Does one respond to the email? Thank the admissions person? Very happy about this one as it is my personal favorite – and dd’s too when it comes down to overall experience.
@Kardinalschnitt That’s wonderful news! Congratulations!
Congrats to your DD @Kardinalschnitt!
Thanks you two! I didn’t mention the school. It’s weird. I have had this strange superstition all along about mentioning this one: Iowa State!
Dont forget to post it on the results thred!
@labegg where is the results thred? I tried to search for it but couldn’t find it
^^pinned to the very top of the parents forum (^_^)
@Texas1820 http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/2011455-class-of-2022-list-of-acceptances-h-s-class-of-2018.html#latest
I found it and added his schools. Thanks
@Kardinalschnitt congrats on Iowa State. One if my favorites as well.
@1822mom Phone call to Willamette revealed that they don’t really do interviews. Only if the applicant really want to ask questions about the school. They do have a few spots per region available that one may get through your AO. Doesn’t explain the apparent contradiction with the CDS but I’m going to take their word on it.
Wow, I had no idea kids already had applications in and decisions too! Congratulations, that must be a relief, but…Yikes. You’re scaring me. I’m sure my kid will get everything done at the last minute.
@persimmony Dd’s three apps were very quick and easy – no essay. She still hasn’t written her common app essay, though it’s fully-formed in her mind apparently.
Cool. Didn’t know there were apps without essays! Where, if I may ask, just out of curiosity? I saw one was Iowa State, is that right?
Thanks for the intel @chippedtoof! I agree the discrepancy is odd!
@persimmony I would guess most of the schools on the list linked above are rolling and don’t require essays. Could be a few outliers though. My D and most of her friends are using Northern Arizona U as their rolling safety. The app takes about 20 minutes to fill out - self report grades and test scores, $25 fee and that’s it! All have been accepted within a few days of submitting. They state right on the app if you have a gpa 3.0 or above you will be admitted! We are in CA and they are a WUE school which gives us a break on OOS fees. Plus if you submit test scores they consider you for additional $$, my D just got some which brings the cost down to in-state rates. Which is comparable to in-state CSUs for us. So a very solid safety for her. #:-S
@1822mom That’s great. I don’t know if any pubic schools in our state (VA) have that kind of admission. None of the ones we’ve looked at so far do.
@persimmony Just a quick scan through a list of rolling admissions colleges shows Averett, Emory & Henry, Hollins, Shenandoah and lots in WV. Rolling admissions doesn’t necessarily mean no essay, though. Iowa State was self-reporting. You send a formal transcript at the end of senior year. The others were U of Wyoming and U of New Mexico. Both took 20-30 mins to complete.
I’m going to insist on dd applying to two more warmer weather schools: UAB and NC State. She has in mind that she would really love Syracuse, for some reason, so she said that would motivate her to write her essays. Then she would use the common app to apply to some LAs: Luther, Gustavus Adolphus and Juniata, I think.
Anyone here have a kid with no super-meaningful ECs? I don’t think my dd is even going to join a club this year. There is just nothing here for her that speaks to her. She was on the robotics team in 9th grade, then she skipped it in 10th grade to do the school musical, and then last year she joined but completely puttered out before the yearly tournament as she just didn’t feel useful/included on the team. She did the musical and the drama play in 10th but has never wanted to repeat that experience (a huge step for her in the first place due to her anxiety). She has dabbled in visiting seniors, Amnesty Int’l, creative writing club (why?? she hates writing and the teacher), the Rainbow Club as support for all her transgender, lesbian and bisexual friends. She was in Venturing in 9th grade but never did it again because they never did anything. The clubs here are either dominated by the outgoing, clique’ish A-students or they just seem to fizzle. I’m hoping she’ll go out for softball again, and maybe b-ball. She is an IB Art student, so there will be her exhibition at the end of the year.
Is there a way to turn her passion for flight and neuroscience/medicine into something meaningful on an app? I mean she can’t very well write, “I went to air shows all over Europe” or “Twice a week after school I hauled my butt over to the med school library and read every book in English they have in the stacks.” Or can she?
She’s going to try to get herself into a series of neuroscience lectures in English over at the med school (most likely they’ll turn her away) but how does that translate into something she can use on her apps?
This is why she (and I) have been so eager and happy to submit apps that don’t even ask these questions!
Another question I have is: How does one choose a reach school? I feel like finances, her GPA and her math score (really crossing my fingers that she can get over the 600 threshhold in October) preclude most of the schools with decent bio neuroscience departments (Pitt, Brandeis, Northeastern, UC Irvine, etc.). Sometimes – or even most of the time – I think we should just settle for ISU and work on prestige/quality at the grad level.
@Kardinalschnitt I think she can absolutely put that she read every book in English in the med library and the air shows. If I recall the common app actually has a little video talking about the things you can list on the activities section. The problem is being able to prove it, if asked. You also need to break these type of activities down and explain how many hour per week/year your D did it. Maybe craft essays to reflect this independence.
I know that for the class of 2016 a UC school asked for proof of an EC/award for someone here on CC (it was a science fair award I think). Unusual, but not unheard of particularly with the UC schools we discovered. UCs apparently audit a certain percentage of their applications. I would be hesitant to list too many of these individual type EC activities because I do think universities are looking at the EC’s to gage, not only what a kid is interested in or excels at, but also their willingness and ability to interact with their peers.
My oldest DD had a girl friend, who was in band with DD, that spent much of her junior year rebuilding a classic car. She listed it as an EC.
My youngest has few EC’s in comparison to my eldest. Her EC, cheerleading, is a HUGE time suck, she has been unable to participate in many other school activities, because they conflict with cheer. Fortunately it is pretty clear that is where her time went.
I think that if your kiddo is definitely looking to attending grad school you can be a tiny bit less selective in the “prestige” of the undergrad school. You want to be able to preserve an outstanding GPA, balanced with research/internship opportunities. I do not think grad schools particularly care where you went as long as you demonstrate competence.
I also want to say don’t under sell your D when finding her reach schools, you honestly never know what might catch the eye of a school. My eldest solid B DD was accepted at Pitt.
We selected our reaches as a school that you can afford (because you are not likely to get any merit aid being in the lower end of academic range), where you fall at/just below the 25th % in academic stats and where you know you will be able to keep your head above water academically. Don’t apply unless you are willing/able to pay, full freight. A safety is a school you can afford and would be just as happy, if not more happy, to attend than one of your favorite match/reaches.
@Kardinalschnitt A friend of my daughter’s went to Creighton for neuroscience, but left because it was too biological. He transferred to Minnesota because it was more psychology focused there. I’m not sure if you are really looking for more options, but just wanted to mention it.