Out of state student. Admitted undecided to Arts & Sciences, main campus.
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My daughter was deferred by NC State (a solid match) but accepted by UNC, her dream school and T30. FWIW, she finished with pretty decent stats but when I joined this board, she was struggling physically with an illness and her grades were slipping big time.
I hate to say this but sometimes money talks. I have seen plenty of 3 - 3.4 kids get into solid schools (maybe not T50). Actually coming to think of it, someone I know got into Boston College with 3.7-ish. Full-pay.
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wow, congratulations! That’s quite encouraging to hear that she got into her dream school!
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Thanks. We still pinch ourselves at times but looking back, she was not a bad applicant for holistic programs.
There are some excellent podcasts that are worth listening to if you really want to learn more about the admissions process from inside-out. Two that I highly recommend are “The Search” by Dartmouth and “Inside the Yale Admissions Office.” The tone of each is quite different.
I guess what I am trying to say is that a kid can bring a lot to a college campus beyond just grades and revenue dollars. The key is to find a fit that works for both parties.
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@auroranights and @lisabees I’d love to hear how the fall semester went at Kalamazoo for your daughters.
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Hi @nichols51! It has been so long that I’ve forgotten my login info and had to create a new account. 
DD is doing really well. Kalamazoo has been a good fit for her. She’s thriving academically and has a nice group of friends and a boyfriend. She likes having smaller classes and professors that know her. I think the biggest challenge has been that the old dorms are need of some serious attention which has been frustrating at times. I’ve had some concerns about how the school has communicated about covid and a couple other issues but that is honestly more my issue than hers.
How is your son doing? I hope that his freshman year has been off to a good start!
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That is great to hear!
The old-dorm-in-need-of-attention issue exists at @S21’s school, too. My son has not had to deal with it this year as he is in the newest dorm on campus, but his is mainly a first-year dorm (some scattered upperclassmen), so he won’t be there forever.
Overall, Wheaton has been great for him. He has said he definitely picked the right school. Really no complaints from him aside from the sophomores in the next room who blast music in the wee hours and a class he wanted to drop early on (but stuck with and liked just fine). So far it seems as if the school is in the sweet spot academically for him - challenging and stretching him without crushing him.
He has grown and has room to grow more. I know there are a lot of activities and clubs that would be a fit for him, but he hasn’t sought those out yet - he’s a quieter kid who tends to spend a bit more time alone. He seems to be content with his social life - I have a feeling his relationships are pretty casual at this point just given his nature. He’s had good luck so far with class registration, professors, and advising. Fingers crossed it continues for second semester!
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I’m so happy that your DS feels like he made the right decision with Wheaton. It sounds like a great fit! Sending lots of good wishes for a wonderful second semester! It is good to be on the other side of the decision making process and to watch them start to spread their wings.
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@nichols51 I’m now lisadee 
My daughter LOVES K. We are thrilled with the school, the academics, the students. Is it perfect? Nope. But we don’t expect perfect. The dorms could be better; communication could have been better at the beginning of the year. But, it’s been wonderful. The kids work super hard and are super friendly. My daughter has thrived academically (despite the more stressful trimester system) and is involved with the Ultimate Frisbee team.
Are you considering K for your daughter?
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So happy to hear how your D is thriving at K! It’s hard to believe these HS Class of 2021ers are finishing up their first years already.
My D23 isn’t actually considering K - they don’t have some of the majors she is most interested in. This is also true of Wooster which we loved with S21 but won’t be on D23’s list. She and my S21 don’t have a lot of overlap on their lists (makes sense as they are very different both as people and as students). She looked at Dickinson, which was one of S21’s top 3, but she didn’t like the loud road that splits the campus (we also made the mistake of stopping there for an hour or two when we were on our way by it anyway on a quiet hot day in summer…oops). The only other school from his list that she has on hers is Willamette, which she hasn’t been to see, but which offers everything she’s looking for and also appeals to her because of their partnership with Tokyo International University (her karate sensei, who is originally from Japan, attended TIU).
She is mostly looking at schools in the Northeast but with a handful in the Midwest on the list (Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, Oberlin, Denison, and Kenyon). We looked at Denison with S21, and D23 will be at Kenyon this summer for a writing program. Her high school junior year ends in a few weeks, so the essay writing is about to begin - glad I had a year off from this process between the two of them applying!
S21 will be home in a few weeks…at this point he has no summer plans. We know he needs some real downtime after such an adjustment this year, but we also know it’s a long summer, and he’ll need to have some structure and responsibility…he’s been resisting thinking about it and doing anything about it while at school. That’s the next thing on my list of things to worry about, lol.
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