Check student newspapers for admitted student data. The mid 50% test scores for admitted students tend to be higher than that of the enrolled students (CDS).
Admitted student data will never include data from those who applied TO though, but some of the CDS’ will, where the school requires those who applied TO to submit a test score before matriculating.
@homerdog We’re also looking at the higher of the two numbers (i.e., what they’re marketing), but it’s frustrating! Bates, for example, now says their “Middle 50% ACT is 33-34.” The CDS says the 25-75th percentile is 29-33, and that’s the range they were using before the latest class. I understand that their admitted range must have gone up, but I think it’s confusing and a little off-putting.
Today is the first day of D21’s senior year. She was nervous about how different it would be with all the Covid restrictions. Also, the students are split in half to bring down density and each half goes to school every other day. It’s hard for D that her best friend and three others of her friend group are in the other half. It just feels wrong for them to be separated during their final year (I know it’s necessary).
Also, in our area, high school kids hold an unofficial event called Senior Scav, and it was this weekend. It’s supposedly a scavenger hunt, but it’s actually a day of binge drinking, public nudity (with photos), and vandalism. It’s common for kids to end up in the hospital or get arrested. I thought parents would insist that their kids come up with an alternative this year due to the virus, but many let their kids go, or even hosted kids at their houses. Hundreds of kids were gathered together in various locations—no masks or distancing. If any of the participants had Covid, it is certainly spreading in our community now.
Fingers-crossed that we can pull off at least a month of (every other day) in-person school before the virus numbers get too high. That way, the students will have connected with their teachers, and the different classes will have bonded and figured out how to function together before they go virtual-only.
On the positive side, D21’s schedule worked out even though she has two classes that each only meet in one specific time slot. And she finished a draft of her CA essay.
Best wishes to everyone else in adjusting to the school year!
D21 finally got the results of both her COVID tests, so she is attending her college Spanish class in-person for the first time today. Zoom actually worked fine, but she looks forward to seeing the other students in person and not having herself up on a giant screen in the classroom with everyone looking up at her like she’s in a movie, lol. So far, there are zero positive cases at this college and this week they are testing everyone for the third and last time. Everyone else seemed to get their tests back right away, but D21’s first test results did not arrive until after her second test results (which came within 48 hours). Anyway, she is now off to our state college to get her ID, attend her class, and go get her final COVID test.
I think her other classes are going well. I haven’t checked in with her about them since they started. I’ll ask her tonight.
She still has to decide on her ED2 choice - she really really likes each of the contenders for entirely different reasons - but I think she is closer to a decision now. She has Zoom appointments with students at each choice this week and next, and then she will make her decision. She is also almost finished that one final RD app to a lotto school where I personally feel she has the least chance of getting in out of all her RD choices (I just don’t see this one as a fit for her at all, and it’s a lotto school, and it has a reputation for not taking homeschoolers seriously). That one has eight million essays/short answers, and she now has only the “Why X” portion to write. Hopefully she can get this one finished and submitted this weekend, then decide on the ED2 choice and finish all submissions next week. She already wrote the supplemental essays for the ED2 contenders.
She MIGHT apply to some U of CA schools too as one of her friends has been bending her ear lately about UCSB, UCSC, and UC Davis. However, those schools are the complete opposite in terms of size and location to what she has been saying she wants all along, so I doubt by the time November rolls around she’ll actually decide to apply. Plus, that would be four more essays and I think she is nearly essay-ed out. Also, I don’t know if I want to spend $210 on last minute “why not” applications. I think she might be worried about not getting into any schools at all for some reason. She’s applying to a large amount of schools though, and unless one of her recommenders sabotaged her, she should get in to at least a couple of her Common App choices. She has a well-thought-out and researched list.
By the way, it might be worth it for your D/S21s to look over their application AFTER it is submitted as well as before. D21 caught a mistake on her in-state college app after it had been submitted. She swears it did not show up like that in the preview. It was in the school-specific part, and it listed her senior year math and science courses as all the AP choices (as in, she is taking AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics 1 and C, and AP Environmental Science all during senior year). She is very certain she did not write that. She contacted her admissions officer at that school to let them know of the error on the app - she got the impression it was a glitch in their system.
@JanieWalker one other consideration about UC is they are very late to announce decisions - March 31st I’ve heard. I’m not sure, but I think that also includes OOS. As I mentioned I think it’s a great year to apply UC OOS, but it sounds like you have some other great choices on the list.
•The slow-then-frantic pitter patter of footsteps upstairs
•The banging on the bathroom door followed by “I NEED TO TAKE A SHOWER TOO!!”…followed by “THAT’S MY TOWEL YOU MORON!!”
•The begrudging walk downstairs where you can tell it’s been 6 months since they’ve done this
•EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!
•Did you get your water bottle? No. Mask? Oh almost forgot
•YOU NEED TO TAKE A LUNCH!
•EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!!!
For better or worse, this circus of mine is headed back to school in person this morning. Saying a prayer for them, their amazing teachers and all school staff today. 
Thanks. I think she is worried about not getting into any of the colleges on her list at all, which is unlikely unless, as I wrote, one of her recommenders decided to sabatoge her. I don’t think either of those professors would do that, and she has a solid app and if there are any typos at this point then just shoot me now because we both have proofread everything to the point where we just can’t read any of it anymore - but still, D21 feels like she has worked too hard for too long and she wants to have choices. If she does not get in to either of the ED schools but has at least three RD colleges to choose from, then she’ll feel like she was successful even if she gets outright rejected everywhere else. She would be happy going to any of the colleges on her list, and she has visited all but one multiple times. She does like the thought of CA though, and she loves the state (we’ve visited different parts of CA multiple times). However, very large universities far from home are not what she has said she’s wanted all this time. So we’ll see. By November, her in-state university may have given her a decision (she applied EA), so if she is accepted there sooner rather than later then that may affect any inclination to apply to the U of CA schools.
Me: What have you done with the Common App so far?
S21: I think I linked it to Naviance.
Well, that’s a start.
Bummer about @homerdog , but since I missed the post that put them in timeout, I wanted to reread the policy. I’ll share it since I value each one of you and your helpful posts 
“Out of respect for both moderators and policies, discussion of moderator actions and forum policies is welcomed via private message or e-mail; these issues are off-topic for the forums.”
Update - both of S21’s two remaining SAT registrations were fully refunded.
First day of school for d21 and lots of other western pa school districts and the broadband has been going in and out already
@3SailAway Senior Scav sounds like a horrid idea in a non-Covid year!!
Best wishes to your daughter. I hope they get in a month of bonding at least.
First day of School for my daughter, looks like the majority of the kids chose to attend in-person in our area. She was expecting that her AP Physics C- 2 period block will be divided into one period Mechanics and the other E&M, that is how it is usually done in our district. But this year, they decided to do Mechanics Fall semester and E&M Spring. Additionally, they decided to offer AP MacroEcon only in fall. So she is not a happy camper.
On a positive note, she got her first acceptance from one of her safety schools. Still have to apply to other schools.
So D21 decided that she would like to ED Williams. We did visit in the summer of 2019 but did not see Williams when students and classes are in full swing.
A little about D21 she loves to read, to the point it where it is a problem because she needs to be doing other things. Loves learning but care little about grades and always happy to help others. She is interested in studying classics and/or psychology but that may change, there is so much she has not been exposed to yet. She is the type of person to have a small tight group of friends. Loves the outdoors but not very active.
Is the workload overwhelming? She is a fast reader but a slow writer. Do they have support services and do kids use them. Academically she is a big fish in a small pond in her high school. I am sure it will be an adjustment to be in an environment where you are no longer the smart kids, and one of many smart kids. I would think many of the kids at Williams are coming from more challenging high schools.
What else should we know about Williams?
Each UC has a different release date. The releases begin mid-March (UCLA), Davis was 3/20 thru the last week of March (Cal Berkeley), which was 3/26.
@sushiritto thanks for clarifying!
So, I was feeling concerned that S had not finished any supplementals before last week. But, I’m happy to report that he has 4 EA schools now done, one that he can submit without finishing his personal statement. He’s started the big essay but really needs more insight, to tie it all together, and to write a good ending. He’s struggling and needs to push through. I’m kind of envious of people who have hired out a private counselor to work with their child, though we did save money doing it this way. With my D24 I will definitely hire someone to keep her on track. In other news, even news publications are starting to project that we wont have any testing in California this fall.
@AOP1925 There are several Williams experts on CC who might be able to help. I’ll tag them, but see if you can find posts by @TheGreyKing @shuttlebus @momrath and @TennisParent . My D found their posts helpful when she was trying to make up her mind about where to go to school. She’ll be Williams 2025, so perhaps our Ds will be classmates.
I also found the college’s writing resources information helpful. Students come to Williams from so many different types of high schools, so I’m not suprised that they offer academic support. https://writing-programs.williams.edu/
I’ve got a couple of UC and MIT applicant questions. I’m trying not to be a helicopter parent (hey, if you don’t get into your reach school and end up at UCs, that’s in-state tuition and 5 years less of work for me)…but I am also fighting my Type A personality.
It looks like UCs take into account your sophomore/junior year GPA for the a-g classes. Should my son just submit his app now? The four essays are done and he feels great about them. By review committee of my friends says he’s good to go (they’re good at this, too). I think he’s set other than last minute grammar review. Is there a reason to wait other than for grades in the first quarter? Our three classes per quarter this year is so wacky as it is.
For MIT, there are 5 short essays (luckily, tons of reapplication from the UC essays). There is also an optional box to submit an open ended essay in case students need to submit any other insight. MIT is not on the common app system and I think S21 common app essay could go there. Too much/extra? Do people use the empty prompt box? He’s not done with the common app essay, yet. He’s restarting on a 3rd, much stronger and creative concept.
He’s applying ED to Brown (super reach) so I was hoping to get these ones out of the way so that he can focus on Brown and not have so many apps outstanding.
@AOP1925 - I don’t know that I have much to add to your Williams’ question - it was 3rd on my D16’s list - and that was strictly bc I was hunting for the best fiscal deal. She got a likely letter there (applied RD) and loved it - freshman entryway, Oxford program, beautiful scenery and gorgeous art museums were some of the reasons she liked it A LOT. Had they been able to match her other offers, she most likely would have gone there. GL to your kiddo!
@carlson2 Does the likely letter have the financial aid info?