The intricacies of college admissions…thank you for clarifying this, Mwfan. I gather that it’s improbable yet possible for someone (very few) to get off a waitlist, but basically a rejection for most. Disheartening to hear. Especially this year, where waitlisting seems to be the norm. In my personal opinion, it’s somewhat cruel to the kids who end up clinging on to hope when the chances are so slim. In my son’s case, I just think the right thing to do is to withdraw some of those offers when he’s already been accepted to one of his top choices. Even if it won’t significantly move the needle… All the best.
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Lol…I hear you. My D22 seems to only be interested in AZ and CA! I’m starting to take this personally!
While I respect and substantially agree with what @mwfan1921 has written, I do think that we won’t really know everything about this year’s admission process for a few months, if not longer. The word of the year has been “unpredictable.” If there are a couple of WL schools that your child would jump at the chance to attend, I don’t see any harm in riding it out. Especially if your child is one of those who will wonder, “what if”. However, if it were me, I’d have him limit his WL acceptances to a reasonable number and encourage him to get excited about the options he has.
Best of luck. He sounds great and I’m sure he’ll thrive wherever he ends up.
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Completely agree on the unpredictability factor, and think we will see WL movement well into the summer at a number of schools!
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Thank you, mamaedefamilia. He’s pretty much set on UChicago (we got a sweet deal from them), unless he gets into UPenn or Stanford. Still waiting to see what Emory’s package will look like, but in the end, I think it will come down to these 3. Since he got deferred from Penn, I am not really counting on it. Penn and Chicago were the ones he really wanted to get into. Stanford would be an added bonus (have fam in Bay area), but with a year as crazy as this, their acceptance rate will probably be negative…lol…talk about an unpredictable year!
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@Dean_J is a true gem! She’s over in the UVA Decision thread helping to keep the kids calm.
This forum needs more like her!
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Totally agree. She is so transparent about the process. Following her and learning about the admissions process in general has been very helpful.
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Agree and feel the same about Dr. Graves at UGA!
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Here’s my all time favorite re: Stanford admissions!
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She really is. I think that really is a factor for me and my D to choose UVA! So caring and professional.
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Not admissions help but Miami University has an admissions person who moderates the parents accepted facebook page. The guy is unbelievable with his prompt responses to questions, his links to the school website, recommendations for restaurants etc. He also has bi weekly live chat regarding issues like housing, orientation, course selection etc. He had one with a current parent of a student to ask questions. Very Very informative.
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Ha, my son’s favorite article. He was admitted SCEA to Stanford that year (class of 2020)
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S21 got accepted to UofT as well. It was a political hedge for us when he applied (we’re international).
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Does hedge mean he will most likely go to school in the states? My D has dual citizenship and loves Canada. As a parent, I just wish the classes weren’t so large. She is very much a liberal arts kid.
I think the UVA Dean is incredible. I’d check the UVA thread from time to time and I was so pleased with the transparency and the engagement from a dean!
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Evidently someone from our high school lied about being Native American (she is 1% or something) and wrote her essay on being discriminated against for being Cherokee. It’s so depressing to think about schools falling for this and giving her a spot over honest kids. Ugh.
I was just discussing the potential of students lying (or grossly over exaggerating) on apps with my husband. I know colleges will dismiss students if they find out that they lied on their application, but colleges rarely have a reason to thoroughly review and confirm everything on an app. I think if colleges stated that applications would be randomly audited, students would be extra careful not to over exaggerate or lie. That said, I trust that most kids are honest.
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I will admit, I’m a weather wimp. I say that I would like a change of pace from our Northern California weather, but when push comes to shove, would I? Anyway, it probably wasn’t the rain that gave me second thoughts when we went to visit UW, but just that it seems so far away (2 hour plane ride lol) and the city seemed so big (we are in the suburbs). For my S, who has never been to overnight camp and is a homebody, I just wonder if an urban city is for him. But mostly, it’s my anxiety over him leaving. Where did the time go?
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@MorseLewis on this page with you as a parent. My S is kind of torn about Seattle. Loves the weather, green, and it’s so much younger than our city and full of opportunities. He was intimidated by the protesting and they went back up to see that other than murals it has passed. But, I think he has mixed feelings about the urban area being sort of dangerous / sad (during pandemic). They connected with a local and she said the Seattle U area is changing and impacted.
Unfortunately on our trips we did not have a car, so there is much he hasn’t seen but would get out to enjoy. I think he could thrive there. Very different than some of his other choices in terms of a growth experience.
You are right–moving away is part of growing up. It’s hard to let them go even if it’s something that we’ve been working toward. I just need to trust that S will make a decision that feels right for him. No college is perfect, but if one fits 85% of his needs, I think that’s pretty good. S is introverted and kind of shy so I guess I worry about him more.
Seattle is an amazing city. We’ve visited through the years and there’s so much fun stuff and good food to experience. I would love to spend 3-4 days there just to explore.
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