I’m so just generally curious to see how this college admissions cycle pans out and especially what the waitlist situation turns out to be. Also wondering if it will be remotely similar for the class of 2022 since so many schools will still be test blind/optional.
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Good luck to Duke kids today!
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My S isn’t even close to deciding on a 5/1 school - gulp it’s going on second week of April - and has some very good stuff on the WLs. It IS hard to ignore. It does seem really unpredictable this year with Covid kicking up a bit, the Brazil variant, international visa issues, long waitlists, etc. I don’t know what to expect.
They always say to love all the schools on your list but that seems like a bit of hogwash. You’re not going to love them all equally of course but will probably end up happy.
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Ugh…I feel for your son. My daughter has several waitlist spots, and great options too. At first we celebrated waitlist offers because it seemed better than a rejection, but now we are in this yucky in between spot. I’m also feeling very uneasy about her beginning to search for potential roommates because she would have to leave them high and dry if she gets off the wait list. My kid will take a waitlist like the day before school starts, that’s how bad she wants to go there.
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Oh I hope she makes it. My S could definitely roll in no roomie, July switch up, worst housing. We’ll get no hotel reservations. One WL school even asked if he would transfer but I don’t think he’d go quite that far.
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Thank you for explaining this. I’d be curious if you (or anyone from UK) thinks that the university admissions system there is more equitable to students of different income levels than the US or less equitable. I don’t have a sense of whether or not the quality of education pre-university to prepare students for university level academics is as variable as it is among our 50 states.
Ha! Same, my kid would sleep in a tent 
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My S21 just got into Duke – big surprise. We weren’t expecting that at all!
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Congrats!!!
Wow Congrats!! Game changer after that Rice defer then rejection, I’m sure.
My son just got his first rejection, from Duke!! Probably was actually a good thing as it makes the process clearer, no waitlist to think about and it helps his ego as far as actually having a rejection! His top choice is tomorrow which is his ED deferral to RD so that’s where the pressure has built to and if nothing then it’s down to UVA vs UMich for him and a couple waitlists and bam done.
Congrats again!!
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Congratulations!
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D is in to Duke!!! She is so excited. This was the EDdeferral school. One more to come tomorrow but I think she has already decided…
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It’s all in the user name! Seriously, congrats, how exciting! And congratulations to @AlmostThere2018 as well.
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S21 got into Duke today. That was Mom’s number 1 choice and it currently sits atop the leaderboard. He as Penn and Harvard coming in tomorrow. Would take Duke over Penn, but not over Harvard. And he’s holding out hope for Chicago waitlist.
But ecstatic over Duke. We have family in the area to act as a support network.
I’m ready to hear these last decisions and try to move forward.
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There are definitely bad schools, although all are inspected centrally and performance metrics and the reports are published, so there is some transparency about that. Lack of ambition in some deprived areas is also an issue. Wealthier families will choose where they live based on the quality of schools, which is not dissimilar to the US.
I think that some of the biggest differences are that the cost is basically the same wherever you go, so you try to get into the best university you can, and that admission criteria are very transparent, so you know what you should aim for (your school will tell you what they are predicting your A level grades will be) since there are no holistic criteria and it is illegal to discriminate on grounds of race and gender. The outcomes are predictable too, barring a disaster on the exams. The quality of students, including preparation, at a given university is therefore very similar (though sometimes it may vary a bit by subject).
Applications are way less stressful, just one personal statement that is sent to all universities you apply to. The stress is reserved for the actual exams themselves (no senioritis there).
@2Devils does that me you guys will be 3Devils now?!
@AlmostThere2018 Congrats!!!
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Congrats!!!
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Congratulations on all of the recent acceptances.
Does anyone know how long a financial aid reconsideration process should take? My kid is definitely ready to pick a school but we are waiting on that aid decision. I know it will vary by school; just wondering on ballpark timeframe if anyone has been through this with a meets-full-need college.
Each day is one day closer to May 1st and we need to figure out whether to plan a visit. Fun times in 2021, right? 
3 devils?!!!
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Congrats!