Did all the top 20 boys want CS/Engr? Sounds like an opportunity for those who want something different.
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While not in CA and not many kids here apply to UC schools, our suburban Chicago school does usually get a few into the UCs, about 10 or so into Ivies and then another few into the others like Duke, Vandy, U-Chicago, Wash U, Northwestern type schools. Overall our class only had 1 get into an Ivy and this person is not anywhere near top of the class but happens to be a super legacy whoâs grandparents have a building named after their family (an older sibling also attends with similar background - not in honor society, or top student). That is common with this school and taking someone from our school. Our numbers at the other schools were much lower than usual with maybe half of what we usually get. I think maybe 8-10 going to those schools when we normally have at least 10 alone going to Northwestern. Also 2 into Rice.
This year the top of the class which other than 2, is all boys all going into Engineering and so maybe thatâs why we took such a big beating since none of them were accepted into any of those schools. We had a ton get into Purdue which is typical, but normally only 4-5 attend but this year I believe more than twice that are attending since that was their best option. I think Wisconsin didnât reject a single person that applied from our school including students in some lower level courses, is the big winner for kids going there because if a kid got in that would normally not, they are going there. I think we will have 25-30 end up there which is usually about what we get going to UIUC which is where many of these boys in Engineering are ending up even if theyâre not in their first choice or having to do Pre-engineering because they donât want to go to Purdue or Wisconsin and donât have better options. Only 3 kids got into Michigan for Engineering (1 is attending elsewhere) so those kids have to take what they can get and UIUC is next best option. We do have about 15 overall attending Michigan because we do tend to be a feeder there but for LSA or other programs so on that we were a big hit, but anything else, we were a flop.
We also have around 10 going to Tulane which loves our school but probably because people commit to ED so they know theyâre get $ but then again, many got offered good money too.
Lastly, the school I work had very similar results to our school so it is not just at our school. Test optional, diversity, first generation, made a huge difference this year. It is what it is and if that is what it takes to make the whole process fair then colleges should do whatever it takes to do that.
My son also has been talking to kids on the East Coast with similar stories. One student told him that their school usually has 25 kids go to Ivies and this year none got in. A parent in one of my daughterâs group told me similar in their NJ town. So it is everywhere. Some schools are really going to benefit from getting some great high achieving students that they never expected they would get before and in the end it may just make them even more competitive than they already were! Some will continue to stay just as competitive.
I am so happy to be done with this and feel bad for those of you that have to do this again next year!
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When I read what @MommaLue I swear I couldâve been reading about the boys at our school too, although not all wanted CS. I thought to myself if only my son wanted something else non-Engineering because he probably wouldâve gotten into some of the other schools he applied, but ultimately, he really cannot complain one bit how things have shaken out for him. 13 schools and accepted or waitlisted to all but 3. He had lot of options to choose from and didnât leave anything on the table that he will ever look back and say âif only I did xyzâŠâ
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I think schools went way high on their waitlists and while I suspect there will be some movement, Iâm not sure there will be the huge movement that people are expecting. Schools like Texas, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan, Illinois, etc. seem to be having huge yields so it will be interesting to see how things shake out for schools considered under them and schools above. But other than U-Chicago, no WOW school seems to have started any early movement yet.
Rose Hulman which my son didnât consider applying or show any interest continues to spam him constantly saying he can still apply for next year. That shows us that they were killed during this application cycle.
So Rose Hulman appears impacted by the shift.
Which others do yâall think are negatively impacted? Privates that already struggled with diversity (losing more)?
Do you think some colleges, like those top publics, will experience higher yields?
RH is on the list of schools still accepting applications that was posted yesterday. Lots of smaller schools on the list this year.
I think of the T20 boys, about half want to do CS or Engr and the balance Biology. I think my son is more well-rounded and has more depth in his ECs vs 75% of the T20 kids (my son isnât T20, top 5% for sure) and maybe his essay strategy is better, but those other kids are strong and I would assume UCs would emphasize GPAs since I feel like theyâre all 3.9-4.0 and 4.6+ weighted. And they took way more APs and college classes vs my son who didnât have time with comp swim and ECs. I wonder if for the UCs, my sonâs major made a difference. He applied to an impact major. But he didnât apply to the typical molecular or gen bio. He picked Ecology and Evolutionary Bio. In the BioSci school and a couple extra classes, but all premed prereqs included like all other Bio majors. Maybe ecology isnât as popular so it helped him get into all 95% of the UCs he applied to?
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@srparent15 I was def thankful S21 didnât have engr or CS (esp CS!) but then these kids will for sure be employed once graduated :). I honestly thought it would been easier for female engrs or CS majors but from a very informal survey, it was not a slam dunk and I was shocked, knowing how critical it is to have more women in these fields and theyâre just as qualified. That really surprised me.
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I think it was just as tough for girls in engineering majors this year in general. But as far as UCs, they canât discriminate by gender (or ethnicity).
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Our college counselor in the NE said that it has increasingly become harder for girls to get in to STEM related majors at T20s and Ivys.
Why?
I think my S21 also had better luck with the UCs because he chose Ecology and Evolutionary Bio vs. a more pre-med heavy bio and his essays made it clear he is in it for plants and wilderness. But, his UC application was only for Santa Cruz, Davis, and Santa Barbara, so no way to tell how he would have done at Berkeley or UCLA (though his essays and ECs would have indicated to them that urban settings would be a bad match).
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Because of the increased interest (and high stats) in STEM subjects.
I wouldnât necessary say itâs harder for girls to get into those programs but more of the programs have a greater percent of girls in them than before and if youâre not a top girl you wonât have as many doors open.
A good way to explain it is there may be schools where programs are 50/50 male/female but you have twice as many males applying as females. So while itâs much harder for males to sneak through, itâs not a total cakewalk for females either unless theyâre the top. Some females think theyâre an automatic in just for being a female but they arenât. There are just fewer of them applying with the same stats and skill set as some of the males where there might be twice as many applying.
My oldest graduated high school in 2015 and between him and this one the number of students suddenly interested in CS is enormous. Some for true interest, some because theyâre following $ and not necessarily for the right reasons. But isnât that always what happens. In my day it was everyone wanting to go to law school but then no one could get jobs or into good law schools and most never understood that not all lawyers make a lot of money.
Many of these kids will chase CS and gate it, flounder and some will love it. It would help our country if more of these skills were taught much earlier so kids had a much better sense of truly figuring out early on if they are good at it and if they enjoy it. Some of them are also students who may have otherwise gone to medical school and are disenchanted in that whole system and the amount of medical debt and the state of insurance and malpractice costs etc in the US.
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Ok, so I said I would post again when all our D19âs decisions came in re UC transfer from her CCC. But she found out yesterday she got into Berkeley and my wife and I are ecstatic (see my logo and my wife is a Cal grad as well). As I stated before, we have a S17 who is there now, finishing up next spring.
D19 is waiting on UCLA (dream school) and UC San Diego next week.
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Regarding this yearâs insanely difficult admissions process, the same issues have arisen in the transfer world here in Cali. We have ~123 community colleges whose students are applying to 23 CSU campuses and the 9 UC undergrad campuses. The top students are vying for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SLO), and the big 4 UCs. So, we are the vast majority of transfer action in the country.
If you look on any UC transfer forum here at College Confidential, youâll see itâs been a brutal year. Lots of kids with 3.8 - 4.0 CC gpas, great ECs, and many working at the same time are getting shut out from Cal and UCSB. The same will happen next week when the final two campuses, UCLA and UCSD, release transfer decisions.
Lastly, regarding freshman admits, I think some kids with great grades and strong but not Ivy+ test scores will benefit from not needing to send in test scores. However, I donât think the URM diversity numbers will significantly rise. I could be wrong.
Since I worked in CS research for many years and was involved in hiring, I can say that it was not too long ago that CS departments were begging for applicants. About 15 years ago, the common wisdom was that all software jobs would go overseas so many parents did not encourage their kids to apply for CS. How things have changed now 
Also, I would recommend kids consider majoring in math and not just CS (if they have the inclination). In my opinion, itâs easier to pick up programming skills than math. Itâs best to study math when you are younger.
Most of the really exciting sub fields of CS like AI (my subject) and quantum computing are very math-heavy areas in any case.
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Glad to hear this re: math. My D18 is majoring in bio and minoring in math. (Sheâll almost have a math major actually.) Sheâs picking up and using coding skills too. Planning PhD bio track, but Iâm hoping if that doesnât play out the way she wants, she can use her math and coding skills in many analytical fields. Sheâs also a strong writer. Sheâll get a job, right? Ack! Isnât this every parentâs thought as they get toward the end of their college career, lol?
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I remember those days! My college boyfriend was a CS major. Back then no one did CS. Modems were all dial up and if you had anything greater than 2400baud you were special!
My kids are total math nerds thank god. They definitely have that to fall back on. My daughter whoâs changing from straight CS to CS/ORIE with a business minor said she likes ORIE because of all the math and that she probably shouldâve done ORIE to begin with. But she only has 2 more classes to keep the double major as opposed to the CS minor so she will probably stick with that major too. Her interest though is in FinTech or Financial Engineering. I guess weâll see.
My oldest son has his own company that does something with webanalytics and I canât tell anyone what it does but my youngest is most interested in Machine Learning which I think is something with AI from what I recall. Iâm definitely the dumbest person in my house even if I am the one with the most common sense. 
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