Is there any data out on this year’s admissions’ decisions on whether Freshman and Sophomore grades factored in heavier than previous years? An upward trend from Junior year may not have helped much compared to previous years because 4th quarter of Jr year is when the Pandemic started. For many schools there was grade inflation or pass/fail.
There’s no angst. Not one of the other colleges that my daughter applied to other than Occidental has even asked her to do so or provided instructions for doing so. So it isn’t on her radar. She is 18. This is her process not mine. Schools communicate directly with her, not me.
The only angst is from parents here on CC.
As for just sending an email to the admissions office? Really? Could I do that for your child too if my child is on a waitlist for that same school? If I know your child was accepted to say Duke and mine is on the waitlist, can I just send random “I decline” email on behalf of your child to move up on that waitlist?
If colleges really wanted to make it easy and systematic they could do so through the common app. Just bring up the list of colleges that you applied to and check “decline” next to all the ones that you want to decline. That would be secure and easy.
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I respect that it’s your D’s process and of course the emails should come from her, I was merely illustrating how little time it takes to decline, and I promise you that AOs appreciate it.
You have posted more than once about schools not giving precise direction on how to decline an acceptance, but the info is usually out there, and posters here have generally said to just send an email if there’s no decline button. Students going to college should be able to figure it out and should do the right thing, especially when it’s easy.
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I definitely understand what you’re saying. My D21 started this process a couple of years ago and was certainly chasing the “name brand” colleges. After some tours she started to get a feel for what she wanted in a school. TBH, none of us had ever heard of Macalester! We only became aware of it because a coach reached out to her. After researching it, she seemed to become increasingly interested. We were able to visit in July and she just fell in love with the school, neighborhood, and city. She certainly has her beliefs but is in no way a SJW. As for people’s reaction to her choice, we have certainly uttered the phrase “it’s in St Paul, Minnesota” more than a few times!
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I think there’s a lot of assumptions in this assessment – particularly this:
“So, of the TO applicants, how many would be competitive in a normal year? Very few-- almost none of the ones who withheld scores would’ve been.”
I disagree with the premise b/c many students who ‘withheld’ (to use your language) scores may have attained and submitted an excellent score in a normal year b/c they would have been able to test more than once (or even twice) and would be highly competitive in any applicant pool. In a normal year, there are thousands of kids who submit a 33+ after getting a 30 or 31 their first attempt, but you seem to assume that any student with a score has hit their ceiling. (Of course, there’s equity outcomes to this, but that’s another conversation.)
On the other hand, you also seem to be implying that any student with a high score is highly competitive, but this is not true. Many high score students may not have a competitive GPA, rigor or compelling ECs.
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I didn’t really get the almost universal advice that you shouldn’t submit scores below the 50% mark since there would be far fewer students able to take multiple attempts last year than 2019. I guess because of ratings protection.
Fair point that some of the kids who withheld their scores might have been able to test multiple times and do better (although the huge increase in apps to selective colleges indicates a lot more than those kids applied).
I’m not assuming high scores alone get a student in. I’m saying that in a normal year the ‘total package’ applicants with all of the necessary credentials (including high scores) would have filled most of the freshman class. This year they did not because TO filled a not-insignificant percentage of freshman classes. It’s a zero-sum game, so opening spots to that group closed spots to the other group.
I’ll add, the other group of students who were disadvantaged were the ones who WOULD HAVE gotten amazing scores if the situation had been different.
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@NateandAllisMom You’re not being a sour grape. I know none of us hang on to the victim card. I’ve seen how you and many others have cheered and enabled each other. You have the right to feel how you feel because this happened to your kid and to you as an engaged parent. I don’t want to get into a debate of who got screwed over with test optional because there’s a different convo thread for that somewhere on CC but I want to acknowledge that you’re feeling what many of us felt (esp kids who took the tests multiple times but didn’t submit scores). I’m bitter for you and at times for me (hey, one other oppty could’ve changed my S21’s serious deliberation) and my kid got into one of his dream schools. I can’t imagine how this amplified, aggravated feeling shows up for you. Because the system doesn’t distill the multiple test takers out, it does feel like it happened to our kids who put in the work to prep. Don’t hate anyone. Just hated the situation out kids were put in this year.
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Agree completely. There’s also plenty of evidence that test scores aren’t a reliable indicator of how well a student will do in college. GPA and course rigor is much more indicative of the “grit” it takes to succeed.
Maybe, instead of framing things as “a bunch of kids with probably subpar test scores took the spots from the top kids with top scores,” maybe it should be framed as, “the kids with demonstrated academic rigor, high GPAs, and excellent ECs finally got the spots that always should have gone to them.”
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Yes, applications went up at highly selective colleges, and certainly some of those applications were ‘hail Marys’ by non-competitive applicants. I’m sure those applications were fairly quickly set aside.
After that, the remaining applicants were deemed competitive – some with and some w/o a score – and the rest of holistic review and admissions process ensued. This idea that TO applicants “took” spots from those who submitted a score and disadvantaged them is not something I buy, esp. with the data the Jeff Selingo put out today. If anything, it appears at many top schools having a score was a big boost. I hope all colleges release the data by TO or not to provide transparency.
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It doesn’t have to be a hail mary. I know plenty of kids with great grades, ECs, etc., who don’t do well on standardized tests. Those kids applied and otherwise probably wouldn’t have.
I’m not commenting on who does or doesn’t deserve to get in, I’m just looking at how it all played out this year vs. a normal year. I have a feeling nothing will go back to ‘normal’ after this year. I think admissions people love the added subjectivity, even if it is a lot more time consuming.
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Full tuition is the word that excites me. I think it is very wise to think about the finances especially at this time.
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They also like all the extra revenue that came with the increased applications due to TO. 
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I just think a lot of parents seem to be blaming this year’s process for why their kids didn’t get into certain schools when they probably wouldn’t have gotten in during a regular year either since this seems to be mostly about highly selectives. Anyone not getting into some top 20 school this year probably wouldn’t have gotten in another year purely because acceptance rates at those schools are always low. I understand that a lot of schools had an uptick in applications but we will never know if X student who didn’t get in this year would have gotten in a different year.
If S19 didn’t get into Dartmouth this year, would I blame it on Covid? I don’t know. But he didn’t get in when he applied in 2019 so he likely wouldn’t have gotten in for 2021. That year, Dartmouth took two athletes in ED from our school. They never take more than two so we weren’t completely surprised even though his stats were higher and overall ECs stronger than the recruited ED athletes. Those types of scenarios played out this year too and weren’t related to Covid. My point it just that not all denials or waitlists were because of this wacky Covid year and test optional.
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I am so with you @Camasite. No parent should be sending emails to colleges on their kids’ behalf. And I agree, the only angst is from parents on CC. Colleges offer a deadline for a reason – that is the date they require a decision. If they wanted to make it easy to decline the spot, they would make it easy.
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Update on D19 CC transfer:
UCLA transfer decisions for Fall 2021 dropped yesterday. She was previously accepted to Cal and UCSB, but UCLA was the dream. It was not to be - rejected. She was in the car with the wife and our D25 when she checked the admit portal. She was silent; wife said she was balling her eyes out and couldn’t speak to me.
Later that evening, she said that in the car she exclaimed “Great, I guess I’ll have to go to Cal!” She said she realized how utterly ridiculous and bratty that sounded, and admitted she thought she’d never be able to get into Cal, so she was shocked when it happened.
We are going on campus visits to UCSB (D21 dream) and Cal over the next couple of weeks, but it will be Cal. She is low key competitive, so I think she is quietly looking forward to the challenge (Cal is notoriously known for grade deflation, as you all know).
D25 (the last one - thank goodness) has been silently observing her big sisters’ college drama these last several months.
EDIT: I told D19 that I told you all about her college journey. D19 told me to tell you all she is excited and humbled about getting into UCSB and Cal. She said she didn’t want you to think she was an ungrateful kid. 
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My son couldn’t figure out how to turn down Michigan or American, so he just sent emails to his AOs.
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So is it Bryn Mawr?!
PM’d you. Yes, I don’t begrudge anyone their opportunities and if my S’ school hadn’t come up with an October ACT, he would have been TO at most reaches and matches. I was just commenting on the unfortunate circumstances of this year and the resulting options. BUT because he applied to so many schools it’s going to work out fine for S.
I should not read the media coverage though as it is very one-sided. They keep writing off how kids like S have private tutors, etc. He had 12 days notice and the $30 practice book. It’s all a little messier than they make it out to be.
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After much research and soul searching, our D committed to Kenyon! She’s so excited, and we’re thrilled for her. The kid clearly has a thing for Hogwarts-like campuses! 
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