Oooh. I do not think so! Hit up that musical theater thread!
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Iâm sure Iâve spent more time reminding my son to decline the outstanding offers than he would have to spend actually doing it, lol, sighâŠ
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I definitely need a break first. 
. Sheâs probably going to give me a heart attack going through this. Super sharp and talented, but totally does not want to do anything she deems âextraâ. That will really get the AOs lining up. 
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I canât even imagine a theater major search. D did one dance scholarship application and it was a lot of work made harder by Covid (not in tip top shape, had a hard time finding studio space to film, etc). She has friends who have traveled all over in non-Covid years for dance auditions and itâs a lot on top of regular apps!
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Iâm totally hiring someone. 
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Withdrawn without the 10% penalty. If paid direct to your kid once they are no longer subject to kiddie tax then they will pay income tax on the gains at their own rate.
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Itâs not about blame. Itâs interesting to discuss how this yearâs crazy anomalies have affected the process, outcomes, etc. Like I said, some people are going to be happy and some arenât, thatâs just what happens when the rules change. This is my third going through the process in the last 4 years, and this year has been very different (as has been discussed in this thread for months). Thatâs great that your daughterâs high school did well.
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100% hire a counselor experienced in that world!
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I strongly advise you to get a âcoach.â My D20 is getting her BFA in acting and the prescreen and audition process is VERY complex and time consuming.
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Withdraws up to merit scholarship amounts ARE treated as taxable income. However, they are not subject to the 10% penalty that you would usually have to pay if withdrawn for non-educational purposes.
Turns out that 529s can be a great back-door capital-gain-sheltered investment, much like HSAs. (Again, not our original intended plan, but if works out that way, great!)
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So, am I allowed in the âWaitlist Bar,â if D was waitlisted for the Honors program? And is there a cover charge at the âWaitlist Barâ? 
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Iâve been following along with interest, and actually used to post occasionally under a different username, but since I set that account up when my D13 was going through this processâŠI did not remember the important information I needed when it came time to reset passwords! So here I am, all shiny and new.
So, my D21 is right there with many of your kids, not totally thrilled with her college result, but making the best decision she can with what she has. We are from CA, and she was unable to test, although her practice tests were all mostly perfectâŠso for her going TO was a crushing blow. She was admitted to the two big state flagships, as well as USC, but really wanted to spread her wings. She would have loved an IVY, but that was not to be. She had some nice offers with good merit, but in the end it is down to Georgetown vs. GW- honors program. I thought for sure she would choose Georgetown, but the community feeling and benefits of the honors program at GW is really speaking to her. She listed her interest as Political Science on most of her applications, but is really more interested in tangential fields, like political journalism or poli sci/public policy, both of which GW has. She also likes the diversity of possible second majors and minors at GW, and without the religion and foreign language requirements, she could likely do one easily.
Iâm still trying to decide if I should intervene at allâŠcertainly the reputation of GT is greater than that of GW, at least from where we are out in CA. Yeah, overall, I could use a drink!
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The WL bar seems to be packed, yet a bit lonely⊠itâs almost closing time 
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I saw that figure on Rice as well (80% of accepted students submitted scores) and it made me feel less sad about my son getting rejected. Hadnât seen Selingoâs numbers until now and I guess my son should also feel less sad about his waitlists at Emory and Vanderbilt. Kids in our area of CA were just completely out of luck in terms of taking the test. His first SAT test date was the day after we all went into lockdown for COVID, and that test plus 5 others for which he was registered all were cancelled. What else could he do? In the end Iâm actually glad the UCs went test blind because it really did level the playing field here in CA where it was almost impossible to test. But yeah â for my daughter ('23), we will make sure she can test. TO wasnât really TO at some of the schools.
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Isnât there a song about that
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Yes, by Semisonic.
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We went through similar situation with S18 and his friend, both polisci focused top students in CA. His friend picked Georgetown over UCB/UCLA/UVA and Dartmouth, he picked UCLA over UCB/GWU/American/UVA/W&M (we couldnât justify full pay at Georgetown).
When we talked to a friend of a friend who was a PoliSci professor at GWU, the advice was that UCB was better than GWU and if you were instate it was a no-brainer. Three years on I donât see any difference in their future prospects except weâve paid $50K less per year. But if prices were similar we would probably have picked Georgetown.
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Has your son liked UCLA? Thatâs where my son just submitted his SIR. Heâs also interested in polisci/policy/politics (applied undeclared). Son was waitlisted at Georgetown but honestly itâs almost a relief he doesnât have it as an option â we would be full pay, and I just donât know how we could swing it with 2 sisters coming up behind him. Did your son do the UC in DC program? Iâm looking ahead and hoping thatâs something mine might be able to do at some point.
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Yeah, youâd think UCB would be a no-brainerâŠbut we live about 20 minutes away, and my husband works literally 5 minutes from campus. Just too close for D21, and understandably so! Itâs really the honors program thing that is pulling DâŠshe was admitted to several around the country, and the GWU program is just head and shoulders above the others in that it offers every perk of the others all in one place. The kids weâve talked to who have gone through the program just rave about it.
Yes main reason for UCLA was that UCB is too close for us (Alumni scholarship there helped too). Itâs been great. S did a summer course at GWU during HS and enjoyed his time there, despite the horrible July weather. But the two campuses introduced some complexities (I think the honors dorm is at Mt Vernon IIRC but everyone wanted to spend their time downtown) and needing to use off-campus food vendors while downtown made that all quite expensive. Basically it was a bit unclear which experience (campus vs downtown) you were really signing up for.