I’m sorry for the disappointing news. One of D19’s best friends got waitlisted at her dream school, Sarah Lawrence. She wrote a letter making her case - why they should pick her. She visited the school again, and did everything she could to demonstrate that she would be a valuable addition to the school. They did take her off the waitlist! But she ended up not liking it and transferred after her freshmen year to NYU and is thrilled now. It turned out the Sarah Lawrence was right, it wasn’t a great fit. I’m not saying that this is the case for your D, but I’ve kept that story in mind since. The schools, parents, kids, we all want happy, successful college homes. I’m sure your daughter will land in the spot that’s just right for her!
5 Likes
Thank you! I do appreciate that. I tell her that she will land where she should be. I just want her to have a choice and I know it is likely just a waiting game and that she is bound to get into at least of couple of her others!! I objectively know that.
2 Likes
I think UNC-C is a smidge harder to get in than UNC-W, but not sure. Just basing that on kids I know who have been to both, but they are in-state.
FWIW, my D22 did not like UNC-W when we visited, but it was summer with no students and we missed our tour so had to do a self tour (were visiting my aunt in a nursing home and it ran long). There were a lot of old people on UNC-W’s campus that day doing some senior event and it was hot and we were hungry and she just really did not like it. Felt like an extension of the nursing home to her, but obviously our experience was colored by our day. I think a lot of kids really love it, especially the close proximity to the beach. My D22 did perk up after we got some pizza and she enjoyed walking around downtown Wilmington in the historic district. Weirdly, that’s where the community college is. Great location for that. I think if UNC-W had been there it might’ve been a different story for D22, but it was a quick write-off for her.
She did not look at UNC-C. She did look at a few larger schools, but she wanted something artsy and funky and UNC-C is a little more pre-professional. I think their cyber security program is well regarded and Charlotte is a big business town so probably lots of kids there majoring in business. It is growing by leaps and bounds and I think is now one of the largest of the state schools in NC. I think during the school year it probably is much more vibrant. I don’t know how much of a summer school vibe they have. UNC-W apparently has none.
ECU is a large, traditional school. It used to have a big rep as a party school, but with the addition of the med school some decades ago that has tamped down. I’m sure they do still party some, but I think they study quite a bit too. My cousin’s daughter studied PT there and I believe has a DPT (doctor of Physical Therapy) degree. It does draw from the more rural areas of the state so plenty of country music lovers and pickup trucks, etc., but I’m sure there are all kinds of people. They love them some Pirate football.
If she wants a big school you might look at VCU. We went there over this past summer when everything was locked down tight and D22 still came away loving Richmond and has been talking about wanting to go back. It’s an urban campus mixed in with businesses, but there are adjacent green spaces and the river right there. D22 liked that there was somewhat of a funky vibe in The Fan district of Richmond. VCUArts is a well regarded arts school, but they also have a med school that is pretty good. It’s a big school so lots of opportunities to meet all kinds of people. Very diverse school.
Good luck, and I’m sure she will find her place!
2 Likes
That happened to me, too, a zillion years ago. I was rejected by my first choice but a good friend got in. Once I heard what his experience was like, I was really glad they said no to me.
1 Like
Just saw my D’s merit package from Agnes Scott and it was more than I anticipated, so that was a pleasant surprise! She was also invited to the Perry scholarship weekend, which also surprised me. I mentioned it to her and asked if maybe she wanted to give the school another chance, but she just made a face and said I don’t think so. 
So that’s one less competitor! I will say that that scholarship is very competitive. I don’t know how many they give out, but 4 years ago I attended the event with my older daughter and there were a lot of students there. It honestly felt like an admitted student event with an add on scholarship interview. My D18 did not get the scholarship and I didn’t expect she was truly competitive for it. Back then, in order to be eligible you had to actually show up on campus at the event, now with virtual options I imagine there may be more participants. I will keep my fingers crossed for you @UCDProf but I wanted to warn you about the level of difficulty. I’m personally still smarting about the rebuff Hendrix gave your D on their competitive scholarships. Crazy! 
@overstressedMom I’m sorry about the deferrals, but I too am feeling good about your D’s future success. I don’t have suggestions for you as I’m not familiar with her target area, but it sounds like you got some great input from others already. Rooting for you guys! 
6 Likes
Thank you so much. Congrats on your D’s merit!!
I know it will work out - thanks again.
1 Like
Well, he sent in his letter (email) of continued interest to App State this morning. He’s been bummed about the deferral. But his spirits are now lifted with his Elon acceptance (and nice merit award) tonight.
Still waiting on three schools with decisions in January and February, plus something from App State by mid March.
12 Likes
My daughter did not apply to Agnes Scott, but she was accepted at Lake Forest College and invited to a similar scholarship event. From what I have gathered, it is an admitted students event, with the possibility of winning one of six full tuition scholarships. They run the same event on three different weekends, so I guess each weekend will have two scholarships. My daughter will most likely not attend, she already has other acceptances she likes better.
EDA @UCDProf It is an easy application. No supplements, free, and a very nice spot on the Chicago suburbs with a Chicago Loop program.
2 Likes
Nice on Elon. Congrats!
I think App State is harder to get into OOS, but fingers crossed for him. At least it was a deferral and not a rejection. He might make it yet! I’d guess there is a decent chance because I think while App State is definitely popular and growing it is often a second choice/safety for a lot of kids, so if they get into UNC or NC State then they might decline App State.
3 Likes
D22 is in at 4 of the 5 she applied to! Got the acceptance from UNC-G yesterday. UNC-A only does ED and RD so not sure when the RD will be released but I expect she will get in there too. She is 100% in on WWC, though, so it doesn’t really matter. She just really didn’t want to apply to any reaches.
6 Likes
Congrats on UNC-G! I couldn’t figure out what was taking them so long. 
It’s my understanding that Asheville waits until The.Very.Last.Day so I’m guessing it will be a Valentine’s Day thing.
Thanks for the info on App State. They asked for 1st-semester grades by Valentine’s Day, and they’ll provide an admissions decision by March 15th. Unfortunately, his semester ends late (January 20) so this is going to be tight.
2 Likes
Can I ask you the basic idea of his letter of continued interest? Did he highlight anything new or just expressed his desire to attend? Thank you.
1 Like
We visited Christopher Newport with my son, high school class of 2019. It was beautiful, and the dorms were the nicest we saw on any campus. It didn’t quite appeal to him but I can’t really say anything against it; it just didn’t stack up for him against the others on his list (FYI he now attends Elon and is very happy there).
3 Likes
He wrote 3 paragraphs. He opened with how the school is his top choice and why so. The 2nd paragraph briefly listed new activities and achievements. The 3rd paragraph discussed some logistics with end of semester grades and their timeline.
He closed with mention of an on campus visit in January and a thank you for her time and attention.
6 Likes
My D really like Christopher Newport when we visited -medium sized, which seems hard to find, beautiful and shiny campus, nice dorms, close to the beach and Wiliamsburg! Not a ton to do close to campus, which was the only downside I saw, but it seemed like many brought cars or made friends with those with cars.
3 Likes
OK, I am almost 100% sure this will be overkill but it will ease my mind. My daughter is going to add East Carolina, Florida Atlantic and UNC Wilmington to her list. She is not worried at all about not getting in for her current list and is basically just doing it to appease me. Plus a good friend of hers is applying to UNCW as well.
She got a 570, 510 on her SAT, for a 1080. They are required for FAU but not for UNCW. Should she send them to UNCW? I am thinking NO. The 25th percentile test scores are 590, 570. Looks like ECU is test blind, not even test optional. For FAU, the 25th percentile is 540, 520 so she seems to be in good shape for that since it’s required.
Thanks for listening…
3 Likes
I agree with your assessment on scores. I wouldn’t submit them unless required.
Glad your D is flexible enough to relieve your anxiety! Now you can both breathe and enjoy the holidays!
2 Likes
We’ll look in Lake Forest-- we’ve been having trouble getting teachers on board for the massive 10 minute time investment to upload their letters to Coalition App, since we are almost out of spots on Common App. Otherwise we have to think very carefully about each application from now on.
2 Likes
Lake Forest only has Common App or their own, not the Coalition. Sorry to hear about the grumpy teachers. All the best!
Thanks so much for the heads up about the Agnes Scott scholarship competition! It’s so easy to fantasize about how all of our problems would be solved by it. I think I’ve already psychically transferred my hope to my daughter unfortunately, but we’ve got to get our heads straight for some big decisions coming up.
Here’s the update on the son: got a financial aid offer bringing total cost to 22K, at, unfortunately, an LAC that is a bad fit for him (have some minor hooks, so applied, no idea if that mattered). Previously, the low offer was 24k at Hendrix. We’re hoping to negotiate the 22k down a bit, and regardless of how that turns out, take that to appropriate colleges and try to get a match. If successful, I would then have achieved my stated goal for him, dismissed and sometimes mocked on other threads here, of getting to EFC + Loans. In regards to this one college, it’s already EFC + loans + $500, so basically goal reached for son. Take that! (of course that’s not directed to everyone 
I’m not sure though I could in good conscience allow him to go to that particular school though.
Of course one can’t help but fantasize that a full ride at Agnes Scott for the daughter means I’m paying 11k per child which would be beyond our wildest dreams. But pie in the sky fantasies about a full ride make me wary. It’s so good to know ahead of time that the competition pool is huge (It’s a virtual day this year, but actually also called an admitted student day that the scholarship candidates are required to attend. Is the scholarship nomination bait to get students to go to the admitted students sales pitch?). The application is either a ten minute interview (which indicates large numbers) or a five minute video reply to a question.
So now the situation is, as I understand it, a slim chance of a tuition scholarship at Hollins (but pretty sure there were only 15-20 interview slots), an extremely slim chance of a scholarship at Agnes Scott, and a very slim chance of being admitted RD to a more elite college which will meet need without loans, which is the goal for my daughter.
Our decision now is whether to do one of those applications as ED2, which is the safer thing to do, possibly forgoing the scholarships at colleges my daughter actually wants to go to. On the other hand, she can’t attend Hollins or Agnes Scott without them, and she could be left with nowhere to go to college if, as seems the case by all reports on ED rounds now, the RD round at elite colleges is going to suck big time.
3 Likes