Northwestern ED decisions came out while we were on a flight today… what a great surprise when we landed to find out S22 was accepted! I did buy swag early and at least packed the new hat in my carry-on bag, so he was surprised. The rest will have to wait…
Phew, no more essays to write and he can enjoy the holiday break. He obviously feels relieved; that’s the best part of this whole thing!
congrats! that’s quite an achievement
Congrats to your son! Welcome to the “we bought swag before decisions came out” club. This club is bumpin’.
@wndrwmn @sfSTEM I admire your fortitude to make those purchases in advance and congratulations! My S22 was accepted to Dartmouth last Friday and he is eager and still waiting for the swag to arrive!
Lots of great news this week! Congratulations!
No pre-purchases here, but D22s Hopkins hoodie arrived today (ordered last Friday after her ED1 acceptance).
Wow, congrats! Good luck to her during the interview round!
My D did not make the cut, alas. Still hoping she might eke out a few more scholarship dollars.
thanks, that’s good advice! I think she will try and do both for now. I think one school it’s only essays. The other is quite a bit more involved with interview weekend, etc. We are chasing money, so she needs to take advantage of these are opportunities.
Right! I knew the 30% chance was wrong. I was fairly confident he’d get in. I know sometimes it doesn’t go like you think, but stats-wise he should be in.
S22 was just deferred from an EA college he really liked and that we thought was a perfect match to his stats. It’s surprising how much it stings. 
I guess at least they didn’t flat out reject him. Not sure if we can do anything to improve his chances in the RD round.
It’s just that all of the rest of his colleges are reaches. And now we have months of nail biting until late March/mid April…
Hugs to you and your son. I have read several threads with tips on how to respond to a deferral, but defer to others who have more experience. Tips include a LOCI sent relatively quickly, a recommendation highlighting another aspect of your son, an update to the AO with grades, additional honors, etc. Is the school his No. 1 choice? He could add he would commit if admitted.
Received Northwester rejection on a flight today. S22 wearing his good luck purple gear, learning about legacy peers accepted. A low point for sure. I know part of parenting is sitting with the disappointment. It’s just so hard.
I’m not sure how to help a homebody feel better on a week long trip away, but boy, I feel his pain. I hate how a kid can work so very hard and thrive in his element and still feel this way based on a singular assessment. I tried to reinforce the positive outcomes of other schools, but I’m not sure he heard me.
Hugs all 
I hear you. So many talented kids, not enough spots. The good news is there are many, many other options. Things have a surprising way of working out.
Deferred by Brown. Purchased swag in advance (in secret) that DW will now get for Christmas ‘cause S19 is still a Junior there.
Kinda really hurt seeing as how ED1 was how her brother got to Brown and she has always considered it a bit of an expectation to follow in his footsteps. FWIW, DW and I definitely didn’t set that expectation.
D22 is licking her wounds and trying to decide if this means she should ED2 somewhere, and/or shotgun a lot more schools RD by the end of the month.
Several years ago, my oldest was one of those writing applications in December. I was pretty clueless about the process and offering no meaningful guidance or reminders, and she got a new boyfriend (now her husband of 4 years) in early December. She is ADHD anyway, and the boyfriend bit did not help her focus at all!! She got through it, and is happily graduated now 
Woohoo! Another older daughter story (but a different daughter than the last story) got the Stamps at Ga Tech a few years back. Ultimately did not go, but it was such an amazing program and painful to turn down honestly. Stamps at U Oregon would be fantastic.
You are set!! Congrats!!
Love Dartmouth, and there is a seared tuna salad at one of the restaurants in town that I still think about
Oh, that is so hard. I’m losing track, does he have an acceptance in hand that he likes?
I would regroup and look for a couple of likely schools vs waiting on reach schools. Murphy’s Law, if you have some pretty sure things, then maybe the reach will come through. The most likely school on my son’s list became the one that is hardest to say no to as they were so personal and great through the admissions process, the prof he met on his tour was great and their campus too. I learned quite a bit through this and wish I’d had the opportunities he did to visit and explore options I didn’t even know about back in the old days! Good luck.