I love what Warren Wilson has to offer. Sadly, I could not convince my son that it was a great option for him. Congrats to your daughter!
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I love Agnes Scott and havenāt been able to convince either D20 or D23 to even consider it. I still am holding out a small hope that D24 might be willing to visit.
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Hi - D22 is looking at Wellesley for RD. The college web site talks about access to local univs ( Olin, MIT, Brandeis etc) for dual degrees or taking up classes etc. I remember reading somewhere that it is not very easy to commute between campuses. Looking for pointers from anyone who looked into Wellesley. thanks
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My D21 just finished her first semester at Wellesley (and loved it!). You will hear different things from different people about accessibility of other campuses and the city - some never go and some do all the time. My D uses the Wellesley shuttlebus all the time. She goes into Boston or Cambridge a couple times a week and finds it very easy and convenient. She is planning on taking a course at MIT so she will work out the scheduling for that - she doesnāt feel she needs to take that many there because she likes the Wellesley course offerings. Olin and Babson are extremely close so those are even easier to do. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
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Hi - I am curious to hear from people who have seen this app process last year and this year - what seems similar and what seems different? The news headlines of variants and return to online classes seem to have a familiar ring.
@QuestInfo My S21 was part of last yearās admission and this year I have followed because I have kids Iām helping this cycle. Overall, if we are talking ED/admissions, I feel like there are slightly more slots in ED. We know four who got into Penn, Cornell Engr, Harvard; and the much elusive MIT. I had two kids I helped with MIT last year and one was an absolutely stand out. Got into Berkeley MET but WL by MIT. The gal who got in this year had ECs that were at parity but slightly lower academic stats. Iām hopeful RD will be just as kind to class of 2022. Iāll see with UCs in March. I am helping a handful of solid kids and one I would say UC is a reach.
As for remote schooling, I feel terrible for all the kids who had to deal with remote, from my HS kids to the college kids. I know the Brown parent page is full of parents of sophomore+ kids who are rightfully and truly triggered when they see remote rumors. There seems to be a sense of calm among parents that I know, whether at Brown or at the UCs where we know a few friends whose kids are there. Brown tends to be super conservative with how it manages public health. Their dean is on the face of a lot of tv news casts. All vaccination and booster mandates. Regardless of vax status, kids were required to test 1-2x/week for most of semester one. Kids and staff need to show proof of booster and vaccine text prior to returning to campus and immediate testing. I donāt think the kids mind because they enjoyed a semester of reg schooling this year. A friendās kid was positive first semester so he was quarantined at the Marriott for 10 days. Hey, he wasnāt complaining. School was very accommodating, too.
So from a ā21 parents perspective, Iām not too worried. We have contingency plans if we have to move things home. I packed for it when he moved in. I have faith in the school S21 is attending (that was a factor in how and where S21 chose to apply/decide). I think our kids will be fine. If for some reason vaccination isnāt possible, those kids are just going to require extra steps and maybe housing restrictions?
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@UCDProf good luck to yours too. Iāve been reading your posts with much interest as we are following a similar strategy (though we are lucky to have relatively low cost in state publics). And I think our daughters might be competing for that same full ride you are mentioning in your post 
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Itās funny how Agnes Scott is getting a lot of love from CC parents but not necessarily their daughters. I love everything I read about it. My D22 loves it in theory (has not visited) but is a little concerned about fit. I hope we can attend an in person accepted students event in the spring.
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Yeah itās looking not really like a competition but a ploy to get the accepted kids with higher GPAs to go to an admitted students event and hear the pitch. Ten minute interviews or five minute videos are no way to decide something as big as this out of a very large number of competitors. So itās just a random draw basically, based maybe on some charisma or something.
I get the strategy. Itās very clever. In a way, it makes me admire the college more for its very clever tactic.
I will always be on ASCās side and will root for it for the rest of my days!!
If ASC becomes in any way affordable, and there is any other college that is affordable, I bet my daughter would pick it. Visits would decide it though, if it ever comes that she has a decision!
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Interviews arenāt usually the deal breaker. They often serve to confirm what what made the student stand out in their application. Donāt assume that they are only paying attention to the student during the interview. They are most likely watching the student through out the day to see if she/he is engaged and excited to be at the admitted student event as well. Bottom line is that schools want to give scholarships to students who are likely attend.
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My D22 submitted 2 applications over the past week. In general, she enjoyed writing the supplements, although a couple were quite challenging in terms of coming up with suitable examples/narrative arcs. For me, itās been interesting to see the diversity of essay topics across the 3 schools to which she has applied - it has provided a helpful opportunity for self-reflection and self-discovery (Iāve also learned a thing or two about my daughter!). Having said that, I donāt think she was able to respond to all of the prompts equally well - some felt more authentic than others.
While she is interested in a couple more schools, she also has to prepare for mock exams for her A-level subjects after the holidays (which might count if the real exams in May/June are cancelled) so this might be it for her.
Hope all of your D/S22 are making good progress on their remaining applications!
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Thereās something to that, BUT I will say that the money is out there at these events. My older daughter was quite successful with offers at scholarship competition events, and she is not the most outgoing person.
@Ikg4answers had some good advice. They do watch how the students interact with each other, as well as adults at the event. We used these situations as excellent opportunities to learn how to present oneself with peers and older adults.
We have a scholarship event coming up in a couple weeks. The only one my current applicant will do, so I hope it goes well!
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So many essays! I am glad she is enjoying writing some of them. I am so eager to see how things turn out for her.
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Thanks again to you and your daughter for the helpful insights. My D22 really enjoyed writing the why engineering essay - there were lots that excited her.
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@lkg4answers and @GoodGrief16 Thank you for a bit of insight and advice on the interviews/competitions. S22 has a couple as well and we donāt really know what to expect once he gets to that stage.
I think we have eliminated a couple colleges now. This is based on having been accepted at a few similar types and so far they are in the same price range. And heās just running out of essay writing steam! So instead of continuing with all possible scholarships, heās choosing to not continue with a couple of them. He wonāt turn down the acceptance just yet, but just wonāt continue applying for specific scholarships.
He has one last application to fill out this week. Heās dragging his feet, so that might not even happen. If it does, weāll see if the school gets their end of stuff out or not. Itās all requested but there is a good possibilty nothing is sent on time. I donāt know how much is automatic and how much requires a person to send it.
We also have some tours booked finally! We are heading to U of Alabama next week and Case Western after that. Itās been hard to get things on our schedule to work out.
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Happily my son has submitted all but one application. The final one isnāt due until mid January (and isnāt too complex) so we are done for now and he can enjoy his break. At the end of the day he applied to 8 schools with the majority safety/match and just one true reach. Now the wait.
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@Luanne I was going to PM you but your profile is hidden.
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I think you can still PM by composing a message and putting ā@Luanneā in the To field.
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I sent a message and that worked. Iāll have to look from a computer because I canāt figure out why/how Iām private. It says I can get messages and have in the past.
It does absolutely make sense that the tiny interview or video for what may be upwards of a hundred applicants canāt count for much, for sure.
In this case at ASC itās an online zoom event, so Iām not sure how much observation can happen during that, but of course that was the first thing I told her, to take any opportunity during the event to advance her case. All antennae are up.
Based on reports of past events and the stats of invited nominees I know and the fact that there was no essay to write and just a brief snippet of an interview, it looks like itās a very large number of contestants.
However, there is no reason why there canāt be a smaller number who are the top contestants and a larger number baited into the event. It could be both. We are of course secretly in our heart of hearts very hopeful over here, how could we not be. Maybe my daughter really does have a shot. We canāt help but think that.
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