Deleted*** second thoughts
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Is it even possible to do that?
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We understand itās a very hard year on kids and parents. One of my Dās friend is in the same situation now. Heās flat reject at most places he applied to (CS major). Has good academic records and decent ECs to back. Heās in for ASU now and planning on transferring a year later, thinking no miracles are in-store for him this final week of decisions. But a friend of mine had a same situation for her son 2 years ago. Heās a perfect GPA, took all tough APs and scored a 5, nationally ranked debate player and what not. He was rejected by Princeton (ED), applied to all the other schools RD. He got regents at UCSB and admitted to L&S at UCB. They were going to enroll him at UCSB but guess what? A week later she frantically messages me that He got into Stanford!!! Heās a current sophomore there doing so well. Miracles do happen so just stay put for another week. Good luck to your kiddo!!!
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Yes, but that was 2020 when Stanford encouraged SCEA and RD students to take a gap year so accepted kids off the waitlist (without an option for a gap year) in mid August!
In this case, the kid wasnāt WLed, he got in through RD.
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Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. That 2020 year was crazy for waitlists.
That is disheartening. But you can chalk their responses up to ignorant youth. Theyāve bought into the hype of brand name and donāt know any better. Years ago I was going to go to UCSD. Everything was in place. Then I finally looked at a catalog (this was pre-internet for everything. Couldnāt look it up online they way we can now). I discovered the classes for my major were NOT what I wanted to take. So I grabbed the catalog for SDSU and looked at the classes. So much more of what I wanted. The focus was totally different, and for me, totally better. I realized I needed to go to SDSU and not UCSD, so I switched. I was really unhappy about it at the time because Iād bought into the brand name of a UC being better than a CSU. But SDSU is awesome. Sheās going to love it.
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My daughter and I need advice. Sheās torn between 2 schools (Tulane and UMiami) and she genuinely has no idea where to commit. I looked into both schools and they both have their pros and cons. Both schools would be around the same price. Iām open to any input at this point. Sheās also a Psychology major.
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Sorry things didnāt work out as you hoped.
If merit is an important objective, she may be still able to apply to UTD and receive a full ride as a NMF. Their pre med program is good if thatās what she is after.
Good advice that we are trying to stick to! Itās been a pretty bad year of high school for various reasons and it is so tempting to send him where he wants to go to try to make things a little better. But I think he would be happy with many of the choices really.
Iād like him to see Alabama again. We went in January, but classes were not back in session yet. He said it was okay, but I would like him to see it again. He just doesnāt think seeing it will make a difference either way.
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My advice: Go visit both.
Has she looked at the classes for her major at both locations? Theyāll probably be a little different in some areas.
If she truly canāt decide after visiting both and looking at the classes, flip a coin and ask her how she feels about the result. If she wishes the choice had been the other one, thereās your answer. If she still canāt decide, go with the coin-chosen school. But Iām betting visits and classes will put one ahead of the other.
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My S22 got accepted into very good CS programs.
Accepted: Georgia Tech (cs), UMICH (cs), UIUC (cs), UCSD (cs)
But he got waitlisted with his dream school UCB EECS. BUMMER!!!
Got into more CS programs and declined offers from some schools to give room for others.
Withdrawn this week: Northeastern, Case, Wisconsin, Minnesota Twin Cities, Washu, Johns Hopkins
We are very grateful to the CC community and particularly this CC parent group has been very helpful throughout the process.
Good luck to the kiddos for next week ivy-day and for the waitlist game.
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Another consideration is that students often find jobs and settle down close to where they went to school. On the chance this happens, do you prefer Florida or Louisiana?
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To be honest, we havenāt thought through that deeply about this and there isnāt a huge strategy behind it. Also I havenāt looked at the fine print either. Itās more thinking aloud with the intent of assuring my son that not everyone who SIRs actually goes, and if he canāt pick between the final two by May 1st we are ok to lose the deposit at one. The other thinking is the fear of SIRing at one place and some unforeseen exception makes them say āsorry we made a mistake. We are not letting you into Calā.
I see a decent amount of melt at every school. Are you saying all of these are simply getting off the waitist?
I confess the ethical question never crossed my mind at all. At this point, we are pretty myopically thinking about where to commit.
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He has some great choices!
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Itās been a really difficult two years and this process is coming at the end of it and really impacting studentās senior year. I think getting decisions earlier would help with students and parents moving on and finding the positives in their remaining options.
While we have been waiting for decisions, I have been talking through different scenarios with my son and what opportunities he would have at his safety that might not exist elsewhere (and there are unique opportunities at every college). His experience at his safety would be different than at some of the more elite colleges but it doesnāt necessarily make it worse. It is hard to have an 18 year old see it that way. I also talked to him about the transfer option at Cornell (they take a lot of sophomore transfers and we have a relative who did that) and he could spend his freshman year close to home and then have a different experience his last three years (and we would save money).
Plus there is no guarantee of a great experience at the more elite school. In my circle , I know of 2 kids who left Chicago (both still struggling), a kid who left Colgate after 1 semester to go to her state school, a friend of my sonās who went to Northeastern and left (but may have been partly due to Covid who knows) a kid who left Emory for the state school and a brilliant kid at Johns Hopkins who left after he was mugged 2x running (son is a runner so he didnāt apply).
But having said that we are still waiting for results and after a rejection at SCEA Yale, my son was accepted at Northeastern with $20,000 merit, Wesleyan and Wash U.
Wash U was a late addition to the list. It came near the end of the application season and had only one 200 word supplemental essay but my son submitted the optional 90 second video (thanks to reddit I saw that there was an extension to submit) and a musical supplement. He also has the times to run on the X-country/track team which is a big bonus for him and if it becomes his best option he will reach out to the coach and try to meet him when we visit. I think Wash U looks like a good option for my son but we have one more week before we know what his final options are.
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Yes there is an ethical issue in double depositing. I know that it is a huge decision for a 17 or 18 year old when selecting a college, but they can only attend one college and they have until May 1 to make an informed decision. They will not lose their spot(s) if they cannot make the decision right away so there is no rush to deposit.
This is taken from an article on Education ethics:
Why is double depositing unethical?
Itās deceitful. Students know they can only attend one college, so they are essentially lying when they notify more than one that they intend to enroll.
Itās unfair to the college. If the practice continues, colleges may find they canāt predict the size of the incoming class with any accuracy. They may take actions such as enlarging the waiting list or increasing deposit amounts (both of which will impact future applicants).
Itās unfair to other applicants. The double depositor is taking up a spot that could go to another student possibly on the waitlist.
What should you do?
- Tell students not to submit deposits to more than one college, unless they are wait-listed at their first choice and accepted at another.
- Warn students that some colleges reserve the right to rescind an offer of admission if they discover that a student has made a double deposit.
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Thanks as always for educating. I will let son know I was incorrect in proposing this option.
Just curious - is melt 100% a function of wait list action?
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Per @Gumbymom NO, so we wonāt be going down this path.
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Schools are aware of the issue of summer melt and yes the waitlist can serve that purpose to fill spots when students change their mind. Many schools will keep their waitlists open far into the summer especially after the deadlines for required documents/transcripts/AP scores are submitted since any discrepancies not noted by the student could also be grounds for rescinding acceptances.