I hope you can convince D to decline the flagship tomorrow, so that merit can make it possible for someone else to afford to attend.
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My understanding is that merit awards do not automatically transfer to another applicant if the original awardee declines. Like admittances, merit awards also take yield into account. So unfortunately declining early isnât going to help other applicants.
Maybe some schools do it differently but this is how it is at most schools.
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Again, remember that itâs not a one to one thing - a student declining an offer doesnât mean another student gets called off WL. Yield at most schools is lower than 40% so they would have to have 60% of their admitted students go somewhere else before they even consider the WL. Donât think declining offers is turning into WL movement.
I do see some reasons to hold out. If thereâs any chance at all that the student is going to change their mind, you need to wait.
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Ya almost all the colleges have nearly 50-60% predicted admissions covering yield especially state flagships and some OOS privates as far as I have studied the results. And someone shared the WL data for all colleges from last year, it looks like most are 2 digits and at the max lower side of 3 digit for large schools (Purdue was show very limited WL movement). This year it is seemingly increased WL than rejections. We have to see. Anyway we are doing all withdrawals in sets but keeping 1 or 2 colleges until May 1 just incase my D has an affinity for California (though Iâm sure itâs not)
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Great decision process by your S.
FWIW, and Iâm sure you already know, but keep that index fund in your name, not his - at least until after filling out the FAFSA during Junior year. 
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Wow such a clarity of thought. He is a smart young man. Mine on the other hand wants us to pay for privates because she went to public school for K-12.
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There are a few that donât, but theyâre rare.
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Yes, correct. But what does help waitlisted students is other applicants withdrawing from those waitlists (vs declining acceptances).
As the May 1 date approaches, now might be a good time to reassess which waitlists to stay on and which ones to withdraw from.
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My DD committed to Harvard last night! The last three weeks have been infinitely challenging. She had to decide between Stanford and Harvard (REA) and was flip-flopping every day. Some takeaways for future admits, based on our experience:
Do try to attend Admit Weekends!
- They are unfortunately scheduled very close to the actual commitment deadline (Harvard 24/25 April, Stanford 29/30 April) but are very valuable in helping make the final decision.
- Attend classes and just get a feel for the campus and the people. Donât try to maximize. For instance, Harvard had over 15 choices of things to do during Veritas but DD paced her exploration and went to 3-4 classes and was blown away by the professors, the discussions, etc.
- Ask to be assigned a host, if that is an option. Harvard assigned her an amazing host, a senior with similar cultural profile and career path, who made her feel at home immediately. The host took her on tours, introduced her to other students, took her out to dinner, and joined her for one of the classes. They are friends for life now
Beyond that:
- Talk to students who were in the same boat the last year or two and learn why they chose one or the other. DD posted on her LinkedIn about her dilemma and got to chat with a number of students who had to make the same decisions.
- Conversely, be cautious about asking opinions from all and sundry, especially the well-meaning uncle or the neighbor who donât really know the childâs interests and passions.
In the final analysis, Harvard won out because of the following:
- Strong racial/social justice focus
- Smaller engineering program
- Pre-med, Pre-law, Policy strengths
- Access to grassroots communities she is already working with
- Close to home (probably the clincher!)
Thank you to the CC community and wishing all your kiddos the very best!
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Yep! We were going to set up a meeting with our advisor re. more college stuff anyway. This will be a nice addition to the conversation!
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Congratulations! 
And thank you for sharing your daughterâs thought process in choosing. Although I donât think that many kids get a chance to battle through choices between Stanford and Harvard, the approach to finding a good fit applies to any kid trying to make a final decision!
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Every kiddo has his/her/their own path! I truly think most (not all LOL!) have the maturity to look within themselves and make the right decisions. Most want to break out of their shells after these last two years.
Hopefully, with our guidance and grace, they move forward to be the happy and successful (not necessarily measured by financial gain) people we hope they can be!
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@trops If your daughter isnât ready to decline your flagship yet, donât decline. You have until May 1st to decide and you can use every minute of it. Yâall have labored exhaustively over this process, following all the rules and jumping through all the hoops, and you donât have to feel guilty for making absolutely sure about your decision up until the last minute.
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@trops Yeah, I mean. If youâre having feelings about this whole thing, then do stuff that alleviates those feelings. But, youâre definitely allowed to keep everything in your hands until 11:59pm of the final day.
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Kid said no to all other acceptances last night and will be heading to Greece for the fall as part of Northeasternâs NUin program. We went on 15 campus visitsâkidâs response to the first 14 was âmeh,â but the 15th visit won kid over. It was strange for me to see how obviously âfitâ played in to the decision (and I was kind of surprised that Northeastern was the âfitâ), but Iâm glad it happened.
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I agree, itâs so helpful to read how kids are approaching their decision. For me, itâs also interesting to read so many stories of kids who reasoned through everything when they know their major, and I hope I have that luck with my next one. D22 is very unsure of her major. I feel like that prevented her from comparing schoolsâ specific programs as part of her decision making process. For her, it was about geographic location, feel of school, types of people there, and I think because of her uncertainty, flexibility.
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After making a detailed pros and cons list and some analysis paralysis, child committed! I am relieved and happy to not have constant emails from many colleges. Now we can move on!
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The end of a long, long journey. D committed to USC and is beyond thrilled. It is the perfect fit for her â small cohort in the Price School of Public Policy to bond with, top-notch, innovative academics and the ability to continue research on voting equity, school spirit, commitment to diversity and social justice, amazing alumni network and the ability to explore and volunteer in a vibrant, complicated city. Itâs just far enough away to count and close enough to get to her in a few hours.
She really liked other schools and it will be hard to let them know. But once we got the unexpectedly great financial aid package, it was done. I have watched her mature this year and I know sheâs ready to take this next step. The process, for us, really did work.
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After 31 college visits, 20 applications, 9 acceptances, 7 waitlists and 4 rejectionsâŠmy D22 has finally committed to Cal Poly Slo! We just got back from a tour yesterday of the beautiful campus and it sealed the deal! Her final contenders were between UCDavis, UW-Seattle, Northeastern (NUin) and Cal Poly Slo. My D22 said she felt sad thinking she would have to leave Cal Poly after 4 years and hadnât felt that way about any other campus we toured. So excited for her and relieved to know she has found her place! She said even if she got off the waitlists of her other schools she will not change her mind!
Acceptances: ASU, Michigan State, Gonzaga, UCDavis, UW-Seattle, Northeastern, Lafayette College, Cal Poly Slo, Loyola Marymount
Waitlists: NYU, Cornell, Hamilton, Middlebury, UCSD, UCSB & Lehigh
Rejections: UCLA, UCB, USC & Wesleyan
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I could use some advice. My daughter is deciding between Amherst, Swarthmore, Harvard, and Pomona. She was able to do a revisit day at Amherst and Harvardâs two-day Visitas program for admitted students. She visited Swarthmore in the fall and loved it. We have not been to Pomonaâs campus at all --too far to visit since we live in NYC.
She loved her revisit day at Amherst and did not have a good experience at the Harvard one. Apparently it felt chaotic, too large and overwhelming. I am not shocked given she wanted a small liberal arts college all along and the decision to apply to Harvard was mostly driven by concerns about financial aid because running the net price calculators in the fall made it seem likely that Harvard would be affordable and it was less clear that the others on her original list would be.
As it turns out, Harvard did turn out to be the least expensive. They are asking for less than $2000, but all the colleges came in at under $5000 for the family contribution and no loans. Thus, I think all of them would be doable though some would demand more stretch than others.
So the struggle that my daughter is facing is that her rational brain says that Harvard is the best choice in terms of networking and opportunities, but her heart wants to go to a smaller school. She worries about Harvard being overly elitist and unwelcoming particularly for African-American students. If she is choosing between the smaller colleges, she is leaning towards Amherst or Pomona, but she still likes Swarthmore a lot too. A side note is that she won a gates scholarship and my impression is that they offer a lot of networking opportunities to their recipients so I think sheâll make connections with other students of color as well as job opportunities and internships no matter which college she chooses. The gates scholarship will replace her work study at all of the schools but the family contribution, which we will have to pay regardless.
She is not sure about majors yet, but she is leaning towards the humanities or social sciences. Maybe something like comparative literature, political science, sociology, or art history.
So to make a long story short, given her concerns, is it foolish to say no to nearly a full-ride to Harvard when she has these other great options on the table that might be a better fit and are still affordable though somewhat more expensive? Secretly I would like her closer to home so I am hoping she doesnât go to California. However, I am trying not to influence her. Lol!
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