A few years back, a very articulate student shared his college application process. In the end, he went to Stanford and he shared why he chose it over Harvard. I don’t know if any of it will resonate with your daughter but it is a good read.
It is also a good read for those who are curious what it takes to get into top schools. These were his choices.
Accepted: USC (Scholarship for trustee’s nominee), Yale (likely call), Purdue, UIUC, UC Berkeley (Regent’s and Chancellor’s Scholar), Harvard (likely letter), Stanford (likely letter), UC Davis (Regent’s), UCI, UCSB, UCSC, UCSD, Brown, UPenn, Princeton, CMU, MIT (off waitlist)
Waitlisted: UMich, Northeastern
Rejected: Cornell, UDub, GaTech, UT Austin, UCLA, Northwestern
Same thing for my son…I think boys just roll with it and girls just tend me a little more particular which I totally understand since I had a roommate before I went to college too!
I just read the student’s thread – just reading through the accomplishments made me tired. I am in AWE. Those kinds of kids are one in a million! Great description of schools, too. That kids has accomplished a lifetime of things already. The reality is that the majority of HYPSM don’t even have that student’s accomplishments.
@Alqbamine32 Personally, if Harvard is the cheapest option , I would actually recommend it over the LAC. If she can, I think it’s important that she visit it again on another day — Harvard is worth a second look. Boston is AMAZING, diverse, and such a down-to-earth city (I went to grad school there), and truly provides fantastic opportunities.
Why is Swarthmore in place 3 among the SLAC’s you mention? It sounds like she loved it, and it’s a great school. Very beautiful campus but close to Philly (which is easily accessible via train), which opens up a whole world of possibilities. Great for humanities, too, though student majors appear to be trending pretty heavy toward CS and engineering in recent years. Just want to stress it shouldn’t fade from view too quickly, especially if she had a great visit.
I agree, he is one in a million. Every once in a while he comes back and shares what he is up to. He should be finishing up at Stanford this year. I’m eager to see what his plans or the future are.
Honestly, the teachers will think she is a bada$$ for saying no to Harvard. They want the best for her. D21’s teachers thought it was great that she turned down an Ivy and other top schools for a place that was giving her opportunities the others could not.
Covid has given us superpowers to question norms and to reflect on what we need, not other’s expectations.
Go Blue Demons! My wife ran a business in Chicagoland for nearly twenty years and she hired many students out of DePaul, preferring them to students out of Northwestern. DePaul has a great alumni network in Chicago, and they are focused on building relationships with area employers.
I wish your daughter luck at DePaul. Tell her to hit Wise Fools in the 2200 block of N. Lincoln for live blues.
Wanted to update about our S22’s decision. He accepted UIUC Mech Engg after our campus visit last week! We are from CA, and so it will take time to adjust to commute/cold. However there are many other kids from the area and also a handful from his HS.
I wanted to thank all you parents, for totally enabling my sanity during this last year in particular. We don’t know each other, but absolutely gelled on this one topic. My belief in the power of social network has only grown stronger through this association.
Wishing all the kids the very best as they navigate these exciting times. It is an important milestone at this point of their lives. While this is not the only one to set them up for their future, it is an enabler.
I will continue to use CC, as we have a younger girl who is a HS freshmen. But first for some well deserved rest! Enjoy all the graduation ceremonies and time with your graduate till they fly off the nest!!
Hey, we’re similar in terms of kids and ages. S22 will be off to college this Fall, D25 is a freshman. I’m on the Parents of the Class of 2025 thread as well. It’s slow there now, which as I recall we were as well when our kids were 9th graders.
Congratulations to your son on his final decision! I’m sure he will have a wonderful experience at UIUC.
I second your comments about this CC group. I don’t know what I would have done with all the advice and support through this past year. I learned so much from everyone and found this to be my one place to seek sanity through the whole process. I loved hearing how other families and kids approached everything and how different HS can be across the country. Anyway, I will miss everyone and this group! Good luck to all of your kids!
Hi - UC has a statement of legal residence question on parents driving license - it has date issued and last renewed fields . Looking up my drivers license , I see two dates in the last 10 years in the current card ,one is 5 years back and the other is 10 years back. what is the date issued ( the original date when got the first license or the one from 10 years back) ? what is date renewed - the one from 5 years back. It is confusing.
Why do I feel like I’m the only parent whose kid still hasn’t decided on a school?!
I’m so jealous of all the posts on FB, CC, IG etc. I wanna buy some swag too!
Seriously, congrats to all the kids for their hard work and exciting plans for their next few years! And great job parents for getting them through this and helping each other on this journey – I am so thankful for CC and this 2022 board!
We are grateful for my D’s options, and know she will be good whatever she decides. But dang her indecisiveness is killing me!
I know she’s got to submit something by Sunday (and I told her she needs to submit by tomorrow), but it’s going to be a long weekend!
Not a parent, but I’m going to the University of Missouri for their BS/DVM program! It’s definitely hard to turn down other options, but I’m so relieved and excited for the next 7/8 years ahead
@DecOctMom - congrats on the decision! I’m sure the adjustment will be all good and soon he’ll be wearing shorts in February!
@chrisntine - it’ll happen soon! We just got his final decision today, so I know how that waiting goes. It’s good to have options.
My son is heading to Alabama on the NMF scholarship. It was a tough decision as it was not his top choice. His top was Rose-Hulman, but it was just going to be a real stretch financially and free give us all so many more options. We did visit in January and he said then that he could see going there, so it’s not like he hated it. I hope now that he’s committed and we are doing room selections, signing up for orientation, etc that he gets excited for it. I think the reactions from others about the scholarship and it being Alabama is helping as well.
You’re not alone! Son has it narrowed down to 2 choices and we are flying to one of them this weekend for a first visit. We won’t have a decision till probably Sunday night. Good luck, hopefully you have a decision tomorrow.
S22 just got off the Duke waitlist. Duke is one of his dream school.
If he gets in Duke, he was planning to do double major in ECE & CS.
He is in Sweet confusion now.
, I would actually recommend it over the LAC. If she can, I think it’s important that she visit it again on another day — Harvard is worth a second look. Boston is AMAZING, diverse, and such a down-to-earth city (I went to grad school there), and truly provides fantastic opportunities.
I’m sure he will have a wonderful experience at UIUC.
I learned so much from everyone and found this to be my one place to seek sanity through the whole process. I loved hearing how other families and kids approached everything and how different HS can be across the country. 
Anyway, I will miss everyone and this group! Good luck to all of your kids! 
