Wow, congrats! I see the academics as likely similar, but vibes very different. Which vibe suits your S more? Sounds like Duke?
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thanks!
yes, he kinda like better social vibe like Duke.
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Duke will give you more optionality than Georgia Tech. The double major is not material one way or other. Unclear why you would have withdrawn from Princeton.
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Congrats to your son!
Sounds like heās ready to become a Blue Devil!
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thanks!
its long story with him and his friends. - 
he is not telling, but he says now he doesnāt want to go to Princeton. 
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Water under the bridge. Sorry to bring it up.
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thanks!
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S22 broke out the Cal merchandise this morning, and came out wearing his Berkeley hoodie. I knew the writing on the wall right then, but he made it official after he came back home from school this evening and immediately SIRed to Cal.
I feel relieved and happy at the end of a long process that began with fairly modest expectations [Chance me for the UCs and CSUs (terrible 9th grade but great 10-11)] and ended with a very difficult decision between his final 4 schools.
There were a few disappointments along the way (UCLA, Mudd), and some frustration (UMich WL after a long deferral) as well but we were also rewarded with a final stretch where S22 got into UCSB and Cal (his top 2 going into the process).
Prior to admitted student visits, he ranked the schools in the following order: UCSB, UIUC/Cal, and Purdue. Then came the visits. While UCSB put together a very engaging open house and the warmth of the students and the locale was obvious, the academics and opportunities at Cal and UIUC out-shined in his perspective after an excellent pair of admit days.
For the last 2 weeks, he has been going back and forth between UIUC and Berkeley. His interactions with Cal and UIUC students were uniformly excellent with Cal slightly tipping the scale because several students in his major volunteered to chat with him in detail on every aspect (e.g. a couple of them actually helped create a 4-year double major plan based on his interests)
Some things that decisively swung things towards Cal in the final analysis:
- Proximity to home (we are 45 mins away) and SF (his favorite city in the world)
- In-state tuition
- Flexibility to add a DS major or a 2nd engineering major
- Reserved seats that allow him to take upper division courses from other engineering majors without many issues
- Strength of the Cal brand in the bay area particularly given his interest in working for smaller companies and start-ups
- $76k cheaper tuition over 4 years (so happy as a parent that iām including this twice on the list)
In the end, we just feel thankful that he has the opportunity to go to one of the best universities in the world without traveling far from home.
Personally, I couldnāt have navigated this process without the help of so many of you on this forum. I am probably going to miss a few folks but I am particularly grateful to the following folks:
- @sushiritto for his UMich takes and general advice
- @Gumbymom for being a superstar on all things UC
- @lkg4answers @eyemgh @ucbalumnus @10s4life and @Knowsstuff for helping think through the final college decision
- @thankyouGME and @scrambro for their support while waiting for the Cal decision
- @HumbleTeen @chrisntine @advitha and @s318830 and countless others for sharing their stories
For future reference, this was our final score.
Admitted - UCB, UCSC, Rose Hulman, SJSU, CU Boulder, Purdue, UIUC, UCD, UCSB, UCR, UCM, SDSU
Denied - UCLA, CalPoly, Mudd
Waitlisted - UCI, UMich, UCSD
With that, I am going to drink a tall glass of cold beer. Cheers, and to all a good night!
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Congratulations! Go Bears! 
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Congrats! Go to Duke and donāt look back! It is an amazing school with amazing resources and faculty!
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thanks !!
Congrats to him and having choices!
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Congrats! Love all the choices.
I know I made a lot of mistakes this year, but would have made so many more without everyone here! Sometimes I feel like Iāve read every post from the past 5 years, but there is so much great information. Thanks to all!
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We are heading into the homestretch. Son committed to UMASS Amherst a couple of days ago, but was just admitted off the WL to Pitt yesterday. We have 2 weeks to decide whether or not he will will switch - heading to Pitt later this week to check it out as he hasnāt seen it yet. Just when I thought it was over . . . .
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This was the case for my youngest sister: full ride to big state school vs other acceptances that were ābetter fitsā and/or much more prestigious. She got over the disappointment quickly, ended up loving big state school, lived in the honors dorm, found her people, made lifelong friends. After graduation had so much freedom to take risks and follow her dreams because no debt.
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While a big chapter for our kids is closing, we donāt necessarily have to leave the group. Though quieter, the Parents of the HS Class of 2019 group is still going strong with updates on our college juniorsā achievements and challenges. CC can be a long-term resource.
Wishing good luck to those whose decisions are down to the wire. S22 has had some minor senioritis given that heās been in since ED, but yesterday he told me he canāt play golf with me on Sunday because he has to study for his AP exams. So he remains a conscientious student when he needs to be, which is an encouraging sign.
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Hereās hoping to lots of movement off the waitlists next week. 
Congrats to all of those that are done with the process. Quite a year.
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Iām happy to hear stories like this. Iām glad she ended up happy! I think my son will as well. Itās hard to think that way at 17 though.
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She said she felt pretty disappointed all the month of May after turning down the more expensive schools, then just āunexcitedā during the summer after graduation, then almost immediately loved it when school actually started. Chose to live in the honors dorm and really met her people there. Many of them were in her exact situation: bright, quirky, hard-working, fun kids who had turned down other schools due to finances. All of them graduated debt-free with good job offers even though it was during a bad recession. They were able to immediately live like adults with decent apartments, cars, even in expensive locations like NYC and SFO. They felt sorry for some of their friends from high school who had to live at home, working as baristas etc, paying off loans. When my own S22 was deciding recently between expensive and affordable option (1/4 the price of ādream schoolā), my sister was a big support as we chose affordable. She even reached out to her college pals, and THEY sent me messages to choose affordable!
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thanks !!