“At least for CA students, Community college can be considered a safety especially with the TAG/ADT programs available for CC to UC/CSU transfers.”
I’m ALL about the transfer game for my kids, Gumbymom (based on my postings). Lol
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That wasn’t our experience, two admissions cycles ago and we’re within 20-30 +/- mins of Santa Clara. SCU awarded us a nice Bronco scholarship after being admitted EA.
As for the others posting in the HS Class of 2021 thread, I don’t know or remember their location(s).
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Congrats.
Anyone elses kid considering applying for more schools because of a free application and no essay? The ones he might apply to are financial reaches but hey, why not? (They are potential fits in other ways).
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D23 has narrowed down her list:
Dartmouth
Penn
Princeton
Cornell
Boston College
Lehigh
Georgetown
George Washington
University of Rochester
Penn State
Pitt
Syracuse
This is our first child to go to college, so this is all new. She has a 4.0, 4.65 weighted, 1530 SAT. However, we are realistic! Obviously the Ivies and Georgetown are a reach. Targets are Lehigh, UofR, BC, GW. I think her safeties are Syracuse, Pitt, Penn State.
Top of her list are Dartmouth and Boston College. Dad is a Lehigh alum. It’s all very scary and very exciting and VERY emotional!
If anyone has kiddos who have attended these schools, we would love feedback.
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When my S21 was applying, I spent a fair amount of my time in the 3.0-3.4 thread, but I gratefully found the other CC Parents of the HS Class of 2021 thread to also be a helpful place for information and support.
My S21 is not a “high-achiever” and had a school list (mostly CTCL schools) that was different than the schools many CC kids were applying to, but for the most part, CCers tried to be understanding of where others were coming from. At certain times of year, it feels like CC is a place for parents of California students! So know I know more about the California system (and Texas) than I otherwise would. 
It’s all good.
My S21 had such a different list and experience than my D23 will. He applied to 10 schools, and 8 were probably safe for him. It was not a reachy list - he got into all. They were all small, though, he had an unusual high school background, and cost was a concern, so he applied to enough that he’d have multiple affordable options from which to choose. He had a great first year of college - with its share of growth pains and experiences - at a school most people have never heard of.
Now his younger sister…different kid with a significantly different list (one overlap school between them - was a reach on one list and a relatively safe option on the other list), and I think a few years ago D23’s list might have been 10-12 schools instead of 16-17, but the uncertainty in the current admission environment (at least with the SLACs to which she’s applying) has added more schools so that she can be more relatively sure of having multiple affordable options from which to choose in the end.
I appreciate this framing and agree with it.
I look forward to cheering everyone on - whether their kid is finishing their only essay or their 18th, whether they are excited about their state flagship or a school most people have never heard of. With just over 2 weeks until the Common App opens, we’re all getting ready for a memorable journey with our kids (and to some extent, virtually, with one another). Good Luck!
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Completely agree here. I teach college and my youngest of 4 will be entering college in the Fall of 23. For my older 3, their College GPAs reflected their HS GPA’s within about a .1. My kids are not good testers (scores are nothing to brag about), but my 4.0 kids in HS is my 4.0 kid in college, and My 3.7 kid in HS is also a 3.7 kid in college, etc…
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Make sure your D applies to Pitt early. They have rolling admission and she should have a decision quickly. Takes a lot of the pressure off to have an early acceptance to a great school!
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Yes! Her cousin just graduated from there, so she told her this as well. Thank you!
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SAT scores for the June 4 test are trickling in today. This is 3 days earlier than they promised to post them. S23 took it on the school spring test day without studying and was pretty happy with the score. Decided to study, especially math, and re-take. Math score is the same and verbal improved by 10 points. 
Better than score going down I guess. Maybe now he’ll understand why we encouraged him to just stick with the first score!
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Which is she ED at? I have a d who graduated from Georgetown last year. She had an amazing experience and loved the school and DC. The academics and access to internships and just being part of “where it happens” can’t be beat. Happy to answer questions. And BC in RA is a reach
My oldest applied to NAU in early July because they had rolling admissions and the application was $25 with no essays. It was an strong safety. He heard back within the week and was over the moon. Knowing that he could apply, be accepted, and that at least one college wanted him was a game changer for him. After that, he was much more engaged in the process.
During fall applications, he continued to receive welcome letters and swag from NAU. Even though he kind of knew he wasn’t going to attend, he was excited every time he opened mail from NAU.
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She should ED Dartmouth if it is truly her first choice. She can EA Georgetown and whatever of the other schools have EA at same time.
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What is NAU?
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Northern Arizona University. We are in CA and it is a WUE/WICHE school.
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It does sometimes feel like everyone is from California here!
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Sorry about that. WUE applies to more than CA students. It is a tuition savings program for 16 states and territories.
California has almost twice the population of the 3rd most populous state (FL). There are 32 California state schools. They have their own requirements (A-G), their own applications and calculate their GPA differently. There is definitely a learning curve and, fortunately, there are many on CC who have been through the process and are able to help those who are navigating it for the first time.
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My D is a senior at Penn. Overall, it’s been a positive experience. Penn has a reputation for being pre-professional. While students are focused on their career goals, they are also friendly and collaborative. Funding and research opportunities abound with students obtaining research positions in the various labs and hospitals as early as freshman year.
Campus is a relatively quiet oasis in the middle of a vibrant, diverse city. Whenever my D feels suffocated by the Penn bubble, she walks into Center City or hops on a train to NYC or DC. I am happy to answer any questions you might have!
I’m not great at estimating admission chances, but Penn admits ~50% of its class via ED.
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Thank you for this! Applying to any Ivy is a crap-shoot, so we will see what happens. But this is good insight. Thank you!
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Sorry to hijack real quick. The threads for 3.0-3.5 is this weighted or unweighted? only asking bc my S25 will most likely not be like his older sister who was a 3.9 uw /4.4 w so I want to make sure I find the right groups for my son because schools that will be his fit will most likely be different. Thanks!