Congratulations! My son is a Sophomore at Whitman and is having a great experience!
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Immensely helpful!!! Thank you so much. This is a very different path than my DS23 so Iām learning as I go!
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My in-state auto admit D 23 got her major at UT Austin tonight! 
Texas is hard yāall. Hook 'Em! 
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Coming back to thank this community!
Over the last year I gleaned the wisdom of truly finding that sweet spot between likelihood of acceptance, academic & social fit, & financial fit. My kid and I aimed right into the center of that circle as it fit him, and finalized our plan last spring. At that point he confidently stepped away from feeling like he āshouldā find the most prestigious school he could be accepted at, to being excited to prioritize the best school for his own personal metrics and knowing that he was making the right decision for himself. Today was his Whitman ED acceptance and he received enough merit that heās going to likely graduate debt free; the best outcome we could ever hope for.
This forum was an incredible resource, and such a source of mental and emotional support - Iām a 100% single parent and having all of you to ālistenā to and ātalkā with over the last year really kept me on track and reinforced my own instincts and the path I chose as being both optimal and correct for my kiddo.
I am cheering everyone on as acceptances roll in, and I canāt wait to hear about all the results and decisions as we inch towards May. I paid my deposit tonight! I booked an AirBnb for August! Itās happening!
Best wishes to you all, keep all the updates coming, and Iām crossing my fingers for each and every kid on here to land in the place that is just right for them. Thank you all so very much! 
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Itās been an exciting week and a half so far! My son got accepted to VCU, GMU, and Penn State University Park for Computer Science! Still waiting on a few more schools, but we are very grateful for good choices! Anyone know more about the CS programs in either of these schools?
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Hook 'em!!!
We visited UT Austin for our oldest D20 and loved it!
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Awww this makes me teary!!! 
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Today was a good one! D23 accepted to University of Denver with amazing merit and also Binghamton (merit pending)!
We had never even heard of Binghamton before this group but it was suggested based on her specific wishlist and somewhat unique academic situation. We love what weāve heard and now look forward to learning more about this potential dark horse.
So fun!
Iām so grateful to this community.
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Wish we saw your reply sooner. She wrote a nice letter declining the 5 year program and explaining why in a positive manner. She learned last night that she was among the small percentage of deferred students. Sigh.
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And, sadly, she was among the small percentage deferredā¦so now she has to decide whether to stick it out or move on to ED2. Sigh.
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Any insights on Comp sci at Pennstate, Upitt and Indiana univ Bloomington? My son has these acceptances and waiting on a few more.
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Congrats, thatās awesome!
I know the CS program at GMU is considered to be quite good, and there are so many internship opportunities in the area.
Lurking here from the 2019 group (I am helping a friendās S23 with the process this year). My D19 is a Binghamton senior and Iād be happy to talk all about her experience with you (sheās OOS if that matters). Long story short, it was the perfect school for her!
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I will absolutely be following up with you - thank you!
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Thatās so great!
Binghamton is considered the Ivy of the SUNY system.
Here in NY, is it a great accomplishment to be accepted there!
My husband is an alumnus. For decades, it has been considered an excellent school with a fantastic reputation.
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Thatās what we understand and why she applied - plus it fits her wishlist. I honestly did not think she would get in. But some folks here encouraged her to apply anyway because she is from far away and they are looking to diversify their student body, it sounds like?
I mean sheās a great kid and student and so maybe that came through too.
Thanks for the insight!
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Iām suddenly feeling anxious about my sonās possibilities. I think it is all the acceptances (and deferrals and rejections) other people are getting.
S23 didnāt want to apply to many places (only 4 so far, I think Iāll be able to convince him to do a 5th) and he also really wants to be within 30-45 minutes of home. That didnāt leave a lot of choices, and since we are in MA a lot of the schools that fit his location criteria are very selective and/or expensive.
S did get into his first school (UMass Lowell) this week & he would be happy to go there. 
And weāre thrilled that he got the Deanās Scholarship for 1/2 tuition. Howeverā¦It actually made me more nervous because I thought he might be competitive for the Chancellorās Scholarship (top 5% of in-state applicants) versus the Deanās (top 10%).
I have some concerns about Lowell for him; he is mildly on the autism spectrum, and he is not super aware of his surroundings, and Lowell seems a little rougher than the areas of Worcester or Boston his other schools are in. Also, he is really serious about his schoolwork and kind of nerdy and has trouble clicking with people who arenāt also academically focused & nerdy. (One of the residence halls at UML is Bourgeois Hall, and when our tour guide pointed it out, S23 jokingly asked where Proletariat Hall wasā¦everyone just looked at him like he was crazy. I felt like it didnāt bode well for meeting likeminded people thereā¦)
Anyway, seeing people with great stats getting deferred or rejected from his other schools, and getting the lower scholarship from UML has me worried he wonāt get into any of his other choices. 
He is fine and just happy he got in somewhere, so I need to work on being fine too.
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For the record, thatās a great joke. I bet heāll find his people.
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I think (hope!) that this is all part of the process for us parents. D23 was asked to apply to one of her top schoolās honor programs and when I brought it up to her last night, she told me that she ādoesnāt want to live with the nerds.ā GOOD LORD. I thought to myself, this kid is not ready for college.
Iām sure that your smart son and my flaky daughter will be fine. Theyāve been fine so far and weāve done a good job It may not all be exactly what we envisioned for them, personally I like the nerds, but I think theyāll be ok in the end. Hang in there and Iāll try to as well.
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First, your son sounds hilarious to me, and I would have laughed at his joke!
Second, the competitive merit scholarships have only limited rhyme or reason in my experience with first child. (2017) Strong candidate, but out of about 14 possible large merit applications at public and private, we ranged from winning a couple, being finalists for some, and not even getting a finalist weekend opportunity at several. BUTā¦ there was NO correlation at all between the rank/reputation/cost of the school and getting an interview/finalist/nothing at all. We had to have a full ride basically for that student but couldnāt qualify for need at CSS schools, so that is why the shotgun strategy of applications (18 total???) It worked out with two choices at public full ride and one almost full situation at a highly ranked private. Also had to turn down an Ivy admit because no aid.
My point is that the competitive scholarship results at one school (whether higher or lower ārankā) donāt serve as perfect predictions for others AT ALL in my experience. I think you will be fine!
PS- Second child (2023) only applied to six, and I am really nervous because he seems to now be regretting that choice. I was looking around today for more options, but it was tough in August to get him to choose six. He was in a negative place then and now is saying āwhy didnāt I apply to more places with big scholarships?ā Kids. So I also understand a sudden panic that maybe you applied to very few. But as I am telling myself, no, that is fine also. Good luck!
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