Thanks for your kind reply! Yes we parents hurt because we know how it feels after all that hard work.
Maybe it will drive the point home about fickleness of life. Poor thing liked UMD campus but not able to attend.
I went to college in other country and had given up a highly ranked school to live in same city as my family and I never regretted that decision.
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We wanted her close to home. We applied to only those schools which had possibility of merit scholarships.
Pitt students can take classes at CMU, but I donât know if it would be difficult, or not, to take any CS classes
My point is there are more esteemed Honors Colleges. You applied where you wanted and got fantastic results. Everyone keeps saying PSU is the best of the best. There are many strong HC - strong in their own ways.
Btw as you fill out job apps you will learn there is no place to note an Honors College.
Both mine struggle with this.
Itâs on the resume of course but not sure resumes are seen when they have the online profiles.
You do honors for what it offers. Not for job help and in CS it wonât be needed anyway.
For example my son passed on Purdue for Honors. The content didnât match his desires.
Heâs in one now solely for early class registration. My daughter, on the other hand, takes advantage and consumes the offerings.
You donât just say yay I got into an Honors College. Look deeper into what each offers. Do they match what a student seeks ?
@AustenNut - Yes all affordable,
@randomparent22 - looking to study Mathematics / Data Science though has interest in other areas
@tsbna44 - Heâs attended Catholic school since pre-school so is very comfortable in that environment
I think for all three they all have that enormous sense of school spirit and pride in their school They all have beautiful campuses, all very undergrad focused. All seem to have happy students
W&M loves the sense of History and Tradition, Heavy investments in data science, research university with a liberal arts vibe. COLL curriculum provides opportunities to explore other areas of interest. Great track record for grad school should that be of interest. Strong Study Abroad program. Big Club culture (he loves to be involved in random clubs).
Cons - Public University (this is more about the potential bureaucracy and red tape around things like scheduling and housing.
Villanova - Closer to home, easy access to Philly, certainly the comfortable choice. Loved the investments the school had made over the past 10 years. Loved the cross collaboration on projects between the different school. Great employment outcomes
Cons - difficulty to switch if he wanted to move to business, even getting a business minor requires a competitive application. Flagship programs are Business, Engineering and Nursing. How does the school of A&S compare to other choices
Richmond - LAC with a research vibe, loved the professors we met with during the Richmond preview day. Great endowment. Easy to switch into business.
Cons - Concerned about it being a little too small.
I really think you need to remember she is a CS major. It is JUST SO HARD for that major, everywhere. It really canât be compared to results from other majors. Getting Schreyer is fantastic. I know it might not feel like that right now, but I hope it will eventually.
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Thatâs a big con (richmond). You can make big smaller but not vice versa.
Does he want to study business ?
If so, does he have a DA business acceptance ?
A friendâs son just graduated from Villanova. It is on the main line right? So access not just to Philly but also to all those little tons and colleges and restaurants. He got a great job btw, and I think his major was in A&S.
She really has amazing choices. She will do great!
Do any of the schools take her AP credits? That might help you decide.
Has she revisited the schools. Try to get her out to the schools on beautiful weather days - when the quads are filled with frolicing students having fun or studying together outside under the trees. Take her for a few days to explore the town/city and buy the swag. Attend the rah! rah! accepted students days - especially the honors sessions. They are designed to highlight the best of the campus and help her meet her peers.
Did she want to be close to home or was that something you wanted?
If she is really unhappy, there are great gap year activities and she can then reapply to other schools next year. She can cast a wider net or refine what she is looking for in a school. You didnât indicate her stats - but I know how competitive the schools are in our area. With the right stats there are dozens of schools just like PSU/Pitt/Rutgers where she could get merit that might appeal to her more and get her excited for school. Most of these are only offered to incoming freshman so she would not be able to take any classes during the gap year. People here can help you/her with ideas for schools that match what she wants/needs.
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If your son thinks business is even a possibility, then the situation at Villanova would give me pause. Based on your description, it sounds like William & Mary might be the front-runner.
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I am also a big fan of admitted student events! In 2017 my daughter was pretty disappointed she and her high school boyfriend didnât get into any of the same schools⊠the horror. We had visited Cal Poly in the summer and she was underwhelmed. We returned for the admitted student events and she fell in love and committed that day. Thereâs something to going and feeling the love, even if the school wasnât your first choice.
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Yes we are in the process of looking into her AP credits she has 15.But I donât think we have any choice at all it is just either Schreyerâs or Rutgers thatâs all.
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Who knows may be she will go and be happy or may be she will try again next year. Not sure if there are any merit scholarships for Transfer students.
No she is not interested in gap year. She has a great attitude she will get over this eventually.
Yes we have been to PSU in summer and we did not like its location. She loved UMD but it didnât love her back!
Itâs okay looks like kids who made to national level science fair also got rejected from their favorite schools.
I think it is being from Northeast and choosing Computer science which makes it harder to shine.
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A metacomment: Can I just take a moment to say how much I hate, hate, hate the 10k cap on thread length? Youâve got a healthy discussion going, and now you want to disrupt it?
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She had perfect PSAT score and took her SAT before PSAT only once and got 1540.GPA-4.71.
AP-15, has 5 in the exams.
National level debate participant.
Has tons of extracurricular activities. Researched with a Ivy school professor in computer science and created a program to help with special needs. Which her school special need teachers loved!
-Chief editor of school news paper.
-Gifted writer. She edited my book and helped me throughout to publish.
-Has lots of volunteer activitiesâ200 plus hours and won local awards.
There is nothing left to be done from her end.
-She is well recognized in her top public school. Member of school board as a student adviser including county level student representative.
-Founder of couple of science clubs and has leadership roles in many clubs.
-TEDx main curator.
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Oops, meant to send this to @swan1. Just a story about college in NJ, not necessarily relevant to your daughterâs situation, because I was not CS. Far from it.
I grew up in NJ, went to high school in Madison, and after all my years of school and my many opportunities, I chose to go to college inâŠMadison. LOL. If you were to guess from knowing me, youâd think Iâd go as far away as I could, probably to somewhere with a beach or lake. But no. I canât remember why, but I chose Drew, and I was very happy, had a great experience, and I met lifelong friends, including my husband. I was about three hours from my parents, so I felt independent and yet could go home by bus if I wanted to, which was nicer than I realized it would be. I realize it may feel weird to go through this whole process and then stay in-state. 
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It is just our location and choice of subject which has screwed us. Its okay she has all the Ivy league qualities which will stay with her wherever she goes even if she went to our local community college!
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Got it!
I agree. Go where your heart wants right.
Maybe give it a week to gain some distance.
Some of my daughterâs (great HS students) friends actually had picked Pitt over other brand names, and have loved their choice. She visited them for a weekend and got good vibes, as well.
If her mind is still set, then no sense pushing it - otherwise, maybe make the trip for the accepted studentsâ day to see how it feels in the context of other accepted students, now that all options are on the table.
And yes, Rutgers is a great option, as well.
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Blockquote Can anyone point me to resources for a great, smart, hardworking kid who only got into her safeties (all good universities with merit at each - but she doesnât love any of them at all) and is devastated over it, feeling like all her hard work was for nothing. Nothing I say or do (or donât say) seems to help.
Let her be sad this weekend. But then dig into the research. Get spreadsheets going, and look up what the curriculum would be like, look for interesting classes sheâd love. Find a really fun student group and follow them on instagram. Make a big deal about the committal when she makes a choice.
Get dorm room layouts, and start research on what colors and textures sheâd prefer. Eventually sheâll be ready for fun spirit gear.
I donât want this discussion to get lost, because I feel it in my gut for both of you. I see students like her in my childâs friend group, and it really sucks.
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