@gablesdad What about William & Mary or American in the somewhat less reachy category?
in the reasonable reach category, Emory might also tick many of her boxes (has much in common with Wash U).
Of the other schools on her list, Duke seems like the biggest outlier in terms of what she’s looking for in student culture.
If she’s not into “middle of nowhere,” cross Kenyon off the list. Denison is in a cute, small town within striking distance of Columbus, OH (30-40 minute drive) and more moderate politically/ sporty/Greek in student culture.
@mamaedefamilia William and Mary got knocked out based on review of physical facilities but is on list of schools to visit if we can, as potentials, same for American, thanks
Well, our kids sound a lot alike! We are looking at Wesleyan, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, William & Mary, Univ of Richmond and Univ or Virginia.
I realize some of those are off your D’s list as they are all women. But consider that many have arrangements with neighboring schools – like Bryn Mawr does with both Penn and Haverford and a tram that runs every 10 minutes. Boys will be readily accessible.
I’ve heard JH is very competitive-- not only to get in, but once you get there, it’s rather dog-eat-dog, but my D says they are really looking for Humanities people for balance so their selectivity is more forgiving for kids in that category.
I don’t know what you are thinking in terms of geography, but if you are open to west and east coast, you might look at: Washington and Lee, Wake Forest, Univ of Virginia, Univ of North Carolina. William & Mary, George Washington U, Santa Clara U, and Vanderbilt.
Can you break down what you mean by “knocked out based on review of physical facilities?” My daughter is looking at W&M and I’d like to know more about that.
She refined a bit in the research and visit process and summer… WashU was replaced with Emory, BC was replaced with Vassar, Rhodes with Conn, and Georgetown stayed on for SFS after visit to DC and online program with faculty and students there. All essays and app are done except for high school’s part. Fingers crossed…
And the winner is… Georgetown SFS, subject to a a successful admitted students weekend, which knowing already how well run that school is and the quality of events they put together, means she will accept by May 1 without further ado. Thanks to @MWolf@Lindagaf@cquin85@circuitrider@Bill_Marsh@Publisher@EconPop@gotham_mom nd so many others for all of their insights and collaboration overt the last 2 years. Now on to S24…
BTW results were Yale (deferred and then rejected despite legacy), Duke (rejected despite legacy), Brown waitlisted, Georgetown SFS accepted, as well as Emory, Wesleyan, Vassar, HC and Conn.
Key takeaways for others:
1 Legacy and full pay was not decisive at tippy top (or Yale, Duke, Brown) and if anything adversely affected URM consideration; these schools derive a very small percentage of their revenue from undergrad fees and only pay lip service to legacy to avoid an alumni rebellion as small alumni donations are also drops in the bucket; medical centers and research, that is what brings in the dough for those tippy tops, so no need to bring in the well to do or the legacies for fundraising; these institutions see undergraduate education these days as a charitable social undertaking, not a business, so they seek to maximize social welfare instead; Yale’s new motto is “For Humanity” (no longer “For God, for country, for Yale”)
2 collegevine chancing, which does not take into account private school prestige or legacy, was scarily right in its predictions; being from a private/independent school was certainly no advantage this year; probably was a liability at the tippy tops if your kid has not yet cured cancer (I have no affiliation with collegevine, just genuine hats off to their chancing app,
Impressive; 100% accuracy for us
3 somehow she will be ending up up at our secret parental No. 1 preference based on fit, network and convenience; despite all the reachyness throughout the list, things do seem to work out well with good planning and incredibly hard work by the student at school and in the community, somewhat mysteriously
Yes, and I am now an active contributor as this became my hobby and consequently
my obsession. Still have some ways to go
with S24 so plan to stay active on CC until that one is out the door. It will be a very different journey for sure. Thanks so much!
Are that many Duke students are religious enough (and denominationally compatible) to fit in very comfortably at a college that is much more religious than Duke?
And like many charities in the US, they are businesses with managers and stakeholders even if they do not have shareholders who take the profits out. It’s mostly the colleges that they no longer need to run that way. I would not be surprised if HYP would abolish tuition in the near future; would have done it already if it wasn’t perceived as regressive beyond full need. They can afford it already.
Congratulations to your D (and to you and your family, of course)! She had stellar results in a brutal year. SFS is an incredible and unique place. I’m sure that admitted students weekend will seal the deal. And DC vs Poughkeepsie, Middletown, Worcester, New London, even Atlanta – no contest!
